Everton: Sky Sports reacts to what he has heard about a points deduction threat amid a ‘going to suffer’ verdict
We’re delighted to welcome former Everton striker Kevin Campbell as our exclusive columnist. Each week the former Toffees captain will be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Goodison Park…
Kevin Campbell isn’t currently concerned about a potential Everton points deduction after the Premier League referred the club to an independent commission over a profit and sustainability charge.
The punishment is just one of many that could be handed down if the Toffees are found guilty after the league reacted to the club’s most recent accounts audit [Guardian, 24 March], a year after assuring other teams that everything was above board at Goodison Park.
But while former Everton captain Campbell is confident that the club have had enough experience in balancing the books to avoid a sanction he admits they have “done things wrong” so if they are found in breach they will “suffer”.
The Sky Sports pundit exclusively told Goodison News: “No I’m not [concerned] to be honest. Possible points deduction?
“Everton have done things wrong, and if they come in and you get caught then you take your punishment.
“But Everton have been around the block so many times, they’ve balanced books, they’ve made things work.
“I just think they got pulled out of the hat, they’re going to be investigated. Come in and have a look.
“If you’ve done things right, what’s been coming out of the club has been positive – ‘We’ve done things according to plan’.
“So I’m not worried about any points deduction because I think they’re doing things right.
“Now, if it comes out that they’re not then they’re going to suffer.”
Clearly the financial management at Goodison Park has been short of perfect since Farhad Moshiri took over, with hundreds of millions in losses and nothing to show for it on the pitch, leading to the reduced spending of the past two seasons.
But it is not yet clear whether events in the past year have seen the club overstep the boundary, with a significant grey area involving Covid-19 and the new stadium development, and they were reportedly shocked as the charge was handed down.
The league were happy with the situation during the relegation battle last season when Leeds and Burnley got together to complain, and Sean Dyche says the club has assured him everything is fine [Guardian, 30 March], so somebody is going to have egg on their face whenever the hearing is completed and fans will desperately be hoping that for once it isn’t Everton.
But with Manchester City arriving at Goodison a week after Dyche’s side hammered Brighton 5-1 at the Amex, all the manager and players can do is keep producing on the pitch amid the ongoing relegation battle.