Former Sunderland owner shares view on ‘catastrophic’ Everton FFP breach amid government developments
Former Sunderland part-owner Charlie Methven insists there is “absolutely no chance” Everton will avoid a large points deduction after a “catastrophic” break of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
The Telegraph reported last month that the Premier League has recommended Everton are docked up to 12 points if found guilty of breaching their FFP regulations.
Everton are awaiting a verdict from the ongoing case, which could put their long-running status as top-flight club in real jeopardy if the most severe sanctions are passed down.
Speaking on the Where’s The Money Gone? podcast with Adrian Goldberg [6 November, 19m 42s], Methven said: “I think there is absolutely no chance they escape this.
“I cannot see how the Premier League, which is trying to fight off the new government regulator taking over all of these areas, is going to allow such a catastrophic break of its financial rules to occur without the book being thrown at the club involved.
“Otherwise, the government regulator will say this proves there is absolutely no way you can govern yourself.
“All the discussions we’ve been having about Everton being worth £800m, £1billion – I can tell you that in the Championship, it is worth nowhere near that. You’re talking closer to £100-150m.
“The club needs to start preparing for the idea that they are going to need to escape relegation by a number of points to actually escape relegation.”
Brace yourselves
If the takeover situation at Goodison Park was not stressful enough, supporters are also having to contend with this FFP case.
An outcome on both is expected before the year is out, so supporters must start bracing themselves for a possible double blow.
The worst-case scenario is that 777 Partners fail the relevant checks to continue with its takeover, and that Everton are docked multiple points.
Alternatively, 777 may get the green light to buy out Farhad Moshiri and only a small punishment – if any – is received in the FFP case.
It must be pointed out it is “up to” 12 points the Premier League want Everton docked, so let us hope it is not that extreme.
Should it be half that amount, say, Sean Dyche’s side will surely still have enough to stay above the dotted line come the end of May.
If nothing else, at least the next few weeks off the field will not be boring.
In other Everton news, the Toffees were reportedly unsuccessful with a £16m+ bid for a player in the summer transfer window.