Everton: Relegation sanction could save ‘poorest teams ever’ Burnley and Sheffield United
Everton and Nottingham Forest could be relegated from the Premier League for attempting to show “ambition”, says Martin Samuel.
The Times journalist wrote in his column on the paper’s website on 12 March that Burnley and Sheffield United were among “the poorest teams ever to play in the Premier League” but suggested their weak squads may end up being the “smarter move” over investing in players like the Toffees did “haphazardly”.
While arguing that spending rules are ruining the league if former winners Leicester face sanction should they be promoted Samuel suggested that a second points deduction for Everton, or a first at Forest, would damage the product by saving sides as bad as the Blades or the Clarets from the drop.
Samuel wrote: “There is a possibility that one of Burnley or Sheffield United — two of the poorest teams ever to play in the Premier League — may survive this season, if harsh judgments are made against Everton and Nottingham Forest. Imagine that. A team loses 8-0, 6-0 and 5-0 on four occasions and stays up.
“Sheffield United sold two of their best players just before the season started, and by the time a supermarket sweep of mediocre talents to get the squad numbers up had been completed, the season was already under way. Yet in the Premier League’s warped world, this may turn out to be the smarter move than trying to invest in players — albeit haphazardly — and attempting ambition, as Forest and Everton did.”
He added: “There has been talk of records set, particularly by Sheffield United, who have conceded 74 goals with ten games still to play. Yet, if punishments demote Everton and Forest, another record could go: that of the lowest points total required to stay in the division. Who pays to watch football of such poor standard, however, is anybody’s guess.”
Burnley and Sheffield United could be saved by Everton and Nottingham Forest sanctions
To plenty of Evertonians it has felt like events are conspiring to ensure there is no repeat of the narrow escapes in the previous two seasons.
Although the first points deduction has been reduced to six from 10 on appeal, and a second could be cut down by two thirds, it has still combined with poor form on the pitch to leave the Toffees in trouble again.
Any club going out of business is a disaster for many reasons, but when the rules designed to prevent that instead push a side closer to that fate then something has clearly gone wrong.
Farhad Moshiri and the previous board have to shoulder much of the blame but the fact that the current spending rules look set to be scrapped within months is an indication that the situation was unworkable.
A team like Sheffield United gaining promotion and seemingly accepting the possibility of relegation by not investing in the squad have arguably taken the safest financial path, but few of their fans will be pleased about that when they have been on the end of so many hammerings this term.
Perhaps with nation states deciding that top level football could serve their own ends there needed to be some sort of mechanism introduced in response, but it appears to be too little too late and only hurting other sides more.
In other Everton news, a lawyer has tipped the Toffees to have an “advantage” under new spending rules, if they are still in the division.
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