Simon Jordan defends Everton after Jim White asks if club ‘deserve’ to stay in Premier League
Simon Jordan defended Everton over their right to stay in the Premier League after Jim White asked if the club “deserve” to be there amid the threat of relegation.
The former Crystal Palace chairman argued live on talkSPORT on 13 March that the team has done well enough to be further up the table on merit, but the poor running of the club has dragged them closer to danger.
Jordan and Danny Murphy both backed Sean Dyche to keep the side up, but after the failure to capitalise on their dominance in the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United White asked whether that meant the club should go down.
He said (10.44am): “They still live nervously in this Premier League, 25 points, and of course a points deduction still hanging over them, so they cannot relax until the final ball is kicked, and beyond, because they might get bad news after the end of the season.”
Murphy claimed the loss at Old Trafford summed the Toffees up: “You can play as well as you like but if you can’t put the ball in the net you’re in a world of trouble”.
To which White asked: “Because of that do they deserve to stay in the Premier League?”
When Murphy didn’t answer directly Jordan then cut in: “The answer to the question is, ‘Yes they do’. Because on the field they would be 14th in the league. Off the field, because of the way the club’s been run they’ve had a six-point sanction.
“So when you talk about deserving to stay in the league, as a football team they deserve to because they’ve got enough points to be able to achieve it. As a football operation they have their challenges. I still think Everton have enough in the Sean Dyche tank to get them past the line.”
Simon Jordan backs Sean Dyche to save Everton live on talkSPORT
The Toffees are undoubtedly in miserable form without a Premier League win in 2024, but the action on the pitch isn’t happening in isolation.
It seems clear that the doubt surrounding the club is increasingly weighing on the players in a way that rival sides don’t necessarily have.
Despite that Everton were outstanding for a period in early December, and had been in reasonable form prior to the original points deduction.
So on merit they have done enough to remain in the league, especially in comparison to the likes of Burnley and Sheffield United who already look to be beyond hope.
It is particularly infuriating for Evertonians that after two seasons where the team only narrowly escaped the drop the improvements shown under Dyche this term have largely been counterbalanced by one sanction, and face being compounded by a second.
But the situation is what it is at this stage and too many more results been thrown away due to poor finishing or defensive errors could push it too far, so one way or another Dyche has to inspire some sort of reaction after the training camp in Portugal.
In other Everton news, a lawyer believes new spending rules will actually hand the Toffees an advantage.
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