Expect Everton and Dyche to rally and thrive in face of rough justice
Everton will feel entitled to be aggrieved by their 10-point deduction, especially amid agendas elsewhere. But the Toffees are now in a position to turn the punishment into a positive…
No ground does ‘angry’ like Goodison and few sides wilt in the face of hostility like Manchester United. So brace for 11 Red Devils adopting the foetal position before the Bullens Road Stand a week on Sunday…
When they spout their ire and rage, Evertonians will have fair reason to be p*ssed off. They will come out of the international break with 10 fewer points than they entered it after an independent commission imposed the sanction having found the Toffees to have breached the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
It is the harshest punishment meted out to a Premier League club, with only Middlesbrough and Portsmouth – three and nine respectively – being stripped of points previously. Neither side could take the hit and each was relegated, Boro in 1997, and Pompey in 2010.
Everton’s deduction sees them plummet to second-bottom of the table, territory they are all too familiar with. But the Toffees ought not to be too worried about following Boro and Pompey’s path.
Indeed, this could be a positive for Everton if they channel their anger cohesively. Only recently have the club stopped squabbling and shambling among themselves and presented a united front, spearheaded on the pitch by Sean Dyche.
After nine months under the manager, they are an unmistakably Dyche side. It’s not always pretty, but there is a beauty in their brashness. While almost every other side insists on playing like each other, it is refreshing to watch a team play to different, more old-school strengths. It’s hardly hoof-ball, but Everton’s more direct approach, especially from wide, offers some variety from endless, short passing and snappy, high pressing.
Evertonians value substance over style anyway, so Dyche’s approach resonates more than that of a cheap Pep tribute act. And this latest attack on Everton, for that is how it is being received on Merseyside, will be met with fire and fury from a support that was already coming together. We should anticipate Goodison to be as raucous and as riled as ever in the coming weeks, when flaky Man Utd and flagging Newcastle go before the Gwladys Street End.
— Everton (@Everton) November 17, 2023
A seething home support and a side now worthy of it suggests this 10-point deduction won’t prompt Everton’s first relegation. Unlike last season, when it would have been a killer blow, there are plenty more than three sides worse than Dyche’s, highlighted by the fact that the punishment hasn’t condemned them to the foot of the table. A win over United next week could see them out of the relegation zone before the end of their first matchday in it.
Everton will be fine. Even if their appeal fails. And the Toffees reckon there are more than enough reasons to suggest it won’t.
Those who suffer from the independent commission’s judgement most are those of us already bored of sanctions bantz before an hour has passed since the punishment was announced.
Immediately, ‘115 charges’ trended on Elon’s hellscape as the inevitable whataboutery flew. The insinuation: if this is Everton’s penance for a single charge, what might City face? Or Chelsea?
With this verdict, the spotlight on the Premier League shines brighter than ever. If it wasn’t a threat, there was certainly a promise from Everton that they would be watching ‘with great interest… any other cases’. So too will everyone else. This will only intensify the appetite for further retributive justice elsewhere. If the heat wasn’t already on the Premier League to make their charges against City stick, it is now.
Evertonians will also feel there is an element of misdirection in play here. It is hard not to think that this is part of the Premier League’s p*ss-poor attempt to kid on that there is no need for an independent regulator. Which, very obviously, there is if the big boys are to be kept in check.
Six of them tried to walk away from the Premier League, for f***’s sake. The greedy six were politely asked to stop being so silly. Compared to that, and what City are alleged to have tried on, Everton’s punishment does seem excessive for the crime, especially with Leeds, Leicester and Southampton subsequently sniffing some compo.
Poorer, perhaps, but seething though they are now, the Toffees will probably come out of this stronger and more unified than ever.
