Financial Fair Play investigation

[allen]

….and a points deduction hanging over City too.

If they're guilty of massive breaches.

Fair enough, I say.

 

[HalfTimeSayers]

The story of us being relegated alone is bigger than whatever club gets promoted

The story of us being relegated is huge, for about 10 minutes. People are making many multiples more cash out of Wrexham than Everton.

The story of us being relegated and City/Chelsea etc receiving similar penalties for infinitely worse infractions would be the biggest and clearest evidence of mass corruption in English football at the highest level. A much much bigger story, and one the PL and Sky etc surely can’t stomach. Even media voices that hate us would pound that point home, especially the kopite and United leaning ones (I.e. all of them)

Their unwillingness to obliterate the best team in the world, their star attraction, might be what saves us from a truly painful punishment.

 

[Brett Angell Delight]

I think you are correct in that the PL aren't looking to deliberately relegate us but if we put ourselves in a position where a drop is likely, they may just give us a nudge in that direction as its a 'great story' for the product. A couple of seasons ago we had quite a few shocking decisions go against us that could have made a difference to our plight.

The PL doesn’t want stories, it wants money.

How does the story of us getting relegated benefit them more than the continued participation of a founder member and ever present of the league, drawing in more viewers (money) than any alternative replacement team coming up from the Champo?

 

[ValBlue]

I have no idea what point you're trying to make here.

If Everton suffer a points deduction this season that causes us to be relegated, the club finishing above us in 17th would be our replacement in the Premier League for next season.

I picked Luton because they are currently the team that would be bumped out of the relegation zone if we were sent into it by a points deduction.

Luton are most likely going down, though honestly it doesn’t matter who the other 2 teams are.

Any club who is not a media darling is only worth the size of the storyline they create. Nobody cares any team in between the European slots and the relegation zone. The only reason they do care is if something monumental happens. Who cares what the team in 13th or 15th is up to? What story is that making? What global fan (customer) cares what the middle clubs are doing?
You’re acting like the league gives us all the time and focus normally, news flash - they don’t. We’re interesting to them and their global audience purely because of the size of our potential relegation. Nobody cares about the clubs outside the glory ones, you’re deluding yourself if you think anyone in the media gives a rats arse if we’re down. They’ll milk the story for everything it’s worth whilst simultaneously simping over what Rashford ate for breakfast that morning.

 

[Eggs]

The conspiratorial nonsense in this thread is making me cringe myself inside out.

There’s no conspiracy. There’s nothing in it for the PL to want to relegate us, as @allen has eloquently pointed out on numerous occasions.

We broke very clear rules. We weren’t clever enough to blag our way out of it. The consequences are coming.

….I don’t think that’s the issue. It’s whether the level of punishments is even handed.

 

[Brett Angell Delight]

…they won’t want a threat in the city of Liverpool to their biggest cash cow, especially with a bright new stadium on the horizon.

So where was this shady action in the 2000s when we WERE actively threatening Liverpool’s position in the city?

I’d argue that a money-spinning local derby at least twice a season benefits the PL more than relegating us would.

 

[Brett Angell Delight]

….I don’t think that’s the issue. It’s whether the level of punishments is even handed.

Time will tell on that score.

If I were a gambling man I’d say City will get off lightly in general, and in comparison to us, but that will say more about the PL not wanting the headache of asterisk titles for the last 5 years, and not wanting to deal damage to their most rapidly growing brand, than about any insidious plot against the most non-threatening, perpetually vanilla no-marks of the league who nevertheless continue to make them a prettier penny than any Championship replacement would.

 

[Eggs]

Time will tell on that score.

If I were a gambling man I’d say City will get off lightly in general, and in comparison to us, but that will say more about the PL not wanting the headache of asterisk titles for the last 5 years, and not wanting to deal damage to their most rapidly growing brand, than about any insidious plot against the most non-threatening, perpetually vanilla no-marks of the league who nevertheless continue to make them a prettier penny than any Championship replacement would.

….which means there is an agenda.

 

[Brett Angell Delight]

Luton are most likely going down, though honestly it doesn’t matter who the other 2 teams are.

Any club who is not a media darling is only worth the size of the storyline they create. Nobody cares any team in between the European slots and the relegation zone. The only reason they do care is if something monumental happens. Who cares what the team in 13th or 15th is up to? What story is that making? What global fan (customer) cares what the middle clubs are doing?
You’re acting like the league gives us all the time and focus normally, news flash - they don’t. We’re interesting to them and their global audience purely because of the size of our potential relegation. Nobody cares about the clubs outside the glory ones, you’re deluding yourself if you think anyone in the media gives a rats arse if we’re down. They’ll milk the story for everything it’s worth whilst simultaneously simping over what Rashford ate for breakfast that morning.

So the media doesn’t give a rat’s arse if we’re down, but the PL wants us down because it’ll make them a load of money via the associated stories in the *drum roll* MEDIA???

Your argument is incoherent and conspiratorial nonsense.

Newcastle, Villa, Leeds and West Ham have all been relegated in the past and it was news for 5 minutes.

Middlesbrough were relegated as a direct result of a points deduction and there was barely a sniff.

Everton’s continued participation in the league and the revenue it brings - pretty sure the Merseyside derby has the highest recorded viewership for a PL game on Sky - is worth FAR more to the PL than our relegation and any associated stories.

 

[Brett Angell Delight]

….which means there is an agenda.

……………………. But not an anti-Everton one.

 

[Eggs]

……………………. But not an anti-Everton one.

…an agenda that favours a certain few clubs means there’s an ‘anti-agenda’ against the others.

 

[Tony’s Carp]

The PL might see going down the points deduction route as politically necessary but the reason they have been so reluctant in the past is it isn’t good for “the product”.

Some fans might take a bit of delight in our punishment but bigger picture I think fans in general want things decided on the pitch not tribunals and courtrooms. I don’t think the PL will see it as good for the product if, once the precedent is set for points deductions, you see clubs bouncing around the table based on disciplinary proceedings, appeals etc.

People want certainty and to believe what they are seeing and I think most want a football league decided by football.

 

[ValBlue]

So the media doesn’t give a rat’s arse if we’re down, but the PL wants us down because it’ll make them a load of money via the associated stories in the *drum roll* MEDIA???

Your argument is incoherent and conspiratorial nonsense.

Newcastle, Villa, Leeds and West Ham have all been relegated in the past and it was news for 5 minutes.

Middlesbrough were relegated as a direct result of a points deduction and there was barely a sniff.

Everton’s continued participation in the league and the revenue it brings - pretty sure the Merseyside derby has the highest recorded viewership for a PL game on Sky - is worth FAR more to the PL than our relegation and any associated stories.

In the context of the bigger clubs, we’re nobodies. In the context of a story, it’s massive.

I’m pretty sure the derby had high viewership because it was the Liverpool derby, not because Everton were in it. Ask any casual who Liverpool’s rival is and they’ll say United.

It’s not conspiracy, the premier league could care less about if Everton is in the league so long as Arsenal, Liverpool, city, United, spurs and Chelsea are all in it. We make up the numbers along with everyone else. Why are we trying to convince ourselves like we’re some incredible asset? We’re nothing to them. They’ll be thrilled to make an example of us whilst doing nothing at all over city or Chelsea.

 

[Blue Willy]

Ah well only a few days, weeks or months to wait…

 

[GrandOldTeam]

The timing of this makes me nervous. The Premier League desperate to show they can be trusted to regulate.

If I understand correctly, come Man City/Chelsea, it'll be a different government backed regulator who will likely take a 'don't punish the fans' approach - massive fines then, back into grassroots.

I'm sure some will come along and look to correct me, but it feels very Oumar Niasse "successful deception of a match official" to me.

It would be typical for nice guys/whipping boys Everton to be the first mugs to be made an example of to take the punishment, before the punishment framework/regulator changes.

If there's a point deduction, the club should take it screaming and shouting and drag the Premier League through the mud as much as possible with finger pointing and whataboutery.