Everton FC has been in the top tier of English football for a long time. Only Arsenal can boast a longer continuous top-tier presence than the Goodison Park outfit’s 68 seasons. As a founder member of the Football League back in 1888, Everton is also a club steeped in as much history as an English club can be.
Recent seasons have tested this status quo. Perceived board-level mismanagement resulting in a merry-go-round of managers has made one quality that Everton is renowned for hard to find – stability.
Miami-based 777Partners has recently signed an agreement with much-maligned club owner Farhad Moshiri to take over his full 94.1% stake in Everton and potentially restore some of this stability. Manager Sean Dyche has also worked hard to stabilise the prestigious club’s playing staff and results. Everything began to look promising at Everton again as the club climbed to 14th in the Premier League.
But wait.
In the blink of an eye, Everton FC’s sound top-tier record is again under threat. With an independent commission docking the club ten valuable points for a breach of Profit and Sustainability rules at the end of the 2021/22 season, Everton has fallen to 19th in the EPL, with only four points.
Furthermore, Burnley, Leeds and Leicester may still lodge a claim against the Toffees. They have 28 days from the recent ruling to do so if they believe Everton’s financial breach directly resulted in their EPL relegation that season. Should such a claim succeed, the EFL founder member club could face administration and a further 9-point deduction.
The likelihood is that such a claim lacks in credibility and substantiation, but the facts are that Everton already has ten fewer points. According to bookmakers featuring on this ranked sites list for November 2023, the club’s odds of being relegated have shortened from 9/2 to 2/1, as a result. Everton has won relegation battles over both of the last two seasons. Could this ruling make a third battle more difficult to win?
Everton manager Sean Dyche won’t believe so. With a 1.83m fighter-like exterior, he is built the same inside too. Dyche once scored in an FA Cup semi-final for Chesterfield and will believe nothing is impossible. His grit and determination are well-known and respected in football management circles. And he’s a real manager.
Dyche masterminded promotion to the EPL while managing Burnley. When relegated the following season, he picked his players up and promptly took the team back to the top division immediately. Such is the character of the man. Last season, Dyche’s never-say-die attitude saved Everton from the drop. His steely persona is just what Everton needs to combat this latest crisis.
With Dyche’s influence, the Everton squad believes more in its own potential lately. It took a while, but the Kettering native’s methods are bearing fruit, with performances showing this. Everton’s success isn’t reliant on Dominic Calvert-Lewis being fit, although this plays a large part.
Abdoulaye Doucouré, Idrissa Gueye, Jack Harrison and even wing-back Vitaliy Mykolenko have realised their scoring potential – Everton is no longer relying as much on Calvert-Lewin for goals. At the back, assertive leadership from James Tarkowski is inspiring more recent clean sheets. All over the park, Everton is looking more like a mid-table unit than a bottom-feeder recently.
Finally, more stability at the board level can only benefit this great club going forward. 777Partners are already helping to the tune of £20m monthly to help with running costs during the Premier League’s takeover bid assessment process. This commitment is relieving tensions and improving the atmosphere.
The 10-point penalty will make things more difficult for Everton, but there’s much reason to believe the club is more suited to deal with it than it would have been twelve months ago. With an appeals process to come, all is certainly not lost, and a 69th consecutive season in the top tier still looks on the cards.