Phil Jagielka makes a prediction regarding how many points Everton will lose this season.
The offenses that Everton has committed off the field have defined their season more so than their on-field exploits.
There have been countless appeals to spare the fans for the wrongdoings of their proprietors, but in this particular instance, the silence has been deafening.
Even though Evertonians bear the brunt of this punishment, that fact is ignored as anonymous attorneys fight to further undermine this illustrious and storied institution.
The only hope is that the ongoing appeal process can offer some respite to a fanbase beaten and bruised by recent events.
But it’s the ongoing suffering on Merseyside that makes one skeptical and gloomy about these fleeting moments of hope.
Phil Jagielka’s remarks against Everton
At least Phil Jagielka tried to share his opinions on the possibility of a successful appeal by having a live conversation on talkSPORT this morning (9:55 am, 06/02/24) with Jeff Stelling.
The former Toffees defender, who had a great 12 years at Goodison Park, is quietly optimistic that things will work out in the end.
Clearly his time with Everton did not quite break his spirit in the same way it has done to the fans.
Asked if he was confident that his former side would stay up and overturn the deduction, the 41-year-old noted: ‘I am as it stands at the moment, but as I just said anything can change, appeals are going in, double jeopardy, there is so much going on that the confidence levels aren’t as high as I’d like them to be.
“I think we can move on once it’s settled.” With a magnificent new stadium to look forward to and an essentially empty slate, hopefully Everton can stay up.
“They have been working with the Premier League to try and make sure they were as close as they possibly could be to the FFP and stuff like that, so I don’t think there will be any more fines or points deductions in the offing in the future.”
“It’s just about getting through the next month, these next three or four months, and hopefully still be a Premier League team going forward. I don’t see anything in the future.”
Is it really possible to dock Everton additional points?
In actuality, though, nobody can predict with certainty what the Premier League will do.
There aren’t many historical examples of this topic; no precedent has ever been established. As a result, the division essentially has free license to do as it pleases, particularly if it is successful in maintaining the original ten-point deduction that was applied.
The other teams in the league would then legitimately fear that a precedent had been formed.
But as Jagielka points out, there’s a chance the double jeopardy rule—which writer Alan Myers has already mentioned—will be in effect.
This means they cannot be hit again in the same season for the same offense if their present sentence is sustained.
If they try to force the Premier League to immediately close down in the event that they try to throw the book at Everton once more, at least that should offer some solace.
The Toffees will be hoping that KC Laurence Rabinowitz has done enough to push them out of the relegation zone and render these kinds of discussions moot.
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