The Toffees’ 10-point deduction by an independent panel appointed by the Premier League has sent shockwaves around English football. Plan-and-simple, Everton flew close to the moon, got caught and then tried to prevaricate. However, nothing is that cut and dry, and the reasons why Everton broke the rules and why these rules exist in the first place must be examined.
The Moshiri reign
Everton, while a regular European qualifier between 2005 and 2017, hasn’t finished higher than 8th since 2017-18, despite the exorbitant spending beginning in the summer of 2017 that have put the club where they stand today financially. The club had previous financial ties to Alisher Usmanov, the Putin-aligned Uzbek oligarch who once tried to buy Arsenal with David Dein’s backing. When Usmanov was rebuffed he plotted for a while, then pumped money into Everton who had been bought by Farhad Moshiri in 2017. Moshiri was partnered with Usmanov in multiple investment ventures at the time.
The net spend for the Merseyside club was completely out-of-whack between 2017 and 2021. By the time Frank Lampard was named manager in January 2022, Everton’s squad was both bloated and thin if that makes sense. This was the result of piecemeal buying as the club has cycled through not only managers, but Directors of Football and Chief Scouts.
What resulted was an injury-prone side, which seems to be constantly signing guys, yet did not develop a clear playing identity. In addition, with one of most ruckus and demanding fan bases in England and too many players who appeared unhappy, the situation appeared untenable. So the spending continued unabated until the club had to work with the Premier League after being flagged for Financial Fair Play (FFP) violations.
All of this for a club that has one of the best academies in England, and which continues to produce high-level young players. Think of the impact Anthony Gordon is now making at Newcastle.
While this was happening, Everton planned a new stadium, Covid-19 happened and Russia invaded Ukraine, leading Usmanov to being heavily sanctioned in the west.
Everton’s legacy and the quest to return to the top
Sure Everton has overspent recently but it’s the longer, deeper history and socioeconomics that matter. The truth is Everton can never generate the revenue Arsenal can for instance. Yet the club is building a new stadium at the Bramley-Moore Dock in Vauxhall.
Everton have spent more seasons in the top flight than any other club in one of Europe’s five biggest league systems (England, France, Italy, Germany, Spain). The last relegation for the Toffees was 1951, and they have stayed in the top division since 1954.
If you don’t know the name Howard Kendall you should. Under Kendall in the 1980’s Everton won two league titles, running Liverpool close several other times, an FA Cup, a European trophy and may have won much more had English clubs not been banned from Europe in the years after both of Everton’s First Division title triumphs. Everton played brilliant football, an attacking style with slick passing which was quite different from most English clubs in the era. The European ban took its toll - Kendall himself moved to Athletic Bilbao, but he would return to Everton to manage the club two more times and also managed Manchester City, taking a legion of former Everton players with him there, and effectively cementing Everton’s status as my second team in the process (Peter Reid in particular would become a favorite of mine). The shared history of Everton and Manchester City was so great in the 20 or so years from Kendall’s move to City, that David Moyes addressed it in the media once, when chastising Mark Hughes for his relentless pursuit of Jolean Lescott in 2009, feeling the episode was unbecoming given the relationship the two clubs had long enjoyed.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Beyond The 90' to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.