Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images
Manchester City’s guilty verdict remains the big football story at the moment, and former Everton manager Sean Dyche has been giving his thoughts about the situation, having previously been in charge when the Toffees were docked points by the Premier League.
An independent Commission found City had ‘arranged the sham contracts as well as relying on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs’. The club were found guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons.
City have lodged an appeal though, and now we await the outcome.
The story has dominated headlines for days. And of course, Everton fans have a vested interest, with the club having previously been docked points for breaching financial regulations.
In November 2023 Everton were deducted 10 points for a PSR breach, which was later reduced to six. Then in April 2024, Everton were docked two more points for a second financial breach. It was a punishment that many to this day feel was disproportionate, given it was just two breaches and the club cooperated every step of the way.
Sean Dyche was in charge at the time, and he has now been discussing what it was like when the Toffees were deducted points, and also shared his view on City.
Sean Dyche outlines the feeling at Everton after points deduction
Speaking on Keys & Gray Unleashed, Dyche said: “I’m there at Everton, we’ve had the points taken. Now imagine we go down, I get the sack, and I’ve lost all that money in bonuses. Then three years later, it’s found out, oh, that shouldn’t have happened to you. Where do I go with that? What’s that all about?!”
Dyche had said that he received the call about Everton’s points deduction while he was on a beach in Dubai.
Sharing details of what he said to the players after getting back, he said: “I just had a meeting with them. You know what I’m like. There it is, that’s the reality. I said ‘All of you want your contracts, all of you want your bonuses, all of you want your fees paying for you to be at this football club, now it’s payback time’.
Now is when we’ve really got to work and we said ‘Right, if it means something to us, let’s get on with it. And they were great, all of them. The staff and everyone. They’re a hard bunch, but once they’re with you, they’re with you. And they all rounded and everyone went ‘Bang, let’s go and have it off’, and we did it.
Dyche talks potential Man City punishment
Interestingly, Dyche has suggested City shouldn’t be expelled from the Premier League as it would affect other clubs. He said: “Let’s imagine, you talk about Rangers. When they did it, they went tic-tac-toe and they were straight back in there again. Then you go well what was the point in that?
“For me it would be long-term pain. If they get done on all those charges, rather than get them out of the league – and don’t forget they help sell the rights as well, they help sell the bigger picture of football and all clubs benefit from that. What about the hurt of, points (deduction) every season?
“I’m not open to 30 personally. Probably 20.”
It’s been suggested that multiple Premier League clubs are pushing to see the most severe punishment for City (via BBC Sport) to reflect the scale and length of time of the period investigated.
Many Everton fans would also be keen to see whether the precedent of being ordered to pay Burnley £35 million after they argued the Toffees’ breaches contributed to their relegation will open the door to potential compensation being paid out by City to other clubs.