“I think a lot of them are right and….” Sean Dyche questions logic of points deductions timing after new Everton blow

Sean Dyche questions logic of points deductions timing after new Everton blow
Speaking generally about the application of the regulations, Everton boss Sean Dyche questioned the sense in clubs having to deal with huge changes while a season is in full flow

Sean Dyche before the match between Bournemouth and Everton at the Vitality

Sean Dyche before the match between Bournemouth and Everton at the Vitality stadium

Everton manager Sean Dyche believes it would make more sense if issues such as points deductions were dealt with in the summer months ahead of each season.

Dyche, whose side have now been hit with a combined eight points of sanctions from two different cases this season, acknowledged this approach may not be as simple as many would hope.

But he thinks it would help clubs prepare better for the challenges that lie ahead if they were to begin a season with clarity on their situation.

READ MORE: Sean Dyche praises Everton starlet with ‘fantastic attitude’

READ MORE: Everton face new Premier League fight that must be settled before transfer window opens

Everton became the first club to be dealt with under the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations when they were handed a 10-point punishment, later reduced to six, back in November. That related to the financial period that ended in the summer of 2022. Rule changes agreed last year then paved the way for cases to be heard quicker, placing the Blues in the unique position of being dealt with this season for a second time after again being found to have breached loss limits, this time in the assessment period that ended last summer.

Dyche came to acknowledge that the instability around the deductions was impacting his players as the Blues awaited the verdict on their appeal of the first case. The blows of a new punishment and the uncertainty over the appeal that is expected to follow will be another hurdle for those players, who have otherwise secured enough points through their performances to avoid a survival battle. Instead, the club is set for a gruelling relegation fight that goes deep into the season for a third consecutive campaign.

For Dyche, a better way to deal with such issues would be for them to be dealt with in advance, so all parties knew where they stood and could plan accordingly.

The Blues said: “I don’t imagine for one minute it’s easy to get all these top people together, but whatever’s going to happen to any football club, I think the biggest learning curve, if it’s possible, is to put any situations into a summer period and let teams know. Because I just think, and you’ve got to remember I speak on behalf of myself but I also meet so many football fans and sometimes you collect thoughts. I think a lot of them are right. I’m talking about just fans across the board by the way, not just Evertonians. They are all saying, why have they done it now? Why don’t they just wait until summer?

“They give it to you in the summer and it goes to the next season. At least you can plan it. It gives you a chance to plan for that next phase of what comes, because I’ve never seen [this scenario whereby], ‘bang, there you go’, Everyone’s like, ‘hang on a minute, what’s happened there?’ I’m not suggesting it’s that easy. I can’t imagine it is. But there has got to be a better format.”

Dyche stressed he was speaking about the application of the rules generally. His comments have additional poignancy because Everton face at least one more hearing beyond their appeal. That matter, surrounding the handling of interest on loans the club said were used for the stadium, could lead to a further deduction should the Blues lose it. Defeat would also make it harder for the club to avoid a third breach of profit and sustainability limits.

If matters were addressed in advance of each season, Dyche said: “At least everyone knows where they are, there’s the reality. Manage that the best you can. When you’re in the middle of a season and you’re managing these things that keep changing, that is a very peculiar situation.”