Farhad Moshiri's legacy at Everton is one of ruins. Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
The mess at Everton is not of the Premier League variety. The ultimate responsibility for another charge of overspending, already 10 points clear, lies with their outgoing owner Farhad Moshiri.
When it was written here a year ago that Everton had become the worst-rated club in the country. , it barely scratched the surface of the chaos. My focus then was on Moshiri's six manager sackings, three football directors and £500 million wasted.
Had it been known that the club faced charges of breaking Premier League spending rules twice in six months, my criticism would have sounded too lenient.
Moshiri's legacy lies in ruins. The crisis engulfing the club is his fault, but his silence – and that of some of his former Goodison bosses – is deafening.
Everything that has brought Everton to this point begins with Moshiri and those in charge club. so bad of him.
In one of the most unusual revelations since the independent commission's verdict in November, former chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale and finance director Grant Ingles decided not to cooperate to help clear up the club's accounts. Their behavior is simply terrible.
It turned out that Grant Ingles left the fans' The protest banner and Denise Barrett-Baxendale did not cooperate with the independent commission to help clarify the club's records. Photo: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
There is such a vacuum at Goodison's leadership. Park, the only person who will be in contention for Everton in 2024 is Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
I completely understand the anger and frustration of Everton fans. I feel for them after they received their second Premier League charge this week.
They have been greatly disappointed too many times and when the club becomes your life, you will do anything to protect it. It's part of the culture in and around Liverpool, so naturally everyone has closed ranks in a show of unity against the Premier League's actions.
But the strongest emotions should be directed at the own managers or former board members who created this sad situation.
In their hearts and minds, the people of Everton understand this better than anyone else. They tried for years to hold their hierarchy accountable, holding numerous demonstrations because they saw dangers ahead. These supporters were completely justified.
Moshiri has been sailing with the wind for years, putting the club at risk of exposure. At one point, Everton's wages accounted for 95 percent of the club's turnover. This is incredible.
Everyone in football raised eyebrows when Everton announced a bizarre £30m deal with USM in exchange for “first option” stadium naming rights, but the club have consistently maintained that Alisher Usmanov was simply a friend of Moshiri. , or “business partner”, and not be critical to the ongoing finances or a threat to the stability of the club if its support is withdrawn.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to sanctions against Alisher Usmanov (right), whose company offered £30 million for the “first option”; naming rights to Everton's new stadium Photo: Reuters
Things have changed since sanctions against Russian oligarchs following the invasion of Ukraine banned USM from sponsoring the club, with Everton citing this as one of the reasons they have suffered greater commercial damage. losses are greater than those of other clubs over the past two years.
Everton are adamant that the offenses for which they were punished and are now being accused again relate to interest on stadium loans, not player transfers or wages. The Premier League believes the loans were used for other purposes, such as wages or player purchases. You can understand why they came to this conclusion, given that Moshiri never indicated when taking out the loans that they were for a specific stadium rather than to help with the day-to-day running of the club. If he had done this, there would have been no ambiguity. Lawyers and accountants will have to argue and prove otherwise in the upcoming appeal.
Another bone of contention is that Everton thought they were working with the Premier League to ensure they were allowed to sign the ones they signed. successive transfer windows. The Premier League takes a different view of these interactions, arguing that Everton were warned rather than given the green light to proceed with their purchases.
There is no doubt that Everton are in a position because I spent too much money. and wasted many years in vain.
Jean-Philippe Gbamin, who cost Everton £25 million and left four years later on a free transfer to Ligue 2 side Dunkirk after making eight appearances. since this was one of many unsuccessful transfer decisions. Photo: Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images
The question moving forward for the Premier League is how and when to intervene to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.
There is no doubt that the Premier League is trying to appear strong to MPs amid fresh allegations by resisting calls for an independent regulator. It was an opportune moment for Premier League chief executive Richard Masters to speak to Parliament on Tuesday. It is no doubt a coincidence that the previous challenge immediately followed the announcement of charges against Manchester City.
In November I said that the 10-point penalty against Everton seemed harsh to me. I support this opinion and believe that the appeal should reduce it.
But the fact that Everton may have been punished disproportionately because of politics cannot disguise the fact that it was the club's own shortcomings that made it so vulnerable.
Fans of Leeds United, Southampton and Leicester City have the right to object: in the current circumstances, they were punished much more severely for their relegation last May.
That Everton dropped 10 points earlier this season is of no use to those who lost. They can argue that they would have survived if the Premier League had ordered their relegation rivals to stop buying players they could not afford or who were prohibited by the rules.
There is no grand conspiracy against which – the club and I don't like the word “corruption” being used in the Everton case. Premier League clubs make decisions and vote according to their own rules, including on matters of profit and sustainability.
The accused clubs knew this and continued to sign the checks. The Premier League has been too lenient for too long when it comes to strictly enforcing its PSR rules. Whatever his motives for belatedly showing his teeth, it was only a matter of time before the patience of all those who had complied with spending limits (some of which had been lowered) required action.
Moshiri is desperate is trying to leave Everton now, hoping the sale of 777 will go through. Given Richard Masters' reaction to the prospect on Tuesday, even that doesn't seem like a formality.
That's what they came to at Goodison Park. The American firm, which fans don't have much faith in (and the Premier League isn't yet sure will stand up to the test of its owner), is the only option on the table. Without the cash injection from 777, who support the club, Everton's plight could become even more precarious.
Moshiri said he hoped his reign would be remembered for the new Docklands stadium. He is mistaken if he thinks this will be remembered.
Instead, his name will join the gallery of crooks and the worst owners of English football in history.
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