Everton are a club entrapped by financial turmoil which has persisted for years now. However, it is only this season where the punishments have emerged.
Stamping down on the Toffees with a severity that has drawn scorn, many Evertonians have sought answers to explain why they are being punished for the misguided actions of Farhad Moshiri.
Fortunately, Chartered Global Management Accountant and University lecturer Dan Plumley was on hand to give us his affable and informed opinion on such sensitive matters.
Could Everton actually enter administration?
Speaking exclusively to Everton News, the football finance expert issued a worrying claim for the future of the club despite assuring us that administration is by no means guaranteed.
He first prefaced such a potential outcome, noting: ‘We know the finances at the club are pretty desperate at the club at the minute, we know Moshiri, we’ve seen the issues with the stadium, we know there’s some issues still with 777. For that takeover to go through, or not go through…
‘If it doesn’t go through as it is then worst-case scenario then becomes relegation. It would make the finances even more desperate because you’re going to lose £60m of revenue overnight which means you’re going to have to address the wage bill and the playing squad.’
However, Plumley would then detail a potential ending far worse than mere relegation: ’Given the state of the finances and if Moshiri can’t then continue to fund and cover those losses then you’re into worst-case scenario of administration-type events, which we’ve heard is a possibility but not confirmed either way.
‘Despite all that, and I mean this genuinely, Everton are still an attractive football club to buy in the long-run. But what you’ve also got in that mix as well, and I don’t have this to hand, if you’re an investor that’s not 777 and you’re interested in Everton, they become a cheaper acquisition in the Championship and potentially in administration.’
He ended by assuring that relegation would not mean administration is assured, instead reliant on Moshiri: ‘I don’t think relegation is the trigger for administration, you could be put in administration in the Premier League. Ultimately that’s on Moshiri and the ownership.
‘Because you could have the revenue drop but keep Moshiri and he can fund the losses. So I don’t see relegation as the trigger for administration, because that means you can’t fund the operation anymore.
‘I think for me administration hinges on the ownership position, not the sporting performance. It doesn’t help of course.’
Farhad Moshiri has Everton’s future in his hands
Worryingly so, the future of Everton Football Club rests solely in the hands of a man who has consistently failed the fanbase for nearly a decade now.
It is a truly petrifying prospect, that Moshiri could at any point pull the plug and plunge the Toffees into administration, and in turn, condemn them to the drop.
He has been so reckless in the past with his player transfers and managerial appointments, so what’s stopping him from emulating that with such a catastrophic decision?
777 Partners are certainly no favourable alternative, but at this point, it’s truly impossible to distinguish between which party would be worse for the club.
All fans can hope for is a silent investor to emerge from the shadows, miraculously willing to spend big to awaken this sleeping giant. The likelihood of that remains low, but not impossible. After all, this is hardly an unattractive proposition for someone seeking to wade into the Premier League.