Everton risking points deduction as worries over club’s future grow

Lampard says Everton need to find a way to get results to stay up

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Everton’s season may be about to go from bad to disastrous, with the Toffees reportedly at risk of being slapped with a points deduction. Frank Lampard’s men had limped to a dreadful 5-0 hammering at Tottenham on Monday night.

It was a result that leaves them just one point above the relegation zone, though they do have a game in hand on third-bottom Burnley.

Lampard is still searching for his second top-flight win since replacing Rafa Benitez as manager, with the Toffees having now lost three successive league games.

It is that form that has seen them become sucked into the battle to avoid the drop, with Lampard’s side looking precariously placed.

But matters off the field are now drawing even more concern, amid fears that the club’s financial state could create more problems for Lampard.

Last week, the Toffees were forced to sever ties with main sponsor Alisher Usmanov after the Russian was sanctioned.

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That move is expected to cost them £300million over the next 20 years, but there are also more immediate financial concerns.

According to the Daily Mail, Everton are ‘preparing to negotiate’ with Premier League chiefs over the state of their accounts.

The Merseysiders had been due to publish their accounts for the 2020/2021 season last December, but this has been delayed.

It is claimed that this delay is because Everton are seeking clarification as to how much of their losses can be put down to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The Toffees recorded combined losses of more than £260m between 2017 and 2020, which would have been a clear breach of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.

Those rules usually permit losses of only £105m over a three-year period, with the accounts for 2020/2021 expected to show a massive loss of more than £100m.

With that loss seeing them again break the sustainability rules, Everton are now in negotiations as they seek to avoid a points deduction.

League rules state that any clubs in breach of those rules can be fined or docked points, though Everton would be the first team in history punished.

There is a deadline of later this month for clubs to submit updated accounts, though the spending rules have been amended to change the three-year period to four.

The two Covid-impacted seasons during that time will be put together and an average taken, though Everton would still appear at serious risk of sanctions.

That has led to the club petitioning the Premier League for more allowances to be made, with the league having ‘indicated’ they will allow add-backs due to the pandemic.

Any kind of points deduction would be a hammer blow to the Toffees hopes of staying up, given their slender buffer over the relegation zone.

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