Purple haze, all in my brain
Lately things they don’t seem the same
Actin’ funny, but I don’t know why
Excuse me while I kiss the sky
Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze
Monday 26 February 2024 saw the white smoke rise from the Premier League Vatican City rooftop. The long awaited result of the Everton Football Club appeal against the Premier League ten point deduction was released and as,
“Lately things they don’t seem the same,
Actin’ funny, but I don’t know why,”
Another strange twist appeared in the ever more demented world of planet Everton. The result was four goals scored by that prolific striker Lawrence Rabinowitz KC. “Can you show DCL and Beto how it’s done Silky.”
The new pope of Everton. “Mr Super Silk, got to change that purple to royal blue mate,” called on the mighty one above. Maybe even that well known footy watcher and San Lorenzo supporter. “How are they going to get on in this year’s Copa Libertadores Francis?”
“Excuse me while I kiss the sky,” and Lawrence did and brought back four points from the Premier League independent appeal commission. Satisfied with this result, I certainly am.
I’m gonna take my love
The running kind
I’m going to find me a man that satisfies
Luvenia Lewis: Find A Man That Satisfies (Songwriters Thomas, McGrow, Thomas)
Super Silk went full bad ass and played the role of the wonderful Yoon Ji-Woo. If you have still not watched My Name, it’s your loss not mine. But anything for another outing. .You don’t mess with her.
I did find it strange that a large proportion of blues, probably the majority, while rightly praising blue pope Lawrence’s appeal exploits, were still outraged that Everton had ended up being deducted six points. What did they expect, all ten points back. Come on get real. When it comes down to, it, as I said at the time of the ten point deduction, the club had broken the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), clear and simple. This has now been agreed upon by not one, but two independent commissions.
The defence the club put up in mitigation for breaking PSR, covid, player X, the senseless war, (can someone please assassinate those two muppets Zelinsky and Putin. In fact, got to make it a hattrick, the horrific mass murder Netanyahu as well), did not stand up to scrutiny. The appeals panel agreed with the first commission and rejected the club’s frivolousmitigation claims.
I, “for my sins, there must be so many after doing this!!” read through the full appeals commission report. My God I think I have lost a few years of life reading it. Jesus, we are talking about stuff that is more boring than a Godfather film or some long tedious Martin Scorsese “supposed masterpiece.” The report has paragraphs in it that seem to be written in an alien language. Some of it I still can’t understand.
It’s three men from Chile who are tired and they want to go home
They’ve run out of money and they’re stuck up in east Oregon
So you give ’em the small bit of change in your hand
You try to speak Spanish but they don’t understand
Robert Earl Keen: Lonely Feeling.
Ploughing through the report certainly gave me a lonely feeling Robert Earl
The full independent commission report if you want to lose some years off your life and read it , or need a quick way to get to sleep, can be found at:
The Premier Leagues own statement on the Appeals panel report can be found at:
https://www.premierleague.com/news/3912574
A good summary of the report thanks to the excellent Esk can be read at:
A simple report from the appeals commision in nice easy language for proles like me would have been good. But never fear, I battled through to the end of the linguistic masterpiece, ever the hero!
Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you’re so clever and classless and free
But you’re still fuckin’ peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
Marianne Faithful: Working Class Hero (Songwriter John Lennon)
I’m no lawyer and reading the appeals panel mumo jumbo takes some doing. But as I understand it the blues got four points back because:
The appeals panel said the first commission’s report, which claimed that Everton had been “less than frank” in its reporting on funding for the stadium was incorrect. The panel said it was in fact an innocent mistake, and the “less than frank” claim had not been an allegation made against the club.
“First, the Commission found that, in relation to what it told the Premier League about its new stadium debt (which affected the calculation on which the relevant losses were calculated), the Club had been “less than frank” and breached another Premier League Rule (rule B.15) which imposes an obligation of “utmost good faith”. The Appeal Board concludes that the Commission was wrong to make those findings, because those allegations had not been made against the Club. Whilst the representations made by the Club about the stadium debt were materially wrong, it was not the Premier League’s case that that was anything other than an innocent mistake.”
(Independent Appeals Commission Report Page 2)
The other point in the blues favour is that the independent panel ruled the ten point deduction was too severe when put against available benchmarks. (Pity the Premier League did not have benchmarks of its own. Such a well run organisation!!)
“Second, the Commission was wrong not to take into account available benchmarks (e.g. the approach taken in English Football League (“EFL”) Guidelines cases), which had been relied upon by the Club, when it addressed the proportionality of the sanction. These errors were material, in that they affected approach and conclusion of the Commission in relation to sanction.”
(Independent Appeals Commission Report Page 2)
I think I have the gist of these two points right! I repeat, I think!!
The above points are the only two the toffees were successful on in the appeal. The club made this plain with its own statement on the appeals panel judgement.
https://www.evertonfc.com/news/3912657/club-statement
All the other points which the club put up as mitigation for why the blues broke spending limits were rejected by the first independent commission, and then the second independent commission. They were in my view arguments which never stood a chance of being accepted, which I said following the first commission’s report.
bagfulloftoffees737918539.wordpress.com/2023/11/20/mission-accomplished/
What is frighting is how badly put together was the club’s defence at the first commission. Bit like the pleading of Hank!
And before you render a verdict
On what this girl has done
Just remember, there’s a man to blame
And that man might be your son
Now gentlemen, that’s my story, my testimony stands
This girl is my own daughter, and the case is in your hands
Those Broadway roses and prevalent sounds
At too many parties and too many pals
Hank Williams: Too Many Parties And Too Many Pals
(Songwriters: Ray Henderson / Billy Rose / Mort Dixon)
God knows what would have happened if the ninja headlock Princess and the abacus counting finance officer had actually given evidence at the first commission. Does not bare thinking about!! (It still does not absolve these two from their no show behaviour). Thank god the club employed a man with a brain to defend them second time round.
It’s now time for all blues to face the facts that the club broke PSR rules and has been found guilty by not one but two independent commissions. More importantly, and something I have argued from day one, the club did gain a sporting advantage from breaking PSR. (The report covers sporting advantage in paragraphs 143-151). For me it has always been a simple case. If you overspend and have been buying players during the period were you broke the PSR limits, you obviously gain a sporting advantage, as you are bringing in players while simultaneously breaching the PSR limit. The players and manager (typical Everton!), not producing the required sporting advantage on the pitch is immaterial.
For a good explanation of why the club gained a sporting advantage, and on the appeals panel report, go to the always worth listening to Matt Slater on The Athletic Football Podcast episode of 27 February 2024: Does the Everton Case Damage the Premier League?
https://theathletic.com/podcast/144-athletic-football-podcast
This is why I have never held up those corrupt cards. Why hold up corrupt cards when the club had broken PSR rules which they had signed up to? The Premier League is biased towards the so called big six (seven) and is badly run and managed, that goes without question. But who are the shareholders of the Premier League? It is the twenty Premier League clubs. The Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters and his staff in reality work for the twenty clubs. The PSR rule was accepted by all twenty clubs, including Everton Football Club when it was introduced. That’s why I have always found it a bit rich that everyone was up in arms when the club was charged for being in breach of PSR by the Premier League. Where the Premier League just to ignore the toffees breaching PSR?
If the club had argued against the PSR rule in the past then it may have had a better case to moan about. But it was happy, as where all the other clubs to have this rule in place, until it was charged with breaking it. All the Premier League and Richard Masters have been doing is their job. (Although they are bloody awful at doing their job). The only cards in my opinion which should have been printed and held up, should have said in capital letters simply,
Farhad Moshiri !!!! OFF
Does the Premier League need an independent regulator. Yes, it does. It is not fit for purpose. It is not fit to run itself. Be that as it may, theP SR rules were known to all, including Everton Football Club.
The reality is the toffees have been handed down a sentence because. Everton are:
If she’s guilty, so am I, if she’s forgotten how to cry,
If she gets lonely, don’t know why,
If she’s guilty, so am I.
The Statler Brothers: Guilty
Thankfully this first saga is over and everyone should be happy with getting four points back, but from all the whinging it seems not. But as I said at the beginning I certainly am. It’s time to stop the moaning and the corruption blah blah blah stuff. All blues should just return to backing the team, which we always do, and nothing else. Forget all the commission stuff for the moment. The second breach investigation will come round soon enough! Just thank purple silk for his work and carry on pushing the team forward to get over the relegation safety line, even with a one dimensional manager and a clueless Director of Football steering the ship.
bagfulloftoffees737918539.wordpress.com/2024/02/16/disproving-the-thelwell-circle-theorem/
bagfulloftoffees737918539.wordpress.com/2024/02/26/beach-party-kev/
It’s time to raise our hand and say we are guilty and then then raise it again to help drag the team to safety.
I said move, yeah
Said move now
Move, yeah
Whoa
Honey, I want you to come along
And raise your hand.
Babe, I want you to come along,
Raise your hand.
If you know where you belong
I’ll tell you
Here
And now
Said here and now
Said here now, now, now, now, now, now, now!
Raise your hand, yeah. [X4]
Raise your hand. [X8]
Tom Jones and Janis Joplin: Raise Your Hand
(Songwriters: Alvertis Isbell / Eddie Floyd / Steve Cropper)
But let us never forget the reason the great institution known as Everton Football Club has been brought to this position of disgrace:
Its name dragged through the mud.
The ignominy of a six point deduction.
The ignominy of a second PSR breach case on the horizon.
No, it is not all the ex Chair and Board’s fault. Although they have plenty of royal blue blood on their hands. This whole shit story started eight years ago, and lies at the door of one man, the football assassin, the football cancer known as Farhad Moshiri. Someone the club needs rid of asp. I won’t say I told you so as I pointed out this virus failings a long time ago. But “I told you so.”
Revenge must be the reason,
Why forgiveness was a thing I never knew.
And someday soon I know you plan to hurt me,
But don’t plan on getting by with the things you do.
‘Cause I’ll always know when you been cheating.
And I’ll always know you’ve been untrue.
I’ll always know.
Merle Haggard: I’ll Always Know
The Kenwright obsessives can still preach their “it’s all Bill’s fault” nonsense as much as they like. Some will never see the truth, or admit it to themselves, even now when the eight year nightmare of Farhad Moshiri has led to a six point deduction and the club facing another PSR breach commission. Meanwhile the tax dodging billionaire is looking to sell the club to another bunch of charlatans.
But here we are, a club in disgrace for breaking PSR spending limits. Docked six points and with another investigation and possible points deduction looming. Time every blue faced up to the facts about the monster known as Farhad Moshiri, and admit their obession with Bill Kenwright was the wrong target. But most won’t. “Smell the coffee and wake up Farhad, For christ sake those words which many said still haunt me!!”
Do I think the toffees will be found guilty for the second claimed breach. Yes, I do. But hopefully our purple pope, our purple silk will keep any points deduction down to a minimum. And San Lorenzo get beat in this seasons Copa Libertadores final by the mighty River Plate. “Sorry Francis but it has to be that way. “
This is the ridiculous state of affairs the Monaco based clown has brought the club to. Where we play football in a quasi-courtroom as much as on a football pitch. Horrendous. So it’s,
“Bring It On Home Lawrence”
If you ever change your mind
About leaving, leaving me behind
Baby, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me
Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)
Tedeschi Trucks Band, Sharon Jones and Doyle Bramhall II: Bring It On Home To Me
(Songwriter Sam Cooke)
TOFFEE FOR TEA 