Nottingham Forest
Don Hutchinson gives hints on fake news going on about PSR charges
Don Hutchinson says the Premier League simply cannot allow the points deduction fiasco surrounding Everton and Nottingham Forest to drag on beyond the season.
Everton have been deducted eight points across two separate PSR charges this season, while Forest have had four points taken away for one breach of the rules.
The appeals process in the Toffees’ case may not conclude until a week after the Premier League campaign concludes, potentially causing uncertainty on the final day of the season.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s The Friday Football Social [12 April, 7:26pm], Hutchinson said: “It’s not just what happens on the final day, but also your mindset with three or four weeks of the season left.
“If you’re a team down the bottom and not sure of a result you need – Nottingham Forest for example – you may think a point is good. But if you know points are being deducted, instead you go for a win. It just cannot happen after the season ends.”
Everton relegation battle to go down to the wire
If nothing else, at least we know there are no further impending points deductions looming. Instead, the battle now lies in the appeals process.
Of course, one solution is for Everton to string together a few victories, move well clear of the bottom three and then the stress can be avoided.
That is easier said than done, though, and it is looking incredibly likely that there will be barely anything between the sides battling to dodge 18th.
Forest’s points deduction and subsequent appeal only further complicates matters in what is a season like no other.
And as a reminder, this is all the Premier League’s doing. Little wonder they are doing away with the current financial guidelines this summer.
For all the PSR chat over the past week – and past six months for that matter – it will be nice to at least focus on events on the field when the Toffees face Chelsea. A victory in that one and plenty of gloom would have been lifted.
