Following the £19.5 million Everton scandal, Newcastle’s Financial Fair Play approach makes even more sense.
The hefty punishment meted out to Everton by an independent tribunal following a breach of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability criteria was a reminder of why Newcastle United has consistently emphasized the necessity to comply with Financial Fair Play.
When Everton discovered their fate, the ripple effects extended beyond Merseyside. Financial Fair Play may have been “gone,” according to Jose Mourinho at one point, but an independent commission showed its teeth this week and awarded Everton the largest sporting penalty in Premier League history.
The only thing keeping Sean Dyche’s team from the bottom of the standings is their current 10-point deduction for breaking the sustainability and profitability standards of the top flight. It makes sense why Everton appeals.
Of course, these were quite different situations, yet the so-called big six were fined just £3.3 million apiece for joining the disastrous European Super League, whereas Portsmouth lost a point for entering administration more than ten years ago.
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However, there has been a noticeable shift in strategy, and this does not seem to be coincidental given the arrival of an independent regulator. After all, the Premier League has also filed 115 complaints against Man City this year, while Chelsea’s finances are also being looked into.
Although Chelsea and City maintain their innocence, a precedent about the severity of penalty for future transgressions has been set. If this is the punishment that Everton has received for “only” being £19.5 million above its allowed losses in 2021–2022, what will the consequences be for more significant infractions?
It’s easy to understand why Newcastle United has given the Financial Fair Play rules so careful thought. Amanda Staveley said that “we don’t want to abuse any systems” or violate “very prescriptive” rules even in the months before to the takeover. As co-owner Jamie Reuben put it, “our pound has to go further.”
To be honest, when Newcastle’s owners acquired the team a little more than two years ago, they had to avoid pulling a Liverpool. Farhad Moshiri, the owner of Everton, arrived with “great aspirations” and a goal to “transform the club into one of the top teams in the Premier League, regularly playing in Europe,” according to the independent panel. Do you recognize this? The only distinction is that, while Everton failed not realize this ideal under Moshiri, Newcastle did.
As much as Everton’s subsequent FFP breach was mitigated by a costly stadium build, the way loans to fund the project were accounted for, and the ripping up of a £200 million naming rights deal after Alisher Usmanov was sanctioned after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the commission also used terms like’recklessness’ and ‘overspending’ following years of poor recruitment. Under Rafa Benitez, Everton executives had even boldly predicted that the team would rank sixth in 2022; nevertheless, the Toffees ultimately narrowly avoided relegation, losing out on almost £21 million in projected revenue in the process.
Despite the substantial profits Everton has recently received from player sales, the amount of money that has been squandered is astounding. Nearly £200 million has been spent on Gylfi Sigurdsson, Yannick Bolasie, Davy Klaassen, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Morgan Schneiderlin, Theo Walcott, and Cenk Tosun in the last seven years alone. All but one of the club’s top 20 most expensive acquisitions of all time were acquired during the Moshiri era.
Maybe it shouldn’t be shocking that Everton didn’t make it to Europe within that window of time. Who would, after hiring three distinct sporting directors and seven very different permanent managers, from Sam Allardyce to Carlo Ancelotti?
Having support is one thing, but making the correct choices is quite another. Although Newcastle has spent over £400 million on transfer fees since the acquisition two years ago, the majority of that money has been used prudently. The club has chosen a more thoughtful strategy rather than living up to the unjustified title of “richest club in the world,” even if there was an opportunity to expand even larger, as the PIF did with the Saudi Pro League or LIV Golf, for example.
Anytime someone in the hierarchy discusses the transfer market, they will almost always bring up the “buffers” and “parameters” that apply to Financial Fair Play. These words are not meaningless.
Newcastle needs to be “more circumspect” with its expenditure, according to CEO Darren Eales, because the black and whites do not now have the “sort of revenues the top six have.” Just last month, Newcastle’s sporting director Dan Ashworth—whose duties are primarily related to the football operations—spoke about the need to “drive the revenues and interest in the club” and establish themselves as one of the “top six” teams both on and off the field.
You have a feeling that Everton’s harsh punishment will make that push stronger. Eddie Howe was really asked if the attention that the Toffees were receiving served as a reminder of why Newcastle was treating FFP so seriously, even before Everton was dealt with.
Yes, I believe so,” the Newcastle manager said to reporters prior to their matchup with Everton six months ago. “Once more, it’s challenging to discuss other teams and the events at other clubs.
Since I’ve been at this football team, Financial Fair Play has supported us and will continue to do so. It is undoubtedly requiring clubs to behave a specific manner. Since they set the rules, we must abide by them.
More so than before.
