'I'm afraid to say this...' - Matt Slater: Everton may have committed 'Massive Self-Own' by backing Man City

Everton could have committed a “massive self-own” if Manchester City’s argument that shareholder loan changes should be applied retrospectively gains support, says Matt Slater.

Speaking to Toffee TV on 10 October the Athletic journalist assessed the fallout from the recent ruling from City’s dispute with the Premier League on Associated Party Transactions, where the panel decided the league’s current rues on interest-free shareholder loans give an unfair advantage to those clubs.

Everton top the league table in that regard with around £450million from Farhad Moshiri [The Times, 7 October], and, while Slater accepts it may prove not to be a problem at all for the Toffees since The Friedkin Group are on their way in to wipe it out, he is clear that if commercial interest rates have to be applied to that money and backdated it will be a big issue for the club’s PSR calculation.

Slater said (42m 50s): “The Premier League is sort of saying, ‘We can fix these. We can remedy this Man City thing pretty fast’. Alright, yeah you probably could do the law bit, but can you get the votes [from enough clubs to pass them]?

“And I think the shareholder loan thing and the row about how retrospective [it should be] is really interesting, because if Man City are right that you have to backdate it a little bit you’re in trouble.

“I’m afraid to say this, you [Everton] might have to restate you’re accounts again. You’re PSR position could be even worse.”

Asked why the Toffees gave evidence on the champions behalf in that case he added: “It could be a massive self-own. You gave evidence I think because you were trying to bloody the Premier League’s nose.

“And there’s a danger, I think, that you’ve brought danger to yourselves. Look, the Premier League might be right, you might be absolutely fine… it’s this if it has to be retrospective then, I’m sorry, you’ve got some interest you’re going to have to add there.”

Dan Friedkin takeover may save Everton

On a logical basis it would seem pretty unworkable for a new set of financial rules to be imposed on actions carried out when they didn’t exist.

But, as was so often cited when the Premier League’s rules saw Everton given two points deductions in the same season last term for PSR breaches, the league is essentially what the member clubs make it.

So with 14 votes required to pass new rules it will likely come down to whether enough teams feel it benefits them or not to vote for retrospective changes.

If that happens it is obviously going to be a nightmare for Everton who only have a small amount of PSR leeway at the moment anyway [Price of Football, 26 September], and may wipe out any hope of the new Friedkin regime being able to spend in the January transfer window.

In that eventuality it would probably go down as an historic irony, and one that Toffees fans would be grimly unsurprised by, that Everton ultimately supported the case that caused it.

There seems a decent chance on paper that it never ends up having a major negative impact on the club, or the risk is easily bypassed by Moshiri or Friedkin converting whatever debt is present into equity.

Everton supported Manchester City in the belief that they would ultimately benefit post-takeover from the sponsorship situation [The Esk, 8 October], and they may still do so.

But if, somehow, there is enough support behind those at the Etihad to get interest applied retrospectively it would mean the current hierarchy were the proverbial turkeys voting for Christmas in backing Pep Guardiola’s side.

In other Everton news, a Dominic Calvert-Lewin contract update has emerged with “new promise” potentially key.

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The post 'I'm afraid to say this...' - Matt Slater: Everton may have committed 'Massive Self-Own' by backing Man City appeared first on Goodison News.