Everton

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Everton manager Sean Dyche says "everyone is wondering" why Nottingham Forest received a four-point deduction for their breach of Premier League financial rules given the Toffees were initially docked 10 points.

Everton's penalty was reduced to six points on appeal, and Forest confirmed on Tuesday they would also appeal their sanction.

The deduction moved Forest into the relegation zone, four points behind Dyche's side having played a game more.

"I don't know the minutiae of our own, let alone theirs," he said in his pre-match news conference before Saturday's trip to Bournemouth.

"I can only imagine there's more depth to it, which is why they gave them those points and us ours. But in its simplest form everyone is going 'how does that work out?' But I don't know the depth involved, because there is so much that goes into it.

"The rhymes and reasons behind it will be down to the appeal situation, it's not down to me, that's for sure."

Everton are also facing a hearing into a second charge but Dyche is happy with the mindset of his players despite the possibility of a second points deduction hanging over them.

"You can't judge every person about their own psychology but the main thing is we know we're all on board with it," he added.

"It's the reality. We've dealt with it before really well.

"It's an experience nobody wants but it's the reality. The players don't seem affected at this time so we will see what it brings."

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Everton manager Sean Dyche has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League match away to Bournemouth.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On the second charge for alledgedly breaching profitability and sustainability rules: "The last one jolted football so we're just waiting now. From our point of view, we can only give the appropriate information. We hope they can see accordingly what the club's been trying to do. We hope it comes to nothing.

• He added: "The players don't seem affected at this time so we will see what it brings."

• Dyche played down reports he struck defender Nathan Patterson on their warm weather training camp: "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Nothing in it really, I tapped him on the head like an older brother would and he didn't get the joke. It's really that simple."

• On the prospective takeover from 777 Holdings: "I know no more than what I did know. I'm sure they would let me know. The one meeting I've had with them was very casual so no news."

• He offered an injury update: "Idrissa (Gueye) played 70 minutes (for Senegal) - lots of travelling involved but he's fit. Arnie (Danjuma) has only just been back on the grass and it is literally his first training session with us today. He'll need time to get right."

• On Saturday's opponents: "They've changed slightly. Early season it was out-and-out football. They've gone slightly more direct but roughly the same kind of plan and fair play to their manager - he's stuck with it. They're a good outfit. You have to be a good outfit to do what they're doing."

Follow the rest of Thursday's Premier League news conferences

Everton, Tottenham, West Ham, and Brighton are all plotting moves for Juventus and England Under-21 winger Samuel Iling-Junior, 20. (Football Insider), external

Manchester United are keen on Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, 21, as they prioritise improving their defence next season. (Telegraph), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's Premier League fixture between Bournemouth and Everton.

• Bournemouth are unbeaten in their six Premier League home games against Everton, winning the past two while scoring three goals both times.

• However, the Blues have won their past two Premier League games against the Cherries, though both were at Goodison Park.

• Everton are on the longest winless run in the Premier League and failure to win at Bournemouth would mean equalling their record such run of 12 games from August to October 1994.

• The Toffees have scored just one goal in their past five league away games, despite having 65 shots, seven big chances and an xG of 4.8. In their most recent away fixture, they had 23 shots against Manchester United - their most without a goal in an away league match since August 2010 at Aston Villa.

• Antoine Semenyo has scored four goals in his past five league appearances, as many as his first 30.

• Dominic Solanke has scored 15 Premier League goals this season, with only Josh King (16 in 2016-17) ever netting more for Bournemouth in a campaign. Nine of those goals have given the Cherries the lead – the most of a player for any side in the competition in 2023-24, and an all-time Bournemouth record in a season in the division.

The BBC's Everton: Nothing Will Be The Same is now an award winner, scooping the Best Podcast prize at Monday's Sports Journalism Awards.

BBC Radio Merseyside's Giulia Bould was given exclusive behind-the-scenes access to document the inside story the Blues' turbulent 2022-23 season, which resulted in the series available on BBC Sounds.

Bould described winning the award as a "dream come true".

In the podcast, Mark Chapman meets the people who make up one of the country's oldest football clubs.

It features interviews with players, coaches and managers as the Toffees face their most controversial season and a nail-biting fight against relegation.

Listen to Everton: Nothing Will Be The Same on BBC Sounds

And join Bould and her expert Radio Merseyside colleagues every weeknight from18:00 GMT for Total Sport

Mike Richards
Fan writer

The final two months of the Premier League season are potentially the most pivotal in Everton's history.

If fans and the club are to have any chance of enjoying the final season at Goodison Park, three things are needed:

No more points deductions

With our second financial breach hearing taking place, we have to come away from it without any further points deduction, or a minimal one (two points or less).

We can and will argue about the fairness of the process and its impact on the club and fans, but we simply can't afford another large penalty if we want to ensure our top-flight status.

Ownership clarity

The ongoing ownership saga is another comical episode for the Premier League. Now seven months into a process that should have been ratified or rejected inside three, it is another weight around our necks that needs rectifying and quickly.

The increasing uncertainty has to he eradicated in order for the club to move forward.

Win matches

Simply, we need to start winning games of football. Any concern relating to possible points deductions will be quickly diminished if the teams starts picking up victories again.

With 10 games left - plenty of them 'winnable' - the players and manager have it in their hands to extinguish our anxiety and end the season on the smallest of highs.

When written down, it all seems simple. But as we know, nothing is ever straight forward when it involves Everton Football Club.

Mike Richards can be found at Unholy Trinity, external

Everton and Aston Villa are interested in Barcelona and Spain midfielder Fermin Lopez, 20, with the Toffees seeing a move fail to materialise in January. (Sport), external

Everton are interested in signing Arsenal's highly rated 18-year-old Welsh forward Omari Benjamin. (Football Insider), external

Finally, Bayer Leverkusen are among the top European clubs interested in signing Everton's England Under-17s goalkeeper Douglas Lukjanciks, 16, this summer. (Mail), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

BBC Sport pundit Michael Brown will be answering your questions, giving his insight and opinion around your club.

So what would you like to ask the former Premier League midfielder?

How does the rest of your season look? Who has been your best player? What does the manager's future hold?

Let us know what you want answered by sending in your questions here

We asked you what the most irritating thing at your club has been this season, whether it be inconsistency, injuries or a player failing to deliver.

Here are some of your replies:

Chris: Where do you begin? The proposed takeover that's dragging on and on? The points deduction/reinstatement/probable second deduction? The lamentable quality of the football at times and lack of goals scored? It's the worst Everton display in years and they need to get their act together as soon as possible or we will be in our new stadium in the Championship.

Matt: Being an Everton fan, it's an obvious answer! The entire way the profit and sustainability matter has been dealt with has been an utter shambles from start to finish. We're set to be punished twice in the same season. Nottingham Forest have had a far more lenient punishment despite more spending than we did.

Jack: So-called Everton fans knocking Sean Dyche. If it wasn't for our points deduction we would be mid-table and those same fans would be praising him. I know recently we lost games we should have won, but the manager cannot suddenly make players able to score.

David: The ruining of our club by Farhad Moshiri. He has created a club that has breached Premier League rules, had hundreds of millions of pounds of debt and a playing squad which is threadbare. There's also a takeover that may go through to a consortium no-one seems to trust. He has led us to rock bottom and simply walked away.

Chris: The inability of the front men to convert chances to goals. I thought when Dominic Calvert-Lewin regained full fitness it would be a swansong. What's worse is Neal Maupay and Ellis Simms scoring for their new teams while we are squandering. If we had converted our chances we'd be in the top 10 not caring about another points deduction.

Manchester City are keeping track of developments concerning Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, with Manchester United, Tottenham and Real Madrid also interested in the 21-year-old. (Mail), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Image source, Getty Images

England and Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford says Jarrad Branthwaite's call-up to the senior men's squad "is fully deserved."

The 21-year-old defender has been a standout performer in a difficult season for the Toffees and has scored twice in his 25 Premier League appearances.

"He's a bit of a Rolls Royce," Pickford told BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily podcast. "He's calm and he makes the right decisions as well. He's been quality all season.

"It will be a massive honour for him and his family to get called-up for England and I'd say it's fully deserved.

"I'm not the manager but if you're playing well, and you're in the set-up, then the door is always open."

Branthwaite has six appearances for England Under-21s and was part of the squad that won the Euro title in 2023.

Listen to the Football Daily podcast on BBC Sounds

Barcelona are willing to offer Everton the pick of four players - 21-year-old Spain winger Ansu Fati, 28-year-old France centre-back Clement Lenglet, 23-year-old United States right-back Sergino Dest and 20-year-old Spanish midfielder Fermin Lopez - in a bid to land their £80m-rated Senegal midfielder Amadou Onana, 22. (Sport via Teamtalk, external)

Everton are likely to be hit with a new four-point deduction from their second hearing for profit and sustainability breaches. (Football Insider, external)

Want more transfer news? Read Friday's full gossip column

Image source, Tony McArdle of Everton FC

BBC Radio Merseyside's Giulia Bould was given exclusive access to tour Everton's new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium earlier this week.

She spoke to Director of new stadium development Alix Waldron and Stadium Finance Director Aidan Miller about the progress of the project.

Image source, Tony McArdle of Everton FC

"It'll be amazing with the roar from the noise, not just from this stand but especially from this stand," Waldron explained from the South Stand.

"The roof has been designed in a way to bounce that noise back into the stadium. It will just reverberate the atmosphere around the whole of the ground which will be amazing.

"The fans told us they wanted to replicate that fortress that is Goodison. We want it to be an intimidating place to come, somewhere where that passion of Evertonians shows itself back through the design. I think having that closeness to the pitch and that steepness towering over it brings it naturally because everyone's closer. Everyone's more embedded in it."

Listen to Giulia Bould's exclusive radio tour of Everton's new stadium here

Image source, Tony McArdle of Everton FC

"A lot of people are working really hard, doing a great job," said Miller on the progress of the development.

"At the moment we've got about 1200 people on site everyday, we're at peak for the workforce.

"That's been the case since the start of the year, it'll be the case for another couple of months. We're on a journey we need to just keeping pressing on.

"We'll get to that day and it'll be a special day. You stand there with the Evertonian in your heart just wanting it to happen now. We've wanted it to happen for a long time and we'll get there. Just need to keep working hard and keep going."

Image source, Tony McArdle of Everton FC

"If you're not here for a week at a time, things change so rapidly," explained Waldron.

"It's everyone's new home. I've been going to Goodison since I was a baby and this will be my daughter's generation - this will be their home for life.

"It's a little bit of ownership for every Evertonian which I think is really special. It's nice they have been able to get all the insight they have with the footage we can capture as the build goes on."

Listen to Giulia Bould's exclusive radio tour of Everton's new stadium here

Giulia Bould
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Everton's Fan Advisory Board has called for the Premier League to halt all Profit and Sustainability Rules proceedings due to a lack of transparency in the process.

The legal document is being handed in ahead of the Blues' second hearing for breaking financial rules next week.

The Fan Advisory Board has today stated supporters of all clubs are "in the bizarre position" of having no "clear understanding" of how any penalties for breaching profit and sustainability rules are assessed.

Everton's first charge saw them deducted 10 points for an overspend of £19.5m - this was changed to six on appeal.

Then, Nottingham Forest's charge saw them lose just four points for going over the threshold by almost £35m.

The statement says: "We’ve now had three hearings, overseen by three different commissions, applying three different approaches, and reaching three different conclusions."

The Fan Advisory Board describe the process as "chaotic" - and are calling on officials to halt the system immediately - referring to the fact profit and sustainability rules will then be replaced this summer by a different system because most agree it isn't working.

As we approach the business end, we want to know the most irritating thing at your club this season.

Has it been a player failing to deliver, injury woes, inconsistent form... or something else?

Let us know your biggest gripe here

Everton, Nottingham Forest and West Ham are keeping tabs on 21-year-old English winger Karamoko Dembele, who has impressed this season after joining Blackpool on loan from French club Brest. (HITC), external

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Mike Richards
Fan writer

Sometimes, weekends can be somewhat more enjoyable when Everton aren’t playing. Last weekend was a case in point.

After Luton surrendered their three-goal lead at Bournemouth last week, and shared the spoils with Nottingham Forest on Saturday, there was a sense of both relief and hope amongst our fanbase.

It's over to Everton now. That’s a frightening prospect.

This, combined with Burnley's win over Brentford, meant multiple sides can now consider themselves "in the mix" when relegation places are to be decided come the end of the season.

With Nottingham Forest's points deduction confirmed (pending an appeal), the little bit of light relief was quickly washed away by anger yesterday afternoon.

Many Evertonians simply cannot compute how a side who almost doubled our losses, and refused to sell a player in order to help comply with profit and sustainability rules, were treated more favourably than us.

Even the commission who conducted the Nottingham Forest hearing couldn't fathom how we received three extra points in our deduction. It just about sums the whole soap opera up.

Points deductions, asterisks and political games – who would have thought football would become about this?

With our ownership saga potentially drawing to a close this week - and our second profit and sustainability rules charge hearing imminent - the drama and sleepless nights will likely be main features in the international break.

Regardless of all the off-field shenanigans, Everton need to learn how to win again.

This would allow us to take points deductions out of any final equations. It sounds simple but it appears to be anything but, given our current form and results.

Mike Richards can be found on Unholy Trinity, external

Leicester City defender Conor Coady says "it's really tough" for footballers to be focused on the pitch when there are off-field distractions being reported daily in the media.

"I can always speak from a player's point of view and it's so, so tough being in the dressing room when you're reading things in the media about it being this day or that day," said Coady on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"It's a tough season anyway and you're struggling to win and pick up points, but you know at any point you could also be docked six, four or eight points.

"You have to keep your mind focused as a footballer, but it's really tough when you see another bit of news has broken.

"Burnley will be looking at it and sniffing because they are only five points off Forest now. It affects so many teams and I can't imagine what those teams are going through."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

Everton will demand a minimum of £80m for defender Jarrad Branthwaite, who is wanted by Manchester United and Chelsea. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column