Why Premier League trio are in this mess and what relegation could do

Why are they in this mess? Farhad Moshiri, Everton’s billionaire owner, has made a succession of erratic and ill-judged decisions since buying into the club seven years ago, starting with retaining members of a board that had failed to keep pace with its competitors. Everton’s descent has since accelerated with dreadful recruitment, mismanagement and incoherent strategy hallmarks of the Moshiri era. The owner’s generosity cannot be faulted – about £700m has been spent on transfers and the interminable stadium problem has almost been resolved, with an impressive new home under construction at Bramley Moore dock – but he has spent without a plan or patience. Sean Dyche is Everton’s eighth permanent manager in seven years, there have been three directors of football and huge financial losses have inevitably caught up with them. The club went into the season without an established goalscorer – with Dominic Calvert-Lewin injured and Richarlison sold – and compounded that grievous error by failing to make a January signing. They have paid a price that everyone else saw coming.

What impact would relegation have? Moshiri has signed an exclusivity agreement with the American investment firm MSP Sports Capital in his search for funds to complete Everton’s new stadium on the banks of the River Mersey. Whether it would proceed with a deal for a club in the Championship, at least on Moshiri’s current terms, is open to question. Yet relegation would bring even greater repercussions. Everton have posted combined losses for the past three financial years of £305.5m and are under investigation for an alleged breach of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, which they deny. The club also owes £150m to Rights & Media Funding