Everton and PSR have been intertwined for many years, although the true extent of their destructive relationship was only publicly outlined last season.
Kieran Maguire, as someone with a connection to the city through his commitment to the University of Liverpool as well as his expertise in finance, has therefore been a constant presence in this ordeal.
And while many thought the worst had come and gone, he has now given a new update that suggests things have only just begun.
Kieran Maguire brings a new update to Everton PSR
Speaking on today’s episode of The Price of Football podcast, the football finance expert gave his long-winded but extremely important testimony as to why Everton may once again be at the mercy of the Premier League and their PSR commission.
Asked about the loans the club has racked up, Maguire said: “It’s a classic answer of ‘it depends’ and the reason I say that, and it’s also a very big question for Everton because even though they haven’t received any in the summer the Premier League commission is looking into Everton’s loan interest rate in relation to possible further charges against the club later this year.
“And if you read the commission reports on the points deduction in 23/24, I think the investigating body came to the conclusion that it was such a big issue and such a complex issue that they felt they didn’t have the resources and the experience to make a timely decision before the end season.
The reason this is such a big problem is that if you look at Everton’s accounts for last year, in terms of money, the total cash interest was somewhere in the region of £23-24m. It enters into your PSR calculations if the interest rate is considered part of the total cost of running the club.
“However, if you borrow money for the specific purpose of investing in a new property, i.e. a new arena, that interest expense is added to the cost of the arena itself and therefore does not reach PSR until the arena is finally built.’
This comes after the Premier League tried to close Everton’s PSR gap earlier this summer as well; they will stop at nothing to hinder Toffee’s development efforts.
Not another Premier League penalty season for Everton
It would be so unbelievably cruel, but also completely typical, for the Premier League to rain down penalties on Everton again after the summer they’ve had.
After such relentless turmoil under Sean Dyche’s management, through no fault of his own, things finally seemed to be turning around for the former Burnley boss.
He molded the team in his own image and built for the future with Kevin Thelwell by bringing in a newer, younger profile of players to conquer Goodison Park.
But it will become pointless if the PSR fines them again because the fine print in their stadium loan was wrong or mislabeled.
Surely after a breakthrough campaign in which they dropped points twice, this upcoming one cannot be another penalty.