Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has outlined how Everton will go about appealing their Premier League points deduction.
The Toffees were docked a record 10 points on Friday (17 November) - seeing them drop into the relegation zone - for breaching financial rules.
Everton announced that they intend to lodge an appeal, but Maguire believes it is too early to predict if they have a chance of winning the case.
"The devil is always in the detail," he told Sky Sports News [17 November, 12:47]. "I think we need time to address the whole report to see the intricacies and the arguments put forward by both the prosecution and Everton's defence team.
"Everton will say that if we decided to stay at Goodison and showed a lack of ambition with regards to the new stadium, chances are we wouldn't have been up for a charge and a points deduction.
"That will form part of their defence and they will be asking their accounting experts to put up a case along those lines."
Not over yet
The dust has now settled following the announcement, but that is not to say this is the end of the matter - anything but.
Indeed, if Everton do indeed push ahead with their appeal - which they should - then we could be in for another few months of this.
Alternatively, as club legend Neville Southall said, it might just be wise to accept the punishment for what it is and get on with things.
The good news is that the situation is not as bleak as it could have been, given just how poor the sides at the bottom end of the division are.
However, everything points to this being a very harsh decision, and Everton will feel they have a good basis for lessening the punishment.
If that is the case, strap yourselves in for plenty more of the same over the coming months.
In other Everton news, Sean Dyche may be forced to rethink his plans against Manchester United following news that emerged this week.
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Neville Southall issues Everton rallying cry after 10 point deduction