Jamie Carragher has made his prediction on whether Everton will get relegated after they were hit with a 10-point penalty by the Premier League.
The Toffees dropped to 19th in the league with just four points after the deduction was handed out and implemented immediately, although they have already announced their intention to appeal the punishment.
But reacting to the news, Carragher suggested that while the punishment is extremely harsh it may not be the worst season for them to take the hit and admitted he expects them to still avoid relegation even if the deduction sticks.
See more"If you were ever going to get a points deduction at any stage in the Premier League era, this season might not be the worst one"
Jamie Carragher believes Everton will avoid relegation this season pic.twitter.com/82BDxOLFny
- Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 17, 2023 View Tweet
"On a dark day for Everton, here is some good news: they will stay in the Premier League this season," he wrote in his column for The Telegraph (17 November).
"The club may find it hard to identify that silver lining amid the gloom of a 10-point deduction and it is understandable they will appeal against the verdict.
"There is a consolation, however. If there was ever a year to be hit with this kind of punishment, this is it. There are three teams worse than Everton who do not look capable of taking advantage of their plight. Everton could be out of the bottom three after their next game, when Manchester United will visit Goodison Park and feel the full fury of a club and fanbase believing they have been harshly treated."
He also made a similar claim on Sky Sports News (17 November) during an interview.
"Of course it will hurt but like any football club who this could have happened to, this will galvanize them. They'll feel the world is against them.
"I don't think it will make Manchester United's job any easier when they go to Goodison Park in 10 days. If truth be told, if you're ever going to get a points deduction at any stage or any time, probably in the Premier League era, this season may not be the worst one to actually take the 10 points deduction.
"I know they're going to fight it and do what they can, but Everton will still be in the Premier League next season with this points deduction. I'm pretty certain of that."
Us against the world
Everton have been done over loads of times in our history, and this is just the latest occasion where that has been the case.
Everyone with sense knows this punishment is crazy and while the club are willing to accept the fact there was a breach of the rules, the failure to acknowledge any of the mitigating circumstances has played a huge part in that.
But now the team know the task ahead of them and Dyche has his motivational speech sorted for the rest of the season. The fans won't let the team down and the task ahead can only get better.
Manchester United are going to be walking into a stadium filled with fury, passion and a team that is in great form on the pitch and with results going our way over the weekend we could be out of the drop zone immediately.
It won't be an easy task, obviously, but there is far more optimism around this situation than there would have been 12 months ago and we know we can stick it to the league by surviving in spite of this nonsense. Up the Toffees!
In other Everton news, Carragher issues "ultimate responsibility" claim towards 2 parties after points deduction.
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