Everton’s players and the coaching staff have been hamstrung all season by things outside of their control, with most of these brought in to put out the fires of the past.
Sean Dyche and Kevin Thelwell are the two leaders of this revolution, which has undeniably made slow but steady progress.
Their efforts to rebuild a sinking ship mid-voyage have been supremely admirable, and thus far seems to be working. However, this summer marks the ultimate test, to see how far they can stretch what little funds they have without completely ravaging their entire squad.
However, their mission to avoid another severe PSR hit has been dealt a significant setback despite yesterday’s win, and once again it is of the Premier League’s own design.
Everton cruise to a win over Sheffield United
Brushing aside an already-relegated Sheffield United side was light work for Everton, who put in a performance exactly like an outfit with nothing to play for.
It was a strange affair, but ultimately once decided by a few moments of quality, with Dwight McNeil’s threaded through ball finding Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who rounded the goalkeeper and chipped in for Abdoulaye Doucoure to head into an empty net.
Other than that, Jordan Pickford was forced into just a few smart saves before the game was finally ended, bringing about the lap of honour.
Having not received such adulation for many years now, it felt like a positive change to see the players and manager able to parade around Goodison Park to soak up the sun and the applause.
And, through claiming this win, they actually moved up to 15th in the table too, as an added benefit.
However, should the Premier League be true to points accumulated, the Toffees would actually sit 11th at the moment.
Everton’s Premier League position ruined by PSR
It is estimated by iNews that each position in the Premier League is worth around £3.1m.
Therefore, for a team like Everton who need all the money they can get, yesterday was far from the dead rubber match it seemed.
However, as aforementioned, the disparity between where they are and where they should be is through no fault of this current crop of Everton players, yet they are the ones who have been punished.
The eight points accumulated across two separate deductions is what has dragged them down in the table, not their own sporting performances.
So, by those calculations, the four places lost because of those deductions equates to about £12.4m.
What a crucial sum that might prove to be in the near future, as PSR continues to try and keep the ambitious few from upsetting their precious ‘big six’.