No , but the “rule “ came in in 2015 and Bolton and Derby amongst others complied with it . By declaring their intention to challenge , Storch have given the EFL the heads up so they’ll be looking at any weaknesses in their legal position . It’s no different from Leicester - every time Leicester found a weakness - and they weren’t upfront about it - in the wording , the EFL ( and PL) changed the wording .
In this case , the EFL hold the cards regarding giving approval and timing . They won’t want to punish the club any more than they feel they have to , but on the other hand they’ll want to be fair to other clubs who have complied and to the rest of the leagues so any change in the regs will go to the vote .
In addition to the threat of the 15 point deduction SWeds are also under a fee restriction ( ie they can’t pay any fee ) which applies until winter 2027 subject to appeal . So even once the deal goes through and the current embargo is lifted, Storch will have to appeal the restriction and until it’s lifted they can’t pay any fee for a player .
Well, it will hardly come as a surprise to the EFL that new owners want to contest the sanctions, so it’s hardly a heads up. Same as Dale Johnson at the BBC said about Leicester’s appeal “ No one should be surprised that Leicester have appealed against their points deduction”.
They’d have to be brain dead not to be anticipating it and as much as some of us might think there are clowns at the top of the game, we know they’re not brain dead.
Paying fees for players is not a massive problem in L1 anyway. I would hope we can put a decent squad together without paying fees, at least for next season. I hope they’re appealing that nonsense too. Where’s the fairness in relegating a side and then hitting them again in a way which is likely to hinder its recovery?
They keep spouting that it’s about getting rid of rogue owners. Well we’ve done that. We’ve been punished and relegated. What punishment has Chansiri had? He’s lost a shed load of money due to his own financial incompetence and rank bad management. Remember he got rid of all the directors at the club, or they resigned in protest at his ‘leadership’. He’s banned from ownership in the UK, but let’s face it he won’t be trying that hobby again anyway.
The only people who have been punished here really, are the supporters of Sheffield Wednesday FC and the businesses who rely on the club and its all down to that odious waste of space Dejphon Chansiri. Who EXACTLY will be punished next season with a third points deduction? The supporters, the new owners and the local community. Pubs, food outlets etc etc.
All we hope is that we have a fighting chance of putting a decent enough squad together to get to safety in L1 next season. Storch is talking already about building a squad to get back to the Championship as quickly as possible, with the PL being the ultimate aim, so hopefully the recovery starts soon.
Just for clarity, when you said ‘No’ at the beginning of your reply, were you saying, no you would not expect Argyle to just lay down and take it, if the exact same situation had occurred here?
