777 Partners apply pressure to Premier League in ‘face-saving’ action amid Everton takeover delay
Paul Brown has claimed 777 Partners are attempting to apply pressure to the Premier League in a bid to accelerate their takeover of Everton, with face-saving actions in case the bid falls through.
This has come following reports that the group would no longer provide the club with £20million loans to keep up with day-to-day running costs, leading to a potential threat of administration. [Daily Mail, 12 December]
Brown went on to claim that it was unlikely the pressure would have any effect and it remains a case of waiting to see what happens for all parties involved.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT [20 December], the former Express journalist reported: “It’s interesting to see that 777 Partners have started putting out briefings to people that they’re not willing to let this drag on forever, and they won’t continue to fund the club with £20million loans beyond January.
“I suspect that is both a bit of a face-saving measure if this falls through and also an attempt to try and put some pressure on the Premier League to get things moving.
“I don’t think it will work because the Premier League doesn’t work like that, so we’ll just have to see, but I don’t think anything can now really happen until the new year.”
Brown is suggesting that 777 have intentionally planted the negative stories in the newspapers to apply pressure on the Premier League to fast-forward their Owners & Directors test in the hopes of getting control of the club before the January transfer window.
Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but given the degree of the consistent errors and concerns about 777 ownership elsewhere, it may be a bit of a reach to suggest that the stories are anything other than genuine reports about how they would run things.
Threatening to pull their funding knowing that it will likely put the club into administration is not something that should be taken lightly, regardless of the intention or reasoning behind it.
In fact, according to reports, the reason the decision over their bid to buy Everton is taking so long in the first place is due to their (lack of) cooperation in the investigation, so they would be in full control without the underhanded threats if they did as they were asked.
