Premier League strugglers Nottingham Forest discovered their Financial Fair Play fate on Monday having breached the league’s Profitability and Sustainability rules.
The club, managed by Nuno Espirito Santo, has been docked four points and dropped into the relegation zone, with just nine games of the campaign still to play.
On their long awaited return to top flight football, two seasons ago, the club, owned by Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis, who also owns Olympiacos, spent an eye-watering amount of money on players and they avoided relegation by a whisker in 2023. Everton, who are also in the relegation mix after they were deducted six points could also face another penalty.
Before the sanction was confirmed, Forest had a slender three point cushion and they have only won one game since the beginning of 2024, a 2-0 victory over West Ham, after the Hammers midfielder Kalvin Phillips had been sent off.
Marinakis sanctioned 21 signings in the summer of 2022 and another seven on deadline day in September and Forest recruited freely again last summer. The cumulative losses are slightly different to the Everton case though as they span across two leagues, the Premier League and the Championship, so the six point deduction which hit Everton isn’t necessarily a solid precedent. Even so, some eyebrows were raised at the leniency of the penalty which was expected to be higher.
Here at SBOTOP we’ll keep watching this continuing story which could have huge implications in the relegation battle.
International break comes at a handy time for Manchester City
At the other end of the league table there is a right royal fight for the title with just a single point separating Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. The Premier League 2024 betting odds back the Sky Blues to retain their title and they are still going well in the Champions League and the FA Cup, beating Newcastle United to book a semi-final date with Chelsea.
With a hectic run-in on the horizon, most of Pep Guardiola’s injury worries have cleared up, but the two week break comes at a good time for three of his top stars. Kevin De Bruyne, who has been out for much of the campaign, missed the win over Newcastle United with a groin niggle and he has not been included in the Belgium squad; but the playmaker should be back in contention for City’s next game, a blockbuster clash at home to league leaders Arsenal, and the upcoming Champions League meeting with Real Madrid.
Goalkeeper Ederson picked up an injury during the recent 1-1 draw away to Liverpool when he collided with Reds striker Darwin Nunez and he was replaced by Stefan Ortega for the FA Cup match against Newcastle. Again, Ederson should be available after the international break but Ortega is a fine deputy and, with so many big games coming up, Guardiola won’t rush his number one back if there is any doubt.
And then there’s the goal machine Erling Braut Haaland who was replaced by Julian Alvarez during the FA Cup tie prompting worries in the stands, but Guardiola played down concerns after the match, saying Haaland is in good shape.
Two weeks from now the Sky Blues could well be back to full strength.
Classy Fulham halt the Tottenham charge
With the FA Cup taking centre stage last this weekend there was a limited league programme, but the action did turn out some fascinating Premier League 2024 results. Marco Silva’s Fulham hosted top four chasing Tottenham and they totally outclassed their visitors in a 3-0 win thanks to a brace from Rodrigo Muniz and a first goal for the Cottagers from defensive midfielder Sasa Lukic.
Spurs missed the chance to move fourth.
Meanwhile, Europe chasing West Ham and Aston Villa clashed at the London Stadium in front of 62,000 fans, and they shared the points after Villa’s Nicolo Zaniolo wiped out Michail Antonio’s first half goal. The Hammers were again frustrated by VAR after marginal handball decisions wiped off two more goals.
Two clubs who have been watching the Nottingham Forest saga closely were in action on Saturday. Luton Town, who are now 17th, drew with Forest to remain three points behind before the sanction, while Burnley, five further back, kept their slim survival hopes alive with a victory over Brentford, another team which could still get sucked in to the relegation scrap. Luton’s next two games are away to Tottenham and Arsenal, so they will be keen to get some more help from FFP, maybe respecting Everton, if it’s on the cards.
And, by the way, any team which suffers a points penalty cannot whinge…everybody knows the rules of fairness; and now the authorities are beginning to show some teeth the clubs which cheated are at increasing risk of being bitten.
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