'What is the hold up?' - Jamie Carragher shares theory over Everton points deduction appeal

Jamie Carragher has asked whether the announcement over Everton’s points deduction appeal is being kept under wraps until after Sean Dyche’s side face Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.

Everton take on Roy Hodgson’s side for the fourth time in just over three months on Monday night. Although the Blues are currently in the relegation zone, a successful verdict from their appeal against the 10-point deduction they received in November – which currently stands as the most severe sporting sanction in 135 years of English top flight football – could see their team, who would currently be 12^th in the table through their on-field performance, propelled back out of the drop zone.

In recent days, former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness told Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast: “I’m bullish on a positive outcome close to Valentine’s Day – hopefully a bouquet of roses rather than the thorns we’ve been getting recently.” However, at the time of publication no announcement has yet been made and the ECHO understands that senior Everton staff have not yet been informed of any decision on the appeal.

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However, Bootle-born Carragher, a boyhood Evertonian who went on to make 737 appearances for neighbours Liverpool in a one-club career, tweeted: “What is the hold up on the appeals decision regarding Everton’s 10pt deduction?

“Two weeks have passed, this is surely a matter of urgency for Everton and the clubs around them. I’m sure they and the Premier League know their decision by now. Are the Premier League waiting until after Everton’s home game…”