The deduction that could have doomed Everton has instead roused them to reach new heights. Even a £1bn outlay could not get Chelsea victory at their bogey ground of Goodison Park as Everton again turned adversity to their advantage. They had had 10 points sliced from their tally but they have recovered nine of them in nine days, rallying when they could have been forgiven for feeling sorry for themselves, offering an object lesson in the earthy values of obduracy, industry and unity that Chelsea could do with heeding.
Like Nottingham Forest and Newcastle before them, Chelsea discovered that Everton have a unique kind of formidability. The supporters remain fuelled by a sense of injustice at the independent commission’s decision to give them the heaviest penalty in Premier League history – they chorused precisely where they could stick the points deduction. The realist in Sean Dyche has rationalised that there is no guarantee their appeal will result in any points being restored. He has simply got on with the task of securing enough on the pitch, giving a working-class club a work ethic, forging a purposeful, powerful team.
