Derby County escaped relegation to League One by the skin of their teeth on Saturday. In a see-saw encounter against Sheffield Wednesday, Martyn Waghorn’s 76th-minute penalty was enough to drag them over the line.
Still, they needed the stars to come together with Cardiff City’s late equaliser enough to drag two points away from Rotherham United and see the Millers relegated instead.
However, as written about earlier today by Alan Nixon in The Sun on Sunday (09.05.21, pg. 63), the stars could be realigning for Derby County and the outcome could be portentous for next season.
READ: Alan Nixon: Derby County face ‘massive’ points deduction as finer details emerge following season finale
Nixon warns of ‘massive’ points deduction incoming
The main crux of the matter was that Derby County had exploited a loophole that allowed the Rams to sidestep some of the EFL’s FFP regulations.
Effectively speaking, Derby sold their ground back to owner Mel Morris who then leased it back to the club, There were cries that this side-stepped the EFL’s strict FFP regulations around profit and sustainability and there were calls for them to be punished.
The Rams valued Pride Park at £80m and this figure ran alongside the issue of amortisation – with some saying that Derby had overvalued players when it came to the process of said players losing value over the terms of their contract.
An Independent Disciplinary Commission didn’t agree and ruled in Derby’s favour – it is this decision that the EFL has appealed. Nixon, writing in The Sun on Sunday states, that the appeal is ready to swing in favour of the EFL.
READ: Comment: Sorry Derby County but you deserve a ‘massive’ points deduction next season
Nixon comment as clear as day – trouble ahead
Nixon was asked a question by a fan on Twitter, a platform that the Sun man is very active on. That question (below) about his story from this morning was received by Nixon – the Sun reporter quote retweeting with an attached reply.
Expecting a statement shortly on the result and the fall out … above all the reasons given … seems these dramas never end. https://t.co/4fFdDgaBYa
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) May 9, 2021
The poser of the question asked about the points deduction issue – indicating that the amortisation aspect of the EFL’s appeal doesn’t carry a deduction punishment.
However, Nixon’s comment that there is an expected “statement shortly on the result and fall out” and that “these dramas never end” might not bode well for Derby County regarding next season.
Yet, as sympathy goes it will be in short supply in S6 as it was a similar issue that damned Sheffield Wednesday to a points deduction ahead of last season.
The way that the Rams played this season just gone, any points deducted could really set their season off in a black mood – especially if it is the ‘massive’ deduction that some such as Nixon are feeling.
