EFL ‘got it wrong’ with West Brom points deduction ruling - ex-Villa CEO

West Brom’s breach of profit and sustainability rules could have been handled better by the EFL.

That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who thinks the Championship club should have had a suspended points deduction.

The EFL instead docked West Brom two points this season, which left their Championship status hanging in the balance until the penultimate game of the campaign.

West Brom deny the breaches, and may appeal the EFL’s verdict, as the case relates to loans taken out by former owner Lai Guochuan.

Guochuan sold West Brom to Shilen Patel in February 2024, with the American having invested £17.6million into the club for the 2024-25 season, helping the Baggies onto a stronger financial footing.

EFL judgement criticised by expert

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – will state that the EFL got their verdict of the case “wrong” until written reasons are produced on the matter.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks a suspended points deduction would have sufficed.

He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Trevor Birch, Rick Parry and Nick Craig at the EFL, I think they got this one wrong in terms of the way they handled it.

“It could have been handled easily, they could have achieved their goal of warning the clubs about the way these accounting things are done with a suspended points deduction. That would have got the message across very clearly.

“I don’t think there was a need, with such a small breach and given what the content appears to be. But we still haven’t seen the written reasons. With that in mind and with that reservation, I would say the EFL got this wrong.

“I’m glad that West Brom have survived regardless of that. It’s something that the league have got to realise that there are big ramifications for fans and everybody else. I’m sure they do realise that, but they’ve got to put that into practice and try and be a little bit more sensitive to how they handle these things, particularly when it comes to such small breaches.

“It’s the smallest ever breach of PSR, and therefore it perhaps could have been handled differently. So I’m afraid black marks go to the EFL on this one in my point of view.”

James Morrison rewarded after West Brom survival

Following interim boss James Morrison’s success in keeping West Brom in the Championship, the 39-year-old was rewarded with the job on a permanent basis.

Football Insider revealed that Morrison would get the West Brom job if he kept the club in the Championship, and that has transpired after the former Baggies midfielder achieved the remit set out to him.

Defeat on the final day at Sheffield Wednesday was West Brom’s first loss under Morrison since February against Oxford United, and meant they finished four points above the relegation zone.

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