Like pretty much every Everton supporter, I was stunned when the news dropped on Friday morning confirming we had been docked 10 points.

Even as I sit here now, the news hasn’t quite sunk in. I’m still in disbelief at the punishment imposed by the independent commission.

But this is Everton, and we have always been treated harshly. Those who had concerns about the process were clearly right to be worried.

For me, being deducted 10 points feels incredibly excessive. Granted, a breach has occurred, but to be treated the way we have been is just wrong.

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Reading through the report, I feel there are a number of things that went against us. To say there weren't mitigating factors in these losses just isn’t right.

The impact of the war in Ukraine, which affected their sponsorship deal with USM, and also the loss of value in players due to the Covid pandemic, are exceptional circumstances that should have been considered.

In my opinion, any club would struggle if they lost one of their main sponsors, like we did with USM. I also find it quite remarkable that we are being punished for trying to better ourselves in terms of building a new stadium.

The fact that the stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock has already been picked to host games for Euro 2028 speaks volumes for how good it is going to be. It will also help regenerate the north end of Liverpool.

But I just can't understand why we have been docked 10 points for one breach. In the past, the Premier League, EFL and FA have all said the worst thing you can do is go into administration, given the knock-on effect it creates for a whole host of businesses and individuals.

However, if you go into administration, you are only, as history shows, docked nine points. Which surely means that what we have done is worse than entering administration, and that doesn't make sense to me.

To say this ruling is disappointing and frustrating would be an understatement, and we have every right to feel like we have been harshly judged and punished, especially when you consider it is Everton’s first offence.

There needs to be some sort of clarity as to how the decision was reached. The simple question of why Everton were deducted 10 points needs to be answered.

For me, it feels like the punishment has been plucked out of thin air. In my own thinking, I thought the worst-case scenario would be a suspended points deduction; never in a million years did I think it was going to be this outcome.

And once again, it is the fans who are being punished, which again baffles me because it wasn’t that long ago when clubs attempted to form a European Super League it was widely said that supporters shouldn't be punished.

This outrageous decision shows that the Premier League is not fit for purpose. They cannot run this association correctly.

The Premier League has shown that they are all over the place. If this is a desperate attempt to show their muscle and prove they don’t need a government regulator, then I believe the wrong message has been sent.

The club has every right to appeal this decision, and we must make sure our appeal is as strong as it can be.

For me, the biggest question I would be asking in the appeal is why, if we haven't gained a sporting advantage, have we been given a sporting sanction.

Now we need to get to 50 points to stay up

I feel really sorry for Sean Dyche and the Everton players following Friday’s announcement.

But this decision doesn't just affect Sean and the players; it also affects the staff behind the scenes. They have been punished for something that is not their fault.

We knew this season was going to be a long and difficult one. And now, once again, we are all going to have to roll our sleeves up and get stuck in.

The aim at the start of the campaign was to try and get to the 40-point mark as fast as we could. Now, the goal posts have changed, and we have to get to 50 points to ensure we are not playing in the Sky Bet Championship next season.

Is it achievable? Yeah it is with the group of players that we have, but again, it is not guaranteed that we will pick up points.

One thing I can’t quite get behind is the talk about a siege mentality. For me, that should be the mentality anyway, regardless of what is going off the pitch.

You have got to have that mentality as a footballer, with or without those sanctions. This is where we need to roll our sleeves up and continue to prove people like me wrong.

But I do have two concerns. The first one is: What will happen when heads drop, and how will we react? The second concern I have is that the clubs at the bottom of the table will have had a boost from this news.

The whole thing is just far from ideal, but I do feel we have the right man in charge to get us through this, and the players, despite having a number of questions in their minds, have a job to do as well.

We always had a target to achieve; now the target has just been moved, but we have the perfect fuel to get us over the line.