If there has been a consolation for Everton these past three months, then it is the mood of broiling indignation that their initial 10-point penalty engendered.
The vast banner depicting the face of Sean Dyche with the old Joe Royle catchphrase ‘Dogs of War’ unfurled on the Gwladys Street End. Whistles drowning out the Premier League anthem. ‘All for one, one for all’, they sing at Goodison. Never has it been more appropriate or issued from that old stand with such meaning.
The reduction of the club’s penalty to six points, taking them above Nottingham Forest and Brentford into 15th spot, corrected a decision of stunning disproportionality, which three months ago saw them penalised more for a £19.