what a mess.

I dont like to say it but the people in charge ought to be ashamed. What on earth were their motives for acquiring the club in the first place?

What kind of financial plan was there and who looked it over?

Hahaha Glenn - yeah under Steve Evans...I think Warney's sorted that relationship out with the suits with his all round nice guy approach (thank goodness!)

Bolton will get away scot-free, Anderson & EFL'S Shaun Harvey are apparently bessies

The 9 point deduction for Birmingham is totally meaningless. What penalty have they actually suffered? Try none!!

They are in no real danger Ian. They have a four and five point cushion over a handful of relegation rivals and they are a team that has picked up more points per game and will probably still do so. They were warned that they could suffer a twenty one point deduction. They ran up 40 odd million pounds of debt over three years and flagrantly broke their agreement to rein it in. My question would be in the scheme of things exactly how big a debt and how flagrant would a clubs rule breaking have to be to get the full 21 point deduction? In the round, a penalty of less than half the maximum seems very lenient. It just feels a lot like they have 'conveniently' been given the biggest deduction possible that they could have been given that at the same time wasn't really going to change anything. As Glenn and others have said, in what way have they really been punished and in what way does it serve as a deterrent? It doesn't sit well.

Thanks for posting that Ian. Here is what i get from it. Birmingham consciously gamble on a massive overspend (wage bill 250% of income) to chase promotion. For that they get a transfer embargo. They then knowingly break the embargo thinking its worth the risk. For all that they get a punishment that doesn't hurt them one bit. So they were right - it was worth the risk. Birmingham will still finish above a club like us that us run prudently in accordance with the rules despite them having gained a massive competitive advantage from their cheating. The EFL dodges the issue and finds a solution that doesn't rock the boat and Birmingham are laughing. Shocking.

The FA should have power to step in here as in effect the league are bringing the game into disrepute with this shocking ruling.

Its reasons like this I hate the game at the top. Its only that I'm so involved in youth football that I still have a love for the game as it reminds me what football can be and mean, and not what it is (poisoned) at the top level.

yes, I think there is a case for what Trevor Likely says.

Im not sure its a conspiracy or even unfair. It is difficult to make a comparison to show its unfairness as the facts in each case leading to points deduction and fines are different.

9 points are the penalty but its impossible to say why they decided 9 and not 12, or 6, etc.

There probably is some caution in the 9 points but it is also a precedent which is why they may feel it was about right. The deduction process would not have considered who it may help or hinder because this would be an impossible task to undertake as well as illegal.

I suspect its a case of human nature going for a little bit of exoneration from all sides.