More delays with takeover of Everton creating further uncertainty

Amidst all the chaos and upheaveal of the last six months, particularly the ten point deduction in November, the ongoing saga of who will own Everton has continued to rumble on in the background.

Last September, it was announced by the club that 777 Partners had agreed to buy out Farhad Moshiri in full and take control becoming the Blues new owners.

But in order for them to do that they needed the agreement of various regulatory bodies both inside and outside of football.

So, the process of approval began and Everton supporters, the club and others are still waiting for the last hurdle to be cleared and a decision made.

It has dragged on though and while one of the regulatory hurdles was cleared, others remain. There were rumours recently that a decision would be made by the end of this month but that now seems extremely unlikely.

Meanwhile, 777 Partners have continued to put millions into the club as they subsidise it waiting for the decision on their proposal.

This raises very worrying questions over the financial viability of the Toffees, both in the short and long-term, especially if US group are unable to complete the deal.

Now, there are fresh issues about the Miami-based investors who have had the credit rating on one of their subsidaries downgraded by a credit agency due to concerns about that company, 777Re's, balance sheets.

This has thrown up fresh questions over the overall financial viability of the group as 777Re apparently helps finance 777 Partners as a whole.

Everton desperately need stability after so many problems both on and off the pitch.

The last few years have included two consecutive season's of relegation near-misses, the usual managerial changes, constant financial problems, transfer market failures and then the points deduction last year.

However, there seems to be no likelihood of a quick decision being made anytime soon on this takeover and so the process goes on.

And, results have not been good either recently leaving the Blues stuck in a relegation struggle which once again looks likely to go all the way to the wire. Will things ever get better for this club!?