Everton have followed in the footsteps of Sunderland, Manchester United, Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Portsmouth

By Richard Foster for The Football Mine

Everton’s 10-point deduction is the heaviest punishment in the history of the English top flight, but they are not the first club to be docked points.

Sunderland set the trend, relieved of two points in the 1890-91 season when they fielded an unregistered player, Ned Doig. The Scottish goalkeeper went on to become a Sunderland legend, making more than 450 appearances for the club across 14 seasons and winning four league titles. He was also part of the Sunderland team that won the “World Championship” – a match pitting the Scottish title-winners against the English champions that featured 22 Scottish players.

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