'Blessing in disguise' - Everton fans rage at BBC pundit after ludicrous claim following Nottingham Forest win

Everton fans have been enraged by comments made by Garth Crooks as part of his BBC Sport 'Team of the Week' column that suggest the 10-point deduction has been a 'blessing in disguise'.

A sole goal from Dwight McNeil helped Sean Dyche's side earn their fifth win of their season, with four of those coming away from Goodison Park. It was a hard-fought game but it was a vital three points as they moved within two points of 17th-placed Luton Town.

The points deduction has seem to drop into the relegation places which is incredibly frustrating given that without it they would currently sit in 11th place ahead of Crystal Palace and Brentford. That win made it seven wins in 11 games and prior to the deduction, they had won six in nine games in all competitions meaning they were in their strongest run of form since Dyche arrived at the club.

Speaking in his BBC Sport column, Crooks placed both Jordan Pickford and McNeil in his team of the week but he suggested the deduction has galvanised the team and helped to push them onto victory but his choice of words is certainly poor.

"It was a real team performance away at Nottingham Forest by Everton, and Pickford was at the heart of it." He wrote in his column. "To what extent their performance was galvanised by having been deducted 10 points by the game's authorities is hard to determine. What was very clear was the celebration of the victory among their players and their fans at the end of the match.

"It was Pickford's free-kick, hoisted into the box for James Tarkowski to attack, that resulted in Dwight McNeil scoring the winning goal. But it was the speed with which the England number one came out to smother the threat from Anthony Elanga's attempt at goal, accompanied by his scream of delight, that epitomised Everton's determination. This points reduction might prove to be a blessing in disguise for the Toffees."

He previously wrote an incredibly strange entry for both Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah after including both in his team of the week following the Merseyside derby in October where he spent the majority of his section speaking about the referee, the Ashley Young red card and Luis Diaz's playacting - and his comments were even more poorly received by the Everton fans this time around.

Everton fans reacted strongly, with one writing on social media: 'What a ridiculous comment, I’d rather have the 10 points and be challenging for the top 10.'

While another wrote: 'Garth Crooks makes the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz look like Einstein so his opinion is worthless.'

As another agreed: 'Gaining an extra 10 points would be a 'blessing in disguise' Garth. Not sure what you're thinking there mate.'