Manchester City* - 130 charges (and counting...)

Don’t forget the European clubs they knocked out of the CL along the way also… How much did it cost them

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Look at the start date of the charges. This is foundation on which City as the club they are today was built. Even if last year’s win is not technically tied to these charges, there is no way to disconnect them

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bahahahaha

I’ve just quickly closed down Mrs C’s offence at these “FA/PL charges being about doing anything to stop City winning the league”. :sunglasses:

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Fair points. I lived in Newham for six years and will always feel at home in the area. I know London isn’t a golden promised land, if you’re not a high roller, which makes it all the more galling for me that the rich there are SO wealthy that they drag up the average to make it the richest place in Europe!

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So you are saying they have gained 142 new fans?

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Agree with the titles being stripped, but relegation I don’t agree with. Would rather see HMRC get their go and wind up the club, sending them back to total irrelevance in non-league

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I wish you all the best for your marriage. :rofl:

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Drop them down to the conference and bar their owners.

I’d be with that, but yeah no club recording profits like they were would have to sell tickets at cut price for every game to students.

I’ve lived in three towns and Swansea when they got to the PL didn’t have to, Bournemouth did but they were League 2.

Strip them of their Champions League trophies… :rofl:

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We were so close in these years. We should have had EPL 3 titles in the last 10 years or so.

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I know many fan are gleefully celebrating.

But for me it’s sickening. Manchester City stole those moments from us.

Gerard will feel happy he technically won the league, but he never experience the feeling of winning it. From the income of winning the league, to attracting and keeping players. Their cheating directly hurt us. Even if we are awarded those titles we will never be properly compensated for what we lost.

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Sadly it is all about getting it done. You get across an arbitrary “finishing line” and you are exempt from having to answer for how you get across.

Ask Bush-I, Donald T, Blair T/Bush-II (Iraq) and the Farage/Boris brigade. There are no consequences for their actions and similarly there wont be for MC.

Yes, a bit OTT with the extremes in the examples but the truth is if you are able to force a decision across a line you win.

This is huge. I am so pleased the Premier League have finally brought charges, and lots of them. The whole world has known about Man City being cheats, but to date, no-one has been able to hold them to account. A few thoughts:

I think the timing has come about because the government was about to get involved in governing football. Everyone wants to run their own affairs, so it was vital for the Prem to be able to say that they have some backbone to do something about alleged cheaters. There may yet be an independent regulator, but this is going some way toward showing that the Prem can run its own affairs correctly, albeit belatedly.

Last time Man City were able to take their case up to the CAS and then they got off on various technicalities. This time, the CAS has no jurisdiction.

One of the strengths of the Prem is the collective nature of it. If lots of the clubs within are pissed off at Man City’s cheating, and want to see justice prevail, this might actually have some real substance to it.

I haven’t got a club what all this might do to FSGs long term prospects. I have said many times that I would prefer FSG to remain as our owners in a rules based order. It might prove to be too little, too late, but what is unfolding before our eyes is the possibility that we might actually be moving towards a rules based order.

If we are awarded titles, having just missed out, then obviously we take them, because the players achieved that. But yes, one of the things Man City took away was the sense of joy and celebration that should have been experienced by everyone associated with the club, so if three more titles are awarded it will be just, though still not satisfactory.

The ramifications of this could be huge. Who got relegated in the time period under investigation? Did they lose to a cheating Man City team that season? Did they lose many millions because they were relegated? Extrapolate this thought out to all the relegated teams during the time period under investigation. Then multiply by everyone who didn’t get the trophy they should have, or the league position they should have, or individual players who were not paid the bonus they should have, etc. Ideally this will bankrupt Abu Dhabi! (Joking, it won’t)

Pep Guardiola. Will he walk? He said he trusted them, and was staying at the club because of their word. Will he give them the benefit of the doubt, at least while the appeal process takes place? Or will he decide that his job is untenable?

Erling Haaland. Will he be the finest striker to have ever played… in the lower leagues? Hahahah, OK, he will be out of there faster than you can say “Flight to Madrid” if Man City fall through the trap door.

It will be fascinating to see how all of this pans out.

My sense is that there will be more teeth to this one that before, but to what extent, we will have to see.

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It hurt a lot more than just us, which hopefully means the 20 odd clubs (and their fans) that were affected put their thoughts to the PL and ensure this isnt just swept under the rug.

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I’d go further

Firstly something needs to be done with all their fake sponsorships. It needs to be dismantled fully. No more of it

Secondly, a really close look at going through the fit and proper owner test, if that’s the right terminology. The owners should not be allowed back in the PL.

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We’ll be fine Mate. :+1::sunglasses: