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

I see City got ten minutes of injury time to find the equaliser.

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One of the assistants had a malfunction with his headset :joy:

It’s only fair given their injuries…

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Man City FFP: Citizens could turn to ‘political favours’ to squash 115 charges case

Story by Joe Williams

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Man City and the Abu Dhabi government could call in “political favours” in order to end their financial fair play case, according to former Everton CEO Keith Wyness.

A hearing to examine 115 Premier League charges issued against the club began on September 16 with the Citizens’ legal team pictured arriving at the IDRC, close to St Paul’s Cathedral in central London.

The charges facing Man City, who won a fourth straight Premier League title in May, date back as far as the 2009-10 season.

It is thought the club, who are also accused of failing to co-operate with an investigation, could face a range of punishments including a severe points penalty or even expulsion from the Premier League if found guilty.

Man City were charged by the league in February 2023 after a long investigation into allegations published by German magazine Der Spiegel in autumn 2018.

The Premier League club deny any wrongdoing and have previously said they have a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” to support their stance.

The hearing is reported to have been scheduled for 10 weeks, with the independent commission’s verdict initially not expected until the new year.

And now ex-Everton CEO Wyness has suggested that the Abu Dhabi government could “step in” and use political means to squash the case.

Wyness told Football Insider: “There’s no doubt that if Abu Dhabi stepped in then all these issues would be involved very quickly. The Premier League may say they’ve had no contact with the government, but we should be under no illusions that this is a big situation.

“What was interesting in the new football bill from the government is the exclusion of lines around having to take decisions in the interest of Britain’s trade. It was interesting that this was dropped. The regulator won’t be tasked with that any longer.

“You’ve always got to wonder: When we’re dealing with sovereign states like Saudi Arabia or the UAE, do political implications get involved with football decisions? I’m a big proponent in keeping politics out of football, but it’s inextricably linked.

“I hope there is no leaning in any way at all on the Premier League with the punishments if City are found guilty. I think the government would love it if there were no penalties at all.

“But if you’re a government and you own a club like Man City, you’re going to try any sort of political move you can – and that includes calling in any political favours.

“So let’s wait and see how these develops. There are stories aplenty that could come out of this. If something doesn’t seem right in the end, it probably won’t be right. We’ll have to keep a close eye on this.”

So bloke thinks out loud.

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What do people think has been going on for the last fifteen years?

Jesus wept.

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Watching the Brighton match to try to put my finger on what is not working for them. Dominating the first half, yet not building the same sort of possession and pressure in the final 4th of the field. Might be something to the Haaland theory, they have played a lot of balls to give him a run at goal (up 1-0 now with a Haaland goal, so not fruitless), but maybe a couple of years ago they would have been more patient and produced 2-3 shots instead?

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They didn’t have to sell Alvarez. He was the key last year.

2nd half observation at 60 minutes is simply that Brighton are now trying to play very similarly to Sporting mid-week. Lots of wide long balls to chase, making their fullbacks run.

Maybe the solution really is ÂŁ150M of new fullbacks in January after all?

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I like that more teams have started taking the match to City.

If only they had done the same in earlier Klopp campaigns.

City can be got at. Especially now that Guardiola’s tactics have gotten way more pragmatic.

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Is Rodri that factor? I haven’t seen any games but when he’s not playing they seem to lose more often than win

I don’t think the doper whining about how hard they have it with injuries has helped their mentality. Pep doesn’t seem to cope if he feels the deck isn’t stacked completely in his favour, the cheating cunt.

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Or chasing a massive payout after the inevitable lawsuite. “What do you mean we have been kicked out of the entire league structure and will spend next season playing in the Dog & Duck pub league on Hackney Marshes?”

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But they’re not owned by the Abu Dhabi government, so they have no role to play here.

Oh, you mean to say they have owned City all along, and lied about the true nature of the clubs ownership?

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https://x.com/BantersReport/status/1855329727025656208

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Not sure the Dog & Duck will have them, they’re not fond of sportwashers down in Hackney…

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I think think they could find themselves further behind us in the running by new year, and by that time a twenty point deduction could suit all parties.

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Pep said in interview yday that they’d won 6 leagues in 7 and maybe it was time to let another team win.

I think they’ve written this season off. Will get a big points deduction but not enough to relegate them. Then a massive fine that would be crippling to any other team and therefore a deterrent, but a drop in the ocean to Abu Dhabi

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There’s only one answer to this:

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If you watch him carefully he is shouting “we lost twooooooooo! And then we lost ANOTHER TWOOOO!”

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