Well, that’s the problem with unprecedented wrong-doing. The punishment becomes unprecedented too.
I think the mood is such that any punishment at this point is going to feel light, because people have talked themselves into an escalating position where anything short of nuking the club from orbit is going to feel like they got off.
Personally, as long as the verdict holds, I’ll take any kind of punishment within reason. The punishments obviously have to be magnitudes greater than anything seen before.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned much is that the most severe of punishments - such as forced sale - could be suspended on condition of a full independent audit of all their books and operations, including the period after 2018. It should be remembered that the only reason this stuff has come to light is a whistleblower. They are still withholding information, refusing to cooperate and treating the PLs accountability processes with contempt. That can’t continue, and it’s something the Premier League need to be stamping on.
(…) Let us try to get into the head of the most vociferous City fan since last Tuesday. For decades they were in United’s shadow, then everything changed. Their city did too, given how much Abu Dhabi United Group pumped into it. You can forgive them, then, for not wanting to believe that it was all built on sand during the legal process.**(…)
You are assuming that if Pep didn’t come or Pep didn’t have the financial cheating behind him that some other rivalry would not have developed. It’s well documented how City came in and nicked players off Liverpool, Man U, Arsenal that those clubs had laid groundwork for…just by blowing them out of the water with finances. For the youth setup it was even worse. The amount of off-the-book (clearly rule-breaking) inducements they used (flats/houses for parents etc) is something no other club could match.
Without their cheating, all other clubs would have picked up the slack and would have been that much stronger for it. Pochettino’s Spurs, for example, could have had an extended rivalry with Klopp’s Liverpool.
And what happens when even more egregious things come to light because of this…but it they were given a lighter sentence as a condition for them to be fully transparent?
People make their own decisions/judgements based on their background experiences as well as the facts of the matter.
People will not change their viewpoints because of someone else’s reasoning. Especially when there is not much backing for it in factual terms.
I haven’t seen a single coherent argument from you to back your stance.
all you keep saying is “it’s gonna be a shitshot”
It already is. Given that, the best course of action is achieve a modicum of justice for the whole league who have been wronged for so long and so blatantly.
Regarding your wish that the cheats can exonerate themselves…
Why?
Did you not get more than a whiff of cheating from them throughout the years?
I’d get it if things looked balanced while they went on to win things but we all knew, the entire footballing world knew, that there were financial rules being completely flouted.
Most of the times in this reality you don’t get justice. And we still may not. They may still not be punished as heavily as they richly deserve. But at least everybody knows them for what they are now.
I think we all know that there is likely a load more illegal shit going on.
All clubs have to be transparent and cooperate with Premier League rules. It’s literally a condition of membership. City’s choice should be to open their books and fully cooperate (and deal with the punishment for whatever is found there) or very harshest of sanctions are coming regardless.
The league cannot wait for another whistleblower to uncover whatever is there 2028 to present.
Some people would be glad to have the chance to spend time with their family, do some crocheting, finish that 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle of Mont Blanc and have a snooze.
If (when) Oliver is found guilty, I’m going to the pub, buying a pint and a chaser and raising the glass…and shouting to anyone nearby…
“We were fucking right. All the time.”
