Manchester City Discussion

[LFCMike]

4 minutes ago, Happy Blue said:

If we win the CL this season i hope we just walk off the field at the end and get straight on the team bus 

Don't worry, you won't get passed Madrid

[Happy Blue]

2 hours ago, LFCMike said:

Don't worry, you won't get passed Madrid

UEFA will fix the match no doubt, the timing of this BS is a bit convenient too    

[God is Haaland]

22 hours ago, Inverted said:

Seems to be some confusion over the exact reason - I've not read the transcripts but it seems they're being penalised for obstructing UEFA's investigation and not specifically for their spending? 

Kinda undermines the argument about FFP being a racket or whatever. So far, UEFA have been fine with financial doping, so long as you at least conceal it with a bit of discretion and don't take them for fools. 

That's right. Not only did they violate FFP, they blatantly lied to UEFA. The FA should take away their titles and relegate them.

Btw given that PSG received almost as much financial doping while consistantly crashing out of the CL earlier and earing way less money in their domestic league, there's no way PSG didn't also violate FFP, is there?!

 

[Inverted]

The damning thing seems to be that it should be so easy to disprove. 

UEFA have an email saying "this Etihad deal is funded partly by Etihad, and partly by the UAE state conglomerate that owns us". 

Surely City just need to show that this email was incorrect? 

They seem to be focusing on the fact that the emails were obtained illegally, but this isn't a criminal trial with strict evidential rules. 

The substance of these emails are some pretty stark revelations that, if untrue, should be easy to show up as such. 

[The Artful Dodger]

1 minute ago, Inverted said:

The damning thing seems to be that it should be so easy to disprove. 

UEFA have an email saying "this Etihad deal is funded partly by Etihad, and partly by the UAE state conglomerate that owns us". 

Surely City just need to show that this email was incorrect? 

They seem to be focusing on the fact that the emails were obtained illegally, but this isn't a criminal trial with strict evidential rules. 

The substance of these emails are some pretty stark revelations that, if untrue, should be easy to show up as such. 

The main line of Manchester City's attack seems to be 'what about...' and pointing out UEFA's hypocrisy. I have some sympathy with that but not to the extent were I want Manchester City to get off, just that all clubs get looked at. Real Madrid's state aid was disgraceful with the training ground.

[Inverted]

It's also bizarre when people see "it can't be legal for UEFA to tell a club that it can't use its own assets". As though, if it ever got to a real court, FFP would instantly be destroyed. 

That's just people trying to sound legalistic without any knowledge of real world regulation. Freedom of contract and property isn't absolute. 

Competition law exists, and it allows you do all sorts of things in the interests of market competition and consumer welfare. You can make all sorts of demands on companies.

You can nullifyhuge contracts and partnerships, you can force companies to raise or lower prices.You can deny companies the right to merge - you can even command a company to break off a division as a separate company if you feel it threatens competitive balance. You can command Google not to prioritise its own pages on its own search engine - that's how specific it can get. 

A private club of companies, which is what UEFA essentially is, asking its members to maintain a certain degree of financial stability is nothing in comparison. 

 

[Lucas]

This will not be a popular opinion which I appreciate but personally hope it get's overturned.

Feel bad for Pep and his team when they are being penalised for no wrong doing themselves.

It's their performances on the pitch that get them where they are. They are a special team that play great football and have set a bar that others here haven't reached, until this season. 

And do we really want a team to get 5th and get in by default when they aren't good enough for Top 4 over the initial 38 games?

Some will always hate City for the resources they have to get where they are.

But there are some that will also admire what an incredible team they have been and if it is their last go at it for a couple seasons, I hope they go out, win it and shove two fingers at UEFA.

As a fan of the old European competitions, it would be brilliant to see the Champions League belittled without it's champions defending the trophy. 

Edited February 16, 2020 by Lucas

[Rick]

Can’t say I disagree really any of that @Lucas...my issue isn’t against the players or Pep, they are not to blame and it will be a shame for them. That being said, the club must be punished for what they have done, even if it is harsh on the playing staff. 

 

Edited February 16, 2020 by Rick

[LFCMike]

Has there not been allegations against Guardiola himself too though? The fact that he could have received payments from other sources like Mancini did when he was there?

[Rick]

3 hours ago, LFCMike said:

Has there not been allegations against Guardiola himself too though? The fact that he could have received payments from other sources like Mancini did when he was there?

If so, then he can fuck off too but not seen these allegations.  

[Happy Blue]

Raheem Sterling becomes first Manchester City star to commit his future to the club despite interest from Real Madrid after their shock two-year Champions League ban

[LFCMike]

7 hours ago, Rick said:

If so, then he can fuck off too but not seen these allegations.  

He was asked about them after the FA Cup final last season and didn't answer

[Mel81x+]

1 hour ago, Happy Blue said:

Raheem Sterling becomes first Manchester City star to commit his future to the club despite interest from Real Madrid after their shock two-year Champions League ban

Bit misleading that isnt it? Maybe he's waiting for an offer from a better club and he doesn't like Real Madrid?

[Dr. Gonzo]

8 hours ago, Mel81x said:

Bit misleading that isnt it? Maybe he's waiting for an offer from a better club and he doesn't like Real Madrid?

Yeah that’s a bit misleading. He’s just made his text bigger and bold and trying to pass it off like a news headline with no source 

[DeadLinesman]

21 hours ago, Lucas said:

It's their performances on the pitch that get them where they are. They are a special team that play great football and have set a bar that others here haven't reached, until this season. 

And only by breaking the rules that everybody else is playing by, have they been able to assemble that team. Unlike Liverpool, it’s an artificial team as they’ve been put together by overspending their means. Without breaking the rules, they wouldn’t have been able to put together this ‘special team’. Feel sorry for them? Not a chance.

[DeadLinesman]

10 hours ago, LFCMike said:

He was asked about them after the FA Cup final last season and didn't answer

Because Mancini had been paid separately by a subsidiary according to Der Spiegel.

[CaaC (John)+]

11 hours ago, Happy Blue said:

Raheem Sterling becomes first Manchester City star to commit his future to the club despite interest from Real Madrid after their shock two-year Champions League ban

Colossal Sports Management CEO and founder Aidy Ward, who has represented Sterling since he was at school, told Sportsmail on Sunday night: 'Raheem is solely focused on Manchester City and will not be distracted by any talk of transfers to any club at the moment.'  

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8010517/Raheem-Sterling-Manchester-City-star-commit-future-club-shock-ban.html

[LFCMadLad]

On 16/02/2020 at 19:05, Lucas said:

This will not be a popular opinion which I appreciate but personally hope it get's overturned.

Feel bad for Pep and his team when they are being penalised for no wrong doing themselves.

It's their performances on the pitch that get them where they are. They are a special team that play great football and have set a bar that others here haven't reached, until this season. 

And do we really want a team to get 5th and get in by default when they aren't good enough for Top 4 over the initial 38 games?

Some will always hate City for the resources they have to get where they are.

But there are some that will also admire what an incredible team they have been and if it is their last go at it for a couple seasons, I hope they go out, win it and shove two fingers at UEFA.

As a fan of the old European competitions, it would be brilliant to see the Champions League belittled without it's champions defending the trophy. 

This 'special team' was put together with a countries money? Other clubs dont have that luxury.

[Burning Gold]

On 16/02/2020 at 19:05, Lucas said:

This will not be a popular opinion which I appreciate but personally hope it get's overturned.

Feel bad for Pep and his team when they are being penalised for no wrong doing themselves.

It's their performances on the pitch that get them where they are. They are a special team that play great football and have set a bar that others here haven't reached, until this season. 

And do we really want a team to get 5th and get in by default when they aren't good enough for Top 4 over the initial 38 games?

Some will always hate City for the resources they have to get where they are.

But there are some that will also admire what an incredible team they have been and if it is their last go at it for a couple seasons, I hope they go out, win it and shove two fingers at UEFA.

As a fan of the old European competitions, it would be brilliant to see the Champions League belittled without it's champions defending the trophy. 

Well the idea is that they are good enough, but have been cheated out of it by a team not playing by the rules. In any case, they'd be better than probably half of the other teams in the tournament, so why not?

Personally, I don't actually care about the FFP thing. Like Al Capone getting busted for tax fraud, I'm just glad something is being done. Once you acknowledge how vile the City project is, why does it matter whether they managed to funnel blood money into the club legally or not? And at that point also, I think the manager, players, etc. have to shoulder some responsibility? Did they know their employer was flouting UEFA's laws? Maybe not. Did they know their employer was using the club and them personally for something beyond reprehensible (and still are)? Yes

[God is Haaland]

On 16/02/2020 at 13:49, God is Haaland said:

Btw given that PSG received almost as much financial doping while consistantly crashing out of the CL earlier and earing way less money in their domestic league, there's no way PSG didn't also violate FFP, is there?!

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/51571016

And here we go....

[Rick]

Let’s keep in mind that footballers are all like us, they all grew up loving football themselves. They dreamt of winning trophies and cups just like the rest of us. 

They also live in a bubble. Apart from football, their whole world is controlled by others. They have agents and managerS doing all the boring contract work and advising them on suitable clubs they could join. 
 

To a player, City is an excellent destination to play football. Working under Pep, surrounded by world class players....why wouldn’t a player want to join that? It’s harsh to say these lads are actively supporting a human rights abuser, because to be honest I doubt they are aware of the full scope of that club’s business practices. They are paid to kick a ball and that’s what they do. 
 

So yeah, I will have some sympathy for the players. However, that doesn’t meant I don’t agree with this ban, I absolutely do. 

[Happy Blue]

Pep is extending his contract by 3years on top of his current one keeping him at the club till 2024 at least and we have just hired a 20k a day legal team to fight UEFA

[DeadLinesman]

3 hours ago, Happy Blue said:

Pep is extending his contract by 3years on top of his current one keeping him at the club till 2024 at least and we have just hired a 20k a day legal team to fight UEFA

Throwing money at the problem. That’s a great way to prove you didn’t throw money at the problem. 20k a day ffs . Bet they become your ‘official’ legal sponsors.

[Stan]

1 minute ago, CityTheBest said:

The biggest club in the world has plenty of money, please get over it. City are now a bigger, righer, more succesfull club than United.

You totally missed the point.

[Rick]

1 hour ago, CityTheBest said:

So City are run by a human rights abuser yet Liverpool are run by Lord Henry of Tottingham who feeds the homeless, performs heart surgery on old grandma's and discovers the cure for cancer all while volunteering at an animal shelter to walk all the stray dogs that can't find an home and put on facebook how much he'd like them to be homed?

Liverpool are owned by the baby Jesus.