Have Arsenal embarrassed themselves with Man City appeal?

Have Arsenal Gone Too Far? by Dan Smith

Earlier this week I wrote how Arsenal were one of 8 clubs trying to make Man City’s appeal to CAS as difficult as possible.

It’s believed the Champions want a worst-case scenario of a suspended hearing, meaning they still to get to play in Europe next season while an investigation is ongoing.

Not surprisingly, the majority of clubs in the top half of the Premiership (the ones competing for European spots) have signed a joint document to stop that from happening.

As things stand UEFA have banned Man City, meaning 5th place would be enough to qualify to the CL, instead of the usual 4th, while also freeing up an extra spot for the Europa League.

There is a deadline for the Premiership to register who will represent them in what competition and clearly sides want to know where they stand before the transfer window shuts (e.g., if you finished 5th are you buying and selling on the basis you’re getting CL revenue?).

Owners are not doing this for the integrity of the game but for self-interest, given that we are taking about millions of pounds at stake. I understand that ……

What I don’t get is, those same clubs are trying to find loopholes if the appeal can’t go ahead. Etihad chiefs insists they will prove their innocence, but with the world in lock down what if CAS can’t meet them when scheduled? It’s common sense to say any hearing waits till it’s safe to do so.

It’s no one’s fault that at a time where groups can’t gather and people are in isolation, this can’t go ahead. Nor is it a priority right now. Yet shamefully it’s Arsenal who is believed to be leading this charge.

I should stress our club refused to comment on these rumours.

City are said to be bemused by our actions given they feel there has always been a good relationship between the two clubs. Ironically though Arsene Wenger was the most vocal towards City’s ‘financial doping’ having lost so much talent to Manchester.

If true though, Stan Kroenke is saying if Man City can’t meet UEFA deadline because of something out of their control, that’s too bad. Not just is that not right from a sportsman’s point of view, I would also question his integrity from a human perspective. The world is suffering, people are losing their lives. Businesses a lot smaller than Arsenal are losing money. For him to even be thinking about shortcuts to make some cash makes me feel uncomfortable.

If he’s so desperate for his club to be back in the Champions League, why don’t you put your mind to the transfer window? Why not free up some cash so we make a proper bid to build a squad? Why don’t you hire proven managers instead of always finding a cheap option?

We are currently 8th so there is zero guarantee we would finish 5th anyway.

It’s embarrassing to see how far we have fallen. Instead of fixing our own problems we are trying to take advantage of someone else’s mistake.

Remember when we were the club known for doing things the right way?

If Man City are guilty, they deserve punishment. If that happens to benefit us then that’s fine but have your dignity, don’t make Arsenal look desperate…

Dan Smith

52 Comments

  1. Wenger said it for years, so you are calling Wenger a liar? Last season we finished 5th, if the season is over and City are kicked out. We are in.
    Are you saying City made a “mistake” Seriously? So they did not know what they were doing of, do me a favour!. It’s about time they finally paid for their actions. I wonder what Arteta thinks about it, I mean he might know if it was just a rather Big Mistake ?

    1. Do you actually know what the charge is? I guess from your comment you don’t and you think that a two year ban is the payment due for a cash injection into a club. City’s development has been off and on the pitch is a testimony of what can be done with good management. They haven’t just splashed cash without structure, they leave that to their neighbours. The problem people seem to have is not only did City get money, they also spent it wisely, and worse than anything they are challenging the red cartel. Good luck in the champions league if you get there, if you win it it will always be the year when City weren’t there.

      1. So you are fine with gaming the system as ManC has done repeatedly, cheating their way to the top, robbing those who follow the rules. Darwin would agree with you, though Darwin really only amounts to the lowest common denominator of thought evolution and existence. ManC have very deep pockets, they can afford whatever they are sanctioned.

        Was ManC thinking of Arsenal when they gamed the system? Yes, they wanted to gain an unfair advantage on Arsenal, Premiere League, UEFA etc…

        I entreat you to a higher level of thought that expands your universe beyond Darwin’s simple thought.

    2. You tool…. city were “convicted” on the basis of hacked emails which may have been altered or even Doctored. The hacker is now in jail in Portugal after hacking Sporting Lisbon’s emails and then attempting to blackmail them after making up allegations.
      The Uefa investigation chamber announced 6 months before the investigation had even started that they had decided to ban city for two years….. nothing like an independent process is there? In addition uefa will not publish their “evidence“, preferring rumour and innuendo to masquerade as fact.
      The process will ensue when the coronavirus crisis is over, no fault of CAS or city, not that this matters to Arsenal, a snide club ran by people sucking money out of the club and the opposite of city’s owners who are investing what is needed to compete at the top table of football.
      Uefa won’t ban city because the process they have followed is illegal, that will be exposed in both CAS and then the Swiss courts where city will bring down FFP because it is anti competitive under European law. Imagine any owner of any business being told it cannot invest in its own business to build its success?, Unilever or BMW would not accept it, why should city?
      The problems with a snide club like arsenal and it’s snide fans is jealousy, Wenger a serial tool in everybody’s book, whining like a child because somebody Else came along and spent money to get to the top Just like he did when spending record amounts on Bergkamp, Vieira, petit, Wiltord and pires……. its was alright for Wenger but not for city.

      Hypocrisy of the highest order

      1. Record Transfer Fees? Bergkamp cost 10m, Vieira cost 5m, Wiltord 16m, Petit 3m, Pires 3.5m, Henry 10m (bought from sale of Anelka sale for 23million)
        RECORD transfers in those days were 30m to 60million. In fact Man United paid 40m for Rio Ferdinand in 2002
        Record Amounts? Do you want to know how much Wenger sold them all for? You have a short memory if you don’t remember that Wenger bought low and sold high…

      2. Well, Dukinfield Blue, if what you say is true, then city have nothing to worry about – I just wonder why the legal team representing football’s governing body have not seen such a simple case of miscarriage of justice, before bringing these serious charges?

        Secondly, why Arsene Wenger’s photograph has appeared with this article is a further mystery.
        He was very outspoken during his time as our manager regarding financial doping and the flouting of rules governing football and we, as a club with our recognised high morals, suffered when they were not implemented by other clubs (such as PSG as you mention)

        However, Mr. Wenger left the club nearly two years ago and has had no involvement with The Arsenal since….by the way, we don’t need any preaching about how to respect a manager, after the way you treated Pellegrini and Mancini wouldn’t you agree?

        If and it is a very big if, The Arsenal are behind this move, simply for CL qualification, then I suspect the majority of Gooners would not be agreeable with it, quite the reverse.

        You will find our fan base is as critical of our owner as you are and have no wish for him to make even more money from our club by using the back door to qualify for the CL.

        If, however, the eight clubs reportedly involved, are trying to bring some order to the crazy, money ridden football world we now find ourselves in, by abiding with the rules, wouldn’t any sensible fan want this?

        You have jumped on The Arsenal, because this article names kronkie as, perhaps, being the instigator, but if you read the article properly, the author used the word “reported” and that is very important – I would think that fans of city might be looking a little nearer home as a starting point for suspicion though.

        Your accusation that Arsene Wenger spent “record amounts” on players, makes you look a little silly quite frankly.
        We have never held the record for buying players – yet again I suggest you look amongst the other seven clubs for this “badge of honour”, yours included of course.

        With reference to our past manager, we are proud to have introduced a man of integrity and vision into English football and you will find that we are more than happy to be associated with the man who, according to most right thinking people, was successful for the right reasons – I hope your club comes out of this smelling of roses, just for the fans who have followed their club through thick and thin and
        are a credit to the club.
        You have a superb manager and a squad of players to die for…we know how that feels from our Invincible days.

        The other reason, for me personally, in wanting you to beat these charges, is the fact that it puts yet another finger up to your noisy neighbours, of which 99.9% of Gooner fans dislike as much as the Citizens do.

        Finally, as everything else in the world is on hold at present, I see no reason why this so suddenly an urgent issue?
        We don’t even know if there will be any football this year and the excuse about clubs needing to plan transfers etc is complete BS – they have no idea what players they will still have when/if football starts again (league situations,contracts, players on loan, player movement due to the virus).

        So Dukinfield Blue, pull your neck in, don’t paint everyone with the same brush, the truth will come out and, who knows, your club might just disclose further corruption at the top of the game…by the way, thanks for Mikel Arteta!!!!

        1. Ken, that was very well written, good on you. Balanced and not allowed yourself to take any cheap digs, splendid.

          Keeping this civil, I really do think EUFA have scored an own goal here. Nothing obtained illegally can EVER be used in any court!!! Quite why EUFA think what they have is useable is, well, unbelievable. Also, anyone who has been “caught out” would sit around a table and thrash something out, take your hit and move on. City are livid, quite quite livid and have promised to open up the real world of corruption in football. I’ve no idea what that even means but can’t wait.

          Taking all this aside, how can a club with 494 million debt AND that other burden that everyone forgets which was the share option where they had 340 million wiped off their debt BUT it’s still owed so it’s still debt. How can that be OK? Nearly 1 billion in debt, they keep spending widely, Fred 63 mil, Fernandes 70 mil, Maguire 85 mil are their last 3 deals, over 200 mil and riddled with debt BUT that’s ok in EUFA eyes. FFP was here to stop exactly that but now it’s mutated into stopping spending only. So a club with zero debt is scrutinised to try to pull them up on the smallest detail then attack them but leave the debt ridden matey club!!! It’s absolute and utter madness and makes absolutely no sense at all apart from it’s bent, corrupt and City are now going for it to show it for what it’s worth.

          People need to stop and think why City are so open and willing to reveal all, cards on table and yet EUFA won’t even discuss it and seem to now be bending, anyone see Ceferin interview? Very interesting, he admitted the rules have to change AND that they have made mistakes!! That’s not the stance of someone who is 100% correct

          1. Exactly my friend regarding your neighbours, but that is because of their power within the footballing world.

            I hope that your club do bring this out in the open, firstly to either 1. Clear their name or not and 2. Take the opportunity to uncover any corruption within the governing bodies in an open court, where the fans can see the evidence.

            It is a shame that our club is being seen as the instigators because of our souless owner and his reported words.

            Further down in the replies, I have given my thoughts on why the governing bodies have bought City to task.

            If we, as fans, were being completely honest with ourselves, we know corruption is rife and some of our own fans were berating Arsene Wenger for being to honest, when he kept saying that we would abide by the rules.

            If City are found guilty, the club has let down one of the most loyal set of fans in the country and that would be a terrible shame.

            We should always remember innocent until proven guilty and Manchester City have not been given that opportunity…imagine if it was The Arsenal, would some of our fans be so judgemental?

            So good luck to you, prove your case and carry on playing brilliant and exciting football – if your found guilty, take it on
            the chin and try to expose the other clubs that flaunt the rules.

        2. UEFA brought the charges as it had its hand forced in part because the cartel pressed for it and in part because the hacked emails meant they had to be seen to act, In truth, Financial Foul Play will be ruled illegal but this way UEFA know the ban will be overturned but can say they did their best,

          As for attendances at Premier League games the home end always sells out, check the facts, and planning permission has been granted for another 10k seats.

          You are welcome to Arteta and if he proves himself worthy City will come along and take him back in due course. Thanks for offering him the work experience.

      3. ManC are owned lock, stock & barrel, locked & loaded by the Deputy Prime Minister of the blood hungry United Arab Emirates, a bellicose nation with it’s dirty footprints in bloody conflicts in three continents (that we know of). Just look at Yemen to see UAE’s prima facie brutality. Naive to think that ManC is run honorably or respects rule of law architecture.

    3. Ha ha ha…. the fans supporting Wenger after stabbing him in the back.
      Arsenal football club and the fans deserve one another, instead of attacking city’s owners for being fantastic in how they have invested in the club, why don’t you take on your owners who are only interested in taking money out rather than in?.

      1. Shame for you that you can’t fill your stadium like the red side of Manchester
        Tool. What an unpleasant term

      2. As I mentioned Pelligrini and Mancini might be a little aggrieved with the way they were treated, they certainly didn’t get the support from the fans or the club did they?

      3. Hey Duckegg Blue, aka the tool, if you can’t get simple “facts” right like who signed Bergkamp (it was Rioch not Wenger) the other “facts” in your argument cannot be believed. You’re not the sharpest tool in the box are you? 🤫

        1. Nonsense. Mancini lost the dressing room in the end, as he was too stubborn but a great manager and man who paid for a full page advert, in the local press, saying thank you to the fans. As for Pellegrini he is on record saying he was told, and accepted from day one, that once the greatest manager on earth became available he would be replaced.

          1. So telling your manager he was second best, was the example that other clubs should follow?

            It would seem then, following your club’s criteria for sacking a manager, klopp looks set for a move next season…if he becomes available.

          2. Did that full page press release thank the club for backing him up, after he had won them their first title in, how many years?
            It’s the club that’s being investigated, not the fans by the way – one minute you tell us we’re wrong to believe the media and the next minute you have taken on board everything the media has said about our club and Arsene Wenger…why don’t you practice what you preach and wait for the evidence to be produced?

      4. Arsenal is light years behind its biggest Prem competitors – just look at the squad that years of on non-investment has created. United have a superior squad, and Liverpool and Man City’s squads are well out of range. Stan Kroenke is raking in the $$$ with the unheralded financial success of the NFL’s Rams’ move to LA and the stadium development. Yet, he doesn’t afford his managers a real chance to compete for CL places with the Gunners. Even Wenger, a great manager, couldn’t over the long run paper over the cracks in his squad.

        Taking potshots at Man City isn’t going to restore on-the-pitch glory for your club. You need to pressure Kroenke into real investment in the squad or find a way to entice him to sell to a proper owner.
        In short, get a clue, get a grip and get a life.

  2. How is it embarrassing? Arsenal have tried to embody FFP principles since before its inception. Of course they would fight this.

    Moreover, there is no reason the hearing cannot take place. The whole world is working remotely right now, so they can do the same.

  3. It wasn’t a mistake it was meant.
    It would have effected a teams performance by playing against a team filled with top top players bought with rule breaking finance.
    That’s OK but if caught face up to the consequences and accept your punishment.

  4. Dan Smith – why single out Arsenal?
    What surprises me is that ALL of the PL clubs didn’t join in! Citeh are long-time massive abusers of FFP rules. They’ve finally been caught, are guilty as hell, but are appealing as if they are totally innocent.
    It’s time to pay the piper!!

    1. Totally agree and its a surprise not that the two clubs bankrolled by billionaires to the hilt have both been caught cheating and are a disgrace to football. Kick out the cheats, it no different to athletes on steroids. CHEATS!

  5. Ifs, buts, maybe’s, it’s embarrassing how far your club has fallen. I love the fact that you believe City to be guilty. What are you basing this fact on? The media? Oh yeah now there’s a solid source isn’t it? Or is it just in hope? Wow, sort your own club out instead of trying to kick up dust on another one. Or is it just plain desperation?

    As a quick note to EUFA and what we are dealing with here. How many from EUFA or FIFA are in jail, banned or completely disowned after finding out the years, no, decades of theft and corruption these people did. Then spin it to a last year!!! PSG were fined and banned by EUFA, overspending and cooking the books. The PSG owner then some how ends up on the EUFA board??? They purchased Neymar and Mbappe in the same year for 400 million and somehow it ok? Or is it the PSG owner agreed to sponsor EUFA from his sports company and give EUFA lots of money? They are EUFA’s biggest sponsor!! So he goes from fined and banned to sponsoring them and on the EUFA board and you lot want to look at City??? All this corruption is going to come out just like it did for Blatter and Platini.

    1. Dan does NOT say City are guilty, in fact he says: “IF Man City are guilty, they deserve punishment. If that happens to benefit us then that’s fine but have your dignity, don’t make Arsenal look desperate…”

      But, then again, according to UEFA they ARE Guilty, which is why City are appealing…

  6. I can’t see why the appeal can’t go ahead. We live in a technological age of video conferencing etc. If Boris can still run the country whilst in self isolation then I’m pretty sure a bunch of lawyers can manage to get an outcome whichever side you’re on.
    I don’t accept your point as valid that in football terms this isn’t a priority. To me it is of great significance to what happens in Europe next season should football resume after this dreadful crisis is over. I don’t actually think being sporting is an issue here either as Man City were found guilty so how sporting were they?
    Even though Emery was a disaster at Arsenal he was a proven manager in Europe. I have no idea if all the ageing, proven managers would have been any better than Arteta. Mourinho is a proven manager but I can’t stand the pompous, odious man whose power is diminishing
    I agree that it is embarrassing to see how far we have fallen but I hardly describe Man City’s situation as a mistake

    1. Paul Power, it seems the governing bodies just want to go back as far as city at the moment – why?

      My own personal belief is that they are scared of, not only the eight clubs involved here, but the other big clubs of europe.

      Real Madrid have been bankrolled by the royal family in Spain for decades and I think they are scared of these “big clubs” forming their own affiliated league set up…so they are trying to be seen as the purveyors of justice, by being hard on the “new money” club city.

      If city have broken the rules, they deserve to be punished, as should any club under FIFA – if they are being made scapegoats and used as an example that is morally wrong and I hope city sue the backsides out of the governing bodies.

  7. I think that as the Scousers I so love to dislike (the fans of Liverpool FC not their rather annoyingly excellent team) we should all “calm down, calm down”.

    When City were in the doldrums and that, let’s face it, was a lot of years, I loved to watch Arsenal play a kind of football we could only dream about. That didn’t stop me from rolling around in a fit of hilarity when Joey Barton bought us a win with a penalty when the Arse had 80% of the ball and walked around our box failing to take a shot. This is football, we are tribal so let’s accept that and at times like this we should cut the crap.

    I am City, have been for more than half a century; the tribal bit of me says I believe Soriano and I believe that we will successfully defeat the accusations because I believe they are driven by vested interest and bad feeling. I may be wrong but when due process has finished EVERY STEP and an even handed decision has been handed down I’ll accept it even if I don’t like it. You and your club should do the same. I think that Wenger’s attitude and the role adopted by Arsenal FC, sucks. I think it rather demeaning.

    Be honest guys, FFP was not about saving clubs like Portsmouth for the fans – if you believe that I have an excellent investment for you, it just so happens that my cousin is married to a very rich Nigerian Prince…..

    FFP was all about protecting the financial interests of the European aristocracy, promoted by the European power players, the Milan clubs, the Spanish giants, the arrogant German aristocrats, for their personal and their club’s benefit. They saw Chelsea, and then PSG threaten them and so stepped in to task the demonstrably bent Splatini to protect their interests.

    Protect the fans? Do me a favour – did they punish massive debt, clubs bought out by leveraged takeovers funded by the future income like Man U for instance at the cost of their fans (OK maybe they got that one right – smacks wrist and exits stage left).

    Anyway it’s past my bedtime – Nurse, where’s me meds?

  8. City have cheated, lied and obstructed investigations into their dishonesty and cheating. They think they are above everyone and can do as they like. Their owners are notorious to put it mildly and think money can buy everything including the financial fair play rules and the bodies that run football, when they get caught cheating. As long as cheats are caught and punished then the fair minded teams cant complain and can go about their business following the rules as they should. If cheats are not brought to account, of course they can shout up and make sure that justice is served. The problem comes when it isn’t served and everyone should follow that rule.

      1. It could be Alphie but it might not be but dont get on the wrong side of me. Lol. Can i just say City have fantastic supporters and were a great and admirable club but that was before your owner took over your once great club. You obviously dont agree but your owners are a disgrace and shabby, that is putting it mildly. If you are proud to be a city fan i applaud you, if you are proud what your owners are doing, i despise you. Your club has been made successful by your owners but they have and are dragging you into the gutter. Our owner is dire and despicable but i would like to think we dont flaunt the rules to get ahead. Money and greed are ruining football and so is cheating. I hope your owners are clean but i doubt very much they are, the family are despicable and buy everything, including success. You should be proud of your club but you should despise your owners. They are ruining your reputation but i doubt your owners care one jot.

  9. I suspect that you have obtained your view of the City ownership from very one sided sources, Reggie. Let me provide a bit of balance. If you ask anyone, City fan or otherwise, who lives in East Manchester, you will hear nothing but praise for the positive input the CFG (City Ownership) have had on this, one of the most socially deprived areas in the UK. They have poured almost a billion ££ Sterling into regeneration of housing and business, have provided facilities for community sports programs, and the ‘City in the Community’ project funded by the club works wonders with youngsters who otherwise would have few positive inputs into their lives.

    Yes we do love this club, yes we do know that the ownership is far from perfect but aren’t we all? Yes we do know that we are immensely fortunate to have had the investment of the CFG. We also suspect that it is a degree of jealousy (why not us) that colours the views of many, and that the Establishment in football, notoriously bent for decades if not from the beginning, is more interested in protecting it’s own vested interests than the fans. You should read about your own club’s seedy past – 1908-1916 when they were the one of the first ever known footie match fixers – yest that’s ancient history but those who live in houses built from glass and all that…..

    Perhaps we should continue this chat when the litigation has finished and the dust settled Reggie. In the meantime I will run for the hills if I hear a chain saw anywhere near 🙂

    1. I dont excuse cheating from any club including my own. I cant remember 1908 to 1916 and even if i did, i would not be proud. If my club was cheating today, i would be ashamed and very sad, that is the truth. Our owner is a despicable person, that i admit, he kills animals for fun and doesn’t care for supporter as such. Your owners and it family are known for child exploitation, murders and literally buying anything they can and want for money. Like us, your club is your club but yours and our owners are not fit for purpose. Please dont try to stick up for your owners, they own your club but deep down the fans are far more important. Winning with honour is what you should be proud of as a fan not by underhanded dealings and breaking the rules to boost its investment and massage their ego.

  10. Look this FFP arguement lacks a huge amount of content and realism. UEFA are right to prosecute City ill explain my reasons later. But the way in which they have gone about it, is shamefull and highlights corruption at the top of our game. Also why PSG have not been sanctioned is amazing. They have been far worse than City but appear untouchable. The big disadvantage City have is they are a premier league club and we always get hit hard by Uefa fickle finger. Look at the European ban for all british clubs for hooliganism given back in the day. Where, in Europe to this day the Ultras of various clubs, extremists and racism is not punishable with the same sanctions is beyond me.

    Anyway………….

    You guys talk about UTD, yes i agree where did they get the cash from, despite being in so much debt. But we are talking about the biggest football club in the world and most well run commercial operation in football. Who…..bring in more money than any club can ever dream of. I do think cleaver accounting comes into play but you have include cash huge reserves also. its not being in debt thats the problem its wether they can afford to pay that debt back in a payment scheme, similar to how debtors would look at me and you. Utd have worked out this debt as a type of “loan” and their income allows that debt to be manageable.

    On to City and why they should be banned. “SIZE” city are not a big club and theres a reason i say this. Winning a few premier league titles does not make you a big club. If that were true Leicester are apparently bigger than Liverpool, i think not.

    Ill use fanbase as a basis for my example.

    The size of a clubs revenue, commercial deals, sponsorships and investments are dependent on a clubs size or outreach to the public. So world wide fan base being one of the biggest pulls for sponsors, the bigger the audience the nore money you get. If we look at it subjectively, it takes decades of success to build a fan base like LFC, Arsenal and Utd’s. Not being relegated down to the lowest league in your country then being in and out of the premiership for years before massive investment come in.

    Now if im a sponsor, who am i going to pay money too, to maximise my return. Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool or West Ham, Bournmouth, Brighton. The reason as a sponsor, i would want to do this is to make money (how many millions of people will walk around with shirt that has my logo on) simple. I would rather pay more money and reach 10x more customers than pay the lesser amount and reach a small amount of people.

    City are not a big club and their outreach even though it grown alot is still small. Their fan base does not even scratch the surface of what Utd, LFC, Arsenal, Real, Barcelona, Milan and the like have. But they manage somehow, to get some of the worlds biggest sponsorship deals. Bigger deals than any of the afore mentioned clubs. How? everyone asks and eventually Uefa. all the invested companies are either affiliated to or sister companies of companies owned by the sheik. This means that even though the money has come from different revenue streams. Those streams are all owned by the same man, the owner of the football club. Therefore hes investing his own cash which is outside the clubs legal natural revenue streams which in FFP rules is not allowed.

    Ask the question, how come city attracted some of the biggest names in football before they had actually won anything or played in the champions league. They were paying 5x more for players than the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool and offering twice the wages. Of which again they were doing illegally paying large chucks though “image rights” so it didnt impact end of year figures. How on earth could this small club who 3-4 seasons before, had been promoted and relegated to and from the prem numerous times in 6 seasons.

    This is a small part of the the reason City have been banned.

    1. So you think Etihad airways is owned by Mansour? If you do I rest my case!!! Let’s just spin back to FFP birth? TO STOP CLUBS GLING UNDER AND MAKE THEM PROFITABLE. Then the cartel aren’t happy because it’s not making the impact it should. Let’s change it, what could we do to cause a headache and just slow some clubs down? So FFP isn’t about keeping your Portsmouth’s afloat anymore!!! Be all and end all is you can dislike City all you want, that’s fine but do not join forces and back that corrupt bunch of jokers EUFA who have many faces.

      1. Dont throw you toys out of the pram, did i say city are not a superpower, no. No matter wether they bought that status or earned it or not, being a superpower and being a big club are 2 completely different things in the modern day fella. I dont dislike city mate, thats far from the truth i think they are a great football club and have a proud history especially when they relegated Utd, regardless of how patchy that history is. You have a great squad the most admired manager in world football and a mega rich owner.

        But City is a very young superpower and at the time of the fist mega investment they were a super small club. Who not too long before were bouncing between the top league and the lower teir like being on a dodgy pogo stick.

        My facts are a small example of why Uefa banned you from europe. Look mate how ever hard it is to take people are going to stick it too City because you bought success rather than earned it

    2. Sorry I missed a bit, everything that is wrong I’m football is in this next paragraph that you wrote. It’s pathetic.

      I’ll reword it for you. Know your place because we are big and eat all the money and you can’t because we are ace and you are not. We deserve everything because once we were great which means we should always be great, doesn’t it?

      You actually sound just like EUFA absolutely ridiculous. You can only have small sponsorship deals so it keeps you in your place because that’s the way it is!!! Honestly there is the real issue in football right there. It’s not City reaching for the stars but along the way making a deprived area buoyant again, nooooo, it’s people like you who believe you have the right to always be on the top perch and no matter what, never be pushed off it. Incredible

      1. The size of a clubs revenue, commercial deals, sponsorships and investments are dependent on a clubs size or outreach to the public. So world wide fan base being one of the biggest pulls for sponsors, the bigger the audience the nore money you get. If we look at it subjectively, it takes decades of success to build a fan base like LFC, Arsenal and Utd’s. Not being relegated down to the lowest league in your country then being in and out of the premiership for years before massive investment come in.

      2. you dont see sheffield utd spending 1.5 billon on their squad, nor wolves bournmouth to name more the list is endless. AlI agree Uefa have to punish you IF the facts or evidence they have do have foundation. Something of which me you or any football fan will ever know. plus City have been done once before for the same reason and then this time around didnt cooperate with the investigation which doesnt look good from any angle.

  11. Opinions dressed up as facts James. The weakness of your post lies in your ‘liddle club’ theory. You clearly have no knowledge of the breakdown of PL club revenues, which for all clubs follow a pattern. Most incoming monies are from TV and Commercial sources. TV is earned, commercial is a judgement call made by the sponsor.

    Four clubs in the PL have a measurably higher worldwide fan following than City. These are Manu, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea roughly in that order. City is 4th and has been gradually closing what is still a significant gap. This is in part a reflection of historic PL and Champions League worldwide TV exposure. There are rules in the UK over TV money distribution which helps support the less attractive teams in terms of sponsorship, the reasoning being that in every game it takes two to tango so every club is important to the competition and monies have to reflect this to some degree.

    On the other hand a high percentage of the worth of sponsorship is to do with exposure to market and City have every bit as much exposure to worldwide media as any other top European club and more than most. This makes City attractive to sponsors. As a club City are run in a highly efficient, business manner and has one of the most effective commercial departments set up by Garry Cook, the first City CEO under this ownership, and modelled on US sports franchise lines. Sure, nobody denies that the club’s owners primed the pumps in the early days but it is now 6 years since the owners put any new money into the club which has reported profit in each of those years.

    For the last decade Manu (and for you guys on this blog, sadly, Arsenal) have fallen back and are significantly less well run than City which has made strides in every area . It has nothing to do with your “my dad’s bigger than your dad” argument, James (substitute any preferred appendage for ‘dad’ if you wish). Neither does the rather childish and dim witted ‘Emptihad’ jibe work when held up to the light and measured against the attendances. 99% of PL games are sold out, early stages of cup competitions less so, but even if the stadium were `100% empty it wouldn’t make much difference in terms of overall revenues. Match day revenues are less than 10% of annual income for the top clubs. Lunnon clubs charge more, a lot more; you have a wealthier fan base and an arguably greedier ownership. City has a very loyal support in Manchester, it’s a family club and it is nurturing supporter growth in Manchester.

    When Sheik Mansour first bought the near bankrupt club that we the City fans love, most of you jibed that it would all turn to tears when he pulled his money out. Ten years later, next to the Etihad Stadium we have the Etihad Campus. A 90 acre state of the art training campus for all age level groups and first team squad and with a new 7,000 capacity Academy and Women’s Team Stadium. It is self financiang, players that don’t make the grade for our first team leave for fees which cover the running costs. Players like Phil Foden and Eric Garcia, Tommy Doyle and Taylor Harwood-Bellis who have already or will make the first team are the icing on the cake. There are HQ facilities and accommodation for the Academy lads, Sports Science and gymnasiums, everything that is required and all on one site at a capital cost of around £200m. Guess what, that site had stood empty and derelict for more than a decade, poisoned by decades of chemical waste from the defunct Clayton Aniline company era. Now it employs around 200 people and also provides 4 pitches with facilities for community use. We have a 55,000 seat stadium, to be increased to 62,000 in due course, and not a single penny of the cost of this infrastructure or investment into the club has been made as a loan. Every pound has been capitalised into shares.

    1. All I want to know is why you fell away in the title race and let those car-jackers run away with it??!! 😩
      Obviously being a gooner, I always want us to be victorious in every competition, if not then I want your lot to (as my daughter is a City supporter) and I quite like some of your players!

      Be interesting to see how this plays out.. the one thing that eludes you…. if you’re not successful with the appeal, will Pep stay?! He could always come to us as Mikel’s assistant and for good measure bring KDB with him 😉😝

      1. Bless you Sue – I come from a strand of City supporters who are more than prepared not to win everything all of the time as long as that means we never turn into “ManU” style entitled numpties :-:-)

        The reality is that there are only going to be a limited number of clubs that can will the PL in any one season. What should never happen is for a top few to be regulated into those positions and the door slammed shut on the rest. Leicester, Everton, Wolves and even Newcastle 😉 deserve the chance to dream. I may need to amend that opinion oif Lidz get promoted! City won the PL trice on the trot – not many do that, and it has taken exceptional squads to deliver this time and in the past.

        It takes a rare combination of factors to get to that level. Yes, City had a massive ‘shove up’ to get us into the region where we could compete, but we didn’t actually reach the level that we reached in 2018/19 and 19/20 until the club was well established in every area of the club from top to bottom, and on the park, and with manager/coach who delivers the style and content that the hierarchy and fans want to see. That this is more the kind of football that Arsenal delivered at their best probably explains why the more reasonable and perhaps older supporters of both of our clubs can put rank tribalism aside and have a civilised disagreement 🙂

        Eventually I will forgive the Gooners for nicking Mikel, but seeing as we stole him from you in the first place I won’t sulk too much 🙂

        I will mark you up for not being one of the Wengeresque Gooners who were happy to screw huge sums for OTT and no longer wanted players and then whinged and still whine about it. In fairness some of them did OK for us, we needed good, experienced players to settle us into a higher level and we do not hold grudges – we will forgive and forget about Adebayor in some Kings reign 

        1. 😂 regarding ManU 👍(can’t stand that lot)
          Plus winning the domestic treble last season had never been done before, which deserved a lot of credit, yet everyone was too busy talking about Liverpool (cue the vomit haha!)

          Your team do play some great football, which I love watching with my daughter (apart from when it’s against us!! 😄)… not that keen on Mendy, Zinchenko, Walker – for obvious reasons.. and Gundogan… but the rest are top notch.. love Aguero, KDB & Sane…. one day we’ll be up there challenging you for the league 🙂
          Been pleasantly surprised with Mikel.. he wasn’t top of my list if I’m honest, but been really happy with what he’s brought to the Emirates (& not just Pep’s cashmere sweaters 😜). I liked the bromance he had with Pep, not quite the same seeing Pep with that other fella….
          Adebayor – meh!!! Haha!!

  12. But I am surprised by how you had given bias in favour of the accused and at same time already discredited Arsenal & owner.
    BUT AND BUT , since when has Stan found such duty fanciful, to devote time to lead a crusade. Uhm

  13. Why all the talk people? Who’s in the dock and who’s not? They’re innocent, they’re not. The reality is, City have a windmill to battle down. Good luck with that.

    Even if they win their appeal, how are they going to live down the reputation that they were actually caught with their hands in the cookie jar, because, let’s face it, they are not walking away from this smelling of roses.

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