By Tony Attwood
So where do we start with the Manc case? We have been dipping into it off and on since it started, forever watching out for legal restrictions, watching the Athletic, which somehow seemed to know what ManC were going to do before the club did, and yes, I must admit, rather enjoying it all.
And most of us were right: Manc were to be found guilty of most of the 115 charges – well, 114 of them we heard. There were no signs that the Premier League had been frightened into their boots by threats, and the regulators did their job.
Reading throuh all the documents and commentaries that are available, the one that leaps out most is the notion that Manc have been unbelievably arrogant – they didn’t believe they could lose and, having lost, can’t believe they have lost. Maybe that is a misinterpretation, but that is how we see it. And that will drive them to an appeal.
As the Independent said, “That could yet take months, even years,” but the great benefit we will all have is that we can report the case we’ve just had, and the appeal if it happens.
So what do the Mancs do now? Nothing, and carry on playing? Sell the club and walk away? Call the judges and courts corrupt? Fight through every appeal avenue available? Who knows. The one thing we have learned is that these people don’t think as we do. That’s not to blame them – there is nothing that says our approach to logic and law is right, but it is just interesting to note. They are very different from the rest of us.
But still we ask, where does that leave the ManC? There are those who are saying “we’ll appeal” without any real indication that they know what that means, or that what losing an appeal can mean. They bought into this project – which means the propaganda and the football. And now….???
And amidst all this, there is a lot we don’t know, although I suspect the reception the Mancy players will get as they step on the pitch in future is not going to be very friendly. A chant of “cheat cheat cheat” every time they touch the ball is the very least they can expect.
Part of the Manc problem is that they just did not, would not, could not believe this sort of result could happen. And to be fair, nor did we. I wrote that it could be years before we got a ruling – and wow, there it was a few days later. Sorry, we can all make mistakes – I just seem to make more of them! And meanwhile, the constant view from within the club that they are innocent of all charges is being maintained, but the reaction to it has changed beyond measure.
But perhaps what was most interesting was the way the club expressed itself after losing the case. It said, “The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.”
That might be what they believe, but the problem they have now is that most of football and a lot of (quite possibly most of) the football journalists simply don’t believe that. But by saying that the club will appeal, the club has ensured that the whole mess is running and on we go, chattering away about the same things…
And so we are left with all sorts of options, like the removal of people in the club who tried to dupe the league. The League could even try and get the owners listed as not proper people to run a club. The owners could sell the club, or be forced to sell the club on the grounds of false accounting and providing knowingly false financial data. Such accusations would of course have to be heard in court and could take quite a while. It could, as they say, run and run.
And that’s before we get started with points deductions – every club that has drawn with or lost to ManC will be claiming “foul”, meaning clubs that were relegated because of points lost to ManC will demand a recount.
And some will want the club kicked out of the league – which of course could lead to Manc setting up a league of its own, while others will simply want millions of pounds in compensation.
And what about Haaland? What is his future now worth? Will Guardiola be able to manage again? Did he really not know something odd was going on? If so it makes him a very unobservant manager.
Then there are their league titles. Should they be removed? And what about the clubs that would have got into Europe had City not come above them in the League? How much compensation can they now claim?
ManC people are saying “you can’t take our titles,” but there are no rules as to what can and can’t be done at this point. They might get away with still claiming they won the league during this period, but they are liable simply to make themselves a laughing stock. I might say “good luck with that project”, but I wouldn’t mean it.
