06 Oct 2026 13:46:14
After listening to a lot of stuff on the City situation, I have a worry that they might have a chance to get any punishment overturned on the basis of competition law. The same as the UEFA charges.
It's blatantly obvious that City systematically broke the EPL rules on owner investment, and made every effort to hide it. Their defence that the money didn't come directly from the owners is silly, and I assume that their appeal to the EPL will fail. Under the EPL rules they're caught bang to rites.
However, an appeal to the high court on the basis of competition law looks more complicated. Post-2020 football clubs have made a significant shift away from being community organisations, and are now de facto private businesses. I would assume that the real City legal strategy is to argue that the EPL rules are anti-competitive. Something along the lines of: the rules prevent smaller businesses from investing the necessary money to become a market leader.
The fact that City voted for these rules and understood that they were bound by them counts against the club. Still, the fact that this argument comes with broader business precedent, makes things murkier. If City's owners were in another sector, it would be perfectly legal for them to invest whatever they deemed necessary to compete against the market leaders. This makes it come down to the high court weighing industry agreed rules against broader principles of competition law. And, these broader laws tend to suggest that industry rules should not be used as a means to prevent smaller/newer businesses from competing with the more established market leaders.
For me, this is another negative impact of football losing its communal identity. Because clubs have gone full steak ahead into becoming solely commercial entities, this opens potential legal loopholes for City. I would be astonished and disgusted if City wormed their way out. But I have a gnawing feeling that the fear of City suing the EPL is they are punished and the decision is overturned on appeal will prevent any action until they've exhausted every avenue. Not only has City's cheating put a dark cloud over the past two decades, their appeals could ruin the next decade too.
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06 Oct 2026 16:02:01
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06 Oct 2026 12:29:23
I saw the highlights of the 1990 League Cup game at Arsenal on a social media reel, which we won 6 - 2, with a 19 year old Lee Sharpe hat trick. We had been bang average for a few seasons and that year saw us start to blossom, going on to win the FA Cup, which kick started the trophy run.
6 of the team from the Arsenal game would be first choice for the League title winning team in '93, but I remember back in '90 you never knew what you would get, we could win any game, we could lose any game and the journey from 1990 through to the double in 1994 was such a ride. I was at Anfield in '92 when the title was lost, and I was at OT against Blackburn a year later, seeing the first title for 26 years.
I know we went to to bigger and better things but it remains my favourite period, the EPL had just started in '92/93 so the rampant commercialisation hadn't taken off, we still had the deepest pockets so bought the best players.
Good times.
06 Oct 2026 15:59:41
I spent 15 years in school and uni and had to listen to scouse fans taking the mickey all that time. Only a few fs cups to shout about.
My boys had the opposite.
06 Oct 2026 09:39:44
I wish the Glazers had done something bad enough for the EPL to force them to sell up and move on.
06 Oct 2026 10:27:56
Don't we all?
06 Oct 2026 11:32:38
Careful what you wish for, seeing as City are likely to be booted out of the Prem before that happens might not be the best idea
(Obviously I would love the Glazers out though)
05 Oct 2026 23:35:49
Leny Yoro made his full debut for France tonight and seemingly had a very good game. Some had him down as Man of the Match.
We need to start giving him more playing time, there is a good player there, but he does need more opportunity.
He did a lot of work in the summer on improving his strength and physicality, needed for the rigours of the EPL.
We need to be moving on from Harry Maguire, he should be a squad player, not a regular starter.
Can't help but think of the quote made by Bill Shankly many, many, years ago, while giving a team talk to his Liverpool team prior to a game against us when he was lauding Best, Charlton and Law. He said to his players - and watch out for that Paddy Crerand, he's even slower than you think!. That's were we are with Harry, he's not going to get any quicker.
We have to get more pace at the back.
06 Oct 2026 00:21:34
I saw the comments iwtb for Yoro, apparently if it was not Olises two goals he would be man of the match. He was theoretically their second best performer. But to be fair to our coaches, in Premier League sometimes gets exposed, international footie is like a different sport.
I like Yoro, he is a good lad with some good attributes, but he is nowhere near a player that can start at the top level. Or he was not, as you said he did a lot of work at summer and hopefully he is ready to kickstart his career.
06 Oct 2026 00:53:49
Maguire couldn't get much slower!!
06 Oct 2026 05:09:06
Yoro just don't look cut out for EPL and when and if he does play, certainly needs an experienced CB with pace next to him problem is we not got one of them
Carrick should send City a crate of champagne all the talk been about them so Carrick had an easy ride in these few weeks.
Let's hope that please we get a result against Spurs, otherwise the heat really will come on him and rightly so.
06 Oct 2026 08:22:05
He's class, he needs to play, you get better by playing at the top level.
06 Oct 2026 10:18:01
He needs game time. He needs to play alongside a top CB. However if Martinez and MdL stay fit, they will likely be first choice wiyh Maguire as third choice.
06 Oct 2026 11:34:06
I really liked Yoro at right back during pre-season. Felt like he gave more going forward and defensively then Dalot (although admittedly the sample size was very small)
06 Oct 2026 11:40:01
Think people forget how young he is. He needs time and games and to be allowed to make mistakes. Unfortunately you make a mistake at United and you're never going to be good enough and you need selling and replacing with a shinier model.
06 Oct 2026 13:02:28
We should be playing Yoro and giving him a run of games and have faith that he can develop, whilst also accepting there may be problems along the way. Unfortunately Maguire is a solid player and will give you 6/10 in all games so the highs and lows are not there.
I thought that Yoro as a CB playing at RB was an interesting option and looked okay in the pre season, lots of teams have used this option to success and was something that I thought Carrick had tried at Boro with one full back being more attacking than the other.
Either way if we do not see what we have got with him it is likely that he will move on.
05 Oct 2026 23:21:56
I left England in 2006 to live in Australia, I was a season ticket holder and some of my best memories are following Utd, especially 1999.
I still loved the game, watching Ronney, Ronaldo, Keane and Scholes, too many to mention was unforgettable.
The talk in the pub was about who would be playing, what the score would, you could feel the excitement. Now it seems to be about the owners, this player pissed off, the cost to get a ticket etc.
Football has got lost and am not sure it can ever be the same. I used to get up at 2am to watch the games, now I can't even be bothered to watch the highlights.
Unfortunately this generation will never know what it is like to get up in the morning and actually go to a proper football game, where the players where the main topic and played for each other, the fans and the badge.
06 Oct 2026 00:59:04
I moved to Melbourne Oz in 2001 and am much the same as you. Was a season ticket holder for years.
Like you I used to get up but now just watch the replays. Has not got the same feel as it once had.
06 Oct 2026 06:03:53
I should say that if the game is on at a reasonable hour I stay up or get up early for the pain. The Live Chat is entertaining!
05 Oct 2026 17:53:32
Question for eds and posters, will it be possible and realistic for fans to come together and sue City? After all we have also been deprived of what we paid for die to their cheating.
05 Oct 2026 22:21:27
I think this is getting a bit silly now. City will get a severe punishment and it will in no way compensate everyone for the lost years of football they have taken from us. Clubs will sue them for money they clearly cannot afford unless the deal they do with the epl somehow deals with club compensation.
Football has a decision to make. Are you going try to end city and bankrupt them, or more likely force them into a new breakaway league quicker?
They need have a big punishment, but I don't think it is right that the club is ended. How they decide to do it will no doubt be a long drawn out process. But a league without man city in it is worse off today. We need a path back to fair play and fierce competition.
It is not city's fault we are crap. We did that to ourselves.
05 Oct 2026 22:35:04
I agree with the sentiment but I'm not sure a league without City will necessarily be worse off. There are a number of teams that would step up. Was not that long ago City were playing County!
A league without the the shadow of cheating hanging over it would be better.
I really have no idea how this will pan out but I know what I want to happen.
06 Oct 2026 05:12:13
City done irreparable damage to EPL much like Juve done to Serie A .
But let's not kid ourselves other cheating not got on. Only last season Southampton spying, plenty of noises around Referees too big money involved = dodgy dealings.
05 Oct 2026 18:39:36
Not sure, but does the fact that City have so many players on huge wages impacts FFP considering they have been found guilty of basically lying about their incomes. Or does FFP only on purchases. Will they need to sell players to reduce their wage bill?
05 Oct 2026 18:57:40
Redcon,
None of their players will be at the club if the punishment is how it should be so it won't be an issue. They would have broken FFP rules every year if they hadn't falsified their income.
06 Oct 2026 08:46:31
City broke the PSR rules. Going forward they're no longer applicable, replaced by Squad Cost Ratio, which would allow them to spend 85% of their revenues on the costs associated with putting the team on the pitch: wages, amortization, manager and coaches etc. That's probably around £500m. Without European football they might still be okay, or they may have to sell a player or two. If they're still allowed to qualify for the Champions League then they will have to comply with UEFA's SCR which is only 70%. City's reported revenues over the last couple of years have been around £700m.
Big question. Have City, which has the highest commercial revenues of all EPL clubs, been inflating their income via sham contracts since 2019. Is it possible UEFA will revisit potential breaches?
05 Oct 2026 07:39:03
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04 Oct 2026 21:14:21
Why anyone thinks the billionaire owners of City are going to gracefully back down and quietly accept a plea deal is beyond me.
The Arab pysche places an inordinate amount of value on not being publicly embarrassed, not losing face. That is far more important to them than any effect their actions have on the game.
05 Oct 2026 19:00:48
This is correct. And will. play a part. It is literally not illegal to lie blatantly in a court case as saving face and protecting your honour is seen as expected. There is also no punishment for doing so.
04 Oct 2026 10:14:48
Can there be a positive outcome from all of this?
I just don't see how the EPL will ever be the same again. The whole City era, right up to today has been tainted. Even if the period since has not required sham contract, the sine qua non of todays' dominant club with its massive payroll is the cheating during the period the panel has now ruled upon.
Will it reignite the European super league the rich clubs always wanted? And, if so, what will be the economic impact on the EPL?
Back in the 1970s there was a very popular book called "Small is Beautiful" by E F Schumacher. It was "a critique of industrialized Western economic policies that prioritize "bigger is better, " consumption, and endless growth over human well-being and ecological balance"
The EPL has been the antithesis of small is beautiful. It's become more and more a play thing of the global elites, transcending other national leagues in popularity. Only 3 or 4 clubs are owned by Brits. The price paid is that these people don't really give a hoot about the clubs, the fans or even the history. All they care about is money and their image. Our own club, which astonishingly, despite years of losses, has somehow managed to avoid PSR breaches, is perhaps the worst example of all. It's been systematically raped of its cash flows for the purpose of personal enrichment. That process continues to this day with money now being syphoned off for real estate speculation.
PSR was initiated not just to protect individual clubs from bankruptcy but to try to preserve some sense of fair competition within the league itself. One could make a case that this has been enormously successful, making the EPL the dominant global football entertainment simply because of its relative competitiveness from top to bottom. Now we've moved on to rules similar to UEFAs FFP squad cost ratio with as yet unknown consequences.
But, overriding all of this is the stain that City have left on the league. Whether or not they win their appeal or negotiate a punishment that appeases their wealthy autocratic owners, that stain will never be removed in the minds of us, the English people who watch football.
The economic impacts are potentially enormous, not just for City and its owners, but for the whole league, all ts clubs and fans. This changes everything. Is there really anything positive that can come out of this?
04 Oct 2026 11:17:41
I mentioned recently I just don't care as much as I used to, and tbh, I can take or leave it nowadays. You can never stop following your team, it's in your blood, but the over commercialisation of football, particularly in England has ruined the game.
The debt piled on United without any sanction, the obscene fees and salaries we see, the way Sky positions the sport is massively over the top, we have lost all sense of sport.
The City debacle may irrevocably damage the EPL. An indifferent punishment leaves their credibility shattered forever, whilst an appropriate punishment could see a slew of lawsuits, both from City and clubs who feel they were wronged.
I don't see any positive outcome here.
04 Oct 2026 13:08:47
Tour de france has had re ord viewi g figures revenue and attended by more than ever post armstrong so i don't see any long term issues for the epl if they act in the right manner.
04 Oct 2026 14:10:34
Revert back to the Football League.
End the Premier League
Restructure lower leagues in tor region leagues from League 2 down.
Vote on a British League.
05 Oct 2026 11:22:39
Ken, I hope you are right. However I am reminded of Yates's lines. :
All has changed, changed utterly,
A terrible beauty is born.
05 Oct 2026 11:35:05
I think they'll get around it by not making the punishment as harsh as everyone is making it out. The club won't be wiped into oblivion and stripped of every title and every other club in England compensated for what they may or may not have won otherwise. Huge fine, large points deduction that will prevent them winning the league this season but that's about it.
05 Oct 2026 19:03:43
We can't just point fingers at city behaviour though. Those that loaded us with debt share equal blame. Is it any wonder we are so far behind them when our collective net investment is minus £1.7 billion, when you look at interest payments alone added to city overspend. Then you get the principal sum that is now £1.1bn. So we are £2.8bn behind city, that's more than an entire Chelsea along with their first years spending.
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