Jamie Holmes
809 posts
Jamie Holmes
@jimoosk
dog lover, coffee lover, mood 100% determined by football results.
We still haven't had a verdict in the 115 charges against City for (alleged) financial malfeasance. City are spending more money this winter, chasing another title. Ed and Adam pick up the story. @AdamJoseph Patreon: buff.ly/hvz9uxW Apple: buff.ly/2pedwZA
“𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵?” I’ve had many people ask me about this after I posted this thread: x.com/themagic_topha… I’ve tried to explain in my posts why I write what I do but maybe it hasn’t been clear. 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙣 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙚? Well, I’ve read the leaked emails in which they outline precisely how they were covertly breaking the rules to gain an absurd competitive advantage. We’re talking about many hundreds of millions of pounds unfair, additional spending over a period where transfer fees and wages were 30-50% less than they are now. That’s huge. But that’s actually not the reason why I believe they should be expelled from the PL. Other teams have breached FFP to a significant degree, such as PSG, but I see Man City’s situation as different for two reasons… 1. It was hidden. Most other clubs have been brazen when they break FFP and expect sanctions (at least from what we’re aware of). They flirt with the rules or even ignore them altogether but they do so in a way that allows the authorities to see it and address it. Man City orchestrated a complex, covert operation to hide what they did so that they could have the appearance of playing by the rules. For me, this is worthy of a heavier sanction than had they done it in the open… but maybe not permenant expulsion. For example, when Uefa discovered what they had done, they only sought a 2-year ban from the Champions League. I believe everyone deserves a second chance - to have the opportunity to learn from their wrongs and seek to make amends. Maybe, if Man City had accepted what they did was wrong when it was discovered and expressed remorse, then a punishment such as relegation would have sufficiced (with heavy ongoing monitoring). However, that’s not the path they chose… 2. Instead, they refused to accept they did anything wrong and have fought tooth and nail to avoid any justice for their actions. During the Uefa investigation it is widely reported that Man City’s Chairman told the President of Uefa that “he would rather spend 30 million on the 50 best lawyers in the world to sue [Uefa] for the next 10 years” rather than to submit to sanctions. That’s basically what has happened with the Premier League (albeit they couldn’t avoid justice for 10 years, only 6) They had their second chance, and their third, and their fourth and so on… and they batted them away every time. They have shown no desire to learn from what they did, make amends or change behaviour. This shows me that there is a pervasive culture within the hierarchy of the club that is dismissive about the need to follow rules. But sport is all about rules. If a game has no rules, it’s not a game. It’s those rules, whatever you think of them, that create the opportunity to excel in spite of them and win. Football has a rule that you can’t handle the ball unless you’re the goalkeeper. If an outfield player decided to ignore this and pick up the ball to run it into the opposition’s net then I don’t think anyone watching, on either side, would want that given as a goal. It’s not sport. And for me, it’s the same here. If you don’t follow the rules, it’s no longer sport. Now, I have many misgivings about FFP and PSR rules - how they have been constructed and applied. Their implications. Who they benefit and who they do not. I have not spent the time but I would bet they could be constructed far more fairly. However, you don’t get to individually pick which rules you follow and which you don’t if you want to compete in sport. Campaign to change them if you don’t like them… but until that day comes, if you want to compete, you have to follow them…