Man City - the new bitters?

[DaveT]

2 hours ago, Barry Wom said:

Dunno mate, I'm not into social media enough to know. But aside from our mates from county road, I can't see why everyone wouldn't want to rip them. 

Surely the measure of the leagues quality can only be in how it compares to other leagues, unless all of a sudden we're supposed to believe they don't count either?

 

Last season we had all 4 finalists in the European competitions.

 

This year, everybody has qualified in both the CL and EL.

 

Man City are broadly seen (despite them being cheating cunts) as the best side in the history of English football and have only been eliminated from European competition in the last 2 seasons when they've met another English side.

 

Since klopp was manager Liverpool have only lost European games in finals. Out of the 8 finalists in the uefa cup England have provided 4 places, winning 2 and have provided 3 finalist from the last 8 in the champions League, winning one. In the same time of the 5 major leagues, Italy have taken 1 of those 16 final births, France 1 and Germany none.  Only Spain competes providing 6 finalists to England's 7, while taking 5 trophies to England's 3. But the tradjectory is in going towards England. 

 

It would feel to me with all the evidence we have available to us at this moment in time, English football is about as strong as it has ever been, is either the strongest or 2nd strongest in Europe depending how you want to measure it. Any idea we are winning a weak league is just a bunch of bad losers trying to reason why our win has no value. 

Nooo! Every single team across Europe is transitioning!

[Barrington Womble]

1 hour ago, Moo said:

The usual reasoning for people claiming the league is weak this year (note not last year when City were amazing and four teams got to the European finals) is that the so-called big teams are a bit rubbish.  But that does a massive disservice to Leicester, Sheff Utd, and Wolves. Was it a weak league when Leeds won it, and Blackburn, and Man Utd in the mid 90s because we were a bit shit, Chelsea were nowhere,  Tottenham were nowhere, Arsenal were scrambling about?  No of course not, that's just the nature of football and no one has a divine right to be challenging at the top.  It's a bullshit argument that some are making to help themselves feel better about how good we are, it's eating them up inside. 

Also, as shown by how competitive these teams are in Europe, it suggests maybe our league is strong when our teams are more consistent in Europe than they are domestically. 

[Pete]

I hope they implode. Cheating cunts. 

[an tha]

24 minutes ago, dockers_strike said:

Personally, I think if city were going to stand any chance of having the 'leaked' emails thrown out as non admissable, CAS will have accepted that argument during city's appeal \ plea \ whatever you want to call it and, rejected UEFA's disciplinary body's case and claim. But they didnt.

 

From where Im standing, CAS very much think there's a case for city to answer and they arent UEFA's puppet.

Not too sure that is the case.

 

Have a read of this:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/nov/15/manchester-city-cas-appeal-financial-fair-play-uefa-dismissed

 

Reads to me as 'we can't do anything until an actual decision/punishment has been reached'

[Barrington Womble]

1 hour ago, TheHowieLama said:

Michael Brown -- dozy cunt

 

 

"The money has certainly put them on a platform," said Brown. "But you've got to look at the planning, the appointment of Pep Guardiola, the purchases of football clubs all around the world, it's been an amazing turnaround. Yes, there's been financial help, but what've they've done as a football club, what they've done on the pitch, the way they've gone about it, I think they've been first class.

"They've been honourable how they've gone about it, as usual like Manchester City."

He was saying this on Friday on 5live, in fact it was the overall BBC narrative, they're honourable and done everything the right way. Quite astonishing really. 

[Leyton388]

The Athletic are reporting that city are going to look into their rivals finances.

 

If their defence is "but others are doing it" then they're fucked.

 

Bunch of fannies

 

[The Guest]

3 hours ago, Horus said:

At the moment, if the ban is upheld and Guardiola walks away, he goes with his reputation intact, but if he stays, after knowing what they did and benefiting from it, he should have to answer some serious and continued questioning about his part.

His credibility is in tatters.  He knows exactly what they’ve been up to which is why he flipped on the reporter who asked him if he’s been getting paid off the books.

[joe_fishfish]

9 minutes ago, Barry Wom said:

He was saying this on Friday on 5live, in fact it was the overall BBC narrative, they're honourable and done everything the right way. Quite astonishing really. 

 

The entire BBC Sport operation is run from Salford these days, no surprise that they're so pro-Mancunian.

[Leyton388]

I'm sure the powers that be at the BBC made similar excuses for Jimmy Saville back in the day. 

 

"But he does so much for charity"

"Hes a British institution"

 

The BBC can get to fuck.

[Johnlj]

UEFA will make Real Madrid do a Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart kind of thing. No doubt about it.

[Jimmy Hills Chin]

Probably the first time ever I’ll be supporting Real Madrid.

[Bob]

55 minutes ago, Reckoner said:

For me the two season ban was given, with a view to them appealing and getting it reduced to one. Time will tell.

I’ve thought that since I heard it. Whether city’s owners would accept that or fight it further though, I’m not sure.

[magicrat]

5 minutes ago, Bob Spunkmouse said:

I’ve thought that since I heard it. Whether city’s owners would accept that or fight it further though, I’m not sure.

I think they would if UEFA put the FA back in their box over points deductions and stripping of trophies.

[Bob]

5 minutes ago, magicrat said:

I think they would if UEFA put the FA back in their box over points deductions and stripping of trophies.

Can’t see uefa wanting to have anything to say over what the FA do.

 

i also can’t see the FA stripping titles, to be honest.

 

i think they’ll dock them points if it’s settled before the end of the season, or just fine them if it runs over into next year.

[TheHowieLama]

The problem with that theory is the ban is the least of their worries going forward.

 

They would be under a microscope to get in line after the ban is finished - that is what they do not want.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

It'll be interesting to see what Guardiola does. He's an exceptional coach, but also pretty naive, as shown by his yellow ribbon stand. His Cruyffian idealism has made him blind to the means that facilitate his aesthetically beautiful football ends. 

 

If they lose the CAS appeal, and drag this out for months/years in order to delay any ban, it'll just be hanging over him. Any success achieved in the interim is like a goal that's due to be VAR checked. 

 

He's looking pretty tired. The questions aren't going away, and it'll be a constant drip effect over the course of his final season. Each win written up with a parting shot, a paragraph about ongoing legal action, framing their success against alleged offences.

 

It'll hurt them in the short term, but an expedited process, a clean break from Guardiola, those who oversaw the cheating, and accepting the ban (bartered down to one season) is the only way to draw a line under the affair and salvage what little dignity they have left. I won't hold my breath.

[kop77]

Mancheater City.

[Captain Turdseye]

29 minutes ago, Babb'sBurstNad said:

It'll hurt them in the short term, but an expedited process, a clean break from Guardiola, those who oversaw the cheating, and accepting the ban (bartered down to one season) is the only way to draw a line under the affair and salvage what little dignity they have left. I won't hold my breath.

Isn’t that the entire ownership of the club?

[Stickman]

Not sure why everyone is going on about something so petty like City cheating when according to Martin Samuel on Sunday Supplement, City being picked on by UEFA is equivalent to Windrush 

[Elite]

7 minutes ago, Stickman said:

Not sure why everyone is going on about something so petty like City cheating when according to Martin Samuel on Sunday Supplement, City being picked on by UEFA is equivalent to Windrush 

That fat cunt will have wind rush every few minutes, the slobbering mess.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

25 minutes ago, Captain Turdseye said:

Isn’t that the entire ownership of the club?

The Sheikh is probably shrouded by enough plausible deniability. No direct emails to him, only signs cheques etc. Throw a few people under the bus and pay them handsomely for taking the fall, under the pretence of cleaning house. 

[No2]

2 hours ago, an tha said:

I reckon the cheating bastards will get it overturned due to how the information was obtained.

Them not denying the emails/charges etc is a clever strategy. You start denying it, looks like you have something to hide - simply saying you’re not acknowledging stolen documents gives nothing away, and IMO they'll get it overturned on that point - how the info was obtained.

We don't know that UEFA ever used those hacked emails. What's to say they didn't just say to City we believe something untoward has gone down, can please send us the email correspondence from Mr X to Mr Y on such a date? If you don't produce them well then it's our ball and you're not playing with it.

 

The fine of €30m could just be coincidental but the fact it's the amount one of the owners is quoted as being prepared to spend on lawyers looks to me like UEFA want to fuck them over. That mail about the former prime minister's death won't have gone unnoticed in UEFA and I'd say CAS weren't overly impressed with it either.

[Stickman]

25 minutes ago, Elite said:

That fat cunt will have wind rush every few minutes, the slobbering mess.

Haha 

[Red Phoenix]

4 hours ago, Babb'sBurstNad said:

Was that posted by someone called Blue Phoenix?

 

[Anubis]

55 minutes ago, Stickman said:

Not sure why everyone is going on about something so petty like City cheating when according to Martin Samuel on Sunday Supplement, City being picked on by UEFA is equivalent to Windrush