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Featured: That was the week that was (May 18-24 2019)


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Saturday May 18:

 

What a farce. City beat Watford 6-0 in the cup final. 6-0!! In a cup final. The FA will be fuming but this is partly on them. And UEFA. And the PL. And the media members who have said nothing about the shit being pulled by City and their hideous owners.  

 

I didn’t watch it but when I heard the score I just laughed. I said in the Wolves match report I hoped City put ten past Watford because it might finally dawn on people just how they’re ruining English football. Because we were so incredible this year it deflected away from what they’ve done. 

 

City complained incessantly about the good press we got but they should have been on their knees kissing our feet because if we hadn’t ran them so close they’d have won the league by January and all the talk would have been of how they’ve ruined the competition in this country with their illegal spending.

 

All the knobs who cheered for them because it stopped us winning the league, were they cheering for them today too? Evertonians were, obviously, but what about the rest? This affects you too, arsewipes. City have won five of the last six domestic trophies. You should be upset about this too. This isn’t Liverpool’s fight, it’s everyone’s (not you Everton).

 

What was great about today was that they did the treble and nobody gave a fuck. They expected people to be lauding them for their achievement, but aside from some fawning from journalists who should know better, they didn’t get it. In fact, what they got was snark. 

I saw some belting tweets from Nick Harris, Rob Harris and Miguel Delaney, and Rob Harris even opened up the press conference by grilling Guardiola on whether he’d been paid ‘off the books’ the same way Mancini had. Well done that man.

 

Of course Guardiola saw his arse and was giving it the “we’ve just won the treble and you’re asking me this? Now? Really?” routine. No denial though, tellingly. Thing is, when was he supposed to ask the question? The story has been in the news this week and if it wasn’t asked now, then it would have to wait until August when he does his next press conference. And if that press conference was at City then the question would have been shot down anyway. He first asked it last November and still hasn’t had an answer.

 

So this was the perfect time to do it and Guardiola’s reaction said it all. He’s rattled. He knows that the easy ride he’s had about City’s business practices is coming to an end. UEFA are after them, and if and when they actually do something then the PL will surely follow suit at the urging of the other clubs (not you, Everton).

 

So well played to the national journalists who have gone after them today, and shame on those who haven’t. Hopefully today is a turning point.


Sunday May 19:


Real Madrid lost 2-0 at home to Betis today and Bale was left on the bench. They must have some team if they don’t need to bring him on. They finished third though, so how good must Barca and Atletico be? Wait, we smashed Barca so how good must we be?? 

 

It’s mad though, I just don’t get the way he’s treated over there. They really hate him don’t they? It makes no sense. I mean yeah, he’s injured a fair bit and probably isn’t worth the salary they pay him, but it’s the hostility that I just don’t get. The fans never want to give him any credit and now Zidane is desperate to force him out. Probably hair envy.

 

At any other club in the world, with the possible exception of the equally odious Barcelona, he’d be idolised for life after what he did in the CL Final last year. Yet he barely even got any credit for it from them.

 

He didn’t do the lap of appreciation with his team-mates after the game today and instead just went straight down the tunnel. He shouldn’t have done that. It was the wrong thing to do and I think he should have handled things a lot better. 

 

The correct thing to do would have been to go out there and walk around the field… waving a white hankie at all those ungrateful, spoilt, entitled fucking dickheads.

 

My guess is he ends up back at Spurs now. What other choice is there? He’d be an idiot to go to United and I doubt any of the other top clubs over here would be interested, given his age, salary and fitness record. If he were a couple of years older he’d be nailed on for West Ham. 

 

Meanwhile, Gerrard has made an offer to loan Ryan Kent for another year. Liverpool have played a blinder with this kid. He’s always had talent but his loan spells haven’t generally worked out too well, which meant his value wasn’t particularly high. This loan at Rangers though has done the trick and he’s now valued at around £15m (or £30m if we can get Eddie Howe interested).

 

If anyone offers that kind of money then I suspect he’ll be sold this summer, but if not then let him have another year at Rangers to increase his value further. They’ve apparently lined up Sheyi Ojo as an alternative if they can’t get Kent, so maybe he’ll be worth millions this time next year too, unless Nice Guy Eddie wants to bung a few quid our way for him now.

 

We’re doing a great job buying players these days but we might be even better at selling them. Look at how much the value of Kent, Wilson, Grujic and Herbie Kane has increased this year. You can’t win them all of course, and Ojo and Ejaria haven’t done themselves much good this year, but overall the club is doing a top job increasing the value of players who might not have a future here.

 

Wilson reportedly has nine teams chasing him, most of them top flight sides, and is rated at £25m (or £50m if we can get Bournemouth involved). He’s the one (along with Grujic) who I feel it might be a mistake to sell. All of those PL sides who want him, let one of them have him on loan and let’s see how he does. 

 

Meanwhile, more talk of us being in for De Ligt. As I keep saying, there’s no way on earth we are spending that kind of cash on another centre back when we already had the best defensive record in Europe and are well stocked at the position with four senior centre backs, Fabinho as cover and the prodigiously talented Ki-Jana Hoever pushing hard for a first team squad place too. De Ligt would be ace, but it’s not happening.

 

Speaking of centre backs, Kompany has announced he is leaving City to become player/manager of Anderlecht. Good riddance. Fuck off bulb head.

 

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  • dave u pinned this topic

Wonder why HMRC haven't jumped all over City and their players yet. If they are making off-the-books payments (which they surely are), HMRC have both the remit and powers to find out. I'd fucking love it if the taxman went all Elliott Ness on City's Al Capone asses. And while they're at it, took down some of their smug cunt players for tax evasion too.

 

*Stares at Kyle Walker, John Stones and any other lottery-winning blert who thinks it's OK to sing songs about us* 

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I think the off the book payments are made by connected third parties for supposed services rendered e.g.being an ambassador for the club's sponsors, allowing image rights, marketing duties, advertising. I expect tax is paid on the payments otherwise they'd all be wide open to prosecution.  

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3 minutes ago, aws said:

I think the off the book payments are made by connected third parties for supposed services rendered e.g.being an ambassador for the club's sponsors, allowing image rights, marketing duties, advertising. I expect tax is paid on the payments otherwise they'd all be wide open to prosecution.  

Wasn't Mancini's payment to an offshore account? That has to be tax evasion, surely - even if they argue it was other work not related to his City job. Either way, an investigation has to be in the public interest.

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Nothing wrong with an offshore account so long as you declare the income in all tax jurisdictions to which you are subject. But like you I'd love to see an investigation as it all stinks to high heaven and their tax advisers may well have dropped a bollock somewhere along the line.  The Spanish tax authorities have had success in their investigations. 

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4 hours ago, aws said:

Nothing wrong with an offshore account so long as you declare the income in all tax jurisdictions to which you are subject. But like you I'd love to see an investigation as it all stinks to high heaven and their tax advisers may well have dropped a bollock somewhere along the line.  The Spanish tax authorities have had success in their investigations. 

The Spanish tax investigations is what made me think about it to be honest. I’m convinced dodginess abounds at City. Just need the right people to start digging properly. 

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22 hours ago, David Keelaghan said:

All time classic Simpson's clip. Will you keep on doing these in the Summer Dave or just too much fake transfer bullshit? 

 

Still going to do them throughout the summer. Might have a week or two off from them if there's nothing happening or if I go on holiday, but otherwise I'll keep them going.

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100 percent they are paying the players more off the books. How else do you explain why Barca or Madrid never come sniffing after their top players? How come stirling is never mentioned with them because I recon he’d love to play over there. It’s because they know they’d never be able to pay them the money that they get at city,It’s either that or city or actually paying off other clubs not to go after them.

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