As you would expect there has been an awful lot said about the Manchester City charges in the last 30 hours or so, I have found these particularly more interesting than most
This from yesterday is essential reading in understanding the charges (all 115 of them)
Chester Perry wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 4:52 pm
Anyone wanting an understanding of the full meaning of today's statement from the Premier League may find this piece useful
The Premier League’s Manchester City statement — a line-by-line annotation
https://archive.is/8Ml5Z
Miguel Delaney in the Independent
‘Going to war with the champions’: Why the Premier League is taking on Man City, and what comes next
The Premier League now faces the ultimate test of itself in a pivotal moment for the game
https://archive.is/MaHpG
This Sport unlocked podcast with Rob Harris, Tariq Panja and Martyn Zeigler is worth a listen for some of the old history that is feeding into all this and perhaps most notably a passing reference why the Premier League made the announcement in the way it did - it all points to the Premier League wanting to scrupulously follow its own rules so the legions of lawyers that City will inevitably employ have few technical issues with which to stop or overthrow proceedings.
Manchester City charged: The Premier League's financial wrongdoing case against the Premier League champions explained & analysed. What the commission will assess & potential actions against the club
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m ... 0598356372
Panja's own piece for the New York Times misses that point but provides plenty of historical context
Manchester City Charged With Years of Financial Violations
The Premier League accused City of breaking rules related to revenues, sponsorships and contracts. One potential penalty is expulsion from the league.
https://archive.is/PNov7
Simon Chadwick has, over the years, repeatedly pointed out that there huge cultural differences in the way these issues are resolve in the East and West - quite often when it came to UEFA and their clashes with PSF and City - in the end they always seemed to be resolved in the Eastern way for the most part - here is Chadwick again following the revelation of the charges against Manchester City and he remains consistent in his view
https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 8743365632
none of that thread from Chadwick will be of surprise long time readers of Footballs Magic Money Tree and it is interesting that there is already plenty of articles across the media about titles not being taken away. So, what we are likely to see is an outcome where the disgust of fans (and their desired retribution) will be the last of the considerations.
There are other issues and questions that feed into this whole process and will need answering at some point (as this piece by Barney Ronay in the Guardian clearly illustrates), but not by this cases proceedings
If Manchester City are guilty they have betrayed football as a spectacle
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -spectacle
https://archive.is/iAHle
the vested interests, many not directly involved in English football will spend a lot of time trying to make their grievances heard as this case progresses at a pace that many will complain is too slow - but the Premier League have only one chance to get this right if they are not to be defeated on technicalities. Whatever the outcome what is really needed is a clear judgement on the merits of the cases and evidence presented, Such an outcome has greater opportunity purely because the procedural issues that collapsed the UEFA case at CAS are not relevant under the operations, rules and by-laws of the Premier League.