Man City & The FA Cup

[MarkA333]

Yes but every sane person on the planet just had to look at the players in the squad and know that it meant a billion pounds of investment, which in fact was provided albeit by the Abu Dhabi government it seems. In any case, everyone knew it was an Abu Dhabi backed project, in may ways, I feel it’s a semantic issue potentially. Even though a detrimental outcome for Man City might propagate Palace in some way. I mean, would it have mattered if they had just openly declared it was the Abu Dhabi government that were the main sponsors? Bearing in mind that that government officials were amongst the owners.

 

[Username]

It’s not semantics.

It’s rules.

 

[MarkA333]

It’s not semantics.

It’s rules.

Fair enough. They did break the rules by stating that it was sponsorships. However they could and should have just declared that Man City were being backed by the Abu Dhabi government, if in fact that is the case. Then there would be no problem. And it’s no different to Abramovic openly transforming Chelsea as a benefactor/owner etc.

 

[MrRobbo]

On SSN yesterday it was reported that one of the premier team's chairman has come out and said that it would be a financial liability to kick Man City out of the prem...
Oh, Boo Hoo, we might loose a couple of million to kick out a team who has been cheating every other team, along with their supporters, for years.

Yeah I saw that. I understand the gist, but I'm not having it.

City, despite their winning, dont have the global appeal of Utd and Liverpool etc.

I get that ppl tune in to watch Haaland etc, but lets be honest, its hardly the Galácticos. If they get relegated a couple of divisions, all their mob will leave and a bunch will end up in different prem teams. Some will go to Spain, but thats happening anyway.

 

[MrRobbo]

Yes but every sane person on the planet just had to look at the players in the squad and know that it meant a billion pounds of investment, which in fact was provided albeit by the Abu Dhabi government it seems. In any case, everyone knew it was an Abu Dhabi backed project, in may ways, I feel it’s a semantic issue potentially. Even though a detrimental outcome for Man City might propagate Palace in some way. I mean, would it have mattered if they had just openly declared it was the Abu Dhabi government that were the main sponsors? Bearing in mind that that government officials were amongst the owners.

I cant be arsed to look it up to be exact, but there is a rule around sponsorship needing to be inline with market value. e.g. they cant get 900m for a shirt sponsorship when Utd are only getting 10m.

Unfortuently those rules obviously dont apply to selling your women's team etc.

 

[MarkA333]

• 
  
• 
  
• • Artificially Inflating Income: The commission found that Manchester City arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners to disguise direct financial funding from its owner, Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), as legitimate sponsorship revenue. This boosted the club's reported income by more than £830 million.
  • Concealing Costs and Expenses: The club's accounts omitted significant financial obligations—such as payments to managers and players—which were instead paid directly by ADUG to understate the club's true expenses.
  • Filing Misstated Accounts: By misrepresenting their revenues and hiding their costs, Manchester City filed false accounts to auditors and football regulators to appear compliant with Premier League and UEFA spending limits.
  • Lack of Cooperation: During the extensive investigation, the club failed to cooperate and act in good faith toward the Premier League. [1, 2, 3]
  They were very much lacking in probity. And clearly misled authorities but somehow I still feel that they, in the end, paid for a premium addition to the Premier League and should have been transparent in their actions.
  This is a difficult one. The players were paid. The infrastructure for Manchester was paid for. Etc ..other teams could have bought Haaland.

 

[Username]

• 
  
• 
  
• • Artificially Inflating Income: The commission found that Manchester City arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners to disguise direct financial funding from its owner, Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), as legitimate sponsorship revenue. This boosted the club's reported income by more than £830 million.
  • Concealing Costs and Expenses: The club's accounts omitted significant financial obligations—such as payments to managers and players—which were instead paid directly by ADUG to understate the club's true expenses.
  • Filing Misstated Accounts: By misrepresenting their revenues and hiding their costs, Manchester City filed false accounts to auditors and football regulators to appear compliant with Premier League and UEFA spending limits.
  • Lack of Cooperation: During the extensive investigation, the club failed to cooperate and act in good faith toward the Premier League. [1, 2, 3]
  They were very much lacking in probity. And clearly misled authorities but somehow I still feel that they, in the end, paid for a premium addition to the Premier League and should have been transparent in their actions.
  This is a difficult one. The players were paid. The infrastructure for Manchester was paid for. Etc ..other teams could have bought Haaland.

You’re interpretation of this seems completely bizarre to me.

It’s anything but difficult. It is an open and shut case that they cheated.

 

[MarkA333]

I see that they cheated. I guess my point is, the whole Premiership is set up to bias the top teams anyway. So, they just cheated more to gain an even bigger and unfair advantage than the Premier League gives the other big teams.

 

[mtp1958]

They weren’t good enough because City were cheating and stacking their playing squad in a way no one else could. I don’t see how that is hard to understand.

It’s like saying an U13 team ‘wasn’t good enough’ when they get beaten by a team with three 17-year old ringers in it. Of they course they weren’t good enough, they were competing against an opponent that was ignoring the rules.

Sorry it was 11 against 11 over a season ,
Your scenario is way off which shows so little knowledge of the game , if they was so superior why didn't they win every trophy year in year out , so your whole statement is wrong in so many areas

 

[rob1861]

Late to the party on this one but my take is Man City cheated because the big clubs of the UK and Europe brought in legislation to stop them competing, remember they weren't massive 15 years or so ago.

We should be looking at the bigger picture i.e. PSR and SCR nobble the middling clubs that are starting to compete with the big boys so that you might have an FA cup win but your side gets picked apart and you have to pull the miracle off again soon after or fall back to a mid table side.

The same happened the year De Zerbi took Brighton towards the top 4, lots of "bad decisions" were taken by refs that took the momentum out of Brighton and then their side was picked off too.

Aston Villa this season selling off their best assets to remain within the regulations after achieving champions league football. Only the clubs with significant incomes can afford to out buy and out manoeuvre the middling clubs in the PL on a consistent and stable basis.

Real, Barca, Bayern and PSG top the income tables with the big 6 all lining up behind. What happens to any club that competes outside of pure finances, new regs that make it harder.

Also, yes, Man City cheated, the big 6 all wanted to go to the ESL. That is literally theft of football yet we all seem ok with those teams continuing with no repercussions in our league.

 

[pssguy]

Sorry it was 11 against 11 over a season ,
Your scenario is way off which shows so little knowledge of the game , if they was so superior why didn't they win every trophy year in year out , so your whole statement is wrong in so many areas

Give up, mate. You've completely lost the argument

 

[mtp1958]

Give up, mate. You've completely lost the argument

In which way

 

[Username]

In which way

Mainly this way:

if they was so superior why didn't they win every trophy year in year out

The great Manchester United dynasty under Alex Ferguson broke the 90 point barrier twice in 21 years of Premier League dominance. Pep's City did it four times in seven years. They are the only team to win four Premier League titles in a row.

They've made at least the semi finals of the FA Cup for eight years in a row. They had a six-year run of averaging two major* trophies per year. The best comparable stretch I could find from Ferguson's United was 1.3 major trophies per year.

They have been, by quite some distance, the most dominant team in modern English football history.

 

[mtp1958]

Mainly this way:



The great Manchester United dynasty under Alex Ferguson broke the 90 point barrier twice in 21 years of Premier League dominance. Pep's City did it four times in seven years. They are the only team to win four Premier League titles in a row.

They've made at least the semi finals of the FA Cup for eight years in a row. They had a six-year run of averaging two major* trophies per year. The best comparable stretch I could find from Ferguson's United was 1.3 major trophies per year.

They have been, by quite some distance, the most dominant team in modern English football history.

Liverpool dominated the lge and cups and Europe so there's always a period were teams dominates the lge and cups , with the major change of rules in the game were tackles are penalised , its what ever team has the best jugglers with the ball , city didnt always get the best players they got the next best and worked around it , city haven't dominated Europe if they had then yes ,

 

[BromleyMonkey]

Liverpool dominated the lge and cups and Europe so there's always a period were teams dominates the lge and cups , with the major change of rules in the game were tackles are penalised , its what ever team has the best jugglers with the ball , city didnt always get the best players they got the next best and worked around it , city haven't dominated Europe if they had then yes ,

So are you saying City HAVEN’T been the dominant force in recent English football history? Which if they haven’t, I don’t know who bleedin’ well has 🤣 maybe palace? Three trophies in a year🤣

 

[chris123]

So are you saying City HAVEN’T been the dominant force in recent English football history? Which if they haven’t, I don’t know who bleedin’ well has 🤣 maybe palace? Three trophies in a year🤣

City always a poor mans Palace though

 

[BromleyMonkey]

City always a poor mans Palace though

From May 2025 to May 2026 we WERE the City of the South, serial trophy winners🤣……….except we didn’t cheat

 

[Spindle]

What action should the Premier League should have taken prior to those emails being leaked?

Fit and proper test is utter bullshit

 

[Spindle]

Fair enough. They did break the rules by stating that it was sponsorships. However they could and should have just declared that Man City were being backed by the Abu Dhabi government, if in fact that is the case. Then there would be no problem. And it’s no different to Abramovic openly transforming Chelsea as a benefactor/owner etc.

We got thrown out of the Europa League on "rules", there were no semantics there

 

[mtp1958]

So are you saying City HAVEN’T been the dominant force in recent English football history? Which if they haven’t, I don’t know who bleedin’ well has 🤣 maybe palace? Three trophies in a year🤣

See knew you would spot it , but my point was , liverpool dominated the 70s and 80s manu 90s so clubs have been doing it , only liverpool dominated Europe , city have won the champions league once , so for all their spending hasn't brought much European trophies ,

when you look at the other big clubs like Bayern Munich if they win the lge this year 14 on the trot Barcelona think is 6 or 7 , Real Madrid has dominated the champions league , city took the cups serous why others didnt , if all clubs done that then yes City did dominate if they carried on winning , but clubs played weaken teams which made it easier for them hence records are a little cock eyed ,

but still blame premier league for allow this to go on so long before pulling them , they failed for not doing due diligence