FakeNewsBear

Are you watching what I am working on today?

This is a big one, sorry in advance. I'm angry, and it isn't only City I'm angry with. Our Institutions may have let their independence slip, some people knowingly did well out of what went on, and some supporters treat any talk of accountability as an attack on their club. Councils first. When someone turns up offering millions in investment, of course it's tempting. Offer water to a man lost in the desert and see what he says. I understand why they'd take it. But regeneration money shouldn't come with a quiet agreement not to look too closely at who's paying for it. I also want to know more about payments to football officials. Who made them, how much were they, and what stopped them affecting anyone's judgement? A payment doesn't prove anything by itself. But nobody should be fobbed off for asking. Players and coaches don't run the club's finances, and I won't hold them responsible for decisions made above them. Sponsorship deals, image rights, bonuses and contracts don't get bent out of shape by accident, though. Somebody signed off on them and somebody did well out of them, and we should be told who. City fans: I understand loyalty. Pretending none of this happened is another matter. Winning trophies doesn't put a club above the rules, and neither does having more money than everyone else. Yesterday's game brought it all home. For an hour we were level with them, and I thought we were the better team. Then a refereeing decision turned it. I'm not saying the ref was bent. But it showed me how fast people stop trusting what they're watching once they think the game's been tilted. An independent commission has now found City guilty of almost all of the 115 charges. City say they'll appeal, and that's their right. If the findings stand, though, the punishment has to fit what was done. This is what I'd propose: A 100-point deduction this season. A mandatory minimum of seven under-21 players in every Premier League match for the length of the sanction. A three-year transfer ban. A £115 million fine payable to the Premier League, within the commission's powers to impose it. Trophies and individual awards removed wherever there's a defensible evidential and regulatory basis for forfeiting them. Full cooperation with an independent investigation covering 2008–2026, wider than the period the charges cover, looking at the relevant financial arrangements, contracts, sponsorships, image rights and disclosures. Ownership scrutiny under the applicable fit-and-proper requirements, with any consequences decided under the relevant rules. The appeal has to run its course, and anyone punished should be punished for what they personally did, on the evidence. But if findings on this scale hold up, a fine City can pay out of loose change won't do. Anything that leaves them holding on to the advantage they built is not acceptable. Nobody would believe in the premier league after that. Every club in this country should be playing by the same rules, whoever owns it and however many fans it has. I've no sympathy for anyone who broke the rules on purpose or helped cover it up. If the rules are going to mean anything, the consequences have to as well. No club is bigger than the game. I needed to get that out and I live in a house of girls/women who don’t care.

This is shaping up to be a monumental points deduction this year ensuring relegation and not messing with the EFL structures or numbers. A 114-point deduction would be poetic. Transfer bans, fines and null & void wins appear to be the preferred option. UEFA is pursuing an avenue of a ban too. EFL would take Man City in these circumstances and could administer their own points deduction, I am led to believe. I think punishment must last a minimum of three years out the league, maybe even five.

Heard that training was Munoz, Wirtz, Ngumoha and Barcola as a front 4 with hope Isak and Gakpo make the bench.

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Not my area anymore but Malik [1998] is the strongest authority for Gilroy's (who btw is sound) comments and the HOL held that running a dishonest and corrupt business can breach the implied term even though the dishonesty isn't directed at the employee. On paper, sustained concealment from the regulator fits that. However, it would likely fail for most current City players because the misconduct largely predates their contracts, they suffer no real stigma, the findings are under appeal, continuing to play risks affirmation, and FIFA's "just cause" regime makes walking out a high-stakes gamble.

I think this is a simple, no-nonsense appointment that doesn’t cost a lot and ruffles no feathers. I expect him to be moved on post-takeover.

IMHO it’s nowhere near enough. Not even remotely. And I’ve got absolutely no idea what “enough” even looks like anymore Strip them of EVERYTHING. The prestige. The protection. The ability to operate by a different set of rules. Couldn’t give a toss if Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal win more trophies because of it. Fine. So will we. Ban state ownership. Make FFP/PSR or whatever the f*** we’re calling it now, actually mean something. Proper teeth. Every single transfer signed off by the receiving FA for financial compliance before it gets authorised. No loopholes. No “creative accounting”. No bulls***. And then I read it back and think… “Is that enough?” Absolutely not. Cue the Kylo REN meme: MORE

There’s reportedly a 30-point deduction being discussed for this season and next, followed by a further 10-point deduction in year three. It gives them a fighting chance of staying up Also a three-year incoming transfer ban from the end of 2026/27, a record-breaking fine of around £150m, and a 10-year “probation period” for the owners. Zero clarity about what happens to the trophies won during the eight-year period though?

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I’m alive and not sacked that I know of (but I’ve never worked for the club).

Heard him described as “a Ginger Spanish Craig Bellamy” and it feels right.

PSG hated Hughes. He couldn’t seal an envelope.

Bradley is an international captain, humble, hardworking, and incredibly talented. Iraola really likes him. If he can just get a bit of luck with injuries, I think we will be set for 6 years or so at RB.

Iraola has big hopes for Bradley.

Tough game for us. They are strong and fast across Fatawu, Clarke and Enciso and they have just added Flemming upfront. Actually awkward is a better word. Their defence is big and cumbersome (except for Leif Davis) and Isak and Wirtz could both get in the scoresheet.