i tend to be a bit pessimistic on it, surely if the the PL thought they had a weak case with no actual evidence then they would have pulled the pin, they know the resources of city and how uefa looked after CAS - it cant jsut be a made up case to appease the red shirt brigade - their legals would have weighed up the possibility of a conviction for whatever and decided they really have a strong case - hopefully not
Lord Pannick is a fabulously competent KC and the club are undoubtedly in very good hands with him. With that said, I have no doubt that had Lewis not been the PLs long term man, the club would’ve loved to have him onboard for CAS and this case as his reputation proceeds him.
On him having nothing to lose, that is only applicable if the PL case is formulated around some new evidence, or perceived evidence. If it’s a straight rehash of the UEFA case it would be a Banksy-esque mark on his reputation.
On the topic of ‘talking up the odds against City’ I can assure you that’s not the case, my position is similar to Stefans - the PL on face value appear to have overcharged this to a crazy level and put themselves in the position by the very nature of the allegations that they need to deliver something way beyond ‘balance of probabilities’ to get the tribunal to find in their favour, especially as I’m sure the club will be having executives from Etihad, Etisalat, maybe even ADUG testifying. It feels like an unwinnable position for the PL team to likely have to convince the tribunal to find against their sworn testimonies, even before any further evidence that I’m sure the club intend to put on the table.
My point has only ever been that the tinfoil nature suggestions have never had any basis in reality, and there is no realistic prospect that Lewis and the PL moved on purely to appease red shirt clubs. They rushed out the charges in a misguided attempt to head off an independent regulator, but the charge sheet had clearly been laying around for some time as it referred to the pre-22 rules and they clearly think they have ‘something’, but whatever that may be, it would have to be earth shattering to land their case and that feels extremely unlikely for the reasons above.
I guess the Fa don’t think they will the case on 115 points but will have some joy which may result in 30 odd charges sticking.
Bear in mind some of the charges we are guilty of is breaching uefa FFP which we accepted, paid the fine and reduced squad. Non compliance may well be another so it’s easy to see 30 odd charges sticking which proves we are guilty in the eyes of the red tops even tho it’s not the serious offences everyone thinks
It’s a concern that many are overlooking. UEFA’s man at CAS had a human rights background IIRC and he voted against us on one charge after another. Hard to escape the notion that he was judging us for being ‘Manchester City owned by Sheikh Mansour’ rather than open mindedly assessing the evidence on its meritsThe CAS decision was 2 to 1. The members of the CAS Panel were, presumably, of sufficiently high repute to be on the CAS register. So perhaps in choosing the panel the EPL are pinning their hopes on that, even with no new evidence, they can find a panel that will rule in their favour on at least some of the more substantive allegations
Always thought you were a rag, now I'm sure !!!Things have got so bad for me that I am ashamed to wear club colours these days and I get my wife to lash me on alternate Sundays!
I assume he was paid by Der Speigel.Rui also accused of attempting to blackmail clubs, maybe we didnt want to pay his price ?
When other fans gob off about us cheating just politely say "yes we did, and it's bloody wonderful" that normal cuts conversation dead.I agree totally and one day a City fan is going to pay a heavy price for the hatred stirred up by our fucking disgraceful press/media. It needs calling out some of the press/media say we as City support poor human rights, what the fuck !
Have they taken a look at the usa human rights record ? Which country shall we invade today, which black person should the police shot today.
I dont think even City understand how bad things are getting. I be called a cheat in tesco lol. Get dirty looks when out and about wearing my City stuff. I do find most of the abuse towards me is from local plastics. Never had any trouble travelling to matches when being among other match going fans of other clubs.
The dippers get away with violence time after time so they take it a step further each time.
The press/media already have blood on their hands and I feel it's going to get worse once City are cleared. I never use to worry about wearing my City gear but now I find myself being more aware of people around me. Sad isnt it
The threshold for running a hearing is that the case is arguable. For people who are well paid to argue for a living, most things are arguable.I don't buy for one minute that the PL issued the charges against City in an attempt to head off the independent regulator. On what planet would charging City make any difference to the government's plans? How has the tough sanction on Everton worked out for them, with the prospect of existential claims from other clubs? They have been blasted from all sides and if they reduce the sanction now, they look weak and incompetent. And, at the end of the day, the independent regulator isn't just about financial regulation. At the most, I suppose, the timing could have been an attempt to drown out the narrative around it, but the release of the white paper was delayed a couple of weeks so that didn't make any difference either. I think it's just as likely they are not very competent and, yes, bowing to pressure from the usual suspects.
On Lewis, he has been representing the PL throughout the investigation before the Commercial Court and the Court of Appeal, hasn't he? It would be extremely odd, imo, if he didn't present for the PL to the panel. Can you imagine if he actually refused to take the case? The PL will have lost it before they started and he wouldn't be their go-to guy any more. More likely he would have been on a retainer for the whole case from the first City tribunal hearing onward, no? Or for all PL cases?
Drat - I've been rumbled!Always thought you were a rag, now I'm sure !!!
He was always going to vote against us just as City's representative was always going to vote in favour of City. The CAS representative was the importation component in the vote as his vote was the deciding one.It’s a concern that many are overlooking. UEFA’s man at CAS had a human rights background IIRC and he voted against us on one charge after another. Hard to escape the notion that he was judging us for being ‘Manchester City owned by Sheikh Mansour’ rather than open mindedly assessing the evidence on its merits
As previously mentioned the CAS panel is made up of the chairman nominated by CAS then one from each side selected from the CAS poolThe CAS decision was 2 to 1. The members of the CAS Panel were, presumably, of sufficiently high repute to be on the CAS register. So perhaps in choosing the panel the EPL are pinning their hopes on that, even with no new evidence, they can find a panel that will rule in their favour on at least some of the more substantive allegations
Hence the cab rank principal, otherwise people with distinctly poor cases might finish up with no representation.I don’t know where this idea that barristers only take on cases they think they can win is coming from or the notion that losing a case somehow damages their reputation. Perry Mason wasn’t real. Our own Lord Pannick even defended Boris Johnson, an impossible task which he made a decent fist of until Boris went off script as usual. It’s the skill with which they argue the case that counts, not the outcome. From what my lawyer friend says anyway, but of course they’ll say anything
It's about time we went fucking nuclear on this !It's just obvious what this is about and between UEFA and the PL they have waged a war and flung shit that has stuck for 15 years now, I know someone will say we can't legally talk about it but..
I just wish someone at our club would just say it as it is and tell them to fuck off with an invite to a court of law.
Correct.Note: I think our case at CAS was argued by Paul Harris, assisted by Monica Carrs Frisk
Pannick analysed the case in advance and agreed the lines with Monica.
Harris is slated for the current case.
Can anyone confirm?
There is no difference between the PL and Red shirt clubs, THEY ARE THE PL. They can just make shit up, like that Rashford goal. It's a no lose situation for United/Liverpool/Arsenal axis, they hide behind the PL façade.i tend to be a bit pessimistic on it, surely if the the PL thought they had a weak case with no actual evidence then they would have pulled the pin, they know the resources of city and how uefa looked after CAS - it cant jsut be a made up case to appease the red shirt brigade - their legals would have weighed up the possibility of a conviction for whatever and decided they really have a strong case - hopefully not
Taken from the 2014 statement after we took a pinch "At the heart of discussions is a fundamental disagreement between the club's and Uefa's respective interpretations of the FFP regulations on players purchased before 2010"I guess theFaPL don’t think they will the case on 115 points but will have some joy which may result in 30 odd charges sticking.
Bear in mind some of the charges we are guilty of is breaching uefa FFP which we accepted, paid the fine and reduced squad. Non compliance may well be another so it’s easy to see 30 odd charges sticking which proves we are guilty in the eyes of the red tops even tho it’s not the serious offences everyone thinks