I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I do pay particular attention to patterns, frequencies & coincidences.
Until an official date for the hearing is announced, I suppose everything is hearsay. However, a date of next September sounds about right, which gives the adjudication panel ample time to get familiar with the particulars of the case.
Agreed, time to review the charges, evidence & any resultant appeals could easily add up to the speculated four year process, & if we appeal the process to the UK civil courts, it could take even longer.
However, in terms of the coincidences & UK/Abu Dhabi governmental involvement, I believe they've zero bearing on the strength or weakness of our defence.
Neither UEFA or The Premier League have been playing straight with us from the outset. It's been move & counter move, as they tried to strangle Sheikh Mansour's Manchester City at birth, & we've attempted to find ways around them halting our progress.
If FFP hadn't been created to stop us, none of this would be happening, but it is what it is. We did what we did to progress, & had our interim accounts agreed in March 2013 with UEFA.
We submitted our full audited accounts a month later, by which time UEFA had shifted their monitoring period back by 12 months without telling us, meaning we went from being £3m inside FFP to being £3 outside, with the resultant punitive punishments & sanctions. Khaldoon was livid!
He said then that City would take 'a pinch' this time, but the next time UEFA came after us, rather than pay a £30m fine, we'd spend £30m on the world's finest Lawyers & splatter them!
Months later Platini & Blatter were arrested by the FBI for fraud involving the use of US dollars, which I found seriously odd.
Then the PL come after City on UEFA's behalf. Abu Dhabi pulls its £10bn UK investment. The UK Government manages to revive the deal, but a month later & out of the Blue, they tell the PL they're setting up an independent football regulator.
Three days later the PL charge City. Nine months later, the Independent Regulator is included in the King's Speech, meaning it's part of the Government's business before the next election.
Personally, I think the timing of all of this is more than sheer coincidence. As for our innocence or guilt, we already know we won't get a fair hearing with UEFA or the PL, so as Khaldoon said in 2014, if they came after us again, this time it'll be with our gloves off, & it seems that exactly what's happened mate.