Punishing clubs for ambition, protecting the established elite... Everything City fans were saying for years. Yet they all joined the pile on against City, their clubs signed letters to CAS trying to block the clubs right to appeal essentially, as I remember it. Every time City make a legal challenge, it's disingenuously criticised as nothing more than a delay tactic(mimicking Simon Jordan's clueless waffle).
It's proof a lot of the muck thrown City's way, was done in bad faith. Beneath the surface of their moral crusades against City, the real reason was they simply didn't want City being successful either. The reasons might not be exactly the same(envy of what City could become, rather than fear of losing what they have) but they didn't want City becoming another elite club just the same as the established elite didn't. They misguidedly brown-nosed United and Liverpool en masse and were willing to back anti-competitive legislation. Now some of those clubs have ambitions of their own and their fans, while criticising FFP and waking up to the fact that there is a cartel of powerful clubs wrestling for control of football after all, they still continue to lay the boot in on City. Chelsea fans are some of the least self aware(don't blame us it's City... look at City) but I still see Newcastle fans, Villa fans and Everton fans at it too.
We are still on our own in this. At least we have plenty of good memories, success, records, trophies, world class players, a legendary manager of the game who has stuck his neck out for the club multiple times in the face of adversity, home grown talent coming through from the best academy in the country, ever increasing revenues and so on. To offset some of this. Not to mention, owners who continue to invest in the infrastructure of the club, from the stadium, to the training facilities and beyond. To make sure the club continues to evolve and keep pace with the way the game is changing. As much as some of the old school fans dislike the focus on tourism and growing the overseas fanbase, it's absolutely necessary in this era of football, at the elite level(which is where we want to be/stay).
