Totally agreed.
I have to say that I'm not happy about the 1894 Group post on social media and all they have done is to whip up negative comments from our own fans to the club, which is exactly the sort of thing that the fans of other clubs want to see. Not for the first time, they've scored a spectacular own goal by not thinking through their action to consequence.
The club are in a protracted legal battle with the PL that is going to an 'independent' hearing. We have to be careful not to be accused of trying to prejudice the case. Let others sling mud and let's play things by the book.
What Ceferin has said is hardly news. UEFA found us guilty. CAS overturned the verdict. UEFA were hardly ever going to just throw their hands up and say, "oh alright, then, we admit, it was a kangaroo court, with a verdict based upon a whim". Like any prosecution case in a court that failed to get a conviction, they are always going to believe that they were right and there has been a miscarriage of justice.
I think we can all work out the drill here and how the press work. There's a huge storm about us at the moment that has purely come from the fact that the PL are about to charge Everton (again) and Forest. The Telegraph has decided to cash in on this by seeking out Ceferin for an interview and obtaining the quote they wanted, which he can freely give because UEFA are not involved in this particular case. However, if the PL are behind that, then it is they who are prejudicing the case.
The accusation from other fans is that we will get off because our legal team will be better than the PL's. The mantra from many of our fans is that the quality of our legal team will ensure that justice prevails. In our favour. It is that very same legal team that will be advising Manchester City not to comment upon the mud slinging. So, do we trust them or not?
Let's face it. All our enemies think we are guilty anyway, so what will a statement change? We are hot news in the FFPR department as we were 12 months ago, but the latest storm will soon blow away until the next time. This will crescendo again every couple of months from now until the verdict depending on other cases, so we can't expect City to keep on issuing statements each time. The mud will be slung anyway, so I feel the best course of action is just to maintain a dignified silence and believe that adhering to the process is the best course of action.
All that banning dissenters from the club will do is further add ammunition to those who say that we have something to hide. Corrupt regimes ban dissenters. And if we do so, that's the image that we will portray of ourselves. Even more so than the image we already have. It would play right into our enemies' hands.
The club knows what it is doing. Believe in them.
