CC1 said:RandomJ said:Marvin said:Easy to say fight UEFA. Think of the implications in terms of the clubs image and the players ambitions of playing in Europe.
Well you could just say to those same players that if we accept the sanctions we are effectively going to the CL with the odds stacked against us. We are now like a boxer going into a title fight with one of our arms tied behind our backs. We now can't sign the world class players other teams can because they are too expensive and we only have a 21 man squad 8 of which need to be home grown. Anyone claiming this as a victory for the club need to take their blue tinted specs off and see we have been well and truly shafted and the club has just rolled over and taken it.
When you are a grown up, you learn that you have to negotiate and sometimes, if you are clever, you get what you want without the opposition losing face. That is what we have done. Trust the owners who have delivered so far.
BluessinceHydeRoad said:I think we ought to remember that City agreed to these sanctions and put a statement on the OS which is little short of contemptuous. Yet there are fans on here who appear to lack any trust at all in the Sheikh, in Khaldoon and Ferran. There was no such lack of faith when he was dipping his hand in his pocket! If I had to choose anyone on Bluemoon, or anyone employed by any other PL club or the three people named above, to make decisions for THIS club, guess who I'd choose! So let's just show a little humility and a hell of a lot of trust.
Armitage said:2 Things to say:
1) Fine is less than extra Premier League Revenue from previous season due to BT deal
2) Fine is less than extra Champions League TV pool share 40% instead of 30% from previous season
We may have "said" nothing but it is implicit by acceptance. What a fucking brush to tar yourself with. Pissed off doesn't cover it.Neville Kneville said:strongbowholic said:and, by accepting the settlement, confirm to the world MCFC cheated by cooking the books.Prestwich_Blue said:I'm not sure we'd say we've won but it seems like we're relatively unscathed. The sanctions are largely non-sanctions given where we are and our future plans. But they look tough.
NO. We have admitted nothing.
Tron Coltrane said:Listen, for anyone who's full of piss and vinegar, all hopped-up and genuinely outraged that the club didn't pick a fight, I get it... FFP is a joke, we were the only ones who seemed likely to fight it, and nothing about this process has been fair. So I don't mean to sound demeaning here, but are all of you old enough to learn the harsh lesson that when you get older you don't get to stand your ground and do what's right when you're juggling a family's best interests?
Just seems like this club is a very big family, and when they saw the gates to the country club closing, and knew that we would be forever in the clear and in good standing on the other side if we would just accept a last minute slap on the wrist -- even if it's for something that we didn't do wrong -- then I'm glad our board chose to take the low road and rush inside. It's in our best interests. Can't believe how little discussion there is focusing on the reality of this news, but that's it: we won. We squeaked through at the last second, and we're on the fancy-pants side of the gate now.
The high road of legal battles and righteousness would've been very exciting, and I would've supported the club if they'd gone that route whole-heartedly. But you don't know what the repercussions would've been behind the scenes. You don't know how many gambling sponsors, and pepsi deals, and so and and so forth would've contractually fallen apart had we faced UEFA exemption. And even if we had talked the players through our reasoning, you don't know how many would've quietly contacted their agents looking for a way out of a club that essentially has an ongoing embargo with a competition that gets them their international call-ups.
Our board could've done the right thing and started a shitstorm, with god knows what kind of fallout, and it would've been fun to take the high road and watch the melee on both sides. But when offered that last-second slap on the wrist and a chance to run through the closing gates, I'm relieved they've been adults and compromised. The club is better off. We're safely through. Job done.
Ducado said:Chippy_boy said:Compromise agreements mean two sides accepting things that are not ideal.
I don't think we can dress this up as anything other than a significant setback. Not a catastrophic one, but a setback nevertheless. It means our ability to sign top players this season is compromised and our ability to progress in the CL next year is hampered once again.
I am not sure UEFA have had to compromise on their position to anything like such an extent. It sounds like we have given in, much more than they have.
Ultimately, we will prevail. But right now this feels like a right kick in the teeth. I feel like an innocent bystander watching a pub brawl. The coppers have stormed in, clouted me around the head and stuffed me in the hack of the van. Now they've said they are prepared to let me off with a caution, for doing nothing. The temptation to smash their fucking faces in, is enormous, but i know i must resist.
You need to really read what has been written and sleep on it