PL charge City for alleged breaches of financial rules

[GaudinoMotors]

Love that 1894 group post. Agree with every single word.

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[LangleyBlue1970]

I am prefacing this post with the observation that I have deliberately kept away from this thread, and have only read the odd post now and again. Plus I have also purposely not read any further than headlines on News pages.
This is because I am at an age where I like to try to keep my blood pressure down as much as possible by not reading things that are going to get my exasperation and rage going!!

Therefore I am just going to ask one question: Do you as a BlueMoon poster/Manchester City supporter feel that City are innocent of all the charges or at least some of the charges?

I would hopefully get a straight yes or no answer as I am not even sure what charges have been brought. Sorry if I annoy some by not wanting to go deep, deep down into 165 or whatever charges. None of us as fans can truly know what the club are doing but do we think they are guilty?

Personally, through my blue tinted City loving glasses I wholeheartedly want to say no we are not guilty but I am realistic enough to know that the powers that be wouldn't open themselves to ridicule by bringing charges if they weren't satisfied that there is some substance. Plus I know how big business works, there are so many things that go on behind closed doors.


However whatever the outcome I will still state we are THE BEST TEAM IN THE LAND AND ALL THE WORLD. :-) CITY FOR EVER.

I’m sure there will be some things we haven’t done correctly. I can’t see how 115 charges can be brought without at least one being true.

I am confident and trusting in what our people have said and I fully expect we will come out of this with our head held high, very little punishment, if any, and can put it behind us and continue with what is now an obsession to dominate the game both domestically and in Europe, if not the world!

 

[Kippax Street 1880]

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[GaudinoMotors]

Cheers

 

[r.soleofsalford]

I've just been out of the UK on holiday and before I went I took my away shirt and did something I wouldn't normally do. I had Rodrigo 16 added, the FIFA badge and the champions league badge. Not a fookin word, I even wore it in a bar when the rags played spurs. I'm quite happy to enter any 'debate' with some red shirted parrot squawking 115 over again. But no, most of it is polarised internet shithousery.
As for our club, I've said all along, I'm quite happy for them to roll with the punches and I trust them. When it's all concluded I'll been livid if they do not go after people with the utmost zeal.
I want the main protagonists sued into a f'king soup kitchen. I want lives and reputations, ruined. If needs be I want the premier league destroyed.

I’m with you on all of that

 

[Gone for a Burton]

I’m sure there will be some things we haven’t done correctly. I can’t see how 115 charges can be brought without at least one being true.

I am confident and trusting in what our people have said and I fully expect we will come out of this with our head held high, very little punishment, if any, and can put it behind us and continue with what is now an obsession to dominate the game both domestically and in Europe, if not the world!

We DO dominate English, European and World football....its the Galaxy we're after now !!

 

[Dinas]

Perhaps I'm naïve after all the insults and dirty tricks we have had to put up with over the last few years. But the Ceferin comments mark a new low for me. Apart from anything else its completely unprofessional and prejudices our case with the PL. This must have been a deliberate strategy on his part as he knew what impact his remarks would make. It feeds the narrative that the gutter press have been developing for years and gives ammunition to idiot fans of the red top clubs. If there was any part of me that did not believe in an orchestrated campaign against our club - I have to say that has totally disappeared with these developments. I am not surprised but it has to be said that it is disgusting that the media do not comment on this disingenuous and underhand strategy. Why does no 'journalist' feel the need to remind the public that CAS found absolutely no evidence to support the UEFA case or question the need to make such comments at this particular time? If similar commentary were made in the political arena journalists would have been quick to raise such issues. Moreover, when there is a chance that the defence of an alleged criminal could be prejudiced the press generally do the right thing. Why do these principles disappear when it comes to City?

I hope many of these issues will be addressed by the club when this case is resolved. Things need to be said. I'm taking the view that the club is acting professionally and doing the right thing by saying nothing. I retain my belief that we will be exonerated and I know we will never be totally free of inane attacks by numpties in the social media - I can take that - it's part of the dialogue we have with our opponents. But I think the club needs to one statement at the end of all this which takes up these issues. The owners have delivered so much for us and I admire the way they have achieved so much in a short space of time - but I would repeat - 'things need to be said'.

 

[Manchester33]

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.

As an 1894 member (who did not write the post), I want to respond to this (especially concerning UEFA). I actually think you have raised some good points and would even say I agree in parts! However.....

I think you're unaware of the feelings amongst our fanbase currently. I don't need to go into the countless examples where UEFA have wronged City and, most importantly, our fans. But Istanbul strikes a real nerve.

In the days leading to the final, I received a call from an executive at City, who had been involved in a meeting with Ceferin earlier. He asked if we (1894) would 'tell' fans not to boo the anthem before the final. Ceferin had personally asked for it, and City, wanting to cosy up with UEFA, were supportive. Our response was that fans would do whatever they felt and that 1894 couldn't (and wouldn't) tell other fans what to do. We had already planned to try to make the atmosphere as positive as possible, and we pushed that (e.g., Nevizade Street the night before, which anyone who attended will tell you was a huge success). Fans still drowned out the Anthem as we expected.

If you were lucky enough to go to Istanbul, you don't need me to explain how much of a fuck up it was from a logistical point. I can't stress this enough... Some City fans were seriously injured due to the lack of planning and foresight on UEFA's part.

Going back to the build-up, I was involved in meetings with FansEurope AND UEFA execs as early as January 2021, where we discussed logistics and fan safety. It was a huge concern prior to that final being moved, just as it was a huge concern during the same meetings I was involved with in 2023.

UEFA knew how ridiculous it was to host a final at the Attaturk stadium but proceeded regardless. In these meetings, a FansEurope member (who is also a Liverpool fan) explained some of the issues they'd faced in 2005. UEFA promised these things wouldn't happen again. Most of these examples were not properly addressed.

Fans Europe had their conference in Manchester last summer, which we attended. We'd actually had a meeting organised with Ceferin to discuss what had happened in Istanbul. He cancelled at the last minute - more important things to do!

Alex and some of the other City Matters reps produced an astounding report about Istanbul. I'd urge anyone who hasn't already read it to do so. There are some horror stories. City and UEFA (who had read the report) refused to publicly apologise to fans. City is putting their ambivalent relationship with UEFA ahead of 'legacy fans'.

Given the lengths City has gone to with us fans to support UEFA, Ceferin's comments are a betrayal.

You say, 'What Ceferin said is hardly news', but in reality, it's huge news. It's made all the major papers and it's all over social media. It's either a huge misstep on his part (which he could publicly clear up and hasn't) or defamation. If anyone is trying to prejudice our case it's him! Maybe he is trying to help his friends out at Old Trafford and Anfield?

Why are City so spineless and placid with all this? You say it's a dignified silence, which isn't necessarily a bad approach, but the club constantly takes a different approach with us fans. There are numerous examples where the club calls fans out publicly, yet refuses to defend us publicly. It's a contradiction.

You say 'banning dissenters' is the wrong thing to do. However, we are not a despotic regime. We are a Football Club. It was something United felt they should do with the BBC under Ferguson. It's something Liverpool have done with The Sun. So why shouldn't we do it? Let's face it. Our image will ALWAYS be smeared because of these journalists and the fans of our bitter rivals so let's stop giving those journalists a free hit at us. Our reputation is being damaged, which could lead to a prejudiced trial -meaning it either gets thrown out and we are not afforded the opportunity to clear our club's great name, or worse, the trial goes ahead despite being prejudiced. How is that fair?

As for 'other fans wanting to see' City fans having a go at the club. Who cares? There are absolutely tons of negative things City does to us fans. We have a right to call it out. Sometimes we'll get it wrong and other times we'll get it right. Unfortunately, there isn't an organised Supporter's Trust who can do this. Just a bunch of us who are volunteering hours and hours of our free time to give City fans a voice.

I guess in conclusion, the anger internally in 1894 is that City are doing everything to support a person (Ceferin) behind the scenes, despite this person publicly slinging mud. It doesn't wash!

 

[Gone for a Burton]

I'm not exaggerating ! My local Tesco is becoming a no go area when I'm in my City gear. This year two plastic rags, one dipper and one spud.

I might just be imagining I'm getting dirty looks but it does feel like I'm getting the eye more, as if they are waiting for me to say something. I just smile :) perhaps I'm abit paranoid !!! Who said that

Stop wearing hot pants and put your tits back in !!

 

[Gone for a Burton]

I've seen with my own eyes as we've gone from being a laughing stock, everyone's favourite 2nd team kind of setup to an absolute powerhouse. I've seen us expand and develop our stadium. I have seen us build a world class training facility, invest goodness knows how much in the local community. I've seen our academy produce talent that is progressing smoothly, not just in to our own first team but with other clubs too. I've seen us appoint the best coach in world football and I've seen us transform the way the game is played in this country. And I've seen our mighty blues become THE dominant team in the league for the last 10 years or so, spending less in the process than our unfortunate neighbours.

Do I think that the people who have delivered all this (and more) would be stupid enough to commit fraud on the scale that is being alleged ? - Absolutely not.

Do I think we've pushed things as far as we can in terms of the rules/sailed a bit close to the wind ? - I bloody hope so.

Do I trust the PL process to give us a fair hearing ? - I could be wrong but right now, no I fucking don't.

Up the Blues.

I now hope we've bent every rule completely out of shape .....but broken none of them !!