UEFA FFP investigation - CAS decision to be announced Monday, 13th July 9.30am BST

[cleavers]

A pan european championship that embraces all those excluded. Scandanavia, Portugal, Hungary, Czech republic, Slovakia, Poland, ex Yugo states, ex Soviet states, Holland, Belgium, Scotland, Wales, Ireland etc etc.
Whats wrong with Lokeren vs Ajax, Wolves vs Honved (remember?), Red Star Belgrade vs Dukla Prague, City vs Poznan?

I'd rather keep the PL thanks, that would be a 2nd rate effort, especially if the g14 have sorted their own.

I want all of those allowed through fair play (not FFP) to be able to enter the CL. It'll never go back to the old European Cup, but why not the top 2 from every major league, and all other champions, seeded into groups of say 8 ? Played over 6 months then straight to a 1/4 final ?

 

[the talisman]

The dilemma neatly put. Do we look after ourselves only and try to join the cosy circle or do we fight for a fairer europe? I know what we should do morally, but this is business after all. I would be very upset if we abandoned the rest and joined the circle. I would still support City on the field, but hate the club's values.

I’m not sure that is a dilemma tbh.
Of course we look after ourselves, we’re a football club, we want to compete at the highest level we can which right now is the PL and the CL.
We haven’t abandoned anyone, last I heard we voted against FFP and would likely do so again but it is not our job to take on the role of reformer, especially if it comes at great cost to ourselves.
We’re not some kind of force for good trying to make the world better we just want to do our best at what we do which is playing football.

 

[domalino]

Cerefin looks compromised. The fact he turned up to two consecutive games really does look like there was an active discussion. The severity of our punishment also looks like an overreaction - I.e. an organisation that’s been told to fuck off when they’ve offered a way out. Whatever the intricacies of this case - City seem bullish and it’s UEFA that seem to be seeking to shore up its position.

The thing is, it wasn't just 2 consecutive games, it was 2 consecutive games when there'd been no such visits for years. The relationship with UEFA was non-existent before then.

It's pretty impossible to think that was just a coincidence.

 

[KS55]

I’m not sure that is a dilemma tbh.
Of course we look after ourselves, we’re a football club, we want to compete at the highest level we can which right now is the PL and the CL.
We haven’t abandoned anyone, last I heard we voted against FFP and would likely do so again but it is not our job to take on the role of reformer, especially if it comes at great cost to ourselves.
We’re not some kind of force for good trying to make the world better we just want to do our best at what we do which is playing football.

You may be right, but history is full of players who reformed things, even when looking after themselves. George Eastham, Bosman, Jimmy .Hill

 

[KS55]

I'd rather keep the PL thanks, that would be a 2nd rate effort, especially if the g14 have sorted their own.

I want all of those allowed through fair play (not FFP) to be able to enter the CL. It'll never go back to the old European Cup, but why not the top 2 from every major league, and all other champions, seeded into groups of say 8 ? Played over 6 months then straight to a 1/4 final ?

Cartel just won't give an inch. See Agnelli's post.

 

[domalino]

I’m sceptical about the narrative on here that we are saving football like some knight in shining armour.
I think we want in, and this is just the latest and most serious barrier that has been put up against us.
Win this, and we just carry on. Fuck everybody else, I didn’t hear any of these “small” clubs or countries sticking up for us.

100%.

I've said it before, if the club didn't want FFP to exist, they'd have challenged it at somepoint in the last 10 years. Assembled a legal army and stopped it before it even came into effect in 2013.

CFG don't want the Saudi's coming in and spending 5Bn, they don't want Wolves to start spending 200m every summer. Look at the state of English football right now. Arsenal and Spurs can't spend 1/4 of what we can, United are a fucking shambles and handcuffed by their owners despite the revenue, Abramovic isn't sinking more money in when he can't even enter the country. We've got 1 competently run domestic rival. The last thing our owners want is to get rid of something which maintains that status quo.

What the club want is for it to exist as a deterrent to new owners but be so rich that it doesn't effect us, which is pretty much where we are now in 2020.

Job done is getting these charges thrown out because we didn't do what they say and they shouldn't have been brought.

Second best result is just avoiding a ban, maybe because UEFA fail on a procedural or technical level.

Challenging and/or ending FFP is a very distant 3rd choice, at best.

 

[Renneronline]

The problem that UEFA has to overcome, or at least sections of it, is that we played ball with them once, and our owners shouldn't be taken for fools. The owners of City get things done, it's in their culture, they have a plan and will see it through. I know what Ancoats and East Manchester use to be like, it's a now a place beyond my imagination, I'm still in awe of it, it's a great achievement and legacy I'll always be thankful for and because of my club, proud of. If this group of people can do what they have in the time that they've done it all, who on earth would want to stand in their way? City may have just wanted to join the 'elite' maybe just wanted to part of the 'gang'...no chance now, they will take all of this to the enth degree. Football will have seen nothing like it, ner mind UEFA and it's little puffed up sections of 'wannabes'. Our people just don't take 'no' for an answer, simples. The game HAS changed already, I'd hang to your hats, am sure there's more to come!

 

[KS55]

It sounds remarkably like the current Europa League with added City (and minus United).

At least it wouldn’t be played on a bloody Thursday night!

But if the cartel were playing amongst themselves, tv and fans would soon get bored. Next time they threaten to leave, let them.

 

[KS55]

I spoke to Omar myself at Wembley and asked him if he said what he said to PB. He denied it and said he only told the group (city matters) that he thought another deal would likely be offered

Hmm, don't know what to think now. Omar backtracking? PB getting it wrong?

 

[Delboy352]

I find it hard to believe that if a compromise was discussed in any of the meetings with Cerefin, a written/electronic/audio/video account wasn’t made.