Good morning everyone.
Man City will keep things roaring, such is one way of such epic proportions. We heard from English Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who said of the club’s owners, whose position is completely at odds with any continuation in the Premier League, “I would be very worried about losing them.”
He then said it would not be right to interfere with any disciplinary proceedings the Premier League would carry out. Of course, this is how sports washing works. Apart from the successful football club, they have invested a lot of money in Manchester, but that’s the whole point. You gain influence so that you are insulated from the consequences when something like this happens.
Several phone calls are made. “It’s a beautiful town there, it would be a shame if anything happened to it.”
It’s kind of a counter-defense missile, but by ingratiating yourself into a community by spending large sums of money, you can use political grace in times of need. I have little faith in most politicians these days, we have crossed the Rubicon of integrity and public service in many ways so we will have to wait and see. Burnham is a fan of Everton, a club that has actually been punished by the Premier League in terms of points deductions, fines and having to pay compensation to another club for a breach of profit and sustainability rules.
You’d like to think that when another club is found guilty of 114 charges, it might stand aside, but I’m sure that behind the scenes the machinations of City’s owners are well and truly underway. Power. Money, endless money. And influence. However, as I said yesterday, there is nothing in the Premier League’s statement that provides much for them to act on.
Then we have the absurd story of Man City’s main sponsor Etihad threatening legal action because they were not consulted at any point in the investigation. It is the state-owned airline of Abu Dhabi, and the City Group is largely owned by Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family. I think make sure they send these legal letters on proper letterhead.
As with any story like this, there will be twists and turns. There are sections of the media and those within it who have been very friendly to Man City over the years and will probably continue to be so, despite the evidence of the Mount Everest findings. Life is like that, but I think we can all accept attempts to downplay the absolute seriousness of what’s happening and act accordingly to those sources.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola has released a statement of support for his owners, club and fans, which I think he can do now without being in the spotlight the way he would if he were still there from his retirement villa. In 2022, he said of the charges and his conversation with the owner:
“I told them, ‘If you lie to me, the next day I’m not here.’ I will walk out and never be friends with you again. I believe in you because I believe in you 100% from day one and that’s why I’m defending the club.”
We take it he simply didn’t read the Premier League statement or any findings? He is not a stupid person, how can we calculate in 2022 with what he said in 2026. Maybe they didn’t lie to him then. Maybe he was told the truth and he went along with it.
I think it is perfectly reasonable to accept that he is one of the best in the world, if not the best, as a coach and manager. So he was recruited by the richest club in England and there is no doubt that much of Man City’s success is down to his talent. However, if your teams are set up against the rules, you have gained an unfair advantage.
In Barcelona, the cheat code was an extraordinarily brilliant Argentinian named Lionel Messi. At Man City, it was City’s way of cooking the books to give the club a fortune so they could bring in players they wouldn’t normally be able to afford. As brilliant as Guardiola has been as a manager, he has been given tools superior to any manager in the Premier League – both qualitatively and quantitatively (perhaps both), and this has been central to his and Man City’s success.
Star. Star. Star. 114 stars.
Anyway, there’s more on this later today on the Arsecast where I’ll be chatting with Philippe Auclair, so stay tuned. For some further reading this morning, Tim’s column this week touches on how we agree that City’s cheating has affected the game and even Arsene Wenger’s legacy, while Lewis has a great piece in his newsletter about it all.
For something non-football related to listen to before today’s Arsecast, there’s an episode of Waffle over on Patreon, a podcast where me and James talk about anything and everything but Arsenal.
On a final note, Arseblog software updates continue apace with all sorts of new features, including heatmaps and custom stats on the match day page (which you can share on social media, etc.), and we’re also working on comments and Asses integration. There’s also a button in “settings” that lets you report a bug directly to the developers, so if you see something, use it. If you like the new version, please rate/review it on your respective app store, as it really helps apps get seen, thanks!
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Well, that’s it for now. Good luck.