Manchester City Found Guilty Of Almost All Charges

[urban.spaceman]

48 minutes ago, China Black said:

Pep Guardiola's reputation has gone down the toilet in a matter of days. It has been proven that he can only win through match-fixing (Barcelona), being in a one-team league with advantages geared towards them (Bayern Munich) and financial doping (Manchester City). Without those things, Guardiola is actually a dogshit manager. 

The Pepstein Files. 

[OntarioFox]

3 hours ago, Rubbersoul said:

Don’t get me wrong our situation is an absolute disgrace but part of me is glad we’ve fallen so far we’re sort of out of the way of it all now. 
 

Just let me focus on getting rattled by Burton Albion 

All part of the plan, drop down the leagues and wait for the Prem and Championship to collapse under their own financial weight. Every club above the third tier implodes.

 

League One becomes, well, League One in the literal sense and we end up as the biggest club in England. 4D Chess.

 

Edited yesterday at 12:16 by OntarioFox

[OntarioFox]

4 hours ago, les-tah said:

The beginning of the end for Burnham already,  stinks of some dodgy dealings from the mayor of Manchester given the blackmailing already starting.

Burnham became mayor in 2017, not sure how he was in any way involved in the charges they've had levelled against them. At a push he might have had a few nudges from staffers at City Hall to keep them sweet, but it's a huge stretch to suggest he was subject to backhanders or blackmail from them considering the irregularities stretching back a decade stopped within a year of him taking office. God forbid he might speak his mind about the upsides of their ownership being in jeapordy, even if the wording was clumsy given his affinity to Everton and their own charges.

 

I'd be worried if a group responsible for turning one of the shittest bits of my city into one of the most modern threatened to pull out and leave a massive investment gap. As I imagine, say, the University hospitals trust in Leicester will be when King Power go - they've donated millions to them over the years which might disappear overnight.

 

EDIT - It doesn't absolve the Man City ownership or the UAE of anything, it's sportswashing plain and simple. But their tentacles were already so far into Manchester's modern fabric when he took office there that I can't blame him for trying to be diplomatic about it and acknowledge their part in regenerating the east of the city, not least during a week when diesel has passed £2 a litre and the same people dog piling on him right now can't see the geopolitical minefield this mess is. 

 

Edited yesterday at 12:40 by OntarioFox

[LCFCCHRIS]

UAE think they can cheat for years then threaten pulling investment. Cheating ****s. Hope the PL don't bottle it. 

[urban fox]

What people need to realise is that the owners simply simply do not  understand that they can do anything wrong

 They are the ruling class in UAE and just make up rules to suit themselves, they have ultimate power and just do what they want and cannot be questioned. They simply cannot accept that they do not control the agenda and that they can be challenged 

[urban.spaceman]

46 minutes ago, LCFCCHRIS said:

UAE think they can cheat for years then threaten pulling investment. Cheating ****s. Hope the PL don't bottle it. 

We really need to have a "Man City Fallout Bingo" and do a poll.

 

Bagsy Movie adaptation directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Riz Ahmed as Mansour, Javier Bardem as Pep, Robbie Savage as Roberto Mancini, Dean Gafney as De Bruyne, Kolo Toure as himself, Rebel Wison as Erling Haaland, Jack O'Connell as Aguero, Florence Pugh as Phil Foden and Harry Styles as both the Gallagher brothers. 

[tinpot_fox]

3 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

We really need to have a "Man City Fallout Bingo" and do a poll.

 

Bagsy Movie adaptation directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Riz Ahmed as Mansour, Javier Bardem as Pep, Robbie Savage as Roberto Mancini, Dean Gafney as De Bruyne, Kolo Toure as himself, Rebel Wison as Erling Haaland, Jack O'Connell as Aguero, Florence Pugh as Phil Foden and Harry Styles as both the Gallagher brothers. 

The Hawkeye Project but with Robbie Savage replacing them.

[izzymuzzet]

Very good discussion on this on the latest edition of The Breakdown podcast. 

 

Charlie Methven raised something which I haven't heard discussed anywhere else, which is that the rules of the new independent football regulator mean Man City's owners are almost guaranteed to fail the fit and proper owners test so will be required to sell whether they want to or not. 

[trooky]

The premier league have bitten off more than they can chew here, the UAE state are too rich and powerful to be punished with influence everywhere. 

 

I image the premier league will be the biggest loser in this. 

[trooky]

30 minutes ago, izzymuzzet said:

Very good discussion on this on the latest edition of The Breakdown podcast. 

 

Charlie Methven raised something which I haven't heard discussed anywhere else, which is that the rules of the new independent football regulator mean Man City's owners are almost guaranteed to fail the fit and proper owners test so will be required to sell whether they want to or not. 

What about the Glaziers with a leverage buyout, would they still pass a fit and proper owners test? 

[izzymuzzet]

53 minutes ago, trooky said:

What about the Glaziers with a leverage buyout, would they still pass a fit and proper owners test? 

I'm far from an expert on this but my understanding is that the legislation isn't retrospective - so whether a leveraged buyout would be allowed now is irrelevant in the case of Manchester United, because it happened 20 years ago.

 

The specific points where Methven thought Man City's owners would fail the owners and directors test are in the 'honesty and integrity' category, which includes requirements to accurately report on financial issues. 

[izzymuzzet]

21 hours ago, OntarioFox said:

Burnham became mayor in 2017, not sure how he was in any way involved in the charges they've had levelled against them. At a push he might have had a few nudges from staffers at City Hall to keep them sweet, but it's a huge stretch to suggest he was subject to backhanders or blackmail from them considering the irregularities stretching back a decade stopped within a year of him taking office. God forbid he might speak his mind about the upsides of their ownership being in jeapordy, even if the wording was clumsy given his affinity to Everton and their own charges.

 

I'd be worried if a group responsible for turning one of the shittest bits of my city into one of the most modern threatened to pull out and leave a massive investment gap. As I imagine, say, the University hospitals trust in Leicester will be when King Power go - they've donated millions to them over the years which might disappear overnight.

 

EDIT - It doesn't absolve the Man City ownership or the UAE of anything, it's sportswashing plain and simple. But their tentacles were already so far into Manchester's modern fabric when he took office there that I can't blame him for trying to be diplomatic about it and acknowledge their part in regenerating the east of the city, not least during a week when diesel has passed £2 a litre and the same people dog piling on him right now can't see the geopolitical minefield this mess is. 

 

Would add to this that Manchester City Council are more in the firing line for this than Greater Manchester Combined Authority (the organisation that Burnham led). The property deals done with UAE were agreed by MCC. Lots of questions around the role of Howard Bernstein (former MCC chief exec who died a couple of years ago) in this. 

[trooky]

1 hour ago, izzymuzzet said:

I'm far from an expert on this but my understanding is that the legislation isn't retrospective - so whether a leveraged buyout would be allowed now is irrelevant in the case of Manchester United, because it happened 20 years ago.

 

The specific points where Methven thought Man City's owners would fail the owners and directors test are in the 'honesty and integrity' category, which includes requirements to accurately report on financial issues. 

Sorry, what I meant was would it be possible for a leveraged buyout under the new rules, not a retrospective change. 

 

I think most people would agree that the Glaziers have been far worse and have never been fit or proper when their only intentions have only ever been for self gain. 

 

[izzymuzzet]

2 minutes ago, trooky said:

Sorry, what I meant was would it be possible for a leveraged buyout under the new rules, not a retrospective change. 

 

I think most people would agree that the Glaziers have been far worse and have never been fit or proper when their only intentions have only ever been for self gain. 

 

Ah, apologies for misunderstanding.

 

Think the short answer is no - that kind of leveraged buyout wouldn't be allowed now. As well as the IFR, the Premier League recently changed its rules to prevent them. 

[trooky]

Just now, izzymuzzet said:

Ah, apologies for misunderstanding.

 

Think the short answer is no - that kind of leveraged buyout wouldn't be allowed now. As well as the IFR, the Premier League recently changed its rules to prevent them. 

Thanks

[Trav Le Bleu]

I'm wondering if this has got anything to do with Man City getting charged. Were Arsenal thinking of something similar?

 

Arsenal shelve plans for major expansion of Emirates Stadium | Arsenal | The Guardian

 

https://share.google/VHV01t8zxvAbHB9lX

 

[Ashley]

24 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

I'm wondering if this has got anything to do with Man City getting charged. Were Arsenal thinking of something similar?

 

Arsenal shelve plans for major expansion of Emirates Stadium | Arsenal | The Guardian

 

https://share.google/VHV01t8zxvAbHB9lX

 

Why would this matter? 

 

Anything spent on club infrastructure is okay and doesnt go against FFP/PSR etc or have I missed something

[Trav Le Bleu]

3 minutes ago, Ashley said:

Why would this matter? 

 

Anything spent on club infrastructure is okay and doesnt go against FFP/PSR etc or have I missed something

That's what I want to know.

[ajthefox]

On 03/10/2026 at 09:32, les-tah said:

The beginning of the end for Burnham already,  stinks of some dodgy dealings from the mayor of Manchester given the blackmailing already starting.

 

On 03/10/2026 at 12:22, China Black said:

Pep Guardiola's reputation has gone down the toilet in a matter of days. It has been proven that he can only win through match-fixing (Barcelona), being in a one-team league with advantages geared towards them (Bayern Munich) and financial doping (Manchester City). Without those things, Guardiola is actually a dogshit manager. 

 

On 03/10/2026 at 12:47, les-tah said:

Give Neil Warnock that Barcelona and Man City team pep had and hes winning just as much.

I want whatever you two are on - 3 ridiculous takes. 

[Sly]

Pep has massively high expectations as a manager. If you listen to some of the stories from ex players, I do actually wonder how he’d get on at a club like ours, where recruitment more restricted. 
 

He built and adapted a systems, with the free rein of a bottomless pot of money really. Could he have got a tune out of that Leicester side that was relegated last season? He’s never been tested in that water.

 

Great coach, however it’s not like you look at an Alex Ferguson and see winning a Cup Winners Cup Final against Real Madrid and a Super Cup against Hamburg. He’s only ever managed at Elite Level. 
 

It is crazy to say it, however the fact people even discuss it, shows people have question marks, whether that be true or not. 
 

Picture, Pep Guardiola taking over a mid-table League Two side. November. Shit weather. Uneven pitches. £400k squad. Two centre halves who panic when someone passes it backwards.
 

Everyone else treats the ball like it’s a live grenade.

 

I think he’d struggle to adapt initially and would be like watching Russell Martin. He’s never known that style and type of football. 

[Lambert09]

On 03/10/2026 at 08:16, OntarioFox said:

All part of the plan, drop down the leagues and wait for the Prem and Championship to collapse under their own financial weight. Every club above the third tier implodes.

 

League One becomes, well, League One in the literal sense and we end up as the biggest club in England. 4D Chess.

 

Only flaw to the plan: 

 

 

[Lambert09]

2 hours ago, Ashley said:

Why would this matter? 

 

Anything spent on club infrastructure is okay and doesnt go against FFP/PSR etc or have I missed something

Well didn’t Everton fail because of how they registered the debt for their stadium? 

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

Call me Fraudiola pilled but I reckon Pep Guardiola is going to be able to out think Darren Ferguson

[Bourbon Fox]

9 hours ago, izzymuzzet said:

Very good discussion on this on the latest edition of The Breakdown podcast. 

 

Charlie Methven raised something which I haven't heard discussed anywhere else, which is that the rules of the new independent football regulator mean Man City's owners are almost guaranteed to fail the fit and proper owners test so will be required to sell whether they want to or not. 

I enjoy this bit immensely

[Samilktray]

1 hour ago, Sly said:

Pep has massively high expectations as a manager. If you listen to some of the stories from ex players, I do actually wonder how he’d get on at a club like ours, where recruitment more restricted. 
 

He built and adapted a systems, with the free rein of a bottomless pot of money really. Could he have got a tune out of that Leicester side that was relegated last season? He’s never been tested in that water.

 

Great coach, however it’s not like you look at an Alex Ferguson and see winning a Cup Winners Cup Final against Real Madrid and a Super Cup against Hamburg. He’s only ever managed at Elite Level. 
 

It is crazy to say it, however the fact people even discuss it, shows people have question marks, whether that be true or not. 
 

Picture, Pep Guardiola taking over a mid-table League Two side. November. Shit weather. Uneven pitches. £400k squad. Two centre halves who panic when someone passes it backwards.
 

Everyone else treats the ball like it’s a live grenade.

 

I think he’d struggle to adapt initially and would be like watching Russell Martin. He’s never known that style and type of football.