**** it, I'm claiming it anyway ... ... next time I'm near Wembley I'm going to run around outside with my scarf!
This is very true and I wouldn't want it anyway. They may have broken the financial rules but to win a cup final you have to beat the 11 that's put in front of you over 90 minutes. No matter how City's 11 were put together, we couldn't beat them. It would be a hollow victory if we were given any trophy retrospectively.
I was very disappointed to hear Danny Murphy hoping the ban is lifted on appeal because of the 'knock on effect'. According to Murphy other clubs who've also been cheating might also be affected ... ... what a thick tosser
Seems a bit ridiculous to take titles away, seems like that's the "let's give Gerrard a title" narrative more than anything to me.
I'm all in favour of a mechanism like FFP to try to stop the "buy a trophy" bandwagon, but it does need to be applied evenly. Why jump on Man City when the Spanish clubs have been at this for decades with shady deals, city councils giving the clubs land for a small fee that a year later get sold for millions etc. https://www.ft.com/content/750e14a2-3f94-11e6-9f2c-36b487ebd80a OK, told to pay it back, but how much to pay? Too many dark corners! And will any champions league wins be cancelled? Maybe Man City deserve it, but I hope they kick up enough dust to try to take the whole lot with them!
I don't see anything wrong with local councils assisting clubs. In fact, as clubs are a source of civic pride, I think councils should provide assistance to their clubs. Stevenage Borough Council gave Stevenage FC (as it is now called) a helping hand and it allowed the club to build to what it now is. I can think of one or two other clubs where the input of the local council might give the area something to be proud of.
Not just an open and declared local investment. These were deals designed to avoid tax, hide the subsidy so that the actual amont was not known, and ran to millions per year. For example, Real Madrid were effectively given land near their stadium by the local authorities as the proximity to the stadium and safety reasons meant it could not be developed. Wait a year, and miraculously the safety issues are resolved and the land is sold at city centre prices. But it looked like the income was generated by the club's own business deals, so OK for FFP. They were not even touched by UEFA, the EU Financial rules got them. Another link, looks like the FT have a paywall: https://www.theweek.co.uk/74151/barcelona-and-real-madrid-to-pay-back-millions-in-illegal-state-aid However, just to help, Real Madrid appealed and won on a technicality that the original investigation didn't fully assess the value of the "advantages" ! But my point is, by all mens clobber Man City but they have to look at all these kind of deals across the UEFA region.
Having followed your link, I see what you mean. There are certainly dodgy deals going on at more places than just Man City. It shouldn't just be them that are punished. I think UEFA probably believe they have to be careful. They could open a massive can of worms if they investigate too far. The Saracens thing looks like it could do similar in rugby union. I stand by what I said about council involvement though. Above board civic assistance would help a lot of clubs and could even go some way to avoiding nefarious financial situations.
Could you imagine our council doing anything like this... Here's an artist's impression of what the new development will look like