It’s been a crazy few days for Manchester City fans and I’ve been trying to hold off saying anything yet but it’s got to the point where I think I should. I’d like to stress right at the start that, like the vast majority of people commenting on the Manchester City-Premier League case, I have no idea what the verdict is and whether the Premier League or City are planning any action whatsoever. So if you’re hoping I’m going to say something that is newsworthy then you’ll be disappointed. Sorry!
What I will say is that, as things stand at the time (7pm on 28 September 2026) I’m writing this, the actual verdict has not been published and that it appears it will be some time before the process is actually finished. I don’t know what David Ornstein has seen, nor do I know who the person is who is supposed to have leaked something to him. If it’s true then he’s got a real scoop but that does lead to the question who leaked the information and why (assuming it’s true). If it isn’t true did the person who ‘leaked it’ know it wasn’t true and what were his/her motives? So many questions.
As a historian I try to stand back and assess things over a period of time. I look for patterns, evidence and try to triangulate sources, so I know not to jump into a reaction about what may or may not be true. As a City fan though I can’t help reacting… It’s a dilemma but one that, at the moment, the historian version of me is winning. Having said that, I’m writing this so that shows I’m forgetting some of my historian training!
I’d also like to reiterate that I’ve been saying right from the start that I want football to be fair and equal opportunities for all – sadly it’s rarely been that in its entire professional history.
I also believe that if any club is found guilty of wrongdoing by a fair and transparent process then it should be punished. I’ve never changed from that view.
In City’s case, I think it really is important for everyone to wait until the actual verdict is published and until the process comes to an end. Far too many people are speculating with much vitriol coming the way of City and City fans. Some people are ‘demanding’ we all react but, as I keep saying, there isn’t an end to the process yet. Even if a verdict was formally published today there would still be potential appeals by the Premier League and by City, so let’s all try and ignore the noise until the process ends (I know it’s hard!).
So many people are claiming they know exactly what’s happening and what has happened, including some City fans who claim to have heard stuff, but I’m pretty certain that unless you have a direct line to Khaldoon Al Mubarak or Sheikh Mansour you will not know what City’s view is. Most of City’s personnel won’t know never mind most fans. I certainly don’t know and I can’t imagine Khaldoon telling ‘Bob from Ardwick’ the position if he somehow bumped into him in Spudulike!
What I do know is that this wouldn’t be the first major scandal (if City are found guilty of anything) to hit football, nor will it be the last. For as long as money has been a part of football there have been issues. You can easily read about teams fixing results to earn promotion in the 1890s for example. There’s also City’s own 1905 illegal payments scandal and the match fixing of United and Liverpool in 1915 that dragged on for four years. That, by the way, led to the First Division being expanded and Chelsea being saved from relegation because United’s fixed match with Liverpool meant that the Reds were not in the relegation zone. It also led to Arsenal, who were not in a potential promotion place, being promoted – you’d need to speak with Spurs fans to see how they feel about that!
I only mention that match fixing because it had a major impact on relegation/promotion and the League structure, lasting decades.
The last few days have seen all sorts of weird comments made with some in the media rewriting history to claim all sorts of things about Manchester City. One that I found most ridiculous was the claim that it took City 30 years to recover from the 1905 illegal payments scandal. That’s absolutely not true. City were 3rd in the League in 1907-08 (only a year after the verdict) and were the best supported club in 1910-11. Okay so City didn’t win a major trophy between 1904 and 1934 but United didn’t win a major trophy between 1911 and 1947, Arsenal didn’t win a trophy at all until 1930 and Chelsea didn’t win one until 1955… That’s how football tended to be before certain clubs dominated like LFC in the 70s/80s, United and Arsenal in 90s & 2000s etc.
I heard a journalist talk about Leicester winning the League and saying that was a wonderful achievement and wasn’t as a result of financial doping the other day. This makes the historian in me somewhat frustrated. Yes, it was a wonderful achievement BUT it should be remembered that Leicester had paid £3.1m to settle their Financial Fair Play dispute from 2013-14 when they won the Championship. As we keep being told that even the Manchester City successes of today need to be removed etc. if City are found guilty as this success was built on earlier success then surely the same should be true of other clubs, and that Leicester Premier League title may not be the wonderful achievement we all think it was.
There’s no point going into all of this now, but there’s clearly lots to say about Financial Fair Play (such as ‘would Nottingham Forest’s spending to win promotion, the League and 2 European Cups in the 70s have been allowed under the modern day rules’?).
I’ll end by re-iterating that it’s understandable that people will gossip about all of this but maybe just wait until the verdict is formally announced and the process reaches its ultimate conclusion. One day we’ll all know but, as things stand, that could still be a long way off.
