On this day (3 October) in 1987 Paul Stewart & Imre Varadi both scored twice as Manchester City beat Leicester City 4-2 at Maine Road. Games with Leicester were often newsworthy in the 1980s. Sadly, there was the match in March 1989 when Paul Lake swallowed his tongue and there was the FA Cup tie in January 1989 which saw the City players take to the field carrying large inflatable bananas which they then threw into the crowd. This was not a regular occurrence! You can read more on the banana craze here:
Category Archives: Manchester City
6-3 Manchester Derby
It was a highly memorable day for Manchester City fans as Pep Guardiola’s Blues defeated Manchester United 6-3 before 53,475 on this day (2 October) in 2022. You can watch highlights here:
The City scorers were Phil Foden (3) and Erling Haaland (3). What a great day to be a Blue!
Sunday Morning Blues
Everton, so often a bogey team back then for Manchester City, were defeated 2-0 on this day (2 October) in 2005. This was the first Sunday morning kick off in the Premier League and the match commenced at 11.15 with some fans making a point of the early start by wearing pyjamas. It was also Stephen Ireland’s first full Premiership game. Before the match he admitted to being “very nervous” and post-match he commented that the rest of the team had supported him: “That helped me ease my nerves and settle in as one of them.” You can see highlights and read more about the game below:
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Manchester City 3 Bilbao 0
On this day (1 October) in 1969 Manchester City’s first ever home tie in the ECWC (at the time Europe’s second most important competition) ended 3-0 (6-3 on aggregate) as the Blues defeated Athletic Bilbao. City scorers were Alan Oakes, Colin Bell and Ian Bowyer. Attendance 49,665. You can read more (and watch a video) about the game here:
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Saving a 56th Penalty: Paul Cooper
On this day (30 September) in 1989 Manchester City goalkeeper Paul Cooper saved the 56th penalty of his career in City’s 3-1 victory over Luton at Maine Road. Subscribers can see that penalty save and read a profile of him below:
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Manchester City Statement on the Charges
City have now issued a statement:
Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today.
The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.
The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.
The Club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.
The Club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete.
https://www.mancity.com/news/club/manchester-city-club-statement-premier-league-63926128
The Premier League Statement
The Premier League have issued this statement on the investigations into Manchester City. It may take a while to digest this and City have until Friday to lodge an appeal, so the process isn’t over yet. Here’s the League’s statement:
An independent Commission has found Manchester City FC guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
The independent Commission found that between Seasons 2009/10 and 2017/18:
– Manchester City arranged ‘sham’ contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners, as well as relying on ‘sham’ agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs
– The club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators
– Manchester City was significantly in breach of both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits
– During the Premier League’s investigation, Manchester City committed multiple breaches of its duties of co-operation and utmost good faith towards the League (three of the four alleged breaches were upheld)
The independent Commission found that Manchester City arranged ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors during the period, which were part of a disguised funding scheme, whereby those companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees. The remainder was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club. As part of the scheme, further ‘sham’ arrangements, funded by ADUG, were entered into to enable the club to record lower operating expenses than it actually incurred, as well as a ‘sham’ circular arrangement with Fordham, an entity that purchased the club’s players’ image rights, that was funded by ADUG.
The purpose of these schemes was found to have been to artificially inflate the club’s revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than £900 million during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules. The consequence of this, as the Commission found, was that the club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators. The Commission concluded that ‘by its conduct the club clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules‘.
As a result, Manchester City failed to accurately report its income and expenditure for the purposes of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules and UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Rules. The Commission found that, had all of the relevant agreements been reported accurately in the club’s accounts, it would have been in breach of both the League’s and UEFA’s spending limits by a very substantial amount.
In addition, during the course of the four-year investigation conducted by the Premier League, the club committed multiple breaches of its duties of co-operation and utmost good faith towards the League. The Commission concluded that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the PL investigation’.
Richard Masters, Chief Executive of the Premier League, said: “The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.
“It also vindicates the Premier League’s decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the League has remained determined that the facts be established independently.
“It is a key responsibility of the Premier League to ensure that the Rules, approved by the clubs themselves, are upheld to protect the integrity of the competition. It is paramount that the League remains competitive and fair for all clubs and for the fans. We take that role extremely seriously.
“This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history. There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches. Now we have the Commission’s decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans.”
The independent Commission’s findings are set out in a Core Decision, of which a redacted version has been published (click here). The Commission’s award comprises both the Core Decision and a large number of additional appendices, which the League is committed to publishing as soon as it is able.
The League is able to publish the Core Decision because the Commission has ruled (and an Appeal Board has confirmed) that the Commission’s decision is a ‘final award’.
Now that the charges have been proved, the issue of sanction will be addressed separately in a further hearing with the independent Commission. In accordance with Premier League rules, that hearing will remain private and confidential until such a time as publication of the outcome is permitted.
The club has the right to appeal the independent Commission’s findings and has until Friday 2 October to exercise that right.
The Premier League Board’s intention is that the full process (including any appeals and publication of relevant decisions) is concluded as soon as possible.
Notes to Editors
Premier League investigation, independent Commission process:
– The Premier League began its investigation into Manchester City in December 2018, and a complaint was subsequently issued under Section W of the League’s rules in February 2023
– The independent Commission held a 42-day hearing, which concluded in December 2024
– In explaining the length of time it had taken to provide the parties with a decision, the independent Commission wrote: ‘It has taken us much longer than we would have wished, and much longer than we had anticipated would be the case when the hearing concluded, to produce our Decision. That is regrettable.
‘However, we were fortunate to have available to us throughout the period in which our Decision has been being prepared not only all of the documents that were used at the hearing but also
(a) verbatim transcripts of the evidence given by each witness and expert at the hearing. Those transcripts ran to approximately 7,000 pages, and (b) extremely detailed written submissions from the parties (that they had supplemented orally over four days at the end of the hearing) on the evidence and each of the numerous issues that we were tasked with determining in the proceedings.’
Premier League investigations, independent Commissions, and Appeal Boards
– The Premier League Board has the power to investigate any suspected or alleged breach of Premier League Rules
– Where, following the conclusion of an investigation or otherwise, the Board believes that there is a suspicion or allegation of a Rule breach, it has a number of options available to it. One of these options is to issue a written complaint and refer the matter to a Commission
– The League has established an independent Judicial Panel, comprising a number of legal, financial and other experts
– Members of the Judicial Panel are appointed by its independent Chair. It is also the Chair of the Judicial Panel who selects members of the Judicial Panel to sit on Commissions, which are independent of the Premier League. The Chair of the Judicial Panel at the time of the Complaint in these proceedings was Murray Rosen KC. The current Chair of the Judicial Panel is Sir Gary Hickinbottom
– All proceedings convened under Section W of the Rules are confidential and heard in private
– The Commission appointed under Section W of the Rules has a broad discretion as to the sanctions it wishes to apply, the non-exhaustive list set out in rules includes fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions
– Whenever a Commission makes what is described as a ‘final award’ in the rules, such decisions are published on the Premier League website
– A party to proceedings that wishes to challenge a decision of the Commission may do so under Section W of the Premier League Rules, by filing an appeal to be heard before an Appeal Board
– Appeal Boards are also appointed by the Chair of the Judicial Panel and must have three members, one of whom should have held judicial office, and would sit as the chair of the Appeal Board
– An Appeal Board has wide discretion in respect of the appeal, and may allow it, dismiss it, or make any other order that it thinks fit (including varying the order of Commission)
For further information on the disciplinary process, please see Section W of the Premier League Handbook.
Confidentiality
– The disciplinary proceedings between the Premier League and the club have been confidential, as provided for in the League’s Rules
– Premier League Rules provide for the publication of the outcomes of final awards of Commissions
– It has recently been determined that certain aspects about the findings of the Commission in these proceedings may be published under the League’s Rules.
– At this stage, the Premier League is only permitted to publish a redacted version of the summary of the Commission’s ‘core findings’
– The process remains ongoing and any further information related to the proceedings that has not been published by the Premier League remains confidential. When the Premier League is able to do so under the League’s Rules – unless legally prevented from doing so – the Premier League will publish the full Decision and any further updates. In the meantime, all aspects of the ongoing process will be confidential
You can read the statement on the PL’s own site if you’re wondering whether this is accurate or not:
https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4727779/premier-league-statement-manchester-city-fc
Elano’s Wonder Goal
On this day (29 September) in 2007 goals from Petrov (38 mins), Mpenza (47) and Elano (87) helped Manchester City to a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United. Elano’s goal came from a truly outstanding free kick and was his first goal for the club. You can see highlights of the game here:
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Manchester City and the Charges
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.
Manchester 1840-1919 (Part Eight)
Every Monday I’m posting a section from my book ‘The Emergence of Footballing Cultures: Manchester 1840-1919’. It tells the story of the origins of men’s football in Manchester and discusses the birth of both City and United plus the clubs that predated them such as Hulme Athenaeum, Manchester AFC, Birch etc. Today’s section is the seventh chapter of the book (a 10,500 word section). This focuses on football as a business (yes, it was a business even then!), the move into league football for Manchester’s clubs and the relaunch of them as Manchester City and Manchester United.
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