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[Football] Man City launch legal action against Premier League







Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo

I believe in Joe Hendry
Oct 4, 2003
11,821
One wonders if this might not be a calculated move beyond the consequences of FFP sanctions. The European Super League never did go away (or did it?).
Could this result in certain clubs across multiple countries flouncing off, blaming EPL/UEFA/FIFA ‘unlawful restriction of trade’ and forming a new Super League anyway?

Most clubs have pulled out of the European Super League project now. Juventus were the latest to announce they were applying to return to the European Club Association. Only Real Madrid and Barcelona are currently publicly backing the revised plans for the new 64 team ESL.

Of course that doesn't mean any of those who have previously withdrawn wouldn't sign up again, but the backlash by fans last time would make if difficult. This could be a way of City manipulating the fans into supporting a move to the ESL in the future by basically going but look how horrible and unfair the Premier League have been to us.
 




The Fifth Column

Lazy mug
Nov 30, 2010
4,117
Hangleton
Let's get one thing clear, Man City's putrid owners are not even remotely interested In football they are only interested in image, sportswashing and using the club to further its geo political aims. Newcastle are the same. The mindset of these odious people is that they have unlimited funds to buy whatever they need, everything has a price and if they can't buy it they'll employ the most expensive legal teams they can to bend the law and will of any opposition in their favour. It's the absolute definition of corruption and clubs like ours and the fans need to start making a stand in any way we can, we need to boycott and shun anything related to Man City if that means not going to games then so be it let's do it. I doubt it will happen though.
 






Hamilton

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
12,875
Brighton
Could be that Man City are paving the way for a flounce to European Super League 2.0
You’ve got to assume that it’s a scenario in their strategy toolkit.

Unfortunately, my experience of City fans is that unlike Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal fans, they would just go for it.

A little like Newcastle, they have totally sold their souls to the devil. I think they are already more excited by playing Real Madrid than having to play in the FA Cup or visit Portman Road. Most of them probably don’t even know what Portman Road is.
 


Official Old Man

Uckfield Seagull
Aug 27, 2011
8,920
Brighton
When City win next week, and with the legal team they employ how can they lose, I think football as we know it will die.
There'll be the big clubs who have unlimited wealth spending £millions on every player available. It only takes 6 of these clubs and Europe is out of our reach. If KdB is thinking about going to Saudi land for a pension what if Saudi land came here with money to burn?
They'll get around the tax system as well by owning two clubs, one in Saudi land where no tax is paid, loaning out the player to an EPL club whilst wages are paid tax free.
The rules of the EPL will be changed so that the current 14 needed to change the rules will change to a majority only. Easy to buy 5 votes.
Teams like Brighton have no chance. The only fight will be amongst the big clubs. Of course you then wonder how many big clubs will there be?
 






Hamilton

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
12,875
Brighton
When City win next week, and with the legal team they employ how can they lose, I think football as we know it will die.
There'll be the big clubs who have unlimited wealth spending £millions on every player available. It only takes 6 of these clubs and Europe is out of our reach. If KdB is thinking about going to Saudi land for a pension what if Saudi land came here with money to burn?
They'll get around the tax system as well by owning two clubs, one in Saudi land where no tax is paid, loaning out the player to an EPL club whilst wages are paid tax free.
The rules of the EPL will be changed so that the current 14 needed to change the rules will change to a majority only. Easy to buy 5 votes.
Teams like Brighton have no chance. The only fight will be amongst the big clubs. Of course you then wonder how many big clubs will there be?
Agree.

But I don’t care about global football anymore. The only thing stopping me from letting them all get on with their European Super League is the real fans of the big clubs who don’t want to travel around Europe and who want to play Maidstone in the FA Cup.

What we can’t allow is for the big clubs to benefit from both leagues. You are either in or out.

If they form their super league then English football will survive without them. I think it would thrive.

But, I’d rather City were given the Lance Armstrong treatment so that we can reset the game.
 


Feb 23, 2009
23,990
Brighton factually.....
Manchester City accuse rivals of ‘discrimination against Gulf-owned clubs’

Let us not be fooled this is about the owners, if they succeed football will change forever in this country.
The owners have no connection with our history and sense of belonging to a club, it is a commodity, nothing more nothing less.
They are not in for the good of the community, or to help grass roots, they do not care.

There is already a massive gulf between the Premier league and football league, which is pretty evident with the yo-yoing of several clubs.
The gap between the so called elite and the likes of us, is all too clear when they wave their cheque book and teams like us struggle to hang on to talent, they are all chomping at the bit to get rid of FFP.

Why because the owners do not like fair play, that is an alien concept to them, they want it all now, and be damned to anyone who stands in their way.
That is an ethos from their culture be them Gulf nations or rich Americans, they do not understand the idea of relegation, defeat or losing.
Those are the core values which every decent football fans knows only too well, because when we have suffered humiliation and agonising defeats and relegation, victory and promotion is such a relief and the emotions of pure elation, last for ever and are never forgotten.

This is a challenge by the owners, to undermine "OUR" game.

There is a reason the owners of Manchester City and Newcastle have backed English clubs.
Maximum publicity all around the world, they want to be seen as winners.

We cannot let them win, it will be the death of our football heritage.
 






Nobby Cybergoat

Well-known member
Jul 19, 2021
8,254
I think most who are inviting (understandably) Man City to f*** off to form ESL 2.0 have misread the way it would play out.

City wouldn’t be leaving the PL. None of them would. They would very likely be playing in both leagues.

How? Well they can just run massive bloated squads of about 50, with most players only playing in 1 competition or the other. Just like a franchise. They can conceivably play 2 games in one day. There is precedent for this, Liverpool did similar in the Club World Cup.

So the, “just kick them out of the PL approach” is not the way to think about it. The approach should be to demand the existing rules which we’ve been abiding by are enforced. The PL must hold it’s nerve in court and not settle.
 


Hotchilidog

Well-known member
Jan 24, 2009
9,020
This is shaping up to be a battle
Agree.

But I don’t care about global football anymore. The only thing stopping me from letting them all get on with their European Super League is the real fans of the big clubs who don’t want to travel around Europe and who want to play Maidstone in the FA Cup.

What we can’t allow is for the big clubs to benefit from both leagues. You are either in or out.

If they form their super league then English football will survive without them. I think it would thrive.


But, I’d rather City were given the Lance Armstrong treatment so that we can reset the game.
I agree. The world does not revolve around this arrogant entitled tw*ts. Let them have their global TV audience and we can get on with actual football.
 






Krafty

Well-known member
Apr 19, 2023
2,017
They’ll be suing the Premier League to being out of the Premier League. Goodbye City :lolol:
 


Springal

Well-known member
Feb 12, 2005
24,618
GOSBTS
I just hope that at every game next season the opposition fans spend the entire game chanting “cheats cheats cheats cheats” - let’s make our feelings known.
Have you ever been to a Brighton game ? 😂
 


Beanstalk

Well-known member
Apr 5, 2017
2,931
London
Agree here, but what makes you think it would be the end of the PL and English football? If they win this case, of course. Is it because it would open the door for the other big clubs to do the same?
There is (rightly) too much regulation that has sprung up around breakaway leagues to allow clubs to play in both a Super League and a domestic league. The problem is, when one goes, the rest will follow. This leaves domestic football with one of two paths - accept it, change the rules to allow both to play and let domestic football essentially become a considerably poorer, reserve league for the big clubs, with dwindling interest, or ban them from participating in domestic football outright and watch as the majority of big clubs follow the money instead.

I think it'd be the end of the PL and English Football (in any form we know it as) because the money will follow the big clubs, and it will happen suddenly and without warning (like the first attempt). I don't suspect those clubs will be kind to the PL or FA when they do it (like City now) and part of their aim will be to obliterate the current structures of domestic football - these clubs very clearly don't want to even have a glimmer of fair competition. So, they'll do it at a point where the domestic structure, in an already precarious financial state, will be financially obliterated.

The one glimmer of hope is that the next government finishes implementing the independent football regular and is able to legally stop teams from breaking away in the UK. It'll likely won't stop the Super League from happening (we'll see Girona become a Super League side instead of City with Haaland up top for them), but it will leave the domestic structure in tact, if not considerably poorer.
 






trueblue

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
10,841
Hove
You’ve got to assume that it’s a scenario in their strategy toolkit.

Unfortunately, my experience of City fans is that unlike Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal fans, they would just go for it.

A little like Newcastle, they have totally sold their souls to the devil. I think they are already more excited by playing Real Madrid than having to play in the FA Cup or visit Portman Road. Most of them probably don’t even know what Portman Road is.
I think unlike United, Liverpool, Arsenal and possibly Tottenham (Chelsea far more questionable) it wouldn't actually harm the prestige of the Premier League that much if Man City and Newcastle cleared off. Until the influx of Middle Eastern money, they had no real claim to be among the leading clubs in English football.
 


Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
32,293
Brighton
Let's get one thing clear, Man City's putrid owners are not even remotely interested In football they are only interested in image, sportswashing and using the club to further its geo political aims. Newcastle are the same. The mindset of these odious people is that they have unlimited funds to buy whatever they need, everything has a price and if they can't buy it they'll employ the most expensive legal teams they can to bend the law and will of any opposition in their favour. It's the absolute definition of corruption and clubs like ours and the fans need to start making a stand in any way we can, we need to boycott and shun anything related to Man City if that means not going to games then so be it let's do it. I doubt it will happen though.
That's why fans slavish support of them is so annoying. The owners do not give a single solitary shit about the fans - quite the opposite.
 


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