There are 115 reasons why Man City should be relegated to League Two – they have no integrity and there will always be a ‘but’ against Pep Guardiola

Even without 115 charges against them, there is no integrity in what Man City are doing.

I hate to say it, but personally I feel a bit sorry for the club because I think they are wrong in their quest for integrity.

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I don’t think they’ll ever get it, and I don’t think it’s just because of the 115 charges, although that obviously posed a problem.

If they are found not guilty of financial irregularities, charges which City categorically deny, I don’t think the court of public opinion would ever move on anyway.

It’s the Premier League that accused them, it’s the Premier League that thinks they made 115 mistakes.

We all know you can go to court and be found innocent, but people will still say, “Yeah, well, there’s no smoke without fire.” I think it will always be there for them.

Whether that happens or not, the problem with Man City is that the way they achieved success is now closed to others. Newcastle could do what Man City did, but Financial Fair Play (FFP) now has teeth.

So Man City’s problem is that they are a heavyweight, they are almost winning thanks to a cheat code.

The way they generate money legitimately and the way they run the club so well now – they are so powerful in the transfer market, they have an incredible squad and they have the best of everything, and no other club can’t get close to that.

I think there’s this perception around Man City that no matter how good they are, people will just say, “Yeah, but they’re so good because they’ve been able to do what they’ve got.” made over the last 15 years.

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This is a problem for the Premier League. My biggest concern is that Man City are so good that they win the league year after year and we are almost becoming a French league like PSG – that’s terrible for the ‘Premier League brand’.

So in a way I feel a bit sorry for Man City because – okay, we’ll find out if they did poorly – but regardless, they’re still in this position year in and year out where they are massively better than everyone else. because they’re massively more powerful, and I don’t think people respect that.

They will always fight against this. You can see that Pep Guardiola desperately needs that adoration, which he probably deserves, but there’s always that big ‘but’ there.

We don’t know if they will be found guilty, but if they are, these charges will essentially be the cause of the dominance we are currently witnessing…we are talking multiple Premier League titles, six in seven years. , a triple – that my club legitimately did victory in 1999.

The punishment – if found guilty – must be severe. I remember in 2012 Rangers were relegated to the Scottish divisions, so I would put Man City in League Two.

NOTE: Rangers were demoted to the lower tier of the Scottish Football League in 2012, but this was due to the club being liquidated due to a debt crisis. Rather than a buyout to keep the Gers afloat, they had to reform as a new club and start from scratch in the Third Division, the fourth tier of Scottish football. They were back in the Premiership in 2016 and in 2021 won their first top-flight title since the club’s insolvency.

I don’t think fines really work in this situation. Why fine someone who is successful because they are well off?

This makes no sense and the points deduction only hurts them for one year.

It depends on what they did, but if we say what they did was create this dynasty that lasted for years, then the punishment must also last for years.

So I let them enter Ligue 2 and I would tell them: “Crack on”.

FFP allegations at Man City – what are the costs?

Around 15 months ago, Man City were hit with 115 breaches of Premier League regulations – but it’s worth pointing out that not all of them are linked to financial problems. They are:

• 54x Failure to provide accurate financial information from 2009/10 to 2017/18.

• 14x Failure to provide accurate details of player and manager payments from 2009/10 to 2017/18.

• 5x Failure to comply with UEFA rules, including Financial Fair Play (FFP) 2013/14 to 2017/18.

• 7 breaches of Premier League PSR rules from 2015/16 to 2017/18.

• 35x Failure to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to February 2023.

The allegations regarding Man City’s finances were highlighted in leaked documents published by German newspaper Der Spiegel and are believed to date back to 2009.

Man City strongly denied all accusations and said the leaked emails published by Der Spiegel were obtained illegally.

Could Man City be relegated?

The disciplinary commission seized of the case has unlimited power in the event of a sanction.

This means it is possible the club could be kicked out of the Premier League, with other possible sanctions including hefty fines and points deductions.

However, any punishment would require a guilty verdict, and Man City maintain he is innocent and no action should be taken.