The College Dropout

Think Burnley have wisened up a little.

They agreed to rules. Pretended to abide by them. And didn't. So they could win trophies and league titles. It's much more cheating than what Everton or Forest have done. Forest holding on to Brennan Johnson for a few extra months is fair. City siphoning wages off the books.... is cheating.

Also not much to lose by playing his best side all the time. I think Pep will play his strongest side every game he can unless players are genuinely tired in the moment. I think Gvardiol is in a good moment which is important to Pep. If he's physically fit and not fatigued hugely he'll start all games if Pep thinks he's the best LB. But as you say - Ake could pop up at LB at any moment.

Point is City are willing to do everything and anything to win. We are not - seemingly. The legalities of what they've done - I don't care about that much. We won't get a Court-PL or FA Cup

That's fair. But my point also stands. It's not succeed by any means. City is succeed by any means. True. But City are not trying to comply overtly and play by the rules. They are refusing to cooperate with the FA in their investigation. It's antagonistic. And... City have probably broken some rules. And are actively using footballing hacks. We've not tried to do any of that. Which I think is an indication of intent. I have no doubt that PIF want us to win but it's not by any means necessary. I'm sure they think other clubs will fight to make it a reality but they will let them take that risk.

Agreed. But look how PIF have bullied the PGA tour. They don't need to make friends. I'm not suggesting they don't have high ambition for us. But so far - it doesn't look like ultimate success or die. They won't break the rules to win. In all likelihood City have broken rules to win. They will fight in court to win.

Aye. But anchoring doesn't restrict incomes either. Just expenditure. Anchoring is genuinely good for the sport. People talk about how great Pep, Klopp are. But the disparity in the league is enormous financially. Their second string are on 2x the wages of Burnley. It's not managerial magic that makes them better still.

They don't seem to be threatening a challenge to the UEFA caps and they are more restrictive. And it's less anti-competitive than the UEFA caps IMO. It's preventing clubs from using financial disparities to create monopolies. There are no legal ways for a Burnley to catchup to Man City as the rules stand. Under anchoring - they could (in the PL).

Different footballing landscape. Can't compare. How quickly did they jump on it after the introduction of FFP? FFP didn't even exist when they bought City iirc. Can only park direct cost of the squad at the club (transfer fees, wages). With that anchoring will always be a limiting factor. Also I think City have realised the footballing model they have now is probably best for sustained success. The PSG thing doesn't work so well.

Think ultimately we are a bit of both. Just look at the away kit. How things end up with the footballing rules might determine on which end we are closer too. Us being in the CL with the green kit, Sela on the front, Noon on the sleeve, that's a vanity thing no matter what. It will only get more and more as time goes on.

Also multi-club might be on the way out. Not sure if it will hold up legally though.

Pure conjecture but I don't think PIF are as invested in us as City's owner's. They'll invest as much as they can with us. But they've not the multi-club thing or done the courtroom thing. City's approach is football domination. They will do anything necessary to win. Cheat. Use hacks. Resist transparency when they get investigated. It's like a Mafia boss. It's win or bust - no in between. Willing to antaganise the footballing authorities and establishment when they have too and take it to court. PIF haven't done any of that. Played within the rules and not looked to push back hard. But that has ultimately been smart. We are in a unique position. We align with City on some legal challenges. We align with the many on other legal and footballing challenges. Only clubs we don't have many mutual things in common are the red tops.

Yes. The anchoring only impacts PL. We want to be in Europe so we need to abide by the 75% revenue limit and we are already close to the limit.

Not enough other PL clubs won't vote in favour of it. So if it's going to go, it will go via the courts. That article makes a great point about the multi-club setup. City are loss making but can use clever accounting to shuffle costs to other clubs/businesses.

Don't jinx it please. Still time.