Amid the hundreds of thousands of words written and spoken about Manchester City being found guilty of serious breaches of Premier League rules, maybe Roberto Mancini’s were the most poignant when he announced it was “not my concern”. Why would it be? He made millions from one of the “sham contracts” and enjoyed his success but his ties to the club started and ended there. Since he has gone there will have been little looking at what was left behind.
The Italian is a microcosm of the modern club, appointed for his expertise and well remunerated for it. Mancini was deemed the best person City could hire and the club, powered by an attitude of win at all costs, accommodated him at great expense in a manner that a damning independent commission verdict concluded circumnavigated the rules.
City remain bullish in the face of findings that they are guilty of impressively tawdry financial breaches. Innocence is maintained and there is no contrition, because this is not football, it is business, and the club need their fans to buy into the idea of a “Premier League conspiracy theory” and “irrefutable evidence” supporting their case.
People trust their football clubs more than their life partners, and few want to think ill of them, through good times or bad, instead accepting their many flaws. Pep Guardiola was often City’s auxiliary spokesperson, providing complete faith in everything done higher up the chain, backing the chief executive and chair. With silverware weighing down the trophy cabinet, the answers were understandably accepted but now there are far more questions to answer.
This level of adoration led one fan on the radio this week to pronounce that Manchester is used to fighting the authorities, using the example of Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragettes, which feels a long way from Disguised Funding Schemes. A scan of social media to find dissenting City fans leads to a plethora of comments backing the board and shaming those speaking out.
In a previous epoch, City’s self-sabotage involved not realising what result was required to stay in the Premier League and buying players such as Lee Bradbury for an inflated price. This brought a drop down the leagues that the more nostalgic fans continue to celebrate, but York away is no longer the nadir in the club’s history.
City’s path changed in 2008 from one of mediocrity to a world of priceless moments and successes that fans were right to celebrate. Football is many people’s outlet, their entertainment and relief from the day-to-day, so when it goes from regular abject failure to regular titles, naturally they enjoy it. Distancing oneself from the politics of the owners is a sacrifice worth making because the club are bigger than their owner.
Not that this mantra has carried much weight since Sheikh Mansour and Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) arrived. An end-justifies-the-means approach was implemented, and if financially the price was high, reputationally it has turned out to be even higher. With appeals to come, the dust may never truly settle on this case, but at some point someone may find the gumption to take responsibility.
City will explore every avenue to try to overturn this, which is only right if they believe themselves innocent. But any victory will have meaning only if based on evidence, not the use of financial muscle to hire more legal experts in search of a loophole. It was damning that witnesses were deemed by the commission to have provided false accounts.
Fans were entitled to reserve a degree of judgment until the findings were published. But lines about “sham agreements” and strategies to disguise the source of funding ought to have made for depressing reading for those who were in the stands for some of the best moments of their lives.
A club should be a reflection of their community, not their owners. City became “richer than God” and it was never enough. Signing up to the European Super League showed the direction of travel but fans won on that occasion and need to show their anger again.
The Independent Football Regulator will get to test its strength in such matters, with its powers including the right to force a sale. The behaviour of City’s owners was done in the club’s name; the club that went down with Alan Ball, up under Joe Royle, and signed the former world footballer of the year George Weah from nowhere, then watched him disappear after nine appearances. The tapestry is always rich at a club, even if it is not all threaded with gold.
City’s next Premier League game comes at Anfield, a week on Sunday, giving plenty of time for those travelling to conjure a response. Discussion in the minibuses, on the concourses and in the stands will be about one thing only, with many differing opinions shared. At the heart of it, however, is that everyone who makes that trip, and those City fans at the Etihad Stadium the following week, want a club they can be proud to support. ADUG provided that for a long period but it is unlikely it can do so again.
City need to reflect their history and values by finding people with football expertise who can navigate a tumultuous period and lead them forward with the best interests of the club and wider community at heart. Should the worst available punishments be meted out, the owners can leave, staff can find new jobs and the players will not be short of offers, but the fans will be left behind. As at Bury, Macclesfield and others down the pyramid, the supporters pay the heaviest price. City’s followers would do well not to blindly back the owners now.
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