Man City know the 115 charges battle they cannot win - it does not bode well

Manchester City have had some good news in the past few weeks but that was ignored for another look at punishments they could potentially face.

One-one-five. For the last three years, any discussion around Manchester City has had the charges somewhere in it. Whether in the background or the foreground, you cannot really talk about Pep Guardiola or Trebles or Premier League titles without the charges in the room.

It is a topic perfect for sensationalism, with possible outcomes that could have seismic ramifications for so many clubs in the English game as well as its governing body and yet basically nobody knows any of the details. Beyond the basic information published by the Premier League in February 2023, everybody who wants to talk about the charges are in the same boat of not knowing any of the evidence for or against.

How do you go about tackling a subject when so little is known and there are no precedents? Use talking heads who can use expertise from other areas to inform, or just settle for the version you want to hear. For most people, that is a guilty Manchester City.

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The club have protested their innocence from the start but nobody knows what they are basing that on (other than their audited accounts, which are publicly available but the evidence the Premier League are using is not, that we know of), so most people have just jumped to their own conclusion devoid of facts. And when Guardiola's side win things - and they have won a lot since the charges first dropped - it helps those people to feel better thinking that all the trophies might be tainted and that City could soon be punished.

They could be, but it is also fair in the circumstances of nobody knowing anything to say that it could be the Premier League who this turns out worse for. They have made accusations of the most serious nature against City so if those are not proven, no amount of fines for non-compliance with what will look like a waste of time of an investigation should spare their blushes.

Not only do more people want City punished, but it is both easier and funnier for them to envisage the Blues getting relegated and having to sell Erling Haaland and Phil Foden than it is thinking about Richard Masters or any other Premier League executives having to resign. Just because it is what the majority want though, it is unfair on City that this feeling has impacted on the majority of coverage around the charges.

Last week a new podcast dropped discussing the 115 case that involved the views of former Liverpool, Chelsea and Villa executive Christian Purslow. He admitted he didn't have details of the actual case but used his expertise to inform his opinion on the matter.

One of his thoughts was widely reported as he spoke of potential sanctions if City are found guilty and the likelihood that the club would appeal. Yet his point that sponsorship deals with BYD and Revolut show that the business world continues to have no fears about City's reputation being tarnished went almost unreported.

"They're not just a tick, they are a huge endorsement by major business entities that they want their brand associated with Manchester City, so any sense that the business community is holding off endorsing Manchester City because it has some as yet undetermined legal case is for the words," Purslow said.

"If Billy Hogan [CEO] at Liverpool was here, or Vinai [Venkatesham, CEO] at Spurs, or Todd Boehly at Chelsea, and they were offered a chance to have Revolut and BYD as sponsors, they would pull your arm off."

How can 115 be such an exciting topic that it has people desperate for any information they can find, but at the same time once somebody says something that is agreeable nobody bothers listening to the rest? The latter is arguably more newsworthy given it is actually based on recent developments, and the quotes are punchier, but it has been ignored.

We know that there are two sides to this story because millions of pounds in legal fees have been spent by City and the Premier League to make their case in the 2024 hearing. It cannot be straightforward given the abnormal length of time it has taken for three independent judges to make a ruling.

While we wait, it is a shame for pretty much everyone but those employed to write about City for the Manchester Evening News that one whole half of the story is basically ignored because it explores a possibility that most people don't want to happen. City may well be cleared of all the charges that matter, but even if that happens there is a good chance plenty just ignore it and ask themselves if there's a chance the club can still be relegated.

Guardiola said in the week that the charges first dropped that City were 'already condemned' without having had the chance to defend themselves. Given everything that has gone on since, it does not bode well for the Blues that opinions have only hardened through years of speculation and selective information.

Unlikely to ever win in the court of public opinion, City have to hope the independent panel credit them with as big a victory as possible.

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