Manchester City fans fear relegation and losing trophies after the club was found guilty of breaking the Premier League's financial fair play rules, but some supporters believe the verdict is just.
Fans' prophetic chant
In 2008, 15 years before Manchester City were charged with financial fraud, fans started singing "City's going down with a billion in the bank" to the tune of Yellow Submarine. This was because the former Thailand president Thaksin Shinawatra's 15-month ownership of City had come to an abrupt end when more than £1bn of his assets were frozen. Although Sheikh Mansour of the UAE had stepped in to save City, the club was sinking fast.
Despite the UAE's untold riches, by December City were in the relegation zone. It's called Cityitis – shorthand for the tendency to self-destruct when things appear to be going well. The club won trophy after trophy, but fans continued to sing the song about going down with a billion in the bank. When the financial fair play investigation was launched in 2018, the chant got louder. In 2023, it emerged there were more than 100 charges, and the chant became even louder and more cavalier.
Acceptance of guilt
The chant will now be louder and more cavalier than ever, according to Simon Hattenstone, writing for the Guardian. He notes that City fans brag about their failings, singing songs such as "Empty seats at home" because they can't sell out their tickets and "Is This the Etihad?" at deathly quiet away grounds.
Hattenstone says it's simply an acceptance that one way or another, City will always suffer from Cityitis, and despite the UAE riches, they will "do a City". He believes the club is "bang to rights" on the charges, which include failing to provide accurate and up-to-date financial reports, concealing salary details and bonuses, inflating sponsorship revenues, and failing to cooperate or supply requested documents during the investigation.
Potential punishments
The club's fate is not yet known. When Hattenstone interviewed Wayne Rooney recently, Rooney suggested City would have 60 points docked, making it virtually impossible to avoid relegation. City could also lose all eight trophies won in the period from 2009-10 to 2017-18, including three Premier League titles and the record-breaking centurions season in 2017-18 when they won with 100 points.
Everton and Nottingham Forest have been docked points for lesser offences, so it would be embarrassing if City had got away with it, Hattenstone argues. Despite City's attempts to legally filibuster the charges out of existence for the past three years, they have rightfully failed. City intend to appeal.
Looking ahead
Hattenstone suggests City may lose trophies, will almost certainly get relegated, and will almost certainly lose their best players, including Erling Haaland. If the worst happens and City lose all those trophies, fans still have their anni mirabiles – the domestic quadruple in 2018-19 and the treble including the Champions League in 2022-23, when there was barely a whiff of scandal.
Positives could come out of the disgrace, including justice being done, lower ticket prices allowing regular civilians back into the Etihad, and fans learning some humility. Hattenstone suggests City might learn to think imaginatively rather than simply pulling out the chequebook, noting that Shaun Goater left his job coaching Aston Villa Women this year and might be a free agent.
