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yep. If you can't enjoy the good times, or at least let others enjoy it, then I've now idea how the hobby is even remotely worth the time invested. Each to their own, but I don't have to hear the negative bollocks 😂

this is worst case scenario now for the EPL - news is out that they're guilty on most charges, no official Comms, no punishment, and yet wall-to-wall media coverage now will be on Man City. That's horrendous. Although maybe all news is good news? Could drive more clicks. There's always a winner 😆

it all depends on what they believe affects their brands more - lack of clarity & equity on punishments, or tainting prior Title races & harming a big player potentially for years to come 🤷 I think most hardcore ⚽ fans would say the former is more harmful, but maybe casual onlookers disagree? Dunno.

I read they had been briefed but with NDAs signed. If someone broke that, it would be bad news for them. But maybe hard to prove who leaked it.

that's another option but would be somewhat unprecedented, so seems unlikely.

everyone is watching. Not least Hull City & Ipswich Town - remember, Hull had their own compliance issues recently, and had to sell before they could buy even this past summer. This is really serious now. It could affect their top flight status & long term financial health.

I wonder how this story got out to The Athletic too. Nothing official from the Premier League. You'd have to imagine they're really annoyed about it - they are now under immense pressure to act quickly. But did someone leak it with an eye on speeding the process up? Intriguing.

yeah, I had read that too. Which is really interesting and maybe explains why City spoke about agreeing to the investigation on the basis that the panel was independent etc yesterday. That suggests they are drawing the battle lines carefully along lines that they can fight, knowing where they can't.

000

yeah. It's all conjecture currently as we await official Comms. It'll be interesting. That's for sure.

he just gives me vibes that I can't be around. Maybe that's a "me" issue, I dunno. But if your whole thing is to be a "realist" and bring people down from their happiness etc, I'm out. I've seen it too many times. The "devils advocate" types. Pseudo intellectuals that are actually just negative.

I've blocked him, Josey. He posts his "controversial takes", this one that Leeds won't finish Top 7. When you question it, he gets defensive, calls me grumpy, sarcastically says "aww poor boy" and tells me that I told him to shut up which literally never happened. I would never talk like that.

it seems unlikely. One relegation after a points deduction probably ain't hitting them too hard as they'd keep such quality even if they had to sell Haaland, Gvardiol, Semenyo, Guehi, that they'd surely walk back into the top tier largely unscathed. Though maybe that's a reason to punish harder?

the other consideration is whether or not a new board (assuming the current directors are barred or disciplined highly etc), would have the appetite to plough the same levels of cash into a multi year rescue job from the jaws of irrelevancy? Maybe. But not guaranteed. The business model could shift.

if they end up in the EFL, they're likely to have new issues, aren't they? I mean, wouldn't they immediately have to plan to comply with their regulations? For eg, if they ended up in the fifth tier, theyd have to financially plan for the next four years minimum & comply accordingly 🤷

Another #lufc account biting the dust today, I'm afraid. Block button is out. I just can't do negative "playing devil's advocate" types. It gives me flashbacks to that sort of personality infecting my younger years. If you want to dream & smile, crack on 💙💛

2100

it becomes difficult - relegation after a points deduction is maybe more likely than expulsion, because at least with the former they just became one of the three going down and league size is not an issue? Expulsion maybe means National League restart but even that becomes difficult admin-wise 🤷

120

that's two that have replied to you and said it's not what people think. I go to the games with two other people who think tenth would be an incredible achievement. Same as the entire row I sit with. And the people in front.

you called me "grumpy", said "poor you" in a sarcastic and patronising way, and yet you tell me that I told you to shut up which you'll literally be unable to quote because it never happened mate.

000

when did I say any of that? I told you why your controversial take isn't controversial, why we have at least an outside chance (even provided odds to prove it), then told you why people are smiling and enjoying the current situation - I never once said "shut up". I don't talk like that.

100

I have no idea what you're on about. I spoke about your original idea that we won't finish top six or seven.

100

that's great mate. Maybe enjoy it for a bit then? We won't always be half decent.

100

I spent most of my teenage years reading about CVAs, admin processes, yachts, offshore holding companies etc. The football was crap, the players were awful, the stadium was half empty and the prices were very high for what we were being served. I went to Crewe, Doncaster, Fleetwood. We can smile.

320

it's not "no chance", is it? 4/1 suggests an outside chance that is greater than zero. Again, I'm not offering opinion. These are just facts. "Passports out" is funny mate - tongue in cheek - a fanbase that literally experienced turmoil way beyond City's current situ for decades now smiling #lufc

300

I'm not getting my passport out to go to the Arctic Circle on a work night mate 😂 I can't even make London work midweek 😆

nothing up. It's just not controversial to say we are not favourites for a top six finish. We are 4/1 to finish Top 6 best odds available. That makes us eight favourites. Same odds as Toon & Villa, basically. And most would say those two have stronger squads too and more quality.

000

another one of your controversial takes that just confirms what we all know 😂 We can all name seven better teams immediately mate - Arsenal, Liverpool, City, Man Utd, Chelsea, Brighton, Brentford. It's not controversial.

100

I sang it going into work the next day and it's funny how many people take it seriously. It's tongue in cheek. None of us expect to finish 7th or 8th. We are having a little something called ... "fun". People used to experience it in years gone by, y'know 😜 😂 #lufc

160

Maybe I actually do need my passport somewhat on standby then 👀 🛂 😂 #lufc 💙💛 are Leeds more stable than Man City now? We are so back 🔙😎

static.klipy.com

daniel farke

ALT: daniel farke

150

if that's the case, and it is proven, then we punish those teams too. I won't list the issues I've got with certain teams here as they're probably just about within the rules as they're currently written - but yeah, football has issues mate. But I can't allow that to impact my view of this case.

so you can't say "oh yeh but if Leeds were richer they'd do a City too". That's not good enough. Leeds are richer than Preston North End, but they sold in accordance with the rules to avoid points deductions & possible transfer bans etc. That's where I'm at. But maybe that's just me.

which kind of negates the original point here - like, Leeds didn't NEED to sell Rutter, Gray & Sinisterra when they got relegated. But FFP kind of forced it. It's just one eg. But that alone starts to slightly hint at the fact that this case is a very serious one. It's about competitive balance.

100

I wouldn't remove titles because the players & coaches still achieved those things, regardless of decisions made above them. However, I do think the sanction needs to be extremely severe. Too many other clubs have been sticking to the rules, selling to comply, taking point hits when they don't etc.

and to be fair to him, and the players, they aren't the guilty party here. Their achievements as coaches & players still occurred, even if they're probably somewhat tainted now. He's still a great coach. And I can't blame him for walking.

I think he decided he could do without a full season or more of dealing with the media on this too - he likely knew this exact moment was coming (guilty but no punishment known yet), and so he thought "nah, I've done enough good work here to be dealing with that shite for months on end". Fair.

part that, yeh. I also felt at the time that some of the signings were really rather young compared to what they usually go for - so they may have been preparing in that sense too.

One has to imagine that if #mcfc thought they had any chance of being relegated anytime soon, they wouldn't have spent like madmen again this past summer. I feel like they already know their probably punishment (and it likely isn't relegation). So many clubs will be livid if they get a light touch 🤷

330

I also tend to agree that they are getting in some good positions, but I think they need a proper physically capable & confident target man (not Solanke) in order to make themselves more dangerous. Marmoush is not a lone striker. It's all a bit tepid at the moment - it needs power & directness.

I think they've worked quite hard on making themselves a bit more defensively solid and that's mainly worked - the worrying thing today were the huge gaps after it went 0-1, as old habits seemed to creep back in, and many stopped doing the basics without the ball & during turnover moments.

100

oh aye. No worries. Sorry, I take things very literally. You said period of dominance so I thought you meant you thought they were dominant. All good.

I even posted during the Spurs game today that whilst they had a very light control over proceedings early on, their chances were half chances at best (very savable), and that Villa were definitely carrying a threat on the break that would ultimately hurt Spurs.

200

yeh. It's just I think sometimes we need to remember what dominance is. The word is used quite a bit in football parlance. Dominance, for me, is total negation of the opponent in terms of chance creation, whilst simultaneously creating multiple big chances within a given time period.

100

yes they were lively, and they were pushing a bit in that sort of traditional "huff & puff" sort of way - but they were most certainly not "dominant". At no stage did they totally smother Villa in the way, for eg, Leeds smothered Newcastle on Monday. There was no dominance.

there was no Spurs "dominance" today. They were marginally on top for the first part of the game - created no big chances in that spell. Suzuki made a couple of very savable saves.

did you start Thomas @frookie.bsky.social ? 👀 He really should've scored too.

000

they won the xG battle against Chelsea though , to be fair. And Newcastle continue to score plenty from fairly low xG chances.

000

this team IS West Ham's 😂 nah but I totally agree mate. And what is the allure of Mateus Fernandes? Does that lad just have good PR and a great agent behind him? He seems to jog around the pitch and avoid heavy tackles when it gets tough.