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”. 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 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.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
