Lucas Digne ne sera pas de la partie: Premier League 2026/27

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That's me

if spurs dont sign two epl level and usually available forward players theyre finishing 12th

that's all i know about football

i got odds of 1000-1 on Man Utd getting relegated. easily worth a couple of quid.

yes, they were definitely one of the worst 3 teams in the league over the second half of last season, oh wait

Carrick is something like the 3rd longest manager in place in this league of sure fire stability

They all come, most of them have a honeymoon, they all fuck it up, they all get fired. Not saying I think they'll go down but real odds are more like 50-1

interesting https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/premier-league/relegation/bet-history/man-city

lol who the hell is taking a bet at those odds?

Sheikh Mansour?

i cant go on that website at work but does it factor in potential point deductions happening lol

surely it must. i'm not saying it's impossible but i'd want 100-1 minimum even to think about throwing a couple of quid at it

well presumably the odds are based on people actually placing bets with the points deduction in mind

This proved to be a bigger test of my rudimentary copy and pasting abilities than of the sandbox polling function

https://sandbox.ilxor.com/thread/1/1597

(Thought it might auto-title but it's an EPL 2026-27 poll)

top 4, bar Arsenal winning, feels unusually difficult to call

I don’t see a compelling case for Villa, Chelsea or Spurs so Maresca might have to really mess things up for it not to be Arsenal, City, Liverpool, United.

pre-season is pre-season obv, but Utd getting battered by Amorim's Milan last weekend is not exactly filling me with confidence

Huge question marks still remaining about the squad, especially with additional games this year

(and the manager of course)

It's a top 5 since the CL changed, right? I'd likely look at Chelsea for that spot. Alonso was great at Leverkusan and they don't have Europe, which seemed to help Utd last season. I know it's a ragtag bunch but there are good players there.

i know nothing about 18 of these teams in 2026 tbh

Hull City look like a lock for 20th to me which only leaves 2 other relegation slots to fight over

i'd be surprised if us or ipswich stay up too

think the gap is a little too big this season

Yep, would be nice to think one of the established clubs might be worried (as long as it’s not Spurs again) but Coventry and Ipswich haven’t managed to strengthen much.

I could see Newcastle struggling

i'm hoping that maybe Cov or Ipswich can make themselves at least hard to beat and there's always likely to be at least one "established" team that self-destructs but yeah the odds are stacked against all 3 promoted sides

Newcastle look primed to be that "established" club imo but I think they are still a way off being relegation fodder.

Rarely if ever felt more doomed vibes off a set of promoted teams

Listening to the Guardian preview and 3/4 of their writers had Chelsea 2nd in the league; the 4th had them 4th.

That alone just made me feel like they will end up 12th.

Ipswich haven’t managed to strengthen much.

It’s wild that this is the consensus considering we have spent £150 million, and might get as high as £200m before the end of the window.

I’d love to see them do well but I think Enciso is the only slam dunk signing and a bunch of the people brought in (Kipre, Akpom, Maeda, etc) are Championship-level at best, even as squad players. Would be great to see Fatawu have a good season, though.

Spurs appear to have pivoted from quixotically pursuing a forward all summer from a club that won’t sell unless they have a superior replacement lined up already to pursuing two forwards from the same club.

I’m under no illusions it’s going to be easy for sure, but on paper we are a lot stronger than the squad last time which was half players signed in League One, so for the time being I am hopeful we will may be able to make a better go of it – and have a manager that might be more willing to adjust tactics to the game. But it does speak volumes about just how big the gap is between Premier and Championship these days.

Looks like Spurs might actually be buying Savinho and Marmoush after all, albeit in a pretty egregious scam.

https://www.skysports.com/transfer/news/12691/13575264/savinho-transfer-spurs-agree-lb85m-deal-to-sign-brazi-forward-from-manchester-city

Savinho, who cost City £30m, was initially talked about as a £60m signing, Spurs are apparently paying £85m. Marmoush, who cost them £60m, is supposedly signing for £45m. Marmoush has a sell-on clause giving a cut of any fee back to Frankfurt, Savinho doesn’t.

have they deliberately made the first match the prem champs vs the championship champs?

Hull's kit really is hideous and i'm already looking forward to them getting relegated so i never have to see it again

Who's getting relegated?

haha ikr

Carrick having to resort to Rashford at half-time in the first game of the season is pretty funny though

lol ffs i can't believe i opted out of going to the pub

Carrick on the streets of Humber
Dublin, Rooney, Norm Whiteside
They wonder to themselves

look when you're fighting in four competitions youve gotta expect a few blips

not gonna get 1000-1 now

Mauled by the Tigers, the magic of the Prem

jfc the marking, tracking remains horrific

the fuck do they *do* all summer?

horrific

horrific

i find it so hardnto believe a commentator would praise the scoring team there.

traffic cones

It is the history of the Tottenham

Makeshift team, to an extent, but have never been convinced de Zerbi knows what he is doing.

its not a makeshift team though

each of these players is first or second choice in his current position

first time playing together in anger, ok

doesn't excuse them playing like it's their first time full stop

senesi in particular looks like hes been asked to play underwater.

richarlison is as shit as richarlison, which is saying something

If any more than four of these are playing week-in, week-out, 17th is going to be optimistic.

I have not paid attention to any football this weekend cos of some shitty life stuff but god what a glorious start it looks to have been.

Never want to see Bergvall in a Spurs shirt again

Angine de Postecogloutrine (NickB) at 12:49 22 Aug 26

Hull's kit really is hideous and i'm already looking forward to them getting relegated so i never have to see it again

Carrick to be fully grey-haired by november

The kit is horrible for a 5 a side team.

How have Utd started the season with Maguire and Heaven as their centre half pairing? I know some people with Maguire has been criticised too much but that’s atrocious management. An Arsenal youth drop out is not exactly who should be taking up the lineage of Stam or Vidic.

lol at Sunderland defence. their away kit is even worse.

Can someone make a supercut of De Zerbi reaction shots from this game plz

he reminds me of a grizzled European EDM DJ who made it big in the late 90s and has lately found himself playing to a diminishing aging fanbase

Never want to see Bergvall in a Spurs shirt again

Neither does he!

Villa have Buendía up front with Barkley, Hemmings and McGinn. Might be a long afternoon.

Might be worse than Spurs.

Ok, worse than Spurs

Gomes has had the worst debut I’ve ever seen.

not watching this but uh...we had a good run

villa fans leaving 40 mins in.

City losing too. What a weekend this looks to be.

hm

that newcastle kit is an abomination.

Oh god. This does seem like a worse year for kits than usual

very cool

UAE officials caution that a negative outcome concerning #ManCity’s 115 charges could damage improved relations with the UK, according to two people familiar with the matter.

[via @business]

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) August 23, 2026

that's an extra 100 points imo

Haaland’s haircut is a disgrace, add more charges until he grows it back

Chelsea starting six defenders against Fulham for some reason. Three quarters of the midfield are fullbacks.

what a touch that was. chelsea’s kit is ugly.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c4g5zg526gdo

Liam Delap appears to have appreciated by around £20m over the course of a season where he scored one goal and was regularly injured.

supply & demand, it's like flipping a house

He was sold for under market value at the time… but still!!

Marmoush and the rebranded Savio officially in and it seems likely Spurs will aim to sign another forward of the calibre of Gakpo / Leao, and new right back, if they can. If they’re still terrible, turn WHL over to Beyoncé and the NFL full time and be done with it.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSSsXb1QwoBnm_zjzqhUDmFgFvcPD9wn8IyZG4PkM7-Tg&s=10

Sold Elvis and bought The Beatles iirc.

The Shitty Beatles

Spurs, they're only the football team Arsenal could have been.

a goalkeeper and a centre forward probably important to a football team

Twenty minutes in and Charlton’s B team is containing them quite comfortably.

Sávio starting nicely, with a goal for himself and an assist to Ben Davies' cock.

120m for Barcola seems like a lot but who the fuck knows anymore

Best to think of this stuff as hypothetical accountancy fiddles at this point

He is a talented player and the hype around any PSG/French team forward is big right now. Not sure if he is an upgrade on Gakpo though who seems to be in a similar spot of "raw talent and depending on the coaching/game time, could go on to becoming something good or kinda shitty". I have felt the same with most players linked as possible replacements with Martinelli.

I just don't think I understand the money involved in football. That's fine, its not my money. But I don't think the people in football understand the money involved in football either. I listened to a podcast the other day that said Chelsea are in a wild amount of debt, the sort that bankrupts clubs. The same podcast mostly predicted them to come 2nd this season. Late stage capitalism doesn't make sense.

a level deeper, i dont understand where talent/potential goes any more when i watch most professional footballers out on the pitch

mourinho, malouda, kalou, it started there and pep did the rest

72 hours of pretending to be in for Rafael Leao so Jorge Mendes can get a few extra million of out of Galatasaray, 1 second for David Ornstein to pop his head out of a random bin and break Ibrahim Mbaye signing

^^^^ honestly surprised I’ve not heard of any transfers being merged with meme bitcoins yet

commentators that gas up a clear deflection what is wrong with them

it's generally because they don't see the deflection initially and don't want to row back their superlatives

"maybe a hint of a deflection there"

yes, on something that changed trajectory so much it will subsequently be ruled an own goal

you get it with offsides as well, ooooooh it's going to be tight, it isn't

City look better than I expected especially without Rodri and a Poundshop Pep in charge tbf. Cherki going to have a big season.

Still think Arsenal are going to win the league easily though.

Everyone says Arsenal are going to win the league, which makes me think they won't.

Obviously I hope they won't because I'm sick of seeing people walking about with Arsenal tops on.

they let Pool back into towards the end but that was an excellent half from Forest

organised at the back and sharp going forwards

Ally McCoist literally just did it with that Munoz goal

didn't see this game or the last one so can anyone tell me wtf is wrong with Liverpool's defence right now

Full backs are just not up to it

really dont know why lfc throwing away £100m+ on a winger when they probably need to be playing 3 CBs and frimpong/kerkez as wing backs, wirtz/szobo as dual 10s, ryan/alexis dual CMs to make up for the fact that nobody can run in the middle of the pitch and vvd is past it as a one-on-one defender.

some much better stuff from central midfield

decision making on final pass and up front poor, no cutting edge

full backs refusing to consider standing in the same postcode as the wide threat will undo us as usual

Yep. Gray in particular. Much better than last week, though.

really dont know why lfc throwing away £100m+ on a winger when they probably need to be playing 3 CBs and frimpong/kerkez as wing backs, wirtz/szobo as dual 10s, ryan/alexis dual CMs to make up for the fact that nobody can run in the middle of the pitch and vvd is past it as a one-on-one defender.

― oscar bravo, Saturday, 29 August 2026 16:15 (one hour ago)

I’d have Nyoni starting ahead of McAllsiter at this stage.

i think my five a side team would win tackles and headers against spurs

tel is so poor in 2 out of every 3 moments that matter

long ball

take all the time you want with the knock down son

cunts

the fuck is van der ven there

tel

*respectful silence*

cuuuunts

i start to see how you become an auld fella who just bemoans footballers who dont try hard enough or do the basics

because these cunts don't try hard enough or do the basics

🚨 EXCL: Agreement in principle reached for Iliman Ndiaye to join Tottenham Hotspur from Everton & Richarlison to move opposite way in separate transfers. Deals for 26yo #EFC attacker + 29yo #THFC forward subject to personal terms / medicals @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/R0KGDjBlKc

— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) August 30, 2026

idk if another winger is going to fix it but go wild, I guess.

Danso also wants to leave, which is a shame. Van Hecke passes beautifully but I have not seen much evidence he’s a good pair with Micky.

Brentford apparently want Gray and Spurs should bite their hand off, even at a substantial loss.

Re:the OG for United earlier. So, you are done for a shot on target and rewarded for one off target. Never heard anything as stupid.

Yeah, pretty scandalous tbh

Bruno has been untouchable this half though

some cunt on the radio trying to justify that now as tho it's entirely reasonable

Haha, yeah that one stung I’ve got to say! Without that and the unfortunate slip leading to the equaliser who knows where the game may have gone.

Mikey Moore to Koln on loan should be a good move for him, same with Souza to Porto, though it’s another fullback out - leaving them with just Porro, Udogie and Robertson.

Hoping rumours about a move for Ndiaye stalling and Pulisic being considered as an alternative are not true.

there is no good news

its just different names fed to the monster at this point

Looks like they’re pivoting from Ndiaye to Mudryk now. Can’t break the spirit of a player whose spirit is already broken, I guess.

The way commentators talk about set piece coaches, you’d think they were some sort of futuristic invention, similar to the way they talk about var. did no one ever teach Andy Townsend about set pieces on the training ground?

you're young

you don't remember the fucking tactics truck

The Fucking Tactics Truck is blocked in the UK now tbf

The Europa League victory was the zenith of the first Unai Emery era, but also the end.

The mountain had been climbed in Istanbul. The peak staring back at them in the form of a trophy. For a core group of players, there was no point further past.

“A whole generation made us proud,” one senior figure — who, like all others in this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their positions — told The Athletic last month after another key player was sold. “We are ready with excitement (that) a new generation is coming.”

"good evening. always we are in our way being very demanding and try to be competitive and getting our ojective", the mysterious and untraceable Deep Throat-like figure added

lol

lol @ Everton somehow fucking up the Balogun transfer and being left with only one striker on the squad until January.

Dogs of wtf

Looks like Balogun just got cold feet late on. Not sure there’s a lot of talent in free agency up front. Might have to ask Jamie Vardy nicely.

Mauro Icardi could be a good option, I guess.

they made a last-minute attempt to get Zirkzee so they were really scraping the barrel

Maybe they could go for Benzema

cut richarlison loose now imo so

Trabazonspor somehow willing to offer Richarlison £270k a week but not willing to meet Spurs’ valuation of him.

payday loans funded ass striker

£270k a week? to do what?

not play for spurs

bargain

wonder how many points spurs can accrue without scoring a goal

#shit90sfootball

YOMP

hahahaha beautiful

Bit gutting after being in front for half an hour but another really good point for City

Spurs looking sharper this week, unless they have to shoot or defend.

Always the details

Ipswich getting all the luck we didn’t get last time… so far.

It's nice seeing the promoted clubs getting points early, it's usually the second half of the season that fucks teams when injuries and suspensions start to bite. Points on the board early gives you at least a chance

Spurs awful since the break.

No reason to think they, or possibly Villa, are going to get more points than Hull or Ipswich at the moment.

Current record is 9 games by Crystal Palace in 1994/95, can Spurs beat it?

I think you’d actively be having to try to let them score, at this rate.

Old Trafford finally got that fear factor back

we'll persist with Carrick until it's too late of course

but he's already dead

what a fucking mess that was

bringing on zirkzee was criminal

defence was like one of those fly screens made of strips of tatty plastic

'All or Nothing: Manchester United', coming to Amazon Prime Video in 2027.

ooh Spurs goalless, how on earth is de Zerbi going to get poor angst-ridden little Spurs to score a goal and save their season from tragedy etc etc I mean have a fucking guess lads

only 33 more nil-nil draws from safety

I heard him interviewed before the Carabou match and he sounded a broken man already

Already shorter odds than Arbeloa to be sacked next. I could see him walking first. He’s had more control over spending than any recent Spurs manager but clearly doesn’t have a clue what his best XI is.

there's no xi that deserves to be called a 'best' with solanke or richarlison as the centre forward option

its a nifty distraction from our cunt defenders doing anything but defending mind you

The BBC are showing Friday night Bundesliga games now, if anyone is interested. Been watching Union Berlin v Bayern. It's half time, Kane got his 100th Bayern league goal (in 98 matches!) and Musiala and Elise both scored nice goals from outside the box.

What a shame it clashes with the feast of football that is Queen's Park v Ayr Utd on BBC Scotland.

Surely can’t go on like this.

Is there an Arsenal fan alive who hates Spurs as much as Buendia does

We'll be lucky if Zion Suzuki's still playing for us in February at this rate, his distribution is ridiculous

some ping on him alright

Van de Ven world class when he doesn't have to use his feet

When Jackson burned past van Hecke on the wing I'm not sure van Hecke bothered to turn around

For some reason I didn’t think this season would be that Spursy. I thought it would be midtable and someone else would take the curse for a bit. But you can’t never count out Spurs to be the Spursiest of them all.

I don’t know how Zubimendi offended Arteta but he gonna look a damn fool when he leaves and makes whatever team he goes to look incredible. Bruno, otoh wasn’t in position all half and they have scored two goals from in front of Gabriel, where Zubi would have been. Brighton have controlled Arsenal with ease and we look like a side with no discipline or shape

im awful glad

i got up at 4:30am to attend that

the villa fans i smuggled into the stadium incognito looked twenty yards past me and through me at the end and said i didnt believe

im sorry i didn't believe you

it was like you said

it was worse

i had no response. as far as the virulence of the spurs curse in its current form goes the energy has long gone out of the mere futility of seeing and being right.

the only next thing to try is next season, new manager starts the same day as an entire new squad, new youth team, new medical staff (obv), if spurs have a doris equivalent i want her treated as much a certain contamination risk as every other cunt that ever walked in the door and thieved their week's illgotten

the season after that itll be nuke from orbit, which without a doubt will be overturned by var even if we hit the target

At least you got to see a few goals though eh

🤯 Andros Townsend has been involved in an unfortunate accident while warming up for PT Prachup before their Thai Premier League game vs. Pattani.

He didn't get badly injured but was on the bench and played just 1 minute in their 3-0 win. pic.twitter.com/K9Ty9VAxRd

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) September 19, 2026

i'm hearing a second pitch roller has flown into Andre Townsend

lmao

Fulham-United's a great watch so far

checks out

I managed to curse that to the point where they flashed up a shots/shots on target of 0 for both teams in the second half and GNev went in a minutes-long rant about how shit it was culminating in him saying it was the worst 15 minute spell Utd have had in his lifetime

seems to be waking up now Fulham are winning

Xhaka in trouble for simulation

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3qjkpgengn7o

So City are guilty of all but one of the 100+ charges - time for a decade of appeals and litigation?

They might wait to see how feeb the punishment is i guess?

5 point deduction and £20,000 fine, suspended for six months?

Interesting that we've got a toffee in number 10 and Everton had two separate points deductions for two offenses total, will he step up when city get a slap on the wrist? not holding my breath tbh.

How many rules did Everton break? Chelsea only recently got a tame slap on the wrist but it all seems quite tame compared to the 100+ offences by City.

Of course lol that it should all be comparable.

Chelsea also reported the breaches themselves and cooperated with the PL

City have used every trick in the book to try and wriggle out of this

absolutely a core difference imo

look

it wont restore a timeline where levy/poch moment of perfect balance sees sustained reward or klopp liverpool run two or three leagues together or whatever other teams get cl

and theyll drag any appeal out for another five years at which point the oil money will just have gone because it got bored or achieved what it wanted

the only fitting punishment is non league relegation, complete transfer ban, all individual and team trophies stripped, five years of forty points deduction starting off, and even then its not the same as justice

today's chelsea need fucking out the same way ofc

Guess one minor upside of the inevitable lengthy appeals process is that they're going to have the sword of damocles hanging over them and that's not a great motivator especially when the next transfer window comes around

we'll see

Why did I look at the Blue Moon thread fml

its ok to do it, just not too often

So does this end up basically a nothingburger on appeal after the government gets spooked and leans on the PL or what

Maybe but also I think a lot of the country is invested in seeing something dramatic happen. Two female fair weather friends have bought it up to me since the news wishing to see a big punishment and although I know that is not a great survey of the general population, I do think it is a rare example where we would all like to see rich people punished and it could actually happen to a universal enjoyment/ relief.

Not that that matters to City’s lawyers or other vested interests, of course. I just think it would be as big an own goal as anything Starmer did if the government doesn’t encourage anything other than proper punishment.

yeah, FT quoted some former trade commissioner saying if the breaches are that blatant it's not really a political matter, but the Newcastle debacle looms in the mind

It would be pretty funny if Burnham made himself public enemy number 1 in Merseyside by propping City up. Everton's fanbase would probably just spontaneously combust

if anyone was wondering, Blue Moon had been semantically massaging the news stories until they exonerate City / concluding that the hapless trainee journalist David Ornstein simply misunderstood the content of his own exclusive, and are now mostly saying nasty shit about Heysel, bootlicking their chairman, brainstorming ways to intimidate journalists, and saying the C word eight times in every post

Oh and some bathetic Oasis lyrics stuff

im presuming that the oil money just wafts off before the appeal ends, loses interest or whatever

nb pep guardiola is a coward as well as a cheat

Talking of pep leaving or oil money evaporating, I wonder if there is a January/summer sale. Almost everyone of note fled Juve’s sinking ship in 2006. Personally I’d love a cheeky bid for Doku and Gvardiol.

(I also understand that basically fuck all may happen and speculation is pointless at this point)

oh I thought the majority stayed at juve
recall buffon certainly did

Following the enforced relegation, Juventus lost Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson to Real Madrid, Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta to Barcelona, Adrian Mutu to Fiorentina, and Patrick Vieira and Zlatan Ibrahimović to Internazionale. Other players stayed at the club, however, including Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Pavel Nedvěd, David Trezeguet, Marcelo Zalayeta, and Mauro Camoranesi, for the following 2006–07 Serie B season

Somehow doubt Man City will be able to hold on to that many quality players if they're booted out of the Premiership.

what would be the minimum acceptable punishment here? relegation/points deduction that ensures such? some kind of transfer ban over a sustained period, say 5 seasons plus? take their names off titles, ignoring the morass of retconning that that might lead to?

tbh that all feels unlikely right now but also it doesn't necessarily feel enough

I would be very surprised if they are stripped of their titles. It would supposedly open a can of worms from teams that didn’t achieve things in those years (such as being the legit winner or making it into Europe - and the monetary gain they missed out on).

like i kinda said, i can see why giving the title to the team that finished second leads to a legal swamp that maybe never ends, but simply saying "title winner disqualified" might be officially manageable on some level maybe.

tbf the consequences going forward part feels more important, tho this is also likely to be buried in legal action for the foreseeable

An alternative would be to do a Lance Armstrong and just have no official winner for the years where the disputed titles were won - but they won't do that either.

Presumably every other prem team from those years will be suing City for potential prize money, lost sponsorship income etc. Could players who came 2nd sue if they had bonuses for winning the league in their contracts? Gonna be a mess, and yeah it’s hard to think of a good outcome because the harshest possible thing you can imagine actually happening is still miles away from the minimum level of ‘justice’ you’d actually want

As much as I'd like Liverpool to have two more titles, Man Utd would also have two more.

this is from The Telegraph today

When finally the verdict of Manchester City’s guilt leaked on Friday, the idea bloomed of a Premier League dissolving into competing claims that might usher in a wholesale reordering of history, and of compensation. Compensation to be payable for trophies not won, league positions not achieved, European campaigns not embarked upon and many other grievances besides.

As for the reality, that may well be different. Only four clubs in September 2024 were even prepared to instruct their own legal counsel to notify City Football Group (CFG) that they reserved the right to seek compensation in the event of the Premier League charges being upheld. It does not say much about the commitment of the rest, and you would be hard-pressed to say that even among the four that did, the conviction to go through with it has grown in the interim.

They left it late – waiting until the six-year limit from the first disclosure of the allegations against City in the German media in 2018 had almost expired. It was not simple from the start. The Premier League would not even tell the four – Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool – the identity of the three individuals on the independent commission so they might be contacted directly. All communication had to go through the league – and the commission was not prepared to add the question of compensation to its own scope of judgment. The clubs were obliged to contact CFG individually.

From the traditional big six, Chelsea declined to take part. So too did 14 others in the Premier League that season, all of whom – should they decide to take retrospective legal action against City in the event of a guilty verdict on most of those 115 charges – will now find the legal bar that much higher.

I would be very surprised if they are stripped of their titles. It would supposedly open a can of worms from teams that didn’t achieve things in those years (such as being the legit winner or making it into Europe - and the monetary gain they missed out on).

― a hoy hoy, 27 September 2026 12:51 (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

a legitimate can of worms

id be more concerned with what type of punishment tackles the owners in a way that would matter to them, if that were even possible

seeing as chelsea are allowed to do what they want even now, and villa and newcastle seem furious about the rules designed to limit ownership intervention along these lines again, hoping for better for the future seems a waste of energy

as far as punishment maybe relegation and 25pts deduction for each of the subsequent 5 seasons they are next in the prem would be in order. titles vacated but not reawarded to anyone else. strangely im more annoyed by the way they have dragged this out and lied and lied than i am about the cheating itself. also not sure how many ex city execs are currently employed at other prem clubs.

i think its another balls-out demonstration of how institutions freeze when challenged by bad faith actors and it sticks in the craw

no punishment will put city back to where they would be if run legitimately, no punishment will put spurs or other clubs where they should be, hard to see a punishment that doesnt punish fans more than owners, executives, agents, players, management staff

not necessarily much of a punishment and unlikely to deter future crooked owners but as far as the executives and anybody else who can be proved to have been actively involved in this level of cheating maybe a life ban from working in professional football would be instructive

Just been told by someone in a very very high position if we lose our appeal which we won’t we’ll be getting a FINE and TRANSFER BAN and that’s it so all you desperate neurotic SPUNKBUBBLES hush it up to ras MCFC LG x

— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) September 27, 2026

again i say

guardiola remains a fraud that ceteris paribus couldnt emulate a redknapp, a pulis, a poch, a klopp, a curbishley, let alone a ferguson or a jol

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/27/tony-pulis-says-he-and-stoke-were-cheated-in-2011-fa-cup-final-after-manchester-city-verdict

finally we get a chance to hear from the real victims

yes?

i dont get it lads.

Pulis can be correct and still be a cunt who was managing a cunt team basically

That I forgot about Stoke's loss in all of this shows that it would be unwise for the PL to try and sweep this under the rug. There are angry teams/players/staff all across the country and you presume some will want to get legal if the punishment doesn't appeal to them. That's why I shared Pulis. He may be a cunt but his team were still arguably cheated out of success that could have changed their teams trajectory.

They would've been in Europe with the cup win, how much money does that mean?

probably not an enormous amount back then but not trivial

you'd have to say Manchester United might reasonably think they'd have beaten Pulis' Stoke in the final had they not been knocked out in the semis by City

as such Rooney, Crouchy, Rory Delap et al must be dragged out of retirement to settle the matter

here we go

https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4727779/premier-league-statement-manchester-city-fc

more redactions than the Epstein files though!

Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today.

The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.

The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.

The Club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.

The Club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete.

City are taking this to the highest Court in the land, where Khaldoon al Mubarak will suddenly kick a football against Richard Masters' head as he testifies, and the judge will smile and say I'm going to allow this

you have been reading too much Blue Moon

Rag

guilty as charged

So many unnecessary commas in that club statement; whatever the punishment was going to be, double it!

there needs to be a direction hearing or something where a third independent panel simply asks brain genious KAM what he thinks the word "refute" means

Slippery bastards. To use the correct legal term.

cornered fuckin rats

a rare case where I have no problem with a football club ceasing to exist tbh. if the reconstituted FCCOM phoenix club manages to battle its way back to its previous natural state (not as big a deal as Leeds Utd) good luck to it, they've all been giving it large about how much they'd enjoy strolling through the lower leagues being real fans

did they get one of trump's lawyers to write that?

https://i.postimg.cc/kGpWbL3g/Screenshot-20260929-192335-Firefox.jpg

if that doesn't load it's just Man City posting a tweet reading simply "vote for your September goal of the month"

it was a screenshot NOT an embed I'm not a sicko

September Goal of the month: remain in existence

soriano's little speech was laughably unconvincing. give the little prick a lifetime ban when this is all over please.

cant spell soriano without saying "sori? a, no"

Pep Guardiola has thrown his support behind Manchester City after the club were found guilty of all charges of breaching Premier League financial rules over a nine-year period, telling fans: “We will get through this together.”

quelle surprise

respect the man by giving him his full title

that's Global Ambassador for City Football Group, Pep Guardiola

Hey I wonder if these other nine football clubs have followed FFP rules

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Football_Group#CFG-owned_clubs

probably played it safe in China

Stoked for the madness.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/13593765/man-city-charges-club-sponsor-etihad-airways-considering-legal-action-against-premier-league

best litigation in the world

Sky Sports News is still awaiting responses from Durex

lol is man citys irrefutable evidence really that the sponsorship money came from the abu dhabi govt and not the city owners?? which at the time the deals were announced they decided to not mention cos reasons?

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/50076311/second-hull-player-flips-car-training-ground-sorba-thomas

well this seems totally fine and normal

https://i.postimg.cc/TPtZPqwt/Screenshot-2026-10-02-at-13-50-14.png

Excited for Burnham's mayoral deals to be implicated in this tbh

Ba, ha and indeed, ha.

This Arsenal team just look like the gods have favoured them or something

the refs and the fa could be a useful proxy for same?

solanke just couldnt be less interested in putting an honest physical shift in anymore

and i mean "anymore" tbf he may have been an honest grafter for other teams but we saw about ten games of it under ange maybe at best

Utd continuing to plumb new depths

absolute puke football

i hate them so much

so much

Hm well I have money on both man u and spurs to go down but the odds were much better for man u, so hope spurs get at least one back

savio and marmoush making me reconsider my entire philosophy on "a technical player doesn't need to be strong ffs" they have been an embarrassment to themselves and to the discipline of football recruitment. piss weak.

mortgage on disallowed

fucking lol

i hadnt considered there was a team as bad as us tbh

tho we are better away

one of the worst pieces of defending in history

two ref calls in a row

ye will have to start calling it new trafford at this point

i suppose seeing as neither team can defend we're as well to attack ye

thats the worst ten seconds of football in history

fabulously shit stoppage time

i stand by everything i said earlier

relegation two pointer tbrr

50% of the Big Six going down in a single season?

They deserved a point tbh and I hope they can carry that momentum forward into a draw against Coventry too.

well that was about what i expected from El Crappico

sounds like this was one for the purists

well the pure masochists anyway

la perva sud

Looking like a scoreless draw here

City winning the league is going to be soooooo hilarious.

My favourite outcome

I'm definitely rooting for them.

Best league in the world

On the Guardian podcast, someone suggested that with the possibility of City get deducted enough points to be relegated or even if their games are wiped from the books - that their games are futile and teams should play the reserves. Would you, if you were managing against them? Why even play I guess? Could a team just sit down and not give a fuck?

It all seems incredibly silly. But then the whole thing is incredibly silly.

we weren't relegated, that was a premature principled stand

it's beginning to look like appointing a random AI-yassified David Platt regen might not have been the masterstroke Newcastle were hoping for

🚨DIEGO GOMEZ

Brighton 2-0 Crystal Palace. pic.twitter.com/SXEL7wIvgs

— AYO BALL🚨 (@Ayoball99) October 18, 2026

He must have a foot like a traction engine.

1 win in 7 for Carrick's Utd

be funny if both Manchester clubs went down this season

get some fucking shots off forest you cunts

this late Nicolas Jackson Ballon D'or push is certainly interesting

I have a stream in what I think is Arabic, it has been a while. The Fast Show joke still works though, especially with (foreign talking talking talking) Kieran dewsbury hall

Toe-knee harring ton

Also works

Strange that what Palmer did there isn't considered a red while touching someone's forehead with yours always is

oh well, got there in the end

yeah, ridiculous that he stayed on that long

well in Tel

What a goal.

thought spurs were really good tonight, seems churlish considering he scored but if they had a decent left forward/winger they would have had 5 tonight. early season when chelsea kept scoring goals in the first 5 mins of games i thought that was the reason for their v low possession stats but nope looks like that's what xabi wants for some reason.

giving it away for fun from every area of the pitch might be an issue against some teams tbh

it wasn't today, chelsea were as well to have released a pack of puppies and shooed them towards the goal instead of whatever their attacking plans were- cannot recall feeling that an opponent was wasting so many opportunities to hurt us in a long long time

many many complaints against ref online, apparently he favoured us all game. thought vdv was a lucky boy but not much else that the ref had an option on in the end

tel is a massive coward but game. its a funny mix to watch, he was a major problem all game then does that.

Arteta on getting booked for straying out of his technical area

I do have to be careful, put sensors there [on the edge of the technical area]! There are managers that have the record in the league, 36 times in 10 minutes they leave the touchline, no yellows. I’m clipping all of that; I have a massive storage of images. I don’t have the record yet. Let’s see – then it’s 36 yellow cards in 10 minutes for managers; where are we going to be then? Let’s see.

*

No matter how much Arsenal win, I just don’t think I’m ever going to like Arteta. What a whiny, paranoid bitch.

its not paranoia it's brattish entitlement

everything his team does for advantage they do deliberately, subtle he aint, so his reaction is confusion nor surprise its designed to obfuscate

must have learned that at city

He must be one of the least charismatic managers of all time. He makes Arne Slot look like Terry Wogan.

Otm all round

https://i.postimg.cc/Pf3vr9dJ/Screenshot-20260911-202504-Firefox.jpg

gree hee hee. we're not at the airport at all. perhaps you were expecting something...else?

and suppose I tell you I drove Ricardo Calafiori out to the Mojave desert two days ago, left him there and told him to make his own way back? Who exactly is going to stand on the opposition goalkeeper's foot as this corner comes in? You have 28 seconds gentlemen.

At least Arteta is doing a lot to dispel the outdated stereotype of Spanish people as being relaxed, gregarious and warmly expressive and not miserable cunts.

Ah yes, The Sergio Ramos Award

Maybe Basques are miserable cunts?

Can't wait to see how Carrick wriggles his way out of this jam!

I really hope he lasts as long as poss

only at Utd would he even have been allowed to take charge of this match

but there's simply no way he survives this

any manager who takes over that job without securing carte blanche to sell every one of the cunts is a fool tbh

who'd buy them?

Palace?

Somehow evoking the aura of romantic poet Ryan Giggs in the crisis press conference didn't have the desired effect.

Where wert thou, mighty Fergie, when he lay,
When thy son lay, pierc'd by the shaft which flies
In darkness? Where was Giggsy
When Carrick died?

hahaha

(good win for Liverpool after being mostly dominated by Brighton)

Araujo looks like hes loving it at Liverpool

He's so great, we haven't made many astute signings of that nature in the Richard Hughes madness era but looks a brilliant piece of business. We have an increasing resilience that he and the manager can take credit for. Along with Jacquet.

Wait he didn’t play Bruno fernandes “for footballing reasons”?

Hes the only one there who fucking knows how to play footballing

The guy is a fucking idiot

Love the STANDARDS banner

He should have fully dropped Fernandes.

That was a very Carrick move

Impotent, indecisive, ultimately futile

i got odds of 1000-1 on Man Utd getting relegated. easily worth a couple of quid.

― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Tuesday, 18 August 2026 21:51 (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink

yes, they were definitely one of the worst 3 teams in the league over the second half of last season, oh wait

― Angine de Postecogloutrine (NickB), Tuesday, 18 August 2026 22:09 (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink

should've put more than a couple of quid on this

is there an argument that he pronounced his own surname like carwreck just asking

LOL a new low for Man Utd.

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/sport/26668575.cheap-celtic-star-tipped-rescue-man-utd-carrick-faces-heat/

Very bold to assume Carrick will still be around for the next transfer window

um...

oh dear god

🚨 Michael Carrick will be given chance to turn results around.

Carrick is taking training at Carrington, staff + players preparing #MUFC for Saturday trip to Chelsea.

More @TheAthleticFC soon.

— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) October 27, 2026

from my position, thats a terrific idea.

but also... why not give him a chance? would eddie howe have been any better, really, after a new manager bounce? utd needs long term solutions, someone who can stick it out and build something within all the mess. maybe carrick isnt the right man for the job - he doesnt have a great cv - but whatever manager that does attempt it will need another year to get to where he is, and utd dont really have that time.

he's won two games out of 12 this season. Against Ipswich and Sabah FK

he, and the club, is quite clearly in a death spiral

yeah i love it

he's just gotta get to the Villa game at OT on 8th Nov so they can win 5-2 after being two down in the first ten

Winning away against an underperforming Chelsea side is a pretty good morale booster if you can pull it off.

squads dont even pretend to react to new managers these days

they react to the message inherent from the appointment, which more and more often doesnt move the dial at all

Maybe the worry is with a difficult run of games if they gave it to Howe he'd already be hated and being lined up for the boot. I guess you can't plan for this shit every year.

you can and should unless you're willing to face down a squad of cunts

i know of which i speak obv

I meant more you can't plan for repeatedly appointing the wrong manager, lol.

Idk I think darragh and levy are masters of that now

Fleetwood Town 1-0 up against Arsenal

The fun is over, gyokeres just scored the shittest goal to break his shit streak.

1-1 at Fleetwood and they are chanting “that’s why we’re champions”

the best way forward for utd is to sack carrick and then immediately reappoint him as caretaker

A.I.ex Ferguson

Max Dowman just got his first red

It’s going to penalties! Come on Fleetwood! Arteta out!

Fleetwood won! Fuck yeah!

they'll be painting the town red tonight

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/oct/30/aston-villa-to-take-legal-action-against-jamie-carragher-for-unacceptable-insults

Oh maybe Arteta doesn’t have the thinnest skin in football

Oh Villapaws.

good lord that's pathetic

Sawiris is an Arsenal fan just sayin

I agree it's rubbish and embarrassing but also Carragher gtf

Hard to know which of these is meant to be the bad one.

Chelsea are making us look like a semi-plausible football team

But there's no way we're coming back from this

Big few minutes for Time Person Of The Year, Michael Carrick.

And that's the end of Martinez at Utd

Basically deliberate sabotage

Does he just want to absolutely guarantee he gets sold?

Certainly seems like it

mickmccarthyitcan.gif

lifelong United supporter saying today is the final straw for him on the BBC live blog, they seem to find one of them every week

I'm a lifelong Man Utd supporter, but today's the end. The only person that actually cares is the manager and he'll be gone shortly. Relegation could get rid of the players and owners and that is what they deserve!

Richard, Basingstoke

Kudus just fluffed what would have been one of the assists of the year from Luca Williams-Barnett. He looks really sharp.

our first penalty since the season before last

missed

Mac Allister is such a dickhead

The state of him

Arsenal obv good at defending but Liverpool were guileless in attack

their pressing was very...impressive, but yeah, a single shot on target in injury time is not great

2nd error like that from Allison recently

feel like Becker has one or two of those every season

does seem a bit mad that the pull on Isak's shirt isn't a penalty, we've decriminalised some heinous stuff in the quest to ensure the grappling that fans of the English game love so dearly isn't unduly punished

Spurs are eighth!

Continue like this and Darragh might be able to give up therapy

This is fucking hilarious

Carrick safe for another six months.

Six years

it's never a good sign when Cunha decides to take a red card holiday tbh

Tonight was actually the first time he looked like he gave a shit this season

The winner was an absolute beaut too