When Moneybags City – sorry, Manchester City – head Nottingham-way at the weekend, we’ll catch the sound of that roadshow from afar. Once dubbed ‘noisy neighbours’ by a frustrated Alex Ferguson who could sense Manchester United’s domination in decline as Man City announced themselves with new owners and new money in 2008, the club is now the big beast in domestic football. All teams measure themselves by their standards and success.
But it’s not the impressive array of trophies – including six Premier league titles in the last dozen years – you’ll hear jangling in a sack on the team coach, perhaps stored in the luggage compartment so an eye can be kept on it in case the club is to be relieved of its silverware. Because the noise surrounding Manchester City FC at the moment is of another order. Beneath their light blue – fragile-egg-shell blue – shirts, lie layers of what it is has become to be a powerhouse in the Premiership. Money, monumental amounts of it, shapes the game. City, embroiled in a complex and lengthy investigation about the stuff, have now been charged with 101 – no, not Dalmatians! – breaches of competition rules.
The case does show that football’s financial regulations mean something but quite what City’s punishment will be remains to be seen. Possible sanctions could be points deducted to demotion from the Premiership. In overstating its revenue and much else, over several seasons, the club is effectively being accused of cheating. That means bringing the game into disrepute.
When cyclist Lance Armstrong, winner of seven consecutive Tour de France races, was finally exposed as a serial performance-enhancing drug user, he was stripped of his titles. He had tarnished his sport, fundamentally damaged its image. When, closer to home, our Chancellor of the Exchequer was recently exposed as not keeping a grip on his personal tax affairs, he was – finally – sacked. He had undermined the reputation of one of the highest offices of the state. Actions have consequences at an individual and organisational level.
On the pitch, rather than in the law-courts, where the actual game is played, Pep Guardiola tries to capitalise on his club’s situation. He’s an exceptional coach and manager. After criticising his players’ complacency following a couple indifferent performances, he reminded them of the insatiable hunger required for success. He’s also pointed the finger at other clubs, suggesting there might be a cartel more than happy to see City receive a severe punishment. That move is aimed at galvanising his team: us against the rest. ‘Do your talking on the pitch’, he’s told them.
Manchester City have graced our screens and England’s stadia for a decade with their superlative performances. So much of that has been achieved under Guardiola. He is football pedigree, a man of the game, caught up in the paper-chase of financial irregularities by his employer. Famous Irish playwright Oscar Wilde, has a character in one of his plays quip that there are those ‘who know the price of everything and the value of nothing’. There are plenty who have a stake in football about which that can be said but he is not one of them, despite the vast sums paid out for so many of their players.
His focus will be on the next game and the one after that (though he might have an eye to winning, finally, the Champions League Cup this year). But City are not the imperious force they were. Yes, they can rip an opposition apart but they can falter. And so they should! Football’s great allure continues to be its unpredictability. It’s part of what compels us to watch the twists and turns of a match, as a neutral or fan.
It’s said that, weight-wise, cartridge ink for printers is the most costly item on earth. It might soon be players, bought and sold by whatever hedge-fund or mind-boggling financial arrangement that lies behind some clubs. Be that as it may.
Come match-day, most of us sweep aside off-field tales and rumours. We fill the terraces with blind faith, hope, expectation, pride and a dash of gallows humour and focus on what’s in front of us. With some justification, Forest fans can unfurl that ‘Fortress’ banner again because football is the art of the possible.
For ninety minutes (plus unpredictable amounts of added time), the Reds have the opportunity to match the best squad in the land, supported by the noise from the City Ground faithful. Not many thought Arsenal would blindside the likes of City to be sat at the top of the league at this stage. Can Forest spring a surprise on Saturday? One thing’s for sure: the result will come a lot quicker for City than finding out their fate in court.
*Article provided by Stephen Parker (Nottingham Forest Correspondent).
*Main image @NFFC The Reds were thumped earlier in the season at the hands of a super City.
