Manchester City’s Financial Fair Play saga still seemingly has a long way to go, with it suggested that the ‘final verdict’ is expected ‘by the end of next season’.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Despite nothing happening right now, ‘Man City expulsion’ has become a fiery topic during the international break after ex-Everton and Aston Villa CEO Keith Wyness claimed this was ‘on the table’ after the report into Nottingham Forest’s points deduction emerged.
Everton and Forest have already been made an example of, while Chelsea and Leicester City are expected to receive similar punishments in the coming months.
But the Man City case is far more complex and the potential ramifications are way more serious. The Premier League champions will be calling upon the best lawyers in the game to get them out of the mire, but a huge fine, points deduction or even a dreaded expulsion are on the cards if they are found guilty.
Yes, an expulsion and subsequent drop down to League Two for Man City seems unlikely, but wouldn’t it be more interesting to imagine a world where that would be possible? We think so.
And with that, we have decided to pick out five steps Man City *could* make en route to their inevitable return to the Premier League in under five seasons…
Stealing Wrexham’s recruitment model
As much as the majority of Man City‘s current squad owe their careers to the club and Pep Guardiola, there is no loyalty in football and they would leave League Two’s big-hitters at the drop of a hat once their freefall down to the fourth tier of English football is formalised.
This means Erling Haaland would get his dream move to Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain would finally get their hands on Bernardo Silva, while Kevin De Bruyne and others may head to Saudi Arabia. Oh, and Jack Grealish could return to Aston Villa, because wouldn’t that be nice?
Scott Carson might finally get a game or two, but this would still leave Man City with a huge rebuild job on their hands ahead of their first season in League Two and while doing that, they would be wise to steal Wrexham’s recruitment model.
Recent League Two campaigns have been dominated by one club stealing the limelight and having the finances to sign the cream of the crop at that level.
First, it was Salford City with the lure of Gary Neville and the rest of the Class of 92, but this season it has been Wrexham with Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Having secured their Football League return at the end of last season, Wrexham are contending for back-to-back promotions after having the funds and pulling power to build a squad immediately capable of reaching League One.
Man City’s riches are on a different stratosphere than Wrexham’s, but Financial Fair Play rules are in place throughout the pyramid. So unless they want to fall foul of more breaches, the Treble winners would be prohibited from buying costly low-level Premier League players to steamroll the minnows of League Two.
Instead, they can pursue promotion using the best of the best at that level before unceremoniously letting them go when they are surplus to requirements.
READ MORE: Man City stars reassigned after FFP ‘expulsion’… Foden to Chelsea as CB gets ‘dream’ Liverpool move
Replacing Pep Guardiola
It is not only Haaland, De Bruyne and co. who will depart Man City post-expulsion, as Guardiola – who is only under contract until 2025 – would surely not pen an extension to manage in League Two, especially with the England job potentially up for grabs *wink*.
So who would replace Guardiola? If Man City were in the Premier League, this would be a completely different conversation, with Roberto De Zerbi and Ange Postecoglou likely to be in the frame.
But in League Two, why not go for the manager who is currently on track to lead his Mansfield Town side to the title? Yes, that’s right. Nigel Clough is the man for the job.
While he may not be as good a manager as his father, the 58-year-old still has a pretty respectable résumé from his work in the lower divisions. As we all know, the most important factor a board must consider when looking for a new manager is whether they ‘know the club’ and Clough happens to be a former Man City player, so the shoe fits. If it worked for Frank Lampard at Chelsea… oh wait.
Pep Guardiola won’t want to manage in League Two.
City’s kids take the limelight
Man City have spent a bloody fortune on recruitment since their takeover in 2008 and just when their direct rivals could not be envious enough, they realise that they also have one of the best academies in the Premier League. The greedy sods.
They may be regretting their decision to sell Cole Palmer to Chelsea for just £42.5m, but Man City are still not exactly short of talented youngsters, with Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb among the crop of fresh-faced talents making waves in the first-team.
While Guardiola has been keen to afford his young players the opportunity to shine when the time is right, it is often their superstars who take all of the spotlight.
But in this scenario, that will no longer be the case as the drop to League Two would force Guardiola’s successor (Clough, obviously) into giving the limelight to Lewis, Bobb and more emerging talent, who would become icons in their own right as they help Man City sprint towards a return to the Premier League.
Win the Football League Trophy
Man City have become a trophy-winning machine during Guardiola’s time as head coach but their expulsion would likely precede a bit of a drought. Not quite to the standard of Tottenham Hotspur or Newcastle United, but a drought all the same.
A prolonged run in the FA Cup or Carabao Cup would be possible, but this Man City team – which would be unrecognisable compared to their current Premier League outfit – would be expected to come up short against a high-quality foe along the way.
Barring a league title, the only other trophy that would be up for grabs for Man City as a League Two and/or League One team would be the Football League Trophy, which is now known as the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
It would hardly be the most illustrious piece of silverware in Man City’s cabinet, but if it’s available, they may as well have a go at winning it and the trip to Wembley for the final would be a bonus.
READ MORE: Man City ‘expulsion’? Juventus and Marseille among seven European giants relegated for rule breaks
Repeat 1999 play-off final comeback
As alluded to above, Man City supporters needn’t get so cross about the prospect of being expelled from the Premier League as they clearly would have a lot of fun while climbing up through the divisions.
A promotion every one or two years and a Wembley visit to win the prestigious Bristol Street Motors Trophy as well; what’s not to like?
Let’s not be naive, though. It will not all be sunshine and rainbows for Man City on their Premier League return journey. As previously proved by Rangers, promotion is not always guaranteed and the Champions League holders may have to rely on the play-off route at some stage
If that were to be the case, a play-off triumph is most likely to come during their season contending with Championship silliness. And their supporters have experienced such a thing when their team got promoted to the Premier League in 1999.
On that day, Joe Royle’s Man City scored two last-gasp goals to equalise against Gillingham in a 2-2 draw before winning on penalties.
It’s always satisfying when history repeats itself so how about Man City’s third and final promotion is earned in similarly dramatic fashion in the Championship play-off final against… let’s say Manchester United.
This comes after new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s desperate attempts for glory saw him resort to dodgy dealings – a la Juventus – which resulted in the club suffering relegation like their local rivals. You surely can’t get mad at us now, can you City fans?
