Manchester City- the ultimate basket case.

 Manchester City- the ultimate basket case.

There are times when football really does need to take a long, hard look at its moral conscience. The recent events at Manchester City are  a stark illustration of what happens when you forget who you are. City have always had a clear identity but then the lines become blurred. You conduct your business as sensibly as you can but then find that something went missing. There were the glaring discrepancies in the accounts, not everything seemed to add up and suddenly the auditors and creditors begin to sweat anxiously. 

For the last two years or even more, Manchester City have become the ultimate basket case, a team tormented by evil spirits. After notching up four consecutive Premier League titles with football from seventh heaven, City stand exposed, disgraced, discredited, rumbled and, above all ashamed of themselves. But this was never the way it was intended and the lesson to be learnt is a salutary one. City of course, have done something wrong and the accusations of cheating, deceit and financial skulduggery look as if they may stick for a long time to come. 

The charge sheets that now seem to be haunting City are innumerable and complex. There were dodgy transfer deals and sponsorship agreements that might have been above board at the time but now look like criminal documents. You can almost see both players, management, coaches and psychologists being interrogated everybody in a police cell with a light bulb hanging ominously from the ceiling. If they didn't know it at the time, they do know. City have become notorious swindlers, being economical with the truth and, above all dishonest. 

Now the 100 plus charges that are stacking up against them may be a case of what goes around comes around. All football clubs have been forewarned that if they refuse to keep the game within respectable boundaries, then their sentence could become both nasty, ugly and deeply damaging to the club for many years. In the modern game, the head spinning and phenomenal sums spent on multi million pound players, just beggars belief. The Greed is Good League, a now very apt description for City's behaviour, has consumed the Beautiful Game, poisoning its soul and creating havoc with the club's financial infrastructure. Brian Glanville remains one of the most perceptive of social commentators and we have much to thank him for. 

But now things have got out of control and are spiralling downwards quite dramatically. When Pep Guardiola took over at City, the club had already claimed its first Premier League title since 1969 when the old First Division swapped shillings, tanners, old sixpences and fivers the size of a small country. Then the likes of Malcolm Allison embraced all the wealthy trappings of the time by smoking massive cigars and drinking champagne as if it were going out of fashion. Now though the metaphorical guillotine is about to fall on the Etihad Stadium.

This though has never a pleasant watch for all concerned. From the moment Saudi owners arrived in Manchester, there has indeed a radical transformation. Sergio Aguero was the man responsible for that last gasp victory against QPR and everything changed overnight. Manuel Pellegrini was appointed as the Messiah and happy days would develop into even more prosperous seasons to follow. City now became an all conquering, unbeatable, unsurpassable goal scoring machine. The Premier League was won for the first time since 1969 and City supporters could hardly believe their luck. 

Up until recent seasons City had cruised to the Premier League title almost effortlessly and nonchalantly  and for the next four seasons, Guardiola's daring matadors won four successive Premier League titles. It really didn't occur to anybody that there was anything wrong, that, behind the scenes, large amounts of cash were ending up in the hands of dubious characters. Of course somebody should have rung the alarm bells, that there was something awry, crooked and unsavoury in the air and nobody should be allowed to get away with this one.  

So what to make of this unholy mess for football. In theory perhaps football should be hanging its head in shame, contemplating its navel and wishing a hole could open up for them. This is bad as it gets for any football club. There has always been an air of toxicity and corruption within football but now any punishment City may get for their foul misdemeanours could be unheard of. Even Pep Guardiola must be relieved that he's well out of this psychodrama, this potential football catastrophe.

You looked back to the days when the smartly suited and booted Peter Swales always came out with reassuring comments about City's accounts. Swales was a highly respected accountant who always added things up correctly and even Malcolm Allison must have felt safe in his job as manager. But now Swales would have been horrified and mortified, desperately looking for excuses and explanations. 

What happens to City in the long term is simply guesswork and even now Manchester United could be heard laughing up their sleeves. The noisy neighbours are of course beside themselves with a warped joy they can hardly hold back any longer. In Manchester United's 1-1 draw against Spurs on Saturday there were the usual satirical jokes, the sadistic banners proudly declaring that City are cheats and supporters who rightly believe their Premier League titles, Carabao Cups and Champions League victories should be withdrawn immediately. Cheats of course should never prosper and City now look like armed robbers who may have stolen from too many banks.

Yesterday City thrashed their oldest adversaries Liverpool at Anfield with a handsome 3-0 victory. At the moment City top the Premier League but you do wonder whether what will happen if City do win back their Premier League title. Does this mean relegation to League Two or will the prize remain in their hands. Commentators, experienced punters and radio phone in judges are now deliberating over the worst case scenario for City.

We now watch all the latest developments at the Etihad Stadium rather like lawyers in a court of law, thoroughly scanning and reading every missing pound and then dithering for a while. This is unprecedented territory for City. How do you penalise a hitherto remarkably successful Premier League club even with all the incriminating evidence in front of you? All of that hard work and apparent due diligence had been done but somebody has to be blamed. This story will run and run. 

Meanwhile City can also look forward to another Champions League adventure. You suspect that the whole of Europe is privately chuckling and chortling at City's unfortunate set of circumstances. The rest of the football world now finds itself in a terrible state of shock and it remains to be seen where City will be next season. Trips to Accrington Stanley, Shrewsbury, Oldham, Crawley Town  and Stevenage must fill City supporters with both terror and trepidation. But it can't happen to Manchester City. Or can it? We will closely monitor all of the latest events because this latest episode in their history has so many Greek tragedy proportions that you really couldn't make this one up.