I’m just about Manchester City’d out. I promise. For now, at least.
But.
I want to look at Manchester City’s Body Count.
Because it is awesome. Not awesome in the way a 90’s kid might mean “good,” but awesome in a Biblical sense of the word—or if you’d prefer—the way Godzilla is awesome: just an incredible sight to see as the most famous kaiju mindlessly turns your city to rubble and destroys lives and property without care or concern by simply a flicking his tail or taking another step forward.
I will once again mostly focus on the cost to English sides, but not exclusively. And this time, I will focus less on the cost (over £2 billion, by my estimation), and more on the titles, relegations, missed European qualifications, and eliminations from tournaments.
For me, this is a far more important component than the money. Obviously money is important in the modern game, arguably more important than ever. But none of us are in it to see our club have good financial returns. No, we’re in it for a nice day out. Some good memories with our mates. And maybe a shiny thing that we’ll be telling our grandkids about (assuming the Earth lasts that long, thanks in no small part to human rights abusing petrostrates like Manchester City’s owners).
Relegations
It’s almost impossible to imagine what the landscape of English football looks like without Manchester City’s financial fuckery. Ten years prior to their current ownership taking over, City were mired in the third division of English football. Yes, they eventually won promotion back to the Premier League without their friends in Abu Dhabi, but their best finish was 8th, and worst 15th. It’s not hard to imagine an alternate 2009-2026, where they were just another Norwich City, a team that were often in the Premier League. And just as often in a relegation scrap or indeed relegated to the Championship.
Instead, their worst finish under their current ownership was 5th. From occassional relegation scrappers to perpetual Championsl League qualification. But of course, the relegation spots remained, despite it no longer being the concern of Manchester City. Their cheating made it less likely that newly promoted sides—or that lower table clubs—survived the drop, and I think every team that finished 18th since 2009/10 should feel aggrieved that City, directly, cost them another season (or more) in the Premier League.
Three teams finished 18th twice during City’s Reign of Cheating: Hull City, Burnley, and Leicester City. Leicester City probably feel especially aggrieved by Man City’s cheating, considering that City also cost them multiple European qualifications (more on that belown) and they have also been guilty of breaking PSR, and have since been relegated to League 1. Needless to say, staying a Premier League club and multiple Champions League qualifications would’ve helped Leicester City’s bottom line quite a bit.
Those were just the teams who finished 18th twice, though. An additional 11 teams finished 18th since City’s ownership started cheating. Including Norwich, obviously.
European Qualifications
As much as Liverpool can rightfully feel cheated due to Manchester City’s cheating, perhaps the teams who lost the most were Tottenham Hotspur and Everton.
Tottenham, in particular, were cheated out of Champions League qualifications FIVE (5!) times. To add insult to injury, they also missed out on the Europa League and Europa Conference League an additional time each. Obviously qualifying for Europe—especially the Champions League—can massively change the trajectory of a club. It increases a club’s visibility. There is a massive financial windfall, both from qualification, and from the commercial deals that become available. And it makes recruiting the best players far easier. Were it not for City, we might be looking at the last 15 years or so as an era where Tottenham were in the conversation as the best club in England, and Spursy might have a massively different connotation.
Everton also missed out on a Champions League qualification. Which, I don’t think I need to remind you, would’ve been their first. They also missed out on the Europa League four times because of City. Given how well English clubs have performed in that competition in recent years, it’s not a stretch to think that Everton could’ve ended their trophy drought (I have it on good authority that they haven’t won a trophy since 1995).
Arsenal also missed out on the Champions League on three occassions, and the aforementioned Leicester City twice.
In this light, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea—only being cheated out of one Champions League qualification each—got off “light.” However, Aston Villa and Bournemouth, teams for whom Champions League qualification are far rarer occurances, should feel especially angry about being denied qualification because of Manchester City.
I could be here all day, but just to wrap up this section, here are a few other teams that were cheated out of a rare European qualification (either in the Europa or Europa Conference Leagues): Brighton (EL twice), Southampton (EL), Swansea City (EL), West Ham (EL), Wolves (EL), Leicester City (again, ECL).
Eliminations from Tournaments
As I’ve written about previously, in the domestic cups alone, Manchester City eliminated 32 teams at least once in the League Cup, and 40 teams at least once in the FA Cup. In both cases, the at least is doing a lot of work, and City cost a lot of lower league clubs a lot of money and prestige, especially in the FA Cup. Again, there were a few times when City eliminated the same team from both competitions in the same season, as they did with Scunthorpe United in 2009/10 and Sheffield Wednesday in 2014/15.
Here’s a list of teams who lost out on at least £450,000 of prize money because of City: Aston Villa, Barnsley, Bournemouth, Brighton, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Man United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Reading, Southampton, Stoke City, Swansea City, Watford.
Of those teams, Watford, Stoke City, and Chelsea were all cheated out of over a million quid.
Prize money is important, especially to lower league sides, but it is not the only thing. As we’ll look into below, City also cost a lot of clubs a rare chance at silverware.
I could get into European competitions as well. But I’m tired, Robbie.
Silverware
As with all of the above examples, it’s difficult to know where to start here. Once again, the sheer amount of stolen valor is difficult to comprehend.
Regardless, we’ll start with their eight stolen league titles, which were stolen more or less evenly across the “red cartel;” Liverpool and Manchester United were each robbed of three league titles, and Arsenal an additional two. And while we’re on the three actual biggest clubs in England, Liverpool lost out on a League Cup, United an FA Cup, and Arsenal on two League Cups. That’s four trophies a piece for the red cartel. Chelsea was the only other club who was cost silverware on multiple occassions, a League Cup and FA Cup each.
Jumping over for the first and only time to Europe, Manchester City cost Inter Milan a Champions League title, and with it the chance to play for a UEFA Super Cup (which they also robbed Sevilla of) and the Club World Cup (pour one out for Fluminense). They made two finals during this time, meaning they also cost Real Madrid and PSG opportunities to add to their European cabinets—not that we’ll shed to many tears for either Franco’s club or the other sportswashers owned by a human rights abusing petrostate.
Turning back to the domestic cups, the real shame of this era is the number of titles or opportunities to play for titles that City cost less historically successful or recently successful sides. For example, City’s first FA Cup triumph in this era came at the expense of Stoke City. It would’ve been Stoke’s second ever major trophy, and the first since their 1971/72 League Cup. They beat Watford in another FA Cup final, which would’ve been Watford’s firstever major trophy.
In the League Cup, they beat Sunderland in 2013/14, denying them their first major trophy since the 1972/73 FA Cup, and Aston Villa in 2019/20, denying them their first major trophy since their 1996 triumph in the same competition.
In addition to the finals, they also cost teams a chance to play in finals by bouncing them unceramoniously in the semis. The most eggregious of this is the 10-0 aggregate humiliation of Burton Albion in the League Cup semifinal in 2018/19, but they also knocked out Middlesbrough, Brighton, Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest, and Southampton in the semifinals of the FA Cup, and it’s fair to say that most of those teams will likely not compete for silverware again any time soon.
Going back to the League Cup, they also beat West Ham and Bristol City in the semifinals. And they beat Everton at this stage in 2015/16, thereby denying Everton—who again, haven’t won a trophy since 1995—a rare chance at silverware, and denying all of us a Merseyside Derby Final.
In Conclusion
Last time out I already calculated the financial costs to English clubs, which again was at least £2 billion. As you can see above, they cost supporters throughout England, and indeed, the world, opportunites for a rare reprieve from the late state capitalist hellscape that we’re all suffering through (once again, because of Manchester City’s owners and their ilk).
After City’s guilty verdict, supporters of all of these clubs will be rightfully asking themselves “what if?”
In researching all of this, I actually feel less angry about the titles that they cost Liverpool. Not because I don’t feel cheated, but because of all the other teams who were screwed over far worse. Liverpool were really the only team to have a proper go at the height of Manchester City’s era of dominance, which looks even more impressive in retrospect. We got to watch arguably the greatest Liverpool side of all time, and one that was built without cooking the books. That counts for a lot.
In seeing City’s body count, laid out in black and white, I am saddened for all the other sides who were relegated, denied European football, or got eliminated from a competition that they otherwise might’ve advanced in. I feel especially bad for the smaller clubs who lost out on a title—or the chance to play for one—when their opportunities over the decades have been few and far between.
Hell, they even make me feel bad for Tony Pulis’s Stoke City.
I started this series of articles with an opinion piece, highlighting what I thought would be appropriate punishment for Manchester City:
- Expulsion from the Premier League and EFL
- Stripping all titles won from 2009
- Fine of at least £1 billion, distributed to the lower leagues of the EFL
- Whatever civil punishments come from the clubs who have suffered
Nothing I’ve researched since has dissuaded me from the above stance. Indeed, it probably doesn’t go far enough. I just hope that the Premier League and other governing bodies act swiftly to put this dark era in English football behind us.