Manchester City brought competition to the established order and that changed the game | OneFootball

For a club that no one cares about, Manchester City have dominated the headlines this week. This week saw the Award published in Manchester City’s case against the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction Rules (APT) published. City won a section of their challenges to the APT rules. While others were dismissed. That announcement has spawned a new spate of articles and opinions. That is the nature of the topic. But how did football get here? That’s the story in itself, as legal matters become commonplace in the English game.

To find out how football got to this point you have to look at the Premier League’s financial and APT rules and why they were introduced. Martin Samuel’s excellent piece in the Times breaks down the entire situation. While the Premier League’s financial rules and regulations do have merit, the fact that sections of the APT rules have been found unlawful highlights a problem. That needs urgent addressing. But how did we get here in the first place?

Sheikh Mansour’s takeover of Manchester City immediately changed the status quo in English football. Since the Premier League’s inception, the league has predominantly been dominated by the same clubs. Besides Blackburn’s lone triumph in the 90’s it was Manchester United and Arsenal that dominated the Premier League. Roman Abramovich’s takeover of Chelsea in the early 2000’s allowed them to compete at the top of the Premier League. Under Jose Mourinho, they claimed titles and established themselves at the top of the English game. While their spending was criticized in some quarters, it helped them establish themselves as a power. But the entire equation changed when Manchester City were taken over in 2008.

Sheikh Mansour’s takeover of Manchester City brought a new player into the game.

Once the takeover of Manchester City was complete (PSG’s takeover deserves a mention also) the game changed. A threat to the established order in the Premier League and Europe had arrived. Under Sheikh Mansour’s ownership, Manchester City’s ambitions grew, and they had the finances required and owners who were determined to make them a reality. Since 2008 Sheikh Mansour’s ownership has helped facilitate Manchester City becoming the dominant force in English football. It must be said that financial might is only a minor factor in the City’s dominance over the past 15 years. It also takes a strong off-the-pitch set-up, world-class staff, top players, superb managers, a club pulling in the same direction and more. City have had all of this since the takeover was complete.

It was around this time that Financial Fairplay and other such terms entered into football. Martin Samuel’s excellent piece lays down the path to where football finds itself today.

What happens from here is anyone’s guess but Manchester City haven’t ruined football.

The path to the point where the Premier League finds itself today with a host of legal challenges and cases underway or having just been completed was always going to end here. For too long the richest clubs monopolised the Premier League title. The fact that there have only been 7 winners of the Premier League in its history shows this. But what they didn’t bank on was someone with more financial wealth and might may enter the fray. Manchester City’s rise upset the established order. From there FFP and APT rules came into effect. They do have a purpose in the game; not even Manchester City disputes that. But they must be fit for the task and not unlawful.

They should also not prevent clubs like Newcastle United or Aston Villa being held back from reaching their potential. Newcastle United and Aston deserve to have the opportunity for their owners to build like Manchester City once did. They shouldn’t be held back from hoping to achieve this goal. As was the case with Manchester City there is always an owner with more financial wealth and resources who may enter the fray. Newcastle United have this. But they can’t fulfill their potential. There is something inherently wrong with that notion. Financial Fairplay regulations and APT rules and such should maintain competitive balance but also encourage owners to invest in their clubs. There is surely a middle ground in this entire saga somewhere. Perhaps that may be the ultimate lesson to be learned from Manchester City’s legal battles with the Premier League.

But Manchester City’s rise should’ve forced their rivals to raise their game. It shouldn’t have given birth to a host of regulations that have now seen financial terms being used as often as offside or other footballing vernacular used when covering the game. That’s the sad part of the entire affair.

Note

For some Manchester City’s rise has an asterisk attached to it while their infamous ‘115 charges’ hearing plays out. That’s not the discussion topic here but will be when a verdict on the matter is reached. How we got here is a different topic entirely and when Manchester City’s current Premier League case is resolved that will be the time to measure City’s rise.