Leeds banter 5

03 Oct 2026 12:03:17
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new player profile about, Jahnoah Markelo

01 Oct 2026 15:34:23
Are City getting investigated after 2018 as surely their indiscretions didn't stop there?

01 Oct 2026 18:13:06
I don't know Corkey. The original hacking of documents only went up to 2018 when the PL started the investigation and they only came up with the charges in 2023.
I think many would suspect that they haven't changed but until there is evidence, and none seems to be filtering out, nothing will happen.
I suspect that most of these misdemeanours occurred in the earlier years when the owners were desperate to quickly establish City as the major force in the PL. Since then they've probably cleaned up their act a bit and can operate within the current regulations.

One thing that is interesting is that some of the accusations relate to breaching UEFA regulations. It would be hoped that they would take action against City. However, UEFA tried to punish City a few years ago but lost on a technicality at CAS. They got off because there is a five year statue of limitations on prosecutions relating to financial regulations. It might be that they will get off again with regard to European sanctions. The only get out is that if the infringements relate to fraud then there is no time limit so maybe on this occasion UEFA will pursue City for fraud rather than breaching fair play rules.

01 Oct 2026 17:57:13
Absolutely Corkey.2018 to present day.more transgressions of all sorts feasible.

02 Oct 2026 11:28:31
The period under investigation was from 2009/10 to 2017/18. Most of us could see from 2009 that something was wrong. Their PL finishing positions from 2007 to 2012 were 14th, 9th, 10th, 5th, 3rd, 1st. In the real world changes from mid-table mediocracy to title winning form over such a short period just don't happen, and my (and others) suspicions began then.

As for the period from 2018 to the present day, whilst there's no evidence of wrongdoing (yet) , I'd just say that leopards don't change their spots.

02 Oct 2026 14:12:01
Wenger raised concerns in 2011 about City bending the fair play rules, especially with regard to sponsorship.
Arsenal had a deal with Emirates in 2006 for £90m over 15 years. City's deal with Etihad, admittedly five years later, was £400m over 10 years.

It might be a bit of sour grapes by Wenger but it does seem a remarkably good deal and might be even better if further payments were off the books.

02 Oct 2026 16:22:43
£6M per year versus £40M per year, that's 567% difference over 5 years, that's some inflation!

02 Oct 2026 18:52:31
So Citeh owners confirm they are appealing stating tge commision's ruling contained :

" clear material errors of law, principle and fact and is unsafe ".

Okey dokey.

02 Oct 2026 19:36:18
Well, it is safe to say that this ain't a court of law, they have no principles, and regard facts as a flexible concept.

02 Oct 2026 20:32:57
Well put JR, hilarious. 😂
Listening to someone on the radio tonight who used to advise City before the the takeover, his view is that they will try to prove that there is no link between the owning company (ADUG) and the UAE government and relies on proving that they are completely separate entities.

If they can prove that then it is permissible under PL rules for governments to assist state owned companies to meet sponsorship liabilities. City have to prove that there is no link.


They also have to prove that the sponsorship deal was on a commercial basis compared to other similar agreements.
One other thing that might clog up City's defence is that in a 2015 statement to the US Dept of Commerce and Transportation Etihad denied any involvement of the Abu Dhabi government in sponsorship of Manchester City and that all funds came from their own resources. That is a bit of a contradiction and if true will need quite a lot of explanations.

02 Oct 2026 20:54:49
I'm beginning to wonder whether City are just clutching at straws and that behind the scenes there are discussions going on about what the club and the PL can agree on as a suitable penalty which will be severe enough to appease the other clubs, the football community and the UK Government but not completely destroy what has been built up.


I don't want the City fans to be totally cut adrift but they have to be moved down the pyramid, substantially fined, honours expunged and a change of owners/leadership.

03 Oct 2026 02:20:29
My guess is that if the original verdict is confirmed, and punishment is inevitable, the PL will have a few red lines which they won't want to budge on, and other factors on which they are prepared to negotiate, and we can expect behind the scenes haggling to take place.

03 Oct 2026 13:32:12
For an official body to come out into public domain with such a prejudicial comment is jaw dropping

UAE threatening to withold infrastructure projects is tone deaf to 99.99% of public on this issue

Why attach a caveat to an issue like this ?In light of such a contentious matter.

03 Oct 2026 14:16:47
Well if that's not a de facto admission of culpability, I don't know what is. If they're as innocent as they claim, such threats are unneccessary.

03 Oct 2026 15:27:40
Totally JR,it's starting to smell worse as each day passes

Now it transpires Al - Mubarak met Reynolds in Downing Street 10 days before the verdict

This is looking like someone is trying to lift up the giant rug and get their hands on the giant Brush ready to sweep all this away.

03 Oct 2026 19:09:22
Mind you, Burnham is a football fan himself, and will be only too well aware of the level of acrimony he'll receive if there's even a hint of political interferance in the outcome.

04 Oct 2026 07:18:26
In that case JR, I hope he keeps interfering! The sooner he's gone, the better!

04 Oct 2026 08:17:42
But he's too much personal and emotional investment in Manchester, JR, and now he's PM his judgement will be altered by wider issues affecting the whole of the country. There's no way that he'll stay out of the decision making process, even if it's through third parties so he's not compromised.
It's not how it should be but there's too much money involved, which often results in an unjust outcome.


I suspect he can't change what seems to be an inevitable guilty verdict but he can push for penalties and sanctions that do NOT fit the crime. A messy compromise with which no one is really happy with but smoothes over the cracks and it's back to business as usual.

04 Oct 2026 15:56:04
We shall see Dun, but when all's said and done, Burnham is a politician, and like all others of his ilk, his overriding priority is self-preservation, and he'll dump anyone else in the s##t to save his own political skin. If the guilty verdict is confirmed, and I can't rid myself of the nagging fear that it may not be, then relegation to the Champo seems the bare minimum they could get away with, which would mean a fire sale of all the big stars, and would the owners then want to remain, or would they be gone in a brace of sheiks? I understand that the result of the appeal has to be announced within 12 weeks, which funnily enough takes us to Christmas Day, so I'm hoping for a bumper present from them.

01 Oct 2026 05:52:33
Saw a report that the football league said they have provision for a team to be able to apply to league 2. Never mentioned 1 or championship.

And what will happen to games played already. Will the points be taken away from a team that actually gets a draw or win against them?

01 Oct 2026 09:17:37
If MC expelled, it reduces PL from 20 teams to 19, so at next season end they could accept 3 promoted teams as usual but only relegate 2 so back to 20. Then of course Champo has same prob, then Leagues 1 and 2 same.

If EFL don't accept them somewhere then they would have to pass the prob down to National League and so on and so on. Interesting conundrum.

01 Oct 2026 00:13:31
The timeline for the appeal by City which will be heard by a new panel is that it has to be made by Friday 1st October. The appeal hearing must be concluded within 12 weeks and the panel have 30 more days to release their judgement so the end of January is the final deadline.


The original panel, who will impose any sanctions, can convene during this period but will not release any details until the outcome of the appeal is known. The PL board can make representations regarding their preferred punishment.
City can then appeal any sanctions imposed.

01 Oct 2026 01:04:31
Without naming names obviously, what do we know of the make up of the two panels, where are they drawn from?

01 Oct 2026 01:25:42
Another good informative post there Dune.

So 4 months in total to conclude appeal process and judgement to end of January

The final round of EPL matches is ( unusually late) May 30 th ( exactly 4 months from Jan 30th)

So will there be enough time from January 30th 2027 to conclude the sanctions judgement, sanctions appeal process and appeals judgment before end of seez is completed ?

Ho hum football authorities, Citeh owners and others #perplexing.

01 Oct 2026 01:31:27
Ha JR.good point
Just joshing but hopefully no peeps from say dem lurvely places of Makerfield, Bury, Oldham, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi and sunny Barcelona.

01 Oct 2026 08:00:06
Dunelm So they get a year to put in an Appel (Friday 1 October ) 🤭.

01 Oct 2026 09:08:49
Sorry Whiteman, a result of posting in the early hours.
JR, the original panel was appointed by Murray Rosen KC, chair of the independent PL judicial panel. The appeal panel was appointed by the new chair, Gary Hickinbottom.
The names are not revealed but the three person panel has to include one member with a judicial background and usually someone with accounting experience.


The five PL board members (Chair, Chief Exec and three non exec members) can not be involved but can make representations re the sanctions imposed.

01 Oct 2026 11:39:04
Interesting that Murray Rosen, chair of the independent PL judicial panel that appointed the original panel is an Arsenal member, but then so is the top man in City's legal team Lord Pannick. Will they end up being shot down by a brace of Gunners?

30 Sep 2026 21:40:19
I keep reading on hear about the City fans and how unfair it will be on them. Although I get it, they've experienced amazing emotions and memories BASED ON CHEATING. What about the runners up fans in the finals and the league, that played fair? Even if City are stripped of the titles and the titles given to the runners up, it will be nothing like the same jubilation as if it had been achieved in real time. Then you have the opposing players, that weren't playing on a level playing field.
Add to that, big teams with passionate fans that are now languishing in leagues below,which legitimately might feel that they were affected, facing potential decades to get back to the big time (like we did) .
Also, tell Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester fans how bad you feel for the city fans.


Bottom line, the ego maniacs at the top at City attempted to be the best at any cost (just like Risdale-although he didn't cheat) taking an enormous risk for the club.
Additionally, add the fact that they appear to have been deliberately hampering the investigation and STILL claim their innocence.
Personally, nothing short of dropping City down to the bottom division, an enormous fine, transfer embargoes, declaring the owners unfit to run the club and potential legal proceedings would be enough as far as I'm concerned.
Ironically, like yourselves, I do feel sorry for the City fans, but ultimately they have been sold the worst lie in modern era football and must be punished accordingly.

30 Sep 2026 22:01:08
I feel bad for them SW and what about Southampton did the same as us and may ever have there manager sack or band did that happen to us no, I am not saying I agree with what they did no more then I agree with what we did. We were happy winning and did not what was going on nor did they.

30 Sep 2026 23:06:35
Their fans are the only ones I do feel sorry for, just as I did the rest of our fans after Ridsdale's screw-up and fans of other clubs that have been put through the wringer by bent, shady or incompetent owners - though I still can't stand the Gallagher twins.

Like we had to they're going to have to grit their teeth, swallow the bad medecine and build again from a lower point, and come back stronger. They have to accept that their successes over the last 17 years were achieved dishonestly, and things cannot just carry on as before.

30 Sep 2026 23:15:09
Sympathy for Citeh fans ? Nah, not really. Especially if punishment is lenient !

30 Sep 2026 23:44:21
Remember Whiteman there was no specific spying rule broken by Bielsa.
After us the rule was specifically brought in, so Southampton have deliberately broken a known rule so should have a much more severe punishment.

01 Oct 2026 06:38:22
Canada fair point,

01 Oct 2026 07:52:40
Let's see how many "fans" they actually have left if they end up at the bottom of the ladder! And thats not a dig at their core fan base, but its undeniable that they picked up a load of plastic when they got rich.

01 Oct 2026 09:23:45
They could donate their flash stadium to Salford City and all go support them, or they could change from Blue to Red and go to the new, improved Old Trashyard, I hear the Prawn sandwiches are quite good.

01 Oct 2026 13:37:07
Liam and Noel are brothers, but not twins.

Assuming you are referring to the Oasis duo.

01 Oct 2026 14:30:52
I was Alf, and I wasn't sure what their relationship is as I have zero interest in Oasis whose attempts at music are a total turn off for me.

01 Oct 2026 19:27:11
You won't need me. to say that you're totally wrong about Oasis JR, they're without doubt 1 of the greatest bands of all time, I don't really like Springsteen too much albeit a dozen songs or so, but.

He's probably 1 of the most influential solo musicians EVER,aside from Bowie, and Bruce's his E -street band
The body of his work is. phenomnal.

02 Oct 2026 07:50:25
Spot on with that Chris! Music, tho, is even more personal than the footie. FGS, on top of those, I love to add a bit Credence Clearwater Revival as well as Birdy!

02 Oct 2026 09:32:35
Last night after watching Wales v Norway (how good were Wales) , I sat down to finish reading the daily paper, and put in an old CD of classical Spanish Guitar by Andres Segovia, and imagined myself drifting across Andalucia in a hot air balloon, that's my taste in music.

02 Oct 2026 07:46:57
There is no right or wrong in music Chris, it's all a matter of personal taste. You may think oasis are one of the "greatest bands of all time", to me they're absolute garbage. Different strokes for different folks.

02 Oct 2026 18:57:01
Err Chris without doubt Oasis is definitely NOT one of the greatest bands of ALL time.

They are not even in the top 100 of all time

They are a good band in a fairly weakish 90s decade of music.

30 Sep 2026 19:54:25
Just when we thought the Man City affair couldn't get any worse, the PM, Saint Andy of Manchester has stuck his oar in to give it a damn good stir by saying he'd be "really concerned" if the clubs owners decided to sell up after their cheating had been found out, and praised them and Sheikh Mansour for investing in Manchester.

What's the betting they've been lobbying him to try to persuade the PL to be lenient. I hope the PL ignore him and do what they have to do. If the club's current owners sell to a new regime, great.

30 Sep 2026 20:01:28
Doesnt and wouldnt surpise me JR.

01 Oct 2026 13:38:02
If lobbying involves handing over large sums of cash, then yes im sure they will be.

02 Oct 2026 07:49:13
Nice to see him getting a backlash in Parliament, and having to back off and keep his nose out of the affair.

02 Oct 2026 07:52:02
Casual Friday Burnham will be setting up a middle east No.10 soon, no doubt, Alf!

30 Sep 2026 19:45:28
Some Leeds United news
Rodon, Tarik and Bijol all have won over 60% of duels.
Elvedi has won 32%
JJ I almost forgot has won 59%
Strange Bijol is out of the team. I realize he was pony against Chelsea but they all were second half.

30 Sep 2026 20:03:58
Bijol was very good last seez.nowhere near as good this seez.

Got no idea why.

30 Sep 2026 20:32:04
He was good until the Chelsea game Baz. In fact he was very good. Against Forest he was our best player.

30 Sep 2026 20:53:44
Did Bijol even play/ start in either Forest game EPL and Cup ?

Vs Brentford and Chelsea he was defo pony.

30 Sep 2026 21:36:31
Against Forest he was excellent in the league game. He was definitely not pony against Brentford.

30 Sep 2026 23:25:33
Yeah Corky you remember better than I on the Forest league match ;

But Bijol defo warmed the bench all of the Forest Cup match.

Bijol is a good player but his performances for me have dropped for Leeds recently.

He is bench warming and currently seemingly for Farke 5th in line at CB behind Tarek, Rodon, JJ, Elvidi.

01 Oct 2026 07:55:58
He's unfortunate, but that's football! We are in a great position right now at CB to have such a glut of quality, and credit for that goes to Underwood et al. We have still done well without him, but he will get his chance again.

01 Oct 2026 13:39:17
Bijol excels in certain formations but isnt much cop in others. Plus if you get dropped and someone comes in and keeps you out of the team I think its right you need to wait your turn and then take your opportunity when it comes.

30 Sep 2026 10:56:29
In the case of, Man City vs Football
The ONLY face saver I can see for all parties is a heavy punishment (inc Expulsion) on all counts BUT suspended for 4 years
however on some of the lesser? counts.

A sizeable immediate fine (1) .
A 4 year ban from ALL competitions.
A (20) point deduction for each of the four years (2)
An inward transfer embargo for 2 years and any recruitment
for a further 2 years to be of a value no greater than £12? million per player
A Prem League accounts team to be placed in the Etihad (3) Scrutinised Accounts to be submitted biannually for four years.
An Immediate removal of certain obstructive members of the the board

(1) my suggestion is a figure not much short of a billion.
NB This money must the be ringfenced for the lower teams and must be paid within 6 mths of imposition
(2) argue the number but it must be one that may not demote but will ensure mid table at best.
(3) the costs of the a/cs team to be borne fully by Man City and any failure to submit scrutinised a/cs on time will result in the expulsion enacted.
I have argued that whilst the punishment must be harsh it must allow people to "save face". Very important culturally and I believe stepping back from full extermination may offer some face saving extraction.

30 Sep 2026 12:57:50
I didn't agree with Leeds get deducted points for something the board did at that time the players didn't do it nor the fans so I don't agree that this should happen as it has to many club since its the the owner and board not the fault of the players of the fans we need to change don't punish the team players or the fans, ban them from ever having the privilege to own a football club or any business.

Charge them with the billion pounds that they have made and clubs have Lost. But sadly many other clubs and fans want blood revenge or what ever you wanna call it? I stand for change. I bet the current owners will walk away rather than pay the billion pounds out of their pocket. It would be left to the club and bands to fund it sadly.

30 Sep 2026 13:15:31
Whitey, whilst I agree with your sentiments The many points accrued by Man City were gained fraudulently so one of the first points of recourse against "the club" must be a points deduction.
I feel that Will happen and the only real point of discussion will be how many and for how long.


I think every right minded football fan must feel deeply for every true Man City fan at this time (even the blinkered ones) . Sadly, I can see no punishment possible that will not see them as colatteral damage.
My heart goes out to you. There but for the grace of God.

30 Sep 2026 15:19:41
leodis I do know where your coming from,I think the FA should be implicated for failings over many many years.

30 Sep 2026 15:39:52
Not an ounce of sympathy for me,because City fans took all the accolades,changed all the songs,and claimed all the bragging rights, when other fans the world over questioned how is this possible within supposed remit of EPL,

Question I would like answering is,

will the finance whizz kids employed by the Qatar's face fraudulent trading charge's due to their part in cooking the books ?

30 Sep 2026 17:04:29
There are so many levels of complicity here Chris. I talk about the true fan (like you and I and many others) who could be oblivious to wrong doing? To many who thought ? To the few and the guilty who knew (and did nothing) .


Then I stop and think.
If it were Leeds and we were top of the tree, kings of Europe. Would I be so quick to go digging, even if I thought it was too good to be true, would I really want to bring down my one true love.

30 Sep 2026 17:15:37
Whitey, carefull what you wish for.
If you turn over the FA rock Lord only, knows what will come slithering out.

30 Sep 2026 17:19:24
If I remember correctly 1 of the Eds here questioned Haalands seemingly low transfer,


Now that seemingly was the done thing
Rob Peter to inflate Paul

Now ask yourself realistically Leodis, do you believe there's only right / wrong here ? So from that answer there can be no caveat for sentiment in my opinion

So again I have zero sympathy for city fans,because any fan with even half a brain deep down knew there's got to be something dodgy here, so a castle built on pillars of sand,is finally about to fall.

30 Sep 2026 19:04:50
Careful what I wish for I am only thankful that Leeds didn't get kicked out of the League in to the no man league aren't you so I won't wish that for that to happen to any club and before you rules are rules. I will be glad when football back. And to all that disagree it's only ones view so don't lose your sweets.

30 Sep 2026 19:19:02
Wasn't Haaland so inexpensive because of a transfer clause? Anyway nobody knew the extent of the cheating. It's actually flabbergasting!

01 Oct 2026 07:59:21
2 bids from other clubs were turned down that were higher than City's for Haaland, in the same window. City got him for his release clause a mere couple of weeks later! Not suss at all!?

29 Sep 2026 21:06:52
City guilty of over £900m of sham contracts to inflate revenues and reduce costs, filing inaccurate accounts, having secret second contract's with employees and not cooperating.
Apart from that I think they're a fairly straightforward, honest and upstanding member of the Premier League with little to apologise for.

29 Sep 2026 22:04:44
Good post Dune ; it increasingly seems like the Premier League authorities are actually more angry ( perhaps understandably ) at Citeh owners non compliance and non cooperation for many,many years of the investigation

rather than the actual financial misdemeanours themselves

Citeh owners continue to be somewhat bullish, admitting nowt and adamant this whole process has a very long way to go.

So it's still looking to all be a humungous tangled mess that imo continues to erode the standards and integrity of football ; the EPL has only existed for 34 seasons with over half those seasons affected/ tarnished.

Shame on several owners of football clubs and shane on rhe football authorities too!

29 Sep 2026 22:07:46
and dont be that surprised now if Everton win their appeal re having to pay Burnley compensation.

29 Sep 2026 22:28:29
Although I agree that that Man City should receive the hardest penalties ever procured in any football league, I still think that the financial and political weight that the vice president of the UAE and current owner or Man City Sheikh Mansour and his massively rich family will influence business leaders and political heads to persuade the Premiership hierarchy to make a lenient penalty.

For me there is only one penalty for this kind of disregard and blatant breaking of the rules and that is an instant relegation.
Fines and points reduction will mean nothing to this club who have massively broken the financial rules to make themselves an undeserving successful football club.

In a sporting sense there is only one word that can be labeled to Manchester City in the last ten years and that is "Cheats"

Sadly, I do believe they will get away with a very soft penalty, money rules, and they have enough to make it in their favour.

30 Sep 2026 01:26:42
I disagree OP, relegation (to the Championship that would be) is the soft option. They should be expelled from the PL. and have to go cap in hand to the EFL to apply for membership, and be told that like any new member they would have to start at the bottom, ie League 2, just like Rangers had to do in Scotland. Also, in view of the contemptuous behaviour by their owners, they should be told they are barred from ever owning a Premier League football club in future, and the club can never be readmitted to the PL until there has been a change of ownership.


On top of that there needs to be a substantial fine (say £100M) , compensation to other PL clubs disadvantaged by their cheating, and a suspension from European competitions by UEFA say for 10 years.

30 Sep 2026 03:35:24
I agree with you JR on what must/should happen to Citeh :
Citeh expelled from EPL ;
owners disbarred from owning an EPL club etc

But although I rarely agree with OP, he might yet be right with Citeh probably only getting very soft, very lenient penalties.

As one is reminded of the recent very lenient penalties Chelsea received for their 74 charges.a mere paltry for Chelsea £10 million fine.suspended points penalty and I think one season of not being allowed to buy players.

Ughhh.

30 Sep 2026 08:26:28
I will not be surprised in the slightest to hear the """ I """ word thrown into public domain over this investigation.

30 Sep 2026 08:30:17
The big differences Baz are that Chelsea turned themselves in and fully cooperated and that the infringements occurred under a previous owner. None of these apply to the City case. I agree they got off too lightly but showing some contrition obviously helped their case.
The Southampton spygate case resulted in a quick and severe penalty.

In addition the manager could well be suspended as he authorised a young intern to spy on opposing teams. Perhaps the PL should take the same line with City and ban those who were complicit in the various schemes and deem the owners as "unsuitable" stewards of the club if they were aware of what was going on.

30 Sep 2026 11:22:14
You and I are broadly in agreement Baz. Whilst I've stated above what I think "should happen", the cynic in me has a quite different view on what "will happen". I think the PL will bottle it and just give them a points deduction sufficient to guarantee relegation (say 70 points) , a humungous fine (say £50M+) and a transfer ban (for say 2 seasons) and then leave it to the other clubs to pursue them for reparations and UEFA to apply European sanctions. That done they'd stroll the Champo even without most of their big stars (who'd all wantaway) and be back the next season polished shiny and new (and unrepentant) under the same ownership as if it were all just a bad dream.

When the Government baled out the big banks during the financial crisis a few years ago, an oft used phrase was that they were seen as "too big to fail", I think the PL see Man City in much the same light, and will back off from being as tough as they should be. I hope I'm wrong but we shall see.

30 Sep 2026 11:54:06
Good further posts with good points Dune and JR.

Any guesstimates from you esteemed posters on how long approx the EPL might/will take to announce its sanctions for Citeh.

Promptish punishments announced before end of 2026 at latest

or

more slow burner process way into 2027 or beyond ?

30 Sep 2026 12:31:46
I would hope it would be fairly quick, that is before the end of the season, as no new evidence can be submitted.
They can basically appeal on the grounds of errors in applying the regulations or misinterpretation of evidence or because the tribunal wasn't fair because of incorrect procedures or bias.
They can't go to CAS as the PL is totally under the jurisdiction of English law but they can go to the High Court and argue that the judgement is unfair, biased or against competition law.

If it goes to the High Court then it could drag on but it will only increase the toxic atmosphere between City and the rest of the clubs in the PL.