Brighton host Man City, the dirty dictatorial sportswashers
Just in case anyone was in any doubt about what Manchester City and their Abu Dhabi owners think about the Premier League and democracy, they laid it all on the table when attempting to rewrite the governance of English football.
Unimpressed by being hit with 115 charges of breaking financial rules, City decided to bring a legal case against the Premier League to court in an attempt to overturn said rules.
One of those arguments was that English football is run by the “tyranny of the majority”. That it is wrong for all 20 clubs to have an equal say in how the Premier League works through one vote per club.
That Sheikh Mansour is more important than Tony Bloom. That Brighton and the rest of the “smaller” teams should roll over and do whatever City and the rest of the European Super League Elite Six say and want.
Whoever could have predicted that a team owned by a nation state with a hereditary monarchy would not like the idea of democracy, having to follow rules or being unable to bully other clubs into doing whatever City wanted?
This was not how the great Manchester City sporstwashing projects was meant to go. Abu Dhabi bought City in the hope that their nation would be associated with transforming the fortunes of an otherwise middling English football club.
Sheikh Mansour wants everyone to think of Premier League titles, beautiful football and Pep Guardiola when they hear the words of Abu Dhabi.
Rather than modern day slavery and a terrible human rights record. Point these things out as a fan of another club and City might even lean on that club to have you banned.
The problem Abu Dhabi and City now have is that these 115 charges have forever tainted their image. Even if they manage to lawyer their way out of them, there will always be this cloud of suspicion hanging over how they bought and achieved their success.
They can try and wash that away however they like. And they are. By taking the Premier League to court. By emailing the other 19 Premier League clubs because they do not like their landmark court case being reported as anything other than a City victory.
And ultimately, by threatening to burn football as we know it to the ground if they do not get their way. An email leaked as part of the Football Leaks cache quoted City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak saying “he would rather spend £30 million on the 50 best lawyers in the world to sue them for the next 10 years”, as well as how UEFA had the choice “to avoid the destruction of their rules and organisation.”
A quick reminder at this point that Brighton & Hove Albion still oppose the introduction of an independent football regulator. One with legal powers to tell City to either play by the rules and respect the Premier League or fuck off.
The Manchester City sportswashing project has turned very dirty and those stains are not going to go away. Which is absolutely hilarious, given the reasons why Abu Dhabi invested in City in the first place.
Equally hilarious is to hear Guardiola complaining about his current squad issues. City are in the midst of an injury crisis, despite being accused of breaking 115 financial rules to build the most powerful playing staff English football has ever known.
Consequently, City will arrive at the Amex having lost three games in succession. The Citizens were eliminated from the League Cup by Spurs. Lost at Plucky Little Bournemouth in the Premier League. And then saw a certain Viktor Gyokeres plunder a hat-trick in a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Sporting Portugal.
Is this a full-blown crisis at the Etihad Stadium? Sadly, it probably isn’t. City always peak from January onwards, putting together winning runs which carry them to trophies.
Still, four defeats in a row would be almost unheard of for the Citizens under Guardiola. Which means Brighton against Manchester City will go one of two ways.
City, bitten by their embarrassments in Lisbon and Bournemouth, coming roaring back and Brighton are on the end of a hammering.
Or the Albion take advantage of the so-called crisis and secure a win over City for only the second time since promotion to the Premier League in 2017.
The first was that famous evening in May 2021 when Brighton came from 2-0 down to defeat City 3-2 in front of a small crowd as lockdown restrictions began to be eased.
Guardiola had been gushing in his praise of the Seagulls and Graham Potter before the game. He was less complimentary afterwards, refusing to shake Potter’s hand.
Easy to be nice when you are winning all the time. Less so when you lose. Guardiola showed his true colours that night, just as City have shown theirs in recent months.
And that is why, no matter what happens when Brighton face Manchester City, Albion supporters can at least walk away knowing our club is not merely a sportswashing project for an oil rich monarchy.
Give me that over four consecutive Premier League titles, a Champions League win, seeing the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, and trying to destroy English football because you do not get your own way any day of the week.
