Any Manchester City punishment can only look to the future rather than changing history

Like the rest of you I was pleased to see Premier League football return this weekend.

However, the story that that has dominated the headlines during the international break was not about players or teams, but Manchester City and the allegations of financial misconduct.

Man City found guilty by an independent commission on 114 of the 115 claimed Premier League breaches of the rules.

Those guilty verdicts now the subject of an appeal.

Wherever you look in the modern era at what has gone wrong with football, the answer always seems to be money, leading to a fear of losing and subsequent loss of sponsors.

This in turn has led to a big increase in cheating on the pitch, from diving to pressuring referees mob-handed in order to try and get a decision changed, not only by players but also managers. A long way from the image the game’s superstars should be showing the young fans hanging on to their heroes’ every word.

When Alan Shearer signed for Newcastle United in a £15million deal, it was generally viewed as a level of transfer fee that the game could not sustain. Fast forward thirty years and that’s a figure you would struggle to get even a squad player for.

Football has certainly moved on from the “jumpers for goalposts” era, not all for the better of the game

With the Premier League the reality of the situation is that the game is now largely controlled by Sky TV, as they have such a key role on the financial front, so what they want is what they get.

The next few months (hopefully not years) we will see a conclusion to the Manchester City saga, which will be an opportunity to show that no club is bigger than the game.

When (or if) the punishment is decided, it can only look to the future rather than trying to change history .

Otherwise it would open a huge can of worms with clubs claiming loss of income due to relegation, missing out on Champions League qualification, even missing out on trophies, and so on.

It would become a snowball that won’t stop rolling.

Assuming for a minute that Manchester City fail with their appeal, hopefully the punishment handed out will be proportionate to the breaches of the rules and hit the club in the future, rather than trying to change history.

I accept that the situation is no fault of the Manchester City fans, but just as they gained from the success, they must also endure the result of any punishment.

The first casualty of war is innocence.

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