Manchester City are heading for the worst possible fixture in their first Premier League game since their guilty verdict for cheating financial rules was released
Manchester City are running out of friends faster than the bloke who used to be known as Prince Andrew. Thanks to the deepest and darkest hole the club has dug for itself, having finally been exposed for a right royal case of cheating. Sympathy for the serial offenders is non-existent.
Vitriol, hatred and disgust has rained down on City from all angles since they were found guilty of breaching all of the most serious charges of breaking Premier League spending rules.
The FA became the latest organisation to stick the boot into the former English champions. In a statement, English football’s governing body insisted what City had done has “significant implications for the integrity of the game.
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
The statement added: “We are carefully considering the decision and its implications, and will take action where appropriate.” City remain defiant and insistent no wrongdoing has taken place.
Instead of showing even an ounce of contrition, senior club figures have claimed innocence and vowed to prove it through an appeal process.
A move which appears destined to add more fuel to the fire now raging amongst those who feel duped, tricked and conned for almost a decade. It all feels like the situation cannot get any worse for City, but thanks to an ironic twist of fixture fate, it will do.
Because when the international break finishes this week, Enzo Maresca and his men will resume domestic action with a trip to Liverpool, of all places. The last one on earth City would want to be visiting, given the current circumstances.
When Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola were managerial rivals of their former teams, a genuine hatred developed between the two clubs. Not just on the pitch, but off it as well.
It all began back in 2014, when then FA chairman Greg Dyke stood up to speak at the football writers’ dinner.
Despite City having won the title that season, Dyke effused about Liverpool instead. City staff were seething, fueling their belief Liverpool got a disproportionate amount of acclaim. The seeds had been sown.
Relations deteriorated, with Liverpool fans stoning the City team coach before a crunch Champions League clash at Anfield in 2018.
During a Carabao Cup tie between the rivals at Anfield before Christmas in 2022, a teenage girl who supported City was hit with a thrown pint pot. The offender was never identified.
The litany of genuine animosity between these two clubs has been long and lasting. But it could scale a new peak next weekend, when City head behind enemy lines to face the wrath of a club and its supporters who love to hate them.
And now armed with the most damaging reason of all to continue doing so, there are genuine fears for the safety of travelling fans heading to Merseyside.
High level talks have taken place between both clubs, Greater Manchester and Merseyside Police, the local authority and the game’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG).
Talks aimed at taking whatever measures are needed to increase the chances of the clash taking place without serious incident.
Anfield was a rarely a happy hunting ground for Guardiola and his players. And it is guaranteed to be an even more frenzied bear pit for his successor next Sunday.
It promises to be a lonely place indeed. And it’s the kind of feeling City will have to start getting used to.