closed Sheffield United 3-0 Chelsea

[Tomo 21,733]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

Wonder if Lampard might switch to a back 3 to counter Sheffield's back 3...

Wouldn't be wise on this occasion, Wilder has added more tactical edges to that formation than even Conte, the underlapping CB's would have us tripping over ourselves.   

I usually feel the best formation to counter this Sheffield side would be a diamond (Leicester did it at BL in August and absolutely destroyed them) but that leaves  a problem as our two most in form players are wingers.

[King Kante 1,473]

Word coming out of Manchester is that City are going to get their ban overturned. By now they probably know the decision as it is being announced on Monday at 9:30. 

[killer1257 3,282]

Word coming out of Manchester is that City are going to get their ban overturned. By now they probably know the decision as it is being announced on Monday at 9:30. 

According to media, this is not how it works. They get the news on Monday and couple of hours after City get the results, CAS and City publish their statements.

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[King Kante 1,473]

3 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

According to media, this is not how it works. They get the news on Monday and couple of hours after City get the results, CAS and City publish their statements.

Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk
 

Let's see. I have always felt that they would get it overturned as; a) the evidence was acquired via a hack - therefore probably can be dismissed, FFP is essentially a cartel system as breaks all sorts of commercial laws. 

[Jase 43,479]

47 minutes ago, King Kante said:

Let's see. I have always felt that they would get it overturned as; a) the evidence was acquired via a hack - therefore probably can be dismissed, FFP is essentially a cartel system as breaks all sorts of commercial laws. 

The evidence may have been acquired via a hack but if City did break the rules, then they should still be punished regardless. If CAS overturn the ban completely, you'd imagine it will open a can of worms for UEFA to deal with as well as potential 'WTFs' from clubs. 

[King Kante 1,473]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

The evidence may have been acquired via a hack but if City did break the rules, then they should still be punished regardless. If CAS overturn the ban completely, you'd imagine it will open a can of worms for UEFA to deal with as well as potential 'WTFs' from clubs. 

Problem is here is that there are protocol's to acquiring evidence. It is similar to how the Police cannot just kick your door down without a warrant. If they do, and even if they find something that incriminates you, then you still get off as the evidence wasn't acquired in the correct manner. I suspect this is how and why City will get off i.e. they did break the rules but there is a technicality that gets them off. If this doesn't work, I am still unsure that FFP can actually be legally enforce as it is essential a cartel agreement. 

[Jase 43,479]

23 minutes ago, King Kante said:

Problem is here is that there are protocol's to acquiring evidence. It is similar to how the Police cannot just kick your door down without a warrant. If they do, and even if they find something that incriminates you, then you still get off as the evidence wasn't acquired in the correct manner. I suspect this is how and why City will get off i.e. they did break the rules but there is a technicality that gets them off. If this doesn't work, I am still unsure that FFP can actually be legally enforce as it is essential a cartel agreement. 

City may have a case in that the evidence was gathered illegally but can they prove what they did was within the rules? Would like to think when UEFA opened their investigation, they didn't just rely on the evidence from the hack. They would have done their investigation on City's finances etc to back them up. It will create a lot of problems for UEFA if City were not punished at all. What's then stopping other clubs from doing the same and using this case as a precedent to avoid being punished? At worst, they should get a 1 year ban plus whatever fine to their finance etc. 

[King Kante 1,473]

17 minutes ago, Jason said:

City may have a case in that the evidence was gathered illegally but can they prove what they did was within the rules? Would like to think when UEFA opened their investigation, they didn't just rely on the evidence from the hack. They would have done their investigation on City's finances etc to back them up. It will create a lot of problems for UEFA if City were not punished at all. What's then stopping other clubs from doing the same and using this case as a precedent to avoid being punished? At worst, they should get a 1 year ban plus whatever fine to their finance etc. 

It depends on the law, in normal cases if the evidence has been acquired in an illegal manner it is inadmissible and holds no weight. Therefore, if that is the only evidence UEFA has (or it was the key piece of evidence they build their case around) then it should be thrown out. 

On top of this, I am also very unsure FFP is legally enforceable in the EU. This is due to it breaking anti-competitive laws as it prevents/restricts private investment. 

I am not a legal expert and there may be exceptions for sporting competitions to be excluded from certain laws. However, if they are not I think City have one very strong arguement (illegal acquiring of evidence) and a reasonable arguement (FFP breaks EU anti-conpetitive laws.) This is what makes me think that they will get away with it. I am not saying they are not guilty of breaking FFP but rather that there are clear legal technicalities that could protect City.

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, King Kante said:

On top of this, I am also very unsure FFP is legally enforceable in the EU. This is due to it breaking anti-competitive laws as it does not allow external investment/prevents/restricts private investment. 

What anti-competitive laws are you talking about? I am no expert in law or the FFP but FFP is there to basically restrict clubs from spending money in uncontrollable manner (duh!) and ensure clubs spend within their means etc. Several clubs over the years have already been punished by UEFA for breaking the FFP rules. AC Milan got banned from Europe last year, for example. So, it's not like the FFP is just for show. Acquired legally or not, City tampered with their accounts to get around the FFP rules. If their ban gets overturned completely, hell is gonna come for UEFA. 

[King Kante 1,473]

10 minutes ago, Jason said:

What anti-competitive laws are you talking about? I am no expert in law or the FFP but FFP is there to basically restrict clubs from spending money in uncontrollable manner (duh!) and ensure clubs spend within their means etc. Several clubs over the years have already been punished by UEFA for breaking the FFP rules. AC Milan got banned from Europe last year, for example. So, it's not like the FFP is just for show. Acquired legally or not, City tampered with their accounts to get around the FFP rules. If their ban gets overturned completely, hell is gonna come for UEFA. 

How FFP is a grey area and how it may be contrary to EU competition laws: 

https://www.asser.nl/SportsLaw/Blog/post/the-evolution-of-uefa-s-financial-fair-play-rules-part-1-background-and-eu-law-by-christopher-flanagan

How illegal evidence may be thrown out*: 

https://www.thelawyer.com/illegally-obtained-evidence-lawyers/ 

*there are much better articles than this one but I cannot be bothered to find them. 

As for other FFP decisions. Those have not been challenged via a legal basis like City are doing. FFP has been approached so far as an agreement and not a legally enforceable law. 

[OhForAGreavsie 5,890]

9 hours ago, Jason said:

 

Great news. Unlikely that Frank is taking him with the expectation that he'll play, but I'm delighted that Lewis is getting another sight of the matchday squad. I really like the look of this player.

[communicate 2,703]

18 hours ago, Strike said:

Midfield picks itself - Jorginho, Mount and Barkley. Christensen should be dropped. Go with Zouma, Rudiger and later Zouma Tomori when he's back 

Midfield 3 will probably

Kova-mount

Jorgi 

I don't think lamp is comfortable playing two attacking cm in front of jorgi. 

 

[DDA 9,689]

This Lewis Bate any good?

[OhForAGreavsie 5,890]

2 hours ago, DDA said:

This Lewis Bate any good?

I've seen him play several times for the 18's, both live and on TV. I like him a lot. I've posted the opinion that he is more talented than Gilmour which attracted some comment. When you see him play my bet is that you'll agree. We have to remember however that just being more talented does not mean he'll necessarily become the better player. That doesn't automatically follow but all other things being equal more talent will give an advantage.

I've also posted the idea that if we could somehow grab Bellingham ahead of Dortmund, or manage to take him from there at some point, then Bate, Bellingham and Kova will make a good midfield in three years time.

 

[Special Juan 27,419]

I have a feeling this will be one of those games where we are on the edge of our seats again.

Sheffield are a good side and set up well, we must be at this from the off. 

[kellzfresh 7,229]

5 minutes ago, Special Juan said:

I have a feeling this will be one of those games where we are on the edge of our seats again.

Sheffield are a good side and set up well, we must be at this from the off. 

And Sheffield have scored 5 of their last 10 goals from corners. How convenient   

[Atomiswave 6,072]

8 minutes ago, Special Juan said:

I have a feeling this will be one of those games where we are on the edge of our seats again.

Sheffield are a good side and set up well, we must be at this from the off. 

Every game is like that for me, it wont go away until we have that pesky CL spot in the bag.

[Jase 43,479]