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Last year's English champions have been at the bottom of the
Premier League standings for the past two months, having collected
the fewest points of any 20 teams in their last eight matches!. Guardiola's team cannot stop the free fall they have been going through lately, having turned defeats from a
negative bracket into the norm.
Pep's team is faltering competitively and psychologically. And this is reflected in the poor harvest of just 1 win in the last twelve games, regardless of competition. A series which, in addition to all the Citizens' historical counterattacks, risks completely "disintegrating" their course both in England and in Europe.
Many records have been set to describe the magnitude of this unprecedented crisis that the four-time champions are experiencing. Its ultimate reflection, however, is summarized in the individual Premier League standings since November 1: There, Manchester City is at the bottom!
It seems incredible, but during this time City have won fewer points than all the other 19 teams, specifically just four in a total of eight matches! Fewer even than the real bottom of the overall standings, Southampton (5 out of 6)!
And all this for the same team that in the first eight matches of the season was in 2nd place and within touching distance (-1) of the leader Liverpool!
It is worth remembering that Rodri's crucial absence occurred at the end of September, with City following a streak of three wins and one draw in four matches before November entered and the... downhill began, starting with the game against Bournemouth. On the other hand, it should not escape our attention that City has classy players such as Bernardo Silva, Foden, Haaland, etc.
In the meantime, Manchester City is expected to be informed at the beginning of the new year (2025) whether and how it will be punished for the 115 financial charges being investigated by the special independent committee.
So, at the same time that the Citizens are experiencing their worst period in 20 years on the pitch, they are waiting to find out whether they will be punished for the FFP offences for which they sat in the “courtroom” of the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London, with the hearing process having been completed since early December and after almost three months.
Now, what everyone is waiting for is when the final conclusion of the three-member independent committee will be issued and according to the “Times”, a decision cannot be ruled out at the end of January. However, possible complications may lead to delays.
As was written after the end of the hearing, even if the conclusion is announced in the first weeks of 2025, any penalty imposed on Manchester City will not be applied within the current season and will be postponed for six to eight months, in order to provide the necessary time for the hearing of any appeal that it seems certain that the English champions will file.
Manos Staramopoulos
Journalist and Analyst of International Football and Affairs
Chief Editor English Zone of Discoveryfootball.com
Athens (Greece)