The Premier League is back: welcome to the new era of post-verdict unreality
As the top flight returns, armed with the knowledge its serial champions have been the authors of a 10-year sham supremacy, the first question is simple: how is it going to feel?
TL;DR
- The Premier League is returning with the knowledge that Manchester City's serial championships over 10 years may have been based on a 'sham supremacy' due to alleged financial rule breaches.
- This situation creates an existential problem for football, questioning what is real in the sport, both past and future.
- The author likens the situation to a simulation or a set, questioning the authenticity of events and achievements.
- Manchester City's appeal defence and their denial of charges add to the confusion and lack of precedent.
- The article discusses the difficulty of presenting the sport as entertainment and structuring programs like Match of the Day in this new 'unreality'.
- The upcoming match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield is framed as a 'ceremonial shame-event' and a 'requiem for a dream'.
- The potential 'butterfly effect' of City's alleged actions on other clubs' histories and fortunes is explored, including Inter Milan and Tottenham.
- Pep Guardiola's influence and coaching methods are also brought into question, as his success was supercharged by alleged cheating.
- City's fans are acknowledged as being entitled to process the narrative U-turn, with documentaries now seen in a new light.
- Despite the crisis, the article suggests that the enforcement of rules is 'rule of law in action' and that English football could learn from this, potentially resetting its unregulated nature.
- The future of the Premier League involves navigating 'whiplash' and uncertainty, but football's 'relentlessness' means it will move on.