Punishment for Pep's boys? Kompany to Bayern?
It's May 21st. A fourth title for Pep but what about the 115 charges? From relegation to Bayern for Kompany? USMNT roster and can a Dutchman at Anfield work?
Welcome to issue one of The Daily Soccer. Don’t search for soccer news - read it.
Consequences for City?
Modern football, don’t you just love it?
No sooner had Manchester City sealed their fourth straight Premier League title than the focus of the British media turned to the 115 charges that remain against them for breaches of various financial rules in the Premier League and whether they will face sanctions. Ah, the romance of it all…..
Philip Buckingham in The Athletic takes a look at the various possible scenarios - including huge fines, demotion from the Premier League - and nothing happening at all. He also has this little nugget in there:
The UK government has admitted to The Athletic that its embassy in Abu Dhabi & the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office have discussed the charges levelled at Man City by the PL, but are refusing to disclose the correspondence because it could risk UK's relationship with UAE
This thing seems to have been dragging on forever and indeed the process actually started back in 2018. The Swedish Rambler on X put together a handy explanation of why it has all taken so long - short answer - City’s lawyers.
There is one reason and one reason only why this case is not settled yet. When the PL launched the procedure for the 115 charges, City made sure that it got stuck in the courts for almost 3 years challenging every technical aspect it could to delay it.
The whole thread is worth a read.
So when is this going to be finally sorted? Well, the BBC reminds us that it could be another year before any verdict is brought.
There have been reports a hearing date is in place for the autumn of 2024, with the same reports suggesting a decision by the summer of 2025 – still more than a year away. City have neither confirmed nor denied this.
Ian Wright thinks it is not right that City’s players have their successes overshadowed in this manner: 'It's unfair on the legacy that these players are building. You watch them that [Netflix] Treble documentary; the drive and determination to try and do what they've done is unbelievable.
'It's unfair that they've got all of this around them. The sooner they get this resolved, the better.'
Scream if you want to go faster…
The managerial merry-go-round isn’t merely spinning, it’s flown off its bearing and is careering around the playground judging by some of the stories that have appeared since Sunday’s final day.
Take Kieran McKenna, who has impressively led Ipswich Town from League One to the Premier League with a second straight promotion. Ipswich fans have barely had time to bask in their return to the top flight after a 22-year absence than their manager is being linked with….well, pretty much half the Premier League.
Brighton are pushing to complete a deal to appoint Kieran McKenna as Roberto De Zerbi’s replacement, but they still face competition from Chelsea and Manchester United for the Ipswich manager, reports The Guardian.
Of course there aren’t actually vacancies at Chelsea and Manchester United who both still actually have managers in jobs but we suspect there will be plenty of stories about the futures of Mauricio Pochettino and Erik Ten Hag in the coming days and weeks. Perhaps they can just do a job-swap?
Liverpool have confirmed Dutchman Arne Slot as their replacement for Jurgen Klopp after the German’s low-key, cold and emotionless departure from Anfield on Sunday.
Might be worth sending your Liverpool supporting friends this handy ESPN guide to the performance record of Dutch coaches in the Premier League. (Spoiler - they’ll love noting that Ten Hag is ranked as the third most successful).
The Anfield faithful might also be in for some innovative tactics from their new leader.
But perhaps the strangest story to emerge in the hours after the end of the Premier League campaign was - Vincent Kompany becoming a target for Bayern Munich.
The story was first reported by Fabrizio Romano and is a real head-scratcher given that Kompany just oversaw his promoted Burnley team going straight back to the Championship after their worst season in 142 years.
As Will Ford at Football365 puts it, in a scathing column:
Vincent Kompany spent £95m of Burnley’s money in the summer, led them to 19th in the Premier League after they won five games – with three of those victories coming against the teams that are heading straight back down with them – and is now apparently in talks with Bayern Munich. What the hell is going on?
TDS Digest….
Gregg Berhalter has announced his USMNT squad for June’s friendlies against Colombia and Brazil and Henry Bushnell takes a deeper look at the selection and what it means for the upcoming Copa America. (Yahoo Sports)
Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson have been left out of England’s provisional Euro squad (CBS Sports)
Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Tony Kroos is to retire from the game after the Euros. (Bavarian Football Works)
Messi’s Miami team-mates are dropping like flies this season - the latest is defender Nicolás Freire, who has suffered an ACL injury and is out for the season (MLSsoccer.com).
Costa Rica’s new kit for Copa America is causing some debate. We quite like it. (Footballkitnews.com)
The U.S. Open Cup round-of-16 gets under way tonight (USSoccer.com)
Australian women’s star Sam Kerr looks set to miss the Olympics (Guardian)
We’ll be back tomorrow with more.
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