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Manchester City have been found guilty on 114 of their Premier League charges, and speculation over what happens next is already running wild. Rival supporters will have strong views on what counts as a fair punishment, and City’s own fanbase will see things differently. The Premier League confirmed on Tuesday that City were guilty on all but one charge, prompting a fiercely defensive statement from the champions. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has already called for the league to consider stripping City of the titles won between 2009 and 2018, the exact period covered by the charges. If that happened, the fallout would stretch far beyond the title race itself.
Removing City’s results from those nine campaigns would produce new champions in three separate seasons. It would also reshape Champions League qualification and relegation battles for a long list of clubs. We went through each of the nine seasons in question to work out exactly who gains and who loses from wiping Manchester City‘s results from the record.
2009/10: Small Margins, Big Consequences
City’s results don’t shift much in the 2009/10 table, aside from handing Everton European football and confirming survival for Burnley. West Ham would leapfrog Wigan, and Blackburn would overtake Birmingham further down the table.
Hull City face the most painful outcome of the lot. They wouldn’t survive even with City dropped to 20th, and they’d lose the four points taken off Roberto Mancini’s side, one of only two wins Hull managed after the turn of the year.
2010/11: Blackpool Cash In
Blackpool come out on top here. They picked up no points against City in real life and were relegated behind Wolves and Birmingham, both of whom banked something from Mancini’s team.
The alternate table sends Birmingham down by goal difference rather than a single point. There’s a Champions League play-off spot for Tottenham and a Europa League place for Liverpool, while Aston Villa and Sunderland both slide several places in the mid-table.
2011/12: A Duller Final Day
Stripping City’s results from 2011/12 kills the drama of that unforgettable final day. In this version, the title race has been settled for weeks, and QPR and Bolton are already safe from relegation.
The biggest shift comes in the Champions League race, with Spurs overtaking Arsenal to finish a distant second behind Manchester United. Both clubs would qualify for Europe’s top competition, with Newcastle denied a spot after Chelsea‘s Champions League final win over Bayern Munich.
2012/13: Liverpool Sneak In
Everton regularly took points off City during the Mancini era, but losing them wouldn’t have hurt the Toffees much overall. The exception is 2012/13, where a demoted City lets Liverpool edge above their rivals on goal difference to grab a Europa League place.
Above them, Spurs claim Champions League football once second-placed City drops out of the picture. Down at the bottom, 18th-place Wigan jump a spot, letting them celebrate survival alongside their FA Cup win at City’s expense.
2013/14: Liverpool’s Missing Title
This is the second season in the sample with a different champion, and this time it’s Liverpool. Arsenal replace Chelsea as the closest challengers once the Blues lose their two wins over City, while Tim Sherwood’s Spurs jump into the Champions League places.
At the bottom, Norwich survive, just barely, once they lose the point from their goalless draw against Manuel Pellegrini’s side. Sunderland, who often took points off City in this era, drop to 16th but still stay up.
2014/15: More Joy For Spurs
Spurs qualify for the Champions League again in 2014/15, climbing from fifth to fourth. Swansea move up to seventh and grab a European play-off place.
At the other end, Hull earn a reprieve, finishing five points clear of Burnley once the Clarets lose the four points they took off City.
2015/16: Leicester Still Champions
This is one of the least affected seasons on the list. Leicester’s fairytale title win still happens even without their four points against Pellegrini’s men, with Arsenal and Spurs still filling the next two places.
Only two changes stand out. Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United sneak into the Champions League places, and Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle survive relegation once City drop to the bottom of the table.
2016/17: A Reprieve For Hull
Arsenal will feel hard done by missing out on Champions League qualification in real life. Here, Arsene Wenger’s side climb above City and above a Liverpool team who took points off Pep Guardiola’s side during his first season in charge.
Hull earn a second reprieve, staying up with just 34 points. More surprisingly, Bournemouth climb a couple of places and land a European spot despite picking up only 46 points from 38 games.
2017/18: Barely A Dent
City racked up 100 points this season, so there isn’t much room for change. Runners-up Manchester United climb to top spot, and Antonio Conte’s Chelsea move into the fourth Champions League place.
Everton grab a European spot despite losing the point they picked up at the Etihad Stadium in August. Swansea join Huddersfield in survival with just 28 goals scored, edging Stoke on goal difference.
The Main Takeaways
The headline story remains those three missing City titles. The alternative tables would hand two more championships to Manchester United, one under Sir Alex Ferguson and one under Jose Mourinho, plus one for Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool.
Hull are the only club who would earn two separate reprieves from relegation across the nine seasons. The biggest losers from City’s results are Tottenham, who would pick up four additional Champions League campaigns.
This exercise is far from an exact science given how many moving parts are involved across nine seasons. City still consider the wider situation far from resolved, but it makes for a fascinating look at what might have been.
Read also: Manchester City Risk Losing Stars As Relegation Threat Grows
Stay with TipsGG for continued coverage as the Manchester City charges saga develops.