The FA seem to work that much faster in charging the smaller clubs and let's say the players who are not star profiles yet. That statement doesn't mean it's true but it does seem to be the way lately. Take Brentford's Ivan Toney who was quickly accused of betting on games and charged by the FA last season and subsequently was handed an 8 month ban from football- he won't return until January. Almost two months ago West Ham's Lucas Paqueta was investigated by the FA over a possible betting theme including picking up yellow cards, the charge was so solid that Manchester City who were on the verge of buying the Brazilian much to the disdain of West Ham ran away from the deal. And yet here we are two months down the line and zero updates from the FA. Paqueta who may be guilty plays on, and for the FA to have opened an inquiry and scuppered a possible £100m transfer, one would have thought there would have been solid evidence. So why the delay?
Everton have financial woes that seem to mount by the day and their FFP hearing has been set for October 25th. On the face of it it does look like the club are guilty having reported losses over a three year period of over £300m and the FA rules are that a club do not lose more than £105m, obviously the pandemic didn't help but every other club didn't lose as much as Everton. There is also an enquiry about tax issues relating to loans for the clubs new stadium. Guilty is guilty and if Everton are punished and are proven to have broken the rules then they must get ready to receive their punishment. In an ideal world that would be the case but what about Manchester City, the all triumphant side who are going for their record breaking 4th league title in a row and finally won the Champions League this year. They have turned over every stone but the FA seemingly hasn't. While the FA have charged the club with over 100 breaches it has all gone quiet on the Manchester front since being announced last May. Surely fair is fair and at least Pep Guardiola did state that he wanted the charges quickly resolved but he isn't going to get his wish. One is left wondering while certain rules are in place to make the game fairer, are we viewing an even playing field?
VAR again and this time it was for Liverpool when a Luis Diaz goal against Tottenham was wrongly and bizarrely ruled out. It would have surely changed a game that the Reds ended up losing and it is just another embarrassing example of how poor the system has been. The idea of VAR is good but the fact that it is run by humans means that there will continue to be inconsistencies. The problem that keeps happening in the Premier League is that the league has been regarded as the best in the world for years now and when you're top level you need to deliver a top class system, people are watching. The punishment for such a huge error is that the VAR team have stepped down for one week- it should be one month at least. Obviously there is frustration at Liverpool but they have taken it one step further and now want the original audio on the Diaz decision but what closure does this give the club? There have been countless terrible VAR decisions but we haven't had clubs requesting such a personal investigation, nothing can be changed, it's time to move on. Liverpool aren't stupid they know what they are doing in putting enough pressure on the FA and VAR so that this doesn't happen again, not to everyone else but just them. Hopefully officials will rise to this and deny the club any special access and requests but the big boys usually get their way in the end.
Both Manchester teams lost at the weekend and for United there problems run so deep that they require not a paragraph but a whole article on their woes. So we will concentrate on the current champions City. Not many would have seen the club losing against Wolves this past weekend, but City have injuries, imagine not being able to choose Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Rodri, three of the best midfielders in world football one could argue. Simply it is too much of a hole to fill, now in previous seasons this wouldn't be the biggest problem even for City. This season though one could argue that the club have more of a lack of depth on the bench. In naming only 8 substitutes at the weekend two of those were goalkeepers and only one was a recognised player going forward in Jack Grealish. Every team receives key injuries but having these three out is a huge blow for the club. Rodri of course isn't injured but didn't feature because of suspension which rules him out for another two weeks. Silva may be back next weekend from a knock but that isn't a given. You do wonder though if other clubs will take Wolves' template of holding firm and attacking the champions at this stage of the season who clearly are more weakened?
City lost their unbeaten record but they did 'get away' with it as Liverpool lost too and so City remain in 1st place as we head into the 8th games of the Premier League season.
Latest odds to win the Premier League: Manchester City 1.57, Liverpool 6.50, Arsenal 6.50, Tottenham 17.00, Newcastle 51.00
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