Jamie Carragher makes Premier League title prediction after Man City guilty verdict
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Manchester City’s first game since the guilty verdict is a daunting trip to Anfield to face Liverpool, the team they denied multiple Premier League trophies over the past decade. Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca (Picture: AFP) ‘I think the problem Man City are going to have this season – if we just think about this season for a minute and Enzo Maresca and the current players,’ Carragher said on The Overlap. ‘They’re top of the league at the minute and have been the best team in the early part of the season.
Asked how he believes the Premier League should punish Man City, Carragher added: ‘I’ve heard people talk about a 100-point deduction, but that’s just over one season that gets them relegated and then they will come back again. ‘Looking at the current players, a few of them would leave, but I think some of them would say, “I could put up with that for a year.” It also builds a connection with the supporters, it’ll be seen in a great light. ‘But I think because this has gone on for so long, I do think the punishment should be over a number of years, three to five years and then players would move on. ‘But then you’ve got the financial aspect of how can they afford the wages of those players if they haven’t got Premier League money? ‘If they’re having to pay all this money out and you can only spend the money that you’re bringing in. They’ll have to abide by it now.’ To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Carragher also believes the position of the current Manchester City owners is untenable, not only due to the rule breaches but their response to the guilty verdict. ‘These owners, I said straight away that I don’t know how they can continue.
How can you ever trust them if they’re found guilty of this? ‘And the problem being is my worry for it is it won’t be a case of, if they lose the appeal, “Okay, yeah, we’ll get on, we’ll take our punishment.” ‘I think because of where they’re from, the power they have, the finances they have, they’ll never admit they were wrong in this, and they would always say we were wronged. ‘This was a sham, the Premier League as such, or different people. And I think they’ll keep just dragging it on and I think it’ll just drag the game into the gutter. ‘And it almost needs sorting out for the game, but also for Manchester City, their support to move on from it.