Guardiola Khaldoon Man City
Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine
Manchester City's guilty verdict on 114 of 115 charges for financial mismanagement has sent shockwaves through football.
In one of the biggest scandals in English football history, the Cityzens have been found guilty of artificially inflating their revenue and reducing costs by over £900m between 2009 and 2018, a period when they won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and three League Cups.
As part of the potential punishments for the charges, it has been suggested that City could see their historic titles stripped and results expunged from the record, while it has also been mooted that they could face a points deduction, relegation, or even be kicked out of football entirely.
Should the club be stripped of their titles, then it's possible that the history books could be re-written, with Man Utd and Liverpool potentially in line to receive extra league titles after finishing second to City in that time frame.
But it has now emerged that one club may have actually been relegated as a result of the results they suffered against Man City during their time in the Premier League, and they would have survived the drop if those results were to be wiped from the record.
One Team Would Have Survived Relegation - Now They're in League One
Generic picture of a Premier League football
Generic picture of a Premier League football
According to Sky Sports, if all of Man City's results in those seasons were wiped away, then one team will have managed to avoid relegation. That team is Blackpool, who would have survived at the expense of Wolves.
Ian Holloway's side finished second from bottom in the 2010/11 season, one point adrift of safety. But after losing both games to City in that season, a recalculated table would see them move up to 17th and ultimately stay in the top flight.
The Tangerines have never returned to the Premier League since, and are actually now down in League One following relegation in 2015.
Former striker Brett Ormerod, who part of the squad who were relegated, has recently commented on the situation, and described it as "upsetting".
“It’s upsetting in a way because they were a fantastic team.
“You can’t take anything away from what they have produced on the pitch, with one of the best managers in history (Pep Guardiola) who has done it everywhere he’s been.
“I feel sorry for the fans, particularly, if it’s decided they have acquired those players through cheating.
“What is a suitable punishment though? Do you relegate them and, if so, which division do you put them in and what happens for promotion and relegation in that division?
“For us at Blackpool, players and club, it’s there in black and white: we would have stopped up with 39 points.
“That points total would have been enough to stay up for the next few years as well, but what would a suitable financial penalty be for those missed years?”
Man City corner flag
Man City corner flag