**The consequences of City’s rise are being examined beyond trophies and titles following the verdict in the Premier League’s financial case, with [Everton](https://readeverton.com/) among the clubs whose position came under pressure during City’s rapid ascent.**
A new analysis by _The Athletic_ looks at how City recruited leading players from clubs immediately above them following the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, highlighting Aston Villa, Arsenal and Everton.
For the Blues, that brings the controversial departure of Joleon Lescott back into focus.
David Moyes had led Everton to consecutive fifth-place Premier League finishes when City pursued Lescott during the summer of 2009.
The defender eventually moved to the Etihad Stadium for £22m after a disruptive transfer saga. _The Athletic_ notes that Lescott became an important part of City’s rise, while Everton had to rebuild and wouldn’t finish in the top five again until 2013-14.
City later returned for another Everton player, signing Jack Rodwell in 2012.
None of that means Everton’s subsequent fortunes can simply be blamed on City. Wealthier clubs buying players from rivals is hardly new, while Everton received substantial transfer fees for both Lescott and Rodwell.
What has changed is the context in which that period can now be viewed. City have been found guilty by an independent commission of 114 of the 115 Premier League charges they faced, including financial-rule breaches during the period in which they were establishing themselves among English football’s elite. City deny wrongdoing and have appealed the decision.
_The Athletic_ argues that City’s early recruitment strategy included targeting clubs immediately in their way. Former City chief executive Garry Cook was previously quoted describing the impact on Aston Villa particularly starkly: “We crippled Villa.”
Everton were another club trying to break into the established elite at precisely that time. The Blues had finished fifth in both 2007-08 and 2008-09. Within months of the second of those finishes, City took Lescott to Manchester as their spending accelerated and they began moving beyond Moyes’ side.
The commission’s verdict doesn’t rewrite those league tables, nor can anybody know how Everton’s trajectory would have developed had Lescott remained at Goodison Park.
It does give Evertonians good reason to look again at what was happening while Moyes’ side were attempting to turn consecutive fifth-place finishes into something more.
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