"ALARMING!" Max Scott raises his CONCERN over Andy Burnham's behaviour amid Man City controversy!

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talkSPORT debate on Manchester City, Andy Burnham's response and the right punishment

The show discusses how Enzo, Pep Guardiola and Andy Burnham have reacted after the Manchester City verdict, and whether their obvious biases should be understood or criticized. The guest argues for a severe punishment including relegation, expulsion from the Premier League, a transfer ban and forced change of ownership.

Max Scott was joined by Arsenal fan & broadcaster Harry Symeou to preview Manchester City's trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Premier League. Subscribe: https://youtube.com/c/talkSPORT?subconfirmation=1 Enjoyed this YouTube video? 😍 🖥️ talkSPORT's Website: https://talksport.com/ 📲 talkSPORT's X/Twitter: https://x.com/talkSPORT 📷 talkSPORT's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talksport/?hl=en 👤 talkSPORT's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talkSPORT/ 📱 talkSPORT's Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talksport ? 🔴 Download the talkSPORT app HERE! - https://talksport.com/apps/ 🔎 Want to see if you feature on our YouTube channel? Check out our Best talkSPORT callers playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFVMnSsi04LGLa9pS9xDvme-Gjmlu2 talkSPORT PremierLeague

Transcript

Harry City, not legends past and present, but key city figures past and present in terms of Enzo Mesa. Look, he was never going to come out and say, "Yeah, it's absolutely shocking. Get me out of this place." Um, but I thought he was from a city perspective, incredibly impressive because he wasn't, you know, it was unflapable. He didn't seem phased. He didn't seem like he was just speaking from a script. And, um, I think City fans and the City bosses will be happy with uh, the performance he put in during that press conference. >> Yeah, they will. Look, I agree with you. he was never going to come out and throw his employers under the bus. Very few people in life would do that. So I I think it's unrealistic for us to sit here and expect him to come out and do anything of that sort. >> What I find odd though and and Vincent company in that clip we just heard steered clear of doing this and that's where Vincent company earns a bit more respect from me >> was that you know Vincent company went as players we don't have anything to do with that. He distanced himself from it but he didn't make excuses. Yes. He didn't start to say it's unequivocal, you know, the fact that we've done nothing wrong. This there's not even a debate here. >> Where Enzo Moresca's gone wrong for me is when he's used the phrase when we win this appeal. And he's used that phrase multiple times in that press conference. Don't use it. Say, you know, stick to the line. We got to wait for the process to play out and if we win the appeal or if we lose the appeal, whatever the appeal outcome is, then we'll we'll be able to speak on it and have these conversations. I I don't understand why so many people linked with Manchester City want to nail their colors to this mast on this sinking ship. I I I don't understand it. Pep Guardiola as well should have kept quiet. This has all happened. Instead of saying, "I'm with you. I trust you." All of that, just keep your mouth closed, Pep. wait until this process plays out. You're well within your rights to defer to the fact that this process is still ongoing, >> but stop jumping to defend a football club that has more than likely based on that verdict done wrong. >> Well, we often see it, I think, because of those reactions from Pep and Moresca that creates, I think, a false confidence for City fans who are ultimately going to be the biggest victims from all of this. >> 100%. And because I think City fans will naturally maybe subconsciously think, well, if Moresca and Pep are so confident, they must have seen this irrefutable evidence. I think it's far more simpler than that. I think it's Moresca and Pep are speaking to people who they are and have been incredibly close to that have lined their pockets for a number of years and have developed bonds with. And so I don't think that it's an insight into how confident City fans will be. There there are biases in the world everywhere you turn, right? A lot of people were super critical of of Andy Burnham for not being as strong on this when it when he first spoke about it as he maybe should have been. But again, I like to look at things in a fair way, okay? Throughout the duration of this, you know, them being charged and us waiting for the verdict. I never sat on the radio or on a podcast or in anything every week going on about the 115. I just didn't do it. I was respectful enough to understand that it's not those players, it's not that manager, it's the club that have seemingly done wrong. Let the process play out. Now we've got a verdict. People are going to talk about it. And the verdict has gone completely the opposite way to what Man City were expecting or or maybe they weren't expecting, but maybe what they were hoping for. And I I just I I just don't get it. Like we have to accept that these biases exist. So I'm not going to condemn Pep Guardiola for saying what he did or going too hard on Enzo Moresca or even Andy Burnham. Do you know why? Because a lot of his success as a politician came from regenerating Manchester, which was in part funded by those people. When you have connections to people, it's very hard for you sometimes in a scenario like this. So, I understand that. But I agree, but I disagree on the Burnham thing. >> The reason I disagree is because he's painted himself as this pintloving everonian that's a man of the people um as a as a Labor, you know, prime minister. And I think that it's a deep shame that he is staying loyal to a group of people who heavily invested in Manchester, regenerated significant portions of Manchester, and that is a good thing. And I said this yesterday, I am willing to separate the art from the artist. Right. So I'm not criticizing that foreign investment, but for Andy Burnham, of all the things he could have said, I think it's what he didn't say that was alarming. He decided in that moment to say that he would be really concerned if they decided to sell up. >> Yeah. after they had been found guilty of sham contract as well. He did back and I think that's and so for me knowing as we've seen reported multiple times from Bloomberg from the Financial Times there has been a policy from the UAE to threaten to withdraw funding in this country if the verdict if the appeal goes against what they want. I think that's a dangerous precedent and for Andy Burnham to I think lay down and have his belly tickled and say yeah it would be terrible indicates that maybe there is an inclination on a political level for some things to be done in the dark corridors of power that bend it so that it works in city's favor and as it's his responsibility as prime minister to stay neutral and he is now but for me he's made his bed and he's lied in it and I kind of think you know football matters to me and therefore it matters and fairness matters to me therefore it matters that the prime minister doesn't come out with clumsy comments as he did >> I agree that he was wrong to say what he said my point is that >> I can understand >> his bias >> that that bias is going to exist just like I can understand that it's going to exist for Pep and it's going to exist for Enzo Moresca and it's going to exist for Vincent company and everybody that was attached to that because you don't want to believe as Pep Guardiola that all of your success was built on a shamm You don't want to as a player look back on your career and not be able to look at it with pride because essentially it was built on a sham. So my point is not that these people are right, but it's that >> I think I would if I was them, I would like to think that I'd be able to stay a little bit more neutral. Agree >> and speak a little bit less confidently about City's innocence >> from fear of what's coming down the line because you're going to look really silly if they lose the appeal as Enzo Mesa Pep Guardiola, etc., etc. But what I'm trying to say is that in the immediate aftermath of all this coming out, I'm I understand that people have biases and I think sometimes we jump down their throats for saying these things, but I think actually in the moment first and foremost when they first hear of this news, they they're going to get caught out by it. It's what they do further down the line for me that's the bigger issue. So Pep coming out and saying what he said, I think it was wrong. If the appeal fails and he comes out and says I was wrong and they lied to me and you know I'm really disappointed. I'll have respect for him and I won't hold what he said initially against him. >> Yeah. No fair point. Before we break cuz I want to talk about um Mikarta's new contract in a bit more detail. What do I haven't actually heard what you think the punishment should be. >> The punishment for me it's got to be a punishment that reflects the level of advantage that they gained over a number of years. Now, they will argue that it's only to do with the period that they were were cheating in. For me, it's got to go beyond that. I don't know that there's a legal precedent to make it stretch beyond that, which probably makes it a little bit difficult. >> But I think it's got to be a punishment that drives this ownership out of Manchester City. That's how I see it. You know, is it a case of they can't get be given the kind of fit and proper person's licensing that comes from those tests? Is that an option? Would they then just try and find another way of of running the club through a company perhaps? I don't know. Um I think they need to be relegated. They need to be kicked out of the Premier League. Do they go down to the bottom of the pyramid? Maybe. Um but then again, that's dependent on what the EFL think as well. Are they aligned with the Premier League? There's a lot here. But I think it's got to involve relegation, transfer bans, and it's got to involve a forced change of ownership. Because as long as that ownership are involved in our league, in our game, in our sport in general in this country, there's always going to be that suspicion and there's always going to be questions about the integrity of our national sport and that can't be allowed to