Is Man City’s Decline Due to the 115 Financial Charges & Hearing?

Manchester City, have lost nine of their last 12 matches. This is as many defeats as their previous 106 fixtures. The mainstream media keep blaming injuries, an aging squad or lack of motivation having won so much. But no-one has addressed the elephant in the room: Is Manchester City’s decline due to the 115 financial charges and hearing?

I am not a football pundit—I usually write about extreme and adventure sports—but I am a huge footy fan. In my opinion teams like Man City don’t go unbeaten in 13 games from the start of the season, followed by only winning once in 12.

This is an unprecedented decline for a team that has won six of the last seven premier league titles. Yes injuries and an aging squad who have won so much are a factor. But I believe there is more at play for Manchester City’s poor form.

Could the Hearing be to Blame for Manchester City’s Decline?

The 115 financial charges levied against the club by the Premier League have been hanging over them for a few years. But the 12-week hearing only began in September. Imagine for a second that the hearing has been going badly and the club know punishments will be severe.

How would it affect motivation and focus if the players and/or manager think there is going to be a huge points deduction or relegation? The case has certainly cast a shadow over the teams unparalleled success. Could it now be affecting their performance on the pitch?

This article explores Manchester City’s poor performances, looks into the possible reasons behind them, and the financial charges. With input from an NLP specialist Mark Robert we ask the question no-one else is— is Manchester City’s decline due to the 115 financial charges and hearing?

Man City’s Poor Recent Performance

Undoubtedly, the Premier League champions of the last four seasons, have found themselves in unfamiliar territory.  Their dominance under Pep Guardiola compared to the team’s recent performances have left fans and pundits puzzled.

Manchester City’s recent form is a way off the standards they have set over the last decade. With just one victory in their last twelve matches, the team has struggled both to score goals and keep clean sheets. During their recent 2-1 loss to Aston Villa there was a lack of cohesion and sharpness, players seemed to not know what they were doing.

City’s defensive frailties have been particularly glaring, conceding goals at an uncharacteristic rate. Their attack, too, has been less clinical, and they’ve created much fewer chances. While opposition fans are loving it, the Citizens supporters are left wondering if this dip is temporary or indicative of deeper issues.

Reasons for Manchester City’s Poor Form

What surprises me is that across the BBC, Sky TV, the tabloids and niche football publications no-one seems to be blaming the hearing and 15 charges for Manchester City’s poor form. Instead they all role out the following:

Injury Woes

According to the media, a significant factor in City’s decline has been injuries to key players. The biggest of these has been Ballon d’Or winner Rodri who is out for the season. But he began the season injured and Man City were still unbeaten despite him only playing three of their first 13 fixtures.

Defender John Stones limped off the other day, with Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake both out until January they are light at the back. But they have become injured since the rot began. Goalkeeper Ederson has also been absent, depriving the team of his distribution and shot-stopping but he was also out for a spell last season.

Up front they have almost a full squad to choose from. And while Man City’s injuries are bad, but there are six teams who have lost more days to injury this season. Including Brighton who’ve lost 638 days vs Man City’ 372 so far this campaign.

Undoubtedly Rodri is a huge loss, and the chopping and changing at the back does not help with cohesion. But the level of injuries is not that bad. something else is at play.

Aging and Reduced Squad

The Man City squad has literally won it all. But with nine players over 30 pundits are claiming an ageing squad. To be fair De Bruyne, Gundogran and Walker are all 33 or 34 and currently a shadow of the players they were.

But the average age of the squad is 27.5. That is the fourth oldest in the premier League, but the average age of a premier league player this season is 26.5. So their squad is not significantly older than others.

Letting Alvarez more to Athletic Madrid and Palmer move to Chelsea have clearly backfired. But both players wanted to leave to get more playing time. While you could argue they should have been replaced, since Palmer’s departure in 23/24 Man city have spent €145m on forwards Doku, Nunes and Savinho.

Record breaking goalscorer Erling Haaland has netted 19 goals in 27 appearances this season. Plus 23/24 PFA player of the year Phil Foden hasn’t become a bad player overnight! So Man City still have incredible attacking riches at their disposal.

Fatigue

The physical and mental toll of competing at the highest stage in football is huge. Top players are complaining about playing too many games. So many pundits are saying that competing on so many fronts means that the Man City squad are tired.

But from the Man city squad only Phil Foden (20th) was in the top 25 players from the top 5 leagues in terms of minutes played for club and country. There are 10 other Premier League players who have spent more time on the pitch from that list.

Yes the current injuries mean the remaining players are being rotated less than they normally would. Plus those older players are getting les breaks. But the Man City squad of 25 only has four injuries, so there are plenty of players who are barely playing. They also have one of the best funded academies to promote players from.

So Guardiola could rotate more if he felt he needed to.

Motivation

After years of relentless success, staying motivated can be challenging. Some pundits have suggested that the prolonged success winning multiple trophies has lead to a drop in motivation and intensity.

But they were fine at the start of the season. They were incredible last year despite having won the triple in the 22/23 season. So I don’t buy it!

Man City’s 115 Financial Charges and Hearing

The Premier League’s 115 charges against Manchester City allege breaches of financial regulations over a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018. These include accusations of failing to provide accurate financial information, misleading disclosures about player and manager remuneration, and non-cooperation with investigations.

The 12-week hearing is one of the most significant challenges the club has faced in its modern history. Potential consequences range from fines and transfer bans to points deductions and even relegation.

While a verdict is expected in March, the uncertainty surrounding the outcome has created a cloud of speculation and doubt. Guardiola’s defiant statements such as “All the Premier League teams want us to be sanctioned”, have done little to quell the speculation.

Is Manchester City’s Decline Due to the 115 Financial Charges?

In my opinion the timing of City’s dip in form and the hearing about the financial charges is too coincidental to ignore. There has been talk of huge points deductions and even expulsion from the league. Are these rumors affecting performance?

Guardiola had defiantly said they do not, as the case has been hanging over them for years. However, the hearing began in September and ended in December, it stands to reason that people at the club know if it is going well or badly. And if it is going badly what if that information had started to percolate it’s way down to the players?

Even if it is only Guardiola that knows perhaps it is affecting him. He hasn’t seemed quite himself since signing a new contract. If he thinks there is a big point deduction coming it could impact how well he motivates his team.

Even without a change from the manager, if the players think they are getting relegated as a sanction no matter what happens then performances will suffer. A drop in focus and effort of just 1% could make all the difference.

Looking at their stats, last season Man City averaged 691 successful passes per game this season it is 618. Shot accuracy has dropped from 40% to 24%. I am sure if I could find the stats we’d see number of sprints and total distance covered has also reduced.

NLP Expert: Manchester City’s Poor Form Due to Hearing

To get an insight into this we asked NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) expert Mark Robert to share his thoughts on sports performance:

“Mindset is everything. Even the best teams in the world can falter—not because they’ve lost their ability to play, but because their focus has shifted. Take Manchester City, for example. Amid rumors of potential big point deductions due to the ongoing 115 charges, their performance has notably dropped. Why?

It’s not that the players have forgotten how to play or lost their ability to work as a team. My theory is that the club at the top management level knows the hearings have taken a bad turn, and that anxiety has filtered down to the players. The uncertainty and negativity surrounding the situation have likely shifted their mindset, shifting their focus at a subconscious level, impacting their ability to perform at their peak.

When focus shifts to what could go wrong—it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. The team’s energy is no longer directed toward winning but instead consumed by fear of what’s coming. It’s like a golfer who fixates on avoiding the bunker; they’ll inevitably hit the ball into the sand because that’s where their attention is locked.

This is where NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) can make a massive difference. NLP helps individuals and teams reframe their focus, channeling energy toward what they want to achieve, rather than losing focus because of external factors. It allows players to reset, create a clear mental roadmap, and build the resilience needed to maintain a winning mindset, even under pressure.

Rumors, uncertainty, and external pressures don’t have to derail performance. With the right mindset, anything is possible. Man city need to focus on what matters. Focus on what they are got at, focus on winning!”

Conclusion: Manchester City’s Decline Due to 115 Charges

Injuries, an ageing squad, lots of games and changes in motivation may all have contributed to Manchester City’s recent struggles. But for me that does not explain the complete U-Turn from almost invincible to a team with relegation form for 12 matches. It is just too long for that to be the sole reason.

My view is that the psychological burden of Man City’s poor form is due to the hearing about the 115 financial charges. The staff and players either know, or think, it has gone badly and the impending judgement as affecting their mindset.

The shadow of the financial charges, potentially huge points deductions, other sanctions and perhaps relegation looms large over the Etihad. In my view Manchester City’s decline is due to the 115 financial charges. The hearing’s conclusions will not just impact the club’s future but also its present performances.

Is Man City’s Decline Due to the 115 Financial Charges & Hearing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And if you are a Man City fan who’d like to escape the pain then check out these adventure holidays worldwide.