Manchester City is a really big deal to follow in Portland

_{Manchester City United played a friendly against the Portland Timbers in 2010, then left a bunch of unsold shirts at the local Goodwill as donations.}

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NOTE: Know that the author follows Bournemouth within the Premier League - which has 20 clubs that play in stadiums sizes of 74,879 (Manchester United) to 11,307 (Bournemouth).

The off-pitch soccer excitement going on in England currently revolving around Manchester City should be interesting for fans in Portland because it involves the Trail Blazers in a unique way, and the Los Angeles Angels in another unique way - that’s how I view it within my household.

Manchester City was recently charged and convicted of cheating the financial rules within the English Premier League for at least a decade - 114 of 115 charges - starting when new owners from Abu Dhabi took over the club from a Thai prince in 2008. The cheating is purely financial, but it’s interesting within my household because we have Dodgers and Angels fans, and the Angels recently found a new owner, Stan Kroenke, who has promised to put more money and energy into the team - good for the team’s fans as the previous owner had just stopped doing those things and the team stopped being competitive.

The Dodgers are backed by massive money, and can sign basically any player, while the Angels cannot. The difference on the field is immense - the Dodgers have won the last two World Series, while the Angels haven’t been to the playoffs since 2014, won a playoff series since 2009 or won the World Series (its only one) since 2002 - even with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on the same roster for six seasons within the last decade.

The Trail Blazers factor in because of their recent ownership change and the challenge of the Moda Center refurbishing, and how it might affect pro basketball in the U.S. in the future.

The new owners, led by Tom Dundon, don’t want to put any money toward the arena work, and are largely seen as being ready to move the franchise at a moment’s notice - regardless of the large, loyal fanbase it would leave behind, myself included.

The baseball and basketball samples put forth here relate to Manchester City because of the differences from England - and really the rest of the world - to the U.S. in how success should be achieved on a playing surface. A club should have to play its way to success backed by its fans and the revenue they provide, and not just be able to buy it outright because of the money of an owner or ownership group.

That’s where relegation and promotion happen - better teams move up and improve the level of play of the league so that the word “tanking” isn’t involved within any season. Tanking is definitely a term owned by the NBA. Also, there are no drafts, and the EPL does not have a salary cap, so smarter, better-run teams are more likely to succeed.

England, right now, is being challenged with how much it wants to allow itself to be like the U.S., where owners can just outright throw money at their team in order to be successful - or withhold it, too, and simply profiteer regardless of the fanbase. There are salary caps, but they can be avoided through teams just paying luxury taxes.

It’s a big deal, as it should be.

Wrexham United is in here. Actor Ryan Reynolds and friends bought the team for $2.5 million in 2021 and had the money to spend on its roster - reportedly, three times what their opponents were spending. Reporting has put it at something like $3.5 million to $1 million, and the team went from being semi-pro to the Championship League in three straight seasons, missing a shot at the Premier League by just a few wins last year. The value of the team is reported to be $475 million. That seems like a good investment, those extra dollars on players. And, there’s the streaming series, Welcome to Wrexham, to build the international fanbase, and bring in revenue outside of the team.

At the Premier Level, though, Reynolds and Co. are not going to be able to just throw more money at the team than their opponents because the Wrexham stadium operates at 12,600 capacity, and rosters are so much more spendier. They’d be competing with players with the entire world, too. And, Wrexham is typed in small letters on any map of England, not in all caps like Manchester, which has two EPL clubs. Performing equally on the field, though, can certainly be done.

Bournemouth (the EPL team I follow) played its way through financial penalties within its history, including 2008 when it was on the verge of being relegated to semi-pro (where Reynolds found Wrexham). The ownership chaos of 2008/09 found a stable owner and legendary English star Eddie Howe to take over as Manager. The club got hot, playing its way to three promotions in six years - reaching the Premier League for the first time ever in 2016. The club got relegated back to Championship League in 2020, but returned in just two seasons and actually played its way to sixth place, and a spot in the Europa League, last season.

The sixth place finish was amazing since it was just a short time from a 9-0 loss to Liverpool at the start of the 2022 season - a loss that matched the largest in league history. After that loss, management changed and ownership changed as well - it now includes actor Michael B. Jordan - and the style of play changed - all for the better.

But, Bournemouth cannot spend the money Manchester City spends on its roster because it plays in a stadium only one-fifth the size of its PL rival, and the town on the Southern Coast and fanbase is so much smaller, which leads to smaller marketing/sponsorship deals and revenue. Currently, even though they’ve been playing well, the results of the 2026/27 season have them in relegation discussion again.

The Cherries - Bournemouth’s nickname - might be revenue challenged off the field, but they can earn more money through quality of play, though; paid out by the league through its television sponsorship deals. And, they’re making money from playing in the Europa League, too. So, better results earn more money, especially in Europe. The top five PL teams play in the Champions League with other top clubs from accross Europe. MC annually plays in the Champions League.

Quality of performance money is where PL rivals are most angry with MC, because all those roster resources they should not have been able to access, helped them in the standings - illegally (against the rules since it’s not a legal matter). Getting access to Champions League money is especially annoying.

Manchester City, as the charges go, screwed over the EPL through its owners basically buying its roster - sometimes paying out as much as 90 percent through their own pockets. The league is looking at the owners now as basically Abu Dhabi leaders, so the team is state-run with its main sponsor Etihad Airways promoting the nation as a resort for England.

As I’ve followed online, the financial charges show, for example, the club simply told the league it had something like a $500 million uniform sponsorship deal with Etihad Airlines, but it really just collected $50 million and owners paid out the rest themselves. From the U.S. view, it’s not hard to ask, “so what? If they want to win that bad, let them do it.”

That’s where relegation and payment for results become big-time issues, as is England’s desire to keep its top export legit. Everyone needs to play by the same rules, including Abu Dhabi.

We’re involved in this dilemma with college sports in the U.S.

If MC is barely punished, there’s nothing going to stop someone from buying a smaller club for $2 million and throwing a few dollars at it so as to reach the PL and a valuation of $500 million in just a few years regardless of the fanbase, simply to turn a profit. The fans of that club would be very happy, but what about the fans of the teams it would pass over - those that are playing by the rules? Why would English soccer even have rules?

Major League Soccer has a salary cap the Timbers play within. Inter Miami uses the Designated Player rule to field Messi on its roster, but there’s still a process the club is following for that to happen, and the league overall is benefiting from his presence - why the Designated Player exists.

The Dodgers - back to baseball - have been able to sign basically any player they want, which a lot of opposing fans don't like. But, that’s because the team brings in so much revenue having a large, loyal following that includes the top home attendance by more than 7,000 fans per game. Ohtani’s international presence helps the team sell stuff all over the world. That’s good for the game, and team values seem to show that across the sport.

Now that the Angels have an owner who also owns the Denver Nuggets of the NBA, and the Rams of the NFL, there’s a lot of excitement within my household that the team will generate revenue and spend more on players and a freeway series is not far off. (Maybe, we’ll use the freeway to drive there for it - only 1,000 miles.)

The Trail Blazers seem to be on the opposite side of Manchester City as in the new owners just seem to want to put as little money and effort into the team as possible - seeing as they've already put in $4.25 billion to purchase the franchise. Since the U.S. system of franchise results cannot be bought illegally as English soccer showcased was available with MC, and they cannot be relegated, the owners probably figure why not just own the team, take in the available money and wait for the best option from another city and move there? The fanbase doesn’t matter, only profits and team valuation matter.

Manchester City’s value as a club went up significantly in the past two decades, and it won a bundle of titles in England and Europe, too. Money and profits, though, don’t seem to have been issues because the club owners - having the support of the state behind them - simply wanted to win, which ultimately promoted the tiny Middle Eastern nation overall.

Dundon’s ownership style is being credited as a factor in the Carolina Hurricanes, another team he owns, winning the Stanley Cup earlier this year. After just a few months of following basic media coverage, though, it’s hard to see that ownership style as anything other than problematic and headed for franchise movement to Nashville, Tenn.

Dundon completely missed the lay-up of being a good guy through a few million dollars of support for the Moda Center revival in order to be a tough guy negotiator. Portland Public Schools are looking at closing as many as 20 schools, but the Blazers’ ownership group that’s got a $4.25 billion franchise in hand cannot help out with funding the work on the arena it plays within so it will be able to make more money - being a profit-making company.

In the promotion/relegation model of pro sports, Portland would not have to worry about losing the Blazers, which is one of the best negotiating tactics Portland can take with Dundon to keep the team here. If he takes the team to Nashville, that leaves Portland without a team, and thus, it would be available to another league - an expansion league, for example, which might very well become something like a second-tier of pro hoop in just a few years. Until the team plays its way into the NBA again.

Losing the Blazers might be the start of promotion/relegation in the U.S.

But, first, let’s see how England deals with it mess in Manchester.

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