The Italian will have his full squad back on the training ground this Thursday, after the international break, with a private meeting set before the players turn their attention to Sunday’s trip to Liverpool.
That gathering is Enzo Maresca’s first formal address to the group since an independent commission ruled against the club on Tuesday 29 September, upholding 114 of 115 charges of financial misconduct and non-cooperation with the Premier League’s investigation. The ruling covers a nine-season stretch between 2009 and 2018.
City are not accepting it. The club lodged its appeal on Friday 2 October.
In its official response, the club said: “The club’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.”
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The appeal will take months. The hearing must be held within 12 weeks of the filing and ruled on within 30 days after that, meaning the players will spend most of the autumn and winter in sporting limbo. If the appeal fails, the sanctions on the table range from a severe points deduction to the stripping of titles or expulsion from the Premier League.
Perfect record, uncertain futures
Maresca arrived from Chelsea in the summer to replace Pep Guardiola, and five Premier League games in he has a perfect record, with City top of the table.
The purpose of the Thursday session, according to the reporting around it, is to help the squad shut out the external noise ahead of Anfield. There is plenty of it. Jesse Marsch, the Canada manager and former Leeds boss, told reporters this week: “I think Man City should be punished severely. I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew about it.”
Anfield awaits
Sunday will be the players’ first match in front of a crowd since the verdict, and the Kop is unlikely to let it pass quietly. The visitors will walk into a markedly hostile atmosphere.
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A Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain follows in midweek.
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