Manchester City takes on Liverpool on Sunday in their first game back since the international break, when news broke that the club had been found guilty of breaking financial fair play rules. As the staff and players return, one thing is clear: Everyone just needs to stick together.
That doesn't just mean those people paid to be members of the club, but fans too. When City plays Liverpool and then returns home to Etihad Stadium, fans shouldn't show displeasure at what the club may or may not have done. Instead, as Enzo Maresca said on Thursday, "We need to be all together."
Erling Haaland said nearly the same thing on the same day. Man City tweeted a clip of the striker saying, "We have to stick together; we have to stay with each other, and we have to stay positive."
A unifying message is being presented by Manchester City before the Liverpool showdown
While Maresca and Haaland are obviously not wrong to espouse their view, it is seemingly clear that the direction from the club was to present a united front. It is better to do that than have the manager saying one thing and potentially disgruntled players saying another. The situation is already a mess, and what would make it worse is if people started speaking off-script.
Outsiders could look at this a few different ways. One is that the current manager and star player are following the same approach that former manager Pep Guardiola did and are defending a club that might have broken rules and changed the Premier League as we know it.
That defense could ring hollow to some, as the current members of the club are maybe unintentionally making themselves look like victims of what has unfolded.
The other side is, of course, Maresca and Haaland and others to come are stating things the way Man City wants them to, but that they still believe the club has done nothing wrong. City is appealing the guilty verdict and will likely appeal whatever sanctions are handed down. Maybe the club hasn't done what it is accused of, and the verdict will be overturned.
Enzo Maresca and Erling Haaland could be toeing the company line because they believe that is the correct line to follow. They have that right, of course, and the hope is that their belief will be rewarded.
The bottom line, though, is that as much as members of the club keep saying we all need to stick together, the truth is that Manchester City fans are going to do that anyway. Fans have followed the club before it returned to the Premier League and will support the club if it gets booted out of the league. You don't have to tell us to stick with the club; we will do that anyway.
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