DELETECITY

Nine seasons without City · 2009/10 to 2017/18

Three titles change hands.

Take Manchester City's league games out of nine Premier League seasons and the trophy moves three times: to Manchester United in 2011/12 and 2017/18, and to Liverpool in 2013/14. Below the title Tottenham gain most often, and only one club is pushed down.

  1. 2009/10ChelseaSame champion
  2. 2010/11Man UtdSame champion
  3. 2011/12Man UtdChanges hands
  4. 2012/13Man UtdSame champion
  5. 2013/14LiverpoolChanges hands
  6. 2014/15ChelseaSame champion
  7. 2015/16LeicesterSame champion
  8. 2016/17ChelseaSame champion
  9. 2017/18Man UtdChanges hands
The long read The Ledger

The long read

The decade, rebuilt.

On Christmas Day 2009 Manchester City were sixth, 12 points behind Chelsea with a game in hand. Two years later they were top on Christmas Day for the first time since 1929. By the last day of 2017/18 they had 100 points. In between they won three league titles.

Now take them out. Every cup final stands. Every other league result stands. Only City go, with the 38 league games they played each season: 342 matches across nine seasons. What is left is nine tables of 19 clubs, and a different decade.

The titles

Start with the trophy, because that is where City's absence is loudest. In six of the nine seasons the champion is the same club either way: Chelsea in 2009/10, 2014/15 and 2016/17, Manchester United in 2010/11 and 2012/13, and Leicester in 2015/16, still ten points clear. The other three are the three City won.

2011/12 is the one everybody remembers. City and United finished level on 89 points and City took the title on goal difference, the first Premier League title decided that way. Sergio Agüero's winner against QPR arrived 15 seconds after the final whistle at Sunderland, where United had won 1–0. Take City out and there is no finish to remember. United lose nothing, because City beat them in both league games, and win the league by 20 points, 89 to Tottenham's 69.

2013/14 turns on a slip. In late April Liverpool lost 2–0 at home to Chelsea after Steven Gerrard slipped and Demba Ba scored; City won their last five league games and the title by two points. Without City, Liverpool's 84 points become 81, and they are champions, three clear of Arsenal.

2017/18 is the closest of all. City's 100 points left United 19 behind. Without City, United's 78 beat Tottenham's 77 by a single point, and José Mourinho is champion. For real, he was sacked on 18 December 2018, with United sixth and 19 points behind Liverpool.

Read the rebuilt champions in order and United win three in a row, from 2010/11 to 2012/13. Those were Sir Alex Ferguson's last three seasons; he announced his retirement in May 2013.

Ferguson's last three seasons, three titles.

The fourth place

4 of 8

Champions League places City won through the league, 2010/11 to 2017/18, that go to Tottenham

If the titles are the headline, fourth place is the story, and Tottenham have the biggest part in it.

For real, Spurs finished in the top four five times in these nine seasons, and one of those didn't count. In 2011/12 they were fourth and still went into the Europa League, because Chelsea, sixth, won the Champions League in Munich, and under the rules then in force the holders' place came out of fourth. Without City, Spurs are in the top four in eight seasons of nine, every one with a Champions League place, some through the play-off round. Three are new, in 2010/11, 2012/13 and 2014/15, and in 2011/12 they are second, out of Munich's reach.

2012/13 is the cruellest. Spurs' 72 points was then the highest for a club finishing outside the top four in a 38-game Premier League season; they missed fourth by a point. Without City they have three points fewer and finish fourth, ten clear of Liverpool.

In 2014/15 they lose nothing at all. City beat them 4–1 at home in October and 1–0 away in May, so all 64 points stand, and 64 is fourth, four clear of Southampton.

Top four in eight of nine seasons: Tottenham, without City.

Everyone else

The other Champions League places go round the table one at a time. Everton, fifth in 2013/14 in Roberto Martínez's first season after David Moyes, finish fourth on the same 72 points. Arsenal, fifth in 2016/17 and outside the top four for the first time in 20 years, finish third, two points above Liverpool, and go straight into the Champions League group stage.

Two more fifth-placed sides make the top four, and they have something in common. Manchester United were fifth on goal difference behind City in 2015/16; Chelsea were fifth in 2017/18. Both managers won the FA Cup that May, and both were sacked within two months of the final. Sky Sports reported that Louis van Gaal went after “a fifth-place finish in the Premier League and failure to qualify for the Champions League”. Antonio Conte went on 13 July. Without City, United are fourth on 62 and Chelsea fourth on 70.

Liverpool twice take the Europa League place for fifth, in 2010/11 and 2012/13; for real, sixth and seventh sent them nowhere. Newcastle finish fourth in 2011/12, but that year fourth wasn't a Champions League place, because Chelsea took it as holders.

The one club pushed down

Almost every change in these nine tables is somebody's gain. There is one exception. On the last day of 2010/11 Blackpool went down, beaten 4–2 at Old Trafford, and Wolves survived in 17th on 40 points despite losing 3–2 at home to Blackburn. Blackpool took no points off City. Wolves took three, from a 2–1 win in October.

Without City, Blackpool's 39 points are enough for 16th, and Wolves and Birmingham, 37 each, fall below them. Wolves go down instead. Sporting Intelligence put the cost of relegation that May at about £40m; in the rebuilt table it is Wolves' bill, not Blackpool's. For real, Wolves were relegated the following season anyway, with three games to spare, in April 2012.

No other club changes category downward in nine seasons, and no other relegation changes. The drop is where City's absence matters least: they took points off the bottom clubs like everyone else, and the bottom three stay the bottom three in eight seasons of nine.

What it meant

Without City the decade belongs to the old guard. United win four titles and Chelsea three; Liverpool and Leicester win one each.

Which of the three moved titles would you take? United's by 20, with no finish anyone would remember; Liverpool's, with the slip still in it; or Mourinho's, by a single point? And for Tottenham, is eight top-four finishes in nine seasons a bigger change than any trophy?

Take City out of nine seasons and three trophies move. A Champions League place moves in eight.

Highlights

One moment from each season.

The change from each season worth telling someone about.

  1. 2009/10

    Same champions. By seven, not one.

    Chelsea lose nothing for their two defeats by City; United lose the six points from their two wins. 86 to 79, not 86 to 85.

    Read 2009/10: Same champions. By seven, not one.

  2. 2010/11

    Blackpool stay up. Wolves go down instead.

    Blackpool took nothing off City and keep all 39 points. Wolves lose the three from their October win, and fall below them.

    Read 2010/11: Blackpool stay up. Wolves go down instead.

  3. 2011/12

    The 15 seconds never happen. United by 20.

    City beat United twice, so United lose nothing. 89 points to Tottenham's 69, and no final day.

    Read 2011/12: The 15 seconds never happen. United by 20.

  4. 2012/13

    Spurs make the top four, on three points fewer.

    72 points and fifth for real. 69 and fourth without City, ten clear of Liverpool.

    Read 2012/13: Spurs make the top four, on three points fewer.

  5. 2013/14

    Liverpool win the league. Slip and all.

    The slip against Chelsea still happens. Liverpool lose three points and finish three clear of Arsenal.

    Read 2013/14: Liverpool win the league. Slip and all.

  6. 2014/15

    Beaten twice by City. Top four anyway.

    Two defeats by City cost Spurs nothing. All 64 points stand, four clear of Southampton.

    Read 2014/15: Beaten twice by City. Top four anyway.

  7. 2015/16

    United finish fourth. The reason given for van Gaal's exit goes.

    Level with City on 66 for real, and fifth on goal difference. Without City, 62 points and the last Champions League place.

    Read 2015/16: United finish fourth. The reason given for van Gaal's exit goes.

  8. 2016/17

    Arsenal finish third, not fifth.

    For real, their first finish outside the top four in 20 years. Without City, two points above Liverpool and straight into the group stage.

    Read 2016/17: Arsenal finish third, not fifth.

  9. 2017/18

    Mourinho wins the league. By one point.

    United 78, Tottenham 77. For real, City's 100 points left United 19 behind.

    Read 2017/18: Mourinho wins the league. By one point.

The Ledger

Who gains, who loses.

Every club whose titles, top-four finishes or relegations change without City: nine of them. The other 26 that played in these seasons end the decade the same either way.

  • Gain: a title, a Champions League place, or survival
  • Smaller change: fifth and the Europa League, or a higher Champions League place that skips the play-off round
  • Loss: relegated
  • Newcastle, 2011/12: fourth, but fourth wasn't a Champions League place that year
  • 54 real position → position without City
The Ledger: for every club whose fate changes, its real and rebuilt league position in each season, then its titles, top-four finishes, Champions League places and relegations across the nine seasons, real → without City. UCL: Champions League. UEL: Europa League. Positions: real out of 20, rebuilt out of 19.
Club09/1010/1111/1212/1313/1414/1515/1616/1717/18TitlesTop fourUCL placesRelegated
Man Utd9 seasons2 real, 2 without City1 real, 1 without City▲ Title2 real, 1 without City1 real, 1 without City7 real, 6 without City▲ No play-off4 real, 3 without City▲ UCL5 real, 4 without City6 real, 5 without City▲ Title2 real, 1 without City2 real, 4 without City, +26 real, 7 without City, +16 real, 7 without City, +10 real, 0 without City, ±0
Spurs9 seasons4 real, 4 without City▲ UCL5 real, 4 without City▲ UCL4 real, 2 without City▲ UCL5 real, 4 without City6 real, 5 without City▲ UCL5 real, 4 without City3 real, 3 without City2 real, 2 without City3 real, 2 without City0 real, 0 without City, ±05 real, 8 without City, +34 real, 8 without City, +40 real, 0 without City, ±0
Liverpool9 seasons7 real, 6 without City▲ UEL6 real, 5 without City8 real, 7 without City▲ UEL7 real, 5 without City▲ Title2 real, 1 without City6 real, 6 without City8 real, 7 without City4 real, 4 without City4 real, 3 without City0 real, 1 without City, +13 real, 3 without City, ±03 real, 3 without City, ±00 real, 0 without City, ±0
Arsenal9 seasons3 real, 3 without City▲ No play-off4 real, 3 without City3 real, 3 without City▲ No play-off4 real, 3 without City▲ No play-off4 real, 2 without City3 real, 2 without City2 real, 2 without City▲ UCL5 real, 3 without City6 real, 5 without City0 real, 0 without City, ±07 real, 8 without City, +17 real, 8 without City, +10 real, 0 without City, ±0
Blackpool1 seasonnot in the league▲ Stays up19 real, 16 without Citynot in the leaguenot in the leaguenot in the leaguenot in the leaguenot in the leaguenot in the leaguenot in the league0 real, 0 without City, ±00 real, 0 without City, ±00 real, 0 without City, ±01 real, 0 without City, −1
Chelsea9 seasons1 real, 1 without City2 real, 2 without City6 real, 5 without City3 real, 2 without City3 real, 3 without City1 real, 1 without City10 real, 8 without City1 real, 1 without City▲ UCL5 real, 4 without City3 real, 3 without City, ±06 real, 7 without City, +16 real, 7 without City, +10 real, 0 without City, ±0
Everton9 seasons8 real, 7 without City7 real, 7 without City7 real, 6 without City6 real, 6 without City▲ UCL5 real, 4 without City11 real, 9 without City11 real, 10 without City7 real, 6 without City8 real, 7 without City0 real, 0 without City, ±00 real, 1 without City, +10 real, 1 without City, +10 real, 0 without City, ±0
Newcastle7 seasonsnot in the league12 real, 9 without CitySame Europa League5 real, 4 without City16 real, 13 without City10 real, 9 without City15 real, 14 without City18 real, 17 without Citynot in the league10 real, 9 without City0 real, 0 without City, ±00 real, 1 without City, +10 real, 0 without City, ±01 real, 1 without City, ±0
Wolves3 seasons15 real, 13 without City▼ Down17 real, 17 without City20 real, 19 without Citynot in the leaguenot in the leaguenot in the leaguenot in the leaguenot in the leaguenot in the league0 real, 0 without City, ±00 real, 0 without City, ±00 real, 0 without City, ±01 real, 2 without City, +1

Computed from the published data: download the Ledger (CSV). Champions League places are the top four by league position, except 2011/12, when the holders' place came out of fourth in both tables. City are not on the Ledger: their three titles and eight top-four finishes are what the other clubs share out.

The money, where it is sourced

What each place was worth to the club that really held it, at the time and in the currency it was paid in. Nobody in a rebuilt table earns anything.

  1. 2010/11 Spurs · Champions League place

    €29.6m what the 2011/12 Champions League paid Arsenal, fourth for real, through the play-off round (€29,639,000). UEFA Financial Report 2011/12 The report has no play-off column; UEFA paid every play-off club €2.1m, win or lose (UEFA, 13 Jul 2012).

  2. 2010/11 Liverpool · Fifth: the Europa League place

    €3.3m what the 2011/12 Europa League paid Tottenham, who held fifth's place for real, entering at the play-off round. UEFA Financial Report 2011/12 Spurs' accounts put that season's European gate receipts and prize money at £6.4m, down from £37.1m in the Champions League year (Tottenham Hotspur plc, annual report 2012).

  3. 2010/11 Arsenal · Higher place, no play-off round

    No money separates the routes: UEFA paid all 20 play-off clubs €2.1m, win or lose (UEFA, 13 Jul 2012). What the higher place removes is the risk of dropping into the Europa League.

  4. 2010/11 Blackpool · Stays up

    about £40m Sporting Intelligence's estimate of what relegation cost. For real, Blackpool paid it; without City, they escape it. Sporting Intelligence, 24 May 2011

  5. 2010/11 Wolves · Relegated

    about £40m Sporting Intelligence's estimate of what relegation cost, May 2011. In the rebuilt table it is Wolves' bill, not Blackpool's. Sporting Intelligence, 24 May 2011

  6. 2011/12 Man Utd · Title

    The money barely moves. The prize-money step from second to first was one merit place: £755,062 (Sporting Intelligence, 14 May 2012). In all, United were paid £276,952 less than champions City: £60,325,337 to £60,602,289.

  7. 2011/12 Spurs · Champions League place

    €8.6m the 2012/13 Champions League group-stage participation fee, before €1m a win. UEFA, 10 Aug 2012 For comparison, the 2012/13 Europa League paid €1.3m to take part (UEFA, 23 Jul 2013).

  8. 2011/12 Newcastle · Fourth, but not a Champions League place that year

    No money moves: Newcastle go into the same Europa League either way, the one that paid them €6.0m in 2012/13 (UEFA Financial Report 2012/13).

  9. 2012/13 Spurs · Champions League place

    €27.2m or €28.7m what the 2013/14 Champions League paid Arsenal, fourth for real, through the play-off round, not counting the €2.1m play-off payment: €27,232,000 in UEFA's distribution to clubs, €28.7m in UEFA's financial report for that season. UEFA, 2013/14 distribution; UEFA Financial Report 2013/14

  10. 2012/13 Liverpool · Fifth: the Europa League place

    €5.9m what the 2013/14 Europa League paid Tottenham, who held fifth's place for real, entering at the play-off round (€5,939,592). UEFA, 2013/14 distribution

  11. 2012/13 Arsenal · Higher place, no play-off round

    No money separates the routes: UEFA paid all 20 play-off clubs €2.1m, win or lose (UEFA, 8 Aug 2013). What the higher place removes is the risk of dropping into the Europa League.

  12. 2013/14 Liverpool · Title

    The money barely moves. The prize-money step from second to first was one merit place: £1,236,083 (Sporting Intelligence, 14 May 2014). In all, runners-up Liverpool were paid more than champions City: £97,544,336 to £96,578,329.

  13. 2013/14 Arsenal · Higher place, no play-off round

    No money separates the routes: UEFA paid all 20 play-off clubs €2.1m, win or lose (UEFA, 2014/15 distribution). What the higher place removes is the risk of dropping into the Europa League. Sports Illustrated put the group stage at about €30m to Arsenal before their 2014 play-off (estimate, 27 Aug 2014).

  14. 2013/14 Everton · Champions League place

    €36.4m what the 2014/15 Champions League paid Arsenal, who took the fourth place for real (€36,381,000). UEFA, 2014/15 distribution

  15. 2014/15 Man Utd · Higher place, no play-off round

    No money separates the routes: the 20 clubs in the 2015/16 play-off round, winners included, shared €50m (UEFA, 1 Nov 2016). What the higher place removes is the risk of dropping into the Europa League.

  16. 2014/15 Spurs · Champions League place

    €38.1m what the 2015/16 Champions League paid Man Utd, who took fourth for real, through the play-off round (€38,130,000, the €2m play-off payment included). UEFA, 2015/16 distribution For comparison, Spurs' 2014/15 Europa League run earned €6.1m.

  17. 2015/16 Man Utd · Champions League place

    £21m what United's finance chief said a second straight season outside the Champions League would cost in Adidas money: 30% of a £70m year. Goal, 16 May 2017

  18. 2016/17 Arsenal · Champions League place

    £34.6m the fall in Arsenal's football revenue, from £422.8m to £388.2m, the year after they finished fifth; the club said it was “mainly attributable” to the Europa League (year to 31 May 2018). Arsenal FC accounts, 2018

  19. 2017/18 Man Utd · Title

    The money barely moves. The prize-money step from second to first was one merit place: £1,931,268 (Sporting Intelligence, 17 May 2018). In all, runners-up United were paid more than champions City: £149,767,145 to £149,438,654.

  20. 2017/18 Chelsea · Champions League place

    £30m Goal's estimate of the TV revenue Chelsea would lose by missing the Champions League. Goal, 13 May 2018

What each place was worth, season by season.

The prize money, Europe and the price of going down, in each season's own money.

What each place was worth, season by season: the Premier League merit payment per place, the next season's Champions League and Europa League group-stage fees, the first-year parachute payment and the estimated value of promotion.
SeasonPremier League merit payment, per placeChampions League group-stage fee, the next seasonEuropa League group-stage fee, the next seasonParachute, first year, per club relegatedValue of promotion (estimate)
2009/10£800,424€3.9m + €550,000 a group match€640,000 + €60,000 a group matchno sourced figure£90m (Deloitte, Apr 2010)
2010/11£756,756€3.9m + €550,000 a group match€640,000 + €60,000 a group match£15,475,005 paid; £16m estimated (Sporting Intelligence, May 2011) (contested)£90m (Deloitte, published 2016)
2011/12£755,062€8.6m€1.3mno sourced figure£90m (Deloitte, published 2016)
2012/13£755,881€8.6m€1.3mno sourced figure£130m (Deloitte, published 2016) or £120m (Sporting Intelligence, May 2013): estimates differ
2013/14£1,236,083€8.6m€1.3m£25m£130m (Deloitte, published 2016) or £120m (Deloitte, published 2024): estimates differ
2014/15£1,244,898€12m (announced for 2015–18)€2.4m (announced for 2015–18)£25,937,356£130m (Deloitte, published 2016) or £120m (Deloitte, published 2024): estimates differ
2015/16£1,242,405€12.7m€2.6m£41m£170m (Deloitte, May 2016)
2016/17£1,941,609€12.7m€2.6m£41.57mno sourced figure
2017/18£1,931,268€15.25m announced; €14.5m minimum paid (contested)€2.92m announced; €2.75m in UEFA's financial report (contested)£42.6mabout £170m (Deloitte, 26 May 2018) or at least £160m (Deloitte, 22 May 2018): estimates differ

Currencies are never converted or added. Every figure is at the time, as paid or announced; a European fee is for the season the league place led to. Estimates and contested values are marked; a dash means no sourced figure. The Champions League fee was paid only to clubs in the group stage: fourth place went into the play-off round every season from 2009/10 to 2016/17 (in 2011/12 it went to the holders, Chelsea), and straight into the group stage in 2017/18.

Matchday revenue per home match, 2009/10 (Deloitte Football Money League 2011): Man Utd £3.6m, Arsenal £3.5m, Chelsea £2.4m, Liverpool £1.6m, Spurs £1.5m.

The money stays on the record. Across the nine seasons Manchester City's net spend was £901.2m in reported fees, the highest of 36 clubs, with 50 undisclosed deals counted as zero. Every club's transfers, window by window

Who City bought from

£1,127.4M IN REPORTED FEES. £315.5M TO PREMIER LEAGUE CLUBS.

28.0% went to clubs in the Premier League that season: Everton, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Swansea City, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers. Plus 14 City signings with undisclosed fees.

Reported transfer fees only. Nothing here says where any club's money came from, or links any deal to the case.

Who City bought from

The case has moved to Latest news

All nine seasons

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