Manchester City lace up their gloves ready for another round. Bring your dinner

Seven days after leaking out, the Manchester City saga has become a flood. Peace in our time has disappeared into the distance as football jurisprudence’s longest-running case enters Defcon 1 lawfare. Football Daily is duty bound by its learned friends in the legal department who gamely pick through this cheery teatime email before it reaches you, to say that City continue to deny all charges [we don’t necessarily need this but we’re happy to remain the butt of the joke – Football Daily Lawyers]. Though that also serves as a statement of the bleeding obvious. Club operatives and associates have employed not so much a double but a nonuple-down. The expected appeal has now been lodged by City. The statement was as you’d expect: “The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case.”

The challenge to the Premier League’s published, contested verdict has already reached the levels of bringing your dinner to the fight. City’s key sponsor, Etihad Airways, is getting involved, with reports suggesting it is appointing a law firm that received a “most feared” industry gong five years in a row to state its case. Yikes! Even Pep Guardiola only managed four titles on the bounce. These days Guardiola is global ambassador for the City Football Group. As such, he has already joined Liam Gallagher and Curly Watts actor Kevin Kennedy in fighting from the blue corner on social media disgraces boiling with militant fans arguing points of commercial law while decrying “the Red Cartel”.

With each hour has come a plot twist in the fight against the verdict that unblinking club suit Ferran Soriano described via video link to staff as a mere “opinion”, which fed into a “Premier League conspiracy theory”. Contrary to previous pushing back – since 2008 – against City being depicted as a state-owned entity on the grounds that Sheikh Mansour’s ownership was as a private individual, came the revelation the money inflating City’s sponsorship coffers came not via Mansour’s investment vehicle but the Abu Dhabi state government. This, say the legal experts – and social media disgrace sleuths – is likely to form “the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” that City’s people argue is the winning hand. The original published verdict – if redacted, sans appendices – has already rejected that angle as “untrue”. Awkward. Further stirring of the hotpot: on Thursday, the UK government’s treasury committee asked tax authorities what action will be taken in response to the verdict’s findings.

All rather complicated, to the lawyers the spoils. And from the soft power of owning a football club, the harsh realities of geopolitics have entered the chat. Prime minister Andy Burnham has had No 10 Downing Street wonks issuing two clarifications of his initial public utterings on the City affair. Everton Andy’s Manchesterism involved key partnerships with the same Abu Dhabi state government that now admits funding the club found guilty on 100-plus Premier League charges. Added to that, reports of potential political pressure on the UK government from Abu Dhabi, a key trading partner, and calls from the Liberal Democrats for Burnham to publish details of all his meetings with the club’s owners. Manchester City, so much to answer for.

Join Rob Smyth for red-hot Nations League updates on France 0-0 Italy from 7.45pm BST.

“I do think we could be kinder to each other. I chose to live back down here because I wanted to be on the ground, I wanted to be called a w@nker to my face. The [Geopolitics] World Cup [playoff defeat] moved, I just felt the shift … look, I am a strong person, I think we all are, but it’s the people around me I’m conscious of. It’s just society. What are we? Eight prime ministers in the space of 11 years? It’s nuts … we’re such a small country, why can’t we have each other’s backs? Why don’t we look after each other more? The others can go at us. We’re too quick [to criticise]” – Craig Bellamy had a few things to get off his chest after Wales’s 2-1 win over Norway.

In the absence of a more august body tackling the issue, may I be so bold as to suggest both an expansion, and a revision of the much missed Gareth Bale Scale, given the state of our long-ago once ‘beautiful game’ (and an overlong international break). Thus: Infantino, Manchester City, Southampton, VAR, Argentina. In this topsy-turvy world, top, is of course bottom, or thereabouts” – Michael Lloyd.

I am struggling to think of any other jurisprudence where the true victims of the crime (the fans) are also the victims of the punishment. As Spanish Football Daily would say, siempre pagan justos por pecadores” – Mark Brookes.

Having nothing better to do this evening, I knocked up a little Python program to replay the results of several ‘tainted’ seasons, to see what effect might be had from removing Manchester City’s results. I got a hit for 2010-11 where Blackpool, who finished second from bottom and were relegated, would have actually come fourth from bottom had there been no City games. Look, I know it doesn’t really make any sense, my doing this, but still intriguing” – John Guthrie.

Re: yesterday’s Football Daily. As one of Cristiano Ronaldo’s greatest advocates, I’m really delighted to see Portugal struggling without the mighty one. What? Eh? Oh?” – Martyn Shapter.

If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day goes to … John Guthrie (for the best use of time). Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.

Jürgen Klopp was able to break out his broad, shiny smile for the first time as Germany manager on Thursday, notching his first win in the job with a 2-0 cruise against Serbia in Munich. Florian Wirtz played a starring role on his first start under Klopp, his smart footwork leading to Tom Bischof’s first goal after a shot off the far post before his own super-smart turn and cool finish doubling their lead in the second half. “He was bursting with joy and worked incredibly hard,” cheered Klopp. “That was exceptional; he played a fantastic game. Our style of play suits Flo Wirtz.” That was followed by a hint-hint to Anfield: “I don’t even know what Flo has to do right to make everyone happy. Everyone in Liverpool should be happy today.” A first Premier League goal this season might make everyone there happier, though it may get lost in the narrative of the next game: Manchester City at home.

Sir Alex Ferguson has said he was “terrified” at the prospect of returning to Old Trafford for the first time after brain surgery in 2018. The former manager took his seat opposite the stand named after him for a match against Wolves four months after a brain haemorrhage. “I was terrified actually,” Ferguson told the BBC. “I wish I could say I was comfortable. I wasn’t. My wife was with me and she was nearly crying. When we sat down, she said: ‘That’s fantastic.’”

Heimir Hallgrímsson reckons Troy Parrott has reached a whole new level after his Messi-esque solo dribble and finish was the first of his two goals in Republic of Ireland’s 2-2 draw with Austria. “There aren’t many players that can do what he did … it is magical for Irish football to have him in a green shirt,” cooed Hallgrímsson, before being accused of of taking Parrott off too early in a match halted twice in the first half due to pro-Palestine protests.

A penny for Cristiano Ronaldo’s thoughts after the Portugal team he walked out on enjoyed a rampant 4-2 win against Denmark. Here’s the roundup.

Carlo Ancelotti reckons a draw with Panama proves India will be no pushovers when Brazil’s friendly roadshow arrives in Kolkata. “We have full respect for our opponents,” he soothed. “Cricket is part of their culture; football is not the most important game – but that doesn’t mean they don’t love [it].”

Manchester City head coach Andrée Jeglertz says the noise surrounding the guilty verdict dished out by the Premier League had zero impact on his team during the high-quality 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in Women’s Bigger Cup.

Renowned shy guy Robbie Savage is relishing the opportunity to prove any doubters wrong after being appointed Peterborough boss. “Everyone’s entitled to their opinion but all I want is a chance. I’ve done it all my life,” he wailed. “When I was released by Manchester United I was told I wasn’t good enough, when I moved to Leicester I wasn’t in the team and had to battle. Nobody’s given me anything in this world, I’ve earned it and I’ve worked hard for it.”

Ian Holloway has entered zombie mode after knack-hit Swindon’s poor start to the season in League Two. “Dead. Man. Walking. That’s how it feels,” he sighed. “I know what I’ve done, I know where I am, I know the problems I’ve got here, I’ve tried to explain them openly and honestly to everybody. For [the players] to have a chance, boy oh boy, don’t we need something to go right immediately [before the trip to Rochdale].”

And Buckie Thistle have thanked top, top horror scribe Stephen King for his “fantastic” donation towards a fundraising campaign to help secure their future. “We don’t want to disclose the sum but it is a nice little figure that will keep us going,” cheered interim chief suit Daniel Farquhar. “It will help pay for players and operation costs and things like that.” The Scottish Highland League club featured in King’s novel, If It Bleeds, six years ago and were given a special copy by the author that was auctioned off to raise funds.

Endrick, Kroupi, Bergvall and co – checking in on our Next Generation class of 2023.

Criminal or saviour? Rui Pinto has been abandoned by Portuguese authorities after Manchester City leaks, report Ed Aarons and Miguel Dantas.

Slaven Bilic is back, baby, and