Andy Burnham’s Shifted Stance on Manchester City: What It Reveals

First, there was his expressed fear — being “really concerned” — that the enormous wealth flowing in from Abu Dhabi, which has reshaped not only the club but significant parts of the city, might be withdrawn.

Second, his assertion that “I can’t intervene more” in the process now underway. But what does “more” actually mean?

To be fair, as the full quote above and his other remarks in the interview show, he was attempting to tread carefully throughout.

“I am not getting directly involved in the process,” he told me, later adding, “I have to keep my distance from it.”

Yet the cumulative impression many took away was one of sympathy toward Manchester City’s position — not least because he repeatedly drew parallels with a much smaller dispute over his own club Everton’s finances several years ago.

“I remember people proclaiming Everton guilty at the time, and you know, with hindsight, I think more people would say that wasn’t fair the way it was handled. So it would be wrong of me to leap to one side given the experience I’d had before becoming prime minister.”

Everton were docked Premier League points over the affair.

Despite the gravity and scale of what Manchester City now faces, Andy Burnham offered no explicit criticism of the club.

The back pages, sports channels, news sites, and social media erupted with reaction.

And by teatime on Thursday, No. 10 was backtracking.

A written statement was issued — worth quoting in full:

“As the prime minister made clear, the initial judgement is serious and there can’t be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules. He also stressed that it is an ongoing independent process. It is essential that it is allowed to run its course and the outcome respected.

“If wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face the appropriate consequences.”

Some 59 words that might as well have been accompanied by a picture of a reversing light — the tone and language were entirely different from Burnham’s on-camera remarks.

But even that statement did not last. Within an hour, it was reissued with a critical change: the word “if” in the second paragraph was replaced with “wherever.”

In real time, No. 10’s unease and discomfort about the fallout were plain for all to see.

The prime minister, long billed as Mr. Manchester — a man who loves football and cultivates a folksy image — finds himself ensnared in one of the biggest domestic stories of the year, and one that is only just beginning.

This will not be the last time he is questioned about Manchester City.

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