Will Sunderland's slide and City's first scandal be 21st-century pointers?

Premier League verdict on champions could be seismic and if found guilty the precedents are unfavourable

- Jonathan Wilson

There is a sense that the 130-plus Premier League charges Manchester City are facing are unprecedented, and in terms of the potential fallout that may be true. City have the wealth and, it seems, the will to pursue extraordinarily costly legal action. If they are found guilty – and it should be stressed that they deny all charges – the implications for the club and the league could be seismic. But the charges are not unprecedented. Twice before in the 150-year history of English football, clubs have faced major investigations into illegal payments. Both had hugely significant consequences for the clubs involved.

The 1906 City scandal

Ardwick had been among the original members of the Second Division of the Football League when they were founded in 1892. They became Manchester City after financial problems in 1893-94 and, that summer, they signed Billy Meredith, a 19-year-old Welsh miner who played on the wing, from Northwich Victoria. A decade later Meredith had become the biggest star in the game and City looked like becoming a major club.

City had been promoted in 1899 and, in 1904, they won the FA Cup, beating Bolton 1-0 with a goal from Meredith. They returned home to a great parade, the streets packed, people hanging from the upper stories of buildings, a brass band playing. It was the first trophy in City's history and there was every reason to believe they would go on to win a lot more. But two weeks later the Football Association secretary, Frederick Wall, and a member of the FA general council, John Lewis, arrived at the club's Hyde Road ground and demanded to see the books.