'This may be the biggest story in the Premier League's history'

[Getty Images] Unbelievably, sensible and well-informed people are seriously discussing Manchester City getting a huge points deduction or being demoted or kicked out of the English leagues completely. ‌There is also reasonable talk about them being sued by just about every other major club in the domestic game, and a few beyond that. That is before you get to the concept of titles being stripped and trophies retrospectively re-awarded to others. There is still an appeal to be heard, but they have been found guilty already. Serious consequences must be considered. Following the draconian punishments handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest among others, City might find they don't just have the book thrown at them, it is the entire British Library lobbed in their general direction. Unlike City, those other clubs cooperated in the process. City have faced more charges and they involve larger sums and over a longer time period. In short, things are not looking good for the club that dominated English football for almost a decade. This may be the biggest story in the Premier League's history and it is going to run and run. Other serious considerations will follow hard on the heels of the Sky Blues' dilemmas – specifically what long-term effects will this have on the Premier League? They will not all be good ones. Some reasonably argue that the financial rules that City have been found to have broken shouldn't have been put there in the first place. They were brought in to safeguard the financial security of the clubs and the league, but try telling that to many Man City, Everton and Nottingham Forest fans just now. Newcastle and Aston Villa have plenty of financial backing, but these rules have hurt their ability to grow and stay competitive with the legacy clubs. This all feels unfair if you are a supporter of those two. The money that will now be frittered away by the English game on lawyers and legal fees is eye-watering, and it will grow exponentially as the litigation increases. Pat Nevin writes weekly in the Football Extra newsletter. If you're outside the UK and would like to receive it, sign up here .