Frank Heinen: Manchester City scandal stripped the team of its soul

While the local pride around the introduction of the tube radio was still struggling with modest resources, suddenly talented newcomers poured into Manchester City, a development that Frank Heinen – journalist and columnist for VI – would later link to a controversial scandal surrounding travel expenses and ‘envelopes’.

The column, titled ‘The nuclear waste of the Manchester City‑scandal’, appeared in the VI‑weekly and has a reading time of four minutes, in which Heinen outlines his personal observations on the crisis.

Around the time Heinen made his debut in the first eleven of the local pride – a few years after the arrival of the tube radio – new lads occasionally appeared on the pitch, coming from amateur clubs in the region.

These players were fine footballers, often better than the existing squad, and had spent several years in BVO‑youth academies. They arrived in more expensive cars, smoked ‘smoother’ and usually left the team after only a few training sessions.

Rumor about travel expenses and ‘envelopes’

The rumor about ‘envelopes’ circulated, with talk of generously measured travel expense reimbursements that the newcomers were said to have received.

Briefly, the eleven played better than ever, but with the improved play the soul left the team, causing the initial sparkle to fade quickly.

Over time the flow of good players dried up; around the same period Heinen himself stopped playing football to investigate whether other sectors had travel expense reimbursements for him.