Very little of the process has been decided at this stage - parties don’t even agree which rule book applies. There is unlikely to be agreement between City and the PL on the process, order of events and timetable. This means hearings will be needed to decide - this all takes time. It is already mid October. The parties will not be asked to take part in a sanction hearing and simultaneously prepare for an appeal. It will largely be the same legal teams and it is pretty unlikely everybody key is available in Q4 2026 anyway. Whatever order is agreed will need time - I’d be cautious about any article suggesting very tight sequences from this point. As for “insiders’” view on sanctions, the most that can be leaked is how the Premier League’s legal team intend to play it - aggressively per Everton (scaled up for many charges) or more passively like the FA in the Chelsea case. Nobody knows how the IC will decide although it is obvious they are very against MCFC given their decision.