Topic: General Manchester City thread

[Iska]

Manchester City, the Abu Dhabi PR project. Well done.

It’s pretty funny how catastrophic this week of greatest triumph has become for them, PRwise.  And still three days left.  Maybe they can boo Abide With Me at Wembley, that’d round it off nicely.

[CraigDS]

Holy fucking what what?

http://bit.ly/LeaksManCity

Totally missed this.

Somebody explain this project to me?! If you're in this for positive PR then why don't you, you know, play within the rules and not behave like aggressive lawyered-up megarich cuntbags when you're found out?

Because rather than buying a top club which they could get to the top with relatively small investment and inline with FFP they bought a totally nothing club and realised they needed to spend nearly £3bn (and still not get to a CL final).

[BarryCrocker]

It’s pretty funny how catastrophic this week of greatest triumph has become for them, PRwise.  And still three days left.  Maybe they can boo Abide With Me at Wembley, that’d round it off nicely.

They're professional winners.

[Qston]

It's no surprise that City have gone full out in attacking UEFA. This isn't just about sporting issues, but Abu Dhabi's reputation is on the line here. We all know that Qatar bought PSG and Abu Dhabi City in an attempt to "sportwash" their image and improve their reputation in the western world. If they get found guilty of fraud and deceiving the authorities, then this will tarnish the credibility of Abu Dhabi in the long-term and not just in sport.

Imagine if they get thrown out of Europe for fraud and then there's a crisis in the middle-east and the UAE shows evidence that supports their case. Who's going to believe it? I wonder how Dubai and the other emirates feel about the possibility of being tarnished by this as well.

Already there are rumours that Qatar are getting restless at PSG and who can blame them? If they win the treble everyone else shrugs their shoulders and say no wonder with the amount they spend. When they fuck up, the rest of the world laughs at them. Instead of gaining respect, PSG is becoming a joke in european football.

Similarly I wonder if Abu Dhabi will start questioning their return on investment at City. Even if they win the treble, the shrug won't be as big as with PSG, but it's not seen as a massive achievement. Pep has already given out about the "unfair" press coverage compared to us. I found amusing that the football365 top article after City winning the league was about how we won't be going away next year instead of their season. They won the league last Sunday and four days later they've been accused of cheating and fraud, and received bad press due to their disgusting song about us. Next thing will be the premier league and/or FA investigating them.

They have a cup final in two days and no one cares. All the football related news is about the european finals and United's shitness. The only press they're getting is about them being cheats and classless twats.

The case will hopefully run for years and will be headline news for a couple of weeks over summer. Similarly to how fans find it funny to sing about Gerrard's slip, and boo'd Beckham and Sterling for various reasons not related to anything against their club, I can imagine all the other fans will suddenly jump the the bandwagon and start having ago at them for being cheats. If that happens these chants won't be going away for years, just like the Gerrard chant, and this is regardless of how the investigation turns out. Do Abu Dhabi want to be accused of being cheats anywhere they play for years?

If it is entirely about sportswashing their image, and their image is then being tarnished, then ultimately that only leads to one thing. They get out of the club that is no longer serving its purpose.

[Kekule]

Nothing creates the impression of total innocence like going on the offensive and attacking the investigators.  I can’t think who that reminds me of.

The minute people start doing that they give themselves away and you know they’ve got something to hide, whether you can prove it is another matter.  I don’t know much PR but surely the sensible thing to say is something like “whilst we are disappointed in the decision we welcome the opportunity to finally clear our name after years of rumour, allegation and accusation”  That’s what someone with nothing to hide, or at least trying to create the impression of having nothing to hide,  would say publically.

They've shown themselves up royally since the final whistle was blown on Sunday.  They've even got some sections of the media slowly backing away and trying to distance themselves.

[Manic]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48286333

Is Raheem Sterling the most influential sportsperson is Britain?




.... 

[Lofty Ambitions]

If it is entirely about sportswashing their image, and their image is then being tarnished, then ultimately that only leads to one thing. They get out of the club that is no longer serving its purpose.

"Never reinforce failure" is a rule of thumb in military strategy. Would suit this situation to a tee, methinks 

[Raid]

I agree that Uefa are likely under pressure from clubs in Europe, perhaps including our owners, to do something about this. I imagine the Bayern’s, Real’s, Barca’s etc will use the continued threat of a breakaway competition to make sure this is seen through.

This has been a disaster of a week for them. Gives me a little comfort, doesn’t remove the fact their actions have prevented us having one of the greatest days in our lives though.

[Ravishing Rick Dude]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48292248

So basically Mancity trying to do this:

[kennedy81]

It's Trump deflection 101.

Yep, the parallels are uncanny. Right down to the braying gobshites on social media talking conspiratorial nonsense on a daily basis.

[QC]

That would suit them down to the ground - just have to hope UEFA set a precedence now.

I think the truth is UEFA do not want a lengthy legal challenge against the rules, so they may well opt for a settlement. They likely don’t have the resources to match City if it comes to that.

That said, I don’t see the FFP rules as illegal as the City camp seems to claim - and the reality is UEFA have to enforce on this occasion. If they fail to enforce now it’s like saying big clubs can do whatever they want, and that would make the regime just as worthless.

[Alan_X]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48286333

Is Raheem Sterling the most influential sportsperson is Britain?
.... 

He’s probably a decent lad and he’s right to highlight racism in sport...

But, he’s been doing it while being paid by a cheating club owned by country with a despicable human rights record. I’m sure there’s no hypocrisy whatsoever in being paid by a country that treat Asian and African migrant workers as second class citizens and allows men to beat their wives as long as they don’t leave physical marks.

[Crosby Nick]

Yep, the parallels are uncanny. Right down to the braying gobshites on social media talking conspiratorial nonsense on a daily basis.

MAKE A MIKE SHERON GREAT AGAIN!

[demain]

Because rather than buying a top club which they could get to the top with relatively small investment and inline with FFP they bought a totally nothing club and realised they needed to spend nearly £3bn (and still not get to a CL final).

The Qataris made the same mistake buying PSG. Both investment decisions were utterly bewildering. On the Abu Dhabi side, it was undoubtedly driven by ego thinking they can create a behemoth to rival Manchester United. One of the main reasons they bought that club was because it had Manchester in the name.

[CraigDS]

The Qataris made the same mistake buying PSG. Both investment decisions were utterly bewildering. On the Abu Dhabi side, it was undoubtedly driven by ego thinking they can create a behemoth to rival Manchester United. One of the main reasons they bought that club was because it had Manchester in the name.

I'm genuinely shocked they didn't buy us - I mean I'm really happy they didn't - but if they had they could have invested heavily in a stadium with no issues with FFP and with our normal income they could have supplemented within FFP and built something much larger than City are now after over £2.5bn in funding.

[Alan_X]

And have Man City explained which fans were being ‘battered’ in their song if it wasn’t Sean Cox. We’re they just generic Liverpool fans? Is it ok to batter any other Liverpool fan apart from Sean Cox? 

Just asking.
 

[GinKop]

I think the truth is UEFA do not want a lengthy legal challenge against the rules, so they may well opt for a settlement. They likely don’t have the resources to match City if it comes to that.

That said, I don’t see the FFP rules as illegal as the City camp seems to claim - and the reality is UEFA have to enforce on this occasion. If they fail to enforce now it’s like saying big clubs can do whatever they want, and that would make the regime just as worthless.

That's the thing, if UEFA don't enforce the fair and just punishment, they may as well cease FFP all together. These clubs (City and PSG) will have made a mockery of it. 

[Euskadi]

The Qataris made the same mistake buying PSG. Both investment decisions were utterly bewildering. On the Abu Dhabi side, it was undoubtedly driven by ego thinking they can create a behemoth to rival Manchester United. One of the main reasons they bought that club was because it had Manchester in the name.

On the flip side though a smaller club would be a more malleable target to use a platform with the motive of showcasing what they want. If one considers some of the wanky shit City has done including electronic banners/flags ffs, a club like ours would have never accepted it. There needs to be enough desperation and not much of a club identity which is why I believe that City, PSG and Chelsea are actually perfect clubs for such owners. Just my opinion.

[Lush is the best medicine...]

The Qataris made the same mistake buying PSG. Both investment decisions were utterly bewildering. On the Abu Dhabi side, it was undoubtedly driven by ego thinking they can create a behemoth to rival Manchester United. One of the main reasons they bought that club was because it had Manchester in the name.

nah PSG was one where everyone knew if you get that right you will have a massive club there

[CraigDS]

And have Man City explained which fans were being ‘battered’ in their song if it wasn’t Sean Cox. We’re they just generic Liverpool fans? Is it ok to batter any other Liverpool fan apart from Sean Cox? 

Just asking.

Lucky for them all this about UEFA has come out and brushed their reaction to the song under the carpet.

[Statto Red]

For any City lurker who wants a small measure of how meaningful your club and its success is to us, this thread was started in 2011, and has 714 pages.

The Utd thread was started in 2017 and has 726 pages, even though they're shite.

The old Everton thread, started in 2014, reached 1995 ( ) pages, and they're even worse.

Meanwhile the Bluemoon Liverpool thread, started in June 2018, has 2069 pages, second only to Utd on 2072. They've just won the league, yet half their threads on there are talking about Liverpool. Your fans shouting 'Scouse c*nts' upon winning the league, your players singing songs about Liverpool upon winning the league. Obsessed. 

What's even greater is the media have already forgotton about City winning the league (I mean it's not much of a story is it?). The Champions League final on the other hand, whoever wins it, will undoubtedly be getting more coverage. That must sting. Your financial irregularities are all over the media though. Unlucky.

Plus the other United threads we had as well, including LGV & Moyes, Moyes thread gave us hilarity all that season he was there manager.

[thaddeus]

Our media are so inept that they would never have investigated Man City's finances.  They didn't question how a relatively small club could have a net spend of £400m across three seasons whilst also shelling out £250m/year on salaries.  They print fictitious attendances week after week with never a questioning comment.

I had Radio5 on in the build-up to the Man City vs. Leicester City game and one of the guests observed, about five minutes before kick-off, that the stadium looked to have lots of unused seats for a game of such magnitude.  Sure enough Darth Mills dived straight in being a prickly twat and saying the stadium always fills up late.  IT WAS FIVE MINUTES BEFORE KICK-OFF!  Sure enough the footage of the game later on showed no end of empty seats.

Unfortunately for Man City they've tweaked the noses of the like of Bayern and Real, and sure enough their mouth-piece press have gone looking for, and seemingly quite easily found, some dirt.  The motives were wrong but the outcome is right - probably the best any of us can hope for.

[CraigDS]

nah PSG was one where everyone knew if you get that right you will have a massive club there

They won't though.

The French league is piss poor, and without having at least one decent rival you'll always be having to pay over the top to attract players.

[kennedy81]

Speaking of the Trumpish nature of all this, this is a great piece by Seb Stafford-Bloor.

https://www.football365.com/news/pitchforks-and-paranoia-footballs-hologram-sociopath-problem

...


Twenty-four hours after celebrating their club’s second Premier League title in succession, a small band of militant City supporters mobilised on social media, denouncing the report as fiction, questioning the journalist’s motives and scrambling to find a way of discrediting him. Truthfully, there’s probably never been a point in football’s modern history when that wouldn’t have happened. Twitter didn’t create angry reactions or tribalism, it just gave them a platform, so while the type of allegation made against clubs has changed, the supporter instinct to circle the wagons hasn’t.

Where it does differ, however, and where the modern, obfuscating trend is most visible, is in the nature of that effort. Once, all a journalist had to fear in the comments section was angry disagreement and a few accusations about his or her private life. Now, even mild criticism is met with the determined insistence of institutional bias and (or) an allegation of a hardened agenda.

The City story got stranger. Within a few hours of publication, Twitter sleuths had uncovered an old Telegraph story, reporting that The New York Times had once owned a stake in Liverpool. The same stake was sold seven years ago, but it was still a smoking gun – and it remained so, even after that information was made clear and proven irrelevant.

That’s the Trumpish element: the habit of being selective in what you believe and disregarding anything which complicates a desirable conclusion.

...

[demain]

nah PSG was one where everyone knew if you get that right you will have a massive club there

Nope. They are subject to bigger structural disadvantages than City simply because of the second-rate league they play in. That's one of the main reasons they are looking to get out. That project is a bust.

Ultimately they purchased that club because Sarkozy and Platini had a cushy rendez-vous with the Emir and implored him to buy PSG and snap up the rights to French football as there was no real competition for Bein in France.

[Yiannis]

All their fans do re. creating a rivalry with us, is Chelsea textbook behaviour circa 2005 and afterwards.

[Nick110581]

Fuck me. What a joke.

[S]

Apologies if already posted

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/may/15/manchester-city-defence-battered-song-misguided-liverpool

[thaddeus]

Apologies if already posted

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/may/15/manchester-city-defence-battered-song-misguided-liverpool

I'm still waiting for Raheem Sterling - the voice of his generation, no less, according to the BBC - to speak out about this.

[Johnnyboy1973]

And have Man City explained which fans were being ‘battered’ in their song if it wasn’t Sean Cox. We’re they just generic Liverpool fans? Is it ok to batter any other Liverpool fan apart from Sean Cox? 

Just asking.
 

By a process of elimination it is the ones in Kiev (the ones in the restaurant that were plastered all over the front pages) and it's ok because some of our fans attacked their bus and/or pushed a bloke in a fountain nearly 12 months later.

Oh yeah and if you moan, you're a victim.

Just the normal discourse of Liverpool these days or rather its return but that would suggest it went away.

[davidlpool1982]

One of the things that confuses me slightly is that it's UEFA's competition. I mean yeah, there's rules in place and they have to be followed by both parties and we can't have event organisers strong arming the competitors just because they run the event, but at the end of the day surely it's UEFA's reading of their own rules that takes precedent? City have no god given right to be in the competition unless they follow rules set forth by UEFA, they are invited to take part if they achieve certain objectives and UEFA have the right to withdraw that invitation if they think that someone is taking the piss. It's like being invited to a house party but then being asked to leave cause you did a shit in the chrysanthemum bed and you cause a fuss and cry conspiracy.

It's not even like the Premier League where City are shareholders of 1/20th of the league for this season. Then I can understand why it might be a bit more difficult for the League to do anything without an absolute slam dunk case

[Rush 82]

It's funny but reality is the FA are an absolute detriment to the game and are supposed to be doing the opposite. I take it the FA has no involvement in Birmingham getting docked 9 points for financial cheating? My word, just typing that, Birmingham were docked 9 points yet these fuckers are getting away scot free when they don't even compare. They are definitely filling too many pockets for this to be sanctioned.

Need a top to bottom clear out of the FA in my opinion.
 

[clinical]

If they get banned from champions league it will be 20/21 I imagine.

[kennedy81]

If they get banned from champions league it will be 20/21 I imagine.

Yeah, and I suspect that would mean Pep would be off after next season.

[davidlpool1982]

Yeah, and I suspect that would mean Pep would be off after next season.

Without another European Cup because we are getting number 7 next year obviously 

[thaddeus]

If they get banned from champions league it will be 20/21 I imagine.

In which case there would be a lot of pressure on Pep (mostly from himself, granted) to win the CL next season!

They couldn't manage it this season with a potential route of:
Shakhtar / Lyon (3rd in Ligue 1) / Hoffenheim (8th in Bundesliga)
Schalke (15th in Bundesliga)
Spurs (who they did the double over in the league)
Ajax
Us (who they drew with and beat in the league)

They didn't play any of the top 15 clubs based on co-efficient in Europe.  The highest ranked side they did face was Shakhtar!  They could have won the whole thing without playing a single side ranked in the top 10!

In comparison we've got to the final by overcoming the sides ranked 2nd (Barca), 3rd (Bayern), 8th (PSG) and 10th (Porto).

If they couldn't win the CL with a draw that they'd have struggled to make easier if they'd pulled the balls out the bag themselves then I can't see that changing next season.  Pep seems to have a mental block now when it comes to the CL.

[Crosby Nick]

It’s a good point. We need every Premier League side to play the Champions League theme music before their games against City next season, see if it puts them off.

[CraigDS]

I really hope in their first few PL and CL games they get some VAR decisions which don't go their way - the amount of fewm and shouts of conspiracy will be glorious.

[davidlpool1982]

One thing VAR will do (depending on how much it's used in a game etc) is help break up their rhythm. They squeeze teams high up the pitch and try to suffocate teams and once they get into a rhythm they are hard to stop. VAR m ight make games a little more stop start which will effect all teams but City may be the one that takes longer to get used too.

[markedasred]

If it is entirely about sportswashing their image, and their image is then being tarnished, then ultimately that only leads to one thing. They get out of the club that is no longer serving its purpose.

Maybe they will become the new Venky's, not bothering to sell Blackburn once the project went wrong, for whatever reason, but looking suspiciously like they do not want to look like they need to sell?