Prestwich_Blue
Well-Known Member
The PR team are clearly earning their crust, with this plus the recent FT article projecting us in a good light.
It's a good read, even if there's little new (and a mistake saying the 2012 title win was our first major trophy in 36 years) but I'm torn on this. I understand the vision and potentially it's a great idea to have feet on the ground in these countries but I really don't care about any club other than City. And I know people who watch NYCFC who are rags or otherwise hate us. So the supposition that we're going to become fans of these clubs or that Uruguayans will all become City fans is fanciful in my opinion. However these plans reinforce the notion that the Sheikh (or at least Abu Dhabi) aren’t getting bored anytime soon and will be around for quite a while.
Ultimately though, as the biggest club in the CFG stable, it's our success that will affect the perception and global popularity of the club. All over the USA there are fan clubs and these fans gather to watch games and, having watched games with some, in both Pittsburgh & Phoenix, they are passionate. My son said over 100 people watched last Sunday's match in the Kettle Black in downtown Phoenix, the overwhelming majority being blues.
My criticism, as a match-going fan, has always been that Garry Cook saw us as real people whereas Soriano sees us as cells on a spreadsheet. That he'd be happier having 40k in the stadium paying £60 each than 55k paying £40 each. That he'll look at revenue projections and say "Increase those by 5%" with no thought at all for the impact on a working class family with a couple of kids and an already stretched budget.
I also feel that the board & executives, in their rush to create a footballing Disneyworld, took their eye off the ball as far as City were concerned. One League Cup in 3 seasons without a serious challenge for the PL is simply not a good enough return for what we’ve spent and where we think we are now as a club. Hopefully that’ll be put right this season but I want sustained and consistent success and I believe it’s taken too long to put the right factors in place. We should also have focused on gaining a foothold in the corridors of power at the FA & PL but we still seem to be seen as a target and fair game for the likes of Wenger & Mourinho, who have got that foothold. To me, that would have served our purpose better than buying some club no one’s heard of in South America.
It's a good read, even if there's little new (and a mistake saying the 2012 title win was our first major trophy in 36 years) but I'm torn on this. I understand the vision and potentially it's a great idea to have feet on the ground in these countries but I really don't care about any club other than City. And I know people who watch NYCFC who are rags or otherwise hate us. So the supposition that we're going to become fans of these clubs or that Uruguayans will all become City fans is fanciful in my opinion. However these plans reinforce the notion that the Sheikh (or at least Abu Dhabi) aren’t getting bored anytime soon and will be around for quite a while.
Ultimately though, as the biggest club in the CFG stable, it's our success that will affect the perception and global popularity of the club. All over the USA there are fan clubs and these fans gather to watch games and, having watched games with some, in both Pittsburgh & Phoenix, they are passionate. My son said over 100 people watched last Sunday's match in the Kettle Black in downtown Phoenix, the overwhelming majority being blues.
My criticism, as a match-going fan, has always been that Garry Cook saw us as real people whereas Soriano sees us as cells on a spreadsheet. That he'd be happier having 40k in the stadium paying £60 each than 55k paying £40 each. That he'll look at revenue projections and say "Increase those by 5%" with no thought at all for the impact on a working class family with a couple of kids and an already stretched budget.
I also feel that the board & executives, in their rush to create a footballing Disneyworld, took their eye off the ball as far as City were concerned. One League Cup in 3 seasons without a serious challenge for the PL is simply not a good enough return for what we’ve spent and where we think we are now as a club. Hopefully that’ll be put right this season but I want sustained and consistent success and I believe it’s taken too long to put the right factors in place. We should also have focused on gaining a foothold in the corridors of power at the FA & PL but we still seem to be seen as a target and fair game for the likes of Wenger & Mourinho, who have got that foothold. To me, that would have served our purpose better than buying some club no one’s heard of in South America.