Media coverage 2018/19

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Pigeonho said:
Off the top of my head I recall the recent Der Spiegel nonsense. Then my mind diverts to Chelsea and a lot of racism accused against their fans. Spurs and their inability to do something remotely easy like build a stadium on time. Pretty much 365 days of comical anti United stuff by all quarters of the press. Amongst that I recall countless match reports, articles, interviews, debate shows and the line absolutely eulogising over us, our play and pretty much everything about us. Oh, there was the Sancho stuff but that’s just what it is.

I’m likely to be missing something I’m sure, but pretty much all I recall last year was one huge and rightly deserved wankathon towards us. So in what way was last year dreadful for the club??
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It's not difficult to recall the 'Der Spiegel nonsense' it only started a few weeks ago and it's still going on, the parasite media are all poised for the next instalment.
 
I think the media will be very careful recycling anything out of Der Spiegel for a while.
A pity there are still loads of gullible morons who continue to desperately want it all to be true and us to meekly bend over as we're kicked out of the Champions' League.
 
@SebastianBlue I can't believe what I've just read in your last couple of posts.
Literally jaw dropping .
I've been following us for over 35 years and never in my wildest dreams would I have expected us to be looked at in the way you described your family, friends and work colleagues look at us.
Absolutely unbelievable.
We've been laughed at, sneered at, been called all different shades of shit, mocked, ridiculed but being linked to terrorism, human rights and all the other none related to football nonsense to do with middle East countries is quite staggering.
 
manimanc said:
@SebastianBlue I can't believe what I've just read in your last couple of posts.
Literally jaw dropping .
I've been following us for over 35 years and never in my wildest dreams would I have expected us to be looked at in the way you described your family, friends and work colleagues look at us.
Absolutely unbelievable.
We've been laughed at, sneered at, been called all different shades of shit, mocked, ridiculed but being linked to terrorism, human rights and all the other none related to football nonsense to do with middle East countries is quite staggering.
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Tbf, I was really surprised how quickly it went from the most common comment when City came up being “congratulations on winning the league!” to “what do you think about City’s ownership?”

I am partly to blame, I suppose, as I am very prominently known as a City supporter both in professional and personal circles. I do not hide my love for our club, as testified by how my office is decorated, the badges on my car, and the shirts I wear when we have “Sport casual” days. I’ve also hosted match viewing parties for visiting client representatives which featured City CL games. But that was partially due to the fact that I work with many international NGOs and my love for City used to be a quick and easy way to bond with client representatives and speak to my “global credentials” when consulting with them. It really used to be a feather in my cap but, as of late, it’s become more of a hinderance than a help with many of the organisations I work with, especially those focused on human rights. Which is really disconcerting, as I consider myself a person with very strongly defined and observed ethics, but at least one organisation (the French one I spoke about earlier) seems to have a different view of me based on my affinity to City.

I do not think I am going to scale back my public support of City, but I do think I am going to need to get better at articulating my thoughts about our club as it is now, for better or worse.
 
manimanc said:
@SebastianBlue I can't believe what I've just read in your last couple of posts.
Literally jaw dropping .
I've been following us for over 35 years and never in my wildest dreams would I have expected us to be looked at in the way you described your family, friends and work colleagues look at us.
Absolutely unbelievable.
We've been laughed at, sneered at, been called all different shades of shit, mocked, ridiculed but being linked to terrorism, human rights and all the other none related to football nonsense to do with middle East countries is quite staggering.
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Sportswashing human rights abuses, FFP cheating, illegal approaches to young players, stockpiling loanees - they are just the current narratives our rivals together with the football institutions and media they control use to undermine us as we become more successful.
 
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SebastianBlue said:
Tbf, I was really surprised how quickly it went from the most common comment when City came up being “congratulations on winning the league!” to “what do you think about City’s ownership?”

I am partly to blame, I suppose, as I am very prominently known as a City supporter both in professional and personal circles. But that was partially due to the fact that I work with many international NGOs and my love for City used to be a quick and easy way to bond with client representatives and speak to my “global credentials” when consulting with them. It really used to be a feather in my cap but, as of late, it’s become more of a hinderance than a help with many of the organisations I work with, especially those focused on human rights. Which is really disconcerting, as I consider myself a person with very strongly defined and observed ethics, but at least one organisation (the French one I spoke about earlier) seems to have a different view of me based on my affinity to City.

I do not think I am going to scale back my public support of City, but I do think I am going to need to get better at articulating my thoughts about our club as it is now, for better or worse.
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It baffles me and dare i say it they can't be proper football fans. And the reason I say that is if that is their first thought when we're brought up in conversation then it strikes me as very odd or very bitter I suppose.
I've had the banter with utd fans and not a single one has slipped into the conversation that we're an extended arm of terrorism or support the non human rights in the middle East or whatever terminology is used.
Yes we get teased about oil money and sugar daddys but that's as far as it goes with most opposing fans, the British press tried to exaggerate the link between us and the middle East nonsense when der Spiegel told their lies about us but it fell flat on its arse.
It's annoyed me in a sense as it's just a lazy throwaway remark that people over the pond use instead of being a bit more educated and look at the bigger picture and the transformation of the club and the area.
But I suppose we've made fans of other teams boil their piss with our sublime performances and winning trophies in style.
 
SebastianBlue said:
Fair points, all.

But I think it depends on region and many other factors as to whether the Der Spiegel (and other outlets) very negative coverage has significantly impacted the club’s image. And, depending on where you currently reside, it could have significantly impacted your experience as a supporter.

I can’t say how widespread this is, of course, but I can say with absolute confidence that our club’s image has been negatively impacted in the USA, as I travel around quite a lot and, regardless of where I go now, when it comes up that I love football—and specifically that I am a lifelong City supporter—the conversation inveritably turns to what I think about my club now being owned by the UAE. Sometimes they don’t say it so politely or reference things that aren’t even true before waiting for my response. Sometimes they do not even ask, but rather launch into a moralistic diatribe that I often must sit through with a smile as they are clients or professional acquaintances.

And, unlike in the past when many people here had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned City (they had barely been exposed to football, much less specific clubs from abroad), the only knowledge some now have of football are the FIFA scandals and our club’s recent press. As recently as September I never had to even talk about City unless I decided I wanted to bring it up; now, after hearing from others I am from Manchester and am City supporter, many people actively raise the topic of our ownership with me. I have even developed a canned, neutral response for when I can’t be combative with my answer (quasi professional situations or conversations with family where I need to avoid conflict).

It gets worse when I interact with supporters of other clubs (either expats or American JCLs). The righteous indignation is often insufferable, and I’ve even had a falling out with two members of my community league team after a debate about our ownership and how it “taints” all of our accomplishments. I had the temerity to point out that their clubs receive funding from the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and China, and one of them is owned by a preported Russian armsdealer, so I wondered if they were aware of their hypocrisy in this outrage.

I’ve had similar interactions with people back home and around the continent (specifically Switzerland and France, recently). My brother-in-law (Swiss) actually has begun to apparently “think less of me” because I “insist on supporting a PR arm of a totalitarian regime”, whilst a previously close mate who supports Young Boys (Bern) has said he is “disappointed” in my “continued association with Manchester City”. A representative of one of my clients based in France actually wrote an email to my direct manager about his feeling uneasy that I am prominently known as a City supporter—I am a data science manager working exclusively with NGOs which tend to be very sensitive about affiliations, even if they are not directly part of my role or organisation. It was an outrageous thing to raise, and my manager agreed, but it is still an example of how things have changed since the recent coverage, as they would have never had such a concern before (much less officially raise it).

All of that is to say I think last year was both good and bad for us, and the reach of the latter depends on region and preexisting affinities. Thus far it has not been catastrophic, as others have said, but that doesn’t mean it could not lead to more substantial impacts to the club’s image if we do not manage things well and shine light on the hypocrisy and misinformation rampant in popular media coverage.
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I’ve got a story along the same lines: the other day, a guy down my local said similar things about our owners; I told him to go fuck his mum’s cünt.
 
manimanc said:
It baffles me and dare i say it they can't be proper football fans. And the reason I say that is if that is their first thought when we're brought up in conversation then it strikes me as very odd or very bitter I suppose.
I've had the banter with utd fans and not a single one has slipped into the conversation that we're an extended arm of terrorism or support the non human rights in the middle East or whatever terminology is used.
Yes we get teased about oil money and sugar daddys but that's as far as it goes with most opposing fans, the British press tried to exaggerate the link between us and the middle East nonsense when der Spiegel told their lies about us but it fell flat on its arse.
It's annoyed me in a sense as it's just a lazy throwaway remark that people over the pond use instead of being a bit more educated and look at the bigger picture and the transformation of the club and the area.
But I suppose we've made fans of other teams boil their piss with our sublime performances and winning trophies in style.
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I really wish I had your resilience friend and hope you are right and the agenda has failed. It would be a great relief to shrug off these last 10 years of financial attacks, lies, smears and negative reporting by the cartel clubs and their allies - as teasing.
 
SebastianBlue said:
You’re lucky, mate — that used to be my experience, too, but it has definitely changed over the last two months. I now long for the 90s, when we were everyone’s second club (mostly out of pity). ;-)


I’m a fairly calm and confident bloke, so I can usually get through it without issue. But, if I am honest, the recent comments from family and mates have definitely started to grate, mostly because you interact with them more often and their opinion actually has an effect, unlike the random professional contact or JCL.
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I talk about football all the time. All men in the UK use it for ice breaking and small talking, especially if they don’t know each other that well. I swear I’ve had thousands of conversations over the last year and can’t really even remember the finances being brought up. It’s always about how good KDB is, how they enjoy our passing game, how we used to be shite, how jealous they are. Nearly all of them still want to say how they always preferred us to Man United. I’ve had odd jibes about empty seats but that’s all the negative stuff I can remember to be honest.

It’s different on forums and Twitter because young Nobodies use those platforms to spout bile to piss people off. It it doesn’t reflect real life in my opinion.
 
manimanc said:
It baffles me and dare i say it they can't be proper football fans. And the reason I say that is if that is their first thought when we're brought up in conversation then it strikes me as very odd or very bitter I suppose.
I've had the banter with utd fans and not a single one has slipped into the conversation that we're an extended arm of terrorism or support the non human rights in the middle East or whatever terminology is used.
Yes we get teased about oil money and sugar daddys but that's as far as it goes with most opposing fans, the British press tried to exaggerate the link between us and the middle East nonsense when der Spiegel told their lies about us but it fell flat on its arse.
It's annoyed me in a sense as it's just a lazy throwaway remark that people over the pond use instead of being a bit more educated and look at the bigger picture and the transformation of the club and the area.
But I suppose we've made fans of other teams boil their piss with our sublime performances and winning trophies in style.
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There lies the problem, really: I wouldn’t call most of the people making these comments “proper” supporters. In fact, many don’t even like football. So, it can be very difficult to discuss this subject and educate them.

I will say, though, I would classify my mate that is a Young Boys supporter as a proper football man, which makes his comments all the more frustrating.

Will continue to fight the good fight, though!

Didsbury Dave said:
I talk about football all the time. All men in the UK use it for ice breaking and small talking, especially if they don’t know each other that well. I swear I’ve had thousands of conversations over the last year and can’t really even remember the finances being brought up. It’s always about how good KDB is, how they enjoy our passing game, how we used to be shite, how jealous they are. Nearly all of them still want to say how they always preferred us to Man United. I’ve had odd jibes about empty seats but that’s all the negative stuff I can remember to be honest.

It’s different on forums and Twitter because young Nobodies use those platforms to spout bile to piss people off. It it doesn’t reflect real life in my opinion.
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Completely agree about football being an ice breaking tactic for those of us from the UK (and elsewhere other than the USA, really), which is why it is coming up for me so often these days, as it *was* one of the first things I would talk about when having a casual conversation with a client representative or a new professional contact. It’s also why I’m very surprised to hear you don’t run into the same questions or moralistic comments I have.

I heard over Christmas from a few family members and mates still living in and around Manchester that they are now getting it, as well. Don’t think they’re seeing it as much as I am, but they definitely have had to deal with the odd comment or pretension. Especially from dippers and rags, which is no surprise.

It might fade away (here’s hoping), but I think that will be down to how we manage things (including the ongoing media narrative).

gordondaviesmoustache said:
I’ve got a story along the same lines: the other day, a guy down my local said similar things about our owners; I told him to go fuck his mum’s cünt.
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I’ve done that on occasion, hence the falling out with my league teammates. ;-)

Alas, can’t do it with clients, as much as I have wanted to.

Pigeonho said:
One of the finest posts ever. Bravo sir!
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Agreed. No thoughts about my original response to you or this ongoing conversation, though?
 
@SebastianBlue
All I would say is that if mates of mine distances themselves from me or were disappointed in me for my continued support of City, I’d ask them if they were all there in the head. If I was continuing my support of ISIS or renewing my Myra Hindley fan club subscription, I’d think they would have a point. It’s not though, it’s football. It’s a football club. And that’s all it is.
Some of our own use Munich to goad united fans. Some of Everton, I’m sure, use Heysel
to goad Liverpool. I’m sure there are some sick enough to go as low as goading Bradford fans for their stadium fire. There are some who can’t help themselves where the rivalry is concerned. A lot of it is without knowing any real background to what they use to insult. That’s all this is with us. Empty seats. Bought titles. Players here for money etc etc. All part of it. Anyone who says we are linked to a brutal regime is just as bad and stupid as those who do air plane gestures. It’s that same mocking of empty seats against us or 690m fans against them gone that bit too far - all without any knowledge whatsoever.

I’d pick new friends if I were you though. Distanced himself from you?! Lol.
 
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