"Disappointing" attendances

[br88]

To the City poster here it should not be disappointing attendances because this is the first and only one this season. Some City fans seem strangely eager to believe the crap being spouted by the media. Port Vale was 52,400, league games are sold out and even the CL group games against weak opposition are getting 50,000+. You gotta laugh at the reaction of the media and some City fans at just one disappointing attendance. I've seen other big clubs with loads of empty seats including United...lighten up folks.

 

[The Northern Baptist]

The media/BBC have worked this well , they would take great pleasure if Pep quit in May and if they can get our own supporters on Pep's back with comments about attendances then the media are winning , whoever handles our clubs media affairs should be sacked , if they cannot pre-empt a question like this and instruct Pep to handle the reply with more diplomacy.We are probably the best run football club in europe , but this situation is amateurish , there should be some employees at the club getting the bullet in the morning.

Have you seen the clip? The clip I have seen Pep brings this up himself and the reporter responds to him saying ‘you weren’t happy with the number of fans?’

it’s nothing about preempting a question when the issue is raised by the manager himself

 

[Shirley]

Perhaps the BBC should be asking why and when the FA Cup lost its magic.

 

[The Northern Baptist]

Tbh who the fuck wants to go to these early Sunday kick offs? Absolutely grim, surely only a psychopath actually enjoys going to these early kick offs?

 

[kaz7]

He does it at all the time, Karen. Sly digs, geeing up of the crowd when the team aren't playing well. It's all a bit weird especially as Barcelona isn't exactly a cauldron of noise.

Our ground is no worse than the other 19 Premier League grounds. Over-sanitised shite.

Maybe he thinkx it puts him in a bad light with the barca boys as well if the crowds are lower than he likes,from what he said tonite he hasnt put gelling with those of you go high up on his list of things to do

 

[Marvin]

Real shame that Pep felt the need to raise it.

So many factors that can put punters off....cost, travel, trams, kick off times etc. Rather than a rallying cry, it seems devisive .

Part of the reason Liverpool are strong at home in Europe is because for European games their fans drive them on. We need a full house to do that against Utd.

 

[Marvin]

Tbh who the fuck wants to go to these early Sunday kick offs? Absolutely grim, surely only a psychopath actually enjoys going to these early kick offs?

Game was boring at times but that was cos the red card and pen killed it, however most seemed to enjoy the game. The kids in the North Stand did. They made quite a lot of noise.

I'd prefer a 3pm KO on a Saturday of course.

 

[Zabbasbeard]

Dear Mr Guardiola,

Yes we know 39,000 ain't the best attendance that we've had. Still, it's a lot better than what we used to get in most of the 80s!

Not everyone can afford yet another game no matter how cheap the tickets, with Christmas just a few weeks ago. We aren't all on hundreds of thousands of pounds a week. This is the real world. If you want to chip in a few quid feel free, and maybe you could have a word about them cancelling the trains from Stockport and the anti-social 1pm kick off time. Otherwise best not to comment though, eh.

Just sayin'.

Thanks though for the footy.

Best regards,

Phil

 

[eastmanc]

Maybe he thinkx it puts him in a bad light with the barca boys as well if the crowds are lower than he likes,from what he said tonite he hasnt put gelling with those of you go high up on his list of things to do

Dear Mr Guardiola,

Yes we know 39,000 ain't the best attendance that we've had. Still, it's a lot better than what we used to get in most of the 80s!

Not everyone can afford yet another game no matter how cheap the tickets, with Christmas just a few weeks ago. We aren't all on hundreds of thousands of pounds a week. This is the real world. If you want to chip in a few quid feel free, and maybe you could have a word about them cancelling the trains from Stockport and the anti-social 1pm kick off time. Otherwise best not to comment though, eh.

Just sayin'.

Thanks though for the footy.

Best regards,

Phil

You know what Phil I worked this morning and then had to rush back to get to the match with my three lads,to support the boys along with 40,000 other blues who made the effort, in the freezing cold only to be slagged off by our brilliant manager again. Don’t know about you but it’s getting a bit fucking tedious.

 

[domalino]

Just watch it back,pep talks about th fans first,spoon fed them

Yeah I don't know why people have been getting upset with journalists, in the BBC5 interview after the game I heard he brought it up himself out of the blue and he's mentioned it in his press conference as well so he brought it up multiple times.

He is clearly unhappy with it. I think today the clear out after 80 minutes was particularly visible and maybe that's what's pissed him off but at the same time he should perhaps ask Soriano why the stadium isn't full as it's his lot that set the prices.

 

[kaz7]

Yeah I don't know why people have been getting upset with journalists, in the BBC5 interview after the game I heard he brought it up himself out of the blue and he's mentioned it in his press conference as well so he brought it up multiple times.

He is clearly unhappy with it. I think today the clear out after 80 minutes was particularly visible and maybe that's what's pissed him off but at the same time he should perhaps ask Soriano why the stadium isn't full as it's his lot that set the prices.

yes i think soriano is the place to start but i dont think he cares about the match goers,his remit is to make money isn't it?

I think peps concerns are in the order of
pep
txiki and soriano,friends and club
players
fans

to throw his fans under the bus tonite was his worst yet,no need,fans will always show up to a home derby,after 4 yrs he should know all about the fans he could have said i hope more fans are here on wed although i appreciate it 's not easy with costs and travel after a busy period

Or better sttill,say nothing

Now the media will be full of his comments and not the dipper game and. klopp throwing the second replay

 

[WestGorton]

It wasn't full . We have not ever been involved in death. I will take that.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

It wasn't full . We have not ever been involved in death. I will take that.

Courtney Meppen-Walter likes this post.

 

[johnmcfcagain]

Hello folks. I'm recently back to this forum after many years away and after somebody has taken my original username! I'm now retired and have some time to post when previously work and family commitments took priority. Anyway, I was angry (alcohol induced tbf) about Pep's apparent lack of empathy yesterday with the plight of our fans who love the club but have to prioritise matches post-Christmas when money is tight. So, I went onto the official club website and let rip (via the "contact us" window) about the club's and the management's lack of empathy about the fans' predicament and cited our 35 years of loyalty between the 1976 League Cup Final and the 2011 FA Cup win. I praised the current ownership and the beauty and success of our football in recent years particularly during Pep's tenure. I also contrasted our position with that of Barcelona with it's wonderful Catalan climate, heritage of success, and significant tourist support - citing the fact that they frequently have attendances which are tens of thousands below capacity despite that tourist support. I feel better for it but have no idea whether the club will respond. Has anyone got any experience of doing this? I've never done anything like it before but am inclined to think that as well as sharing our concerns on forums like this, what we really need to do is share them with the club. So, any stories to tell? Has anyone had a meaningful response to concerns shared with the club?

 

[Proy]

Not sure what to make of it.

I think outside of our regular fan base, there doesn’t seem to be enough to pick up the slack in periods like this one where it’s right after Christmas, a long pay month and quite a few home games. This being on free to air tv, it was always going to be the one that got the bullet. The tickets were on open sale and fairly priced, my argument or certainly something I would look to address if I was within the club, is how to fill that extra bit when our core match going fan, quite simply, can’t afford to attend.

You’d think those who wants tickets for prem games but struggle, would be all over this type of fixture and that for me is where the work is. Growing the core base of match going fans even further. That’s on the club that. It’s down to them.

Pep calling out those who have given exemplary attendance this season, and it’s been very good, is out of order. It’s not the first time.

I think he wants the core support to grow, he’s just not getting that message across clearly and actually what happens is he attacks the current match going fan.

 

[Thomas Hearns]

yes i think soriano is the place to start but i dont think he cares about the match goers,his remit is to make money isn't it?

I think peps concerns are in the order of
pep
txiki and soriano,friends and club
players
fans

to throw his fans under the bus tonite was his worst yet,no need,fans will always show up to a home derby,after 4 yrs he should know all about the fans he could have said i hope more fans are here on wed although i appreciate it 's not easy with costs and travel after a busy period

Or better sttill,say nothing

Now the media will be full of his comments and not the dipper game and. klopp throwing the second replay

It happens too often. It's not an attempt to gee up support, it's just a needless dig - like you say why not just keep quiet. It doesn't endear him to us and nor does him occasionally chiming in with comments about Utd and Lpool's more successful history.

If your girlfriend's carrying a few pounds then maybe once it's ok to gently let her know in the hope that she moderates her eating habits. If you say it time after time you're just fat shaming her.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

It happens too often. It's not an attempt to gee up support, it's just a needless dig - like you say why not just keep quiet. It doesn't endear him to us and nor does him occasionally chiming in with comments about Utd and Lpool's more successful history.

If your girlfriend's carrying a few pounds then maybe once it's ok to gently let her know in the hope that she moderates her eating habits. If you say it time after time you're just fat shaming her.

I’m constantly being fat shamed, and I can tell you that it isn’t very nIce.

Really knocks my self-confidence.

 

[Proy]

Barcelona are averaging 76,000 this season.

I think Pep doesn’t understand why we have so many empty seats for certain games, why the fans leave early, and why we don’t support the team. It’s often said that England has the best supporters. The best atmospheric stadiums etc. I have long since disagreed because I have experienced different leagues over decent periods of time.

It was and probably still is a shock to his system after coming from Bayern, where they get 75,000 every home match, the stadium stays full until the final whistle, and their fans sing and support the teams constantly for 90 minutes.

I think the last derby at home was a prime example of what has happened to our support, and what probably annoys Pep on the QT. 1-2 down with over 10 minutes to go, City fans start heading for the exits, and the stadium was silent.

Different cultures and having spent time in both Germany and Spain I can understand why Pep would get pissed off. It’s not in his DNA and he isn’t used to it.

I agree that if we are in the stadium anyway, stay till the fucking end and support your team. I totally and completely get that.

The issue is we don’t have a big enough core support. At the end of the day, that’s down to the club to fix. Pep popping off at the match going fan is never going to end well. Sometimes circumstances get in the way and today was case in point. The work is around it to grow the bottom line so that on days like today we have another 20k people wanting to get a ticket, because they can’t on other match days.

 

[blueju]

We don’t have the plastic glory hunting fan base others have, it was expensive when I left in 2006 depending on how fixtures fell and the ‘very’ early rounds of the cups you could have to buy three tickets in a week.
Early leavers are more of a pain

 

[Proy]

It happens too often. It's not an attempt to gee up support, it's just a needless dig - like you say why not just keep quiet. It doesn't endear him to us and nor does him occasionally chiming in with comments about Utd and Lpool's more successful history.

If your girlfriend's carrying a few pounds then maybe once it's ok to gently let her know in the hope that she moderates her eating habits. If you say it time after time you're just fat shaming her.

The history stuff about the scum and the scouse really boils my piss.

I love Pep. He comes across as a top manager and a top man 9 times from 10. The attendance stuff though, and the bit above, it’s grates me.

Maybe it’s just his personality and constantly seeking improvement that drives him, I don’t know.

What I do know is it’s pissing off a lot of genuine match going blues and he needs to knock it on the head and start understanding the reasons why and work with the club to fix it