Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Thread

Prestwich_Blue said:
There's more to it than that. Firstly we can give someone 1/19th of their seasoncard cost back and sell the seats at full price. Most of the seats unsold yesterday will have been single seats, which are no use to someone wanting to take their kid or kids to a game maybe for the first time. Those people could well be our future seasoncard holders.

I started by nagging my dad, who took us to a few games to start with in the 1960's, then we got season tickets in the early 70's. Going to those few games made us fans for life. Not having seats available for sale, just because people can't be arsed listing them, stops these people attending.And it's not just seats they but but merchandise and refreshments.
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It's a different world Colin.
You're more likely to see grown men nagging their kids to come to the game now.

We had few distractions when we were kids. We lived in poorly heated houses, didn't have a TV, and those who did only had two channels on a 12" screen. There was no football on other than cup finals, and watching Flash Gordon/The Lone Ranger at the local fleapit on a Saturday morning was the highlight of most weeks.
Kids have easy access to an almost infinite number of tech items, 60" TVs, wall to wall sports, films, games... use of most of which will be shared with parents.

Despite all the hype around it, actually attending a football match is nowhere near as attractive to children as playing computer games.

Having raised two sons over the last 30 years, my own experience is that only one of them still has any interest in watching football. Furthermore, very few of their old schoolfriends have any more than a passing interest in football.
My youngest lad has been a season card holder for years... at my expense. He couldn't afford one on his own money and has far more important things to spend on.
In effect, if I don't go to the games, he won't go either. When I stop, it's two seats up for grabs, as he'll most likely just watch games via TV and streams.

The thing is that kids grow out of interests quickly when something new appears. They're excited and overwhelmed when they first go to a match but that doesn't last for ever. They get fed up and distracted, no matter how much the parent tries to keep them on the game.

Kids get more mental stimulation nowadays. The excitement of a football match can't compete with fast moving computer games.

if I had a quid for every child I've seen playing on a mobile phone throughout matches, I'd be a Tunnel Club regular.
 
Lavinda Past said:
It's a different world Colin.
You're more likely to see grown men nagging their kids to come to the game now.

We had few distractions when we were kids. We lived in poorly heated houses, didn't have a TV, and those who did only had two channels on a 12" screen. There was no football on other than cup finals, and watching Flash Gordon/The Lone Ranger at the local fleapit on a Saturday morning was the highlight of most weeks.
Kids have easy access to an almost infinite number of tech items, 60" TVs, wall to wall sports, films, games... use of most of which will be shared with parents.

Despite all the hype around it, actually attending a football match is nowhere near as attractive to children as playing computer games.

Having raised two sons over the last 30 years, my own experience is that only one of them still has any interest in watching football. Furthermore, very few of their old schoolfriends have any more than a passing interest in football.
My youngest lad has been a season card holder for years... at my expense. He couldn't afford one on his own money and has far more important things to spend on.
In effect, if I don't go to the games, he won't go either. When I stop, it's two seats up for grabs, as he'll most likely just watch games via TV and streams.

The thing is that kids grow out of interests quickly when something new appears. They're excited and overwhelmed when they first go to a match but that doesn't last for ever. They get fed up and distracted, no matter how much the parent tries to keep them on the game.

Kids get more mental stimulation nowadays. The excitement of a football match can't compete with fast moving computer games.

if I had a quid for every child I've seen playing on a mobile phone throughout matches, I'd be a Tunnel Club regular.
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Spot on. Growing up in the 60’s, 70’s I’d say 75-80% of kids (mainly boys) were football mad. Now as you say too many other things to take their attention.
 
Shaelumstash said:
Well if you apply the same logic to the “pre-prepared script” that Khaldoon has been reading from for the last 12 years, he’s repeatedly and deliberately pointed out that the club is owned by Sheikh Mansour and that he’s working on his his behalf, not the country’s.

“Soft Power” is quite a loose term, I’d have to understand your definition to consider whether I think it applies.

Has City been used to promote visibility of Abu Dhabi as a place to do business and visit? Absolutely.

Has City been used as a political tool for Abu Dhabi to gain leverage for political and human rights misdeeds? Not really. If anything, it’s highlighted those misdeeds and put them under more pressure if anything.
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There is a huge difference between investing in football to generate wealth and at the same time increase awareness of Abu Dhabi as a place and so called "sportswashing." Every business in Abu Dhabi (and the Gulf region) is in a race to diversify their portfolios away from dependency on dwindling fossil fuels. There is no reason why they can't do that and at the same time extend their influence (or enhance their soft power whatever that means).
 
Kippaxpete said:
Let's not forget that it was Staveley who acted for Sheikh Mansour when ADUG were negotiating the deal to buy us in 2008 thereby earning her a tidy £10m in commission. In fairness, that didn't turn out too bad for us.
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That is why I mentioned he with the other character, and she had tried the same with Liverpool.
 
plattlanebenches said:
Same. My son came to a few games when he was 7 or 8 and then just lost interest.
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There’s a fella who used to sit near me who took his Son home away everywhere from being young, son must have had loads of loyalty points… he got to 18 and told his Dad he’d never really been into football and just liked spending time with his Dad, and he stopped going.
 
Mansour and Khaldoon should have enticed the Therme Group to build Therme Resort Manchester on the Collar site.

It would have dragged loads of kids over to City.

1634485762984.jpeg

Opportunity missed.

Over a 'decade' later we've still got nothing more than wasteland and a temporary car park on matchdays on the Collar site.
 
blue for life said:
My 14 year old not interested. Also my 32 year old into rugby Union too. He has never been into football
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Football is definitely suffering for all the cheating and simulation in the game with the “harder” young lads these days. I know a lot of young lads at the school I work at who play rugby or go down boxing and MMA clubs and laugh at the footballers for playing “Wendy Ball” and they take the piss out of the football lads because of all the diving and pretending to be injured in the sport. There’s quite a lot of chatter among coaches and trainers of these sports belittling football because of all the cheating. “Proper sport this, you don’t get people rolling around on the floor when you’re hit in this sport!” and that resonates with young lads who like to think of themselves as tough.

Even I have thought about turning my back on the sport because of this, I cannot fucking stand all the diving and feigning injury.

Football also has far too much time wasting and the ball-in-play stats are going backwards. Whereas in rugby league it’s going up! Prem games have an average of about 54 minutes of play out of 90 when the ball is in play; in rugby league it’s around 68 minutes out of 80.

So referees not doing anything about goalkeepers taking 50 seconds over every goal kick is doing the sport no good!

Football needs to get a fucking grip of all the cheating and time wasting, it’s switching people off!
 
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Psychedelic Casual said:
Football is definitely suffering for all the cheating and simulation in the game with the “harder” young lads these days. I know a lot of young lads at the school I work at who play rugby and laugh at the footballers for playing “Wendy Ball” and they take the piss out of the football lads because of all the diving and pretending to be injured in the sport.

Even I have thought about turning my back on the sport because of this, I cannot fucking stand it!

Football also has far too much time wasting and the ball-in-play stats are going backwards. Whereas in rugby league it’s going up! Prem games have an average of about 54 minutes of play out of 90 when the ball is in play; in rugby league it’s around 68 minutes out of 80.

So referees not doing anything about goalkeepers taking 50 seconds over every goal kick is doing the sport no good!

Football needs to get a fucking grip of all the cheating and time wasting, it’s switching people off!
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may lads got into rugby league and agreed they all say this is not football all the time when someone gets injured.
 
Psychedelic Casual said:
There’s a fella who used to sit near me who took his Son home away everywhere from being young, son must have had loads of loyalty points… he got to 18 and told his Dad he’d never really been into football and just liked spending time with his Dad, and he stopped going.
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Same thing happened with me & my lad. I blame the parents
 
Psychedelic Casual said:
There’s a fella who used to sit near me who took his Son home away everywhere from being young, son must have had loads of loyalty points… he got to 18 and told his Dad he’d never really been into football and just liked spending time with his Dad, and he stopped going.
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In a way that’s nice the he just wanted to be with his dad. My son just buggered off upstairs at 8 to play on his computer and play his guitar.
 
Corky said:
Sulaiman Al-Fahim fronted it all and was found to be a crook after taking over at Pompey soon after.

Also Amanda Stavelely with a chequered business past and Prince Andrew connections was also involved. The Geordies have her to look forward to now.


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Amanda is just a front for the Saudi's, I would not expect her to be around long term, she's just waiting to get her commission.
 
Maly said:
Thought she personally owned 10% of the club? Or have I made that up in my own mind?
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Maybe that's her commission, I still think she will be off when all the serious appointments are made.

I am sure I have also read she is quite ill, with some brain illness, so long term I am not sure if she will be capable of working, very sad.
 
I think we can easily underestimate how much the world has changed. When I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s there was basically f-all to do. Football was a cheap and cheerful option for young males and you could go to Maine Road (or Old Trafford if you were so inclined) on the spur of the moment with as many mates as you liked. In fact, you could go to away matches on the same basis, as the trains were cheap too, you just walked up and bought a ticket.

Now there are a whole host of competing entertainments and you don't even need to leave your house. The days of football being cheap or accessible on a casual basis are long gone. I don't wonder that young people decide to go for other options.

Indeed, there has been a massive culture shift and most membership organisations are struggling to get young recruits too. It's not just football.
 
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