Hard To Be Here

I just love Manchester City and all it entails. It has expanded my ‘family’, made me lots of new friends over the many years I have supported them.
I read some of the threads on here mainly, ignore the ones that go over the top, and take it all with a pinch of salt.
I don’t agree with Shankly(?) because there is life outside football.
In my opinion we have to keep a sense of perspective, hence some of my daft posts to (try and) make people smile or laugh.
We are mostly City fans. We don’t always agree with what the club are doing but I personally feel that they are doing it for our sake. They are not in the business of alienating, good, loyal fans. They must think they are helping us surely? Ok they don’t always help in the way some of us feel is right but they are trying

Oh crikey (or probably a swear word there) here’s a silly female happy clapper I can probably hear you saying but I have faith. I have faith because we are MANCHESTER CITY THE BEST TEAM IN THE LAND AND ALL THE WORLD.

We’ve been through worse than this, we’ve been loyal when we’ve gone down the divisions. We have had to have a siege mentality as we’ve been lambasted, insulted and lied about by the media, fans of other clubs, officials of other clubs.
Don’t let them break us now. BlueMoon is our forum (sorry @Ric boss man I know it’s yours really which you loan out to us) so don’t change it.
KEEP THE FAITH. THE FAITH IN CITY.

Sorry, if the Mods don’t like/approve of this post please remove it and I apologise for giving you extra work. (Especially @jimharri) ;-)

They most certainly ain't doing it for our sakes but I've always liked your positivity.
 
I've been feeling a certain way for a couple of years now. Basically ever since we won the treble. In fact, from the very moment the final whistle went in Istanbul, I felt that certain way. That certain way was just... Different.

I realised, as I knelt on my parents' living room floor in tears of joy, that I'd had an itch deep within me all along. Ever since the 2008 takeover, through the first FA Cup win, through the Agueroooo goal vs QPR, through the Centurions and Fourmidables seasons, though the Gundogan goal vs Villa. I only really noticed the itch had been there when it was finally gone. We were immortal, we had reached the pinnacle, and there was nothing more that I wanted from City. It turns out, I had always wanted us to get there - for little Shitty City to stand at the top of the mountain and look out on the rest of Europe as kings.

Years ago, in the summer of 2012, a group of us from this forum went to Sam's funeral - or Gaudino's Stolen Car, as he was known on here. I remember, in the cab on the way from the service to the wake, we got to chatting about Aguero's goal against QPR. The lot of us agreed that we'd be fine if City never won anything again, especially after what we'd all witnessed only a few months before. But that feeling passed within all of us over the years. The feeling of winning became addictive quite quickly. Once we lost that title to United in 2013, I absolutely wanted it back in 2014 and celebrated like hell when we beat Liverpool to it.

There was always something to prove to somebody. The Premier League title in 2014 proved that we weren't "just another Blackburn", the Centurions title came at the end of the greatest ever domestic season in England, the Fourmidables season made us the first (and only) English team to complete a domestic treble, and the Gundogan goal vs. Villa was immediately compared to Aguero vs. QPR. That feeling of winning trophies, not just for ourselves to enjoy but to prove other people wrong, was so special. I could have gone the rest of my life with us happily never winning the European Cup, but every year it felt like we lost so stupidly or harshly or through some form of injustice that, and that itch started to grow.

It didn't bother me that other people didn't consider us a truly great team until we won a European Cup. It had never done Arsenal any real harm, or Atletico, or (until this summer) PSG. But you hear it so many times that you start to almost believe it. You start wanting to win the European Cup just to shut the trap of anyone who's ever doubted whether City belonged at the top table. Going out of the European Cup truly never bothered me as much as losing a league game did - at least until we lost the final in 2021. Then when Madrid knocked us out in the manner that they did in 2022, I thought we'd missed our best chance to do it. Even after knocking out Bayern and Madrid in 2023, and played arguably the best football I've ever seen from a City team, I still thought something would get in the way.

Then we did it. From the third tier of English football to treble winners in 24 years.

Everything changed in that moment. That itch had gone. We had nothing to prove anymore. We were, and would forever be, immortal. From the moment De Bruyne slammed that ball in after five minutes against Arsenal, that kicked off the best six weeks of my entire City life. The run to the title, the FA Cup win over United with Gundogan scoring the fastest ever goal in a final. And then from June 10th, that night at my mum and dad's flat, crying my eyes out, still in disbelief, unable to sleep when I got home, watching Rodri's goal over and over and over again. The next morning walking into Tesco with my City shirt on, heartily laughing at a United fan in the car park who'd shouted some abuse at me out of his car, the Monday night treble parade in that beautiful, beautiful Manchester rain. Those six weeks are the biggest fucking high I've ever, ever had as someone who follows football.

I kept waiting for the high to fade and I kept waiting for that irritating itch to come back. The high faded, as all things do with time, but the itch never came back. As I said before, I just felt... different now. I realised that I no longer wanted anything from City. My dreams had come true in Istanbul and I did not have it in me anymore to want anything more from football. What can you want for when your dreams are already reality? I wanted City to win every game, like all fans do, and as we got closer to the 2024 title I realised that it would be a perfect cherry on top to make domestic history again with that four title in a row, but the hunger wasn't the same. Don't get me wrong, when we won that West Ham game I was as happy as anything - a lad from Edgeley winning City a record-breaking title is right out of the top drawer. But I honestly felt beyond spoiled. I'd seen my dreams come true in 2023 and then I got a fucking encore from the same group of players.

Things started to feel wrong, though, the week immediately afterwards. I went all the way down to Wembley and watched us lose 2-1 to United in the cup final, but I didn't feel a thing. I was still on cloud nine from the week before, and still on cloud fucking 10 from the year before. I watched United lift the trophy, took some pictures for my (United fan) dad, gave De Bruyne a wave and a thank you for everything from the stands, and went home. The defeat just didn't hit me. And yet, all around me that afternoon, I'd seen and heard City fans having a right go at Rashford and having a right go at Fernandes with proper anger in their faces. I heard one guy call Onana a "monkey" from a few rows back. That anger then turned towards the City players. The lads who'd just won four consecutive league titles and a treble the year before we were being called everything under the sun by their own fans. And I couldn't understand it at all. I felt genuinely disillusioned. What more could these lads possibly give us? And yet, still the City fans at Wembley that day wanted more and more and more.

What pissed me off more than anything was half of our fanbase deciding that they were too good to come down to the parade for the fourth title in a row. We lost a little football match and suddenly the whole season's achievement and work wasn't worth recognising. We broke a record that will never, ever be matched, and instead of showing gratitude to the players, some people thought "Oh, we'll win another trophy next year, so I won't bother going down today". Well, shame on you. That could be the last trophy this club ever wins and you skipped the parade because you were in a sulk.

Last season wasn't easy, and it wasn't fun, but it ended with a season that was virtually identical to the 10/11 season. We were a world class Dean Henderson performance away from emulating that season exactly, with 3rd place and 71 points in the league and an FA Cup trophy. We treasure the 10/11 season but were already keen to forget about the 24/25 season before the FA Cup final had even kicked off. I know expectations have changed among the fanbase, which is fair enough, but have expectations changed so much that we can't even recognise a potentially good and memorable season anymore? I come on here sometimes and some of the comments made about some of the most special players any of us have ever seen are disgraceful. And it's not even from the new gloryhunting fans or teenagers who've only ever known success. A lot of people on here who are old enough to know better, and are old enough to remember the 80s and 90s, are constantly frothing at the mouth, waiting to stick the boot in and spread negativity.

My experience at the Spurs game, and reading Bluemoon over the last 24 hours, has really summed it all up. From the moment I arrived at the ground, a new feeling crept in. That hotel they've attached onto the stadium, and the new third tier that takes our capacity to 61,000 - they're both nearly finished, but now that they're almost done I think they're fucking monstrosities. How arrogant of our owners to presume that 61,000 people will always want to come and see us and will always see City as a tourist destination. Someone will read this and think "You wet wipe, the club needs to build these things to progress. Do you not want us to progress?" And I guess the honest answer is no. We reached the top in 2023. There is nowhere left to go. Everything from this point on is naked greed. The hotels, shops, and extra 6,000 seats are being built under the assumption that the success will simply continue forever - like Madrid, Bayern Munich, United, Liverpool, and Barcelona presume that success will always continue. It is ugly and unbecoming. Until Liverpool and United became so arrogant and piled the trophies high, it was presumed in England that teams would have their day in the sun, have a few shiny moments to last a lifetime, and then slip back down the table so that someone else could come and have a go. Not anymore, and that's sad.

We're now part of a collection of teams, and a collection of fans, that don't just expect a trophy every season - we demand it. And some among us will scream and throw a paddy unless everything is perfect. I made that thread before, joking about the fact that of the 26 players we have the Bluemoon forum has decided that 16 of them have to go and that another handful are on thin ice. When did we become so fucking spoiled that we would turn so angrily on a talented local lad with City in his blood, like Rico Lewis? If you don't think he's a good enough footballer, fine, but he's a City fan from Greater Manchester and he's trying his best out there. And was also a part of the only City squad ever to win a fucking treble. At least pat him on the back and wish him well if you don't rate him. The shouting aimed in his direction against Spurs was utterly shameful, and then to come log on and see him called a "disgrace" and a "waste of a shirt", I felt more disillusioned than I did at Wembley 12 months ago. And all of this is because we have mutated into a fanbase that is LUDICROUSLY out of touch with the real footballing world.

The only thing on the average City fan's mind at the moment seems to be: WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN. AT ALL COSTS. WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN. "No room for sentiment, got to be ruthless, win win win. Doesn't matter who we fuck over or abuse or put down, just win." It is ugly and unbecoming, as I said. And it is fucking everywhere. It's not just teenagers on Twitter or gloryhunters on here, it's also grown men and women who've been to hell and back with City for 40 years, gnashing their teeth at title-winning legends of this club because oh, it looks like we're not going to win an 8th top division title in the space of a decade. A little bit of adversity last season, in the grand scheme of things, and that was license for all manner of insults and abuse to come out the mouths of so-called diehards. Fair enough, do all your shouting and embarrassing shit within the 90 minutes at the stadium, and by all means have a mouth off in the matchday thread to feel better. Call out a naff performance. But once it's over, look at the bigger picture, reflect on the last 10-15 years, remind yourself of what we've already experienced and of the players who've brought you glory, instead of stressing about where the next trophy is going to come from and saying some utterly disgraceful and ungrateful bollocks about the likes of Ederson, Bernardo, Walker, Grealish, Akanji, Mahrez etc.

Some of the shit said about Ederson these past couple of weeks has been nothing short of a disgrace. The *excitement* with which some City fans are greeting his potential departure is unbelievable. The most decorated keeper in our history, arguably the greatest we've ever had between the sticks, and you've got some offering to drive him to Galatasaray like he's Danny fucking Mills. Fair enough if you think his time is up, but are you not at least going to offer some gratitude? Some thanks? Are you not gonna share any nice memories? It was the same with Grealish when his loan to Everton was agreed. The things said about Akanji, who is also one of our treble lot and played for this club with bad injuries through basically all of last season. And christ, some of the things said about Pep! The man who's masterminded everything we've seen and experienced for nearly a decade. The internet has turned us into cruel, foul creatures.

I saw a picture before of David Silva wearing the 1999 play-off final kit at home. I looked at it for a moment and thought "Wow, that man played for us. For City. For Shitty City. A team who once wore that kit in a game that saved the club from total oblivion, and he was part of the journey that made us European champions". Football is just about creating memories you can look back on later and either laugh about them or smile about them - good and bad. We've had enough memories for about five fucking lifetimes. De Bruyne leaving was the absolute end of an era for me - the last player left who we signed while I was still in some form of education. I have witnessed a lifetime's worth of football glory, and felt a lifetime's worth of football joy, and I'm only 31. I now have another 50-60 years (hopefully) to fill and I'm going to spend it watching re-runs and highlights of everything City have given me, not just since 2011 but from 1999 onwards, when I became a Blue. Our lives following football have been so fucking easy, and yet if you read this place you'd think the last 15 years had never bloody happened, such is the attitude of some fans.

It's want want want. Demand demand demand. In January we ABSOLUTELY NEEDED Marmoush otherwise the world was going to explode. Six months later we've decided we don't like him so now we ABSOLUTELY NEED Rodrygo. In January we NEEDED Nico Gonzalez. People were slagging off Txiki Begiristain for not moving to sign him quicker. Six months later Gonzalez is "just another Javi Garcia" and it turns out who we really NEED is Baleba. We NEED to start playing kids more so we don't end up losing them like we did Palmer, but oh now we NEED to drop Rico Lewis and James Trafford and sell them immediately because we NEED Donnarumma and Livramento. I remember in 2021 when we were linked with Ronaldo after being linked with Harry Kane. Apparently we NEEDED both of them, or one of them at least. Turns out we didn't. This "win at all costs" mentality is, quite frankly, disgusting. If this makes me old fashioned or a "happy clapper" then so fucking be it.

So, I reckon that's me done on here, for a while at least. I no longer recognise this fanbase and this forum is where I see the most of said fanbase. So, enjoy the season - and I mean actually enjoy it, which means don't have a tantrum every four days - and I'll try not to let the door hit me on the way out.
Excellent post….. my expectations dropped last season as it’s clear the great teams we had is no longer. Even losing the fa cup final against Palace was more disappointing than anything stronger.

My wife is happier even she says I am not as grumpy as usual after the loss on Saturday!

We will come again and we will still be in the mix for the top four whilst we rebuild. Evolution always has highs and lows but we are in good hands and I don’t see us having the drop in performances that teams such as United have experienced
 
Fans are too sensitive. Bob getting upset due to not enough fans going to a parade.

When City win a trophy it is normally well and truely milked at the game if you like that sort of thing, and the parades don't appeal to lot of the match going fanbase who tend to be a bit older.
 
Load of self-indulgent bollox. Win or lose, City are City, and you’ll never get rid of the whinging.

When it comes to reading ‘bad’ posts, imagine you’re in the pub. Would you sit and chat with those that are pissing you off? No, so don’t listen to them and drive-past their posts.

Lastly, a bit of resilience is what’s needed. It’s OK to be pissed off at a result, you were invested in the game. But once that game has been run, it’s about analysing the game, stick it in the memory bank, and move on.

Stay frosty, Blues ;-)
 
Fans are too sensitive. Bob getting upset due to not enough fans going to a parade.

When City win a trophy it is normally well and truely milked at the game if you like that sort of thing, and the parades don't appeal to lot of the match going fanbase who tend to be a bit older.
I love the parades and I'm not exactly a spring chicken..it's great to be with fans enjoying the moment and having no worries because we have won a trophy ..
 
Wish I Had Beer/ Punk Floyd

So, so you think you can tell, footballing hell
Blue cries of pain

Can you tell if we've healed
From being derailed
A win to a fail
Do you think you can tell?

And I don't get your tirade
of anger in posts
In despair on your knees
Hot air of a fools wheeze

Common sense for change
And did you exchange
A placid part in your war
For a lead role in outrage

How I wish, how I wish I had beer
It's just wums and trolls talking out of arseholes
Year after year
Still here still posting with same old frowns
Bluemoon is running aground
It would appear
Wish I had beer
 
There's anger and frustration everywhere. In the stands, on here, on every social media platform.

Of course, some take it too far. Including the "long standing" members on here. Some of them take it too far with their usual quips, soundbites and denigration.

Trafford took an age to release the ball ( at two nil down) we were struggling, nothing happening and the crowd became audibly frustrated. It happens. We vent. We feel better. No one is infallible. Even the fanny wipes, the happy clappers, the York away lot, the Pearce at home and no **** could score lot. I took my lass at the time who was an Everton fan to the home game that season. It was shite. We went to the pub after and moaned. Its what most folk do.

There seems to be a few posters who wait for the team sheets to come out, or on the match day thread, and absolutely hound and ridicule anyone who says something negative. I moan, you moan, we all moan.

There's a select few on here (mostly seasoned posters) who cant wait to jump on people for daring to be new.

It's easy, if you don't fucking like what they have to say, ignore the fuck out of them. I tend to avoid dog shit, not tread on it.
I think all fans reflect the state of the wider country. I have never seen so much negativity in all spheres of life. And yet I went for a drink in town post match on Saturday and everywhere was buzzing. Sometimes you have to work at being happy.
 
Agree. We have become part of the machine we used to mock . Moaning is a universal in football but entitlement is the road to perdition . Spurs were better than us in every department and we have a raw young team with bags of talent . Our old guard put everything on the pitch for us and are beyond critique and it'll be a couple of seasons before we get sorted and find out rhythm . It's like a brand new relationship . Be patient .

Doesn't help that the way socials and the media is set up now is yo fuel impatience . A single bad performance by a player hardens into the total truth about him for ever and ever in the time it takes Jordan Pickford to take a goal kick. Bad stuff goes viral . We live in the age of spectacle and sound bites and comments and we consume and regurgitate all this bile days after a bad performance . No wonder we get upset . No wonder we all want the bright new toy . We are all being manipulated just to get out eyes on the page . Part of the machine .

People need to work out the difference between entitled and expectation.
 
To become a professional footballer you have to be good, very good. Footballers don't turn bad overnight. What normally happens is they don't adapt to the coaches system. Marmoush v spurs was a disaster for City, forced down the same avenue as Grealish. Down the wing then turn slightly back with a short ball, frustrating for him as it was for Grealish. Two free roaming Maverick players forced into a straightjacket. Dias arrived as an out and out defender. Last ditch defending removing the ball completely, as required by Pep's cavalier style football. Next thing he is being coached as a ball playing defensive mid. It's not his game, hence his decline. Same goes with Haaland, the system doesn't suit his play. Something needs fixing.
 
I used to spend so much time on here. I can’t handle it anymore, to many bellends who want to criticise anything. We’ve been spoilt rotten over the years, if we have to suffer for it now then it is what it is.

Don’t even get me started on the off topic/politics threads!

Oh I rarely venture into the politics thread, that would get me wound up! Everyone seems to be a socialist!
 
I've been feeling a certain way for a couple of years now. Basically ever since we won the treble. In fact, from the very moment the final whistle went in Istanbul, I felt that certain way. That certain way was just... Different.

I realised, as I knelt on my parents' living room floor in tears of joy, that I'd had an itch deep within me all along. Ever since the 2008 takeover, through the first FA Cup win, through the Agueroooo goal vs QPR, through the Centurions and Fourmidables seasons, though the Gundogan goal vs Villa. I only really noticed the itch had been there when it was finally gone. We were immortal, we had reached the pinnacle, and there was nothing more that I wanted from City. It turns out, I had always wanted us to get there - for little Shitty City to stand at the top of the mountain and look out on the rest of Europe as kings.

Years ago, in the summer of 2012, a group of us from this forum went to Sam's funeral - or Gaudino's Stolen Car, as he was known on here. I remember, in the cab on the way from the service to the wake, we got to chatting about Aguero's goal against QPR. The lot of us agreed that we'd be fine if City never won anything again, especially after what we'd all witnessed only a few months before. But that feeling passed within all of us over the years. The feeling of winning became addictive quite quickly. Once we lost that title to United in 2013, I absolutely wanted it back in 2014 and celebrated like hell when we beat Liverpool to it.

There was always something to prove to somebody. The Premier League title in 2014 proved that we weren't "just another Blackburn", the Centurions title came at the end of the greatest ever domestic season in England, the Fourmidables season made us the first (and only) English team to complete a domestic treble, and the Gundogan goal vs. Villa was immediately compared to Aguero vs. QPR. That feeling of winning trophies, not just for ourselves to enjoy but to prove other people wrong, was so special. I could have gone the rest of my life with us happily never winning the European Cup, but every year it felt like we lost so stupidly or harshly or through some form of injustice that, and that itch started to grow.

It didn't bother me that other people didn't consider us a truly great team until we won a European Cup. It had never done Arsenal any real harm, or Atletico, or (until this summer) PSG. But you hear it so many times that you start to almost believe it. You start wanting to win the European Cup just to shut the trap of anyone who's ever doubted whether City belonged at the top table. Going out of the European Cup truly never bothered me as much as losing a league game did - at least until we lost the final in 2021. Then when Madrid knocked us out in the manner that they did in 2022, I thought we'd missed our best chance to do it. Even after knocking out Bayern and Madrid in 2023, and played arguably the best football I've ever seen from a City team, I still thought something would get in the way.

Then we did it. From the third tier of English football to treble winners in 24 years.

Everything changed in that moment. That itch had gone. We had nothing to prove anymore. We were, and would forever be, immortal. From the moment De Bruyne slammed that ball in after five minutes against Arsenal, that kicked off the best six weeks of my entire City life. The run to the title, the FA Cup win over United with Gundogan scoring the fastest ever goal in a final. And then from June 10th, that night at my mum and dad's flat, crying my eyes out, still in disbelief, unable to sleep when I got home, watching Rodri's goal over and over and over again. The next morning walking into Tesco with my City shirt on, heartily laughing at a United fan in the car park who'd shouted some abuse at me out of his car, the Monday night treble parade in that beautiful, beautiful Manchester rain. Those six weeks are the biggest fucking high I've ever, ever had as someone who follows football.

I kept waiting for the high to fade and I kept waiting for that irritating itch to come back. The high faded, as all things do with time, but the itch never came back. As I said before, I just felt... different now. I realised that I no longer wanted anything from City. My dreams had come true in Istanbul and I did not have it in me anymore to want anything more from football. What can you want for when your dreams are already reality? I wanted City to win every game, like all fans do, and as we got closer to the 2024 title I realised that it would be a perfect cherry on top to make domestic history again with that four title in a row, but the hunger wasn't the same. Don't get me wrong, when we won that West Ham game I was as happy as anything - a lad from Edgeley winning City a record-breaking title is right out of the top drawer. But I honestly felt beyond spoiled. I'd seen my dreams come true in 2023 and then I got a fucking encore from the same group of players.

Things started to feel wrong, though, the week immediately afterwards. I went all the way down to Wembley and watched us lose 2-1 to United in the cup final, but I didn't feel a thing. I was still on cloud nine from the week before, and still on cloud fucking 10 from the year before. I watched United lift the trophy, took some pictures for my (United fan) dad, gave De Bruyne a wave and a thank you for everything from the stands, and went home. The defeat just didn't hit me. And yet, all around me that afternoon, I'd seen and heard City fans having a right go at Rashford and having a right go at Fernandes with proper anger in their faces. I heard one guy call Onana a "monkey" from a few rows back. That anger then turned towards the City players. The lads who'd just won four consecutive league titles and a treble the year before we were being called everything under the sun by their own fans. And I couldn't understand it at all. I felt genuinely disillusioned. What more could these lads possibly give us? And yet, still the City fans at Wembley that day wanted more and more and more.

What pissed me off more than anything was half of our fanbase deciding that they were too good to come down to the parade for the fourth title in a row. We lost a little football match and suddenly the whole season's achievement and work wasn't worth recognising. We broke a record that will never, ever be matched, and instead of showing gratitude to the players, some people thought "Oh, we'll win another trophy next year, so I won't bother going down today". Well, shame on you. That could be the last trophy this club ever wins and you skipped the parade because you were in a sulk.

Last season wasn't easy, and it wasn't fun, but it ended with a season that was virtually identical to the 10/11 season. We were a world class Dean Henderson performance away from emulating that season exactly, with 3rd place and 71 points in the league and an FA Cup trophy. We treasure the 10/11 season but were already keen to forget about the 24/25 season before the FA Cup final had even kicked off. I know expectations have changed among the fanbase, which is fair enough, but have expectations changed so much that we can't even recognise a potentially good and memorable season anymore? I come on here sometimes and some of the comments made about some of the most special players any of us have ever seen are disgraceful. And it's not even from the new gloryhunting fans or teenagers who've only ever known success. A lot of people on here who are old enough to know better, and are old enough to remember the 80s and 90s, are constantly frothing at the mouth, waiting to stick the boot in and spread negativity.

My experience at the Spurs game, and reading Bluemoon over the last 24 hours, has really summed it all up. From the moment I arrived at the ground, a new feeling crept in. That hotel they've attached onto the stadium, and the new third tier that takes our capacity to 61,000 - they're both nearly finished, but now that they're almost done I think they're fucking monstrosities. How arrogant of our owners to presume that 61,000 people will always want to come and see us and will always see City as a tourist destination. Someone will read this and think "You wet wipe, the club needs to build these things to progress. Do you not want us to progress?" And I guess the honest answer is no. We reached the top in 2023. There is nowhere left to go. Everything from this point on is naked greed. The hotels, shops, and extra 6,000 seats are being built under the assumption that the success will simply continue forever - like Madrid, Bayern Munich, United, Liverpool, and Barcelona presume that success will always continue. It is ugly and unbecoming. Until Liverpool and United became so arrogant and piled the trophies high, it was presumed in England that teams would have their day in the sun, have a few shiny moments to last a lifetime, and then slip back down the table so that someone else could come and have a go. Not anymore, and that's sad.

We're now part of a collection of teams, and a collection of fans, that don't just expect a trophy every season - we demand it. And some among us will scream and throw a paddy unless everything is perfect. I made that thread before, joking about the fact that of the 26 players we have the Bluemoon forum has decided that 16 of them have to go and that another handful are on thin ice. When did we become so fucking spoiled that we would turn so angrily on a talented local lad with City in his blood, like Rico Lewis? If you don't think he's a good enough footballer, fine, but he's a City fan from Greater Manchester and he's trying his best out there. And was also a part of the only City squad ever to win a fucking treble. At least pat him on the back and wish him well if you don't rate him. The shouting aimed in his direction against Spurs was utterly shameful, and then to come log on and see him called a "disgrace" and a "waste of a shirt", I felt more disillusioned than I did at Wembley 12 months ago. And all of this is because we have mutated into a fanbase that is LUDICROUSLY out of touch with the real footballing world.

The only thing on the average City fan's mind at the moment seems to be: WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN. AT ALL COSTS. WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN. "No room for sentiment, got to be ruthless, win win win. Doesn't matter who we fuck over or abuse or put down, just win." It is ugly and unbecoming, as I said. And it is fucking everywhere. It's not just teenagers on Twitter or gloryhunters on here, it's also grown men and women who've been to hell and back with City for 40 years, gnashing their teeth at title-winning legends of this club because oh, it looks like we're not going to win an 8th top division title in the space of a decade. A little bit of adversity last season, in the grand scheme of things, and that was license for all manner of insults and abuse to come out the mouths of so-called diehards. Fair enough, do all your shouting and embarrassing shit within the 90 minutes at the stadium, and by all means have a mouth off in the matchday thread to feel better. Call out a naff performance. But once it's over, look at the bigger picture, reflect on the last 10-15 years, remind yourself of what we've already experienced and of the players who've brought you glory, instead of stressing about where the next trophy is going to come from and saying some utterly disgraceful and ungrateful bollocks about the likes of Ederson, Bernardo, Walker, Grealish, Akanji, Mahrez etc.

Some of the shit said about Ederson these past couple of weeks has been nothing short of a disgrace. The *excitement* with which some City fans are greeting his potential departure is unbelievable. The most decorated keeper in our history, arguably the greatest we've ever had between the sticks, and you've got some offering to drive him to Galatasaray like he's Danny fucking Mills. Fair enough if you think his time is up, but are you not at least going to offer some gratitude? Some thanks? Are you not gonna share any nice memories? It was the same with Grealish when his loan to Everton was agreed. The things said about Akanji, who is also one of our treble lot and played for this club with bad injuries through basically all of last season. And christ, some of the things said about Pep! The man who's masterminded everything we've seen and experienced for nearly a decade. The internet has turned us into cruel, foul creatures.

I saw a picture before of David Silva wearing the 1999 play-off final kit at home. I looked at it for a moment and thought "Wow, that man played for us. For City. For Shitty City. A team who once wore that kit in a game that saved the club from total oblivion, and he was part of the journey that made us European champions". Football is just about creating memories you can look back on later and either laugh about them or smile about them - good and bad. We've had enough memories for about five fucking lifetimes. De Bruyne leaving was the absolute end of an era for me - the last player left who we signed while I was still in some form of education. I have witnessed a lifetime's worth of football glory, and felt a lifetime's worth of football joy, and I'm only 31. I now have another 50-60 years (hopefully) to fill and I'm going to spend it watching re-runs and highlights of everything City have given me, not just since 2011 but from 1999 onwards, when I became a Blue. Our lives following football have been so fucking easy, and yet if you read this place you'd think the last 15 years had never bloody happened, such is the attitude of some fans.

It's want want want. Demand demand demand. In January we ABSOLUTELY NEEDED Marmoush otherwise the world was going to explode. Six months later we've decided we don't like him so now we ABSOLUTELY NEED Rodrygo. In January we NEEDED Nico Gonzalez. People were slagging off Txiki Begiristain for not moving to sign him quicker. Six months later Gonzalez is "just another Javi Garcia" and it turns out who we really NEED is Baleba. We NEED to start playing kids more so we don't end up losing them like we did Palmer, but oh now we NEED to drop Rico Lewis and James Trafford and sell them immediately because we NEED Donnarumma and Livramento. I remember in 2021 when we were linked with Ronaldo after being linked with Harry Kane. Apparently we NEEDED both of them, or one of them at least. Turns out we didn't. This "win at all costs" mentality is, quite frankly, disgusting. If this makes me old fashioned or a "happy clapper" then so fucking be it.

So, I reckon that's me done on here, for a while at least. I no longer recognise this fanbase and this forum is where I see the most of said fanbase. So, enjoy the season - and I mean actually enjoy it, which means don't have a tantrum every four days - and I'll try not to let the door hit me on the way out.
I think you are right. Posters of course have the right to express their feelings but things have changed. There is little appreciation for past success and the players and staff that brought it.

When we had truly awful players “drive them to the airport” was vaguely funny, if repetitive, but I did not expect to see it for the players that won us everything and will be legends when we look back at them. I was genuinely surprised. I thought we were better than that but there is zero respect from some. Perhaps I am naive but I thought better of our fanbase.

I still have the hunger to win but I will always be thankful for those that made my dreams come true tenfold. The players we had and some that are still here may never be matched and it is beyond unreasonable for us to expect them to either continue forever or to be easily replaced.

Where do we go from here? Probably downwards but still at a high standard. Those intent on chauffeuring away future legends of the club to hasten their departures rather than thank them and move on….well I don’t get it either.

I suppose those that think this behaviour is OK could reasonably point to the fans of Real Madrid waving white hankies at players that have contributed to multiple European Cups. I thought we were better than that but we aren’t. It seems like we are normal football fans who, in today’s society, want constant success and, if we don’t get it, we want everyone to leave quickly until we do, even our former heroes.
 
Do they though?

Im not seeing that anymore....

There is only afew players Id say have the balls for the fight: Haaland, Bernardo, Rodri and maybe Dias - rest are a soft touch

We have lost Hart, Kompany, Tevez, Zabaleta, Walker, David Silva, Ferna, Kun, KDB and probably about to lose Ederson who all were nasty bastards on the pitch and big personalites (regardless what you think of how Walker left he was a twat on the pitch in a good way) - Ive probably forgotten someone as well

Besides those mentioned above already from th current squad we have no one who comes even close to having the balls that lot had

Trafford - too early to tell
Ake - no
Akanji. - no
Gvardiol - no
Khusonov - potential to be
Lewis - too small and inaffective for any opponent to care what he does
Stones - quiet funny guy
Dias - did have it - lost it
RAN.- no
Reijnders - too early to tell
Cherki - too early to tell
Foden - no
Marmoush - no
Doku - he will battle to the end but also quite quiet and doesnt have a nasty streak
Gundo - a killer in the way he plays but not really a big personality in the way others have been
Kovacic. - no
Nunes - absolutely no
Bobb - no
Sav - no
Nico - no
OReilly - not as yet that Ive seen


We are lacking a nasty streak and the ability to physically and mentally dominate opposition players. Most of that lot are too nice


This post just proves the op correct.

So much negativity across this forum.
 
This post just proves the op correct.

So much negativity across this forum.

Think people just need to curate their ignore lists better. I've found it a much saner experience if you tune out all the wilful idiots, even if there is a lot of them.

The experience on any social media platform is simply a reflection of society these days. People who shout the loudest say the most extreme things get the most reactions. Whether it's here, or X or wherever.
 
I think you are right. Posters of course have the right to express their feelings but things have changed. There is little appreciation for past success and the players and staff that brought it.

When we had truly awful players “drive them to the airport” was vaguely funny, if repetitive, but I did not expect to see it for the players that won us everything and will be legends when we look back at them. I was genuinely surprised. I thought we were better than that but there is zero respect from some. Perhaps I am naive but I thought better of our fanbase.

I still have the hunger to win but I will always be thankful for those that made my dreams come true tenfold. The players we had and some that are still here may never be matched and it is beyond unreasonable for us to expect them to either continue forever or to be easily replaced.

Where do we go from here? Probably downwards but still at a high standard. Those intent on chauffeuring away future legends of the club to hasten their departures rather than thank them and move on….well I don’t get it either.

I suppose those that think this behaviour is OK could reasonably point to the fans of Real Madrid waving white hankies at players that have contributed to multiple European Cups. I thought we were better than that but we aren’t. It seems like we are normal football fans who, in today’s society, want constant success and, if we don’t get it, we want everyone to leave quickly until we do, even our former heroes.

There is a thin line of "We" left, it isn't rocket science really because the younger "We" have been priced out and we fill in the gaps with tourists and day trippers but that isn't all the problem because many of the more affluent members of our clan love to look down their noses at the ones that are either shut out or are unable to join in all the Reindeer games.

Older more legacy fans would be beating the club with the biggest stick they could find for the way the club treats the fans, but they've been thrown out and the only ones left (Not all of them) just want to say they have been and are happy with the traditional fans being replaced by phone using fuckwits.

Nobody on this thread has said they hate anyone, but you can't even say if a player had a crap game or isn't good enough for an avalanche of triggered quinoa scoffing wine buffs to call for a Fatwa and issue recommendations for how they could be dealt with.
 
They are not in the business of alienating, good, loyal fans. They must think they are helping us surely? Ok they don’t always help in the way some of us feel is right but they are trying
But it seems they are mate. I wish someone could explain how the recent restrictions on ticket transfer and 10 game attendance rules were helping us as individual fans.
 
I've been feeling a certain way for a couple of years now. Basically ever since we won the treble. In fact, from the very moment the final whistle went in Istanbul, I felt that certain way. That certain way was just... Different.

I realised, as I knelt on my parents' living room floor in tears of joy, that I'd had an itch deep within me all along. Ever since the 2008 takeover, through the first FA Cup win, through the Agueroooo goal vs QPR, through the Centurions and Fourmidables seasons, though the Gundogan goal vs Villa. I only really noticed the itch had been there when it was finally gone. We were immortal, we had reached the pinnacle, and there was nothing more that I wanted from City. It turns out, I had always wanted us to get there - for little Shitty City to stand at the top of the mountain and look out on the rest of Europe as kings.

Years ago, in the summer of 2012, a group of us from this forum went to Sam's funeral - or Gaudino's Stolen Car, as he was known on here. I remember, in the cab on the way from the service to the wake, we got to chatting about Aguero's goal against QPR. The lot of us agreed that we'd be fine if City never won anything again, especially after what we'd all witnessed only a few months before. But that feeling passed within all of us over the years. The feeling of winning became addictive quite quickly. Once we lost that title to United in 2013, I absolutely wanted it back in 2014 and celebrated like hell when we beat Liverpool to it.

There was always something to prove to somebody. The Premier League title in 2014 proved that we weren't "just another Blackburn", the Centurions title came at the end of the greatest ever domestic season in England, the Fourmidables season made us the first (and only) English team to complete a domestic treble, and the Gundogan goal vs. Villa was immediately compared to Aguero vs. QPR. That feeling of winning trophies, not just for ourselves to enjoy but to prove other people wrong, was so special. I could have gone the rest of my life with us happily never winning the European Cup, but every year it felt like we lost so stupidly or harshly or through some form of injustice that, and that itch started to grow.

It didn't bother me that other people didn't consider us a truly great team until we won a European Cup. It had never done Arsenal any real harm, or Atletico, or (until this summer) PSG. But you hear it so many times that you start to almost believe it. You start wanting to win the European Cup just to shut the trap of anyone who's ever doubted whether City belonged at the top table. Going out of the European Cup truly never bothered me as much as losing a league game did - at least until we lost the final in 2021. Then when Madrid knocked us out in the manner that they did in 2022, I thought we'd missed our best chance to do it. Even after knocking out Bayern and Madrid in 2023, and played arguably the best football I've ever seen from a City team, I still thought something would get in the way.

Then we did it. From the third tier of English football to treble winners in 24 years.

Everything changed in that moment. That itch had gone. We had nothing to prove anymore. We were, and would forever be, immortal. From the moment De Bruyne slammed that ball in after five minutes against Arsenal, that kicked off the best six weeks of my entire City life. The run to the title, the FA Cup win over United with Gundogan scoring the fastest ever goal in a final. And then from June 10th, that night at my mum and dad's flat, crying my eyes out, still in disbelief, unable to sleep when I got home, watching Rodri's goal over and over and over again. The next morning walking into Tesco with my City shirt on, heartily laughing at a United fan in the car park who'd shouted some abuse at me out of his car, the Monday night treble parade in that beautiful, beautiful Manchester rain. Those six weeks are the biggest fucking high I've ever, ever had as someone who follows football.

I kept waiting for the high to fade and I kept waiting for that irritating itch to come back. The high faded, as all things do with time, but the itch never came back. As I said before, I just felt... different now. I realised that I no longer wanted anything from City. My dreams had come true in Istanbul and I did not have it in me anymore to want anything more from football. What can you want for when your dreams are already reality? I wanted City to win every game, like all fans do, and as we got closer to the 2024 title I realised that it would be a perfect cherry on top to make domestic history again with that four title in a row, but the hunger wasn't the same. Don't get me wrong, when we won that West Ham game I was as happy as anything - a lad from Edgeley winning City a record-breaking title is right out of the top drawer. But I honestly felt beyond spoiled. I'd seen my dreams come true in 2023 and then I got a fucking encore from the same group of players.

Things started to feel wrong, though, the week immediately afterwards. I went all the way down to Wembley and watched us lose 2-1 to United in the cup final, but I didn't feel a thing. I was still on cloud nine from the week before, and still on cloud fucking 10 from the year before. I watched United lift the trophy, took some pictures for my (United fan) dad, gave De Bruyne a wave and a thank you for everything from the stands, and went home. The defeat just didn't hit me. And yet, all around me that afternoon, I'd seen and heard City fans having a right go at Rashford and having a right go at Fernandes with proper anger in their faces. I heard one guy call Onana a "monkey" from a few rows back. That anger then turned towards the City players. The lads who'd just won four consecutive league titles and a treble the year before we were being called everything under the sun by their own fans. And I couldn't understand it at all. I felt genuinely disillusioned. What more could these lads possibly give us? And yet, still the City fans at Wembley that day wanted more and more and more.

What pissed me off more than anything was half of our fanbase deciding that they were too good to come down to the parade for the fourth title in a row. We lost a little football match and suddenly the whole season's achievement and work wasn't worth recognising. We broke a record that will never, ever be matched, and instead of showing gratitude to the players, some people thought "Oh, we'll win another trophy next year, so I won't bother going down today". Well, shame on you. That could be the last trophy this club ever wins and you skipped the parade because you were in a sulk.

Last season wasn't easy, and it wasn't fun, but it ended with a season that was virtually identical to the 10/11 season. We were a world class Dean Henderson performance away from emulating that season exactly, with 3rd place and 71 points in the league and an FA Cup trophy. We treasure the 10/11 season but were already keen to forget about the 24/25 season before the FA Cup final had even kicked off. I know expectations have changed among the fanbase, which is fair enough, but have expectations changed so much that we can't even recognise a potentially good and memorable season anymore? I come on here sometimes and some of the comments made about some of the most special players any of us have ever seen are disgraceful. And it's not even from the new gloryhunting fans or teenagers who've only ever known success. A lot of people on here who are old enough to know better, and are old enough to remember the 80s and 90s, are constantly frothing at the mouth, waiting to stick the boot in and spread negativity.

My experience at the Spurs game, and reading Bluemoon over the last 24 hours, has really summed it all up. From the moment I arrived at the ground, a new feeling crept in. That hotel they've attached onto the stadium, and the new third tier that takes our capacity to 61,000 - they're both nearly finished, but now that they're almost done I think they're fucking monstrosities. How arrogant of our owners to presume that 61,000 people will always want to come and see us and will always see City as a tourist destination. Someone will read this and think "You wet wipe, the club needs to build these things to progress. Do you not want us to progress?" And I guess the honest answer is no. We reached the top in 2023. There is nowhere left to go. Everything from this point on is naked greed. The hotels, shops, and extra 6,000 seats are being built under the assumption that the success will simply continue forever - like Madrid, Bayern Munich, United, Liverpool, and Barcelona presume that success will always continue. It is ugly and unbecoming. Until Liverpool and United became so arrogant and piled the trophies high, it was presumed in England that teams would have their day in the sun, have a few shiny moments to last a lifetime, and then slip back down the table so that someone else could come and have a go. Not anymore, and that's sad.

We're now part of a collection of teams, and a collection of fans, that don't just expect a trophy every season - we demand it. And some among us will scream and throw a paddy unless everything is perfect. I made that thread before, joking about the fact that of the 26 players we have the Bluemoon forum has decided that 16 of them have to go and that another handful are on thin ice. When did we become so fucking spoiled that we would turn so angrily on a talented local lad with City in his blood, like Rico Lewis? If you don't think he's a good enough footballer, fine, but he's a City fan from Greater Manchester and he's trying his best out there. And was also a part of the only City squad ever to win a fucking treble. At least pat him on the back and wish him well if you don't rate him. The shouting aimed in his direction against Spurs was utterly shameful, and then to come log on and see him called a "disgrace" and a "waste of a shirt", I felt more disillusioned than I did at Wembley 12 months ago. And all of this is because we have mutated into a fanbase that is LUDICROUSLY out of touch with the real footballing world.

The only thing on the average City fan's mind at the moment seems to be: WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN. AT ALL COSTS. WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN. "No room for sentiment, got to be ruthless, win win win. Doesn't matter who we fuck over or abuse or put down, just win." It is ugly and unbecoming, as I said. And it is fucking everywhere. It's not just teenagers on Twitter or gloryhunters on here, it's also grown men and women who've been to hell and back with City for 40 years, gnashing their teeth at title-winning legends of this club because oh, it looks like we're not going to win an 8th top division title in the space of a decade. A little bit of adversity last season, in the grand scheme of things, and that was license for all manner of insults and abuse to come out the mouths of so-called diehards. Fair enough, do all your shouting and embarrassing shit within the 90 minutes at the stadium, and by all means have a mouth off in the matchday thread to feel better. Call out a naff performance. But once it's over, look at the bigger picture, reflect on the last 10-15 years, remind yourself of what we've already experienced and of the players who've brought you glory, instead of stressing about where the next trophy is going to come from and saying some utterly disgraceful and ungrateful bollocks about the likes of Ederson, Bernardo, Walker, Grealish, Akanji, Mahrez etc.

Some of the shit said about Ederson these past couple of weeks has been nothing short of a disgrace. The *excitement* with which some City fans are greeting his potential departure is unbelievable. The most decorated keeper in our history, arguably the greatest we've ever had between the sticks, and you've got some offering to drive him to Galatasaray like he's Danny fucking Mills. Fair enough if you think his time is up, but are you not at least going to offer some gratitude? Some thanks? Are you not gonna share any nice memories? It was the same with Grealish when his loan to Everton was agreed. The things said about Akanji, who is also one of our treble lot and played for this club with bad injuries through basically all of last season. And christ, some of the things said about Pep! The man who's masterminded everything we've seen and experienced for nearly a decade. The internet has turned us into cruel, foul creatures.

I saw a picture before of David Silva wearing the 1999 play-off final kit at home. I looked at it for a moment and thought "Wow, that man played for us. For City. For Shitty City. A team who once wore that kit in a game that saved the club from total oblivion, and he was part of the journey that made us European champions". Football is just about creating memories you can look back on later and either laugh about them or smile about them - good and bad. We've had enough memories for about five fucking lifetimes. De Bruyne leaving was the absolute end of an era for me - the last player left who we signed while I was still in some form of education. I have witnessed a lifetime's worth of football glory, and felt a lifetime's worth of football joy, and I'm only 31. I now have another 50-60 years (hopefully) to fill and I'm going to spend it watching re-runs and highlights of everything City have given me, not just since 2011 but from 1999 onwards, when I became a Blue. Our lives following football have been so fucking easy, and yet if you read this place you'd think the last 15 years had never bloody happened, such is the attitude of some fans.

It's want want want. Demand demand demand. In January we ABSOLUTELY NEEDED Marmoush otherwise the world was going to explode. Six months later we've decided we don't like him so now we ABSOLUTELY NEED Rodrygo. In January we NEEDED Nico Gonzalez. People were slagging off Txiki Begiristain for not moving to sign him quicker. Six months later Gonzalez is "just another Javi Garcia" and it turns out who we really NEED is Baleba. We NEED to start playing kids more so we don't end up losing them like we did Palmer, but oh now we NEED to drop Rico Lewis and James Trafford and sell them immediately because we NEED Donnarumma and Livramento. I remember in 2021 when we were linked with Ronaldo after being linked with Harry Kane. Apparently we NEEDED both of them, or one of them at least. Turns out we didn't. This "win at all costs" mentality is, quite frankly, disgusting. If this makes me old fashioned or a "happy clapper" then so fucking be it.

So, I reckon that's me done on here, for a while at least. I no longer recognise this fanbase and this forum is where I see the most of said fanbase. So, enjoy the season - and I mean actually enjoy it, which means don't have a tantrum every four days - and I'll try not to let the door hit me on the way out.
What a heartfelt post. Well written too. I agree with lots and disagree fundamentally with some. Human nature craves success. When we were in the third tier we craved it as much as anybody and we still do. Having climbed to the top of the mountain, the most difficult thing to do is stay there and I guess that is what most fans want. Not necessarily to win everything but to be competitive within the upper echelons on the European game and to play football that excites us and makes is proud following footballers that do the same. Its like a drug high, once experienced you want the same feeling and emotion again and again. I don't believe that the majority of City supporters would be satisfied just with reruns of our glory days. They are in the past and become part of our rich history but to discount the future is unrealistic. Most of us want to win stuff. As regularly as possible. In that we are no different now to fans of Liverpool, United and Arsenal, all clubs that have had periods of dominance.

There was a drop off last season both in terms of achievement, our ability to compete with the best and the way we play football. Pour into that mix some extremely unpopular decisions by the Club around ticket allocations and the way they have started to treat legacy fans/season ticket holders and you have a dissatisfied match going fan base. Its not exceptional, lets face it we had an unhappy fan base at various periods in our history. I agree with you that much of the criticism of the players goes far too far but analysis around why we are in this position is to be expected on this forum with a range of views ranging from coldly analytical to rabidly unhinged. We are one of the richest most ambitious clubs in world football. Underachievement on the pitch will not be tolerated for long and if Pep cannot return us to being competitive then someone else will before too long. Things have fundamentally changed for us. Both the Club and the fanbase. There is not going back.

I hope you return to the forum mate. Always considered you one of the good'uns.
 
Wish I Had Beer/ Punk Floyd

So, so you think you can tell, footballing hell
Blue cries of pain

Can you tell if we've healed
From being derailed
A win to a fail
Do you think you can tell?

And I don't get your tirade
of anger in posts
In despair on your knees
Hot air of a fools wheeze

Common sense for change
And did you exchange
A placid part in your war
For a lead role in outrage

How I wish, how I wish I had beer
It's just wums and trolls talking out of arseholes
Year after year
Still here still posting with same old frowns
Bluemoon is running aground
It would appear
Wish I had beer
very good mate.
 
I think people are upset as a lot had thought that with the off-season and new signings, we would look better than last year, but here we are, looking even worse.

Pep is playing people out of position again and not to their strengths, so we get the Omar comments. Rico was thrown to the wolves and had a mare again at RB after we had not addressed it.

I think there's a fear that what happened to Jack will happen to Cherki.

It's fair to criticize, but it probably goes over the top.
I'm gutted with our general performances since last November mate. We just don’t look like the same dominant Manchester City & something doesn't seem right.

I seriously hope Pep can sort it out soon, but our management's main duty of care is to Manchester City Football Club above all else.

It's the jewel in the CFG crown & central to our global expansion, so I doubt they'll sit idly by for another season if we begin turning into the Sky Blue version of that lot at Old Toilet.
We're no better than mid last season imo.
Weak midfield, poor defence.
I'm not understanding why Pep cannot sort this out.
Why the fuck are we not replacing Kyle Walker. Rico Lewis is not a good enough right back for a team of our stature.
We are easy to score against and our passing game is now poor. We constantly give the ball away then it's everybody scramble back.
I feel this will be a poor season.
Sorry I wish I felt more positive.
Yes, we have been spoilt.
 

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