NEVER EVER use that kit as a primary kit again.I'm more undecided on the new format and willing to give it a chance. I think that the final few group games will be utter chaos as 15-20 teams could all move up and down the league thanks to games that have nothing to do with them, which adds to the randomness and the chaos. And even teams at the top like Liverpool, City, Madrid, Barca, whoever, will have to be disciplined and honest until the last second of the eighth game because one goal could be the difference between finishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.
But it's hard not to see the money-grabbing side of it, whether that's a feature or a bug. I was saying in another thread that, while there wasn't much jeopardy in the 21st century group stage system, there's even less jeopardy now than there was before. PSG, for example, have got a ridiculously tough run of fixtures in the groups and will likely finish outside of the top eight positions. Heck, they might even finish outside of the top 16 positions. But hey, not to worry, because a nice little play-off against Celtic or Monaco or PSV will probably await them, which gives them a bonus two-match boost from TV revenues and (all but) secures them passage to the round of 16 anyway. Doesn't matter that they finished 17th in the league stage based on the fixtures they were given - doesn't even matter if they finish 24th - they still get a chance to sneak through.
You're potentially looking at a situation where a team could win two of their eight games and still get through via play-offs if they happen to meet a team just as naff as them - 75% of the competition's entire amount of games will be played to get rid of 33% of the teams. It all feels like UEFA making major concessions to the Super League teams to keep them sweet and financially prosperous. And you'd better believe, as Champions League ticket prices go up and more football fans stop going, that it will eventually be suggested to play these early group games in America where fans are used to travelling 50-100 miles to watch a game and pay $100+ on a ticket. For all the fuss made about Arab owners in our game it's always the Americans who suggest things that threaten the very fabric of why English football is the biggest brand in the sporting world.
But I want to at least see whether the sporting benefits outweigh the capitalist cons. It's admittedly easier for me to sit back and let the situation develop because, due to price rises, I stopped going to Champions League games six years ago. For the match-going fan, these nights are going to feel weird. Another reason I stopped enjoying Champions League games was because all the regulars who sit around me were nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by people who - as you say - were there for a daytrip. Okay, fine, the club gets money out of it, but do those of us who are season ticket holders feel the benefit of the extra cash? I said this when I was on the BM Podcast a couple of weeks ago, that the club are courting demographics me and you just aren't part of. It's gone the same way as video games, where developers and creators now cater entirely to "whales" who pour thousands of £$£$ into their coffers instead of rewarding people who sink hours into the actual game.
As for playing in the fourth kit. Don't even get me fucking started on our "relationship" with that mildly talented smug fucker who comes to about five games a season, four of which are freebies from his pals in London and the other which is almost always the last day of the season when the league's on the line. Akanji has even said he got Bernardo confused with the linesman at one point. The headline that it's the fastest-selling City shirt of all time is complete horseshit - the fastest-selling fourth shirt maybe because we've never had a fourth shirt before, but for no other reason. If they insist on us wearing it in the Champions League, at least keep it to away games. That's the kind of shit Barca, Bayern, Madrid, etc. do and we're just copying them. Playing in away kits at home should have been banned after the Middlesbrough game in 2005.
Who cares mate. You're overreacting. Grow up.I didn't know where to post this really, so in here it will go! I've been thinking about last night's game a lot since the full time whistle and I can't shake this uneasy feeling I have. The whole night just felt really off about it, and I think it's because it's the most egregious example we've seen so far of football feeling like something you'd experience stateside. It was pure undiluted capitalism and it felt a little gross if i'm being honest.
Firstly, thousands of fans voted with their feet at the ridiculous ticket prices, obviously motivated by a hungry money hunt from the club. That left City with a crowd of tourists and newer fans - all there to 'experience' City. I don't blame them at all, they tried their best, but it just isn't the same atmosphere. It isn't their fault that football is this way, but we can't deny the effect it has on the night. Then you add to that the absurd nonsense of wearing an away kit at home. The reasoning behind that? Marketing. I wouldn't mind, but it's not even a kit in honour of City's heritage. It's essentially a marketing tool for a band reforming. We willingly sold out our club colours in a game that was a rerun of arguably the biggest night in the club's history to basically push a kit that is more or less a tribute to a band. Money....the kit is fucking shite too, which doesn't help.
Then when you consider the competition itself has changed dramatically, for money, leaving a confusing mess of a format that will feel inconsequential for a long time. A bunch of games, all random, all disconnected and all just a long slog until the inevitable big team qualifications...well yeah, the whole night just felt like a money grab, with a side serving of football. I understand some won't care about this and accuse me of being dramatic, but I don't think it's ever been that overt. Last night it felt like football and City changed in front of our eyes, or at very least we saw the direct result of this aggressive pursuit of money, and worryingly it only feels like the tip of the iceberg. It's not going to get any better.
There will be more kits at higher prices, more game at higher prices and fans will be pushed out. Can't wait for adverts at half-time in the stadium and even more 'innovations' that take the game closer to the dream NFL model of intense profitability at the expense of the consumer. A Champions League game of that magnitude should not feel like a preseason game, but it did. I really can't shake the feeling that last night things changed a lot, and personally i didn't like it at all. It's a crying shame.
The rags would disagree.The CL never gets going till the knock out stages.
I may be like death warmed up first thing in the morning but I'm more animated when I'm in the stadium. Although at 67 I'm one of the younger ones on my row.Utter bollocks, tourists ? ffs half our 'legacy' fans are the like the walking dead, half the younger age group in ss1 DON'T sing, what do you expect ?
Oh? I thought PL is the most exciting league in the world?!I find it crazy how much our atmosphere is talked about in the media when almost every ground in English is pin drop silent most weeks
Utter bollocks, tourists ? ffs half our 'legacy' fans are the like the walking dead, half the younger age group in ss1 DON'T sing, what do you expect ?
I felt that and posted something similar after our first game against Ipswich. Lets see how it feels vs Arsenal, one of our biggest PL home games of the season.I didn't know where to post this really, so in here it will go! I've been thinking about last night's game a lot since the full time whistle and I can't shake this uneasy feeling I have. The whole night just felt really off about it, and I think it's because it's the most egregious example we've seen so far of football feeling like something you'd experience stateside. It was pure undiluted capitalism and it felt a little gross if i'm being honest.
Firstly, thousands of fans voted with their feet at the ridiculous ticket prices, obviously motivated by a hungry money hunt from the club. That left City with a crowd of tourists and newer fans - all there to 'experience' City. I don't blame them at all, they tried their best, but it just isn't the same atmosphere. It isn't their fault that football is this way, but we can't deny the effect it has on the night. Then you add to that the absurd nonsense of wearing an away kit at home. The reasoning behind that? Marketing. I wouldn't mind, but it's not even a kit in honour of City's heritage. It's essentially a marketing tool for a band reforming. We willingly sold out our club colours in a game that was a rerun of arguably the biggest night in the club's history to basically push a kit that is more or less a tribute to a band. Money....the kit is fucking shite too, which doesn't help.
Then when you consider the competition itself has changed dramatically, for money, leaving a confusing mess of a format that will feel inconsequential for a long time. A bunch of games, all random, all disconnected and all just a long slog until the inevitable big team qualifications...well yeah, the whole night just felt like a money grab, with a side serving of football. I understand some won't care about this and accuse me of being dramatic, but I don't think it's ever been that overt. Last night it felt like football and City changed in front of our eyes, or at very least we saw the direct result of this aggressive pursuit of money, and worryingly it only feels like the tip of the iceberg. It's not going to get any better.
There will be more kits at higher prices, more game at higher prices and fans will be pushed out. Can't wait for adverts at half-time in the stadium and even more 'innovations' that take the game closer to the dream NFL model of intense profitability at the expense of the consumer. A Champions League game of that magnitude should not feel like a preseason game, but it did. I really can't shake the feeling that last night things changed a lot, and personally i didn't like it at all. It's a crying shame.