Absolutely. Agreeing deals with China is a long and personal process. I know that Manchester Airport having been meeting for years to secure their first direct flight to mainline China. Unless other clubs are someway down this line already and have played their cards right, similar deals for other clubs may be a long way off and may be very difficult now given the Chinese poilitical ties that this deal was set upon.We've had the usual reaction from fans of the real English "big clubs" and "global brands". They're not worried because City can't sell out for their home matches and are only a little "plastic club" who can't generate their own revenue but rely on handouts from a sugar daddy. We've had the slightly less crude reaction from some pundits who are afraid that the Chinese are buying us Guardiola, Neymar and Messi because the Sheikh can't afford them and we have City fans on here who are gearful that this will change the PL and the very nature of our club. We can't go to PL matches played in China!
I'm actually still stunned by this deal. Not for any of the reasons I've just mentioned. I'm actually stunned by the scale. Virtually every decision taken at City since September 2008 has taken me completely unawares and I have come to realize that it's because I don't see things from the same viewpoint as the Sheikh and Khaldoon. I am not even a pygmy and they are giants striding through business (and politics) on a global scale. I suspect that without this global view it is impossible to grasp the seismic importance of the agreement.
Our rivals have in fact had little success in China. No doubt some players are popular on a personal level, but Chinese fans tend to support Chinese teams. There is a growing interest in PL football but , apart from, the TV revenues it doesn't do our clubs much good. Gill et al scratch their heads and wonder how to "crack" the Chinese "market" without realising that this is the problem. The Chinese do not wish to be "cracked" in the way English supporters of United, Liverpool and Arsenal have been "cracked" - sold ludicrously expensive tickets, hounded to buy expensive shirts etc by clubs that then clear off to take their tat to the next bunch of suckers. Cracking the Chinese market appears to mean ripping off the Chinese.
City don't operate like that. The Chinese have bought in to the CFG, not Manchester City FC and the CFG will present itself, as everywhere, in very local terms. Manchester City is a global presence, but is more identifiably Mancunian than ever. City really are becoming "more than a club"! The CFG will rip no-one off. This agreement is a genuine partnership: the Chinese have their own ambitions as does the CFG and there is no conflict between them. Instead of being asked to make charitable donations to the coffers of distant "brands" the CFG will be helping the Chinese achieve what they want. Football will benefit and so will every part of the CFG. And as the club pointed out - this is just the beginning! My difficulty is that I have only a dim view of what exactly is beginning. But the Sheikh knows, and that's good enough for me.
I must admit I feel like I don't know what I'm clapping about with all this most of the time.
I get that it is the CFG that the Chinese have bought 13% of, I get that the funds still go to the CFG group and not one club, I get the new board member will have no influence on MCFC.
But I don't get how we suddenly have an extra 200m fans!
I dont get how we even "potentially" have these people as fans!
I don't get how it all links together.
I imagine City will set up some ground roots football academy's in Asia.. But are people really dumb enough to think "oh I like that company and they have a share in MCFC, I think I'm going to support them and buy all their products".
Or am I missing something?
I met a colleague in London yesterday who I hadn't spoke to for a good while. We used to talk football a lot. He's a Spurs fan, from a long line of Spurs or United fans.
With a heavy heart, he told me that his Nephew (8 years old), has rocked the family by requesting a city kit for Christmas. He actually requested it from his Utd supporting grandad. They asked why, and the boy told them that's who he likes to watch and wants to play like!!! After trying to talk him round, In fairness they've agreed he isn't for turning, and so it's just the mechanics of the purchase to sort out. I.e. They're arguing about who walks in the shop to buy it. I think the smile on my face as he was telling the story told him my thoughts on the situation.
I must admit I feel like I don't know what I'm clapping about with all this most of the time.
I get that it is the CFG that the Chinese have bought 13% of, I get that the funds still go to the CFG group and not one club, I get the new board member will have no influence on MCFC.
But I don't get how we suddenly have an extra 200m fans!
I dont get how we even "potentially" have these people as fans!
I don't get how it all links together.
I imagine City will set up some ground roots football academy's in Asia.. But are people really dumb enough to think "oh I like that company and they have a share in MCFC, I think I'm going to support them and buy all their products".
Or am I missing something?
Good post. His Highness is one incredibly shrewd operator. He makes me feel so inadequate haha!I think you might be missing quite a bit here mate. The group that have invested in us are a mass media giant in China. It's the equivalent of Rupert Murdoch, Mark Zuckerberg and the BBC investing in us. Think of the 'favourable' coverage The Shite have had on Sky and in the national press over the years. Now times that by 2 billion!
The reason it's different in China to here is because they are a fairly new culture to football. They like it, it's the most watched sport, it's just become compulsory for kids to play it in school, so the popularity is only going to increase rapidly in the next few years. But because it's new, they don't have established roots in supporting a team. The Shite might be popular there, Liverpool might, but it is not 3 or 4 generations deep like it is here. People can change aliegencies, particularly the kids.
Now if we get wall to wall favourable coverage on TV, newspapers, internet and social media, it's inevitable in a country without a free press like we have here, that our fan base is going to grow exponentially. The reason The Shite can get 70m a season from Chevrolet is because the can spin a yarn to sponsors that they have 650m fans worldwide. Brands want to be associated with that, the exposure is huge. If we can say to a potential sponsor that our partner's media reach is in the billions, imagine the premium we can charge for sponsors.
Increased sponsorship and media exposure means we can attract the very best players and managers on the planet. To put it in perspective, if you add up the whole of Europe, South America, and USA, it's still not as many people as live in China! The market is absolutely colossal, and it's only getting bigger.
The guys who have invested have also recently signed deals with Warner Brothers, Dreamworks and Merlin to open theme parks in China. Their contacts and know how for a "Tourist attraction of international significance" for the collar site are absolutely incredible. The possibilities of this partnership are actually frightening. And this isn't some fly by night media organisation, they are state owned! China is going to be the biggest economy in the world in the next 20 years, they're not about to go bump!
Our owners of one of the worlds richest oil states have now got onside with the top politicians on the worlds next superpower. It kind of makes you realise how small time the likes of David Gill are in comparison when he talks about how many United shirts they sell in Shanghai.
Yeah. When the day arrives that City are universally accepted as being the biggest club on the planet (and that day WILL come) we can trace back to yesterday being the pivotal moment, the game-changer.It's been said and the key point is that the deal is with the state owned media group, deal done and dusted. Closed door for all other clubs I presume as why would the state compete against itself in the Premier League.
Good post. His Highness is one incredibly shrewd operator. He makes me feel so inadequate haha!
That combination of effectively unlocking the Chinese market whilst also having great partners for whatever the collar site has in store for us makes these guys the dream investors for City. There is literally nobody better, strategically, for us to be in an alliance with. Can't wait to see what happens!
From June onwards, yes. Direct flights to and from Beijing.How long until we have a Bicester (6 million Chinese visitors in 2012) style designer outlet built on the collar site, combine that with a 'premium' match-day experience in the Sun Jihai lounge and match day income will rocket. Did someone say there are going to be direct flights from China?