City Fans Leaving Early/Empty seats

[HarrytheBlue]

Leaving early - we all have homes to go to. I've never left early in 51 years of going to our games. Our greatest moments all in the dying seconds. It just wouldn't feel right to me leaving early. I'd rather miss a train than leave early.

 

[HarrytheBlue]

Spurs last year went from 62k v Stoke to 42k v APOEL. The reasons aren't hot air, there is apathy because of the reasons. People aren't attending because they aren't arsed, they aren't attending because there are genuine reasons, the majority of which are mentioned on here and the club need to act upon.

Pep does care about the champions league. When he won it in 2009, 22k turned up for one of their group stage games. He won't be arsed about us only getting 40k tonight, it has no effect on the result.

Not attending champions league games is not a Manchester City problem, like you said only Liverpool treat it as the holy grail because the true holy grail they haven't got a hope in winning - the premier league.

It's our owner's holy grail and Pep's holy grail. Pep will have been well pissed off by the poor crowd.

 

[Shaelumstash]

Spurs last year went from 62k v Stoke to 42k v APOEL. The reasons aren't hot air, there is apathy because of the reasons. People aren't attending because they aren't arsed, they aren't attending because there are genuine reasons, the majority of which are mentioned on here and the club need to act upon.

Pep does care about the champions league. When he won it in 2009, 22k turned up for one of their group stage games. He won't be arsed about us only getting 40k tonight, it has no effect on the result.

Not attending champions league games is not a Manchester City problem, like you said only Liverpool treat it as the holy grail because the true holy grail they haven't got a hope in winning - the premier league.

“We need the fans to turn up for the Champions League like they do in the league, believe me.” Straight from the horses mouth.

What he made of that atmosphere and the people leaving on 80 minutes in a tight game we’re losing 2-1, is anyone’s guess.

Be honest mate, do you think if that was a derby tonight we’d have got 36k or whatever it was?

Same cost, same traffic, same time away from the family.

If it was a derby it would have been absolutely rammajam. And that’s because City fans care passionately about playing United. But they don’t feel passionately about the CL. That’s the issue.

 

[WNRH]

“We need the fans to turn up for the Champions League like they do in the league, believe me.” Straight from the horses mouth.

What he made of that atmosphere and the people leaving on 80 minutes in a tight game we’re losing 2-1, is anyone’s guess.

Be honest mate, do you think if that was a derby tonight we’d have got 36k or whatever it was?

Same cost, same traffic, same time away from the family.

If it was a derby it would have been absolutely rammajam. And that’s because City fans care passionately about playing United. But they don’t feel passionately about the CL. That’s the issue.

We wouldn't no, but all clubs will get more for the big games or the rival derbies than other cup games. There will always be games in more demand than others.

Theres genuine apathy from City fans to the Champions League games. We got 40k tonight (and i suspect that was lower) and we sold out v Wolves in the League Cup last season. Why is that? Affordable tickets, ease of getting tickets and getting them together so you can go with family/friends, no restrictions in terms of having to move seats so UEFA can provide comfort to cameramen or treat their VIP stars. Whatever reasons you wish to throw in, it was the whole match day experience which was a lot better and smoother than the champions league throws up.

 

[Shaelumstash]

Theres genuine apathy from City fans to the Champions League games.

This is precisely my point mate, and has been all along.

I bought 2 tickets sat next to each other on the 2nd tier yesterday afternoon without any trouble. My nephews ticket was £15, very reasonable in my view.

Again, I think the issue we need to get to the bottom of, is why are City fans so apathetic about the CL. That’s the issue here.

 

[Marvin]

“We need the fans to turn up for the Champions League like they do in the league, believe me.” Straight from the horses mouth.

What he made of that atmosphere and the people leaving on 80 minutes in a tight game we’re losing 2-1, is anyone’s guess.

Be honest mate, do you think if that was a derby tonight we’d have got 36k or whatever it was?

Same cost, same traffic, same time away from the family.

If it was a derby it would have been absolutely rammajam. And that’s because City fans care passionately about playing United. But they don’t feel passionately about the CL. That’s the issue.

Succinct and spot on as usual. The attitude of our fan base towards the Champions League is radically different to that of Liverpool and Man Utd fans.

Our history is different. We've not won the European Cup, and we also had the bad experience of UEFA sanctions which alienated a lot of fans.

 

[Shaelumstash]

Succinct and spot on as usual. The attitude of our fan base towards the Champions League is radically different to that of Liverpool and Man Utd fans.

Our history is different. We've not won the European Cup, and we also had the bad experience of UEFA sanctions which alienated a lot of fans.

Thanks mate, and thank you for moving the debate forward.

I think you’re right in what you’re saying.

Liverpool and United fans have been brought up on stories of wonderful experiences, trophy wins and even tragedies associated with playing in Europe. Really it goes a long way to defining their clubs and therefore their fans.

My generation’s only experience of the European Cup is our dad’s telling us Malcolm Allison said we were going to “terrify Europe” only for us to go out in the first round.

Add in the treatment of UEFA and the general corruption in the organisation and I think a lot of City fans just don’t give a shit about it.

I can honestly say as I kid, I never dreamed about City being the best team in Europe. It wasn’t on my radar and I didn’t really attach too much importance to it. Possibly because English teams were banned from Europe when I first started watching football.

My dream was always to win the FA Cup, and then latterly the league. Winnjng those was like a lifelong ambition and hope coming true. We probably all felt more from winning those trophies than most other clubs did.

But maybe that’s the top of the mountain for us? Maybe it won’t ever get better than 93.20? But for Liverpool and United fans, they’re whole experience as a fan growing up was longing to be champions of Europe.

 

[paulchapo]

Succinct and spot on as usual. The attitude of our fan base towards the Champions League is radically different to that of Liverpool and Man Utd fans.

Our history is different. We've not won the European Cup, and we also had the bad experience of UEFA sanctions which alienated a lot of fans.

Well said. We weren't in it for years and could only look on in awe to what we perceived to be the holy grail of football. There was genuine excitement when we first qualified but all the FFP shit, awful refereeing decisions, what looked like stitched up draws soon killed that excitement. Now the owners and manager might love it but the majority of the long standing fans detest it. Nothing they say or do is ever going to alter that viewpoint I'm afraid.

Us Blue's have always been strong minded and gone against the grain, we wouldn't have stayed loyal in all the dark years without these characteristics. We do our own thing and have our own mind and if we hate the champions league we hate it.

 

[balotellishaircut]

This is precisely my point mate, and has been all along.

I bought 2 tickets sat next to each other on the 2nd tier yesterday afternoon without any trouble. My nephews ticket was £15, very reasonable in my view.

Again, I think the issue we need to get to the bottom of, is why are City fans so apathetic about the CL. That’s the issue here.

Well last season we turned out in numbers for all the group games, including the QF where the bent cnuts drew the only 2 English teams together, that's not coincidence that's 2 hot balls designed to fck over one off the English sides, and they got a referee to make sure we got knocked out.

Sterlings penalty at anfield, Sane goal at the Etihad, all these things get people pissed off with the competition, that's the only way they could stop us, because we would have beaten RM in that final, now if that would of happened you would have seen maybe a different slant on the champions league this year.

 

[bewildered]

I think the general apathy towards the CL is down to a lot of things, but one of the main ones for me is that it always seems like we've turned up at a party that the hosts don't want us at. The shit thats happened over the years that we've been in it only reinforces that view as far as I'm concerned.

The negativity towards us from UEFA and the media has seeped into our psyche. It might be changing a bit now, but we've all got long memories.

They want the old style elite clubs plus a few plucky underdogs to make up the numbers. They don't want us there, consequently we don't want to be there.

Thats how I feel about anyway.

I've been in the CL scheme pretty much every year and in that time I reckon I've enjoyed about 4 games. Barca, Napoli, The comeback against Bayern, Monaco.

The rest of the games barely register. Add in the shit traffic management around the ground for every game (not just CL) that turns a short drive home into a 2hour shitshow after every game. Bad enough on a weekend during daytime but on a midweek work night its beyond a joke.

Add to the mix hundreds of fucking tourists at the games and its not really a surprise.

I thought long and hard this year about dropping the CL cup scheme from my season card. Every year that goes by the competition means less and less to me.

The whole premise of the CL is dishonest, we should be the English representatives in a competition with the other champions... its a European Super League by another name and the more UEFA manipulate it to suit the old order the more I despise the whole thing.