I’d say it’s a call to arms.
THIS is a call to arms…
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
Henry V, Act IV, Scene III
Pep’s ”call to arms” was more Delia Smith than Shakespeare!
In fact, I might have respected him standing on the pitch and doing that much more than slamming fans to the media!
Personally, I think he should have thanked the fans and said something more like…
“I’m glad we have been able to score an amazing 16 goals in our last 3 home games for the fans who are always here, and have always supported Man City through thick and thin over the years. I think we are playing some good attacking football and for all the talk about ‘no center forward’ I think the players have responded and put that media talking point to bed. Now, it’s on to the Southampton game and I hope we can continue this form for our loyal fans, who turn up every game and who help us raise our game. Southampton are a very good team and we will need our fans behind us to raise our game again, as we enter the 3 games per week stage of the season!”
…or something like that!
To me, it seems like ZERO THOUGHT goes into the comments made. There is no narrative that the Manager, and sometimes even players, understand needs putting across. They all have PR people, and the club spends a small fortune projecting their brand, but they are WOEFUL at projecting the brand through player and club interviews that are usually the most widely watched and disseminated videos created! Instead, it’s City TV “bants” over EA FIFA Ratings….which tells you something about what the Club, and some players, care about!!!