It makes me deeply, utterly angry. Clearly, like so many other aspects of City and its ‘communications department’ it's being run by people who have no idea what it actually is to be a football supporter of many years standing.
The other week, I was over for the first time in a long time (Covid) against the dippers. There's a good bunch of lads on my row, I've been lucky in that respect, and they gave me a real welcome back. Hugs and smiles.
The bloke to my right (I've never got round to asking his name, and it's at the point where it would be embarrassing to), salt of the earth Manc, always comes with his lad — family's got five season cards between them! — I always like to talk about the way the game's gone to him.
At half-time, there was nothing I wanted more than to simply catch up with him, and see if we agreed in our reading of the game. The PA was fucking steamrollering our conversation! We were having to bellow at each other, and in the end we just gave up out of tiredness.
It's just as bad in the first few minutes before kick off. I often think — if they just let us sing!! We don't need the PA. Something else – three fucking times in those tense last ten minutes it was announced to the dipper fans that they would be held back at the final whistle. Apart from the fact that it's pretty standard, especially in big matches between bitter rivals and where there's bad blood between the supporters, what are they — deaf?
