Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Thread

[Citizen Green]

Re: Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Threa

Any further roof beams gone up since the Hull game?

 

[Wilf Wild 1937]

Re: Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Threa

Yeh but the major difference is that anywhere within a few miles of the M25 is considered London by it's inhabitants, and the rest of the world. Manchester still suffers from the parochialism of people who live outside of the actual city of Manchester. Especially Salford residents, many get offended at being called Mancunian, despite Salford having no city centre of it's own. Similarly Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham, Stockport etc, some people consider themselves Lancastrian or whatever.

The City region with the 10 councils working together, essentially makes up Manchester as a city now in all but name. If it was London, or any US city, Salford would be considered an area of Manchester. It is increasingly being viewed as that by everyone except many of it's older residents who can't let go of old fashioned local identity.

I generally agree but even in Greater London there are still outlying areas such as Croydon where some older folk don't see themselves as
"Londoners". The "London" identity is more prevalent down there though than the "Manchester" identity is here, that I don't deny.
What is also undeniable though is that the "Birmingham identity" ends pretty much at the city boundaries. One of the main reasons
Brummies argue about "city" population rather than "city region" population is that they know that they are on very sticky ground lumping
Wolverhampton and the Black Country in with themselves. Birmingham was never the centre of it's region in the way that Manchester is and
was in the past (cotton industry).Birmingham's economy was based on precision engineering whereas the Black Country was
heavier industries and coal mining. Even to this day the Black Country forms a separate Travel to Work Area from Birmingham.
For me the fact that there is such hostility to adopting the name Greater Birmingham within the West Midlands is proof enough that
Manchester is bigger and more important.

 

[coleridge]

Re: Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Threa

As someone who lives there, and very much likes the place and its people, it is a description that is anachronistic and a soubriquet that is quite frankly, misleading.

In what way is calling Birmingham our 2nd City, "chronologically misleading" and a misleading nickname?

It's chronologically misleading because it stems from a time when Birmingham undoubtedly was the 'second city'. That's what makes it a misleading nickname. One is a corollary of the other. .

Almost oxymoronic, in fact.

[Three dots in elipses, mate. ;)]

 

[petrusha]

Re: Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Threa

The West Midlands region is enormous compared to Greater Manchester.

And why is this relevant? The West Midlands region includes not only the WM metropolitan county, but also Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire. The proper comparison is with the North West region, which includes Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria as well as GM and Merseyside.

The West Midlands county is not as big, but probably still 2x the size of Greater Manchester.

Probably twice as big? By what measure? By population, the difference is minimal - around 50K.

And by area, GM is actually bigger.

Source - <a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_counties" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_counties</a>

I appreciate that linking to Wikipedia isn't ideal, but the ONS site doesn't contain lists, only zip files that you have to download. The Wiki page does contain accurate information based on the zip files, however.

The fact is that there's very little difference between GM and the WM in these terms. The single difference is that the area covered by Manchester City Council contains a population about half as big as that living within the jurisdiction of Birmingham City Council. To my mind, this is a historical accident that really counts for very little in the modern world.

Now, I don't have anything against Birmingham or its people. And I think 'Second City' debates are a bit of a waste of time - the big provincial cities IMO should work with one another to lobby for a less centralised system, rather than bothering themselves with trivialities like this.

But I have met several Brummies in my time who take the view that their city is much bigger and thus more important than Manchester. It's a fallacy in my book and it irritates me.

What a strange post. You pick over every word I said apart from the last part, "I think they are probably pretty similar tbf." - Which you seem to agree with.

Do you just like arguing?

Why's it a strange post? Lengthy extracts of your were based on ignorant assumptions. I gave you the facts.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Re: Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Threa

In what way is calling Birmingham our 2nd City, "chronologically misleading" and a misleading nickname?

It's chronologically misleading because it stems from a time when Birmingham undoubtedly was the 'second city'. That's what makes it a misleading nickname. One is a corollary of the other. .

Almost oxymoronic, in fact.

[Three dots in elipses, mate. ;)]

I never said I was perfect.

 

[coleridge]

Re: Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Threa

Chippy_boy, let it go, mate!

Petrusha, others and I are in agreement. I respectfully suggest that you have been misled. That's all. Not your fault! Move on, our kid.

 

[danebanksheik]

Re: Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Threa

Any further roof beams gone up since the Hull game?

Yep several and started at the East Stand end so going for symmetry

 

[1.618034]

Re: Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Threa

In what way is calling Birmingham our 2nd City, "chronologically misleading" and a misleading nickname?

It's chronologically misleading because it stems from a time when Birmingham undoubtedly was the 'second city'. That's what makes it a misleading nickname. One is a corollary of the other. .

Almost oxymoronic, in fact.

[Three dots in elipses, mate. ;)]

And 2 l's.

 

[Chippy_boy]

Re: Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Threa

Chippy_boy, let it go, mate!

Petrusha, others and I are in agreement. I respectfully suggest that you have been misled. That's all. Not your fault! Move on, our kid.

Let what go? What is it exactly you think I am asserting?

I am genuinely puzzled by your post.

Are you under the mistaken impression that I believe Birmingham is bigger than Manchester or that Birmingham is Britain's 2nd City? Because if so, as I say, you are mistaken - I have no such view. In fact I have no strong views about all this at all, and have nothing to "let drop".

Genuinely I am so puzzled by your comment, I thought you were referring to questions about whether we can sell Lampard to NYCFC. That wasn't it, was it???

 

[simonmdm]

Re: Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Threa

Any further roof beams gone up since the Hull game?

On the train home tonight, I think I counted 10! (It was dark so I couldn't be sure but we were up to 9 on Wednesday when I walked past but I didn't have my camera.)

As danebankshiek says, they've started on the East stand side now to meet in the middle I would assume. At this rate, that could be by the Newcastle match next week!