I think I'm in the minority here when I maintain that the reason Hillsbough took so long to address was that as fanbases we get bored and tribal. For anyone that thinks "Oh it was just Liverpool" that just as easily could have been us.... indeed had we beaten Brentford and Liverpool it would have been(although I guess they might have played it at Villa Park)I once interviewed Swales who admitted that he always knew protests would die down if a few games were won (he was wrong but it shows how we were viewed - ‘I’ll carry on regardless, they’ll get bored’ - and I think some of that thinking still persists at LFC and MUFC).
oh c'mon , it's always in here if you read every thread .
BM wouldn't be the same without it , not to mention the rag / dipper inputs.
No chance that Soriano made that decision. It would have definitely come from The Shiekh and his board which includes American and Chinese investors.I thought Ferran would be the main man in favour of this, but IF Sky and the media have it anywhere near right, this came from the very top man......
And listening to what a total shambles this was from top to bottom, it's a worry and a complete disbelief to me why we ever got involved in the first place.
The EPL made UEFA look well run and fair.
I doubt that City have planned anything. I think they knew that eventually these clubs, who are so well run that they now have almost unmanageable levels of debt (in Spain at least as per Perez), would make a mistake and it landed nicely for us. Just a little bit of mischief here and there is all it needed.Fantastic, considered post as ever Chris.
Point 4 is interesting. I think I agree with what you've said but if they have been so intent on damging us, then why throw us a lifeline? It's not like Sheikh Mansour needs the money. So credibility probably plays some part, maybe protecting the investment he's made in the club. Who knows?
One theory is that one reason they needed us and Chelsea was to protect themselves from PL action, which needs a two-thirds majority. That's 14 clubs, so 6 clubs against the other 14 is no guarantee of protection unless they had the nod from one or two others that they wouldn't vote to expel the 6. Both Burnley and Fulham have US owners and Shaheed Khan, like the other 3 US owners, has interests in NFL and the PL. No Super League would ever include those two clubs of course but there may have been other incentives offered. It also might explain the timing, before Fulham depart the PL as now it now seems inevitable they will.
It also wouldn't surprise me that we were put in a position where we had to decide quickly whether we were in or out but I would be surpised if we hadn't a clear picture of what was going on for some time. I suspect we had to sign the letter of intent as a condition of hearing the details of the contract and if what you've heard about the timing is true, that fits with the leak to Ziegler over the weekend. I can't imagine that was anyone other than us who did brief him and that it was a deliberate attempt to cause as much chaos as possible. That would lead me to think that we really never had any intention of doing this, rather than that we went into it without realising what the PR impact would be, which cheers me up.
I know from sources within and without the club how much animosity the US-owned clubs have displayed towards us, and I believe it's reciprocated. These clubs, and others, have threatened our very existence and gone out of their way to achieve that aim.
Time will tell if it's been a cunning conspiracy or a cock-up but I'd like to think we saw a heaven-sent opportunity to hit our rivals hard and we took it.
The theory is growing that we did this to weaken the red shirts at UEFA, and at the PL, even though it has damaged us as well. Probably a load of bollocks, but Ceferin was very gushing when City decided to pull out. And we’ve been on the side of the PL 14 more often than not against the PL cartel clubs. I love a conspiracy theory, even if it’s complete pie in the sky.
So is there no truth in the rumour Soriano’s burner phones were found with calls logged to Bobby Manc and Joe Hart?The over reactions of some is mind boggling, but the blame of Soriano rather than the club is probably those that have always had an issue / agenda against Soriano and Begiristain,
And what would our communications strategy look like if we’d eagerly joined up for the SL and then got cold feet because of a fans backlash?Just a thought, if we were trying to fillet the cartel and bring them down, what would our communications strategy look like?
No quotes from the club when we joined
Quotes from Joel Glazer on our website
Pep speaking out about it
Players speaking out about it
First to leave
No comment from the club
No apology
Never heard them rumours, really could care less whether it's real or made up bollocks.You are right though a lot of the antiSoriano/Txiki bollocks dates back to Mancini stuff that some won't let go.So is there no truth in the rumour Soriano’s burner phones were found with calls logged to Bobby Manc and Joe Hart?