LazyArse said:
city diehard said:
the thing is though HE IS NOT MAKING THIS UP.
TRUST HIM
They all do. Connected people with the genuine inside track don't spend their time on internet forums. Obviously some people will hear things but it's usually 3rd or 4th hand gossip and sometimes they get lucky, while most just add their own spin to media gossip for the attention. Interesting stuff.
You obviously have exactly zero idea what you are talking about.
Every single large company would (and do) pay to have a concentrated group of brand consumers in a single place. BM is exactly that, and the club would be foolish to not have people on here communicating. We know Stuart Brennan, head of the City desk for MEN posts is regularly on here, we know that certain players are regularly on here, we know Cook himself is on here, we know that Chris Bailey is on here too, and I imagine some of the ADUG guys would have, at least, checked this out.
Secondly, every desk has a computer with the internet on it, every phone/PDA/palmtop/notebook can use the internet. People quite often have to fly somewhere, or are driven somewhere, or are in a queue, or are having a break etc. What do you think they do? Sit on their hands?
Thirdly, every major company I have worked with have a Community Liason Manager. This is basically a guy who will snoop around fansites/supporters club meetings and get the 'word on the street' about the company's direction. Other just steal ideas off of the fans and claim it as their own. They will also usually provide information the other way, so that we have an inside knowledge of what's going on. Coca-Cola have one of these, Blizzard have about 50 of them, Nike has loads too (which Cook would have realised was hugely valuable to their marketing strategies).
Fourthly, as Ric will confirm, the club's communication with this forum has probably tripled since the ADUG takeover. They are aware of us and the amount of users we have. This is the single largest City forum out there. City understand the power of the internet, enhance why they have just spent a fortune in redeveloping their website.
Fifthly, ITK people aren't exactly superstar jetsetting individuals, even those very close to the deal. For example, I was ITK concerning the takeover of a major company, months before it happened. I don't have a private jet, I have to share mine with at least two other people!
The point been, the club are aware that this is the big place for City fans. The club would definitely keep an eye on us, and what we think about certain things. The club would definitely have some sort of contact/presence here, who is allowed to release certain information that hasn't hit the media.
Presuming that nobody who is actually ITK would bother to post here, is just foolish
EDIT : Also, been able to track the IP of peoples posts/other users on the same IP has opened my eyes to exactly who is ITK, and who isn't.
