Khaldoons End of Season Interview

[SebastianBlue]

I don't disagree with a lot of that. I do know though that the club made a number of visits to Istanbul to view the facilities, and knew there would be issues but trusted UEFA to get them right.

I'd expect them to come out publicly and say something like "We regret that there were significant problems for many of you in Istanbul. We worked with UEFA prior to the game an it was clear to us there were risks. We will be talking to UEFA and feeding back all the issues raised. Our fans, having made the effort and spent a lot of money to attend the CL Final deserve better. We expect a suitable response from UEFA and will not accept silence". I don't think that's asking a lot. At least it gives the impression they care.

They still could do that. For all we know they are trying to work with UEFA to address what happened and then release a statement not only expressing regret with what happened but providing some concrete remunerations and actionable steps to prevent such situations in the future. They obviously can’t go back in time and change the outcome, but perhaps they want to do more than merely release a trite statement of disappointment. I have heard from someone at City that supporter services are quite unhappy with what happened in Istanbul (several different situations, including the treatment of disabled fans and the way transport was facilitated—or not—to and from the stadium).

As a now disable fan myself, I would rather wait for a response with actual actions to prevent in the appalling treatment in the future. That comes from a place of constantly being merely told that some entity regrets incidents and will work to prevent them in the future, but there being no details as to how that will happen and never seeing much done to actually improve things.

That is just me, though; I understand others want more aggressive action from the club.

Ultimately, as much as I understand your perspective is based on your various less than satisfactory interactions with the club as a member of City Matters and in other capacities, I just can’t be convinced the club don’t care about the match going fans—especially the born and bred blues—at all.

Could they do better? Absolutely.

Are things for fans actually worse than most other clubs? I don’t think so.

Are things better for the fans than before the takeover? I believe they are.

I just feel as though you are perhaps fixated on perfection and that will lead to you always being disappointed with the club, as they’ll never be able to fully meet your vision.

To be honest, I struggle with that, too, as someone that has suffered from OCD basically my entire life. The disappointment and frustration of never being able to realise perfection in my various endeavours has caused all manner of pain and misery for me, and it’s taken years to be able to suppress that desire in favour of a more reasonable expectation of a trend of improvement (accepting I will never achieve perfection). And even more work to not expect it if others, which caused even more misery and, often, isolation.

At any rate, I understand not everyone will be happy with the club, no matter how successful we are on and off the pitch. It’s your and every fans’ right to criticise the club. I just hope it doesn’t get to a point of what we are seeing with fans across the way, is all.

That is what I desperately want to avoid.

 

[Corky]

It was against Copenhagen after Erling had just scored on the rebound. His second goal of the game. I’m not entirely sure it was in response to the crowd tbh

Definitely in response to Haaland making everything look easy after that goal.

 

[paulchapo]

Yes you can. Success on the field in no way has to come at the expense of ignoring the fans. The globalist approach of CFG and treating your 37,000 season ticket holders at the biggest part of that global organisation as valued customers, are definitely not mutually exclusive.

Is our ticketing better than it's even been? Is the communication with the fans better than it's ever been. Let's be honest here. Soriano does not give one single solitary fuck about us, apart from wondering how much more cash he can squeeze out of us. He killed Points of Blue and was most reluctant to set up City Matters, which he only did because he was forced to by the PL and Parliament.

Then Khaldoon comes along and says how great you all are ns most of you go gooey eyed and weak at the knees, despite all the evidence that the club never, ever, sticks up for us. We may have one of the most supine fan bases there is.

I guess a fanbase raised mainly on misery and failure will almost put up with anything for today's success. We are slowly dying out anyway and football at our level doesn't really want or need us anymore. Every game there are more and more tourists. Soon clubs will be able to sell millions of packages worldwide where you put on a virtual headset and it will be like being at the game live, without all the hassle and cost of getting there and back. When they do going to a live game will be like a champions league final. A once a season event, £400+ a ticket and fleeced at every outlet.

 

[Inter Me Nan]

"The Etihad is becoming what we always hoped for, which is truly the 12th man we always needed"

I've always thought of that when I see this gif. I don't know what anyone else is saying, but to me, it's Pep expressing how it feels to see the fans starting to really create a fearsome atmosphere in the CL.



Anyone know which game it's from?

Copenhagen at home if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

It was against Copenhagen after Erling had just scored on the rebound. His second goal of the game. I’m not entirely sure it was in response to the crowd tbh

It’s a cocksucker gesture aimed at the Copenhagen goalkeeper.

 

[brazilians hurt]

How do I know? I've spent 4 years working closely with Danny Wilson and his team via City Matters. The COO has launched a programme called 'The Integrated Fan Experience'' or IFX for short.

Do you know how many fans are involved in that? Not a single fuckimg one. Not even the City Malters reps. Last I heard thud not even had any feedback on it. Does that sound to you like an organisation that puts the 'fan experience' at the heart of everything it does?

Apologies if you feel the 4 years you invested working closely with the team at City have been wasted but I would rather be winning titles than plaudits for the best fan experience.
Going to football is like going to a gig it’s about the rudimentary sense of being and belonging rather than how you are treated & anyway the award winning Tunnel Club is there for those who yearn an experience

 

[KPXBLN]

Yes you can. Success on the field in no way has to come at the expense of ignoring the fans. The globalist approach of CFG and treating your 37,000 season ticket holders at the biggest part of that global organisation as valued customers, are definitely not mutually exclusive.

Is our ticketing better than it's even been? Is the communication with the fans better than it's ever been. Let's be honest here. Soriano does not give one single solitary fuck about us, apart from wondering how much more cash he can squeeze out of us. He killed Points of Blue and was most reluctant to set up City Matters, which he only did because he was forced to by the PL and Parliament.

Then Khaldoon comes along and says how great you all are ns most of you go gooey eyed and weak at the knees, despite all the evidence that the club never, ever, sticks up for us. We may have one of the most supine fan bases there is.

well said. Obviously I don't have a season ticket anymore (see location) and I haven't since I moved here 5 years ago, but I'm really saddened by the extent to which many who do are happy not just to accept price increases but to make excuses for them.

 

[madloaf]

It was against Copenhagen after Erling had just scored on the rebound. His second goal of the game. I’m not entirely sure it was in response to the crowd tbh

I've got some balloons at my kids party you can let down when you've finished up here.;)

 

[johnnytapia]

When isn’t winning a treble enough?
What was you Christmas list like as a child? Were you disappointed every year? If so did you ever think you might be being unreasonable?
We’ve just won a historic treble & got 2 monkeys off our back; 3 premiership in a row and a first champions league and as cherry on top beat the old enemy in the final of the FA cup.
Perhaps the chairman’s end of season review is exactly that, a review of what happened not what may happen in the future.
Utopia does not exist it’s only a perfect world to aim for and how do we not know they are working on improving the “ fan experience “
Seems a little churlish to piss on the parade but that’s just my view but seems you’ve foisted yours on this forum I felt the need to record mine!

I don’t think Christmas was generally a “biggy “ in the PB household.

 

[GaudinoMotors]

If supine is knowing that this is a complex legal issue above and beyond most paygrades and to be left to the experts and those completely in the know and involved; not mates of mates and tunnel clubbers. Then supine it is.