Khaldoons End of Season Interview

[johnnytapia]

Not sure if I saw it mentioned on here but Mubadala won a €400m lawsuit against Real Madrid a month or so back.

So it’s been a good few weeks for Khaldoon.

Bet that felt like one of us having a parking ticket overturned

 

[Scott mcfc]

He is just the fuckin main man and the top dog,love eveything hes done with our club ,an outstanding job ,its great to be a blue it rearly is

 

[Scott mcfc]

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 and 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.

It wasent that bad over there pal jeez,i had a great time yess bit of shithole in places an stadium not fit to hold but ive bin worse european games,we won it thats all that matterd,and also at last final the big man forked out for a hell of alot of blues to go porto,be carefull what u wish for pal,cud be owned by glazers who wont even build a buss stop at ot,fantastic things are happening at city an personally im lovin every minute of it,if its gettin u down so much at city matters then take a back seat an enjoy the ride like everyone else

 

[Worsleyweb]

It wasent that bad over there pal jeez,i had a great time yess bit of shithole in places an stadium not fit to hold but ive bin worse european games,we won it thats all that matterd,and also at last final the big man forked out for a hell of alot of blues to go porto,be carefull what u wish for pal,cud be owned by glazers who wont even build a buss stop at ot,fantastic things are happening at city an personally im lovin every minute of it,if its gettin u down so much at city matters then take a back seat an enjoy the ride like everyone else

Yes but what about my trainers?

 

[brazilians hurt]

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

Bollocks it was a Freudian slip - sorry

 

[ancoats]

he stated in the interview he can't say too much for legal reasons. He also said the same relating to the UEFA charge

The best way to judge people is to look them straight in the eyes, the tongue can lie but your face and eyes don't,
khaldoons look says it all for me, it's clear we have been rubbished by the 9 clubs in the Premier League and them over the road, They fear Manchester City that much and don't fancy a fair fight and will do anything to rock the boat,

But this time for me them clubs have gone too far and we want our day in the sun against them, Not only will we keep on beating them on the field of play but off the field, We will find new ways to keep one step ahead of the rest and print our own money,

Manchester City is very much still an working progress at ground level, The sky is the limit business-wise, the new thing is shirt sales rocketing and every kid wants a Manchester City kit with Haaland or Grealish on the back.

 

[Stiff Little Wingers]

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.

The game has moved on from what many of us going in the 70’s and beyond experienced and loved. The club has also moved on big time and is now a world leader on and off the pitch. Christ, can you imagine that - lickle old City!
The big business and money that fuels high ticket prices and media horseshit (inc social media)kick off times and everything else that’s wrong with football are things the vast majority of us blues can put up with if the result is the wonder and glory we have seen and will remember for ever.
But we would not be where we are if not for the fans. That was proven time and again in the late 90’s and beyond. Sheikh Mansour I bet had barely heard of City before the takeover yet this club has been the heart of Manchester and within the heart of families for generation upon generation. Into a third century.
I know Sebastian Blue that the 2 way interaction many of us crave won’t ever happen - things are too far down the road for that. But one of the greatest human needs is to feel valued - that you, no matter who you are, whatever your circumstances, have something to offer and can be appreciated. So for us blues, yes of course the glory and success is beyond our dreams but it won’t be here for ever, yet the core of us blues born, drawn or converted to the cause will be.
That’s why some word from the club trying at least to empathise and make things better would be well received. Yes, Pep talks about the sacrifice KDB made playing through the pain and personal issues - and I love him for that. But what about at least acknowledging the sacrifices, financial, physical, personal, work related, health related, dignity related ( the treatment of vulnerable fans was awful) that thousands of blues made twice in a week.
And what are City Matters and more importantly the supporters club doing about this? I would dearly hope they are not going down the “client journalists” turning a blind eye to the corruption and degradation of this country in return for access favours and the rest.
Ironically, City are now brand leaders whatever that means (I do know but am being a near old git) so why not be brand leaders with fans? It’s not just about offering facilities ( which we have to pay to use)- it’s about offering something that’s not transactional and that can’t be measured financially.
Anyway, sincerely hope I’m proved wrong in the rest of Khaldoon’s interview.

 

[Blu1]

Not one mention of our corners,
beer waiting time or
Is it ok to still boo champs league anthem.

His priorities need sorting

:-)

 

[Eccles Blue]

As @SebastianBlue has said: "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."

In my experience, both with City and with the 'real' world these things take time. I hope and fully expect that the club hierarchy are working behind the scenes to find out as much as possible about the circumstances, how many people were involved, what measures were taken to help people and that takes time and patience sometimes.

I know from something that happened to me a long time ago, the first time I got involved with the club apart from buying tickets and turning up to games home and away and abroad, that the horrendous situation I had been in was investigated at the highest level, dealt with sensitively and as soon as possible they reported back to me.

I have investigated incidents for my union and also within schools and it is not an overnight outcome. Sometimes it can take a couple of months.

The club is not perfect but then neither are we, as fans. They do their best.
OK putting up prices etc can be a pain but let's face it everything has gone up over the past two years and we won't go into why as it will take too long. :-) But the level of success has also gone up. I expect I will get shouted down on that but I just want the club and the fans to keep celebrating a fantastic season.

Like many of you I cried on that last night, tears of joy, over the years I have cried on the last day of the season but they have not been always been of joy!!

This season has on personal terms been the worst since I was able to afford a season card. I have only been able to attend 3 or 4 games and only one of those was a CL game. However I am still proud to be a City fan and proud of the club and the fans. So please let's just trust in the club to be sorting this out behind the scenes. If it turns out that they are not then I will go along with the nay sayers probably but I don't think it will come to that. :-) JMHO

 

[brazilians hurt]

Yes but what about my trainers?

Wait for Part 3 it’s his big finale