It’s amazing the different interpretations for something like this. Fwiw, I agree with you.Mansour isn't the absolute monarch of anything.
An emirate is just a territory ruled by an emir. So what is an emir? Seems historically, that he was just the leader, usually military, of a group of people, often a tribe, who would gain land by conquest. Their emirate. They could then apply for recognition of their emirate/emir.
In the case of the UAE each of the seven emirates was previously a sheikhdom, based on particular tribes, under the protection of the British. The word emirate was chosen over sheikhdom when the UAE was formed apparently because sheikh doesn't always denote leadership in a sovereign sense, whereas emir does. Actually, their title is still Sheikh. No-one refers to Emir Mohamed of Abu Dhabi, he is Sheikh Mohamed, the Emir of Abu Dhabi.
Anyone feel free to correct anything I have wrong. It's all pretty confusing to me too.
I think the thing is, in the Middle East, so much of everything is based on trust. Lines between family, business, personal matters are so blurred to western eyes. It's just part of the culture, and not just at the level of royal families, also at the level of shopkeepers and artists. Everyone.It’s amazing the different interpretations for something like this. Fwiw, I agree with you.
interesting post mate.I think the thing is, in the Middle East, so much of everything is based on trust. Lines between family, business, personal matters are so blurred to western eyes. It's just part of the culture, and not just at the level of royal families, also at the level of shopkeepers and artists. Everyone.
So when a westerner sees a relationship between parties to a deal, and thinks it's suspicious because the default mode is that everyone is out for a quick buck, Emiratis see a business opportunity on a long-term basis built on trust.
The Etihad deal was a good example. A deal based on the trust between City and Etihad executives. City wouldn't be overcharging Etihad and would deliver what was promised and Etihad would be a loyal long-term partner. Hasn't worked out too bad, but the western response was: what was the losing bid? There wasn't one because there didn't need to be. Trust.
Another example was the joker we originally had representing City. He was embarrassing City, Mansour and Abu Dhabi, so by definition, he was embarrassing family. Mansour changed him and brought in, presumably with the support of, or at the suggestion of, two of the most respected business people in AD. Family.
Final example. The number of sponsorships that are linked at business executive level. Big deal according to the Athletic and Gary Neville. Perfectly normal to develop long-term business relationships by integrating personal relationships at executive level, both ways, especially when this is done at Mubadala with such strategic, long-term investments. When a business involvement is required, who else than someone you have a long-term relationship with and whom you trust. Trust and personal relationship.
This misunderstanding of the ME culture is at the heart of the casual racism towards the ME, imo. They don't do it like we do, so they must be up to something. That should change with some education, but I can't see it happening.
It's too bad for our competitors that our management and executives are so well connected. It's too bad they take a long-term view with people they trust. Basically, tough.
Again, open to being corrected if I have anything wrong.
Final point. A short one :)interesting post mate.
It shouldn’t surprise us the level of ignorance that is shown towards us. After all, a similar level of intelligence is applied to many other areas of life, particularly politics. My only wish is that we had a way to refute the ignorance and lies. The club have a big role to play in correcting the media. We fans could do more too on social media and within our own contact base. It isn’t surprising that mistakes are made though, just yesterday we had different interpretations of Sheik Mansour hard and soft power on here.
Some excellent posts there bud.Final point. A short one :)
I used to think we should do more to counter stuff like this, but then I realised that if the senior people at the club were so confident with their long-term view that this is all irrelevant to them, then why should I worry about it?
As fans, we should be able to debate and be willing to understand so we get to the same level of confidence as the club and its owners have. Leave the naysayers alone. You can't debate with people who don't want to listen.
They don't do it like we do, so they must be up to something.
Maybe thats correct. The club will continue to do what it does. At least I understand more about UAE structure and politics than I did a day ago.Final point. A short one :)
I used to think we should do more to counter stuff like this, but then I realised that if the senior people at the club were so confident with their long-term view that this is all irrelevant to them, then why should I worry about it?
As fans, we should be able to debate and be willing to understand so we get to the same level of confidence as the club and its owners have. Leave the naysayers alone. You can't debate with people who don't want to listen.
Thanks for the kind words.Some excellent posts there bud.
Absolutely spot on. Some people think the British Empire still exists and that "they" should all do as they're told (not necessarily as we do).
Was in his column in the monthly magazine. I used to have a subscription. After the takeover he had constant digs at City.Didnt notice that in the magazine but maybe in the dailys?
I know he spoke out a lot about the greed of the Premier League when it first appeared, he wasnt wrong there.