Let's Give Alison Brittain A Warm City Welcome On Sunday ;-) (Richard Masters Chickened Out)

[supercity88]

I don’t think much of Masters as an executive, but he isn’t the only person involved, and if you think the decision not to attend our match and present the medals/trophy to the likely champions was completely down to him, I think you are misreading the current dynamics, both related to the charges and the direction of the league more broadly.

As I said, you're looking into it in far too much detail. The US ownership and threat that serves is a different matter entirely. This was a case of Masters wanting to hide from us and choosing the Arsenal game instead - they could have won it so he could have been in the right place.

Once these charges are dealt with there's no more concern over that particular matter. We know what the Americans want. They want a league that they can monopolise for the minimum investment. A closed league, no promotion or relegation so their position is safe, a spending cap so they don't have to invest too much and more and more profits thanks to games in New York, Rio and Sydney every season. A footballing NFL.

But the fans will block it. Whatever rules they can get the majority vote on we'll still back ourselves to be the best.

 

[SebastianBlue]

God I hope you are wrong or exaggerating the threat. Another few years of this I could really do without. I knew Alison Brittain when she was at Lloyds Bank and only have positive perceptions. Thought she showed a great deal of grace yesterday. If you are right about the Americans, maybe they have picked on the wrong people.

I don’t know much about her, unfortunately, so you’re obviously in a better position to speak to her character.

But I have known many people that I would have classed as having integrity bent to the will of malicious actors who knew how to manipulate or extort. I have even found myself in that position and took some pretty drastic steps to get out of it. And these American ownership groups have shown in their dealings here—and recently in the UK—they are quite good at getting what they want, one way or another.

It’s also important to note that almost none of the various stakeholders amongst the American ownership groups see themselves as malicious actors or even acting problematically. Very few are super villain types looking to destroy City or the English football structure out of evil motives.

Most truly believe the changes they want to implement would be best for the league, the club other owners, and football in general. The issue is, their belief is so strong, their confidence in their ideals so complete, they largely dismiss—or are outright hostile—to resistance to, or criticism of, their desired changes.

And most genuinely believe City need to be delegitimised to “save the business” of football.

 

[SebastianBlue]

As I said, you're looking into it in far too much detail. The US ownership and threat that serves is a different matter entirely. This was a case of Masters wanting to hide from us and choosing the Arsenal game instead - they could have won it so he could have been in the right place.

Once these charges are dealt with there's no more concern over that particular matter. We know what the Americans want. They want a league that they can monopolise for the minimum investment. A closed league, no promotion or relegation so their position is safe, a spending cap so they don't have to invest too much and more and more profits thanks to games in New York, Rio and Sydney every season. A footballing NFL.

But the fans will block it. Whatever rules they can get the majority vote on we'll still back ourselves to be the best.

I don’t think the concerns related to the charges end if they are dismissed—that is a very optimistic view. Much of the narrative being actively constructed (both in the UK and US) now is meant to ensure the shadow of the charges never actually go away, no matter the official outcome.

And whilst we agree about what the American ownership contingent want, I think you are underestimating how effective their tactics are in getting what they want, as well as the breadth and depth of their efforts, which includes signals like Masters attending the Arsenal match rather than ours.

This has been going on for many years now and has only been intensifying.

As I said before, I think many are underestimating or misunderstanding what is actually occurring right now.

 

[tommy116]

Although we are being lauded by many, unfortunately, the “115 charges tarnishes the achievement” narrative is coming up more this go round than last season. That is a function of the groundwork being done largely by the American ownership groups (primarily Liverpool, United, and Arsenal), both in the US and UK media and via social media campaigns within various fan bases.

For just one example, neighbour that supports Liverpool (American from Boston) messaged me yesterday to see if we needed help with our lawn (we have a service but told them not to come until next week so some seeding the missus put down could have a chance to take hold). I told him no, explained the delay in mowing, and also said “good season, I am sure you’re lads will be back challenging next season”, to which he said “maybe, it’s hard to compete with your team when they’re allowed to cheat”.

I was gobsmacked.

The dippers lack of awarence of their history is sickening, they should be ashamed of themselves but then again only the rest of us can imagine being them.

 

[SebastianBlue]

The dippers lack of awarence of their history is sickening, they should be ashamed of themselves but then again only the rest of us can imagine being them.

That’s very much by design, mate, especially with the American contingent.

 

[blueandy1mac]

100% this ^

Last season Masters had a face like a smacked arse, he was a disgrace.

This lady smiled and genuinely and had the grace and decency to speak to the players and show genuine delighted in what they had achieved.

The tide is turning ladies and gents, again today Mr Jordan praising the club and the general press showing the respect we deserve.

You obviously haven't read the Telegraph today.

 

[cheekybids]

I thought she was superb yesterday & she looked honoured & spoke to each recipient. It seems simple when you write it but quite clearly this simple award ceremony is often cold & emotionless for it to stand out.

 

[supercity88]

I don’t think the concerns related to the charges end if they are dismissed—that is a very optimistic view. Much of the narrative being actively constructed (both in the UK and US) now is meant to ensure the shadow of the charges never actually go away, no matter the official outcome.

And whilst we agree about what the American ownership contingent want, I think you are underestimating how effective their tactics are in getting what they want, as well as the breadth and depth of their efforts, which includes signals like Masters attending the Arsenal match rather than ours.

This has been going on for many years now and has only been intensifying.

As I said before, I think many are underestimating or misunderstanding what is actually occurring right now.

Of course they do. People can say what they want, think what they want, but we'll be cleared so it's all fucking irrelevant noise. We've had these charges since Feb 2023. In that time we've won the league twice, FA Cup, CL, Club World Cup, Super Cup. Those Americans are really fucking us over aren't they! We were cleared by CAS and it hasn't stopped the "you got away with it on a technicality" or "you hired the best lawyers" arguments from rival fans. It's tribal, that's what happens. But that's not making a difference to the clubs actions on or off the pitch.

I don't underestimate the yanks, but what I perceive to be their ideal world for the premier league just isn't going to happen because, like the European Super League, the fans will oppose it. They might get their way on spending caps but matches abroad or a closed league without relegation will never happen. If it does it's the end of the game in this country.

Again, the Masters thing is just him hiding away - rightly. Whether the US cartel are involved or not, it isn't important or an issue. The majority of people don't know who the fuck he is, let alone what he looks like.

 

[mcfcphil]

Masters is finished if City are cleared.

Not being at the Etihad is the first sensible decision he’s made in five years.

 

[SebastianBlue]

Of course they do. People can say what they want, think what they want, but we'll be cleared so it's all fucking irrelevant noise. We've had these charges since Feb 2023. In that time we've won the league twice, FA Cup, CL, Club World Cup, Super Cup. Those Americans are really fucking us over aren't they! We were cleared by CAS and it hasn't stopped the "you got away with it on a technicality" or "you hired the best lawyers" arguments from rival fans. It's tribal, that's what happens. But that's not making a difference to the clubs actions on or off the pitch.

I don't underestimate the yanks, but what I perceive to be their ideal world for the premier league just isn't going to happen because, like the European Super League, the fans will oppose it. They might get their way on spending caps but matches abroad or a closed league without relegation will never happen. If it does it's the end of the game in this country.

Again, the Masters thing is just him hiding away - rightly. Whether the US cartel are involved or not, it isn't important or an issue. The majority of people don't know who the fuck he is, let alone what he looks like.

I think we are going to have to agree to disagree so we don’t hijack the thread with further debate.

I will just say the American owners don’t think in terms of years, they think in decades, and they know what it takes to manipulate fans in to eventually backing smaller, seemingly less intrusive changes, one-by-one, until they’ve achieved their main goals. They’re doing that now with social media influencing campaigns and media spin to realise the functional “salary cap” proposal, which is merely one step of many already completed and many to come. They’ve already used the ESL debacle to win further concessions from UEFA (along with the ownership groups of Real Madrid, Barca, and Bayern, who are all heavily influenced by American consultants and PE entities now), and will use similar threats and events to win more, until the structure of the CL is not far off from the ESL. They are backed by clever people that literally do this sort of thing in much larger and more complicated industries; they are masters of regulatory capture and market dominance. I have worked directly with some of them, so know their tactics and their success rate.

At any rate, I may not be around to say “I told you so” in five or ten years time, but I am fairly confident that if we don’t take the threat seriously, my missus can put that on my headstone.