Media coverage 2018/19

[squirtyflower]

According to every one of these wankers, yes.

And now it seems some of our own fans think so too

 

[TheRemainsOfTheDave]

In fact Barney Ronay has been defending Russia, owned by someone as closely connected to the Russian regime as Sheik Mansour is to the UAE leadership. Russia has directly killed thousands of people in the Middle East and indirectly killed hundreds of thousands. Putin has even poisoned and murdered people in this country. His abuses are off the scale compared to Abu Dhabi.
City have been singled out by the racists in the UK media because of the ethnicity of our owners. I am still waiting to hear from people like Ronay and Glendinning as precisely what abuses Abu Dhabi is guilty of. The UAE doesn't even feature in a list of over 100 countries (mostly in Africa and Asia) with terrible human rights records according to Amnesty International.
According to yesterday's Times more than 2,500 dissidents are in death row in Egypt, another one of the UK's allies. I don't expect the press to give City a free pass but what's wrong with balanced and fair coverage, based on facts, all reported in the correct context.

Politics over human rights is for governments to address, not sports journalists. If he feels that strongly, maybe Northcroft would like to divert all of the profits he made from selling his book written during his time covering the World Cup in Russia last year towards a suitable cause.

All I know is that the UAE report from our government reads a lot better to me than the Russia one. Russia has EU sanctions against it, is ranked 136th out of 177 for corruption and has its own section on human rights. The UAE ranks 21st for corruption as a comparison, just behind Republic of Ireland. Obviously there's room for improvement, but this targeting of the UAE doesn't add up. Why aren't Chelsea getting the same treatment? Is it because they aren't winning things as often?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...ess-risk-russia/overseas-business-risk-russia
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...s/overseas-business-risk-united-arab-emirates

 

[hello]

Could you please provide any tangible evidence that Manchester City is owned by a country? Especially one made up of several sovereign states such as the UAE. There’s a clue there mate...

Oh dont blow their mind with such simplistic perspectives as geography, how the hell is a bob standard investigative journalist ever suppose to know the difference between a state and a country? Fucking unrealistic expectations there! More chance of a team averaging 100 points over 3 season never going to happen.

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

...



While it's true it would be a very tenuous link to attempt to establish for the USA owning British clubs, the UAE doesn't own City even by proxy either. Nobody has been able to establish that link, they just imply it based on our owners heritage.

I know, and for the record you’re preaching to the converted. I’m just pointing out that - purely in my opinion - it’s not unreasonable for journalists to link City’s ownership to the UAE government, and I would base that opinion on ADUG having been motivated to buy an English football club for reasons other than altruism - again, purely in my opinion

 

[manimanc]

I think you need to re read his post as the whoosh is definitely not yours.
It bothers me when our own fans do not understand the difference between Abu Dhabi and the UAE

I shall take my whoosh back and demand people kneel down at my feet.

 

[squirtyflower]

Oh do blow their mind with such simplistic perspectives as geography, how the hell is a bob standard investigative journalist ever suppose to know the difference between a state and a country? Fucking unrealistic expectations there! More chance of a team averaging 100 points over 3 season never going to happen.

But @Exeter Blue I am here is not a journalist, he’s a long standing City fan under the misapprehension that the United Arab Emirates owns, by proxy, Manchester City and then compounded his mistake by saying it was a country, showing all that he’s not a clue about it.

 

[kaz7]

I know, and for the record you’re preaching to the converted. I’m just pointing out that - purely in my opinion - it’s not unreasonable for journalists to link City’s ownership to the UAE government, and I would base that opinion on ADUG having been motivated to buy an English football club for reasons other than altruism - again, purely in my opinion

It is unreasonable because they are supposed to research what they write,trouble is it just doesn't suit their agenda to write the facts

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

...



While it's true it would be a very tenuous link to attempt to establish for the USA owning British clubs, the UAE doesn't own City even by proxy either. Nobody has been able to establish that link, they just imply it based on our owners heritage.

Khaldoon sits on the Abu Dhabi Executive Council doesn’t he?

 

[Don Howe]

I know, and for the record you’re preaching to the converted. I’m just pointing out that - purely in my opinion - it’s not unreasonable for journalists to link City’s ownership to the UAE government, and I would base that opinion on ADUG having been motivated to buy an English football club for reasons other than altruism - again, purely in my opinion

Yes, this. In my ham - fisted way, this was point. Well aware we are not owned by a country, and that even if we were "owned" by Abu Dhabi's highest powers that our owner is not sat there dictating policy or starting wars, and that Khaldoon had been handed responsibility to run show anyway. And most importantly, i don't care about journalists any more. But the perception of our owners in wider world of fans rankles and must upset our owners. Am surprised too they have not said more on matter.

 

[kaz7]

Khaldoon sits on the Abu Dhabi Executive Council doesn’t he?

He doesn't own us

 

[urban genie]

Is he Deputy Prime Minister in this scenario?

Don’t get me wrong, we are owned by an individual, not a state, but I’m showing why they’re saying the opposite.

I get that, but just showing by our wanky journos standards an individual cannot be a member of a government and have a privately owed business, unless tgey are all hypocrites and singling out our owners for some strange reason.

 

[Metalartin]

I know, and for the record you’re preaching to the converted. I’m just pointing out that - purely in my opinion - it’s not unreasonable for journalists to link City’s ownership to the UAE government, and I would base that opinion on ADUG having been motivated to buy an English football club for reasons other than altruism - again, purely in my opinion

Personally I don't subscribe to the idea that we were bought for "Sportswashing" reasons. Putting Abu Dhabi's name out there(which never used to be called sportswashing) may have been one of the reasons but it clearly wasn't the primary one. They'd have bailed years ago if that was the case, they were under far less scrutiny before they entered football, all it's done is intensified it, increasing the more success we have if anything.

Even the Etihad link, to me it seems logical that it was probably always the plan to use them but not as a "disguise" for state funding(that's journo spin). Etihad is a real business and they wanted/still want to grow the brand to compete with their neighbours Emirates... isn't that business? Does anyone object to United favouring American sponsors because their owners are from there?

ADUG are a private investment company too, so Sheikh Mansour may have been influenced by his connections(is that abnormal in business?) but he had the final say. Would anyone care if Obama influenced John Henry's/FSG's decision to take over Liverpool?

 

[hello]

But @Exeter Blue I am here is not a journalist, he’s a long standing City fan under the misapprehension that the United Arab Emirates owns, by proxy, Manchester City and then compounded his mistake by saying it was a country, showing all that he’s not a clue about it.

I interpreted him and the other fella pedalling that direction as trying to portray the perspective from the journalist viewpoint. Maybe I am assuming must blues especially posting on a public forum understand our ownership structure as it’s pretty simplistic.

 

[M18CTID]

How come no fucker ever claimed AC Milan was owned by a country when that bent twat Berlusconi was Italian prime minister?

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

But @Exeter Blue I am here is not a journalist, he’s a long standing City fan under the misapprehension that the United Arab Emirates owns, by proxy, Manchester City and then compounded his mistake by saying it was a country, showing all that he’s not a clue about it.

My apologies. Abu Dhabi. My point was that if you accept - and you may or may not - the primary reason for the purchase of Manchester City was to promote Abu Dhabi, then it’s not hard to understand why journalists feel that it is reasonable for them to link our owners to AD

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

It is unreasonable because they are supposed to research what they write,trouble is it just doesn't suit their agenda to write the facts

I don’t disagree

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

How come no fucker ever claimed AC Milan was owned by a country when that bent twat Berlusconi was Italian prime minister?

Because it was Berli, Italy, and not us! We are the only team who will ever be owned by a country!

 

[Metalartin]

Khaldoon sits on the Abu Dhabi Executive Council doesn’t he?

The issue is ownership is it not?

 

[hello]

How come no fucker ever claimed AC Milan was owned by a country when that bent twat Berlusconi was Italian prime minister?

Quite a few did, to make it worse they were owned by that fucking countries pm, juve definitely felt the pressure from fiat when he agreed to increase Italian export fees on cars in exchange some Eu pr bollocks. Was a bonus for him face all over Brussels and biggest competitors backer lost about 10% of its value

 

[squirtyflower]

Sadly, for the sake of this particular argument, the US Government does not own any British football clubs. The UAE does, albeit by proxy. There are plenty of things we can criticise American club owners and sponsors for - Standard Chartered being a case in point - but holding them to account for US foreign policy isn’t really a starter IMO. It’d be like pinning illegal whaling operations by the Japanese government on Chelsea, because they’re sponsored by Yokohama Tyres

I interpreted him and the other fella pedalling that direction as trying to portray the perspective from the journalist viewpoint. Maybe I am assuming must blues especially posting on a public forum understand our ownership structure as it’s pretty simplistic.

But he isn’t trying to represent the viewpoint of a journalist.
He states quite clearly above that we are owned by a country.
Then admits that he’s wrong about the UAE bit but we are owned by Abu Dhabi.
Without evidence to the contrary his opinion is inaccurate.