Media discussion - 2025/26

Marvin. said:
I think the article on the decline of the England no. 9 in BBC Football is quite interesting. It doesn't bother me because I do not support England nevertheless it is quite an interesting phenomenon.

The other news I noticed was the very poor turnout by Utd fans for their womens team game against PSG at Old Trafford. They claim 14,667 but I had a look on BBC I player and it looked less than that. I don't think Ratcliffe will be impressed with that. Had City played a CL game v PSG at the Etihad, I would have expected 20k. Is the bubble bursting in womens football? I will watch Man City women when they are on TV. I like Bunny Shaw. City women play good football. I tried to watch Man Utd women v PSG women last night but the standard was so low that it was unwatchable.
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Would have expected a full house to welcome back Saint Mary
 
Chris in London said:
I think they did. Which is why, as Damocles says, its completely obvious how much that poster really stung them.
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Not all of them. I worked with a bloke from Salford, long time rag supporter. Who, after I explained the position of the sign and the significance of the border to Manchester. He still didn't grasp it, all he could utter was, "Tevez was already playing in Manchester". You can lead a horse to water etc!
 
surprisedbygrass said:
Sarcasm as a football tactic ? Someone describing Pep as passive / aggressive ? Who the hell is this bloke ? Stealing a living for sure . He certainly hates Pep..

Last season it was boring boring City, Harland is wasted and Pep is finished as he's been found out. Now Pep plays to Harland's strengths , reduces our possession, secures the defence and it's not flexibility it's sarcastic. Pep isn't being passive aggressive mate , he's finding yet another way to evolve while still using a highly technical team playing Total Football but with a generational talent leading the charge . If you think he's playing Route One Ball you have completely missed the point .
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Wilson wrote a (decent to be fair) history of football tactics called, Inverting the W (I think) about ten or 15vyears ago. It was very well received.
Even though it offered no particularly great insights (again, to be fair, why should it? He's a journalist not a coach) and the book was mostly a very well-researched chronological report of the evolution of football tactics, he has been lauded as something of a guru in the subject by his peers ever since. Why, only his peers can say but it baffles me.
(It can't be because they largely know fuck all on the subject surely but...) iIt'd be a bit like a food critic detailing the history of Russian food service and being regarded as a great chef by other food critics.
His book wasn't without fault/bias. (Remarkably, it entirely overlooks the Revie Plan - the first time an English club successfully embraced European tactics).
Unfortunately, his reporting is so much not without fault/bias that it's difficult to take seriously. Never - in 15 years of sustained domination of English football- has he seen fit to praise City without some degree of straw-clutching mitigation or downright sarcasm of his own.
TL/DR? He's a vaguely competent historian but a tiresome journalist.
 
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Earlyriser said:
Having read Simon's eulogy to Jim one sentence particularly struck me:

' a source said the work of United's data and analytics team has accelerated to such a degree it is now "among the top four teams".
I wonder how they know this unless they are following a Liverpool tactic...
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I hope it wasn't a eulogy, I want him to be around to take the Rags down at least three divisions!
 
mad4city said:
Wilson wrote a (decent to be fair) history of football tactics called, Inverting the W (I think) about ten or 15vyears ago. It was very well received.
Even though it offered no particularly great insights (agai, to be fair, why should it? He's a journalist not a coach) and the book was mostly a very well-researched chronological report of the evolution of football tactics, he has been lauded as something of a guru in the subject by his peers ever since. Why, only his peers can say but it baffles me.
(It can't be because they largely know fuck all on the subject surely but...) iIt'd be a bit like a food critic detailing the history of Russian food service and being regarded as a great chef by other food critics.
His book wasn't without fault/bias. (Remarkabley, it entirely overlooks the Revie Plan - the first time an English club successfully embraced European tactics).
Unfortunately, his reporting is so far not without fault/bias that it's difficult to take seriously. Never - in 15 years of sustained domination of English football- has he seen fit to praise City without some degree of straw-clutching mitigation or downright sarcasm of his own.
TL/DR? He's a vaguely competent historian but a tiresome journalist.
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The added irony being that for a while he wrote for the Abu Dhabi publication, The National.
 
rice10 said:
The added irony being that for a while he wrote for the Abu Dhabi publication, The National.
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Journalist ? Why would anyone ever suggest a fanbase would be bored of success ?
Along with the majority of Client article writers he,s been negative to our success and status as a football club.The sad thing. he,s not the worst by a long stretch but probably in the "Whatsapp Group".
 
jaiguruKun said:
I hope it wasn't a eulogy, I want him to be around to take the Rags down at least three divisions!
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Well the article did go on about his age in comparison with the Glazers and how long he might be around for.... wriggle, wriggle, wriggle
 
neilhb said:
Not all of them. I worked with a bloke from Salford, long time rag supporter. Who, after I explained the position of the sign and the significance of the border to Manchester. He still didn't grasp it, all he could utter was, "Tevez was already playing in Manchester". You can lead a horse to water etc!
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Ferguson had no idea what it meant at all. He exploded because he didn't understand it. He said it was just stupid. But then again he never ever understood Manchester. He spent very little time in our city, preferring to swan around leafy cheshire and executive boxes at horse race meetings. As an out-of-towner he was a perfect fit at United.
 
Liew at it again on SSN paper review.
Talking about England's defensive frailties, mentioned Stones lack of starts and O'Reilly needing to learn the defensive side of the game (there's something in that but considering he's just faced Adeyemi and Salah it's lazy).
But the coup de gras was 'can you imagine the England backline being run at by Mbappe (fair) or Endrick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

Endrick?????????
Brilliant journalism Jonny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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