Open Letter to Man City and newspaper further coverage proposed

[lazerblue]

i wouldn't give the muen my foreskin cheese so it's a no from me

 

[FootballSense]

Because at best they will reply to me and that is not what this is about
You (and a number of others, so this isn't personal, I just randomly picked one to reply) clearly don't understand the logic. It isn't gonna happen anyway because the letter can not come from me but must come from an official part of Man City supporters or it looks like 'bitter blue from Edinburgh' and is not newsworthy

Writing a letter/email using other forms of media has happened with a number of people and it is a personal transaction with the club with (what appears from most people) no/limited response where as right now as a fanbase we have seen nothing official from the club. This is about coordination of discussion

> Man City official supporters (remember it can NOT come from an individual) physically pay for an advert and the reason is because of the radio silence of the club so this is a 'desperate attempt' to ask them to speak to us
>This is followed by MEN undertaking interviews/reports etc especially with those disabled who were affected most. Remember if the MEN simply do this with no 'paid for letter' (which is the newsworthy bit) this goes nowhere other than a local paper reporting on a local incident
Then..
> All national newspapers/journalists etc become aware. The key part of the story remember is Man City fans pay for their own advert because of lack of response. This is what grabs the national news. Man City are asked to comment, it also becomes questions at press conferences etc. And this isn't about 'having a go' at City this is about having a go at Uefa but getting City to support.

Anyway - as I said in the initial posting it is pointless being tribal and having a go an MEN or anything else it is just a proposal to get City to properly comment

But instead as 1894 (and other groups) haven't picked up on this then fine. It was just an idea that would 100% have got the club to comment/support us in public, but if there are other ways of doing this fine, I look forward to seeing the club respond imminently

Blues Together - Champions of England, Champions of Europe, FA Cup Winners - THE TREBLE

Your sentiments are understood.

Many in the media and MEN are not our friends. We have a thread on it !

You or whoever possibly became party to this idea, however well intentioned, would rapidly lose any control.
Mentioning, Liverpool would be a major mistake and make matters worse (I note the letter was a draft). The media would twist and spin all of this.

Others are pursuing matters with City. UEFA were ultimately responsible.

I will not comment again. For me, it is time to drop this idea now.

 

[hammocity]

I have set this up away from the main Istanbul thread to get thought and traction so hope that is ok
I spoke to the Manchester Evening News and they are willing to publish an open letter from the fans to the club asking them for comment on how fans were treated in Istanbul. The cost of the advert (incl. VAT) is £480 for a half page advert. However... more importantly if the "letter" is agreed then they also want to follow up with interviews etc which in turn will make the item more newsworthy and take up far more space in the paper. Some people may now of course may just be thinking 'let sleeping dogs lie'
Anyway - I said I would get back to them but my thoughts are this : -
We could set up 'crowdfunding' for the 480quid and get the letter sent but it is better not coming from me but a more 'official' Man City supporters area (1894 etc) and also I had it 'bad' but nowhere near as bad as others (at least I got the metro to the ground and got in the ground early so only got the shit coming back)
Anyway...... :-
I have the contact - I have agreement that if the letter passes legal (we obviously can't be libellous:-) then MEN also want to give it more publicity but I think it needs someone (1894 group / Gary James etc) with more clout than me to move this forward (please no tribalism about what you think of MEN - that isn't the point)
I would appreciate whether there is any demand for this and also whether any official group (who would be better sourcing the right people interviewed) were interested in pursuing this and I will 'hand over the contact' etc.
cheers

(For info - my fourpenneth at the open letter below - but again, there are better wordsmiths than me (although there are also a few shitter ones.. :-) )


Dear Manchester City
This is an open letter from many of the fans who went to Istanbul for the culmination of possibly the greatest season in the history of the club. Whilst we would all like to thank the owners, the manager, players and all who contributed in creating wonderful indelible memories of the season, it is very disappointing how badly so many fans were treated at the Champions League final and how (it appears) the club appear somewhat disinterested in even commenting, never mind looking into what happened?
Last year in Paris, Liverpool fans were treated (admittedly) worse and understandably there was uproar across all media as a result, resulting in compensation for all fans, but whilst there has been considerable press coverage this year, the difference between Liverpool FC and their very public vocal support of their fans and Manchester City FC is markedly and disappointingly different
As most people are aware the way the fans were treated was somewhere between poor and almost inhumane. Some (but not all) of the key issues which have been well reported included : -

• City fans were told to use a bus to and from the venue which took on average of 3+ hours, including not leaving the car park for an average of 2 hours and many fans either ended up walking or struggled (due to disabilities) in even getting across the gravel car park in the dark to find a bus
• Failure at the ground (and fanpark) to provide appropriate places for food and drink meant queues of over an hour with only one concession stand in the ground for 20,000 fans
• Water being charged (illegally) at 5 euros for 225ml especially when a number of retailers in the ground demanded ‘cash’ even though it was a no cash venue
• Toilet blocks only for 20 to 30 people
• Horrendous queues into the ground whilst still having 2 hours before kick off

There are many more horror stories and even the Uefa president made the following statement :-
"We are well aware that in Istanbul not everything was perfect…..I'm thinking in particular transport links to and from stadium, the hosting of the stadium supporters and access to water and toilets for everyone." which somewhat reminds the older fan of the Monty Python sketch “what have the Romans ever done for us” given pretty much all the necessities of hosting a game other than the match itself were called out as failures

However, despite all this, there appears to have been complete silence from the club. We appreciate Manchester City do not pick the venue and have limited (if any) liability over what happened in Istanbul, but despite that, the fans expected at least some form of public comment of support, as we do not have any clue whether you are looking into this and supporting us or simply dismissing us as ‘legacy fans’.
Therefore all that we are asking is – please will you comment on what happened to give us an indication if you are looking into it or simply ignoring it
This is not about compensation it is about feeling valued as a fanbase, Pep often asks us to contribute and provide more noise and support the team, can we see some back please?

The Dipoers contributed to making last season worse, that shouldn’t be included in the letter. Give Reach PLC fuck all, absolute cunts.

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

I love that they’re “willing” to publish the letter for a fee.

They’re a dying local paper on their arse. They’re absolutely desperate to sell ad space to literally anyone who is daft enough to buy it.

It’s a hard pass from me.

 

[bainy]

Absolutely not ...no open letter in my name. The letter is an attack on mcfc and will be perceived that way. To say the experience for most was horrendous is not true, yes it was tiring, annoying and a rip off...horrendous no. Do not send in my name. Send in ur own name, directly to Danny Wilson et al...but do not send on my behalf!

 

[Sir peace frog]

if the M.E.N were that interested in a story,then why do they want you to take out a £400 advert, they are trying to pull your pants down.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

What good does a "comment" from the club do? What are you trying to achieve here?

This isn't newsworthy any more. The organisation was predictably shit but won't be next year in London regardless of any "comment" from MCFC.

 

[jazzy]

It's no from me , yes I found it to be a badly organised rip off but I expected nothing less from uefa . But I still LOVED it

 

[Oystercatcher28]

As bad as missing Rodri's goal because I needed water was, the MEN is not the place to voice group complaints, especially as fans don't have a collective voice. UEFA and City won't comment. Voices of fans are heard at fan-run clubs, not the Premier League clubs. Gone are the days of managers like Hughes, Keegan etc engaging groups of O.S.C.s or open invited fans. The football and achievements are sublime, and for a privilege to witness.

In my opinion, best just to focus on cheering the team on. And choose tickets on neutral or away games wisely, amongst the TV and sponsorship minefield. Football is the game that we all live for...

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Personally I don’t think it’s a great idea. It just screams disconnect between fans and club and the press will be all over that.

There is one to be honest.