Pep: 'The players deserve a full stadium, we need our fans!'

[Blue Mist]

Protesting about the preferential treatment of big clubs in the game's governing body is a huge positive, and sets us apart from the crowd for the right reasons. Do we aspire to be a blue Manchester United, and take our place in the cosy cartel that we once railed against? Or do we stand for the possibility that if you stand by your club then one day you can live the dream that we're now living? We've made it. we're now a big club, so lets pull up the drawbridge and take our place in the elite? Every club needs a raison d'etre that is bigger than winning trophies, and fighting for a more egalitarian approach from the sports governing body should be ours. Remember City fans used to protest against UEFA and now they're part of the cartel they're happy to play along, is not a particularly healthy reputation to acquire.

Is another correct answer.

 

[BillyShears]

Is another correct answer.

Just out of curiosity what exactly are you protesting against ? Ticket prices are set by City. Leaving aside the piss take of not allowing supporters into the ground in Russia but letting Russians in, everything else which we have a problem with UEFA about is directly related to the club not the supporters. It's the club who would've been fined for booing. It's the players who were affected by the racist chanting in Porto. It's the club who felt the effect of FFP.

I would understand the strong sentiment towards booing if UEFA were doing things specifically to City supporters to fuck with us. But they're not. They are just UEFA, a shitty corrupt badly run organisation. The problem is the club's problem rather than our problem directly. And now the club's manager is asking that we leave it and simply support the team on CL nights.

 

[waterfootblues]

So I take it the grumpy old men didn't turn up on Wednesday ? Well I can only speak for myself. I was there, if I am classed by you as a grumpy old man so be it. But I will boo the bent bastards as loud as I can. It didn't bother the manager or the team last year why should it now. You say it is a new era, why ? becasue we have Pep ? it is still the same old bent UeFA, FIFA, Premier League the lot. Look how many pots Gill pisses in.
Sorry you don't like us but we are not making way for you happy clappys just because you say so.

If you think you can change UEFA, FIFA and the Premier league with a bit of booing then good luck with that. It's your choice.
What we can change is the dire atmosphere in the ground and the attendances for cup games.

The guys in the singing section made a great contribution to the atmosphere on Wednesday night and I for one welcome that.

As for being a happy clapper, we have a world class stadium, world class players, best manager in the world and owners most football fans can only dream about. I'm not a happy clapper, I'm fucking delirious.

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[mekonmcfc]

i dont think pep would give a shit about the booing, IF the players came out to a chorus of blue moon in a packed out stadium, and then singing all the way through the game.

Our support in the champions league is a joke, and they deserve more it was only £15 on wednesday, nobody can say thats too expensive, its 4 less pints a week !!

 

[mcfc1632]

You dont


I'm not talking about just last night and I've watched enough prem football to see that we really are quite bad for it by comparison to others. That's my impression, anyway. It's fair enough if the team plays shit but that's probably going to be a rarity under Pep.

I blame some of this on bone-headed policing and closing roads and shit but still.

I am really with you on this - the problem is clearly bigger at our ground.

Also, I know of no other club that has done so much to give reasons to fans to stay behind after the game for a while - I generally hang around, having a beer or watching the screens and letting roads and metro queues die down.

Of course evening games are difficult because it is getting late, but otherwise just what is the screaming need for people to fuck off 10 mins early - yes there will be some genuine reasons - but not for the numbers that leave our games.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

If it takes hours to get out of the club car park why would anyone park there?

I park about a mile away have a nice walk and get away no problem.

Always stay to the end and bemused at what on earth people are doing. As Sunderland sang....is there a fire alarm?

We can come up with excuses forever for non attendance crap atmosphere and buggering off early but at the end of the day Pep has a point. Stop moaning and get behind the best City team we have ever seen.

I think a lot of people will change their attitude a bit after what Pep said. I hope so. We had the reputation of being fantastic fans, at the moment that's miles from the truth but I believe it will change under Pep and the moaners will dwindle as they slowly become extinct.

completely agree. i park at ashburys train station, which is about a 5 minute walk. i get out of the area no problem. people park in the club car park for genuine reasons and thats fair enough, but its just stupid to park there if not. there are tonnes of places to park near by and you can get away fine. its usually the same people leaving early every week swell.

 

[Derek Summers]

I am one of those who find the experience of seeing my team competing in one of the top competitions in the football world as one of the most exciting times I have experienced as a supporter of this team for over fifty years.

I must admit the first occasion we booed the Champions League anthem I felt it amusing and thoroughly deserved by the Uefa hierarchy. But after we had made our point on that first occasion I felt it was time to move on. I fully appreciate the displeasure voiced by some, if not all, in the way we have been treated by Uefa but we should be supporting our team in every way when they are on the pitch and the booing cannot be very encouraging to our team as they are about to try to win the match.

We now have one of the best managers in Europe, and one of his remits, as well as his own personal ambition, includes progressing in the Champions League. He and the team need all of us to have this same ambition and give our full support to help them to achieve this.

I understand the reasons why many cannot get to matches, the list is long, but I am surprised that many supporters who could attend the Champions League matches choose not to. We want the best for our club and surely to compete in the Champions league is the pinnacle.

 

[TexasCityzen]

I have no leg to stand on, since i'm american and have never made it over for a game. That being said, the atmosphere has gotten noticeably worse on the TV since city won the title in 2012. Maybe that euphoric moment ruined it for the short-term future. How can that drama ever be replicated? In that sense, I can empathize - for the short-term.

It's pretty evident on here that ticket prices have increased dramatically since that season. I can only imagine some fans are priced out, or have just decided its not worth it for the current prices. Again, it is easy to empathize with you all on that.

I don't know what the solution is, but it seems obvious to me that getting young people into games should be a top priority. The system isn't the same over here with university sports, but it is no coincidence that the best atmospheres are college (american) football games. My university has over 38,000 students packed into one side of the stadium. It is the largest student section in the country in a stadium that holds over 100k, so its not a fair comparison, but it is no wonder we are constantly one of the loudest stadiums in all of american sports. Student's get discounted pricing (of course which is subsidized my higher prices elsewhere in the stadium). There are guys that lead the chants from the field throughout the games. This video is from AFTER the game from a few weeks ago. It helps when you win, but there are usually that many people left after a loss. Win and lose, together (1:17 mark it gets good).



The "emptihad" jeer is a growing trend around the states. EVERYWHERE I go now, it is brought up when I mention I'm a city fan when I'm watching games at various bars. I have no retort. Games are quite, attendance is visibly low, and the stands appear half empty with 5 minutes to go. "Better beat the traffic, since the rest of my day is so damn important!"

I never complain about this on here because in some ways, I am part of the problem. One day I will make it over for a number of games, and then hopefully I can be part of the solution.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I think this massively underestimates how self important and pompous they are at UEFA, and I think it is almost certainly what did not happen.

Mark Halsey recently confirmed what we all suspected, namely that he was told what to say in a match report because the decision had been made higher up the food chain that they wanted to take action about a particular issue. That was in relation to PGMOL but I think you have to be naive to think that does not go on at UEFA level as well.

The booing was not a new thing in November last year when the possibility of charging us arose. It had been done on a number of occasions previously, and had been commented on at some length in the media. Booing the UEFA anthem however is a disciplinary offence - that is why they wanted to charge us in the first place. (The self important nature of UEFA in this respect can be seen from the fact that UEFA's regulations prohibit the crowd from booing the opposition's national anthem at an international match - which you can understand - OR the booing of UEFA's anthem. So these jumped up little knobheads place their little piece of corporate branding on the same level and as deserving of respect as God Save the Queen, Deutschland Uber Alles, La Marseillaise and all the other national anthems that have inspired billions in times of war and peace.)

The idea that every single UEFA official observing a City match since the booing began missed this clear disciplinary offence, but then one guy decided to mention it where no others had seems to me to beggar belief. The reality seems to me that UEFA decided that their dignity was being offended and the guilty party would be charged. Whether they previously ignored it in the match reports and this time decided to take action, or whether they wanted to act and (a la Mark Halsey) told the official what to put in his report seems to me to be as broad as it is long. They had decided enough was enough. Equally, I cannot remember an occasion on which UEFA has opened a disciplinary investigation and then not followed it through with a charge. (Or the FA for that matter). But this time, following a series of extremely adverse articles in the media, they wisely decided not to follow through with this particularly petty and vindictive action.

The idea that some suit at UEFA went off on a frolic of his own and was then put back in his box by UEFA seems to me to be incredible - as in, incapable of being believed. They wanted to charge us, but they bottled it when they saw the shitstorm they had kicked up.

A full two weeks prior to the action was dropped, Infantno said: “They are booing their team, they are booing opponents, they are booing the Uefa Champions League anthem.

“We have to not be offended by it, live with it and to make things always better and try to prove and show people what is down in our heart is football basically.”

UEFA had no interest in charging City, it was just some **** from Iceland who put it in the report.

It was the best publicity we will ever get unless we actually organise a real protest, which nobody is bothered enough to do.

 

[Neville Kneville]

This is where you're being naive again. Chanting about Gill will get no headlines. Banners about Rumenigger will get no headlines. "Other stuff" about Burlesconi will get no headlines.

Yet our booing on Wednesday night was the lead story on the Mail online after the game. The lead story on the most viewed sports website in the country. For 30 seconds of booing. It's minimum effort, maximum impact.

Why would anyone bother to hand out leaflets, make banners, compose chants about these bastards when it will have less impact than a 30 second boo? It really doesn't make any sense. It just seems you've got yourself lost in your own argument and can't find your way back out.

Again, no one has ever suggested that booing is going to force regime change at UEFA. I've made that point 3 times to you now, yet you keep on repeating it.

All that booing does is highlight our dissatisfaction with UEFA. It's done a remarkably good job of that, no matter how much you might wish otherwise.

Millions of people read about it on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Booing had far more impact than any banner, chant or leaflet, because the mass media reported on it at length.

That's the best possible way to highlight a cause, maximum impact, minimum effort.

Which actually translates as: we can't be arsed.