Roll call for 9 minute protest

[Tim of the Oak]

Post of the thread. Absolutely nails it on every single point. It should be a sticky. That way, those who aren’t up to speed with things can see what all this is about.

Yes top post apart from the love in with Scousers. Captured loads of key issues.

 

[Robanompivenov]

So while the charges are still to be dismissed, we are still fighting for a CL spot, have a Derby and FA cup to play for in a world where children die every second from malnutrition, and just under 180,000 were reported missing in 2024, in the UK alone let's right on bruvver let's go full zit faced snowflake and stand on our heads for whatever trivial bollocks(which it is), because of what?

You do know that more than one thing can happen at any one time don't you? What a load of waffle completely detached from the point.

 

[CC1]

I think those that wish to protest know they part and have known their part for many years.

The protest is not against the team, but not being able to do they part in the future!!!

It’s a protest against the Management, if the team can’t survive against Leicester for 9 minutes, without a few supporters, then God help us, if we make Champions League football next year!!!!

Ok well let’s see how the support is like when you all get back in

 

[CC1]

We do support the team!!!

The protest is against the Management!!!

9 minutes of Supporters protesting against the MANAGEMENT, should not make or break our whole season’s results and our capabilities or capacity to make the Top Five or Champions League, if it does???

Bring on the Europa League!! :0)

Shame it’s the team that will notice it most - & the media of course. They’ll be right behind you

 

[Eric Hitchmough]

I am genuinely dead confused at the reactions from so many posters here about what they think the action should or shouldn't be, or what it should've been instead.

Some saying "9 minutes is not enough", some saying it's too much. Some saying "why don't they do banners", "they should do something outside the ground that doesn't obstruct the team", "this is the wrong time/match", "I'm waiting to see if my seasonticket goes up", or "it's only about viagogo there are bigger issues" etc.

From the very start of the season, groups like 1894 and the fans' foodbank have been fighting for better treatment of the City family as a whole. Before the first game of the season we had the atrocious disabled parking charges, that they fought against and made the club U-Turn.

Throughout the season we've seen things like Manchester based fans being called "1%" by the chief marketing officer, groups of people in Barca shirts at Anfield and then a week after the club promise it'll never happen again, we see a group of men in Real Mallorca colours at Ipswich! All this at a time when it's never been harder to get away tickets.

Weve then seen the disgraceful way the club has ignored open letters from all the fan groups on pricing, and left City Matters hanging for 7 weeks for a ticketing meeting they'd promised in 7 days. A meeting that only materialised after Thursday's viagogo announcement and the immediate backlash to that, caused or not.

So then the comments about the tactics of the protest. People saying why not banners? We did banners a year ago! 1894 put up a "RECORD PROFITS, RECORD PRICES, STOP EXPLOITING OUR LOYALTY" at home vs Arsenal after yet another price increase, what did the club do? Tear down the banner, chase the 1894 members down the concourse and took their accreditation. We've tried banners, the club control what gets in or out of the ground and they'll just get us banned.

View attachment 151656

Some people have also said that it should be done outside the ground. Well the foodbank group have been doing banners outside the ground multiple times this season, and 1894 have held banners at away games, in solidarity with fans from across the country, in the #StopExploitingLoyalty campaign which has two main aims - reduce/freeze the cost of tickets, and protect Junior? OAP concession rates. We're any of you who are saying this protest needs to be outside at any of these displays? They were all shared on socials.

View attachment 151657
View attachment 151658

In fact, the foodbank lot even went to Anfield with a banner and held it across the away end, for a solid 10minutes. The scousers have been supportive from the start, and they recently won a brilliant freeze in both STs and general admission. Liverpool also won a reduction in ticket prices back in 2016 when they did a concourse boycott, so who is to say these things don't work?

View attachment 151661

City fans even got one up during the return fixture the other month, but the upstanding gentlemen at GMP tore it down for no apparent reason.

View attachment 151662

And let's be honest, City fans haven't exactly got a big track record of protesting anything this millenium, so it makes sense to do something a bit smaller before we try anything like a walkout, which some people have called for here. If people are complaining about 9mins at kickoff, what makes you think we're ready to try a walkout when a match will already be underway?

The discontent this season has been massive, multifaceted, and really disappointing to experience. Knowing our own club doesn't listen, and largely doesn't even care, is depressing. I grew up with Junior Blues, thinking that it was one big family. That has eroded badly in recent years when it became clear that the ruthless chase of the profit margin came above all else. This protest is obviously not just about viagogo, it was clearly just the last straw for many supporters. Everyone can see it.

There are two options for protesting tomorrow. If you can't bear to miss 9mins of a game tomorrow (even to protect being able to afford to watch 90mins next season), then come and join us at 7pm by the Colin Bell stand. If you're not sure about it then come and talk to the organisers - who are just regular blues like all of us, who deeply care about this club.

We all have the option here to make a bit of a stand and make our voices heard, even if it may seem to no avail. I don't want to live in a world where we don't believe we can change it for the better. City fans boycotting the Community Shield in 2023 made the FA change a kickoff time for the first time in history. City fans doing a fundraiser for disabled fans this year made the club U-Turn on malicious parking charges. Football supporters united across the country in 2017 got the £30 away cap introduced. We can do things if we just try.

Please try and support in some way tomorrow, we're all doing this for the next generation of Blues who can't even get in the ground anymore.

Keep the faith. CTID.

Superb post.

 

[CC1]

I think that’s another sign of poor management, thinking that you are entitled to Champions League football every season!!!

When failing to invest properly in the Squad every year???

Need to have a contingency plan for rainy days

can’t believe I’m reading this after all we’ve achieved over the last 8 years. Criticise the ticket policy but as far as management of the club is concerned???? Nobody could have anticipated losing Rodri : Stones; Ake; Akanje: Haaland ….

My last post on this thread you’ll be pleased to know as some of the comments are unnecessary

 

[M18CTID]

Yes top post apart from the love in with Scousers. Captured loads of key issues.

Believe it or not Tim, not all scousers are cunts and we've been involved in loads of collective action with their fan groups as well as fan groups from many other clubs down the years. That might not be something you find palatable but sometimes fans have to come together for the greater good. By doing this, we were able to secure the £30 cap on away league tickets which has now been in place for 9 seasons. The nationwide weekend of action - something that was proposed by a City fan by the way - which led to that being brought in saw fan groups of Newcastle, Liverpool, and Everton join City fan groups in a show of strength on the Nexen bridge back in 2015 ahead of our home game against Newcastle.

 

[kippax123]

I am genuinely dead confused at the reactions from so many posters here about what they think the action should or shouldn't be, or what it should've been instead.

Some saying "9 minutes is not enough", some saying it's too much. Some saying "why don't they do banners", "they should do something outside the ground that doesn't obstruct the team", "this is the wrong time/match", "I'm waiting to see if my seasonticket goes up", or "it's only about viagogo there are bigger issues" etc.

From the very start of the season, groups like 1894 and the fans' foodbank have been fighting for better treatment of the City family as a whole. Before the first game of the season we had the atrocious disabled parking charges, that they fought against and made the club U-Turn.

Throughout the season we've seen things like Manchester based fans being called "1%" by the chief marketing officer, groups of people in Barca shirts at Anfield and then a week after the club promise it'll never happen again, we see a group of men in Real Mallorca colours at Ipswich! All this at a time when it's never been harder to get away tickets.

Weve then seen the disgraceful way the club has ignored open letters from all the fan groups on pricing, and left City Matters hanging for 7 weeks for a ticketing meeting they'd promised in 7 days. A meeting that only materialised after Thursday's viagogo announcement and the immediate backlash to that, caused or not.

So then the comments about the tactics of the protest. People saying why not banners? We did banners a year ago! 1894 put up a "RECORD PROFITS, RECORD PRICES, STOP EXPLOITING OUR LOYALTY" at home vs Arsenal after yet another price increase, what did the club do? Tear down the banner, chase the 1894 members down the concourse and took their accreditation. We've tried banners, the club control what gets in or out of the ground and they'll just get us banned.

View attachment 151656

Some people have also said that it should be done outside the ground. Well the foodbank group have been doing banners outside the ground multiple times this season, and 1894 have held banners at away games, in solidarity with fans from across the country, in the #StopExploitingLoyalty campaign which has two main aims - reduce/freeze the cost of tickets, and protect Junior? OAP concession rates. We're any of you who are saying this protest needs to be outside at any of these displays? They were all shared on socials.

View attachment 151657
View attachment 151658

In fact, the foodbank lot even went to Anfield with a banner and held it across the away end, for a solid 10minutes. The scousers have been supportive from the start, and they recently won a brilliant freeze in both STs and general admission. Liverpool also won a reduction in ticket prices back in 2016 when they did a concourse boycott, so who is to say these things don't work?

View attachment 151661

City fans even got one up during the return fixture the other month, but the upstanding gentlemen at GMP tore it down for no apparent reason.

View attachment 151662

And let's be honest, City fans haven't exactly got a big track record of protesting anything this millenium, so it makes sense to do something a bit smaller before we try anything like a walkout, which some people have called for here. If people are complaining about 9mins at kickoff, what makes you think we're ready to try a walkout when a match will already be underway?

The discontent this season has been massive, multifaceted, and really disappointing to experience. Knowing our own club doesn't listen, and largely doesn't even care, is depressing. I grew up with Junior Blues, thinking that it was one big family. That has eroded badly in recent years when it became clear that the ruthless chase of the profit margin came above all else. This protest is obviously not just about viagogo, it was clearly just the last straw for many supporters. Everyone can see it.

There are two options for protesting tomorrow. If you can't bear to miss 9mins of a game tomorrow (even to protect being able to afford to watch 90mins next season), then come and join us at 7pm by the Colin Bell stand. If you're not sure about it then come and talk to the organisers - who are just regular blues like all of us, who deeply care about this club.

We all have the option here to make a bit of a stand and make our voices heard, even if it may seem to no avail. I don't want to live in a world where we don't believe we can change it for the better. City fans boycotting the Community Shield in 2023 made the FA change a kickoff time for the first time in history. City fans doing a fundraiser for disabled fans this year made the club U-Turn on malicious parking charges. Football supporters united across the country in 2017 got the £30 away cap introduced. We can do things if we just try.

Please try and support in some way tomorrow, we're all doing this for the next generation of Blues who can't even get in the ground anymore.

Keep the faith. CTID.

I think this just about sums it all up. Brilliant post.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Believe it or not Tim, not all scousers are cunts and we've been involved in loads of collective action with their fan groups as well as fan groups from many other clubs down the years. That might not be something you find palatable but sometimes fans have to come together for the greater good. By doing this, we were able to secure the £30 cap on away league tickets which has now been in place for 9 seasons. The nationwide weekend of action - something that was proposed by a City fan by the way - which led to that being brought in saw fan groups of Newcastle, Liverpool, and Everton join City fan groups in a show of strength on the Nexen bridge back in 2015 ahead of our home game against Newcastle.

I’ve got time for Everton mate and Liverpool fans (outside football).

I thought it was a top post but the fact is we’ve had a poor atmosphere at home to Liverpool the last 2 years because of their political sensitivities. Are we still allowed to sing Bluemoon for that fixture lol.

In addition, I think the Foodbank peole are a great addition to city campaigning /lobbying. BTW Kevin Parker has just shared the protest plans for tonight to OSC members. He says the Foodbank people shared it with him. I will stick it on our FB page. I was going to be there tonight regardless:

On a related point to the earlier post. There was always going to be a meeting on ticketing with City Matters so I’m not sure why some fan groups are claiming credit for this. Although I’ve no time for Danny Wilson, I don’t accept that he’s the sort of guy who would offer a meeting and for it to never take place. Yes the early date shouldn’t have been suggested. It’s timely that the protest is before this meeting.

Anyway, let’s hope it’s a big turnout for tonight’s protest. I was / am participating regardless.

 

[wolfie1988]

I'm not going to be able to join in the protest because I've got my 7 year old with me and there isn't a way he is going to miss any of the match. This doesn't mean I don't support it though. I fully support it and I'm delighted that our fans are finally taking a stand in numbers.

Looking forward to seeing how it looks in person.

I'm in 211 btw. If anybody calls me a scab, I'll punch you in the nose ;)

 

[Marvin.]

I understand these concerns mate.

I would hope that you can read it with the intention it was written, and not that it was harking for fascist great replacement theory shite. I know for a fact that it is talking about away fans and daytrippers (not City fans local/overseas) in our stadium. Think of the 30,000 eintracht fans at Barca that time, a club that is experiencing the long-term fallout of Soriano's business strategy.

But i understand your fears.

In that case I will support the protest. Sorry to cause a hoo-hah but I think argument and words are powerful and important. One flyer referred to City fans becoming "a minority in their own stadium". This argument has taken a lot of my my attention because identifying tourists inevitably involves judgements on asian fans attending games. It seems to me that there are people pushing this argument in the fan groups and I wish they would be careful about this argument.

 

[thegoatsthegoat]

In that case I will support the protest. Sorry to cause a hoo-hah but I think argument and words are powerful and important. One flyer referred to City fans becoming "a minority in their own stadium". This argument has taken a lot of my my attention because identifying tourists inevitably involves judgements on asian fans attending games. It seems to me that there are people pushing this argument in the fan groups and I wish they would be careful about this argument.

Probably not the best worded but obviously means legacy fans are in the minority. We probably are when we play Madrid at home. City should be inclusive and accessible to all, but not for people simply having more money and may not even support us.

 

[pride in battle]

Probably not the best worded but obviously means legacy fans are in the minority. We probably are when we play Madrid at home. City should be inclusive and accessible to all, but not for people simply having more money and may not even support us.

Do you really believe there were more Madrid fans in the ground than City fans....some of the stuff written on here is embarassing...

 

[jrb]

The fail running a story on this, and had to get that 3000 tickets are still unsold and no block is sold out in their biased shit. The ticket agency bit might have got a bit of support from rival fans but they didn't want that so highlight the unsold tickets bit to get the ' Emptyhad' knicker wetter brigade on board

It was true. We were discussing it on here. The Daily Fail has mentioned the reasons for the protest in previous articles.

Don't moan at the Daily Fail article. Moan at the directors who have priced out City fans that have led to 1000's of empty seats against Leicester tonight.

Block 313 where tickets are £30 is the only block close to selling out. Over 1000+ City fans have bought those cheap tickets instead of more expensive tickets in other parts of the ground. What does that tell you? If Leicester had taken their full away allocation I doubt the majority of those 1000+ City fans would be at the match tonight.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

So while the charges are still to be dismissed, we are still fighting for a CL spot, have a Derby and FA cup to play for in a world where children die every second from malnutrition, and just under 180,000 were reported missing in 2024, in the UK alone let's right on bruvver let's go full zit faced snowflake and stand on our heads for whatever trivial bollocks(which it is), because of what?

Great point mate. We should suspend all sporting activity until all kids are well-fed and no one is reported missing for, shall we say 6 months.

 

[BertM19]

In that case I will support the protest. Sorry to cause a hoo-hah but I think argument and words are powerful and important. One flyer referred to City fans becoming "a minority in their own stadium". This argument has taken a lot of my my attention because identifying tourists inevitably involves judgements on asian fans attending games. It seems to me that there are people pushing this argument in the fan groups and I wish they would be careful about this argument.

Thank you pal, I appreciate you reading what I've said there. And believe me, I grew up in a bit of South Manchester that's fairly diverse let's say lol, most of my mates in school weren't white and my wife is of South Asian heritage (a Rochdale rag for my sins) - colour of their skin makes them no less Mancunian than me, and the fact that a minority of dickheads in our support can only see non-white people as tourists, instead of proud Mancs, makes me sick. (they may be a minority but of course we still need to challenge them wherever possible)

But i fully believe that is yet *another* outcome of our ticketing policies pricing out working class Mancunians over the last 15 years. E.g. there were more black Mancunians in the crowd at Maine Road then for much of the time at the Etihad, and that's not simply because of where the stadium is, it's cus we've been pricing out fans for years and they've not been brought along with us for the ride. I had mates giving up their seasonticket back in 2016, let alone what we're seeing now.

None of the people behind those statements/flyers are racist, but I 100% see where your worries came from with the phrasing as similar stuff has been said by bad actors with completely opposing views to us. I've seen 1894, for example, continually praise their members in Syria, Iran, Japan etc (as well as being a diverse group themselves!).

Thanks for saying you will support the protest, genuinely great to hear that and thanks for listening. We're all doing this to protect future generations of Blues - and let's be honest, the current generations who've seen it all and are this close to losing a huge part of their lives, and those who already have had to give it up.

CTID

 

[urban genie]

Love how the same people who pop up in the seasonn card prices threads every year saying accept anything the club charges and be grareful.

Well it goes both ways, many fans from near and far, from the uk or from across the world come and support city no mattter what and wil lbe here once the trophy slump happens and we are bouncing around 6th-10th a few seasons (it will happen at some point)

Sport is about give and take and working together, not alienating your core base for a quick buck.

I am eternaly grateful for the last 10+ years byt I am not being taken for granted that I will turn up no matter.

 

[Dogtanian]

Me and the lad on SS3 will not enter till 9 mins have gone but will probably not arrive in time for the demo outside, Fuck Viagogo!!

 

[Lee the Blue]

Block 239 - Me and my daughter wont be leaving the concourse until 7.54. Important to make a stand on this and I fully support the protest, the reasons behind it and further action going forwards if its necessary.

Supporters clubs have tried to engage with the club whose response - or lack thereof - along with pricing and ticketing policy has been absolutely tone deaf to the very heart of our fanbase.

 

[thegoatsthegoat]

Do you really believe there were more Madrid fans in the ground than City fans....some of the stuff written on here is embarassing...

Well no, but I believe there was a large amount of them, the same as last year. I was on a row with about ten of them! Other than your spelling of embarrassing, what is embarrassing is apparent blues who turn a blind eye to it.