Before kickoff, the club orchestrated the unveiling of a huge banner, as the teams entered the field. It said, “I’ll follow you everywhere” across two tiers and the whole length of the East Stand. I’m sure the football tourists, who were in that stand, wouldn’t have been happy that their photo op of the players coming out was ruined.
Meanwhile, behind the goal in the South Stand, where the most vociferous supporters are generally based, the fan’s revealed their own banner which read, “Record profits but record prices, stop exploiting our loyalty”, protesting about ticket price increases. It was quickly taken down by stewards because, “it covered the advertising”.
Is it any wonder that the atmosphere, that Guardiola and Rodri had hoped, for was underwhelming? The customers that modern football craves, who are prepared to pay higher one-off ticket prices and always include a visit to the merchandise outlets before the game, are non-partisan. They’re not bothered who wins. Some of the lifelong fans are disgruntled about being undervalued, constantly having their view blocked by the selfie obsessed.
After a two week break in the Premier League, which seemed utterly pointless because the vast majority of International games were friendlies, City resumed with one of the biggest games of the season, so far, against one of their title rivals Arsenal.
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