so this agenda thing.

[bluesoup]

And to add to this... Pozo from our academy who is playing games but, I'm not hearing anything about our youth system. Do we need two youth players to match the rags and be applauded?

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

Regardless of the game quality, If we'd have lost 1-0, I'd lay £1m to 1p we'd be first up.

Tbf, the leagues cannon fodder breaking a losing streak and beating the champions who are on a great run would be big news, and rightly get top billing.

Regardless of the game quality?

Yeah you're probably correct.

Then again if ever we won a European Trophy, they'd probably not bother showing it live on terrestrial TV.

At least my £1m is safe. I'll PM you about the penny.

Are you aware that the last time we won a European Trophy it wasn't shown live on TV (the only time this has happened with a European final I am aware of) because it was bumped for the FA Cup final replay (Chelsea v Leeds). We were given just 10 minutes of highlights from rain-soaked Vienna at 11pm. Some things have never changed.

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

I suggest people have a look at the Sunday Supplement thread, sums the agenda up to a tee

Just to be clear on this agenda. Is it a media driven agenda, a footballing authorities agenda, a 'we've always been the big clubs' agenda or a combination of all 3?

If it's the media, well I do have a deal of sympathy with that view. Journalists are, like many of us I suspect, on the lazy side of life. They've invested heavily, both in cash and time, in cultivating favour with the 'top 4'. Originally it was the top/sky 3 of rags, dippers and tarquins.
Every day they spent in their company currying favour. Along came Chelsea and that was put at risk. Mourinho sorted that with his 'charisma' and the top 4 was born. All got champions league places, job done. The top 4 becomes a 'virtuous circle'. If you're not in it, you can't get in it, we don't need to bother with anyone else. Spurs, Barcodes and Everton might be a story for one season, but that adds to the 'it's all a very competitive premier league' myth. City meanwhile can be patted on the head for some glorious failure or unexpected calamity. This is largely true for well over a decade (certainly the top 3, anyway).
What many of us crave in life is certainty, especially at work. These journalists had that certainty. If they were my age they'd grown up knowing football was about the dippers winning most things, if they were 15 years younger, they'd grown up knowing the rags won most things. Certainty is a great comfort.
Then City investment turns up in the shape of Thaksin and it's all a bit of a circus, as they would expect. All very funny, all very predictable. Then the 'wrong Shiek' arrives and more predictable guffaws follow when the real Shiek hits town with the Abu Dhabi UNITED group! Ha di bloody ha.
Now they've got their worst nightmare. City not going anywhere, old top 4 totally broken. They put their 3/4 th placed eggs in the dippers and rags cart, hence Wenger has been getting much more grief than usual. Brenda is letting them down big style! All they've got is rage and impotence. Life isn't supposed to be like this. Everything they've always known to be true and certain suddenly isn't. In that instance, history suggests you blame the interlopers.
A coordinated agenda? This lot? I think not. A lot of shallow, unimaginative fools, desperate to be proved right, having put in print their inane ramblings? Most definitely.

 

[Blue Punter]

Tbf, the leagues cannon fodder breaking a losing streak and beating the champions who are on a great run would be big news, and rightly get top billing.

Regardless of the game quality?

Yeah you're probably correct.

Then again if ever we won a European Trophy, they'd probably not bother showing it live on terrestrial TV.

At least my £1m is safe. I'll PM you about the penny.

Are you aware that the last time we won a European Trophy it wasn't shown live on TV (the only time this has happened with a European final I am aware of) because it was bumped for the FA Cup final replay (Chelsea v Leeds). We were given just 10 minutes of highlights from rain-soaked Vienna at 11pm. Some things have never changed.

Yes I am. I was being a little mischeivous with that one.

 

[1961_vintage]

A coordinated agenda? This lot? I think not. A lot of shallow, unimaginative fools, desperate to be proved right, having put in print their inane ramblings? Most definitely.

Great post that (the whole thing). Do you work in the media?

 

[Blue Mist]

[quote="bluesoup"]And to add to this... Pozo from our academy who is playing games but, I'm not hearing anything about our youth system. Do we need two youth players to match the rags and be applauded?[/quote]

You see that is where you are wrong. It was clearly highlighted by the commentator yesterday ...

"Pozo, who City signed from Real Madrid makes his debut today"

Oh, hang on, I'll get back to you on that one.

 

[Len Rum]

Anybody listen to the press pass tonight?
Ray Stubbs on with two journos.
Stubbs to one of the journos - "you were at the Bridge yesterday how was Jose? A Maureen love in then began with Stubbs declaring what a fascinating character he is blah blah blah blah.
Then later on Van Gaal how he (Van Gaal) showed a different relaxed side to his character by some of the comments he makes for example after United's recent run - "I'm happy, the wife's happy, the cook's happy" to which Stubbs commented "You'd never get Pellegrini making a comment like that!".
At that point I had to turn it off.

 

[hertsblue]

Just made the mistake of putting Sky Sports on and extended highlights (on sky sports news) of the Utd v Pool game. Not seen this before on the News channel. anyhow as they were announcing it, a headline in the background had "City's reputation tarnished".
So thought WTF is this all about and its this:

Manchester City should not have signed Frank Lampard, says Patrick Barclay
However, the Independent and Evening Standard’s Patrick Barclay told the Sunday Supplement City have tarnished their reputation over the Lampard affair.
“If Mourinho and Chelsea had done this the other way round, they would be getting pelters from the press and from all the commentators, and rightly so,” Barclay told the Supplement.

What a fucking clown

 

[dario2739]

Agenda..? Basically the press placate the Rag and Dipper fans at all cost as their plastic fans being kept happy means money for Newspaoers, TV, Radio Stations etc. We are the fly in the ointment at the moment, so they dismiss us, belittle us or just completely ignore us to keep the plastics happy - Chelsea get away with this same treatment because the press have a bizarre fixation with Maureen!
The most disturbing thing about all this is that a lot of people are being sheep and believing all the negative shite. Take our win this weekend for example - It's basically been reported as 'Leicester were unlucky', contrast that with how the Rags scraping wins against Stoke or Southampton was reported. Or how over the top they were that the Dippers almost qualified for the last 16 of the CL, whereas we were lucky to qualify and undeserving,
I no longer buy newspapers or bother with Talkshite. I don't want them to suck up to us, I just want fair, balanced and unbiased reporting across the board... but that will never hapoen!

 

[Blue Punter]

“If Mourinho and Chelsea had done this the other way round, they would be getting pelters from the press and from all the commentators, and rightly so,” Barclay told the Supplement.

“Manchester City have rightly portrayed themselves as a responsible club, a classy club with this new, inspiring training facility in east Manchester which they have been parading this week.

“The image that they are projecting and have been projecting for years is in my opinion slightly tarnished by this affair.”

Lampard left Chelsea last summer to sign a two-year contract with the New York side but joined City, who co-own the MLS franchise on an initial six-month deal.

While the deal is perfectly within the laws, Barclay insists the Premier League champions should not have signed the former England skipper.

“It’s perfectly legal but it’s sharp practice and they shouldn’t be doing it,” he added

“Apart from anything else, if I was a season ticket holder at New York City and I bought season tickets in the expectation of seeing a full squad, including Frank Lampard, I’d feel a bit cheated.

“You can’t hold a gun at Frank Lampard’s head and tell him where to ply his trade if he’s got a choice. But I would have thought he too would realise he signed to go and become available for the MLS season. Is he going to break that agreement just because he feels like it?”