Sunday's NOTW re Stadium expansion ...

[ste.sully]

A really cool idea which no-one has ever done in ths country before (but happens in Germany and the like) is we could re-name our reserves/elite squad 'Manchester City II' (like Bayern Munchen II etc) and have them not only playing at COMS but PLAYING IN THE LOWER LEAGUES WITH OTHER CLUB'S FIRST TEAMS! Yeahhhhh.

Thing is, that would be really unpopular with most of English football. Mourinho actually said he wanted a Chelsea II when he was there a few seasons back and the result was that the supporters rejected the idea instantly and virtually unanimously IIRC. Not only that but the FA would likely reject the idea as being like owning two clubs, or call it avoiding rules on player registration limits. And we would come in for unending torrents of abuse from the press and other fans for essentially trying to force control of other leagues. Oh, and it'd be pretty unpopular with the lower league teams who would have their league position and thus their revenue threatened by a club who can afford to throw Champions League-style budgets at a Conference-level club or thereabouts.

It works fine in countries where the system is already established, because everyone knows what's happening and accepts it. However, it would just be a nightmare trying to implement it in a country which doesn't already use that system (i.e. England).

And yes I'm aware that this system is used in non-league with clubs submitting multiple teams, but they wouldn't be allowed to take those reserve teams into the Conference if they ever got high enough - I think even the Conference's feeder leagues don't allow reserve teams - so as far as professional football goes England essentially doesn't have it.

Barcelona has a B team if you like, and that has been brilliant for helping to bring through new youth talent at Barca

 

[The ghost of Burnage lane]

Dude, I reckon extending the stadium to 75,000 when we only managed to pull in 23,000 for our last home game is a little bit fuckin daft. I know it was only a mickey mouse team, but even the rags had 55,000 watch their reserves play Burton albion in the fa cup.

Not a chance of us getting that kind of support even if we gave the tickets away. Everyone thinks that a few trophies will have all the closet city fans turning up in their droves, well I don't know any. All the city fans I know go to the match and always have done. Do you think we will steal other peoples fans? Or maybe Khaldoon will fly them all in on the airbus for every home game? I think we've missed the boat on the glory hunting newfan brigade. Our hardcore is the ones who turned up to the last home game. And the day I see 75,000 watching City play wolves at home...... well I won't see it, so stop the shite talk and lets try and fill the stadium we've got. (Actually, why don't we build our own stadium from scratch?)

The rags failed to fill a reduced capacity OT for the derby after we'd beaten them 5-1. That was 30 odd thousand. Along came Sky & their league championships & they started expanding. They would only have got 70k+ once or twice a season in those days, just like we would now. Too many people have been brainwashed by the rag publicity machine into believing they can never be caught & thinking of reasons why we shouldn't dare to ever try.

Of course they can be fucking caught if you have the money. They're just a football team. If they'd won fuck all for 30 odd years & we'd won everything for 20 years their gates would be less than ours are now & we'd be full at 70 odd k. The key is to win stuff constantly. We never have in our history yet we still have big gates. The potential at City is frightning. One Chumps league would put 15k on our average but not if we didn't have the sodding seats for them to sit on!

I think you're the poor fella who's been brainwashed. You can't buy fans with money? And there isn't a conveyor belt of people undecided as to who they are going to support, who will just suddenly decide to buy a season ticket for City and drive from up from Coventry for every home match. Also, there is a massive recession on and people are out of work.

I dunno how old you are, but I remember in the late eighties and early 90's before sky, when the rags won the european cup winners cup, there used to be coaches full of pissed up Dubliners at Chortlon street bus depot, over for the match. Never seen any of that capoh going on at maine road or eastlands. And even if our club puts on free coaches from where they live and we've won the chumps league 5 times in a row, what makes you think that all these dyed in wool fans will just switch to city? That boat has sailed, my friend. I've never met anyone who would put their everton shirt in the bin, to go and support someone else instead. It just doesn't happen. And rags switching to city is a horrible thought!

You can't build what the rags, Madrid, Barca and AC Milan have. Not in our short lifetimes. It takes decades and decades..maybe 50 years. Roman Abramovic found that out, and they have given up trying to crack america, china or matching the big boys pound for pound, but what they do well is win on the pitch, and that is what scores them brownie points. And that's what we sholud do. Build up a decent side over a period of time that can win trophies and the respect of the footballing world. Not by telling all and sundry that we are going to put the sun out with a water pistol. We can't win people over if they all hate us.

 

[Dodge]

It makes me laugh how several posters pour scorn on our owners plans for our club. Our "existing" fan base needs to wise up and embrace the future. Its all-inclusive and the regeneration plans for East Manchester cannot be underestimated.

We're talking thousands of local jobs here. Thousands. Thousands of people who will be linked to the club by employment and a better lifestyle. A new generation of people who might just want to buy a season ticket and enjoy the world-class facilites the club will offer. Families with kids who will be brought up with mums & dads who will be forever indebted to our owners vision. A successful football club on their doorstep, with its soul intact, winning trophies.

None of us has any understanding of the scale of the plans and the revenue that will bring to Manchester.

These plans will change the world-wide perception of a great City (take note Robinho), will bring a sense of pride to East Manchester & generate an awful lot "new" supporters, mostly locals who will want to support a club that has changed their lives.

Get with the project, its bigger than any single one of us can imagine and personally, if I'm sat next to some starry-eyed kid enjoying his first experience of City, bring it on. I might even share my prawn sandwich with him..

 

[Marvin]

The rags failed to fill a reduced capacity OT for the derby after we'd beaten them 5-1. That was 30 odd thousand. Along came Sky & their league championships & they started expanding. They would only have got 70k+ once or twice a season in those days, just like we would now. Too many people have been brainwashed by the rag publicity machine into believing they can never be caught & thinking of reasons why we shouldn't dare to ever try.

Of course they can be fucking caught if you have the money. They're just a football team. If they'd won fuck all for 30 odd years & we'd won everything for 20 years their gates would be less than ours are now & we'd be full at 70 odd k. The key is to win stuff constantly. We never have in our history yet we still have big gates. The potential at City is frightning. One Chumps league would put 15k on our average but not if we didn't have the sodding seats for them to sit on!

I think you're the poor fella who's been brainwashed. You can't buy fans with money? And there isn't a conveyor belt of people undecided as to who they are going to support, who will just suddenly decide to buy a season ticket for City and drive from up from Coventry for every home match. Also, there is a massive recession on and people are out of work.

I dunno how old you are, but I remember in the late eighties and early 90's before sky, when the rags won the european cup winners cup, there used to be coaches full of pissed up Dubliners at Chortlon street bus depot, over for the match. Never seen any of that capoh going on at maine road or eastlands. And even if our club puts on free coaches from where they live and we've won the chumps league 5 times in a row, what makes you think that all these dyed in wool fans will just switch to city? That boat has sailed, my friend. I've never met anyone who would put their everton shirt in the bin, to go and support someone else instead. It just doesn't happen. And rags switching to city is a horrible thought!

You can't build what the rags, Madrid, Barca and AC Milan have. Not in our short lifetimes. It takes decades and decades..maybe 50 years. Roman Abramovic found that out, and they have given up trying to crack america, china or matching the big boys pound for pound, but what they do well is win on the pitch, and that is what scores them brownie points. And that's what we sholud do. Build up a decent side over a period of time that can win trophies and the respect of the footballing world. Not by telling all and sundry that we are going to put the sun out with a water pistol. We can't win people over if they all hate us.

Whose talking about winning over Utd fans and rival fans? no one. We're talking about tapping into the huge number of City fans who have stopped going over the years, and kids who don't support anyone. There are hundreds of thousands of people in Greater Manchester.

 

[JULES]

I find it strange some of the posts on here, going back only a few years yo would v rarely see a chelsea shirt on a young lad outside london, who`s to say it wont happen to us, ffs there are some short sighted people . we are going to be one of the worlds top clubs, sooner or later, and will fill a 75,000 stadium most weeks! it IS going to happen.

 

[phoenixxblue]

The idea that all blues go to the match simply isnt true. I was once a season ticket holder and now, for various reasons, I only make a few games a year. There are loads of people like me who dont go any more - the major reason for most of them I think is not lack of success, but the cost of tickets. I read somewhere (might have been in this thread) that the vision of the owners re. staduim expansion is to massively increase the numbers of corporate seats paying top whack prices which would subsidise the selling of cheaper seats. If tickets were cheaper I would go a lot more and I think lots of other non match going blues would. So I dont think we need to worry about shipping "new fans" in from wherever or attracting glory hunting new fans. A bit of success, good football and cheaper tickets and we will fill a bigger stadium no trouble.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I think you're the poor fella who's been brainwashed. You can't buy fans with money? And there isn't a conveyor belt of people undecided as to who they are going to support, who will just suddenly decide to buy a season ticket for City and drive from up from Coventry for every home match. Also, there is a massive recession on and people are out of work.

I dunno how old you are, but I remember in the late eighties and early 90's before sky, when the rags won the european cup winners cup, there used to be coaches full of pissed up Dubliners at Chortlon street bus depot, over for the match. Never seen any of that capoh going on at maine road or eastlands. And even if our club puts on free coaches from where they live and we've won the chumps league 5 times in a row, what makes you think that all these dyed in wool fans will just switch to city? That boat has sailed, my friend. I've never met anyone who would put their everton shirt in the bin, to go and support someone else instead. It just doesn't happen. And rags switching to city is a horrible thought!

You can't build what the rags, Madrid, Barca and AC Milan have. Not in our short lifetimes. It takes decades and decades..maybe 50 years. Roman Abramovic found that out, and they have given up trying to crack america, china or matching the big boys pound for pound, but what they do well is win on the pitch, and that is what scores them brownie points. And that's what we sholud do. Build up a decent side over a period of time that can win trophies and the respect of the footballing world. Not by telling all and sundry that we are going to put the sun out with a water pistol. We can't win people over if they all hate us.

Whose talking about winning over Utd fans and rival fans? no one. We're talking about tapping into the huge number of City fans who have stopped going over the years, and kids who don't support anyone. There are hundreds of thousands of people in Greater Manchester.

If Stamford Bridge was twice as big & half as expensive, Chelsea would often come close to filling it. Their core support before Harding & Abramovic was a fraction of ours. They had nowhere near the potential for gates that we have. When comparing the worldwide image of Madrid, Barca & AC Milan it's got absolutely fuck all to do with this thread, which is talking about getting bums on seats in Manchester. Promoting the club abroad is a different subject, this is about our stadium.

If we win stuff our gates will go up FACT. The question is how much. I believe an instant increase of 10-15 k is possible for Prem Lg games if we win the league. That's phase one of the development full immediately. If it's only 3 quarters full for PL & empty on league cup games, then it's still worth building. I'd rather have 55k in a ground that holds 60 than lose 8k because some saddos are worried rags may take the piss out of some empty seats.

Win stuff & build it. Win stuff & fill it. Win stuff & build the other end, then win some more & fill that.

 

[Shooter 83]

We could easily fill 60-70k because we do have the fans , but its people not having the cash these days to come to the games. Times are hard, we don't have all the prawn sandwich brigade from down south to fill our ground like the rags.

 

[u2fme2]

i see no point in doing si.
we carn't fill it now

 

[Marvin]

i see no point in doing si.
we carn't fill it now

Home ends for Liverpool and Blackburn will be sold out