The Agenda (Merged)

[stony]

more of this please ...

http://www.mcfc.co.uk/citytv/Features/2015/January/Junior-Cityzens-press-conference

What a nice little clip, both players looked happy to be there and Lampard was stifling a few laughs at some of the questions.

 

[FanchesterCity]

This has been going on years, can't remember the last time I bought a paper. As you point out though, it'd be a pretty dumb move to constantly alienate a significant group of your customers, it's just a numbers game. You get the odd article that goes against the grain but in general they will get more positive coverage (though believe Savage has absolutely slaughtered LVG in the Mirror). The more troubling issue for me in terms of City coverage is the seeming underlying racism behind many stories. 'Cheating Arabs' seems to be the subtext of a lot of the stuff on FFPR and this fits the profile of papers like the Sun and Mail.

I think some of that stems from the Qatar World Cup bid fiasco, and some of it because it's Johnny Foreigner 'using' our clubs for their own ends.
To listen to the media, you'd think football in England had been operating as one of the greatest businesses on earth, and 'johnny foreigner' was a hapless investor.

What they ought to be doing is illustrating how pathetic most football clubs are in business terms, and how City are an example of how the business world can transform a club. Admittedly, it's taken a lot of money to do it, but all the same, sharp practice IS necessary for clubs to move up to a new level.

For years, United have been lauded as the example of a club can make money, but in many respects they are like the IBM / Microsoft of this world. There's no denying they're a behemoth who can virtually sit on their arse and still make money, but City are much more like Google, or Apple who are operating with new idea, implementing them rapidly and changing the way the industry works. The media haven't fully realised this yet, for them, they are still thinking the old business ways are the only way... and we're upstarts that will come and go.

The media can't really do stories on that right now, because they don't understand what the hell we are doing. They are still harping on about 'fan bases' and managers, as though success depended on those attributes.

"Sharp Practice" = dishonest or barely honest dealings.

Yet again a little dig at City (as in every post you make) and you still wonder why people suspect you of being a rag?
If it's not a dig then it is at least a very poor choice of phrase, unless of course you have evidence of wrong doing at City?

You're looking for trouble where there is none. It's merely alluding to outwitting UEFA and sailing just the right side of FFP.
Not every post I make is a dig at City or contains any such, not even close, but I'm not so blinkered that I can't see both sides of a story, nor do I assume everything that City does is perfect.

It's an internet forum. Expect varied and contrasting views. People seem to be spending far too much time trying to criticise other fans than they do about actually debating a point.

If you want to debate, I'll debate. I've no stomach for petty accusations about fellow fans. If that's your 'thing' you're wasting your time. I stopped doing that when I started shaving.

 

[FanchesterCity]

If you call someone a cheat as he is calling us .by his words and its just a drip drip drip then people will start to belive it no matter how many times you say your not a cheat they will never listen to you he is a c**t and should be shown as a c**t. No respect for refs rules or clubs...

Jose Mourinho: Manchester City have signed a good striker in Wilfried Bony... but the rules are different for them and us

Read more: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2913215/Jose-Mourinho-Manchester-City-signed-good-striker-Wilfried-Bony-rules-different-us.html#ixzz3OzEfu0Ur" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... z3OzEfu0Ur</a>
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

The FA should hit him with a charge how can he come out with such a statement !

Amazed how anyone expected a different response?

Take it as a compliment, he always picks fights with his rivals but gets all pally with the rest

Nah, people know Mourinho's ways by now. Nobody's buying it. He's just provocative for the sake of it, and nobody's biting.
He's got us to face in a couple of weeks, which is why the games have started. Then he'll move on.

The FA won't do a thing. They'll only act when THEY are on the receiving end.
The best response we can give is getting 3 points against them, or more importantly keep the title.

 

[Centurions]

I think some of that stems from the Qatar World Cup bid fiasco, and some of it because it's Johnny Foreigner 'using' our clubs for their own ends.
To listen to the media, you'd think football in England had been operating as one of the greatest businesses on earth, and 'johnny foreigner' was a hapless investor.

What they ought to be doing is illustrating how pathetic most football clubs are in business terms, and how City are an example of how the business world can transform a club. Admittedly, it's taken a lot of money to do it, but all the same, sharp practice IS necessary for clubs to move up to a new level.

For years, United have been lauded as the example of a club can make money, but in many respects they are like the IBM / Microsoft of this world. There's no denying they're a behemoth who can virtually sit on their arse and still make money, but City are much more like Google, or Apple who are operating with new idea, implementing them rapidly and changing the way the industry works. The media haven't fully realised this yet, for them, they are still thinking the old business ways are the only way... and we're upstarts that will come and go.

The media can't really do stories on that right now, because they don't understand what the hell we are doing. They are still harping on about 'fan bases' and managers, as though success depended on those attributes.

"Sharp Practice" = dishonest or barely honest dealings.

Yet again a little dig at City (as in every post you make) and you still wonder why people suspect you of being a rag?
If it's not a dig then it is at least a very poor choice of phrase, unless of course you have evidence of wrong doing at City?

You're looking for trouble where there is none. It's merely alluding to outwitting UEFA and sailing just the right side of FFP.
Not every post I make is a dig at City or contains any such, not even close, but I'm not so blinkered that I can't see both sides of a story, nor do I assume everything that City does is perfect.

It's an internet forum. Expect varied and contrasting views. People seem to be spending far too much time trying to criticise other fans than they do about actually debating a point.

If you want to debate, I'll debate. I've no stomach for petty accusations about fellow fans. If that's your 'thing' you're wasting your time. I stopped doing that when I started shaving.

That wasn't criticism but a comment on why people have pointed the raggy finger of doom at you, and you didn't answer the question as to why you think City are using "sharp practice".

 

[eversince 76]

REALLY HOPE AND EXPECT ALL THIS SHITE TRASH THATS BEEN REPORTED ABOUT WITH A EXPLOSION THE LAST FEW DAYS, WILL MOTIVATE THE PLAYERS. FECK M MEDIA.

 

[schfc6]

Under the predictable comments of that moaning gimp are even more predictable comments from the idiots that believe what's written every day. People you denie the 'agenda' wrong word in my opinion need to read what your average idiot thinks.

The constant berating of us in the papers, on TV are what the every day idiots believe. We need this idiots to buy or stuff. Or we'll have to foot the bill.

We need new, more fans and constant bullshit in the press won't help.

Most still think we're some evil slave trading rule bending baddies, when in reality no other club is putting more back in for the fans, the community.

It's not an agenda as such. But every day there's some story littered with the words 'if', 'maybe' and 'possibly'.
We can bury our heads in the sand, but we need the media to grow.

Our recent success should have demand for the games through the roof. I know we sell out pretty much every week, but there are small gaps here and there and selling out is quite late in the day when we do.

We play scintillating football, in a great stadium at market price. Yet our public perception is still tarnished by the media. Our coverage on sky, bbc etc.

Good media coverage is free marketing, marketing we don't share with the rags or dippers.

 

[FanchesterCity]

"Sharp Practice" = dishonest or barely honest dealings.

Yet again a little dig at City (as in every post you make) and you still wonder why people suspect you of being a rag?
If it's not a dig then it is at least a very poor choice of phrase, unless of course you have evidence of wrong doing at City?

You're looking for trouble where there is none. It's merely alluding to outwitting UEFA and sailing just the right side of FFP.
Not every post I make is a dig at City or contains any such, not even close, but I'm not so blinkered that I can't see both sides of a story, nor do I assume everything that City does is perfect.

It's an internet forum. Expect varied and contrasting views. People seem to be spending far too much time trying to criticise other fans than they do about actually debating a point.

If you want to debate, I'll debate. I've no stomach for petty accusations about fellow fans. If that's your 'thing' you're wasting your time. I stopped doing that when I started shaving.

That wasn't criticism but a comment on why people have pointed the raggy finger of doom at you, and you didn't answer the question as to why you think City are using "sharp practice".

Let 'em point. I posted my season card last night. More than happy to see anyone come the Arsenal game. I'll be there as ever.

But the point about sharp practice... hmm, I think we ARE manipulating our organisation and payments (in part) to best suit FFP. People will likely read that the wrong way too, but I'll stand by it all the same. For me, it's the same as tax avoidance (not evasion). We're forced to live by a set of financial rules, so in my eyes it's fair game to manipulate the way we handle our finances to present them in the best light with regards to those regulations.
You may be right that 'sharp practice' could be misconstrued. It's not supposed to be anything untoward, just 'sharp' as in canny.
Terms like 'manipulate' and 'avoidance' are also likely to cause a sharp (pardon the pun) intake of breath, but I don't see it as anything that other clubs aren't doing too... just we have to do it under the spotlight and more more creatively (arguably).

If we move 100 staff from City into another group, I expect there's loads of legitimate reasons to do so, but I also expect FFP factors will have played into the equation.
If the press say we probably did so to offload some of our costs, they are right - it's just the way they present it that makes it sound like deception.

I suppose I'm basically saying 'course we manipulate the structure and the reporting' - because that's what a good business would do to avoid tax (legitimately), so why not FFP?
I'm definitely not in the camp of saying 'everything we do is entirely for operational reasons only'. Maybe it is, but I don't believe so personally.

I think we will test and are testing FFP. By that I mean FFP hasn't considered every scenario yet, and we are breaking some new ground with the way we're operating. Platini has already made it clear that FFP will 'evolve' which could very well result in attempts to deem some of our business practices as wrong (in their eyes).
I hope people don't read that as me saying they are wrong, merely that UEFA may well attempt to introduce new rules to counter us (without making it overtly obvious targeting). So again, by sharp practice, I'm talking about structures and payments that UEFA haven't considered yet, or have ambiguous rules about.

 

[Chris in London]

You're looking for trouble where there is none. It's merely alluding to outwitting UEFA and sailing just the right side of FFP.
Not every post I make is a dig at City or contains any such, not even close, but I'm not so blinkered that I can't see both sides of a story, nor do I assume everything that City does is perfect.

It's an internet forum. Expect varied and contrasting views. People seem to be spending far too much time trying to criticise other fans than they do about actually debating a point.

If you want to debate, I'll debate. I've no stomach for petty accusations about fellow fans. If that's your 'thing' you're wasting your time. I stopped doing that when I started shaving.

That wasn't criticism but a comment on why people have pointed the raggy finger of doom at you, and you didn't answer the question as to why you think City are using "sharp practice".

Let 'em point. I posted my season card last night. More than happy to see anyone come the Arsenal game. I'll be there as ever.

But the point about sharp practice... hmm I think we ARE manipulating our organisation and payments (in part) to best suit FFP. People will likely read that the wrong way too, but I'll stand by it all the same. For me, it's the same as tax avoidance (not evasion). We're forced to live by a set of financial rules, so in my eyes it's fair game to manipulate the way we handle our finances to present them in the best light with regards to those regulations.
You may be right that 'sharp practice' could be misconstrued. It's not supposed to be anything untoward, just 'sharp' as in canny.
Terms like 'manipulate' and 'avoidance' are also likely to cause a sharp (pardon the pun) intake of breath, but I don't see it as anything that other clubs aren't doing too... just we have to do it under the spotlight and more more creatively (arguably).

If we move 100 staff from City into another group, I expect there's loads of legitimate reasons to do so, but I also expect FFP factors will have played into the equation.
If the press say we probably did so to offload some of our costs, they are right - it's just the way they present it that makes it sound like deception.

I suppose I'm basically saying 'course we manipulate the structure and the reporting' - because that's what a good business would do to avoid tax (legitimately), so why not FFP?
I'm definitely not in the camp of saying 'everything we do is entirely for operational reasons only'. Maybe it is, but I don't believe so personally.

I think we will test and are testing FFP. By that I mean FFP hasn't considered every scenario yet, and we are breaking some new ground with the way we're operating. Platini has already made it clear that FFP will 'evolve' which could very well result in attempts to deem some of our business practices as wrong (in their eyes).
I hope people don't read that as me saying they are wrong, merely that UEFA may well attempt to introduce new rules to counter us (without making it overtly obvious targeting). So again, by sharp practice, I'm talking about structures and payments that UEFA haven't considered yet, or have ambiguous rules about.

Please explain this.

What are the ways in which in your opinion we have structured our organisation and payments to best suit FFP?

 

[malg]

Let 'em point. I posted my season card last night. More than happy to see anyone come the Arsenal game. I'll be there as ever.

Hey, if you're on the first round, I'll meet you.....

 

[mad4city]

We should rename this thread the shit journalism, or shit media thread instead of agenda.

Would result in so many less arguments.

Good idea.
The Agenda debate has been done to death. Everybody agrees there's bias. After that, the Uncle Toms and tin foil helmet wearers remain intransigent and never the twain shall meet.