A couple of questions...
1) Since the takeover, have you known anywhere on the internet beyond the club-specific forums like Blue Moon, etc, where you can have a semi-sensible discussion with fans of other clubs about City? If so, where?
2) What's the worst anti-City sentiment you've experienced online since we were taken over, and where was it?
It's been dawning on me recently just how hard it is to ever talk City with other football supporters now, which is a real shame. People almost without fail, irrespective of who they support, seem to have really bought into all the bad press we get. Sure, you have to expect a bit of stick when you're good, especially if your success has been aided by a rich owner, but even given that, some of the anti-City feeling is f*cking preposterous.
On one general sport forum i've used for ten years, we went from being the wise sages of the place to utter, utter scum more or less overnight. A few had a chuckle when we won the title how we did, but generally, our opinions count for nothing now. It's as if the pre-2008 stuff didn't happen. What could we possibly know about anything, we've got four £20m strikers?! We're apparently not even a 'proper club' now - the 100+ years of history, the cup finals, titles, ups and downs, ah who cares?
I signed up to Twitter at the start of last season. When we played Villa in the Cup, i couldn't quite believe the response from the general public afterwards. On that same night, a bunch of United fans tried to start rumours that our supporters had been singing songs mocking Stilian Petrov. Within an hour or two these stories had gathered pace and were being taken as fact. After spending a short while trying to defend our supporters, i knocked it on the head and closed my account. Thankfully, nothing game of those tales, but it was a bit of a wake up call for me, firstly in realising just how much we were hated, secondly as to how the attitudes of supporters have changed. Occasionally i dip into Twitter just to search for something, without having an account, and whenever it involves City you can be sure it'll be 99% peurile nonsense.
Recently, i started lurking on a TV forum (Digital Spy) mainly because i'm a fan of the big US dramas, but also for info about computer games, the odd chat about albums, etc. I noticed they had a football section, so dipped my toe in the water a bit. Never known anything like it - treated like absolute scum from day one. Apparently, if you support City you can only be a glory hunter and probably supported Chelsea beforehand anyway. The ground's the 'Emptihad' and never more than half full (despite tickets being £10, according to one obviously well-ITK chap), the players are only here for the money, but some of them have 'class' and go elsewhere 'for the glory', and 'history' (of which we have none, obviously), we've spent £2bn on players, some of whom are on £500k a week, i could go on and on, you're probably bored.
I find it the same pretty much everywhere else online - forums, blogs, social media sites. Course, it's quite easy to stick to your own, just talk about City with City fans, but it's a shame it's come to that. Do people think it's a societal issue, in that having a throwaway, instant opinion online has become the new having a chat over a couple of pints with your mates, or do you see it as more of a football thing, where anyone who either has success, or has means, or both, instantly becomes some sort of king pantomime villain, and where underachieving or being shit brings kudos, not only to the supporters who go throughout, but to the clubs themselves, as if achieving your goals is vulgar in some way? Is it just harmless banter?
Apologies for what's turned into a bit of a lengthy rant. Feels good to get it off my chest anyway. Perhaps i should just have a thicker skin. Obviously, you're the master of your own destiny regards what opinions you're exposed to, but it'd be nice to be able to talk City outside of our lot again without it coming with such suspiscion. I fear the art of positive, non-tribal football discussion is dead.
1) Since the takeover, have you known anywhere on the internet beyond the club-specific forums like Blue Moon, etc, where you can have a semi-sensible discussion with fans of other clubs about City? If so, where?
2) What's the worst anti-City sentiment you've experienced online since we were taken over, and where was it?
It's been dawning on me recently just how hard it is to ever talk City with other football supporters now, which is a real shame. People almost without fail, irrespective of who they support, seem to have really bought into all the bad press we get. Sure, you have to expect a bit of stick when you're good, especially if your success has been aided by a rich owner, but even given that, some of the anti-City feeling is f*cking preposterous.
On one general sport forum i've used for ten years, we went from being the wise sages of the place to utter, utter scum more or less overnight. A few had a chuckle when we won the title how we did, but generally, our opinions count for nothing now. It's as if the pre-2008 stuff didn't happen. What could we possibly know about anything, we've got four £20m strikers?! We're apparently not even a 'proper club' now - the 100+ years of history, the cup finals, titles, ups and downs, ah who cares?
I signed up to Twitter at the start of last season. When we played Villa in the Cup, i couldn't quite believe the response from the general public afterwards. On that same night, a bunch of United fans tried to start rumours that our supporters had been singing songs mocking Stilian Petrov. Within an hour or two these stories had gathered pace and were being taken as fact. After spending a short while trying to defend our supporters, i knocked it on the head and closed my account. Thankfully, nothing game of those tales, but it was a bit of a wake up call for me, firstly in realising just how much we were hated, secondly as to how the attitudes of supporters have changed. Occasionally i dip into Twitter just to search for something, without having an account, and whenever it involves City you can be sure it'll be 99% peurile nonsense.
Recently, i started lurking on a TV forum (Digital Spy) mainly because i'm a fan of the big US dramas, but also for info about computer games, the odd chat about albums, etc. I noticed they had a football section, so dipped my toe in the water a bit. Never known anything like it - treated like absolute scum from day one. Apparently, if you support City you can only be a glory hunter and probably supported Chelsea beforehand anyway. The ground's the 'Emptihad' and never more than half full (despite tickets being £10, according to one obviously well-ITK chap), the players are only here for the money, but some of them have 'class' and go elsewhere 'for the glory', and 'history' (of which we have none, obviously), we've spent £2bn on players, some of whom are on £500k a week, i could go on and on, you're probably bored.
I find it the same pretty much everywhere else online - forums, blogs, social media sites. Course, it's quite easy to stick to your own, just talk about City with City fans, but it's a shame it's come to that. Do people think it's a societal issue, in that having a throwaway, instant opinion online has become the new having a chat over a couple of pints with your mates, or do you see it as more of a football thing, where anyone who either has success, or has means, or both, instantly becomes some sort of king pantomime villain, and where underachieving or being shit brings kudos, not only to the supporters who go throughout, but to the clubs themselves, as if achieving your goals is vulgar in some way? Is it just harmless banter?
Apologies for what's turned into a bit of a lengthy rant. Feels good to get it off my chest anyway. Perhaps i should just have a thicker skin. Obviously, you're the master of your own destiny regards what opinions you're exposed to, but it'd be nice to be able to talk City outside of our lot again without it coming with such suspiscion. I fear the art of positive, non-tribal football discussion is dead.