The clubs PR/Media team

[moomba]

Been a bit of a turnaround in our press coverage on the past few weeks. Come as a big surprise to me, and who knows if/what the PR team have had to do with that.

But without press onside it doesnt really matter what statements we make.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

To posters like RandomJ and nellyonthewing, how do you think it works with the media? Do you think that someone like Neil Custis decides to write something negative and rings up the club to see if they mind? Obviously they don't, so the first we and they see it is when it appears in the media. Also, we don't know what the exact context is to this story. It could well be we've already been asked about a new contract and said no, or been non-committal. So this is Seluk's Plan B. Or it could be that this is the first we've heard if it.

Then you've got a number of choices.

1) You can respond to every story. But, as every club PR person will tell you, if you do that then you'll never be off the phone or get anything else done. Plus if you don't respond then it'll be taken as confirmation, so you've made a rod for your own back. And if you do make a comment it can easily get twisted and can make you look worse.
2) You can ignore it or refuse to comment publicly, knowing it will go away in a day or two when the next big story comes along.
3) You can do (2) but also quietly brief some reliable contacts off the record, who will put out the line you want without quoting you. That's probably what we did yesterday. There were a few comments in the media suggesting Yaya had a contract to 2017 and was going nowhere, plus the video and text were highlighted as well.
4) If the story is perceived to be so damaging to the club or an individual's reputation then you can get heavy and go, or threaten to go, down the legal route. Usually the source will back down and the matter settled quietly, with a donation to charity or something.

If this was Seluk's Plan B, after getting rebuffed, then they'll have been expecting it and (2) is probably the best option as you don't necessarily want to inflame the situation or play it out in the media and you know what the guy is like anyway. He made himself look a complete and utter cock yesterday so it's far better to let him be the story and stay out of it.

If this came out of the blue however (although as I said we know his track-record) then I'd expect someone senior at the club, possibly KAM himself, to get on the phone and say "What's all this bullshit about? How about showing me and Sheikh Mansour some respect, not to mention the club, the fans, our commercial partners and your team-mates. We hold your contract until 2017 and you will be made to honour that. So if Mr Seluk is really acting on your behalf then you need to have a word, sharpish. Understood?"

I'm afraid these ranters haven't a clue how it works, PB. It's a simple, pavlovian world to them.

Remember how they spent two year's berating our media staff for not having any control over the media? Then the minute a bit of bad press came out about our ex-manager they became these big, evil puppet masters, pulling the strings of every media outlet?

Fans talk shite. It's what makes forums tick. And the most shite ever talked is about "the meedja", as though it's this great single-minded amorphous being.

 

[nellyonthewing]

To posters like RandomJ and nellyonthewing, how do you think it works with the media? Do you think that someone like Neil Custis decides to write something negative and rings up the club to see if they mind? Obviously they don't, so the first we and they see it is when it appears in the media. Also, we don't know what the exact context is to this story. It could well be we've already been asked about a new contract and said no, or been non-committal. So this is Seluk's Plan B. Or it could be that this is the first we've heard if it.

Then you've got a number of choices.

1) You can respond to every story. But, as every club PR person will tell you, if you do that then you'll never be off the phone or get anything else done. Plus if you don't respond then it'll be taken as confirmation, so you've made a rod for your own back. And if you do make a comment it can easily get twisted and can make you look worse.
2) You can ignore it or refuse to comment publicly, knowing it will go away in a day or two when the next big story comes along.
3) You can do (2) but also quietly brief some reliable contacts off the record, who will put out the line you want without quoting you. That's probably what we did yesterday. There were a few comments in the media suggesting Yaya had a contract to 2017 and was going nowhere, plus the video and text were highlighted as well.
4) If the story is perceived to be so damaging to the club or an individual's reputation then you can get heavy and go, or threaten to go, down the legal route. Usually the source will back down and the matter settled quietly, with a donation to charity or something.

If this was Seluk's Plan B, after getting rebuffed, then they'll have been expecting it and (2) is probably the best option as you don't necessarily want to inflame the situation or play it out in the media and you know what the guy is like anyway. He made himself look a complete and utter cock yesterday so it's far better to let him be the story and stay out of it.

If this came out of the blue however (although as I said we know his track-record) then I'd expect someone senior at the club, possibly KAM himself, to get on the phone and say "What's all this bullshit about? How about showing me and Sheikh Mansour some respect, not to mention the club, the fans, our commercial partners and your team-mates. We hold your contract until 2017 and you will be made to honour that. So if Mr Seluk is really acting on your behalf then you need to have a word, sharpish. Understood?"

I appreciate your analysis of the position. I'd like to think its spot on. Where I get uneasy is that the Club doesn't seem to control crisis situations very well now or as in the Tevez, balotelli , FFp cases. Keeping stum is one strategy but can also be perceived as 'head in the sand' rather than genius..

 

[Pablo ZZZ Peroni]

To posters like RandomJ and nellyonthewing, how do you think it works with the media? Do you think that someone like Neil Custis decides to write something negative and rings up the club to see if they mind? Obviously they don't, so the first we and they see it is when it appears in the media. Also, we don't know what the exact context is to this story. It could well be we've already been asked about a new contract and said no, or been non-committal. So this is Seluk's Plan B. Or it could be that this is the first we've heard if it.

Then you've got a number of choices.

1) You can respond to every story. But, as every club PR person will tell you, if you do that then you'll never be off the phone or get anything else done. Plus if you don't respond then it'll be taken as confirmation, so you've made a rod for your own back. And if you do make a comment it can easily get twisted and can make you look worse.
2) You can ignore it or refuse to comment publicly, knowing it will go away in a day or two when the next big story comes along.
3) You can do (2) but also quietly brief some reliable contacts off the record, who will put out the line you want without quoting you. That's probably what we did yesterday. There were a few comments in the media suggesting Yaya had a contract to 2017 and was going nowhere, plus the video and text were highlighted as well.
4) If the story is perceived to be so damaging to the club or an individual's reputation then you can get heavy and go, or threaten to go, down the legal route. Usually the source will back down and the matter settled quietly, with a donation to charity or something.

If this was Seluk's Plan B, after getting rebuffed, then they'll have been expecting it and (2) is probably the best option as you don't necessarily want to inflame the situation or play it out in the media and you know what the guy is like anyway. He made himself look a complete and utter cock yesterday so it's far better to let him be the story and stay out of it.

If this came out of the blue however (although as I said we know his track-record) then I'd expect someone senior at the club, possibly KAM himself, to get on the phone and say "What's all this bullshit about? How about showing me and Sheikh Mansour some respect, not to mention the club, the fans, our commercial partners and your team-mates. We hold your contract until 2017 and you will be made to honour that. So if Mr Seluk is really acting on your behalf then you need to have a word, sharpish. Understood?"

Excellently put.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

To posters like RandomJ and nellyonthewing, how do you think it works with the media? Do you think that someone like Neil Custis decides to write something negative and rings up the club to see if they mind? Obviously they don't, so the first we and they see it is when it appears in the media. Also, we don't know what the exact context is to this story. It could well be we've already been asked about a new contract and said no, or been non-committal. So this is Seluk's Plan B. Or it could be that this is the first we've heard if it.

Then you've got a number of choices.

1) You can respond to every story. But, as every club PR person will tell you, if you do that then you'll never be off the phone or get anything else done. Plus if you don't respond then it'll be taken as confirmation, so you've made a rod for your own back. And if you do make a comment it can easily get twisted and can make you look worse.
2) You can ignore it or refuse to comment publicly, knowing it will go away in a day or two when the next big story comes along.
3) You can do (2) but also quietly brief some reliable contacts off the record, who will put out the line you want without quoting you. That's probably what we did yesterday. There were a few comments in the media suggesting Yaya had a contract to 2017 and was going nowhere, plus the video and text were highlighted as well.
4) If the story is perceived to be so damaging to the club or an individual's reputation then you can get heavy and go, or threaten to go, down the legal route. Usually the source will back down and the matter settled quietly, with a donation to charity or something.

If this was Seluk's Plan B, after getting rebuffed, then they'll have been expecting it and (2) is probably the best option as you don't necessarily want to inflame the situation or play it out in the media and you know what the guy is like anyway. He made himself look a complete and utter cock yesterday so it's far better to let him be the story and stay out of it.

If this came out of the blue however (although as I said we know his track-record) then I'd expect someone senior at the club, possibly KAM himself, to get on the phone and say "What's all this bullshit about? How about showing me and Sheikh Mansour some respect, not to mention the club, the fans, our commercial partners and your team-mates. We hold your contract until 2017 and you will be made to honour that. So if Mr Seluk is really acting on your behalf then you need to have a word, sharpish. Understood?"

I appreciate your analysis of the position. I'd like to think its spot on. Where I get uneasy is that the Club doesn't seem to control crisis situations very well now or as in the Tevez, balotelli , FFp cases. Keeping stum is one strategy but can also be perceived as 'head in the sand' rather than genius..

Splurging out daft statements do not control a situation. They back you into a corner you can't get out from.

What caused the whole Tevez-gate was both parties making stupid statements to the press that night in Munich without thinking, giving them no way out without looking silly. That's why you keep your mouth shut until things play out and you are in a position to control.

Our press people know exactly what they are doing.

 

[bugsyblue]

Totally disagree. Our deafening silence is being interpreted as confusion ,and lack of direction. We are being laughed at universally and being ridiculed by the lunatic actions of one of our 'employees'.. We are hoping the fire will just burn itself out rather than dealing with it at the outset. Others thinking of joining this great club could only be underwhelmed.

Oh behave. What you want them to do ? Release a statements saying "oops we forgot his birthday - he;'s behaving like a 5 year old so he's sacked - there !". Grow a pair.

Exactly. There's absolutely nothing, nothing, for city to say. If a SSN reporter happens to get hold of our the management team, I hope they shrug it off and make a joke about it. Because that is what it is. A joke.

It always amazes me how critical some fans are of the club when a ludicrous situation like this occurs. The club have done nothing wrong.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

I appreciate your analysis of the position. I'd like to think its spot on. Where I get uneasy is that the Club doesn't seem to control crisis situations very well now or as in the Tevez, balotelli , FFp cases. Keeping stum is one strategy but can also be perceived as 'head in the sand' rather than genius..

Funny you should mention Tevez as just out in the car and listening to Talksport and Murray was talking about Tevez "refusing to go on as a sub", which was wrong.

With Tevez, I'd lay a lot of the blame at Mancini's door. If he'd kept a bit calmer and let Vicky Kloss or someone else handle things, then it could have been easily sorted out behind closed doors. But the situation was inflamed precisely by him saying the wrong thing to the media ("he'll never play for me again" and telling him to go) before he'd calmed down and thought about it. Tevez then behaved like a kid with a slapped arse as well. So that was definitely a case where keeping shtum would have helped enormously.

With FFP, we were in a delicate situation. We thought we were right and UEFA didn't. In the end, we kept quiet and got a set of sanctions that have barely touched us. Had we railed in the media (and there were almost certainly confidentiality agreements in place which meant we couldn't) things could have been worse.

I've dealt with the press, almost on a daily basis at one point, a few years ago. You really have to think about what you say, or even if you say anything at all. The first time I dealt with them, I was asked to confirm whether I had spoken to Mr X. I said that my position was that I wouldn't comment as a matter of course but would if the individual concerned wanted to be named. So my on the record statement was "I'm not going to confirm or deny I met Mr X". Next day's headline was "A representative refused to deny he'd met Mr X" which of course made it look like I had. I could have denied it, which would have been srtrictly true but then if I'd refused to deny I'd met Mr Y next time, it would have been taken as confirmation that I had. So that's why, 9 times out of 10, it's easier to say nothing.

 

[schfc6]

Have the club not just about been outstanding during this Ya Ya nonsense?

He looks like a clown, his agent looks like a mentally impaired imbecile and we look unflustered and composed.

A short measured statement like they've issued has left the story with only one real talking point. How silly Ya Ya & Seluk look.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

It always amazes me how critical some fans are of the club when a ludicrous situation like this occurs. The club have done nothing wrong.

I always think it's young fans with an inferiority complex.

 

[Sir peace frog]

It always amazes me how critical some fans are of the club when a ludicrous situation like this occurs. The club have done nothing wrong.

I always think it's young fans with an inferiority complex.

that's how I feel,they seem to care more what their mates on facebook or twitter buddies think,as if it reflects badly on them,im past caring what people think of me.so fuck em.