Celtic Pete said:
I think you miss the point, though. He's saying that City were always regarded as the peoples club
But behind that rhetoric, what's the substance?
what did it mean to be 'the people's club'? who were 'the people', how did the club belong to them?
how has the club changed it's attitude towards fans? does it listen more, or less, now? what are it's goals? is it being run irresponsibly? who is losing, who is winning?
or is Schindler invoking an idealistic view of the past? was it responsible to stack up 60m of debts with no plan to pay them back? was swales running the club for the fan's benefits?
and the fans were well respected the world over.
well, maybe. I think, outside the message boards and the media, the fans are still pretty well respected. we still seem to make friends wherever we go.
but wasn't at least some of the 'respect' shown towards city fans actually based in pity?
'look at what they've suffered, and they still laugh it off and come back for more'
'well you've got to admire the loyalty and sense of humour'
indeed you do, but does that attitude really amount to 'pride in battle'?
Players were able to come up through the ranks and play in the first team.
As far as I am aware, they still do. After a while it's normal for some to leave. Having players who have been here for 10-15 years is a deeply honorable goal. But it's difficult, it depends on the individuals involved, and it's impossible without stability and a proper sporting policy being implemented. it simply wasn't happening under the old system(s).
I imagine our 'home grown' talent will accrue more starts between them this year than they did under Keegan. Perhaps not more than under Pearce, but that's another story, there was simply no choice. Part of the special esteem which we have for the Academy comes down to this being our only source of pride in a very difficult time. Unfortunately, perhaps partly because of this, partly because of the size of contracts on offer to those who did break into the team, we've seen far too many young players displaying poor attitudes on and off the pitch.... there have also been too many failing to continue to develop their games.... but it's important to recognise that these problems are not limited to City, every club up and down the land knows there is a huge attrition between a player graduating from the academy and becoming a long term first team fixture. Historically there have always been incidents when young players lost out to expensive replacements. nine out of ten times, when this isn't happening, you can be sure lack of money is the real cause. Whilst we had no option but to play the kids, we also had no way of managing their development properly. They were often thrust too far, too fast.
It's early days, but I hope we are in a period of transition, some of the 'old-young' talent will leave but I hope the next lot who come through will be looked after properly. In any case, my view of the reality of young players in the game, and of the academy systems, has become less and less romantic over the years. The young people involved are usually seeking fame and large amounts of money, it's not uncommon for them to change clubs two or three times even before they graduate.
His fears are that we would give up all of that integrity which has always formed the heart of our club, and then become a figure of hate for buying our way to the top table without actually working hard for it.
Integrity is a fine word but unfortunately not one I would always have associated with the people behind City over the last few decades.
Buying our way to the top table is one way of looking at it, but it's easily countered by the recognition that those at the top table constantly buy in order to stay there. another view is that the current lot are investing in, and transforming the club. it won't all be for the good but it never was. we're still at an early stage, mistakes have obviously been made, but I still believe that's what's happening. I'm more confident now than I was when the article was written.
The investment in youth continues to increase. The work on the ground is taking shape (an obvious difference between our club and Chelsea).
We're still at the beginning, but there does seem to be a wider plan behind it all, and I believe it is focused on the people of Manchester.
Suppose the price of success is selling your soul to the devil. Look at Chelsea.
'soul' is just about as vague an idea as you could invoke. the soul of the club would be it's fans, right? our 'soul' comes from our togetherness and pride in the club. personally I feel just about the same level of pride now as I did a few years ago. some things have got better, others haven't.
The money is a burden. The initial signing of Robinho (so reminiscent of one of Swales' big gestures), the moneys flying out of the club in all directions, the general lack of solid progess towards a sporting ideal.... mistakes have been made... but there have always been mistakes. the only difference is it's all high-profile now, and the money is a stick to beat us with. I'm optimistic however, the signs are encouraging. I'm starting to think that lessons have been learned. The 'big ideas' are starting to take shape.
The attitude to the fans has generally been good. There are problems in delivery but they are at least listening to what we want. Whilst we do pay more now, it's not prohibitively expensive, unlike Arsenal, say, it's still perfectly possible for the vast majority of ordinary fans to buy a season ticket and watch a golden age take shape.
As far as the pride of the fans goes, ask them how they feel. Of course, in the eyes of others, we're no different to glory hunters now. But I have a feeling, the vast majority of fans really couldn't care less about losing the 'long-suffering but loyal' tag. There are other ways to feel proud, and they don't all revolve around how the rest of the world sees us.
