The perfect fumble said:
The long game is the only game City has.The excellent original post from Prestwich-Blue, and all the subsequent posts, have done a good job in cataloguing all the scum media fire power that can and is brought to bear against City. Against such overwhelming odds it would be pointless for City to take on the press, if this were a military campaign, no one would takes on these superior numbers.
It hurts us because we see it on a daily basis, the misrepresentation of the club is relentless all played out against a backdrop of pro Utd coverage like constant muzak you can't switch off, it stings because it seeks to demean and belittle the club we love and it is successful.
I live in Norwich and talk with Norwich fans all the time, City is hated here even more than Utd, we are the embodiment of everything that is wrong about football, the Norwich fans argument is one long stream of red top anti City talking points and I can't imagine it's any different anywhere else.
But we and the club have to take it, we have absolutely no choice. I'm of the strong opinion that the Ferguson succession will not be a smooth one and Utd will stumble big time, that will not bring about a sea change in favour of City, but it will give us an opportunity, we need to be in a position to seize it. But even if we do it will take years, if at all, before we can begin to redress the balance. I suspect Prestwich-Blue could re-post this in ten years time and even if everything goes to plan in City's favour, it will still ring true.
Taking the press on and generally emulating Baconface's consistently objectionable behaviour is not really an option for City, as you rightly suggest. Someone else noted that 'clicks' are all in the online world, and whereas the media might baulk at alienating half a billion armchair rags, they would be decidedly less reticent about pissing off a couple hundred thousand City fans. Indeed the reverse is probably true in so much as we represent a ready made villain that will get the rag loons a-logging, a-clicking and a-foaming by the bucketload. All in all I doubt there is an agenda in terms of a genuine animosity towards us, but money talks, and if they can sell copies by portraying a particular club in a particular way, then they're likely to carry on doing it.
There are some journalists whose own club allegiances shine through continually, and almost inevitably they represent those clubs most immediately threatened by City's emergence. Because of City, any two out of the Arse, Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool are going to miss out on Chimps League football for the third season in a row. Because of City, the rags have won just 2 trophies in the last 3 years. When Tony Evans, James Lawton, Stephen Bates, Ian Herbert, Mark Ogden, John Cross, Rob Beesley and others then put pen to paper on the subject of City, the bitterness and spite frequently reach epic levels of absurdity.
As a City supporter, whilst I hate these fuckers with a passion, I can at least understand their motivational ire, and on the plus side there are journalists out there prepared to be far more objective - Martin Samuel and Henry Winter being obvious examples. Furthermore, elements of the media can still be won over. It was very noticeable how almost overnight Gary Jug Ears and Knobjockey Hansen went from snipers to defenders of the faith once they'd had Vincent Kompany on the show and realised what a top chap he is. Suddenly we were getting our own segment - complete with studio Poznan - on Sports Personality of the Year, and getting red cards overturned at the Arse.
What continues to grate though is those sections of the media (Talkshite being an obvious example) that deliberately use City as a sort of lightning rod for negative opinion, and I cannot understand those City fans who believe the club's image is not damaged, overtly or obliquely, by such attacks. If you want an example of what I'm talking about then I'll leave you with this. It comes, almost inevitably, from the most consistently vile newspaper in the land, the Daily Fail, and it concerns City's pre-season training camp in Austria last summer. Filled with outright lies, half truths and omissions, its intent is obvious, and quite categorically the paper would not have printed such spiteful bullshit about any other club. As I said, 'clicks' are all:
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Champion whingers: Pampered Man City stars ask church by Austrian training camp to stop ringing its bells... because the chimes are disturbing their beauty sleep"
Church bells in Seefeld ordered to stop chiming at 7am so stars can sleep
Players have Rome-designed mattresses and blankets that £1,000 each
Bottled water from England and fresh fish has been flown in every two days
Hotel staff must arrange the condiments on the dining tables a specific way
By Alex Ward
PUBLISHED:12:09, 10 July 2012| UPDATED:15:55, 10 July 2012
Comments (94)
Manchester City has asked for a historic Austrian church to silence its bells to avoid disturbing star players during their pre-season training camp in the Tyrolean mountains.
It is one on a long list of strict conditions City boss Roberto Mancini’s has requested that also include handmade £1,000 specially-designed mattresses and the meticulous arrangement of condiments on hotel tables at meal times.
Details of City’s travel requirements were revealed by Alois Seyrling, manager of the Klosterbrau Hotel - a former monastery that is almost 500 years old - which will be the squad’s home until July 20.
The bells at St Oswald’s in Seefeld, a 13th century Catholic church which adjoins the five star hotel, normally chime on the hour from 7am but during City’s stay they will be delayed by an hour to start at 8am at the request of team officials, Mr Seyrling said.
He said it was a very special request.
‘They wanted to ask the priest to switch off the bells of the church because we are attached to it and the bells are ringing at seven in the morning, eight in the morning and nine in the morning,’ he said.
City are spending more than £200,000 for their stay in the small village, a favourite destination of wealthy winter sports fans, in preparation for defending their Premier League title.
The hotel has spent three months preparing for the arrival of stars like Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure in what has been a painstaking process.
They were required to import specially-approved mattresses, handmade in Rome, as City insisted on a specific density and height to offer optimum support for players’ backs.
Along with lightweight blankets, which had to be 3cm thick, the cost came in at little under £1,000 per bed for each of the 54 rooms booked out by last season’s title-winners.
When it came to accommodating 6ft 3in Yaya Toure, it required a specially-extended bed, driven over personally by the manufacturer in time for the Ivory Coast international’s arrival.
Toure is also the only player to have his own massage table in his room.
The restrictions also stretch to the dining room, with the team’s Italian coach making sure the player’s dietary requirements are kept in check by forbidding all chocolates and snacks in minibars, bread and butter, and ordering hotel staff to not place sauces on tables.
Mayonnaise or ketchup will only be allowed on special request and the parmesan cheese must be situated in the exact position for every meal.
The City chef has been brought over and fresh fish is flown in every two days as well as a huge amount of bottled water from England.
Mr Seyrling said: ‘They want privacy in the restaurant and we have a very clear set-up for the buffet.
'The set-up is very detailed in the restaurant - down to how much space is in between the chairs.
'The manager I have heard is quite strict. They sent us the menu so we have all of the products so their chef can prepare the meals.
'Fish is flown in. Most of the products we always buy locally because Austria has a high standard, especially for beef but the special fish they requested will be flown in fresh every two days from France, the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea.
City have also brought their entire medical and fitness teams with them to the picturesque region.
The hotel offers a range of unusual spa treatments to help the players wind down after a day’s training including a tiny room in the stone-walled basement, containing an old-fashioned bread oven and three easy chairs.
It is intended to offer a relaxing experience while guests can also enjoy the aroma of freshly baked bread.
There is also a tank filled with garra rufa fish to eat dead skin from the feet as well as hay bath.
Players could also do a session in the infra red room to help ease tension.
The quaint Austrian town has proved to be a popular destination for football teams with Monaco currently staying in a nearby hotel and the five-star hotel has accommodated Holland as they prepared for the 2010 World Cup and Inter Milan are negotiating to stay there next summer.
