The Real enemies of Football

[George Hannah]

Spike Milligan? Top row 3rd from right.

Actually it's the BBC's carefully chosen Rag reporter 'Cyrano' Stone deployed at all City press conferences. The individual next but one on his left deserves a thread too
The Lonesome Death of Jack Pitt-Brooke

I was pretty reluctant to take off David Conn tbh.

 

[born2bblu]

This thread is a tribute to Martin Samuel. He has almost singlehandedly defeated the latest vicious attack on us by the cartel clubs and their parasite media. We need always to remember who the journalists were who set out to destroy us - their ugly true colours have been clearly revealed in recent weeks and a few of the most virulent have their own threads on here.
The rogues gallery

Anybody I've missed or should leave out and who deserves to be top of the list ?

This one should be there too:

 

[born2bblu]

Afraid you might have to name him friend, I don't think pics are appreciated by the owner of this site either. We'll see if it's just my selections that make him nervous :)

Javier Tebas; La Liga president.

 

[JYKelly]

We did superbly under Mancini and Pellegrini. I think Arteta will probably replace Pep and, having learned at the hands of the master, maintain significant success. That said I can't believe any manager in the world could provide the sort of class and style we have seen from Pep's team.

The thing we all overlook is that like all truly great managers, Pep instills incredible discipline in a velvet glove. I see that as the main problem to maintain. His knowledge and tactical nouse are incredible, but that fear of letting him down is easy to see. The mob from Stretford are finding out that discipline or bullying simply does not work when your tactics are 10 years out of date. Having said that, I also get the feeling Pep has never been happier or prouder and feel he will be in no rush to bale out. What kind of man is it that can improve Sergio?

 

[SilverFox2]

The thing we all overlook is that like all truly great managers, Pep instills incredible discipline in a velvet glove. I see that as the main problem to maintain. His knowledge and tactical nouse are incredible, but that fear of letting him down is easy to see. The mob from Stretford are finding out that discipline or bullying simply does not work when your tactics are 10 years out of date. Having said that, I also get the feeling Pep has never been happier or prouder and feel he will be in no rush to bale out. What kind of man is it that can improve Sergio?

Pep is made of strong stuff.
His political support for Catalan independence has given him a thick skin that football journos whatever their mode of attack will find to be impenetrable.

 

[Rammyblues]

MS just publishing for us in the media what many on here have been saying for years as for Pep he will eventually go but Cheeky and Soriani should be here for the long haul and I trust both of them to do what is best for our club. At the moment those two and Pep are a dream management team. Khaldoon knows it and so does Mansour. ( May all his teas be chippy teas)

 

[Blue Til Death]

I’d say there is a good case for the rags being the enemies of football, club, fans, manager, players the fookin jewson lot..

 

[BrianW]

I suppose it all depends on what you think professional football should be. If you take the view that it's over commercialised, too focused on bringing in money at all costs, all that kind of stuff, then City are not to blame. The people to blame are those who decided not to share home gates, who grabbed the lion's share of TV money for their entitled clubs, who threatened to break away unless everyone bowed to their demands, the ones who found ways around FA rules so that football Directors could enjoy lavish salaries. All the later developments sprang from this, because making football such a cash cow invited the serious high rollers into the game.

The days when major football clubs could be owned by local tin-pot businessmen on something approaching an amateur basis (in every sense of the words) have gone and will never, ever return.