Let's say we are £85m behind for 2015/16
A CL win this year would put us mightily close.
But they'll still say we'd fall apart when our owners get bored.
The best thing is that the vast majority of rag cunts and every other fan in this country belive that narrative and have no idea how financially strong we really are.
We ain't going anywhere. Other than up that is.
I frequently allow myself a wry smile when rags talk about our 'overinflated' Etihad deal; a state of mind that merely serves to reveal a pitiful lack of understanding of the financial landscape in English football today.
I reckon even if we still fitted their description of 'mid-table nobodies' that they seem to so enjoy ascribing to us, £40 million quid a season would probably be about par for the stadium naming rights and shirt sponsorship, such is the global prominence of the Premier League.
Rather than overstate our financial power, the current deal does the opposite, as it is now somewhat anachronistic, formed as it was some six years ago. It would be churlish to complain, as it was front-loaded at the time, in the anticipation that City's brand would grow, which it demonstrably has - although to a greater extent than was envisaged in 2010, I'll hazard.
Another frequently overlooked factor in the Etihad deal is the value the other party has derived from it. The currency of the deal had gone hand in hand with a phenomenal growth in the airline, who must look upon it as a hugely successful, well timed investment.
When deciding to buy City, Sheikh Mansour would have seen the ongoing growth in English football providing an ultimate return on his investment. Those that pontificated about 'white elephants' and 'sugar daddies' failed to appreciate what a prime asset a leading, English football club would be in the years that followed 2008, partly because they chose not to apply their minds to it, as people frequently do when their head is stuck firmly in the sand.
Football supporters are perhaps even worse than political activists in being completely unable to see the wood for the trees, being consumed, as many of them are, with revulsion at the thought of a rival club usurping their own. They close their mind to logic in the hope that things will go back to how they were.
Thankfully our owner, and those who advise him, are not constrained by such emotive forces. He saw the opportunity and took it - and thank god for us that City were the beneficiaries.
The last eight years have been utterly incredible, and as you say, the best is yet to come. Still keep pinching myself.
