What are City playing at?

[Bigga]

Been here before around a month back.

Then, I wanted the club to give us City fans dialogue about why they allowed such abuse from journos toward us.

Not good.

Did they get back to you?

Of course not.

 

[dinosaurbloo]

We need to get a sense of perspective. City ARE the big story. Take city out of the summer sports season and what have you got? United sign a promising Mexican, Chelsea sign Benayoun, last year's top four start the first two games in good form, Martin O'Neill's huff and a soon to be forgotten World Cup; not a huge summer for press attention outside City. Oh and Andy Murray lost at Wimbledon

Added to the lack of alternative stories, too many of the rumoured 'discontents / out of favours ' have turned out to be true; Bellamy, Ireland, Given. Ok, we could stop talking to the press and get heavy on players who do likewise, but how does that fit in with our owners' vision for City? They want publicity, in fact they crave it for City. You don't spend that sort of money and then want us to discreetly return to relative obscurity overseas. Until we're winning trophies, we're going to have to put up with the occasional bites of the hand that's feeding in the press; even then we'll be whipping boys but will we care as we lift the cup(s).

 

[Marvin]

Journalists should be free to write what they want - even if it's rubbish.

Don't see any point in trying to sweet-talk the editors. They write hostile articles because that's what they think their readers want. Football fans are jealous of City's wealth and unlike Chelsea and Co. there's a good chance that there will be more City casualties before we are succesful.

We need to grown thicker skins. And be more supportive of our own club and players even after disappointments

 

[Le Havre Oswald]

its us against the

COME ON CITY.

 

[PistonBlue]

City can't do anything about written opinions, we can only change those opinions by winning things- which we will eventually.
I haven't read the articles for two reasons - I'm not going to visit their sites and I can't be arsed wasting my time on them, but if we are being directly compared to Nazi's then I'm sure something will be said by the Club.

City can get involved when these scumbags write lies about us and sell them as fact, but opinions however wrong or vile are just opinions.

I have to wonder why anyone would want to read anything in the red tops anyway?

 

[metalblue]

As a City fan and a banker I gave up worrying what the press had to say a long time ago.

 

[moomba]

We need to grown thicker skins. And be more supportive of our own club and players even after disappointments

It's not a matter of thicker skins.

They are making our job harder than it would otherwise be, boht in terms of marketing the club and when it comes down to it the more people that hate our club the easier it is for decisions to be made that aren't in our interests.

They are the enemy.

 

[Soulboy]

Journalists should be free to write what they want - even if it's rubbish.

Don't see any point in trying to sweet-talk the editors. They write hostile articles because that's what they think their readers want. Football fans are jealous of City's wealth and unlike Chelsea and Co. there's a good chance that there will be more City casualties before we are succesful.

We need to grown thicker skins. And be more supportive of our own club and players even after disappointments

Are you suggesting journalists should be free to write lies about us... and it's okay to do that?

Sorry, but any organisatiuon has a right to defend itself against scurrilous and inaccurate reporting. We shouldn't be any different.

If we just roll over and take it, time and time again, then we help create a culture and public persona that will see us permanently portrayed as the pantomime villains.

I'm sure out owners didn't invest so much money on a project that would be derided and held up for mockery on such a regular basis. This has been going on now for two years.

We simply have to respond, i just fear we do not have the capabilities within the club to do that at the moment.

 

[Tueart1976]

I think we would all like to see City throw a few punches but at the moment I sense that the Board and owner(s) have decided that a softer approach is necessary.

The 'Henry Winter of Discontent' was very much on the back foot after the Mancini presser, and I am told that City reminded a few publications of their obligations of evenhandedness.

Winter is, after what I saw and heard this AM on Sunday Supplement, very much part of the City fightback in a very subtle way> Even the dickhead Custiss was having a real go at him with digs about Marwood etc.

What I see happening is that the papers that are more journalistic in their approach are being fed and watered by City and the quality of those pieces will stand the test of time.

The other papers that lets not forget NEED to create sensationalism in order to sell, and are found in most toilets are being marginalised and don't like it.

If you get the chance to re-watch the bit where Winter and Custiss are talking about CIty it is interesting to see the trap being laid by Winter.

He gets Custiss to talk in terms of short-termism, he puts in the age of the squad and the English players we have.

Because Cusitss would argue with himself for the sake of ego it is now there for us to see, the agenda.

There are very,very strong indications that City are going to give Mancini 2 seasons and will live with a bad season this year. They can now say that it is what is expected of a balanced club and a well managed one.

As TH has said we are buying now for a number of seasons and as such the 'splurge' has provided ammunition to the Custiss's of the world but also primed the gun for the fightback.

I would say that patience is a virtue for all of us and I would also expect Cook, Mancini, Marwood and Khaldoon to be all over the broadsheets (and the friendlier tabloids) making the agenda.

It might even be that CIty talk about the gutter press and the lack of knowledge of such journalists?

How could Custiss respond if City in building success also prove how little he understands the club?

I get angry with the short term reactionary shit in the papers but think the only way that can change is to have other things to report.

It may just be the Academy, the age of the squad and the long term vision once the developments are announced?

Great post!

 

[OB1]

I agree that the media coverage we get appears like some sort of Rag conspiracy but as I don't pay detailed attention to the coverage other clubs get, I can't say for sure if we are being paranoid about how City are treated, but, they do seem to be out to get us.

What to do about it is another matter. If City try to get heavy with people that are "just" expressing an opinion, they will play right into the hands of the Nazi allusion. City's approach seems to be to let their actions speak. Cook and Khaldoon have been noticeably quiet as we have gone about our transfer business. However, City's review of the papers does a very nice line in sarcasm and today has very calmly addressed the "Big Bad Blues" coverage.

City need to use the coverage internally as a motivator, us against the world etc. If anyone in the press prints something libellous, then set the lawyers on them; otherwise work to prove them wrong by being, professional, respectful and successful - take the ammo out of the enemies' guns.