What are City playing at?

[persvenality cult]

you can talk all you like, but The Sun and the NOTW, forget about them listening. I have to believe, Custiss and co are so deep in the pockets of the established clubs they don't know what daylight looks like. and if the headline is good, any source will do. They have nearly zero relationship with the club because getting the truth would only hold them back from writing the stories that sell papers. Sorry, that's the way they've become recently. They get so little right, why would anyone buy that paper expecting to learn what's going on in the world of football?

The Star, have a much better record, we know we have someone fighting our corner. And I believe Woolnough is listening to the right people at the club.

Winter is definitely turning. Finally.

Conn and Taylor are well on-side (Taylor did a complete 180 on Mancini, around April time). Hayward isn't listening, but I think it's just natural scepticism.

Ducker has always been a good lad.

but Ollie Holt part of the 'fight back?' I don't think so. He's very anti-mancini, anti-cook, anti-sheik, mistrustful of the whole club after being given the impression MH was safe in his job, a couple of weeks before he was canned.

but it's not the chief scribes, or the manchester correspondants, who worry me.

it's the incidental jobbing writers at places like the Mirror... one of whom called our club 'a whore'. what kind of sub lets that headline through?

That casual 'abuse' is something the club should not allow to pass.

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone got a link to the Nazi article?

Reminds me of something I heard on five live a year or so back where Lawro said it was immoral that we were spending so much money while soldiers were dying in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Why would you want a link. You are just encouraging them to write more bile. The more we click on these fkin links the more they will write.

 

[bartinbarca]

There is some media out there
I am living in Barcelona.. each day a local paper has a section which famous people, whether they be Politicians, Pop Stars, Actors, or in Sport
they either noted as good or bad..

The other day, Bacon Face was being slagged off, for making noises about city.. and they back city and Mancini all the way.


Mainly read by Catalans/spanish... at least they know the truth..

 

[bluesoup]

Which ever way you look at it. I do think that the current wave of articles are getting rather extreme in their tone and content. It seems that the boundaries are being pushed each week and I don't think that our communications strategy or people can deal with this type and level of hatred that is coming out of the press.

I believe in free speech and the media can write whatever they think. They have a job to do but, I also believe in balance... to which I am currently struggling to find in the sports reports these days.

As supporters, we can certainly grow a thick skin and galvanise our support with the team. But I am getting concerned about the average Joe on the streets that previously had no opinion whatsoever about the goings on with city. For example, I had an interesting conversation with a non football fan last week which mirrored a red top headline. He basically said that after all the money that we spent in the summer, we could only muster up a draw and laughed at the way we had squandered money on the players that we did. I can forgive him for his ignorance but this is the power of the media. Say it enough times and outside people believe it.

So to think that we sit back and play the 'slowly slowly catchie monkey' is quite a high risk strategy (if that is what previous posters have alluded to). By the time we realise the project our public image will be so damaged it will take years to rectify - even with the silverware.

 

[Kinky by name]

Factual inaccuracies and actionable articles are easy to deal with and sort out - the opinion pieces are much trickier. Let me tell you it's very hard to be a Blue and see/hear this stuff going on around you all the time, often put together by people you work/have worked with.

Certain things have to be taken into consideration as several posters have already mentioned; the focus is really on us, namely that we have spent a large amount of money in a short space of time and (so far) we don't look to be setting the world on fire on the pitch. I know, I know... we need time to build a team etc but that's not the concern of any reporter or rival fan, is it? They can and will take the piss at every opportunity and (if we're honest with ourselves) many on here would probably do the same if this was happening at another club.

This is nothing new, though, those who remember the Franny Lee takeover will also recall being astounded at the number of pressmen/camera crews that suddenly descended on Maine Road when the fans were kicking off and Lee was muscling his way in. At the time I remember thinking, why don't we ever get this kind of coverage for the way we play? Alas (although it was a takeover they were documenting) the truth is the real interest was in the unrest that was being generated.

When we start to win games – and win them well – we will stand more of a chance at more positive publicity. If we play football that makes people purr then they will purr.

At the moment we will have a lot of flak coming our way - and much of it will come from the Stevie Irelands, the Richard Dunnes and the (insert next player to leave) of this world and we can do little about that, I guess. Players, agents, managers will all want to have their say and the press will be happy to report is. Sadly, this has a veneering effect and perpetuates the mythology. So we will always be playing catch-up.

We need to settle, play our football, start putting some form together and being totally behind the team as fans. Show them it doesn't hurt us and show them we are not going to have our faith shaken. If I can do that as a journo surrounded by rags, I'm sure most of you on here can do that as well.

 

[citymad]

I'm kind of indifferent to it. Ultimately, who cares? Just remember their names when (touch wood) we become successful and they are begging for access.

This. Don't them step within an inch of Joe Mercers way.

 

[Mancio]

many people here seem not to understand that the bad press will lead to the City many many new fans.

which is exactly what the board wants.

 

[yerwot?]

a tiny little step,i know but stealing an idea from RAWK would be good for the forum,i.e. no quotes or links from/to the usual suspects.it would be less boring as well,people knocking on an open door,declaring undying hatred for suchabody is a way to let off steam but gets us nowhere. So not having pages and pages on here isnt giving in,it's being pragmatic.

 

[spendmorethanerikson]

Which ever way you look at it. I do think that the current wave of articles are getting rather extreme in their tone and content. It seems that the boundaries are being pushed each week and I don't think that our communications strategy or people can deal with this type and level of hatred that is coming out of the press.

I believe in free speech and the media can write whatever they think. They have a job to do but, I also believe in balance... to which I am currently struggling to find in the sports reports these days.

As supporters, we can certainly grow a thick skin and galvanise our support with the team. But I am getting concerned about the average Joe on the streets that previously had no opinion whatsoever about the goings on with city. For example, I had an interesting conversation with a non football fan last week which mirrored a red top headline. He basically said that after all the money that we spent in the summer, we could only muster up a draw and laughed at the way we had squandered money on the players that we did. I can forgive him for his ignorance but this is the power of the media. Say it enough times and outside people believe it.
So to think that we sit back and play the 'slowly slowly catchie monkey' is quite a high risk strategy (if that is what previous posters have alluded to). By the time we realise the project our public image will be so damaged it will take years to rectify - even with the silverware.

Say it enough times and outside people believe it.


This is spot on. For example every paper and tv station have repeatedly quoted that Yaya Toure is on £220k per week. - Rubbish, this is only based on an absolute maximium if we were to win the league and champions league etc. But people believe it.

Sheikh Mansour has spent £1BN so far on City. - No he hasnt! That COULD be our liability if all the players stayed the full length of their contracts, but this gets reported and everyone believes and quotes it.

Unfortunately the club cannot respond to every single article published, and this is something we are going to have to get used to until we let the results do the talking. Maybe then the rubbish articles being reported will be few and far between.

 

[Kinky by name]

a tiny little step,i know but stealing an idea from RAWK would be good for the forum,i.e. no quotes or links from/to the usual suspects.it would be less boring as well,people knocking on an open door,declaring undying hatred for suchabody is a way to let off steam but gets us nowhere. So not having pages and pages on here isnt giving in,it's being pragmatic.

It's a balancing act - this site needs traffic too.