Le$cott out of shitty!

[Muggins]

I'm mystified how he can think that peoples' reaction to him is down to nothing but jealousy, when one of the most liked and accepted members on the forum is a United fan. Does he really think we'd be more jealous of City's impotent millions than United's two decades of success?

The reaction is down to him personally, but City's millions allow him to hide from reality, just like their fanbase in general really.

Now that my friend is a very valid point.

 

[Garry.Cook]

Sorry chaps, popped out for an hour...sometimes (only sometimes) I find something more exciting to do than wait for a reply!

You beat us twice last season because you played well and we didn't...simple as. Also because of Moyes' time-wasting tactics (good right-hook Mancini).

I can't defend the dealings of my club behind the scenes because I don't know what goes on...same as you don't. That's what I was trying to get across before though...just because you read something in the paper doesn't make it true and it's frustrating to hear people ****ging us off for things that are quoteless tripe from the Daily Mirror or whatever your tabloid of choice is.

 

[Basil Fawlty]

Howdy...i'm still here don't worry. Just wondering where to start with half of the bull that's been posted since I last visited.

Let me start by saying that most of my "questions" were answered poorly...when I asked how people know about our backroom policies/players wages/ transfer strategies/tactics etc, I got the answer 'because look at how much you're paying players' etc etc. The answer I was looking for was "We don't know what goes on behind the scenes at City, we just hope the paper's are right because it sounds funny".

Secondly that friendly against Inter was a bit of a nightmare to be honest...it wasn't, however, as bad as you lot like to make it sound. Their "reserve" team included the likes of Stankovic, Materazzi, Eto'o and some kids. Similarly our squad had Adebayor, Yaya, Lescott and a lot of kids...no De Jong, Silva, Tevez etc. We also had Vieira sent off after 10 mins but I suppose it's funnier to ignore that.

From my short time on this forum I honestly reckon the vast majority of you are VERY bitter about having a club (who you perceive to be smaller) coming in and turning your players heads. After all, you are the 'peoples club' who everyone wants to play for and would never willingly leave. You are obsessed with beating us twice in the league but when it comes to asking about league position it's "NO BUT WE STARTED BADLY...IF THE LEAGUE STARTED AT CHRISTMAS WE WOULD'VE BEAT YOU". It didn't.

I, and a lot of other blues, am very impressed with Moyes' spending and the way he gets the best out of his squad (and I say this despite hating the guy). True, Everton have won more in the past and could quite easily challenge for the odd F.A or league cup in the future but most of you genuinely dismiss the fact that City have the resources to challenge for bigger things in the future by saying "you've had two years and won nothing"...well that's hardly the point is it? We have had to transform from a mid-table team to a league-challenging side and obviously that can't be done in one transfer window. The more you point and laugh at the idea of City winning more than you in the future, the more delusional you make yourself look.

Rant over.

I raise your attendances with final league positions.

City.

2008-09 10th
2007-08 9th
2006-07 14th
2005-06 15th
2004-05 8th
2003-04 16th
2002-03 9th

EFC

2007-08 5th
2006-07 6th
2005-06 11th
2004-05 4th
2003-04 17th
2002-03 7th

It can be done lad, you just need a decent manager, it's not all about money as we spent little that summer, we paid £450k for Marcus Bent that year.

 

[Muggins]

Sorry chaps, popped out for an hour...sometimes (only sometimes) I find something more exciting to do than wait for a reply!

You beat us twice last season because you played well and we didn't...simple as. Also because of Moyes' time-wasting tactics (good right-hook Mancini).

I can't defend the dealings of my club behind the scenes because I don't know what goes on...same as you don't. That's what I was trying to get across before though...just because you read something in the paper doesn't make it true and it's frustrating to hear people ****ging us off for things that are quoteless tripe from the Daily Mirror or whatever your tabloid of choice is.

Ok so now i'm getting a better picture. ie, Red tops publish rumours that city are buying x,y, and z, for x amount, then everyone on here goes mad posting how city are doing this and doing that etc.

I understand how that can be frustrating. But the sobering truth is that city are doing a high percentage of what the papers are saying.

If City were skint, the papers would not be full of this. City have the money to turn heads.

City are no different to other clubs in this respect, much how we'd tell anyone to pee off for trying to sign our best player.

But this is a battle you are not going to win on this forum. Do not take it personally. But i do not expect you to turn your back on your club just because of the business they conduct, but rather try and be modest / humble and understanding towards the fans you are speaking to when on other clubs forums. People will be unreasonable in your eyes, but just do what I try and do and take it on the chin.

I can't speak for everyone, only myself.

 

[Garry.Cook]

Here's my take on the situation, for what it's worth.


Man City: Before the sheiks. No one had a problem with them. You can empathise with their past plights of going up and down, and lack of recent success. And we can certainly understand being overshadowed in your own city.

Man City: After the Sheiks. The only fans who don't have a problem with them, are the Chelsea fans. Thing is though, people are hating on the effect and not the cause. The cause of this problem, which is ruining football, is these bored billionaires. It ruins the fairness of the game. However, city fans had no say in whether or not their club was taken over. And given the same circumstances most Evertonians would be over the moon. So, initially, I didn't have a problem with city fans. They'd had a [Poor language removed] time, now they had cause for optimism. However, their billionaires/managers are beyond ridiculous. Buying everyone with a high reputation, for even more than they're worth. If I was a city fan, I'd be pissed off at the way things were being handled. Pissing away money -- I mean, making Yaya Toure the highest paid player in the league (by a good margin) really sums it up.

Thing is, I don't have a problem with someone because they're a city fan. I do have a problem with these city fans think all of sudden they're the biggest team in the world. They think their club has earned respect, because the sheik's dart landed on them. When they win things, they will be respected more -- but with an asterix: *paid for by the sheik. And as much as they try and argue against this, it's a fact.

If I was a city fan, or if Everton got investment of this magnitude, I'd want us to use the cash sparingly. Not bully clubs into selling their best players. Not pay nearly £20 million for someone who will be free within 6 months. Not buying people based on reputation alone. With hindsight; Chelsea did it right. They bought top notch players, but they developed them further; Essien, Drogba etc. I'd never even heard of those two before they joined Chelsea. They used their finances intelligently. It's easier to respect that. Don't get me wrong, I hate a lot of Chelsea fans and I hate their smug board of execs, but they did it right.

So, in summary (well done if you've made it this far), I don't mind city fans -- I give them a chance. Thing is, most of them seem as arrogant as Gary Cook (the man, not the guy on here) these days. They're under the notion than money = instant respect, pride and a 'holier than thou' attitude. It does not lads, it does not.

Thanks mate, cracking insight that. Just out of curiousity do you think what we've done by buying Tevez, Silva, Yaya is any different to when they bought Ballack, Crespo, Veron, Shevchenko? We're doing it very similarly IMO and have bought the young players like Kolarov and Boateng but the media seem to say "Yaya earns 220K a week" (which is total guesswork) and everyone listens.

I can't remember myself, but did Chelsea have similar press when they started buying big or we're they left largely alone from the beginnning?

 

[Garry.Cook]

Ok so now i'm getting a better picture. ie, Red tops publish rumours that city are buying x,y, and z, for x amount, then everyone on here goes mad posting how city are doing this and doing that etc.

I understand how that can be frustrating. But the sobering truth is that city are doing a high percentage of what the papers are saying.

If City were skint, the papers would not be full of this. City have the money to turn heads.

City are no different to other clubs in this respect, much how we'd tell anyone to pee off for trying to sign our best player.

But this is a battle you are not going to win on this forum. Do not take it personally. But i do not expect you to turn your back on your club just because of the business they conduct, but rather try and be modest / humble and understanding towards the fans you are speaking to when on other clubs forums. People will be unreasonable in your eyes, but just do what I try and do and take it on the chin.

I can't speak for everyone, only myself.

Yeh I know what you mean mate, we're all going to try and defend our own club right? I never expected to convert everyone into plastic City fans but really wanted to hear what you thought and basically try to show you lot that we're not a bad bunch really. You're going to get the odd plonker who goes from board to board saying "WE'RE RICHER THAN YOU!" but by and large, we're the same lot who went to Maine Road to watch Rochdale beat us, only now we seem to attract a lot of abuse.

So what do we talk about now? :-/

 

[Basil Fawlty]

They were attracting big names before Abramovich arrived. They also invested in youth and brought some players through their system, Mourinho built a team he didn't just assemble a squad of mercenaries. Players played for Mourinho and the shirt not just the pay packet, that's the difference.

 

[Allezfan]

Thanks mate, cracking insight that. Just out of curiousity do you think what we've done by buying Tevez, Silva, Yaya is any different to when they bought Ballack, Crespo, Veron, Shevchenko? We're doing it very similarly IMO and have bought the young players like Kolarov and Boateng but the media seem to say "Yaya earns 220K a week" (which is total guesswork) and everyone listens.

I can't remember myself, but did Chelsea have similar press when they started buying big or we're they left largely alone from the beginnning?

Chelsea got the exact same thing. The press having pops, other fans hating them for being rich and everyone saying they have no history ect. Mourinho's charishma/love affair with the press took a bit of the wind out of it but by and large it was much the same. Just like it was at Newcastle before them.

Anybody throwing that much money around is going to be a target. Give it a few years and you'll be mostly accepted in the same way they are. And notts county fans or whoever your heirs are will be told 'yeah but at least City had a bit of a class'.

You should lose the victim complex and enjoy it. Better to be hated cos you're a threat than patronizingly liked cos you're rubbish but plucky.

 

[Garry.Cook]

They were attracting big names before Abramovich arrived. They also invested in youth and brought some players through their system, Mourinho built a team he didn't just assemble a squad of mercenaries. Players played for Mourinho and the shirt not just the pay packet, that's the difference.

Well that's probably still up for debate. If we've paid through the eyeballs this summer and do no better in the coming season then we can assess what went wrong. If we do significantly better then maybe they didn't just come for the money?

 

[RFUS]

Thanks mate, cracking insight that. Just out of curiousity do you think what we've done by buying Tevez, Silva, Yaya is any different to when they bought Ballack, Crespo, Veron, Shevchenko? We're doing it very similarly IMO and have bought the young players like Kolarov and Boateng but the media seem to say "Yaya earns 220K a week" (which is total guesswork) and everyone listens.

I can't remember myself, but did Chelsea have similar press when they started buying big or we're they left largely alone from the beginnning?

Time helps. At the time I hated Chelsea quite a bit. I still don't agree with it, but it was much easier to take than what you guys are doing because:

a.) They didn't poach our players.
b.) They were already finishing above us.

Since that though we've improved, and developed a tight knit squad on an infuriatingly small budget, so to have you leapfrog us not through managerial nouse or smart purchases, but through sheer financial might... well it's a kick in the teeth.


And these young players you mention; they're not unknowns, and you're paying incredible amounts for them as well. I think Chelsea were a bit shrewder in that department, although I was quite young at the time, so maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Muggins]

Yeh I know what you mean mate, we're all going to try and defend our own club right? I never expected to convert everyone into plastic City fans but really wanted to hear what you thought and basically try to show you lot that we're not a bad bunch really. You're going to get the odd plonker who goes from board to board saying "WE'RE RICHER THAN YOU!" but by and large, we're the same lot who went to Maine Road to watch Rochdale beat us, only now we seem to attract a lot of abuse.

So what do we talk about now? :-/

I am curious who you think your starting 11 will be. Also who you think you paid too much for, who was a bargain, who you think you shouldn't of bought, and whether it was worth the aggro of disturbing other clubs if it occurred.

Do you think your team will knit well? are you worried about this level of investment? are you worried about them pulling out?

are prices going up at the club for shirts, merchandise, drinks in the stadium? how is this effecting the REAL city fan. Not the fairweather type.

There are lots of talking points.

 

[kenada_blue]

We have two...Ireland and Silva.

Maybe you would find this video interesting...do you ever bother looking for info before you post?

http://mcfc.co.uk/Video/Interviews/US-Tour-Stevie-Ireland

Is Ireland gonna play? Nope.

Is Silva a winger? Yes? World Class playmaker? Nope. He's even 3d choice in the Spanish team behind Navaras and Pedro as wingers.

So no..you dont have a creative playmaker who pulls the strings.

 

[Garry.Cook]

We have paid ridiculous amounts for most of our signings but if we didn't we probably wouldn't have signed anyone...it's the 'one price for you and one for everyone else' scenario isn't it? I'm chuffed with paying £7M for Johnson and £7M for Kompany and I think the only player we have paid big for and hasn't looked overpriced is the £25M contract for Tevez.

Price wise our tickets have gone up by about 10% but the majority of our fans realise that with the level of investment and our predicted success on the pitch, it wouldn't be fair to expect a price-freeze. What IS ridiculous is that this season our 'new' home shirt is almost identical and costs another £40...something a lot of our fans see as a cheap way of robbing the fans.

Can't wait for the season to start now though...it's been a long wait!

 

[Garry.Cook]

Is Ireland gonna play? Nope.

Is Silva a winger? Yes? World Class playmaker? Nope. He's even 3d choice in the Spanish team behind Navaras and Pedro as wingers.

So no..you dont have a creative playmaker who pulls the strings.

Being 3rd choice in the world-cup winning squad isn't anything to be ashamed of mate and from what our 'in-the-know's' have heard Silva will play at the front of a midfield diamond. We might not have a world-class playmaker but we have two half-decent ones to see us through this season.

 

[kenada_blue]

Being 3rd choice in the world-cup winning squad isn't anything to be ashamed of mate and from what our 'in-the-know's' have heard Silva will play at the front of a midfield diamond. We might not have a world-class playmaker but we have two half-decent ones to see us through this season.

Its nothing to be ashamed of. And he's a good player...if a little lightweight. But you've spent almost £25million for him. Thats almost the same as a Torres, a Tevez, etc for someone who give or take, is not the 1st person on peoples minds when it comes down to a creative midfielder in the Gerrard, Fabregas, Lampard, mould that Citeh probably need to win titles.

Wait and see like, he may come up trumps. And Im surprised Citeh fans know what formation Mancini is gonna play because Im not even sure he knows. Clearly hasnt let the new players come in and gel and the pre-season friendlies I've watched seem like a exercise in players he's wanting to get shut of rather than trying out a new style of play.

That's my view. And still why I feel Spurs have a better squad than Citeh do.