City's Owners

[McNamara That Ghost...]

City's owners get a lot of stick from a lot of people. I think some of it is down to the fact that they're from the Middle East and there's a bit of latent racism there (not on this messageboard though), and there's also a lot of populism surrounding their takeover and the actions they have taken.

If you examine their record, they've actually been quite sensible in their ownership. They gave Mark Hughes a lot of time to get things right, and only after failing to convince that he was the right manager did they sack him. Moreover, they've retained Gary Cook as Chief Exec and Brian Marwood as Football Adminstration Officer, making use of their local knowledge having accepted that there are many things about English football that they don't understand yet.

Yes, they've spent a lot of money, and they've ruffled a few feathers with some of their transfer dealings (i.e. Lescott) but which club hasn't? Transfers don't always go through smoothly, and some of them go through after a lot of acrimony (you only need to look at Arsenal)

Furthermore, they are working hard to improve the local area around the stadium, building new schools and trying to regenerate a quite deprived area. You could say this is just a PR stunt, but all the information coming out suggests the owners have a real commitment to the club and the local area, understanding that the club is not just a business but a social institution that means a lot to people.

I think sometimes we're too quick to jump down the City owners' throats, thinking of them as some tinpot Arab Charlatan when their actions suggest they're anything but. Moreover, they actually seem to care about football and success on the pitch, rather than simply using City as a vehicle for a vanity project and to line their pockets with gold. Can you honestly say you get the same impression with our owners? Do you really think our owners put the welfare of the fans and sucess on the pitch ahead of seeing a good return on their investment?

The way Citeh spend their money has an affect on football in general (most specifically transfers and wages), whereas Arsenal's actions really just affect Arsenal and its stakeholders. To me they are two seperate issues and don't have to be discussed in the way of saying criticising Citeh means people still can't admonish the way Arsenal run.

[Letters]

Didn't see that episode. Is Homer bright enough in the end to figure out the truth, or does he just act the ungracious pratt and lord it over the competition? If it's the latter then in Homer's mind he really did win and the trophies are very meaningful to him.

Even Homer's entheusiasm for winning dwindles as he realises that he's not having to work that hard to achieve 'success'.
Was trying to find the YouTube clip bug Fox are notoriously vigilent and it's quite hard to find Simpsons clips on there.

[Cripps_orig]

Rather have them than our board

[Niall_Quinn]

Rather have them than our board

I'd rather the whole of football collapses and we go back to amateur sport.

[Marc Overmars]

Don't care if it's sanctimonious but their success IS hollow, even more so than Chelsea who at least qualified for the CL before Abramovich turned up. I'm sure it's great for their success starved fans but if the same happened here I wouldn't brag about it personally.

[Niall_Quinn]

Even Homer's entheusiasm for winning dwindles as he realises that he's not having to work that hard to achieve 'success'.
Was trying to find the YouTube clip bug Fox are notoriously vigilent and it's quite hard to find Simpsons clips on there.

Ah well, I guess City fans don't have Homer's insight or instincts.

[Fist of Lehmann]

Ah well, I guess City fans don't have Homer's insight or instincts.

In the episode the Stonecutters get so pissed off with Homer they decide to form a new society called the Society of No Homers.

Homer then replaces all former members with monkeys, gets them drunk and forces them to re-enact the American Civil War.

Although I'd love this to happen at City, I remain cautiously sceptical.

[Niall_Quinn]

In the episode the Stonecutters get so pissed off with Homer they decide to form a new society called the Society of No Homers.

Homer then replaces all former members with monkeys, gets them drunk and forces them to re-enact the American Civil War.

Although I'd love this to happen at City, I remain cautiously sceptical.

The civil war bit isn't such a long shot.

[AKBapologist]

Wouldn't mind if all footie clubs had billionaire owners, then we'd be on a level playing field again.

[Grebbo]

Wouldn't mind if all footie clubs had billionaire owners, then we'd be on a level playing field again.

We've got two of them and we're still shite.