Premier League 2018-2019 Part II

[Jersey Fresh]

If you started following the PL in the past 5 years, sure.

If you look at the PL prior to Ashley (2007 I think) and Glazer's (2005) takeovers, the spending wasn't all that different btw the two clubs. Nothing like today. That's not a slight on either club.

Among both fan bases you'd find people that would love the blank check, and those who hate it. And I would suspect that local fans would hate it more, and international fans would love it more. In my experience, in going to Manchester a couple times and being on facebook fan groups that are largely localized, the fans overwhelmingly hate the Glazers and the commercialization of the club.

Something we have to keep in mind here is that our NA experience/attachment to clubs is often very different than localized fans.

This is of course true and to me, as a North American supporter of an English club, I'd defer much more to them than try to impose my own set of attachments and sentimentality of the club on them. Seems pretty straightforward to me. If the majority of homegrown West Ham supporters were on board with a takeover a la, Red Bull or Arab sheikh, who would I be to say no, whether I was in favor or not? I'm not going to be the one going to the ground every weekend.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

At the end of the day it's a business. If it's a richer, better run business as long as they're still 'true to the roots' and try to connect with fans I don't see how that would be selling your soul.

It's not like most multi-millionaires that own sports teams have unquestionable ethics.

How do you think City's owners have fared on this front?

 

[YNWA14]

How do you think City's owners have fared on this front?

Personally I don't pay enough attention to what City does off the field to comment. I've noticed their attendance is pretty good and that documentary is pretty neat. Have they disconnected themselves from the history or heart of the club?

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Personally I don't pay enough attention to what City does off the field to comment. I've noticed their attendance is pretty good and that documentary is pretty neat. Have they disconnected themselves from the history or heart of the club?

I'd dispute that their attendance is "good". Pretty sure last season they averaged 10k empty seats and their ground wasn't full fairly often this season. And it's not because City doesn't have the supporter base. Fans being priced out of the game is an issue everywhere, but when you pursue an agenda focused on commercialization and internationalization, you inevitably disconnect yourself from the locals. There are some clubs that have done both and done them well. Liverpool and Tottenham both seem to have grown their base and become more competitive, while keeping the homegrown supporters happy.

Some of it is just fixture congestion. A club like City is involved in all these competitions, you can't possibly go to everything. But I don't think you can look at all those empty seats and say they're doing enough, and that's the danger when you play the sugar daddy ownership roulette. United on the other end of the spectrum could do nothing and sell out Old Trafford, meanwhile no one there recognizes the club they're supporting. Luckily for City, they struck gold with Pep and have managed to continually win.

And to add to that, I don't see how you can disconnect the shady conduct of ownership that's recently been referred to UEFA, and has been discussed here ad-nauseam, from the club itself. If ownership deems that acceptable conduct, how is that not co-opting club ethos?

 

[YNWA14]

I'd dispute that their attendance is "good". Pretty sure last season they averaged 10k empty seats and their ground wasn't full fairly often this season. And it's not because City doesn't have the supporter base. Fans being priced out of the game is an issue everywhere, but when you pursue an agenda focused on commercialization and internationalization, you inevitably disconnect yourself from the locals. There are some clubs that have done both and done them well. Liverpool and Tottenham both seem to have grown their base and become more competitive, while keeping the homegrown supporters happy.

Some of it is just fixture congestion. A club like City is involved in all these competitions, you can't possibly go to everything. But I don't think you can look at all those empty seats and say they're doing enough, and that's the danger when you play the sugar daddy ownership roulette. United on the other end of the spectrum could do nothing and sell out Old Trafford, meanwhile no one there recognizes the club they're supporting. Luckily for City, they struck gold with Pep and have managed to continually win.

Premier League - average attendances

According to this they have the 5th highest average attendance and their 98.2% fill rate is among the highest as well. That seems pretty good. Are City fans unhappy in general with how the team is run?

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Premier League - average attendances

According to this they have the 5th highest average attendance and their 98.2% fill rate is among the highest as well. That seems pretty good. Are City fans unhappy in general with how the team is run?

I don't know where those stats are being recorded from, but typically their self-reporting doesn't match up with what we actually see (and I'm sure this is true to varying degrees across the league): Why Man City are underestimating the number of empty seats at the Etihad

According to Greater Manchester Police figures, there was an average difference of 7,482 between the official attendance given by the club and the actual numbers recorded there in 12 games the police attended in the first half of last season; basically it suggests that one in every six seats at the stadium was empty, putting the club at 83 per cent capacity rather than the 97 per cent claimed.

I have no idea what the plurality of City fans thinks. I don't know a single one. There have been intermittent protests against ticket prices and if I had to guess, there are plenty more that don't enjoy being associated with some of the more ethically dubious practices we've seen reported.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Wenger looks like he has better ball control than Lukaku

Not saying much tbf.

 

[robertmac43]

This puts things into perspective, absolutely embarrassing way to end a campaign. Feeling lucky that Brighton have another year in the Prem!