Manchester City v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[Chipsticks]

As a City fan, I'm interested in the comments on here particularly as regards the death of the game etc etc. I was saying exactly the same before we won the lottery in 2008. How is it different now that City have money except that there are now 5 or 6 teams that can compete rather than the previous 3 ?

Yep, we've spent £*** [insert your own made-up figure here] billions of pounds but you have to to join the Sky 4. It has always been a cartel for goodness sake and no-one, but no-one, is going to join that self-interested club  from a standing start without spending that sort of money. Having spent our way into the reckoning you'll see that we no longer have to spend more each year than say, United, to stay there.

City players are "mercenaries" ? well knock me down with a feather, who'd have suspected that professional footballers were motivated by money ? As for the salaries, we, and any other club lucky enough to find itself in our position, have to pay high basic salaries because we simply can't compete yet (and possibly never will)  with the worldwide personal sponsorship and image rights deals that Sky4 players get as soon as they sign on the dotted line.

Sure the Premier League is all about money, it has been for 19 years which is why only rich clubs have won it (and, in the two exceptional cases, nearly bankrupted themselves in the process) but we didn't light that particular fire.   

As far as Villa are concerned. It's difficult to say anything encouraging from yesterday's performance without sounding patronising but you have stood by them in worse times than these, and with worse teams than this, by a long way and I know for certain that the majority of you will continue to do so because that's what you do. The day before our investors took over, we survived only on hope and had no idea what was around the corner for us. Neither do you. Just hang in there and do what we did for 35 years, take what enjoyment you can, where you can. Things change, something will turn up.

I, for one, would hate for us to be given the mega-bucks in the style your lot have been given them.

[Clampy]

WellSWell first proper test and we were well short.
I am astonished by Ecks post match comments. He accepted the defeat the thrashing as inevitable. This is poor  piss poor  attitude. The man needs to realise he is now managing Aston Villa and for us to lose a game 4-1 any where is a disgrace.

I'm not sure where you read that but it's not what i read. He's said in a couple of papers i've read this morning that the defending was shambolic and they'll be working on it on the training ground next week. He was'nt happy with the 2nd half perfomance either.

It's always disapointing to lose, especially 4-1 but it's our first defeat against a very good side so i'm not going to cry over it. It's how we react next week that's the important thing.

[Clampy]

As a City fan, I'm interested in the comments on here particularly as regards the death of the game etc etc. I was saying exactly the same before we won the lottery in 2008. How is it different now that City have money except that there are now 5 or 6 teams that can compete rather than the previous 3 ?

Yep, we've spent £*** [insert your own made-up figure here] billions of pounds but you have to to join the Sky 4. It has always been a cartel for goodness sake and no-one, but no-one, is going to join that self-interested club  from a standing start without spending that sort of money. Having spent our way into the reckoning you'll see that we no longer have to spend more each year than say, United, to stay there.

City players are "mercenaries" ? well knock me down with a feather, who'd have suspected that professional footballers were motivated by money ? As for the salaries, we, and any other club lucky enough to find itself in our position, have to pay high basic salaries because we simply can't compete yet (and possibly never will)  with the worldwide personal sponsorship and image rights deals that Sky4 players get as soon as they sign on the dotted line.

Sure the Premier League is all about money, it has been for 19 years which is why only rich clubs have won it (and, in the two exceptional cases, nearly bankrupted themselves in the process) but we didn't light that particular fire.   

As far as Villa are concerned. It's difficult to say anything encouraging from yesterday's performance without sounding patronising but you have stood by them in worse times than these, and with worse teams than this, by a long way and I know for certain that the majority of you will continue to do so because that's what you do. The day before our investors took over, we survived only on hope and had no idea what was around the corner for us. Neither do you. Just hang in there and do what we did for 35 years, take what enjoyment you can, where you can. Things change, something will turn up.

The only problem i have with Man City is that a lot of their fans have developed a Man Utd type arrogance. I supose it's understandable given that they've lived in their neighbours shadow for so long, but it dose'nt make it a very nice place to go to anymore.

[Deano58]

As a City fan, I'm interested in the comments on here particularly as regards the death of the game etc etc. I was saying exactly the same before we won the lottery in 2008. How is it different now that City have money except that there are now 5 or 6 teams that can compete rather than the previous 3 ?

Yep, we've spent £*** [insert your own made-up figure here] billions of pounds but you have to to join the Sky 4. It has always been a cartel for goodness sake and no-one, but no-one, is going to join that self-interested club  from a standing start without spending that sort of money. Having spent our way into the reckoning you'll see that we no longer have to spend more each year than say, United, to stay there.

City players are "mercenaries" ? well knock me down with a feather, who'd have suspected that professional footballers were motivated by money ? As for the salaries, we, and any other club lucky enough to find itself in our position, have to pay high basic salaries because we simply can't compete yet (and possibly never will)  with the worldwide personal sponsorship and image rights deals that Sky4 players get as soon as they sign on the dotted line.

Sure the Premier League is all about money, it has been for 19 years which is why only rich clubs have won it (and, in the two exceptional cases, nearly bankrupted themselves in the process) but we didn't light that particular fire.   

As far as Villa are concerned. It's difficult to say anything encouraging from yesterday's performance without sounding patronising but you have stood by them in worse times than these, and with worse teams than this, by a long way and I know for certain that the majority of you will continue to do so because that's what you do. The day before our investors took over, we survived only on hope and had no idea what was around the corner for us. Neither do you. Just hang in there and do what we did for 35 years, take what enjoyment you can, where you can. Things change, something will turn up.

The only problem i have with Man City is that a lot of their fans have developed a Man Utd type arrogance. I supose it's understandable given that they've lived in their neighbours shadow for so long, but it dose'nt make it a very nice place to go to anymore.

Hmmm. That, of course, is a matter of external perception which is all in the eye of the observer. Certainly it is true to say that, being in the lucky position we are in, of course expectations change in that you can't help yourself from expecting to win most games rather than hoping you win some games. Not much anyone can do about that.

[Dave]

As a City fan, I'm interested in the comments on here particularly as regards the death of the game etc etc. I was saying exactly the same before we won the lottery in 2008. How is it different now that City have money except that there are now 5 or 6 teams that can compete rather than the previous 3 ?

Yep, we've spent £*** [insert your own made-up figure here] billions of pounds but you have to to join the Sky 4. It has always been a cartel for goodness sake and no-one, but no-one, is going to join that self-interested club  from a standing start without spending that sort of money. Having spent our way into the reckoning you'll see that we no longer have to spend more each year than say, United, to stay there.

City players are "mercenaries" ? well knock me down with a feather, who'd have suspected that professional footballers were motivated by money ? As for the salaries, we, and any other club lucky enough to find itself in our position, have to pay high basic salaries because we simply can't compete yet (and possibly never will)  with the worldwide personal sponsorship and image rights deals that Sky4 players get as soon as they sign on the dotted line.

Sure the Premier League is all about money, it has been for 19 years which is why only rich clubs have won it (and, in the two exceptional cases, nearly bankrupted themselves in the process) but we didn't light that particular fire.   

As far as Villa are concerned. It's difficult to say anything encouraging from yesterday's performance without sounding patronising but you have stood by them in worse times than these, and with worse teams than this, by a long way and I know for certain that the majority of you will continue to do so because that's what you do. The day before our investors took over, we survived only on hope and had no idea what was around the corner for us. Neither do you. Just hang in there and do what we did for 35 years, take what enjoyment you can, where you can. Things change, something will turn up.

Agree with all of that.

City aren't killing football anymore than Chelsea did eight years ago or Blackburn did sixteen years ago.

[taylorsworkrate]

Deano,

What would your views on an American style salary cap being introduced into football be?

It definitely seems to work in their sports as there are far more competitive games seen each week compared to the premier league, serie a, liga bbva etc etc.

It would definitely take some ironing out, but I believe it would be the best way for the sport to move forward.

[Greg N'Ash]

I do wish people would stop hiding behind the money angle. we were piss poor as we've been a few times this season - so they've got the personnel to capitalise on our mistakes and bad play but when we were rolling in it not so long ago, i'm not sure the clubs with a fraction of our spend were claiming it was pointless turning up and we were killing football. Heart, discipline and concentation cost nowt.

And putting a side together that can contend costs £400,000,000, as seen today.

so that's the best we can play? I'm sorry Citeh may be a good side but we were complete arse. Bloody side assembled for 40 quid would would have caused us trouble today.

Hyperbole cranked up to 11, Greg? I agree that the football is shite, but I'd be more concerned if we played like that against Albion next week than against Man City. It was an expected result, just move on from it.

If its hyperbole to say we played shit then its something i share with the manager who says people would be "appalled" by the goals we gave away. I prefer that to the complacent attitude of yourself that "we would have lost to Citeh anyway"

[Olneythelonely]

WellSWell first proper test and we were well short.
I am astonished by Ecks post match comments. He accepted the defeat the thrashing as inevitable. This is poor  piss poor  attitude. The man needs to realise he is now managing Aston Villa and for us to lose a game 4-1 any where is a disgrace.

Where did you read anything like that?

All I've seen is him saying our defending was shambolic and that he's disappointed to lose.

[Monty]

It's not City killing the game, but the way they're going about getting success is the extreme consequence of the way football's been going for 20-odd years, if not longer. There will always be clubs richer than others, but the disparity is getting embarrassing now.

[villan1975]

As a City fan, I'm interested in the comments on here particularly as regards the death of the game etc etc. I was saying exactly the same before we won the lottery in 2008. How is it different now that City have money except that there are now 5 or 6 teams that can compete rather than the previous 3 ?

Yep, we've spent £*** [insert your own made-up figure here] billions of pounds but you have to to join the Sky 4. It has always been a cartel for goodness sake and no-one, but no-one, is going to join that self-interested club  from a standing start without spending that sort of money. Having spent our way into the reckoning you'll see that we no longer have to spend more each year than say, United, to stay there.

City players are "mercenaries" ? well knock me down with a feather, who'd have suspected that professional footballers were motivated by money ? As for the salaries, we, and any other club lucky enough to find itself in our position, have to pay high basic salaries because we simply can't compete yet (and possibly never will)  with the worldwide personal sponsorship and image rights deals that Sky4 players get as soon as they sign on the dotted line.

Sure the Premier League is all about money, it has been for 19 years which is why only rich clubs have won it (and, in the two exceptional cases, nearly bankrupted themselves in the process) but we didn't light that particular fire.   

As far as Villa are concerned. It's difficult to say anything encouraging from yesterday's performance without sounding patronising but you have stood by them in worse times than these, and with worse teams than this, by a long way and I know for certain that the majority of you will continue to do so because that's what you do. The day before our investors took over, we survived only on hope and had no idea what was around the corner for us. Neither do you. Just hang in there and do what we did for 35 years, take what enjoyment you can, where you can. Things change, something will turn up.

Agree with all of that.

City aren't killing football anymore than Chelsea did eight years ago or Blackburn did sixteen years ago.

The difference being that city are buying up a vast squad of players and paying them huge amounts
of money which noone else can compete with or sustain.These players which for the most part
would be the best players at the majority of clubs rot and waste their careers playing a bit part.
 

[Deano58]

Deano,

What would your views on an American style salary cap being introduced into football be?

It definitely seems to work in their sports as there are far more competitive games seen each week compared to the premier league, serie a, liga bbva etc etc.

It would definitely take some ironing out, but I believe it would be the best way for the sport to move forward.

Like every reasonable fan in the country, I dream of a level playing field but a salary cap would have to include so many other variables as to make it impossible to implement. As I say above, the salary packages that are bandied about don't include image rights and personal sponsorship deals which, at certain clubs cannot currently be matched anywhere and would be very, very difficult to regulate. From a purely monetary point of view, if you could get the same salary at West Ham or Man United most people would choose the latter regardless. So unless you have a draft system too, they'd still end up with the best players.

It's hard to see any way out of the impasse that the G14 clubs inflicted on us when they formed the European league (in all but name) for the simple reason that they control the game and there is no room for sentiment in the business world. from a City perspective, whatever people think it's great to be tweaking the tails of the clubs who thought they have a divine right to continual success due to historical success at a fixed moment in time (1992) and they do not like it one bit.

As far as the idea of true competition is concerned it is, very very sad that business has put us in this position.

[Pete3206]

Although the Man City fan makes a good case, the fact is that someone with unlimited wealth has turned up and is literally buying all the top prizes in football like it was some casual purchase. How can that be good for the game? Whatever Man City win now, it won't mean anything. No managerial genius, no team building, no real achievement. Just throw the cash on the table and collect the trophies.

[Jimbo]

It's not City killing the game, but the way they're going about getting success is the extreme consequence of the way football's been going for 20-odd years, if not longer. There will always be clubs richer than others, but the disparity is getting embarrassing now.

The situation in a nutshell. Football clubs as corporations, rather than sporting institutions. Domestic leagues, driven by huge revenues, have become dominated by elite clubs who garner support from emerging markets. Increasingly, international championships such as the world cup are becoming a side show. Sport is being driven out of football and replaced with finance. Man City are the latest phase.   

[PaulTheVillan]

Oh well. Move on & beat WBA next weekend.

[taylorsworkrate]

Deano,

What would your views on an American style salary cap being introduced into football be?

It definitely seems to work in their sports as there are far more competitive games seen each week compared to the premier league, serie a, liga bbva etc etc.

It would definitely take some ironing out, but I believe it would be the best way for the sport to move forward.

Like every reasonable fan in the country, I dream of a level playing field but a salary cap would have to include so many other variables as to make it impossible to implement. As I say above, the salary packages that are bandied about don't include image rights and personal sponsorship deals which, at certain clubs cannot currently be matched anywhere and would be very, very difficult to regulate. From a purely monetary point of view, if you could get the same salary at West Ham or Man United most people would choose the latter regardless. So unless you have a draft system too, they'd still end up with the best players.

It's hard to see any way out of the impasse that the G14 clubs inflicted on us when they formed the European league (in all but name) for the simple reason that they control the game and there is no room for sentiment in the business world. from a City perspective, whatever people think it's great to be tweaking the tails of the clubs who thought they have a divine right to continual success due to historical success at a fixed moment in time (1992) and they do not like it one bit.

As far as the idea of true competition is concerned it is, very very sad that business has put us in this position.

Good points there.

Obviously a salary cap would never be allowed or entertained by the elite level clubs or Fifa / Uefa who thrive on the money such clubs and ridiculous sponsorship levels bring in.  It would be possible, but it would take a drastic reconstruction of the game from the top level down.  An opportunity was definitely missed for this approach pre premiership, when the financial differences between clubs were nowhere near as colossal.

At the moment though, I think a lot of the fans of clubs such as Villa, Everton, Newcastle etc, find it very difficult to get interested in the game, as their club have no chance of anything more than mid table boredom without the investment of mega rich businessmen looking for a new toy.