THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 11

Hello, and welcome to the 93:20 Newsletter, Issue 11. We’ve come a long way in a short time, and this edition will be mostly dedicated to the sort of Monday I wish I could experience every week. For a few hours I thought City were out of the news cycle, but every time, they drag us back in. Little old City, eh?

Best we deal with just another manic Monday in chronological order.

The Morning

I was having a really productive Monday morning. I had saved the extra hour from the clocks going back after a lazy Sunday, and was being really productive, when late-morning, my phone pinged, I saw a message saying ten Hag had gone, and knew instantly that was the rest of the day taken up. Twitter needed me, for starters. To the retweets!

It was of course, solemn news, which we made clear on the Review podcast that was scheduled for an hour later. Funeral-like blues, you may say. Which has led to some poetry. Erik ten Hag, from all blues, we believed in you. You have been treated DISGRACEFULLY, and I wrote a short poem, which is definitely mine, to convey my feelings right now about one of United’s greatest managers of recent times. I hope it helps you a little.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence Alexis Sanchez’s piano and with muffled Ultra drum
Bring out the green and gold scarves, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message 'He is no longer a Red'.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the stewards wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North Stand, my South Stand, my East Stand and West,
My Thursday night Europa and my Sunday second-best,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my sarcastic song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The underperforming stars are not wanted now; loan out every one,
Pack up the stadium plans and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the Ocean Finance and sweep up the deadwood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

All I could think about was that penalty for West Ham. He probably would have been sacked anyway, but that decision could not have helped. Having said that, if Michael Oliver was really on the UAE payroll, surely he would have advised no penalty? We all wanted ten Hag to stay, for reasons that do not require explanation, and the constant refrain from reds that he needed time and United would be much better once the injuries cleared up, was joyous to hear. The fact they are now going for Amorim, a manager naturally linked to City due to circumstance, will no surprise no one. INEOS would change the home kit to sky blue if they could. The new manager may lead to improvement, he almost certainly will, but then the last one arrived with a similar reputation, and was also seen as a potential Pep successor once the oil ran out. The players are better than the performances suggest, but they are not good enough. Not Arsenal standard, not Liverpool standard, absolutely not City standard. But with proper guidance, training and tactics, maybe they are not far away. Most of City’s signings did not arrive in Manchester fully-formed or considered world-class. They developed under generational tutelage. They were, and are, provided with all the tools to succeed. That’s why they stay here so long. A good manager at United can take them a long, long way – unfortunately. Apart form the tendency for the club to eat managers and players alive, the other favourable aspect (for blues) is the cash cow has fallen on lea times. Miss the Champions League again at season-end, and they can no longer splurge £200m to try and put things right – though this may count in their favour. Their past discretions has also ensured they have a swathe of players that are virtually unsellable. Those scarves might be coming out again soon.

And what of the INEOS role in all of this? They have quite simply been no better than Glazers from what I can see, though they are sensible enough to understand the need for a City-like structure to assist the manager and operations. They have majorly pissed off many of the staff with their penny-pinching, and bad morale behind the scenes can spread. The Glazers leeched from the club, loading it with debt, but INEOS are more “hands-on” destructive, bringing their own unique brand of incompetence and marginal losses to the table. It must be disheartening as a member of staff that you can’t get a taxi paid for by the club, as they spend £15m paying off a manager they extended the contract of in the summer, having spent said summer publicly courting for his replacement, and then spend £9m hiring another one. Still, hot-desking has saved £233.67, so not all bad, it evens out in the end.

Goodbye ten Hag, and good luck. All errors must come to an end. And this was most definitely yours.

The Afternoon

I joked on the Review podcast that the ten Hag sacking at least gave us all respite from City talk in the media, not that anyone cares. Then ten minutes after the recording ended, news leaked that Rodri would win the Ballon D’Or. Hated, adored…..

I do not care one jot for personal awards, but by the end of the day, events ensured I was fully invested. The most important aspect is what it means for the player, and one in the middle of a serious injury. He deserved it, and it is fitting to see him honoured in this manner. And sometimes, you have to stop and pinch yourself about being a City fan. United sacking their manager on the same day a City player wins the Ballon D’Or beats previous pinch-me moments hands-down.

The toys out of the pram from Real Madrid dominated the narrative, and there is little I can add, so beautiful was it to watch it play out in real time. The dangerous undertones however are not as easy to dismiss.

Fellow players, present and former, rallying round as if he has suffered a bereavement, is perhaps even more embarrassing and pitiful than the reaction of Real Madrid. Casillas bemoaning Rodri’s injury, that occurred the season after the award referred to, was one sand-out low. Rodri had even praised him in his speech, which only adds to his disgraceful lack of class. But that’s Real Madrid for you. For Vinicius Jr, a man clearly detached from reality, who believes the world revolves around him, it will feel like a bereavement. This was supposed to be all about HIM. Football is in theory a team sport, but for the biggest egos, they live for these moments, to be adored, garnished with trinkets and celebrated. And it was all taken away from him. He never owned anything to have taken away from him, but that’s besides the point for a man and his marketing machine. The actions of nearly all attached to the club were a stain on the sport, though it has plenty already. It is, after all, quite some effort to make Carlo Ancelotti look like an arse. Trashing the reputation of a decent man is impressive.

Most years, there are multiple players that can lay claim to the award, that deserve it, now that the Ronaldo/Messi era has thankfully passed us by. But only one can, and that is life. Most players have the dignity and respect to smile, congratulate the winner, and move on. Like Erling Haaland did last season, when he (or his teammate) should have won it.

Most.

City fans will be well aware of the Real Madrid PR machine, which spent subsequent hours and days circulating lies, vile rumours and more. Not much different from the Barcelona PR machine, truth be told. A privileged white male like myself cannot claim to have a full understanding or empathy regarding racism (of which Vinicius Jr has repeatedly been a victim of, with little support or action taken), though I should constantly look to educate myself, and others. But I will say this nevertheless, because when you play the race card because you did not win an award, then you undermine the genuine efforts that preceded the decision, and undermine the cause.

Once the dust had slightly settled, what stood out more than anything, was the lack of self-awareness. The players, the club, their media acolytes and more, will all be blissfully aware of how they have embarrassed and humiliated themselves this week. Utterly unaware of the lack of class displayed, how they have portrayed themselves, and how this may count against them in the future. It is hyperbole from me and perhaps I too am now guilty of overreacting, but I wouldn’t want to see a Real Madrid player anywhere near the award next year, whatever their merits. Actions should have consequences.

And you know their actions are bad when those you least expect come out and criticise. I can only assume Javier Tebas has had a knock to the head.

Anyway, Real Madrid will continue to tap up players and have them run down their contracts in order to join them, and City will be even more marketable now they have a Ballon D’Or winner, even if it was a year late. Still, interesting approach from Real in their supposed pursuit of Rodri. Tough love. Does it make City more attractive to players? Possibly, but they already have catwalk model looks, and that’s just Jonny Stones. Perhaps part of the Madrid rage was not just that their player lost out to, but who they lost out to, or more to the point, the club he plays for, and the battle to be the most attractive, marketable club in the world. They still are, but it’s another stumble in the constant battle by the old guard to clip City’s wings. Only a tribunal can save them all now – but even if it does, for how long?

The fallout from the Carabao cup will be covered on the podcasts elsewhere. Suffice to say I type praying as an atheist that the injury to Savinho is not as bad as it looked at the time, and for the first time in my life, I can confidently admit I cannot wait for the next international break. I’ve always liked them, and don’t let anyone claim differently. All I will say, is that not wanting City to progress in the Carabao Cup does not make me a bad fan. We could all see the potential problems this game provided, and so it came to pass it was worse than I could have anticipated. I can never wish my team to lose whilst watching, but I will not mourn the fact they did once that final whistle has gone. The next ten days will test Pep to his limit, but stay calm. City could lose their next three games, and it would not kill their season. What is clear that opportunities in the January window now need to be considered. No one could predict an injury crisis like this, but the decline of Kevin De Bruyne, who clearly no longer trusts his own body despite being in training for weeks now, and the right-back captain who was clearly on the wane too should not have surprised anyone at the club.

I feel like we all need another poem.

If you can meet with Kalvin Phillips and Ged Brannan
And treat those two impostors just the same
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man City fan, my son!

Sorry Kalvin, no need for that.

Anyway, no need to panic. City have moved swiftly and Michael Oliver will referee City’s game v Bournemouth. Sensible action from the club.

ANOTHER FREE BOOK

Enough whinging! For today only (Thursday, 31^st October), I have got another book available for free on Kindle – and it’s got 5-star ratings too! The Bought Supremacy? took a look at the 2020/21 season, and football during a pandemic. Check it out.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bought-Supremacy-Manchester-Season-Review-ebook/dp/B096M6J5N8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kJR2fRLEW3HL0A0dnmyIpxAX2wemR9kQIlRt8QNOW0fhmyfhnYvpGpl57jjlcHT5uNVBmoz-H41XUmpN3B9n-Z96W2azs_fubnXV4ZNfqQUVXU-WYfpZkAq9S-0MDfL86CmQUcNfYEW5PEol2EacgFfsi0jE93-TXQDONljBJ4Nf5ewpSRdaX_ERBRfIJZNT.9kJXtA8oNW5m5Vd-wn0FToanOl_4mtuwtO6gQ4U0W58&qid=1730371198&sr=8-3

And for those that missed out, it will be half its old price for the foreseeable future, so no more than a grab pack of crisps.

What We Have Been Up To This Week

https://ninetythreetwenty.com/9320-player/

The 93:20 Review:- Moving On

Howard, Ste and Ahsan react calmly to the end of the Ten Hag era, review the Southampton game, talk fatigue, title races and who to play at Spurs.

Author Review:- Blueprint

Howard chats to Simon Bajkowski about his new book "The Blueprint: Inside Manchester City and the Guardiola Project", available now. A must-listen on Pep, the building blocks of the modern club, his achievements and much more.

COMING UP

The Friday Show

Another huge show – we look at an eventful week, from the Ballon D’or to an injury crisis and more, speak to a Bournemouth fan and preview a tricky weekend match.

Premier League Show

The usual fayre as Ste and guests go around the grounds.

Plus all the usual next week – Reviews galore, a History show, the staple podcasts, newsletter and more.

If you are not a subscriber to our player shows, then enjoy some free samples of what we are about. Every show we do will have a 15 minutes sample on Soundcloud, along with a full, free weekly Friday show, jam- packed with content. Give it a try!

https://soundcloud.com/9320pod/tracks