THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 43

Hello, and welcome to Issue 43 of the Newsletter, in the no man’s land that is between the end of the 24/25 season, and the start of the acclaimed Club World Cup. I was worried yesterday that I had nothing to write about, so I lay down for a brainstorming session. I duly fell asleep, but when I eventually awoke I may have been groggy, but I soon realised there was plenty to talk about. So talk I will.

As always, thanks for your support. With transfer dealings, more football on the way, the usual legal wranglings and more, we are busier than ever, so do check out our player content if you can. We rely on your support, and it has been a challenging year. We cannot do all this in our free time, so appreciate any backing. If you have never subscribed, give it a go for a month. There’s a thousand shows to dwell over! I will put a few from the archives out on Soundcloud for all over the coming weeks.

Let’s crack on.

The football may have ended (briefly), but it hasn't been a dull week, with City going on a much-needed spending spree. Which led to me having some thoughts. 

Firstly, some brief City chat, as always, and thoughts on the desire to get players in before the Club World Cup. There's two ways to look at this, two reasons for the need for quick business. Firstly, the one that makes more sense. Taking new signings to America gives Pep and the coaching staff a chance to integrate them before the start of next season. Especially as said Cup means there's precious little time to do so afterwards. The second, less logical reason is that Pep is taking this tournament very seriously. But maybe it is actually equally true. Hey, we're the holders after all. But let's be honest, as a fan, I'll be over any exit two minutes after it occurs. I'm not against City going deep, would be a good earner for starters, but let's be honest about what this tournament is. An inconvenience, and what was supposed to be a cash cow for all concerned. The poor ticket sales just show how deluded those who thought up this whole charade were. But hey, starved of football, I am looking forward to the games, even if they shouldn't be happening. It's a chance to see new players, youth, and for Pep to find that winning formula for next season. If City want to avoid Real Madrid, they'll probably have to win the group, so need to take that Juventus game seriously. 

The other aspect of the transfer activity ties in with the 115 saga. I'll be honest, I called it all wrong. I honestly believed that City would struggle to attract players before any tribunal decision was made. That the uncertainty would seriously hamper them. That saying they were confident was nowhere near enough to allay the fears of targets and their agents. And yet here we are. 

So what does it all mean? That City know they have got off? No, absolutely not, a ridiculous suggestion. If the decision has been made, you'd know about it. City are very, very, confident, and always have been, that much is clear. And those that were at the hearing, whilst they cannot predict all charges to be dropped, as you never can be THAT sure after such a tribunal, must have a 100% confidence that any degree of guilt would not be enough to derail the project. That, or they intend to kick it down the road for three years with more legal wranglings. I don't think I have the energy for that. 

The bottom line - I think we all just need to know now. This has gone on for far too long, and I'm sick of talking about it. Tell City they're innocent, I can spend two days retweeting and calling out certain journalists, and then we can all move on. 

Another consequence of the last week was as predictable as a Giggs sex scandal. City have dared to spend some money, so you know the reaction. Harder for Liverpool fans to react when they are about to slap £140m down on a single player, but I'm sure they'll give it a good go. For United fans, this naturally means them haring back to Alex Ferguson, boring us all to death yet again. I just hope that if City are mismanaged as badly as United in the distant future, we don't all shout on Twitter pining about how Pep was better than everyone else (even though he was) as a coping mechanism for all their current inadequacies. 

The mention of Ferguson brings me to an item on The Price of Football podcast this week. Now, subscribers to the player, or listeners of the free show, will know that Kevin Day and Kieran Maguire have both come on the podcast as opposition fans, and I love them to bits. Kevin would happily talk for three hours, and I’d happily listen. So I am not calling them out, but the item they discussed was a listener question, comparing the spending of Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, as many are so keen to do, especially United fans. Kieran noted the figures, adjusted for inflation, and noted some other aspects of the comparison.
However.
They forgot to mention what for me is the main point. Players simply cost more nowadays. 
The Bosman ruling may afford you the opportunity of a freebie, especially if you're Real Madrid and have tapped them up over a two year period (allegedly), though even then you will have to pay a sizeable signing on fee. But generally, as more and more money has flooded the market, wages and fees have rocketed at the top levels, though it's not all City's fault as some would have you believe, as Miguel Delaney shrieks in the background about distorting the market with his cherry-picked evidence. 

Ferguson could take Roy Keane off Nottingham Forest for £3.5m. If we want Gibbs-White (argue amongst yourselves about his worth), it looks like we'll have to stump up north of £80m. Forget your inflation-adjusted studies, they're worthless. Ferguson and Guardiola have operated in different eras, and different markets. 

Time for this week’s weary sigh, and coverage of a certain ex-referee, namely David Coote. News emerged that he is now earning a living as delivery driver. Hold the front pages (and good for him).

This is of course not newsworthy to any sane human being, but that is not the world we live in, so we have to endure 1000 word articles from the likes of Andy Dunn. Anyway, I digress. Imagine the scenario of him delivering a parcel to you. Because what you do next speaks volumes about what sort of person you are. 

You either:
a) Think to yourself, "blimey, I think that was that referee that was caught up in a scandal recently". Tell some mates on WhatsApp, then get on with your day and forget all about it. 
Or:
b) Think to yourself, "blimey, I think that was that referee that was caught up in a scandal recently". Think there might be some money in this, so sell your Ring doorbell footage to the Daily Mail, because you have zero compassion or empathy for the lives of others, especially if there is a quick buck to be made. 

Obviously, this wouldn't be a Liverpool fan who did it. They have no track record of hounding anyone who has slighted their club, manager or players. Probably a Chelsea fan. 

Finally, it’s that time of the year again, when Manchester United are winning the transfer window. Insert your own photo of a groundhog. I admit that the likes of Cunha and Mbuemo look like good signings, but how many times do we have to go through this same process? You would think by now United fans would at least keep tight-lipped until new signings actually reached their potential in a United shirt before crowing about “being back”, and their legendary pull. It’s amazing how far offering to quadruple someone’s wages can take you. I thought Varane was a cracking signing. Pogba too, along with Casemiro, Falcao, and Mount, Sancho, Lukaku…..well, you get the idea.

The worst piece of news for United was Fernandes deciding to stay. When you are in a good place, you do not need to entertain selling one of your best players, but United are not, and need a complete rebuild, as per usual. The money they would have got for a player in his 30s, one not without flaws, would have allowed even greater strength for that rebuild. They already have a sizeable war chest, due to the nonsense that is PSR, and how they have used the system and their companies to hide losses (legal for them, fiddling if we did it), but add another £80m in for Fernandes, and they really could have bolstered their squad across multiple positions. Yes they would have probably messed it up, as per usual, but still….I am glad he is staying.

I would comment on his comment about the desire to keep playing at the highest level, but sometimes the jokes write themselves.

Remember, as United release their financial figures, that makes clear they have capacity for significant squad investment, a point their many client journalists are all too happy to parrot, is that United were going to go bust if they didn’t sack all those canteen staff. The lack of scrutiny over their dealings has been eye-opening, but it was naïve of me to expect anything different. Remember though, City may have given Roberto Mancini some extra cash off the books. Cheats!! Strip them of all their trophies!

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

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

One of our busiest weeks!

THE REVIEW – DEFENCE, MIDFIELD AND ATTACK (PLUS PEP)

In three shows across the week, we reviewed the players after a challenging seasons, giving a cursory rating for each, and looking to what the future may hold. Some fascinating discussions within.

THE HUB – EPISODE 35

Alex joins Bailey to discuss Rayan Cherki moving to Manchester City, where he fits into the team, and any concerns with the player.

THE HUB – EPISODE 36

Bailey has been busy, with an Ait-Nouri Hub episode to come!

Joel Parker joins Bailey to discuss Tijani Reijnders moving to City, where he fits into the team, and Kevin De Bruyne moving to Napoli.

THE MARKET – EPISODE 38

One of the most popular shows, and never more needed than in the summer. Ahsan and Lloyd deep dive on the Rayan Cherki links, talk Ait-Nouri, MGW and homegrown quotas.

KDB EULOGIES

NGL, emotional. In a one-off pod, the 93:20 family give their personal thoughts on one of the greats.

THE WEEKEND SHOW

Ste and Ally talk transfers, Cherki, England, Scotland, City stuff 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