THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 47

Author

Howard Hockin
July 04, 2025

Hello, and welcome to Issue 47 of the 93:20 Newsletter. The half-century approaches, when I will metaphorically waft an imaginary cricket bat towards a non-existent pavilion. As always, plenty to talk about. A really random stream of consciousness once more, as we like it. Well, I do, at least.

And ultimately, it is all futile, as I will discuss.

Here we go….

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For every person keen to note how awful the Club World Cup is, there is a counter proposal from someone claiming it's been a great success. The truth surely lies in between, as it has been neither, but then it's a guinea pig of a tournament, a trial for the future.

With hindsight, always a wonderful thing, the location has really killed it. I'm not saying the USA is never appropriate as a football host, but it feels totally unsuitable for the here and now, and expect similar issues next year. I am sure I have said elsewhere, but will repeat that in my very humble opinion, compact tournaments work better, but we seem to be moving away from them, as single countries generally don't want the cost of hosting a tournament any more - the prestige just isn't worth it anymore. But I can guarantee that the buzz for this tournament would be at least doubled if it was being held in a single European country, especially the UK, and the crowds would be far better too. Heat may still have been a problem however, and climate is something that will be ignored as always when deciding hosts of future tournaments, and the sport will suffer as a consequence.

Personally, I don't know what to think as I still haven't decided what this tournament means - if City had gone on to win the tournament, it would have meant something, but I have no idea what. More than an FA Cup? No chance. Maybe more than a Carabao Cup? Probably. Possibly. Would have paid for Livramento, I know that much.

My main gripe is that I don't get to watch City for the next 10 days or so, and the tournament had opened up big time. Another missed opportunity. 

As for City themselves, and the opening of old wounds, I see it like this - it is perhaps little surprise that a competition that straddled two seasons would one game show a tantalising and exciting glimpse of what the future may hold, and then next game remind us of many of the issues of the previous, underwhelming season. But above all, the fallout from the defeat was a handy reminder of why I hate so much of a domestic season. Dear oh dear. 

It was Ederson who was the scapegoat for the latest defeat. You'd think he had thrown five crosses into his own net judging by some of the reaction online, but his concentration and dedication next season is key to City being successful. He wasn't good enough last season, and a repeat does not bode well. But let's not make conclusions from this tournament. The hard work starts now, for Pap, his team and all the players. After a holiday, naturally. As for the fans who have forced his wife to limit her Instagram account due to the abuse received, the language I would use is not appropriate for this newsletter. I’m tired of it all, even in the summer, I’m tired of them, I’m tired of hysterical overreactions because of a football match.

With the defeat, the attention has switched in the debate over “what is most wrong at City”. Defence is now the weak point it seems. There are players who have to prove themselves all over again next season, and you can add Ruben Dias to the list. Like with other players, the hope is that a rest is all that is needed, and that over a year of constant football (including the Nations League for some, let’s not forget) is the reason for some underwhelming performances, and not a steady decline. Dias is 28, so no excuses. I hope a refreshed player returns in a month – I very much doubt we will ever see the impact of his debut season, but something half-close would do just fine.

Elsewhere, at some point, we may have to address the disappearance of Nico Gonzalez. That’s the thing with Pep, his glaring weakness – he will easily go off a player who is not carrying out his instructions to the letter, a newish player, and ostracise them, but will continue to play senior players who have carried out Pep’s instructions to the letter in the past, but are no longer doing so, leaning on them, hoping their muscle memory will kick in, when perhaps many of them are just not capable any more of what they once more. It’s beginning to really piss me off to be honest, as I had hoped we could draw a line under it when last season ended. And yet here we are again. The selection of players at the Club World Cup was weird – some players may as well not travelled, which makes you wonder why they did if Pep was unwilling to give them minutes against inferior opposition in a new-style tournament. Take John Stones – how can he not be fit to play by now? And if he is not, how can he expect to remain for next season? Well, because no one would buy him, for starters.

It’s a big season for City’s greatest ever manager. Pep is a genius, but he is stubborn and has weaknesses, like every manager who has ever lived. He has new guys at his side now, and it is time for them to earn their corn. And it is time for another newbie, Viana, to sell some players whether Pep likes it or not. City are building for the next phase of their history, and that extends beyond Pep’s tenure at the club. 

Aston Villa have sold their women's team to V Sports, which owns the club, alongside a minority stake to new investors. Allows Aston Villa to record profit in 24-25 accounts - and their PSR calculation.

Of course they have. What a joke.

Expect the following news soon:
Chelsea have sold their mascot Stamford Lion to their parent company for a fee of £98m, and he will be loaned back for the 2025/26 season.

Brilliant news everyone - Sunday Supplement is back, after a five-year hiatus!

Now naturally this will have gone down like a tonne of bricks with many blues, considering its past output and some of the memeable (memorable?) content it created, often resulting in an apology on the subsequent programme. But we should embrace its return. I am long past getting upset or angry by the level of analysis City get, not even Ian Herbert raises my heart beat nowadays. So I see it as good fun, and as we are starting a new 93:20 Media Show next week, we may well be overloaded with topics to discuss. So thanks, Sky!

The interesting aspect is how Sky pitch this – what sort of guests will they go for? Red top journalists like in the past, a new pseudo-intellectual make-up, mining the Guardian and Delaney, or a horrific mix that will see a lot of seat-squirming during recordings? Hopefully the last option. A selection of awful but disparate opinions may make it quite watchable.

A horrible “and finally”. Diogo Jota and Andre Silva

It pains me to end the newsletter on such a tragic and sad note. Occasionally a story breaks that feels like a punch to the guts, that knocks you backwards. And that was the case as I type on a sunny Thursday morning in South Manchester, with the news that Diogo Jota, aged 28, has died in a car crash, just a week or so after his wedding. Three beautiful kids. A life gone far too early. Sometimes, there are no words. I certainly haven’t got them to describe how gut-wrenchingly awful this news is. How could I?

The final weeks of his life were filled with joy, in his professional and personal life. That may be a comfort, it may make the news even more devastating.

It doesn’t matter, does it? Any of this, in the scheme of things. The angst at not signing a full back, a Club World Cup defeat, a poor performance, all of it. Life is precious, and perhaps we spend too long worrying about things that do not deserve such attention. I know I do – rallying across this book against the “cult”, stupid tweets, opinions I don’t agree with, and more. It’s not just a game, it is so much more, but sometimes you need to take a step back and realise that it should never be the most important aspect of your life, how well your football team is doing. It has been for me occasionally in the past, and it made me realise that perhaps I needed to work more on my day-to-day life. Still am working on it, to be honest. We don’t know how long we have got, none of us do, so try and eke out the most you can. Football is the most important unimportant thing in our lives.

He will be easily overlooked, as is often the case in stories like this. But the brother of Jota, Andre Silva, also died in the crash, at the tender age of 26, also a footballer, also newly-wed. He should never be forgotten. RIP. Life, and death, can be so, so cruel.

I cannot begin to understand the pain the families are going through, and perhaps it is best I do not try to. My thoughts are with them at the most difficult of times, and with Liverpool Football Club and all who had their lives brightened and improved by the presence of Diogo Jota.

As for the many media ghouls who felt two tragic deaths was yet another opportunity for clicks and revenue, I will bite my tongue, as I may say something I regret. You couldn’t even have one day off - you disgust me.

What I Have Been Watching/Listening To

It seems trite to follow up with anything after the jolt of Thursday’s breaking news, but I wrote this list the other day, so it may as well remain.

It’s back…. this is what has been keeping me sane this week, as I edit out the many spelling mistakes for the book of Newsletters.

English Teacher – A55

Ruth Duggan on This Time (with Alan Partridge)

The Cinematic Orchestra – To Build A Home

Tracking A Parcel – with Stevie Martin and Lola-Rose Maxwell

Tame Impala – Let IT Happen

Before 1989: How Manchester became MADchester – Trash Theory

And……

The final episode of Taskmaster, Series 19. The best of the lot, it went by too fast.

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

A quieter week, but loads in the pipe line for next week.

THE 9320 REVIEW – BUMP

Ste is joined by Ahsan and LB to look back at a disappointing exit from the Club World Cup.

THE WEEKEND SHOW

A new Market Show for the weekend. Howard hosts Ahsan and Tom, taking another look at the squad, transfers, needs, and much more, as attention turns to outgoings.

COMING UP

The debut of the Media Show, new Hub shows, maybe even a quiz! And a whole lot more..

Also - soon, we will be speaking to opposition fans of all the other 19 clubs to hear their thoughts for the season ahead.

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!