THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 52

Author

Howard Hockin
August 08, 2025

Hello, and welcome to Issue 52 of the 93:20 Newsletter. A new season quickly approaches, and there is naturally a lot to talk about. Football has got me REALLY annoyed this week, so let’s crack on with the stream of consciousness that is the following set of words, and the rampant “combatting the agenda” paranoia I am also displaying this week.

A reminder about a certain book before we begin. I have learned the hard way, that writing a book is a thankless task, and usually a waste of valuable time. I nevertheless, having vowed never to release another book again after Twelfth Man, decided to release the first 50 newsletters in book form, which came out last week. No regrets. But sales have been as expected. So a reminder to check it out – it is well-edited, with new content and all the old hits, dissecting the media, laughing at United, with two new chapters of my thriller script series, Jim Ratcliffe WhatsApp threads and much more – and is NOT a season review, talking little of the actual matches. Link below.

Go on, at least have a look <:O)

On with the show.

Let’s begin with the week’s most depressing news. Villareal have signed Thomas Partey. Yes, that Thomas Partey. In news that will shock you and not remotely surprise you simultaneously, Villareal announced the signing in the same week he appeared in court and was bailed on five rape charges.

Imagine the meetings that took place to decide that the club should try to sign him. Imagine how you would feel as a fan, especially a female one? Or if you play for their Women’s team? What an example to set, in a world that is already woefully capable of dealing with such issues.

If you want evidence of the lack of morals in the sport, then look no further than how many a club see opportunity in footballers who are hit by scandal and disgrace. Had rape allegations? Videos emerged of a player abusing his partner? Great! Can get a £50m player for free if we play our cards right. Opportunity knocks!

There was an inevitable backlash, and this is what Villareal considered acceptable to release in response.

It is, without any hyperbole, one of the most depressing and pathetic club statements I have ever seen, and I have read countless ones from Nottingham Forest. Starting with a couple of paragraphs seemingly penned by ChatGPT, it casually notes some legal issues Partey has back in the UK. What a damn inconvenience, but kind of integral as to why you are in a position to sign him in the first place. And they begin all this with the phrase – “on the other hand”. Good that the club is aware, though. Credit for that.

The actual nerve to then state all the wonderful principles the club stands for, whilst signing an alleged rapist, is beyond belief. A disgusting, disgraceful decision by the club, and I hope they hurtle down the leagues for decades to come. If I was a Villareal fan, I would boycott games, because there are lines that can be crossed as a fan, and this is definitely one of them. And note, I am not assuming guilt for Partey – but come on, whilst the process is ongoing, and he is under investigation, no football club with any morals whatsoever should go near him. If you have to put out a club statement after signing a player, then you should probably consider whether you’re doing the right thing. But how reassuring to know that Villareal firmly condemn gender-based violence whilst simultaneously signing a player on rape charges. Puts your mind at ease, doesn’t it?

United are back it seems – again.

It’s classic United in many respects, the same routine. Sesko is greatly overpriced in my opinion, but the business looks very good, whilst totally overlooking other areas of the squad that desperately need reinforcing. A decent keeper should have been the club’s priority, and defensive strengthening as a whole. The signings allow United fans to talk about their history once more, and their tremendous pull, and how they are the biggest team in the world, bless.

It is the great unspoken, certainly by the raft of journalists who love to dedicate much of their waking hours to how certain clubs are skewing markets and ruining football – namely, that there is something inherently wrong with English football at the top level when a team so spectacularly badly run and underperforming for over a decade is not restricted in what they can do in the transfer market. It seems that it has been widely accepted that preconceived ideas on organic growth, leading to larger fan bases, is perfectly acceptable, and should allow for near-unlimited spending. Articles are written on how they can easily afford to do all this (this week United, last week Liverpool), whilst England’s most successful club of the last decade is continuously looked at suspiciously for their “dodgy” deals, and fabricated unlimited spending. The system is inherently broken if it allows a team with their track record of failure over the past decade, one of the worst run clubs in world football, to spunk £200m (with a desire to spend another £80m) on players, due to the number of fans they have, creating an even greater unlevel playing field, but I doubt the likes of Delaney have wasted too many articles mentioning this disparity. They’re not state-owned, after all.

A prominent United fan on Twitter noted the other day that United fans do not accept the debt on their club, hence why they protest against the Glazers. But that misses the point that the system allows it, without punishment. The system they helped form and shape, with a sycophantic press corps to back them up, pours scorn on investment and losses, but is absolutely fine with billion-pound debt and £350m owed on past transfers. A fair system would punish United, whether they are sustainable or not. They are probably currently increasing their credit facility to make this summer’s splurge, which puts them at an advantage over every other club. It stinks, but they have DNA, unlike City, so everyone turns a blind eye.

And in the same week as the transfer splurge, there is this…

Hopefully they can cook the chicken now. There will inevitably some United fans still desperately batting for Ratcliffe, and trying to justify his blatant lie that he had to make redundancies or the club would be bust by Christmas. One even tried to claim the cuts had saved £80m, which makes the canteen staff the best-paid in the world, better than Michelin-starred chefs. United’s staffing may have been bloated, it may have required trimming, and natural wastage could have dealt with some of that – but some of the cuts have clearly been indefensible. Smoke and mirrors, though the news that Ratcliffe thought he could offer a derisory amount for the land he requires for a new stadium gave me a few chuckles this week. The freight company want ten times the amount. Still, expect Andy Burnham to step in and force a compulsory sale to get it through. It’s not what you know….

Time for the regular paranoia section. The market this summer has been insane, and it feels like in the next three weeks it is going to get even more so. Not a problem though, as it hasn't been City paying the ludicrous prices, hence why their triple signings at good prices earlier in the summer passed by with little comment. As for everyone else, nothing to see here it's fine. No talk of skewing the market, no talk of football's fabric being torn. Still, the media tried their best, keen to point out that City buying Trafford for £13m less than his buyout clause still represented a record fee for an English goalkeeper, but it reeked of desperation, truth be told. What is more important for fans to realise is that clubs such as Liverpool and Man U can afford to do these deals, so therefore it is not an issue for football that they do so.   

And in this depressing edition, I finish by decrying the wall-to-wall coverage of transfer news, as two proud, historic football clubs struggle for survival. Only when Morecambe seemed beyond redemption did sections of the media wake up and give their struggles the scantest of attention. Prior to this week, I had only heard of their struggles on the excellent Price of Football podcast. Sheffield Wednesday are also in a terrible position, and I have seen even less coverage of them. And just to rub the fans’ faces in it, in a week when their season starts, one stand has been condemned and they barely have enough players to fulfil their fixture against Leicester City at the weekend, it emerges that the club is considering facial recognition technology. As my friend pointed out in the pub the other day – where are they getting the photos from for this technology? Answers on a postcard please.

Some clubs really do need a PR member of staff. After all, just look at what they can achieve by using Manchester United as an example. The media has repeatedly focused its attention on football at the top level (predictable of course, that’s where most fans reside, and clicks are king), and the dangers of billionaire owners, states et al on the game, when their threat is not existential. It has and will change the game, as the huge amount of money inevitably leads to that, but it won’t kill it. The most important aspect of football, the most dangerous threat, is clubs going out of existence – everything else pales into insignificance compared to that. Will an Independent Regulator prevent future cases of what we have witnessed this week? I am not convinced, The Fit & Proper Test, and the ability of a bad owner to kill clubs, is the most important issue in football, and always has been. So it’s about time it was given the coverage it deserves.

Injuries

Terrible news for two players this week, with Levi Colwill and James Maddison suffering ACL injuries. Now, I cannot state that the ridiculous football schedule was to blame for these two specific injuries. Maddison has had trouble with that knee before I think. Colwill played during the summer of course, but at least has had a few weeks off, not that such a rest is sufficient. But we can be confident, sure in fact, that the overplaying of players makes such an injury, and other types, more likely. Pushing players into the "red" zone. Women's football knows this better than anyone, with female players suffering a disproportionate number of ligament injuries, leading to claims that football is failing the players. The schedule is clearly a factor, but nothing is going to change. It’s why Pep needs to accept bigger squads, and it is why it was probably a blessing in disguise that City exited the Club World Cup when they did. 

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

I’m going to save my tired fingers and not list it all – basically, I am attempting to do opposition fan podcasts for all 19 other Premier League clubs before the season starts. Yep, all nineteen. By Sunday, you should have seen West Ham, Burnley, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, so check them out on the #9320 player, with free sample for all shows as always. Fourteen more will follow next week!

Also – a No History Pod on goalkeepers, a Fantasy Football show, previews of the new season, a bumper Weekend Show or two, pre-season prediction blog, market stuff, Hub blogs, looking back at the friendly no doubt, and more!

Seriously, what are you waiting for? Sign up today and give it a go!

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