THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 69

Author

Howard Hockin
October 31, 2025

Hello, and welcome to Issue 69 of the 93:20 Newsletter. Lots to talk about, and a new club to laugh at. It’s all very confusing.

And it’s one I can find the time to do, because of the generosity of others who have donated. Thank you as always, it keeps me hopeful about humanity after all, at least for a few minutes until I go on Twitter.

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My head is spinning. The weekly laugh at United section has been abandoned, as they are "back" once more, and instead we have to focus on Liverpool. I mean, we don’t have to, but I am more than happy to do so. Is this a good development, to be switching teams? I guess a change is as good as a rest, though ideally I'd prefer to laugh at both, but if life has taught me one thing, it's that you don't always get what you want. 

I'm tempted to suggest that the breakdown of Arne Slot has been more enjoyable than the bad results. Two more bad results since the last newsletter has seen him bemoaning a whole new raft of random occurrences that have gone against his team. It's hard to define which of his comments were the most laughable this week - the comments before the Carabao Cup humiliation to Crystal Palace, or the ones after. 

Before the match, he declared that the club uses the Carabao Cup to play kids, thus suggesting the team selection was on brand. Complete drivel, as shown by the fact Liverpool reached the final last season, and they certainly didn't achieve that with the sort of line up we saw this week. In fact, they have reached three of the last four finals.

After the match, he bemoaned City's squad depth by virtue of the team put out against Swansea, as how could the league champions possibly compete with a mere half a billion pound summer outlay? What is most striking about such comments is not the nonsensical nature of them, bit the stunning lack of self-awareness it shows. Five minutes media training would have alerted him to the fact that saying such thing is not a good look. In fact, it makes you look like a buffoon. And yet, with every bad result, out come the stupid comments, the pitiful excuses, and the cracks grow. Guess the pressure of being a manager manifests itself in different ways. Pep Guardiola, like most managers, has occasionally let himself down (in my opinion) with his touchline antics and comments, during his long stay in England, but what few will admit to outside the City bubble is how well he generally handles himself with the media and in public. He is a gentleman despite the immense pressure, and a few other managers could learn from him.

But back to Arne. With Aston Villa, Real Madrid and City on the horizon, you could feasibly construct an argument that the Carabao Cup needed to be sacrificed, bit it is surely a false economy to wave a white flag with the sort of lineup Slot decided on, with an even weaker bench. The defeat has simply lost him more support from an already angry fan base, and heaped more pressure on the next three games. His actions recently have been baffling, and worthy of real concern if you're a Liverpool fan. As Ahsan alluded to on the Swansea review podcast, you do wonder what is going on behind the scenes. How long until he gets the dreaded vote of confidence?

Meanwhile, in Madrid

News has been leaked at Xavi Alonso has been upsetting players at Real Madrid, by attempting to impose, rules, discipline and the like. Oh Xavi, what were you thinking? Egos rules there, and you can't rein them in. Still they've not done too badly over the last decade, proof that there's more than one way to build success. Chelsea are a prime example.

Tickets

Here we go again! I’ll be brief (niche joke klaxon).

Pricing for the Brentford game will no doubt soon be announced for the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup. Brace yourselves. There should be no reason to, as fans. It is blindingly obvious in how it should be priced, which is often at odds at how it is actually priced. But to cut to the chase - if City's decision makers want to maximise revenue for this game, then they should not be charging more than £10 admission across the board.
My argument may falter if there are tens of thousands on the cup scheme, but I doubt it. It's the one scheme I'm not on, the obvious one to abandon when I wanted to cut costs. Very cheap tickets across the board is only way the game will sell out, and the more people in the stadium, the more money is spent on food and drink.

The game is just over a week before Christmas. It's the acid test to ascertain if the club have learned a single thing over the past year. I also very much doubt Carabao Cup revenue plays any part in City's financial projections. So why not do something good for once? Why not make a gesture? Why not do everything to pack the place out, and give City an even bigger advantage?

I will not hold my breath. And remember, next season, there will be thousands more seats to fill for games like this.

It’s Official: I’m An Old Man

I mean, it wasn’t really in any doubt. I did my ankle in two weeks ago, and since then my knees and back have given up the ghost too. Ageing sucks.

Anyway, enough medical history. In this week's edition of "God I am old", I must note something that caught my eye, as I unfortunately failed to avoid the return of the Baller League. If you’re quite young, feel free to skip this section. It’s the equivalent of me shouting at pigeons in Piccadilly Gardens (again).

For those fortunate few who do not know what the Baller League is, my AI of choice states the following:
The league combines professional football elements with entertainment, incorporating celebrities, influencers, and ex-professional footballers as managers and players. The six-a-side format was set up in Germany by entrepreneur Felix Starck and footballers Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski in 2023.

Now, there is nothing wrong with the basic concept. There used to be a thing called Masters Football, might still be (can’t be bothered checking to be honest), which was a fun watch. Ex-pros playing off against each other, representing their old clubs, showing they still had that old magic. Fun for all the family.

The Baller League is basically a similar thing, but on steroids, for people who live on TikTok and have no concentration span. This is Saturday night TV writ large, but in the form of sport. Stupid stunts, influencers pitch side talking drivel, ex-footballers managing and exaggerating goal celebrations for the cameras, pretend aggro and more. Endless shrieking, flashing lights, football dumbed down to its base level, sport distilled to a homeopathic level.

Even the name irritates me. 

It's phone content in-person for kids, and that's worrying. The experience of youth and what captivates is unrecognisable from a generation ago. Perhaps it was ever thus. And as it's football as a TV show, so I guess in a way it's a natural progression, because real football seems to be heading the same way. Even Swansea have pre-match light shows nowadays.

Anyway, good to get that off my chest. A load of absolute bilge, but I cannot comprehend the habits of the youth nowadays, so if this is their thing, then so be it. As Jonathan Liew commented, this is the future, whether you like it or not. And if real football is failing many of its fanbase, then perhaps it was also inevitable.

Kevin De Bruyne

Sad news this week, as Kevin De Bruyne suffered a serious hamstring tear as he took a penalty, an injury that puts the rest of the season in doubt, and perhaps even his participation in the World Cup.

And you know what my very first thought was? A truly terrible one. Namely, that City made the right decision to finally say goodbye.

Thankfully that thought lingered for mere moments, before the more pertinent thought appeared, namely, how terrible this was for the greatest player I have seen wear the City shirt. I’m sure I’m not the only person to get these occasional guilty thoughts, because I have been desperate to compartmentalise in my mind, ever since he left, that City hadn’t made a terrible mistake. It’s a process I go through every time a great player leaves. I will never find peace over Cole Palmer or Julian Alvarez, despite the context. With Kevin, it’s a form of low-level schadenfreude because he left (though it wasn't his decision, or will). But as I said, those nasty thoughts were immediately washed away by regret and a level of sadness. Truth is, I wouldn't want him scratching a nail, let alone have to go through this ordeal.

It's just very sad. That’s it. Hope you make a full recovery asap Kevin. I hope your football career has another chapter or two to give.

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

THE 93:20 REVIEW:- POLISHED

Ahsan and Lloyd pick the bones out of a very disappointing match and result at Villa Park. Tactics, selection and individual performances are all covered.

THE 93:20 REVIEW:- SICK SWANS

Howard and Ahsan look back on the win at Swansea, talks quads, Cherki, rustiness, Liverpool, the weekend and more.

OPPOSITION FAN:- BOURNEMOUTH

Howard caught up with Simon from Talking Cherries to talk about a team that is flying and a manager at his peak.

THE WEEKEND SHOW:- CUP HALF FULL

Another packed show, as Howard, Ste and Lloyd look back at a mixed week, and forward to a tricky Sunday match.

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