THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 7

INFAMY, INFAMY.

<pokes head over parapet>

Is it safe to come out yet?

Have THEY been distracted by other stuff now?

Hello, and welcome to Newsletter 7, thanks for reading. Hope you make it to the end – no reason not to! This is a special sarcasm edition, even more so than issues 1-6. Yes, I have been triggered further by a particular fanbase. You may be able to guess who. Will be a different one by next week, rest assured.

A brief word on City, cos – you know, City newsletter (allegedly).

I got the sense there was a strange phenomenon with some City fans last week, in the lead up to the Newcastle match, during it, and in the aftermath. Namely, the need to win, or perhaps even more importantly, to be seen to play well, became even more intense, because a sign was needed from the side that went into the weekend top of the table, could cope without Rodri. We will find out in the coming six months whether City can, but for some, immediate reassurance was needed. So, directly and indirectly, the Rodri injury has only served to put certain City fans even more on edge, with the Newcastle game being an absolute must-win game, as it was necessary to see a stellar performance to calm the nerves and assure such fans that EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT.

Ultimately, we were left not realty knowing. Slovan Bratislava rolled out the red carpet on and off the pitch, so apologies for those needing solutions right now to the huge hole left by Rodri. You are going to have to be patient. And to those younger fans concerned about the possibility of the season falling to pieces I have one thing to say. Don’t be concerned if everything goes wrong, it will be character-building.

Anyway, enough City! I mean, who wants to talk about them, no one cares, remember?

No, I feel I need a final douse of sarcasm is required regarding Arsenal. But let’s be serious for a minute.  After the match against Arsenal, we all know about the fallout, and the continuation of a long-running theme that many Arsenal fans like to perpetuate about referees having it in for them, and them being on the wrong end of a succession of poor decisions. They are not the only fanbase who do this of course, and many a day my Twitter timeline is awash with people I don’t know questioning where referees live, who they support, and whose payroll they are on, amongst other things.

The thing is, there are consequences to this approach, as those responsible know all too well. When Calafiori made a bookable foul with the game in the balance against Leicester City, a booking that would have seen him dismissed, many a referee, and I am not criticising them for this, would take the easy option for a foul that if not so obvious a booking it cannot be ignored, and just award a free kick. They don't need the hassle of another week of whinging, conspiracy theories, and the deep state investigating whether they have ever been anywhere near the UAE. It's not worth the hassle for a foul like that, so the pressure put on referees for their performances works. It may give you the benefit of the doubt in future, at a crucial time. I'm no apologist for referees, but whatever you think of them, they must be protected, as without them, there is no game. And the discourse around them is simply unacceptable. Free speech though, innit? 

Still, I'm sure all the Arsenal conspiracists are all over the foul on Vardy before their first goal. Right? 

Anyway, there are more serious machinations afoot. Arsenal fans forensically watching games for examples of players not being booked for kicking a ball away. Holidays cancelled, the family seconded to the in-laws, this requires dedication, commitment and focus. The FBI’s entire Whataboutery Division have been transferred to a secret location in North London to oversee the operation, with leave cancelled for all operatives until next May at the earliest. Questions will be asked in the Commons, a Secret Members Bill is being produced to deal with these heinous crimes, pushing the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts onto the backburner. Every single refereeing decision made in the Premier League for the rest of the season and probably beyond used as conclusive evidence that a secret cabal is working with two very distinct aims:
1) The destruction of Western Civilization and, inspired by McCarthyism, the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions, leading to an installation of a succession of right-wing ideologues across Europe and the Americas.

2) Ensure Arsenal never win the Premier League. They can have a Carabao Cup, at a push.

Which leads to me to an exclusive, the first to appear in these newsletters, and perhaps the last. Maybe Arsenal fans have a cause for concern after all? Makes you think, doesn’t it?

EXCLUSIVE

By Staff Reporter & AFTV

Top Premier League referee Samuel Barrott, in charge for the controversial Manchester City v Arsenal match recently, once opened a Barclays Saver Account only MONTHS after Sheikh Mansour had bought shares in the company, calling his impartiality into question for games involving Manchester City and their title rivals. 

Barrott was thought to be very happy with his existing Natwest Gold account, which offered a £250 daily withdrawal limit, free travel insurance and a range of other benefits, including a free weekly Costa Coffee, making his bank account switch all the more surprising. Natwest officials were thought to be exasperated at his sudden decision, ending a twenty-two year association with the bank.

PAYROLL

A source at the bank commented: “Mr Barrott was a valued customer, and seemed very happy with the service we provided, which makes his decision all the more baffling. It came out of the blue, to be honest. One day he was with us, then we got a request to transfer all his details to a rival bank. We respect his decision of course, but there has been talk that perhaps he was made an offer he could not refuse. I couldn’t possibly comment on that of course. He will be missed, and is welcome to return to us at any point. Our interest rates are very competitive.”

Mr Barrott was approached for comment. His wife is thought to use Monzo. 

A few quick hits to finish off, as the weekend is calling – as Is finishing off Sherwood, Ludwig, catching up on Taskmaster and The Penguin. Is that REALLY Colin Farrell?

It would be remiss of me if I did not finish by commenting on our neighbours across the city (and just over the boundary). I'm not a religious man, but God bless Manchester United. No team could have given me as much joy over the past decade and more as my wonderful blues, but boy have United given it a go. The last gasp equaliser against Porto was bittersweet, as of course a defeat would have made the dream prospect of Gareth Southgate taking over one step closer. It will never happen of course, but we can all dream. But as blues know, the equaliser was good news, as Ten Hag must stay, and you don’t need me to explain why. Nevertheless, i will be hoping for a defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday, as it looks like his job is safe for now.

Marvellous.

I noticed an article by Joe Bray at the Manchester Evening News, which I couldn’t read because their pages are so full of adverts and pop-ups now they exist merely to test the patience of saints. Anyway, he noted that Palmer, Delap, Rogers, Harwood-Bellis, Foden, McAtee, Nmecha all scored this week. Forbs, Gittens, Sancho and Frimpong with big assists. It seems like every game I watch nowadays there’s an ex-academy player doing pretty well on the pitch. We used to think, correctly, that our academy was a diamond in the rough. But like in many other areas, we operate on a different level nowadays. I’ll always regret the sale of Palmer (don’t believe the PR, he did not want to leave), but that is the nature of the “beast”. We cannot play them all, and more to the point, City must consider what is best for the player, and with Cole and others, it has turned out alright for all parties. City made them, but cannot always use them. That’s fine.

I don’t want to be THAT person, but here we go, pushing forth my media paranoia and combatting the AGENDA (WHY IS CITY’S MATCH REPORT ONLY THIRD ON THE BBC FOOTBALL SITE??!!), but if this conveyor belt of talent had rolled off the production line at any other club, books would be written, poetry penned, Athletic series commissioned. I don’t care about this, naturally – just saying.

Infamy, infamy.

It’s still a long way to Christmas, I get it. But this is not a Christmas advert, so relax. But I woke up this morning to the news that Amazon had kindly sent me 72p in book sales for the previous month. So I thought I would mention the best thing I have ever done (apart from that time I managed to change a fuse wire all by myself), and plug the last book I wrote. And probably will ever write. It’s basically a Fever Pitch rip-off, but it was Nick Hornby that ripped me off by getting there first. A semi-fictional story of a man, a City fan, during the 2011-12 season, and how football became his saviour.
There’s other books I’ve done too, for the record. Check them out, I’ve got my eye on a rabbit-shaped lamp on Temu.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Twelfth-Man-Being-Howard-Hockin-ebook/dp/B09ZYLHFH2/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.j4_O23952NMTdd4XSyPHsPlwJZwIqX-cVVQL28VK-HADVSqzgW4e7kNBG6hbnRkyJS223zVlk-YQKUYDPIjAJBI9AfWy_Df5J_DpJ5s5WOEA4gTWRfpRuD4XefwwGFpZhTdWFz46ifUQcU8Lld3J2o-BhveU-H7yRP4Qc3OG-Vpf5ewpSRdaX_ERBRfIJZNT.Q_l2zTwVgpTeL4FoewpO5qGxdWii_x9IWL1ewxP69d4&dib_tag=se&keywords=howard+hockin&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1727945143&sr=8-1

A definite AND FINALLY now…

One of the premium tier grifters once more appeared on my Twitter timelines yesterday, as he will have done for many of you who go on that hellhole. Rory Jennings was on the Overlap claiming that Michael Owen was a better goal scorer than Erling Haaland. Sigh. Now there’s a hundred things that could be said about this drivel, but what is the point? For the record, Owen never scored 20+ goals in a Premier League season. Jennings later listed a number of other players who similarly have never got close to Haaland’s numbers, a man who hopefully still has a good decade left in the game. Not surprising, as no one has got close to these numbers in the modern era and beyond. Jennings is one of those grifters that likes to conflate different things, either out of crass stupidity, or to aid the grift. Because we all know terrible takes get far more traction than logical, sensible ones, so it’s obvious which path many will take. Like saying City have no history, a team formed in the 19^th century, because you cannot understand the quite obvious difference between history and success, though City naturally score highly on both now, Jennings seemed to conflate goal scoring with all-round play. The clue is in the term goal-scorer, Rory. And i suspect it was sheer stupidity on this occasion that led to the conflation.

But what is more alarming, but hardly a surprise, is that we have got to this point in football discourse. I’ve never seen the guy make a valid point in my life, and it is no mystery that the man who once said Haaland would struggle to get 15 goals in the Premier League has continued digging. Expect his head to pop out of the ground in New Zealand soon. And yet here he is on the Overlap subjecting us once more to his terrible views, no doubt an appearance arranged by his agent. I’ve no problem with fans being on shows like this, but normal ones, not opportunists – though it is subjective on who we all think that should be. I’d prefer that to ex-players to be honest, and ex-United players drearily telling stories about the Ferguson years. But hey, that was the gaffer for you.  It’s the lack of quality control that gets to me. Perhaps jealousy too, envy also, that trying to be logical, sensible and impartial in everything I have done in the “industry” (with the occasional mask slip) is essentially a career-killer. Well, not quite, but you get the idea. I could have taken a different path, had terrible views (don’t say it) for money and have a very different quality of life.

Do I wish I had?
Hell, no.

WHAT WE HAVE DONE THIS WEEK

As always, very busy. And about to get even busier.

First off, some news!

THE 93:20 REVIEW:- EBB AND FLOW

In a bumper show, Howard, Lloyd and Ahsan look back at the weekend draw and how it should be viewed, plus preview the Champions League tie and much more besides.

THE 93:20 REVIEW:- WEISS SQUAD

Ste, Howard and Bailey look back at the most routine of wins, rotation, chasms, McAtee v Nunes and more.

THE HUB:- EPISODE 12

Bailey is joined by Sam to discuss the injury to Rodri, the qualities he provided for the team, what solutions Guardiola has internally, and which players City could look at buying in January.

COMING ON FRIDAY

PREMIER LEAGUE SHOW

As always. Ste and guests go around the grounds before another big weekend of Barclays action.

THE FRIDAY SHOW

Always a huge show, Ahsan and guests look back at the week and preview the weekend match. Howard also chats to Fulham fan Ste McGovern.

COMING NEXT WEEK

Where to start?!

We have a special Hub edition, already recorded. The return of Quick Hits, looking at all things non-City, and perhaps the old favourite Hot Potatoes, plus the usual non-football show for the international break.

Plus more and more competitions, the Fulham review, England chat and much more – and the newsletters of course!

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As always, have a great weekend, and as always – up the blues!