THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 70

Author

Howard Hockin
November 07, 2025

Hello, and welcome to Issue 70 of the 93:20 Newsletter. Lots to talk about, there is never a dull moment at City right now, and even an imminent international break will probably not change that (gulp).

As always, excuse the begging bowl, but these words are written every week because of the generosity of blues who have donated and supported me. Thank you as always, it keeps me hopeful about humanity after all, at least for a few minutes until I go on Twitter.

You can donate via this link, and help the content keep flowing, and it’s really needed right now.

Also – and I ask this with great trepidation – when is it acceptable to tout wares as potential Christmas presents? Anyway, I’m going for it, as some people actually plan ahead (not men, obviously), so do check out my books on Amazon. Got plenty at home too if you’re ever passing through Sale. I’d sign them, but it would only lower their value. To be brutally honest – Twelfth Man and the book of Newsletter articles are the best content I’ve ever scribed, so do give them a go, and remember – the Newsletters book is not a season review, but a look at the world of football, so don’t be put off.

On with the Newsletter!

This Week, In The Media

Martin Samuel there, who has a high reputation amongst City fans due to his consistent criticism of FFP. He can be utterly terrible though with his opinions, a classic example of a journalist who creates strawman arguments to then rally against. This is the man who seriously suggested Joey Barton come out as gay to help the cause.

In the piece, he made the suggestion, perhaps ironically, that Joey Barton should come out as a publicity stunt in his "quest for intellectual and social respectability". The article was widely criticised and called "appalling" by some.

Anyway, back on topic. Samuel is suggesting Rodri was not appreciated until his absence. If only there was some tangible evidence prior to the injury of Rodri “getting some credit”. Ooh, I don’t know, something like A BALLON D’OR.

If you want an example of how Samuel constructs arguments, take a look at the below opinion from the archives.

It's the ultimate "if my aunty had balls" argument. An utterly irrelevant argument, as Arsenal don't play in Portugal. And if they did, they would no doubt have far more points than at the moment in time Samuel put forward this spurious argument.

Despite all that, I do like him though, so apologies if i have offended by criticising a blue favourite!

Elsewhere this week, Jason Burt noted that City don’t create enough chances for Erling Haaland. That’s the player with 13 Premier League goals who has had the most shots by far with the biggest cumulative xG by far in the Premier League. Football365.com pointed out that City have created more big chances this season than any other Premier League team and of the 10 biggest chance creators in the Premier League this season, City have players at 4) and 5) in Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden. Statistically, the chances they create for Haaland have increased in value from 0.72 xG per game last season to 1.07.

But apart from that……

The media really have got their opinions twisted over Erling Haaland, which brings me to Jamie Carragher. Unfortunately, Mr Carragher is becoming a regular feature on this newsletter, and he gets two entries this week.

 

So let's boil this down to its base ingredients. Reduce it until we have a Carragher jus, as yet another media mouthpiece comes out with opinions that completely contradict what they have previously argued. What Carragher is now essentially hinting at is that Haaland is too good. If he was less good, and some of his goals were scored by other players, leading to the same results, City would be stronger for it. Not with actual points, just in opinion pieces for money. City are scoring enough goals, so it’s hard to see what else he could be claiming. It is symptomatic of how the media struggle to assess the robotic nature of his scoring prowess. He is a likeable guy, and gets a lot of positive media as he should do, but the tactical element really flummoxes so many. The one-man team schtick has always been tedious, though I guess we should blame Pep for starting it all off by referring to Harry Kane FC.

Anyway, Carragher was distracted elsewhere as City faced Dortmund this week.

Look, it’s all too easy to overreact to this piece/occurrence, and go all tin foil hat again. Carragher admits to loving Dortmund and has stood in their end for a previous match. Just harmless fun, surely?

Thing is, not quite. Yeah I’ve seen worse, but when you boil it down (again), this is an English commentator, commentating on an English team, for English TV. We all know he supports a rival to City, and he spent pre-game marching to the ground with the away team’s supporters. We all know the outrage if something similar had happened with a City-supporting commentator before a Liverpool v Borussia Dortmund match. So if Jamie Carragher wants to really prove his impartiality, I cordially invite Carragher to pull a similar stunt before a Liverpool Champions League match. Except, there’s zero chance of that ever happening, is there? You may choose to hate Gary Neville (for reasons I do not need to explain), but he is much better at remaining impartial.

What’s more, in the week that the Liverpool fanbase once more proved how fake the #ynwa hashtag really is, Carragher has fanned the flames of that hatred with his views to a huge audience. The idea that Liverpool is more special than any other club, is a narrative that their own fans have built up for their own satisfaction. Most rival fans see right through it.

As it turned out, City and UEFA blocked his attempt to once more stand with the away fans. Yeah that’s right, he thinks it is a “harmless bit of fun” to watch the match in the away end, and of course support Dortmund, before returning to media duties after, interviewing City players no doubt. He is truly a cretin if he thinks there is no conflict here.

Mike Keegan reported on the move being blocked, and that naturally led Carragher to switch to hyper-aggressive mode, spitting mad, as is the predictable cycle whenever he is called out. He pitifully dragged 115 into the conversation, like the bitter scouser he is, before making false accusations of Keegan being a City mouthpiece, because Keegan dared report a factual event. Well fancy that Carragher, journalists have sources at clubs! Quite the revelation, though you falsely identified the source on this occasion. Someone needs to take him to one side and tell him about professionalism in his role, but no one will. As for blues calling for him to be banned from the Etihad, don’t be ridiculous, it achieves nothing. Someone from the club should give him a call though, and ask for clarification on some of his City opinions, and what is being insinuated.

FIFA

In this week’s least surprising news:

Gianni Infantino will present the inaugural ‘FIFA Peace Prize’ at the draw for the 2026 World Cup, football’s world governing body has announced. The award is designed to acknowledge “individuals who have helped to unite people all over the world in peace” with the winner to be crowned at the draw in Washington DC on December 5.

Wow, I wonder who could possibly be winning that!? It's a complete mystery, though there are rumours that Donald Trump will face a late challenge from Vladimir Putin. It's a predictable consequence of Infantino having to tickle the tummy and massage the ego of Trump to ensure he doesn't wreck next year's World Cup. Infantino has been so far up Trump's arse for some time that he's lost his internet connection.

But this is a football newsletter, so back on track please. Infantino is symptomatic of the huge issue of FIFA presidents, and the power they wield. The latest weasel to hold the office makes Sepp Blatter look like a saint, and I'm not sure what can be done about it? The head of FIFA is simply too powerful, and they inevitably leads to him acting like a benign dictator. That is not going to change, as who will stand up to him, and suffer the consequences? Better to grease the odd palm, and everyone's a winner. Except the fans. 

The Etihad once more resembled a theme park on a Champions League night this week. It’s the most peculiar of sights, as a minority seem to treat the match like a day out at the zoo. There were still groups of people near me trying to locate their seat in the SECOND HALF. Sitting on the end of a row, this is especially grating as people come and go, as I missed much of the match. The food stalls clearly do well though, and that’s the important thing.

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

THE 93:20 REVIEW: - ROBOTIC

Ahsan look back at a scintillating win over Bournemouth. They discuss team shape, Foden and Cherki and Haaland’s link ups, and loads more.

THE 93:20 PREVIEW:- BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Howard and Ahsan look back briefly at the weekend, before previewing a tasty midweek match v Dortmund.

THE HUB:- EPISODE 47

Ishdeep Chadha joins Bailey to discuss what makes a good sample size, the underlying numbers of Erling and the new role of Jeremy Doku.

THE 93:20 REVIEW:- FUN TIMES

Howard, Lloyd and Ahsan look back at the exhilarating win over Dortmund, the good, bad and very good. Phil, Nico G, Cherki and more.

THE WEEKEND SHOW:- MEANS MORE

Ahsan, Ste and Jordan look back at a satisfying week, and forward to a huge match on Sunday, plus loads more!

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