THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 8

Hello, and welcome to the latest 93:20 newsletter, produced during an international break. Might be a short one. We’ll be filling most of the break by sending encouraging message of supports for Ten Hag to Jim Ratcliffe. Feel free to join us. After a six-hour meeting on Tuesday (I hope a buffet was provided), it seems our prayers have been answered. He is safe for now. Stand down Gareth Southgate – your time will come, hopefully.

But – hang on. Not so fast. Don’t go.

Why did I ever doubt this fortnight? The international break always provides a story, and it usually relates to off the pitch matters, and it usually relates to City. This break delivered early doors, though only because a vanquished Premier League seemed to have delayed the verdict for a fortnight. Can't think why, considering they are claiming a victory themselves. More on that later.

Yes, City are once more the saviours of football, sparing us from having to discuss the latest episode of Bake Off, or spending Saturdays in garden centres. And then Txiki began his long goodbye for good measure. So, let’s talk.

But first, to trifling other matters.

Watching United bore the pants off the nation on Sunday, it occurred to me that with Anthony and Zirkzee on the pitch, United are trying to accumulate a shit player for every letter of the alphabet. Maybe that is their true goal. We’ll never sing that.

I decided to test out the theory. Respect to United for making some of these players so bad, when they are clearly capable of more, and have proved that elsewhere. This is just players since Alex Ferguson retired, which is good news for Owen Hargreaves and Bebe.

A – Antony (hard luck Anderson)
B – Bailly
C – Casemiro
D - Di Maria (edging out Depay)
E – Eriksen
F – Fred (edging out Fellaini). Credit to Bruno Fernandes for finally becoming shit, after finally giving up resisting the inevitable.
G – [name removed due to legal advice] (edging out Gomes)
H – Hojlund
I – Ighalo
J – Jones (Phil) (edging out Januzaj)
K – Kagawa
L – Lindelof
M – Mkhitaryan (edging out Maguire, and Martial, and….)
N – Nani (the only N I could find)
O – Onana (see previous excuse. Could slip Obertan in and hope no one notices)
P – Pogba
Q – Quin (yeah it was 1908, but I’m struggling with this one)
R – Reguilon
S – Sanchez (shout out to Schneiderlin and Sancho and Schweinsteiger and….)
T – Telles
U – Ugarte (give it time)
V – Van De Beek
W – Wan Bissaka
X – Damn. Though I would say Antony’s performances have been x-rated.
Y - Young
Z – Zirkzee

You may be wondering how much that lot cost. Well, according to Transfermarkt, the grand total is  - I don’t know. I got distracted by a fruit fly and lost count around the £600m mark. Anyway, a bargain at a tenth of the price. Maybe.

Just as hilarious as Ten Hag and his band of not-so-merry men is the news that, and I quote, “Man Utd have been swamped with offers to make behind-the-scenes documentary of revival under Sir Jim Ratcliffe”

One can only assume this is set well in the future, a dystopian future that none of us can comprehend. Good use of the word swamped, by the way. Very on brand.

Still, I’m not laughing now. I saw this quote come through, and another dream died. Week ruined.

So let’s talk City. Legal stuff is dominating the airwaves, though not yet the main feature, namely 115. Though I do find it ironic how so many claim the UAE government are in cahoots with the UK government, so City will never be punished by the independent panel. If only we had a sitting UK Prime Minister in one of our corporate boxes every week, eh? Imagine the headlines then.

The news broke about APT and it was immediately clear that the Premier League had won, which was why they have called an emergency meeting on a judgment they have known about for a fortnight. Probably so they can celebrate and pat each other on the back, I imagine. Not because of any concerns, no siree.

When news of City's actions first surfaced, there were numerous articles from stooges in the mainstream media about how this was a death knell for football. But what has always been obvious is that whatever the ruling, whether the changes, football will carry on as before, by which I mean Premier League football of course, a tiny percentage of the sport as a whole. Rule changes are not going to change that. Bringing these rules in didn't, so why would revising them or getting rid of them altogether? Fear-mongering bullshit from client journalists. Fifteen years of this prejudiced coverage now for blues. No wonder paranoia has taken over a few. 

Oh no, it gets worse for the sport. Now the client journalists are pushing stories of clubs’ fears (we can guess which ones, Inspector Clouseau could crack this one) that City are trying to run the league and acting like bullies. The absolute brass neck is astonishing. Yes this is very worrying - I hear a number of billionaires are worried about their investments. I'll light a candle for them tonight. 

Ultimately, as fans we shouldn’t really invest too much into decisions like this, and it is of course little more than an excuse to point-score, because to reiterate a previous point, whatever is eventually decided on APT rules is not going to seismically shift our experience watching our team. What I really want out of episodes like this is not redemption alone for my particular billionaire owner, but for it to dawn on the footballing world, and for the media to actually do its job and report on this, that City are not the good guys, but neither are the other clubs, as a succession of billionaires try to rig the system in their favour and power grab – it’s pure politics in a sporting arena. Or in boardrooms and swanky hotels, to be more precise. What I want is for the likes of Arsenal (especially Arsenal, key drivers in the campaign against City) to have their name dragged through the mud. It won’t change anything, but for an immature man like me, it will give me some cheap thrills for a few days. And nowadays, you have to take what thrills you can, especially on social media. Let’s get that dirty laundry out in the public. We haven’t had other team’s emails hacked. Let’s see them. Let’s see the true colours of the teams trying to destroy City’s competitiveness. That’s only fair. Snide hypocrites and their puppet masters. It looks like City want a war, and this will damage their reputation too, but it's already on its arse, unfairly or otherwise. Might as well take everyone down with us. Not really what I want to be honest, as no one wins, and the “cartel” (hmm) are already using their puppets in the media, such as Delaney, to express their outrage at City destroying the fabric of football. Whatever the facts of the issue, City will never win the media war. They should consider this before acting.

What is clear is that Richard Masters, United and Arsenal's hand-picked stooge, is on borrowed time. Like Ten Hag though, I hope he stays. His incompetence provides cracking entertainment after all. The Premier League claiming a victory from the verdict is like United fans boasting that Mark Hughes scored the best goal in the 1989 Manchester derby. Not really the point, is it? Though, nice goal by Darren Fletcher in the 1-6 too.

This is a story that will run and run. And as i said, despite many blues smelling blood, and the desire, which i share, for some other clubs’ actions and their true colours to be laid out, no one will win at the end of this, apart from financially. This is about money and power amongst very rich people, and i’ve got better causes to bat for.

And then news broke that Txiki is leaving next summer, meaning City are in serious danger of overshadowing England v Greece and Finland this week. This naturally got a lot of blues into panic mode, as where Txiki goes, Pep follows. Two peas in a pod, I imagine them even sharing a bed like Morecambe and Wise. I may be proven wrong, but this really does not tell us anything of Pep’s intentions. I am sure he is capable of staying at City for a year or two with a new guy in place. One he will have ok’ed, I imagine, whatever his own intentions.

I will leave the Txiki discussions for elsewhere, including on our podcast. He has undoubtedly been a huge part of City’s success, and brilliant at his role, with the odd misstep as anyone would have. But I am not going to lose much sleep at suits leaving the club - there are plenty more who can succeed at this important and difficult role. It’s a sign of the times that the likes of Berrada and Begiristain leaving make the headlines. I’ll save my anxiety and tears for Pep and players leaving, and Txiki will leave with my thanks, and my admiration. Adios.

I couldn’t end the newsletter without commenting on one of the articles published in the aftermath of the APT judgment. And I do not say this lightly, but we were privileged to witness the worst article that has ever been published. Worse than the time Ollie Holt argued that stadium naming rights was a gateway to English teams changing their names to that of a sponsor, Martin Samuel suggesting Joey Barton come out as gay to help “the cause”, Mike Calvin suggesting Sheikh Mansour should take over FCUM, or even the many articles claiming Jordan Ibe was better than Raheem Sterling. No, this week saw something that blew them all out of the water. Take a bow, Sam Cunningham.

A common refrain when mentioning pieces like this online is – don’t give them the publicity. This piece has after all gained huge traction, traction a well-written reasonable piece would not have received. We all know how it works. But I disagree that somehow, we are helping such journalists by shining a light on the turds they spew out. And I don’t care if I help him get loads of views. Better to call them out say I. And you will never stop anyone quoting such articles anyway, so might as well join in. The nature of online discourse means there is an inevitability to the attention, you are fighting the tide asking people not to comment or share. Sam has won, but is happy to have what reputation he had tarnished. A strange world, where integrity makes way for page views.

It is spectacular in that Sam manages to get confused even before we get to the article itself, in the tweet alone. Look at the image. We start with the classic straw man argument, whereby a point of view is fabricated so that the author can rally against it. Here, City hate the rules, and yet on the caption, we see that it is the Premier League they hate. So, which is it? And it would be easy to tear apart this monstrosity, but what is the point? Better surely to admire its crayon-scrawled-by-a-four-year-old style from a distance, written by a reporter who is clearly a supporter of a team who consider it their divine right to be winning all the trophies Pep has hoovered up in recent times. Even the fact he thinks a team would just leave the Premier League is so stupid, I’d feel embarrassed to even know anyone who made such a suggestion, let alone put my name to it. Though I cannot move on without quoting this cracker from the piece: Many City fans not bonded to the club by geography might gradually attach themselves to whichever club established a hold over the top next. 

Back to Chelsea, everyone?

But what really rankles is the wording of what he said. Don’t like it, then leave? I can’t help but think of this as a reworked racial trope that true “patriots” love to wheel out when anyone dare criticise anything about their precious country – something only they can do. If you don’t like it, leave. It’s straight out of their book. Still, maybe City could take up Alan Davies’s prior suggestion, and go and play in the desert.

Anyway, no one cares about City, so no one will miss them, right? I think the Premier League would miss them, Sam, which is as ironic as rain on your wedding day.

And so finally, and I mean it this time, how interesting to see Jurgen Klopp gain new employment, and would you believe it, it’s with Red Bull, which should help him get his energy back. It happens to them all in the end, to all the moralists who pretend they do things the right way. They can all be bought, and those staunch morals collapse like a house of cards. Just look at Arsene Wenger, shilling for FIFA. Funny how they lose their principles after their managerial career ends. See the world different now, do you? Hashtag dollars.

What We Have Been Up To This Week

The 93:20 Review:- Getting By

Ahsan, Lloyd, and Bailey dissect Saturday's edgy win over Fulham and discuss all the fall out.

APT Special

Ahsan and Stefan get deep into the weeds of who won what from this week’s ruling.

The Hub:- Episode 13

Bailey is joined by The Secret Scout to discuss the role of scouts and benefits of the City Football Group. Plus, the importance of going on loan and the next group of City players to look out for.

Fantasy Football Show

Howard and Jonny have a good laugh at their underwhelming season so far, look at some hot picks and those to avoid, and what the future may hold. It’s Howard’s team that is being laughed at, truth be told.

What Is Coming Up

The Friday Show

It may be an international break, but as you have seen, there is plenty to talk about. England review, City & APT, Txiki and more.

Tackled

The show where we whittle through a succession of non-City stories from the last week. City may get the odd mention too.

The Hub:- Episode 14

The Cottage Tactico joins Bailey to discuss Fulham under Marco Silva. Dissecting their approach against Manchester City, the decisions made by Guardiola in the match, and what needs to change after the international break.

Txiki Special

With this week’s news, we will at some point be looking at what the future holds, his time at City, and other potential ramifications.

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!

https://soundcloud.com/9320pod/tracks