THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 81

Author

Howard Hockin
January 16, 2026

Hello, and welcome to Issue 81 of the 93:20 Newsletter, with loads to talk about as always. I’d love to seep into a 2nd week of laughing at United, but as we are playing them this weekend, I have (mostly) kept my counsel. I say mostly, there still seems to be a few hundred words on them. Can’t help myself. I can’t wait to see the latest interpretation of VAR at Old Trafford this weekend.

Remember, you can help me sustain this newsletter by making a donation, if that’s agreeable to you. Do not worry, if not. It’s therapeutic for me to type furiously once a week – or so Dr Jones tells me.

Anyway, this one is a biggie, so we best crack on.

I’m not sure what is the least surprising news over the past week – that Mikel Arteta got a yellow card during the match v Liverpool for leaving his technical area, or that the Arsenal conspiracy brigade have gone very quiet considering how many decisions and non-yellows have gone their way in recent matches. Fancy that. And since I have typed the previous words, offside and interfering with play has been interpreted different for them as it was for City the previous night. Didn’t take VAR long to clear up their goal, did it?

There was a clip online a couple of weeks ago of Arteta being so far out of his area on the touchline, that he essentially cut off an opposition player from going on the outside of the Arsenal player he faced. He cut inside, as it turned out. I don’t condone violence in (almost) all of its forms, but never have I wanted more for a player to have wiped that smug **** out for being in the way.

The Signing of Semenyo

A most welcome signing, he already looks like he fits. A damn decent human being too, and that matters,

The narrative will continue to be written for all eternity, and the perception thus spread that City buy their way to success, unlike their rivals. But it's copium for the pull that City have had over the past decade, a pull that has Pep Guardiola as its figurehead. It's easier to talk big numbers than accept that City repeatedly signed players that Arsenal, United and Liverpool fans thought their club would get But they didn't, these players went to City instead, the club no one cares about. Inconvenient truths, masked by spreading lies.

Semenyo v Sterling 

The signing of Semenyo was was greeted by blues with much positivity, but there were still quite a few unsure about whether he was a worthy recruit, as is their right. But my issue was that analysis seemed based more on numbers than actually considering what the player would offer. And numbers seem quite pointless to me in ascertaining how he will do at City. Semenyo's numbers, which are good anyway, are for a team where he saw much less of the ball than he will at City. So defining and critiquing players solely from a spreadsheet won’t cut it. And in a week, he has already started providing numbers, and taken up positions other wide players can only dream of. The opening goal at Newcastle brought comparisons to Raheem Sterling, which I get. It also reminded me of the constant nostalgia amongst blues for the golden Sterling/Sane period, and an afterthought that such nostalgia always forces to pop into my head.

Quite simply, a hill I would die on is that a peak Sterling in 2026 would not replicate the numbers he did at his actual peak in, let's say, 2019. Because he would be facing a very different type of opposition most weeks, a better opposition, and an opposition not prepared to give him the space he used to have. So again, comparisons are pointless across different time periods, even if only five or so years apart, and let’s just allow Semenyo to show what he can bring to the team. The early evidence is good, and we’re yet to see his long throws!

VAR

Sorry, not sorry. Wasn’t it nice watching matches without VAR over the FA Cup weekend?

And then the Newcastle game happened, and I lost all faith in it ever working how we want it to. No football fan wants situations like that being looked into. Not one. A situation where when the goal is scored, not a single person watching expects VAR to get involved. A goal where I felt comfortable enough to fully celebrate, as there was zero chance of it being disallowed. How wrong I was. VAR itself does not have to be like this, but the way it has been applied has ruined the sport as a spectacle and turned most fans against the technology. That's some feat.

Pep only goes in two-footed after a win, which is important. And he needs to, and I say that as someone who has championed in previous newsletters the need to protect referees, whatever we may think of them. And I'm not sure it's the referees that should get all the ire here. Howard Webb should, as they are generally following orders, and guidance - and will be marked down and perhaps demoted if they don't. The issue, as noted by Dale Johnson is that the decision may have been technically correct, this is not what we wanted technology to be used for. 

What an almighty mess. We have a sport where a clear foul in the penalty area (Schar on Foden) can be explained away as not a penalty, but we take 6 minutes to overturn an offside no one had spotted, and which the VAR technology itself could not cope with.

Normally, you could argue that at least offside is binary, but the Semenyo disallowed goal wasn't, it was subjective, judging Haaland to have been interfering with play. And yet again, it's Stuart Atwell at the crime scene, brandishing a bloody knife, whilst shrugging and passing on the decision to the referee.

Still, it was quite refreshing to see the outrage and fallout for a VAR decision that went against City, which indicates how bad it was. Normally City would have to benefit from such a decision for such a number of “game’s gone” tweets, questions would be asked in Parliament, and news would filter out that the laws would be adjusted to avoid a future repeat of the situation.

You know, like when Donarumma went down in a recent game so Pep could give a team-talk, I’ve seen it happen three times since, including Pope during the Carabao game, with not a peep from the media.

Disappointed of Sale

My opposition fan podcasts are some of my favourite recordings every week. It's fascinating to hear the inside track on other clubs, and to have a break from City, because however well things may be going, there is a limit to how much I want to think about my football club each week, and I have to commit some time to laughing at United too.

I have never had a problem with any of the shows I have done, despite the nagging doubt at the back of my mind that other fans may hate my football club, assisted by media narratives, and that it could seep into the shows. The Sunderland fan for example the other week will naturally have a hatred of a Middle-Eastern state-linked ownership model considering their rivalry with Newcastle United. The show was wonderful. I've had nothing to worry about, and these shows aren't about City. Last week was no different. Exeter City fan Tom was really interesting, excited about the weekend trip to the Etihad, giving insight into his club's financial difficulties, players, manager, his admirable charity work and more. 

And then Exeter were slapped 10-1, and it's fair to say he didn't take this very well. All the usual clichés were out in force. Weird that City fans weren't doing congas along the touchline in a game that barely reached the level of a training match, against the worst opposition I have seen at the Etihad. It was a big day for one club, and one club alone.

Like an elder expressing his disappointment in a young padawan, I almost sent a reply on numerous occasions, but in the end decided against it, with nothing to gain. Besides, fellow blues were doing an excellent job on my behalf. I wasn’t angry, I was just disappointed.

I find it sad though to see such a response, and thankfully it's rare. One of the few advantages to the cesspit that is X is that I have continued to follow the likes of Plymouth Argyle fans, Salford City fans, and fans of all other Premier League clubs, that has taken me out of my City bubble, and kept me more informed. When a fan acts like an arsehole, then obviously that's me done.

C’est la vie. I wish Exeter City all the best moving forward.

There is one other issue to discuss from last weekend, however. Exeter City's Supporters Trust making public their request for a greater share of the gate receipts was embarrassing, and many Exeter City fans agreed. No harm in asking, but keep it private. Putting pressure on City to do so, and trying to paint them as the bad guys is shameful behaviour. It’s important to acknowledge Exeter’s problems were their own doing, and they have acknowledged as much, overspending on players in previous seasons. So I am not sure why City should be emotionally blackmailed to give them more money than they are entitled to, which is already a large amount. And I can assure you, that if City had handed over all the gate receipts to the visitors, someone would have found a negative angle to it all. Other clubs in League 1 would have had just cause for complaint for starters. And Crystal Palace giving their gate money to Macclesfield, for a tenth of the attendance, is irrelevant.

Derby Day

As many will know, I hate derby day, and any sane person should feel the same. But after United’s latest shenanigans, I still have some further thoughts on the shambles down the road.

United fans will claim that the club is the biggest in the world, still has that pull, yadda yadda. And I’m not blinkered enough to deny that there is some truth in that. But I would argue that a bizarre consequence of each manager failing is that the pull actually increases for other managers to accept the role. And that is because I feel the next United manager will be the least pressured in 50 years, hence the pull. It’s hardly the equivalent to succeeding Alex Ferguson, is it? No, it’s succeeding a number of failures spread beyond a decade, and a fanbase that realise the issues run far deeper than the manager alone. So as mentioned on previous newsletters, for any manager, it is a win-win situation. Turn the club around and become a saviour, or fail and get a nice pay-off, with reputation intact.

A nice consequence of all this is that my guilty pleasure right now is listening to United podcasts more than City ones. Joyous stuff. I just hope that remains the case next week, gulp.

Popbitch Latest

Random Man U Thoughts

Between 5th March and 10th April, Manchester United play two football matches.

I'm not sure what United DNA is, not in sure if you traced it back it would originate in Ireland or Norway.

From Wikipedia (not really)

The Krypton Factor is a British game show produced by Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to 20 November 1995 and was hosted by Gordon Burns.

Contestants across the United Kingdom and Ireland competed in rounds that tested their physical stamina and mental attributes. The programme was eventually dropped after one task was deemed too difficult for anyone to complete. It required four Manchester City fans to transfer their tickets to a fellow City supporter, with contestants given seven days. All failed, and two were hospitalised.

Gordon Burns went on to host North West Tonight.

Uh-Oh

We should be thankful he didn’t decide on a career as a therapist. Going all Linkedin is never a good sign.

He wasn’t finished there. There was a bug at Chelsea this week, and Rosenior has had to remind players to wash their hands (I’m not making this up).

Well, I’m here to help, and if you need any instructions, then Alan Partridge is your man.

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

THE 93:20 REVIEW:- HISTORY

Howard is joined by Lloyd and Ahsan to look back at an historic day at the Etihad, youth, debuts, Pep's strong sides, preview the Carabao semi,talk Guehi and more!

THE 93:20 REVIEW:- TO THE MAX

Ahsan and Lloyd look back on a captivating first leg against Newcastle. Wing play is back. The defenders are defending. Everything covered!

IT’S LB SHOW:- EPISODE 5

In this episode LB and Ahsan rate all of City’s signings since January 2025, discuss the current window and our centre back situation, then consider whether City can win the title.
An absolutely banging show!

THE CATCH-UP:- EPISODE 1

In the first of a new series, Howard and Ste chatted to Simon, Dan and Dale about Bournemouth, Chelsea and Manchester United topical issues, with a common theme - managers.

THE WEEKEND SHOW

Howard, Ahsan and special guest Crunk look back on a great week, and of course preview a big weekend, with a Manchester derby on the horizon.

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!