THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 85

Hello, and welcome to Issue 85 of the 93:20 Newsletter. Perhaps the longest one ever. I will have to be very concise here, thanks to Jim Ratcliffe and others.

(spoiler alert: I failed)

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Let’s crack on.

First, just a little bit of actual football, and that astonishing end to the match at Anfield, and that “non-goal”. I get the immediate, impulsive reaction to it not being allowed, and the frustration, from what was a remarkable few sections of pure football craziness. But the goal had to be disallowed, sorry.

I can understand too that it is another stick to beat VAR with, but ultimately we don’t know what the referee would have done if VAR did not exist – to assume it would have been allowed is spurious, as we all know referees hide behind VAR. He may have disallowed it on the pitch and we would have been as frustrated.

Football is not officiated with common sense, nor should it be. We exclaim that we just want consistency, then we claim a lack of common sense being applied? So which do you want, as you can’t have both? You can’t just periodically ignore the laws when it suits, in order to apply your interpretation of common sense. The laws are there to attain consistency, in theory. The introduction of VAR has utterly destroyed that aim. There are exceptions, where no one will mind a blind eye turned, but ultimately top-flight referees are assessed, and their careers depend on them following said laws. With VAR intervening as it was always going to, there was only one outcome – common sense cannot be applied whilst watching a monitor. It’s rare that both sides hope a goal is awarded, and it was a very bizarre sequence of events. But much as it pains me, the decision was the correct one. I’m just glad the whistle went as soon as the free kick was blazed over, as one more Liverpool attack would have finished me off. I was also relieved because when Gary Neville first commented that the referee was going to the monitor, I feared it was for some spurious penalty appeal at the other end of the pitch. Would it have surprised anyone for Liverpool to have been awarded a penalty?

So let’s be thankful the result did not rest on that. At least I could watch it unravel with some level of detachment. The three points were secured, and the midweek results have allowed bonus joyous scenes as football’s weirdest fanbase lose their marbles.

P.S. To put it another way - if you think the goal should have been allowed, then you're on the same side as Richard Keys. And that's never the right side. 

Bernardo Silva

City fans and Bernardo have been performing a ritualistic dance for some years now. Will he, won’t he? He’s the one player that I did feel was being ground down by the Manchester weather, but then even hardened Mancunians are right now. Time to build that ark. But there has been a seismic tidal change this season, irrespective of what Silva has achieved in the past. And let us never, ever forget what this man has brought to the club. One of a rare breed, such as David Silva, Yaya Toure and Kevin De Bruyne, where once they depart, will see another player will come in, but they will not replace the player who left, as they can’t be replaced, however good the new signing may turn out to be. Pep himself said it this week – when Bernardo leaves, we will need to play a new system, as he is irreplaceable. Bernardo has not always been brilliant, but neither were David Silva or Kevin De Bruyne. His legacy and his reputation has been hampered by his adaptability, and by his worth not being easily visualised in showreels. He is the king of the intangibles.

And just as important to me, he just gets IT, as much as any player in our history. I really would give him another one-year contract, if he wants it. He gets the role of a footballer at a big club, the responsibilities, the rivalries, the nouse needed on the pitch, the intelligence and cunning to thrive in big games. Club captaincy has fit him like a glove, it reawakened something, and it’s just a shame he didn’t have the role the season before. He wouldn’t leave mid-season to send more time with one of his families. Build that man a statue - just make sure that he’s holding a coffee cup.

Poisoned Chalices

Quite ironic that in another season when the media are obsessed about the potential exit of Pep, most other clubs have jettisoned their managers, whilst Richard Keys quietly scuttles back to the UK, tail between his legs.

As for Arne Slot, despite some more favourable results, he seems doomed. I watched Sunday’s game with a Liverpool fan (and a good few blues), and he wants him gone, and once you lose the fans, you’re in big trouble. His pathetic post-match excuses will endear him to the loons, but most Liverpool fans will see it for the desperation it was. Managers are rarely impartial after a match, and Slot is no different, but if he really wants to take umbrage with the match officials, perhaps he should mention the non-foul for the free-kick they scored from, the penalty appeal City themselves did not get in the first half, or Salah’s regular and predictable dives. Most will have forgotten the last time City won at Anfield, in an empty stadium, when he similarly cheated to win a penalty. Slot talks like a loser, not a winner. He yelled after the match about the progress of the team that allowed them to compete with "perhaps the best team in England". That's at home, as reigning league champions, having spent half a billion in the summer. Slot likes to deflect, so perhaps I am reading too much into it, but his rhetoric feels like one of a man under real pressure. He needs a Top 5 finish.

YCMIU

Eat your heart out Garth Crooks, your successor is elite. Picking a player in the team of the week on the BBC website, that played an opposition player onside for their equalising goal then got himself sent off. That’s some achievement.

Live From Monaco

The irony of a tax-dodger exiled with other immigrants in Monaco have not been lost on the wider public. Maybe there would be less strain on public finances if billionaires paid all the tax they should. Maybe there would be more money for the economy if in 2010, the corporate headquarters of INEOS hadn’t been moved to Switzerland, slicing 4000 jobs in the process. Whatever you think of City’s owner (as is your right), always be thankful we have an owner with decorum and class, not one who speaks like this, whilst begging for public funds for a new stadium, whilst overseeing numerous companies that have been historically propped up by that same money. He has brought shame on United (again), which should make me happy, but his words are depressing. I mean, a British man talking about colonisation, give me strength. But it’s good he has said these things, as it is important we know exactly what this man represents, though we pretty much knew it anyway.
Should have taken the Qatari money when you had the chance.

The Creep of Advertising

I watched an astonishing T20 cricket match between South Africa and Afghanistan this week, with two super overs at the end that extended the game. It went to the very last ball – South Africa won, astonishing scenes, and within ten seconds,. Sky had cut away to adverts. I was speechless. No doubt they had lost precious revenue with those two extra overs. It has been well documented that in rugby union, they are showing in-game adverts on a split screen when there is a scrum. So when you consider that the ball is in play in Premier League games for an average of 55 minutes, I think we can all work out where this is going - it is merely a matter of time. For advertisers it solves the biggest issue of recent times - no longer having a rapt audience. Another step towards a TV sport.

Hold The Front Page – Old Man Shouts At Clouds (Again)

Yeah, there’s a real title race, it’s FA Cup weekend, and a whole lot more happened this week, but that was all a sideshow to the real big story – would a man cut his hair? I think you know who I am talking about

Now, a disclaimer before I begin. This is not a two-footed lunge on a perfectly harmless man, even if it may appear that way with the words that follow. This guy has already been attacked physically by other United fans for a inoffensive challenge, which tells you all you need to know about the character of many people. No, it’s more a state of the nation address, and I hold no malice towards a man with a barnet. But what started as an almost-humorous challenge has snowballed to something rather different. And who of us would not have taken the dollar when opportunity arose? I know I would.

And he has certainly has. Viral football fan Frank Ilett (@TheUnitedStrand) has signed Argos as his “Official Delivery Partner” to Fast Track all the tools required for what is set to be the footballing event of the year. Not my words, but those sent in an email to many media outlets this week. Frank is charging five figure amounts for interviews. Michael Carrick was asked about it pre-match. Frank live-streamed the West Ham match. Sometimes, you just have to take a step back and wonder what on earth is going on.

It was almost worth Manchester United winning this week, to end the grift. But now it must continue until at least the 20^th March, but more likely well beyond, and we’ll have to decide on an alternative footballing event of the year – let’s just hope the title race, Champions League or World Cup delivers. If United had won, this would not have been the end for his new media career, of course. I’m sure there’s plenty of meet and greets he could do at dingy Essex nightclubs, Talksport appearances, advertising, influencing and more. He has his own Cameo page, and merchandise. The drift into obscurity would happen, as he has nothing to offer except hair, but it would not be instant. Nevertheless, he will be secretly delighted his team could not beat West Ham. Maybe he knew from the start where this was all leading, as winning five games in a row for a team not competing for titles is not easy – though 11 teams have managed it since United last did.

It has been disputed, as everything is nowadays, but a significant amount of money will have been raised for charity, the Little Princess Trust, which provided wigs for children who have lost their hair. Much good has come out of this. To reiterate, I do not hold any of this against the man himself. But ultimately, perhaps is what is more damning is that the prospect of a fan potentially cutting his enormous hair at some point in the future is more interesting than the results of the football club he supports, a club with nothing to play for except European qualification, resigned to a 40-game season. Suddenly, a haircut becomes almost interesting.

But when you have turned the process into a massive money-making scheme for yourself, then it rather loses its innocence. If some good has come out of this, should we just ignore the bad? But this is more about a dishevelled old man (me), failing to understand the modern world. And jealousy at the fact I never worked out how to make money without doing anything of merit, as so many others have.

Emptyhad

Another swathe of empty seats for the Fulham match. Ticketing issues, including pricing, transfers and more are of course a major factor, along with the creep of corporate and hospitality and the inevitable dulling of the atmosphere. But ultimately what is rarely mentioned is that a lot of fans are simply not arsed anymore about attending. Modern football, their life away from football taking over, and the fact there is simply too much football will all have contributed. Modern football has left some cold, and the club have placed obstacle after obstacle in the way of those all too willing to fill the void. But it’s not all on the club. Nostalgia has played its part too, and a sport that is now dominated by money and power. And VAR.
Where’s the fun in watching football when you don’t even know whether to celebrate a goal or not?

AND FINALLY

If you can’t embrace extreme pettiness, then football is not for you. So after his whinging, petulant display after City won at Nottingham Forest, I could not resist a wry smile on learning that Sean Dyche has been dismissed from his latest role. Maybe he could take the Spurs job, and try and save them from relegation instead? But the main plus from all of this is that Richard Keys is probably frothing at the mouth at the dismissal of another honest, old-school English manager. I demand he writes a bonus blog forthwith. Dyche may well be be a nice man, he may be great craic on the podcast circuit, he might "say it as he is", but that does not change the fact that he is a dinosaur, and the game has moved on, though perhaps there is a role for him lower down the leagues.

And as always, as Nottingham Forest search for their 4th manager of the season, the one person never accountable is the man who recruited all four. The man who stood in the tunnel on Wednesday night shaking hands with the players as they walked back, before he then went and sacked the manager. He has much credit with Forest fans, for the journey he has taken them on, and the money he has invested, turning the club around. Not sure that should mean he is immune from criticism or responsibility for his actions, however.

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

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THE 93:20 REVIEW:- HISTORY BOYS

Ahsan and Lloyd dive into everything from yesterday’s win over Liverpool. Selection, tactics, officials, and everything else. The good, the bad, and the ugly are all discussed!

MIXED BAG

Howard and Ahsan tackle a number of issues in a mixed bag. Anfield, Pep and the media, a preview of Fulham and more.

THE 93:20 REVIEW:- REIGNING

Howard and Jordan look back on the win against Fulham and consider if it was a game of two halves once more. Nico v Phil, empty seats, title races, Love Island and more.

OPPOSITION FAN:- SALFORD CITY

After more than a year since their last meet-up. Howard caught up with Louis from the Generation Red podcast ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup match, to see what has changed since. The kit, for starters!

THE WEEKEND SHOW - REELING

The usual packed show, looking back at a great week, and previewing the FA Cup weekend. And more!

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