THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 89

Author

Howard Hockin
March 13, 2026

Hello, and welcome to Issue 89 of the 93:20 Newsletter. As always, random stuff to discuss, and the lack of midweek City games has not changed that.

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A Bit Of City Chat

This is a newsletter that generally swerves actual City football chat, on field at least, but it’s hard to swerve that disaster class at the Bernabeu without passing comment. So let’s cut to the chase, and say yet again, and it needs saying, Pep this week f***ed everything up. There, I’ve said it.

Pep overthink is a real thing, but one I associated more with a period from a few years ago. I’ve seen less of it in recent times, so was relaxed going into this match. And then I saw the line up. Bizarrely, it’s almost as if Real Madrid’s long list of injuries actually went against City, because it persuaded Pep to go for it at the Bernabeu, and perhaps underestimate what Madrid can still offer, especially at home in the Champions League. And it is not hindsight talking, but what a terrible mistake to make. City have two players injured across their entire squad. Madrid have double figure absences. In the end, we may as well have had six of our better players injured too, as Pep decided they were not starting. Because ultimately, you can “go for it” in different ways, and not just by playing loads of attackers.

If Pep had played his “strongest” XI, one that had worked in recent times, one most fans were happy with, and City got thrashed, then I could accept that. That’s sport, for whatever reasons, it did not work out on the night. But to – again – see a maverick line up and then see City heavily beaten is infuriating. A chance to compete for the biggest club trophy has been 90% thrown away.
Our best full-backs, both performing excellently, don’t make the team. It’s a weak argument to point out that Nico O’ Reilly and Khushanov have played at full-back before, because they haven’t done so recently, so yet again Pep has introduced extra, unnecessary risk by suddenly playing them there, for an away match v Real Madrid. Make it make sense. O’Reilly has excelled even more as a midfielder, as was shown by his recent one-week absence when city proceeded to drop points. Khusanov is clearly superior as a centre-back. On paper, Pep’s justifications post-match have some relevancy to them, but games aren’t played on paper. And either way, he got it wrong – what he thought his line up would lead to did not transpire.

Still, as is always the case, a bad result has allowed City’s entire transfer policy over the past few years to be trashed. Viana is a fraud just like Txiki was, none of the players are good enough, and couldn’t lace the boots of past legends. Sigh.
There are plenty of current issues that can cause concern, I would not deny that. It’s almost pointless Erling Haaland being on the pitch at the moment – look at his positioning for all those Doku crosses v Madrid. No one knows what Doku is going to do say some, so how can Haaland, yet at the start of the season Doku said he was working with Haaland on this. Someone should be attacking the goal line, especially after Doku’s first cross flashed across goal. Phil Foden’s drop in form once more requires no clarification. Semenyo is a goal machine, but his control is worrying for a Pep team. He’s not going to get the space he did at Bournemouth, though Pep experimenting with him is hardly helping. Rodri needs help around him, but doesn’t always get it. It’s all a bit of a mess for the squad as a whole, truth be told, though perhaps we should expect that in the short-term. All the while, the likes of Nico G and Rayan Cherki spend a lot of time on the bench despite having performed excellently when called on. How can Cherki not be given a start against an injury-ravaged Real Madrid? On top of that, what sort of squad is being built? Is it for Pep, is football changing and thus the City team is too, stylistically? So many questions, so few answers. Guess we’ll have to be patient and find out. There was always going to be suffering during the transition, but this week’s was avoidable and inexcusable. No wonder the players sat in stunned silence after the match.

When City won the Champions League in 2023, they drew five away games along the way. Pep was always confident in taking a draw in away legs, knowing City could, and would, finish the job off at home. If only he had taken this approach on Wednesday. And the worrying trend this season is Pep being outwitted by bang average (often caretaker) managers, employing fairly simple tactics. Let’s consider some of them – starting with the Leverkusen debacle, when a home win would have given City one foot in the knock-out stages. Thankfully some damage was repaired soon after in Madrid, but ultimately City scraped into the knock out stages and got the draw they deserved, again. Arsenal’s much kinder path was earned by winning the league stage. Then there was the abject surrender at Old Trafford, and the numerous 2nd half surrenders of recent months. Which brings us nicely to Wednesday evening.

I know I am venting too much perhaps due to my massive disappointment the day after a sobering night, but tell me how many other big managers make changes like this? They don’t generally, they trust their tried and tested methods and line ups. They play the players in their best positions, where they are most comfortable. This breeds connections and relationships between the players on-pitch. I am sure I have forgotten some left-field thinking from Pep that has worked wonderfully (7-0 v Liepzig for example), and a million times City’s greatest manager has made smaller tweaks that have destroyed the opposition’s plans. I feel stupid even criticising him to be honest, but he makes mistakes like any other. My muscle memory, fading as it is with old age, feels that when he makes huge changes against huge opposition, it generally fails. And yet here we are again. He may have said the changes were not that big, but they were, with the context already provided.

Hey, it’s just a game, life moves on, I had little confidence in us winning the tournament anyway – were we really going to prevail v Bayern Munich in the next round? Unlikely. But Pep is not averse to criticism, and it’s a fact to me that this week he blew City’s Champions League chances. The worry now is how much that knocks the confidence of the players. There’s a game that needs to be won this weekend. And on Tuesday. And next weekend….

A Little Bit More City

It’s rare you see a goal change the momentum in a match just as much as Savinho’s did v Newcastle at the weekend. City had already edged their way back into the match, with Reijnders already well on his way to amassing an array of misses, but an equaliser did not seem imminent. But once the statuesque Savinho allowed nature take its course, City could, and perhaps should, have had a couple more goals before the break, before dominating the 2nd half. A real contrast, a BC/AD moment. Before crap, after dominant.
Sorry for that. I’ll get my coat.

Annoyed, Sale

It’s rare that the actions of a non-City manager get me annoyed, when it has nothing to do with City. But as happens every season, Marco Silva has committed what I consider a cardinal sin – he rested players, and surprise surprise, Fulham’s chances of a trophy are gone for another season.

Fulham will finish the Premier League season 10th -13th in the league. You know it, I know it, Silva knows it, the oft-quoted Amazonian tribes cut off from all civilization know it. And yet here he is, making 9 changes for a weekend FA Cup match. Yes, they are at home to a Championship side, and the side put out was good enough to progress. But why take the risk? Southampton came into the game in fine fettle, and we have seen from City and a thousand other examples that wholesale changes are problematic, whatever the level of the replacements. Fulham have failed to reach the quarter-finals of either domestic cup competition since the 2009/10 season. Essentially, they never win anything. They had been handed a kind tie offering an excellent chance of reaching the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup. They can’t be relegated, they are highly unlikely to secure European football, and there is a strong argument that cup runs solidify league form rather than hamper it anyway.

Many will point out such decisions are financial. Every league position is worth a few million pounds. European football is still possible for Fulham, though financially the Conference League and even the Europa League will not fill the coffers. Either way, the manager should not be making financial decisions with a team selection, and I can’t believe that’s why he did it. He did it, as many before him have, because he considers the league position more important. It’s insane, when a trophy would make him a club legend forever. If I was a Fulham fan, I would be incensed at what Silva did at the weekend, especially considering how much I would have paid for the ticket. So incensed he could walk for all I care.

Spursy

I am cursed. Every time Spurs are Spursy, I am in a meeting. Perhaps I should book one for the next time City play them. For the Crystal Palace match, I got home at half-time, to witness a goalless second half. Against Atletico Madid I got home 20 minutes into the second half. I never envisaged staying up late to rewatch a Spurs match, but it was worth it. I think the conclusion is obvious here. If Spurs do stay up (sadly, they will), I will ensure I am in a meeting the next time we play each other.

Here We Go

We got the regular reminder this week that club owners do not really care about the fans, but only their spreadsheets. A number of owners have clearly decided that the coast is clear, that it is now acceptable to put up season ticket prices once more, with the usual PR bulls**t about the necessity of rises to remain competitive. The caveat is that rises are not just about what the club makes next season, which is minimal in the scheme of things, but the fact that they make that amount every season for the rest of time. Newcastle and Manchester United are putting up season ticket prices, and none of us will be surprised if City do the same. This is yet another reminder of the importance of fan groups fighting our corner, and they will continue to do so. WeAre1894 are now part of City Matters, and I am doubtful of what impact they can have because of the club’s past history, but good luck to them! The importance of fans protesting and standing up for themselves relentlessly is key because when they stop for one moment, your club will sniff an opportunity to take advantage.

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words

The Mag portrays itself as the independent voice of Newcastle United. A website with news, views and the like. A recent release did catch my eye though.

The headline is pitiful, but the picture is more telling. I wonder what made them choose THAT picture? I’m sure you can make your own conclusions.

And Finally…

Another classic from Miguel Delaney. Read this and see if you can spot any flaws in the argument.

Just the small matter of Rodri and Semenyo not starting v Newcastle. Maybe he was referring to the 13 minutes Semenyo got off the bench. Still, he did reply to a tweet pointing this out, blaming it on little sleep, a deleted phrase, and two sentences being merged. Not sure how that would have corrected the paragraph, seeing City set did not set up the same way in both matches anyway, but what do I know?

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

Double busy, as always.

THE 93:20 REVIEW:- PEDIGREE

Lloyd is joined by Ahsan to review the game against Newcastle and answer some of your questions!

THE KNOCK OUTS:- EPISODE 1

Ahsan is joined by Lloyd in our new Champions League show. The Knock Outs will be out every week during the knock out phase of the tournament to discuss all the ties plus preview City’s tie.
Ahsan and Lloyd dive into Newcastle/Barca, PSG/Chelsea and all the others, before previewing City’s trip to Madrid.

THE 93:20 REVIEW:- SQUARE PEGS

Ahsan is joined by Mulv from the Noisy Neighbors podcast to discuss their current favourite new albums and what other projects they’re working on before unfortunately having to discuss that game.

REFFING HELL

Howard catches up with Chris and asks about the current state of refereeing, if it's all VAR's fault, solutions, the future and more.

THE WEEKEND SHOW:- PEPPED IT

Howard and Lloyd discuss the good and the very, very bad of the past week, and a must-win game this weekend.

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!