THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 91

Author

Howard Hockin
March 27, 2026

Hello, and welcome to Issue 91 of the 93:20 Newsletter, that is still in a good mood five days after schooling Arsenal, the team that can cure all insomnia. Felt good that, didn’t it?

Don’t worry though, I’ve still got plenty to moan about, but at least it will be done with a spring in my step. Thank you Rodri for stepping forward and providing the required ammunition.

Remember, you can help me sustain this newsletter by making a donation, if that’s agreeable to you. And if it is not, read on – but every donation, however small, helps me keep going.

Normally I wake up every morning to doom scroll on Twitter, in order to see what Trump has done this time around. But on Thursday, my WhatsApp messages alerted me to a different topic this time around, with Rodri having said some things I was not going to like. Nothing beats a heavy sigh to start a day.

I’m trying to ne more concise in these newsletters, so I’ll cut to the chase. I have zero problem if Rodri wishes to move on to another club. He has given us everything, and I don’t feel a contract should be a prison sentence. If he feels he wishes to end his career back in Spain, I would fully understand that, especially if he feels his body would cope better and his Vitamin D levels are at dangerously low levels. I also understand fans who because of what he has given to the club, do not begrudge anything he does or says.

However.

Shut up.

Just because he has been a brilliant player, does not mean, in my opinion, that therefore he is above criticism, in the same way Pep is not. If he wants to leave, then fine. Sort it behind the scenes, because City tend not to stand in the way of any player who wants to leave, especially the legends.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not angry at him saying a few words in front of a camera, just a tad disappointed. We as fans invested in his return, waited and waited to see him back on the pitch, and I for one “atheist prayed” that he would get back to his best, signs of which we are now seeing, at which precise point he launches a full on PR campaign for Real Madrid, who knocked us out of the Champions League last week and who most blues have grown to despise. Nice one. Yeah, us fans are overly needy, but read the room, mate. They utterly disrespected you, and now you are twerking for them. The disrespect Real Madrid showed Rodri around the Ballon D'or was astonishing, yet here we are witnessing football's version of the Trump/Starmer relationship, and here he is bending over backwards for a club that no doubt want him anyway.

But then, what are his options? He is of a level where trophies are a near-must at his next club - and perhaps he feels Atletico Madrid don't quite promise that. Which leaves two clubs, and perhaps Barcelona have no interest. So needs must - abandon principles, and tickle some tummies.

But, can you imagine Kevin De Bruyne or Ilkay Gundogan speaking this way? No, of course not. This sort of thing can affect legacies, but they are subjective, and ultimately not that important. Because ultimately, it doesn't really matter. The football matters more than the words, but it doesn't prevent me from being very disappointed with him. This week he’s not the Messiah – just a very naughty boy.

As for motivation – well I see little point for these words unless he wished to leave this summer. If not, he did not have to say anything, and could have let his contract run down. Real Madrid will of course expect City to bend over and send him their way for peanuts, and whilst Ahsan said on our Here We Go media show this week that he didn’t care about any potential fee, I disagree. If Rodri wants to go to Real Madrid, then the club should facilitate that – on terms that suit Manchester City, and Manchester City alone. If he and Bernardo both go, the midfield rebuild will cost a fortune, and so any Rodri money matters. If Madrid won’t pay up, he can stay here for an extra year. Or sign a new contract, though I am doubtful this was his motivation when he spoke to the media.

 Ah well, all words like this are calculated to the nth degree, spoken for a purpose, and a man who avoids social media can hardly be expected to consider how those words may be portrayed by fans. Most footballers live in their own bubble, and I have often found Rodri’s occasional media proclamations imperfect, displaying a level of arrogance, one that he has earned to be fair, and I’m happy to let any anti-Arsenal comments slide too. Twerking for THEM leaves a nasty taste though, and seemed pointless unless City had rejected an attempt to leave. He needs better advisers.

P.S. Feel free Rodri to check Bernardo Silva’s words this week on City - THAT is how you do it. #legend

Never mind, as what a fun week it's been, having been a while since I've had so much enjoyment hoovering up the fallout from a football match. City's standards have been set so high that it feels like a lifetime since a trophy win has been celebrated. It will never be anything but joyous. Beating Arsenal made it all the more special. A large proportion of their fanbase revel in their perceived superiority, even when they win nothing, which is most of the time. The arrogance filled the Wembley air. I've no doubt some of their fans saw the quadruple as almost inevitable, because it was fueled by a media narrative that victory for Arsenal last weekend was almost inevitable, and the match was a mismatch. Sunday will have been especially sobering for them, and sections of said media too, though at least many of their watch along brigade could fall back on City being cheats, and besides, they weren't arsed about the trophy anyway - bigger fish to fry, after all. The match proved one thing – Arsenal may go on to win big pots this season, but thy are not a better football team than Manchester City – and don’t let recent results convince you otherwise.

A caveat however when discussing fandom – there was precious little trouble at the final, bores in front of a camera never represent a fanbase, and most Arsenal fans you actually speak to away from the toxic world of online discourse are a completely different kettle of fish, as is generally the case with any fanbase. As always, it’s easy, as I have proved above, to be swayed by seeing what is only a snapshot of the wider picture.

For City, it's just a shame that the game preceded an international break. Momentum would have been helped by another match, but at least the lack of football has allowed blues to bask in the glory of another trophy win for even longer. 

I found the “in hindsight” arguments over Kepa playing for Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final both tiresome and flawed. Sorry if that offends. We’ve been having these arguments for many years at all – City fans have certainly debated the merits of us not switching to our No. 1 keeper for cup finals, though the “deputy” has never let us down. I was not aware of any uproar at the prospect of Arteta persisting with his cup keeper for a cup game prior to the game, but once he made a mistake, suddenly everyone was wise after the event. Jamie Carragher was one of the many pundits up in arms, claiming that Arteta owed Kepa nothing.
But that’s just not true, is it?

It’s easy to sit in a studio or a bedroom, devoid of having human relations with the players in question, and proclaim with upmost authority what the manager should do, as if this is a glorified computer game. But how else do you think clubs attract such good deputy goalkeepers? Because they must of course assure them that they will play football. And for the top clubs, these deputies have to be good enough to potentially play all season, as who knows what injury could strike at any time? But yeah – Arteta owes Kepa nothing, for the keeper that had helped get Chelsea to the final in the 1st place, playing in all the previous games. And that’s apart from the fact he almost certainly promised that he would play throughout both cup campaigns, a situation mirrored by virtually every other club.

There were even serious suggestions from our non-serious press pack that Arteta’s decision was a sackable offence. As Football365 pointed out, we must also assume therefore that they think Alex Ferguson should have been sacked when he played Ben Foster ahead of Edwin van der Sar in the League Cup final of 2009. Should Jose Mourinho have been sacked when he played Sergio Romero ahead of David De Gea in the Europa League final of 2017? Should Arsene Wenger have been sacked when he played David Ospina ahead of Petr Cech in the 2017 FA Cup final?

The only caveat is that Kepa is rather cursed it seems in this competition. His refusal to leave the pitch for the superior penalty-saver Willy Caballero (name rings a bell) probably won us the trophy, and he even managed to miss a penalty in another final. Probably best he sits out future competition finals, who knows what he will do next time? Fall down the Wembley steps, probably.

The Curious Case of Carlos Baleba

As we all know, moving to United is usually career suicide for most players, though they continue to do it, like lemmings off a cliff, perhaps due to the pot of gold on the beach below. Carlos Baleba however is a curious case, whose career seems to have stalled simply by being linked to United, and seeing a move fall through. United’s reach is truly unmatched.

AND FINALY…..

Football’s boring! Cherki is a disgrace!

Well done to Rayan Cherki for giving Arsenal fans something else to be angry about. The above two statements show the dichotomy of football discourse. What do people want from the sport? It was even more delightful to see Alan Pardew get so upset over the showboating on Talksport, proof that you know you’re doing something right if that is the result. Pardew had no evidence for why it was wrong, just some spirit-of-the-game-understanding that he had fabricated in his head.

My main worry that the inevitable reducer that then followed from Tango Man Ben White would injure him. Additionally, as a very nervous watcher at the best of times, desperately trying not to look at the clock after City went two up, I was worried that if Arsenal were to come back, that would be “memed” into infinity. Save it for the 89th minute, preferably. Actually, that’s too early too.

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

Our shows this week so far (link below):

THE REVIEW:- LIFE OF REILLY

Howard, Lloyd and Bailey look back on the brilliant trophy-winning victory over Arsenal. O'Reilly, Cherki, Pep, showboating and more. We've got it all covered.

THE CATCH UP:- EPISODE 5

Howard and Ste caught up with George Edwards, Grant Young and Jeremy Smith to talk about Nottingham Forest, a good week and their previous struggles, plus two unlikely title charges for Hearts and Lens.

HERE WE GO:- EPISODE 5

Howard and Ahsan talk Rodri and the media, cup final narratives, covering Slot and more.

THE WEEKEND SHOW

Another packed show despite the international break, taking a wider look at the week that was, the future, and more.

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!