THE 93:20 NEWSLETTER:- ISSUE 95

Author

Howard Hockin
April 24, 2026

Hello, and welcome to Issue 95 of the 93:20 Newsletter, the newsletter that is top of the league, for a few days. Anyone know the way to Wembley?

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.

And a reminder to download the 93:20 app if you have not already done so.

On with the football chat.

Just in time for this newsletter (news usually breaks fifteen seconds after I press the submit button), City have announced a freeze on season ticket prices for next season – I will admit to being very surprised at this news. And great news it is, and proof that protesting works – there was of course zero prospect of this happening if the club had not been lobbied hard by City Matters and others – the club admit as much in their statement. So to reiterate, it is vital fans across the divide(s) stick together on issues like this, and well done to every one at City who pushed the club hard on this. It is appreciated. Still no new, normal season tickets on the horizon though, and the work with the club will never end, but this is a good start. For perhaps the first time, club communications seem to have acknowledged that football does not exist in a bubble, and the context of the wider world and experiences of its fanbase are important.
For more details, do check out my chat with Nick Clarke from the Supporters Trust as part of this week’s Weekend Show.

I know few readers want more tiresome discourse about how rival fans don’t care about little old City, which of course ramps up with every victory. But something new struck me with a journalist I like, Sid Lowe, wading into the argument last week. I couldn’t really summon the energy to dissect his words (sorry Sid, but enough is enough), but I think it’s rather key to make one point in particular here.

Namely - journalists getting involved in the “no one cares about City” discourse is pointless, irrelevant even, as their position prohibits them from mentioning the elephant in the room, that the overwhelming desire from other fans to support City in a title race is nothing to do with City – it’s the Arsenal fanbase. Now that’s not to say that all Arsenal fans are insufferable cretins, but for many that is the perception because of their online representation. And if perception rather than facts is enough to tarnish City as financial, doping cheats, then perception is also enough to tarnish a fanbase. But no journalist can really say this, that fan preferences are heavily weighted by their experiences with other fans and little more, so we have to endure more tedious long-read tweets about geopolitics, asterisks, financial doping and so on. No rival fan would care about any of this if City hadn’t won multiple trophies.

And as we found out his week, (online) Arsenal fans somehow became even more insufferable in defeat. It's hard to know what the solution to their online presence is, apart from the obvious solution – stay offline. There was an inevitability that every throw-in, micro-movement, physical challenge and more would be forensically analysed by their army of sleuths to portray both a conspiracy and a misjustice. Just ignore the fact that one of their players should have been dismissed for a headbutt, and pretend it never happened.

Anyway, a reminder of the “cut-out and keep” guide I wrote a few years ago to help rival fans deal with City’s success. The full article will be linked at the bottom of this newsletter, but below is the guide to “not caring”, on the off-chance an Arsenal fan has wandered across this Newsletter looking for further evidence of City paying off referees or an unmentioned Haaland shirt-pull.

One additional thought. Can you have a proper rivalry if trophies are not at least partly shared? No. Many dare not admit it, but City v Liverpool, Pep v Klopp, has easily been the greatest rivalry of the Premier League’s last 15 years. And a factor in that is that both sides played football that enthralled, even if stylistically it differed. Can’t really say that about the current title race, can we?  

Chelsea, Chelsea

What a club Chelsea are. I'd rather have the Glazers in charge of my club than BlueCo, and that's not even a joke. Boehly and co. are not serious people, treating Chelsea as a guinea pig for their theories.

I almost feel sorry for Liam Rosenior, and then I hear him speak. But ultimately, it’s not his fault. He’s not up to the job, and perhaps no manager is. This is all on the owners, and their absolute insistence that they know a “better” way to succeed in a sport they know so little about. In the initial stages of the ownership, we were all gaslit about the genius of their methodology. The long contracts bypassed amortization costs, whilst ignoring the elephant in the room, namely being lumbered with unwanted players on high wages should they not succeed, as was inevitable with some considering the number of players passing through. No lessons have been learnt. It will cost up to £24m to get rid of Rosenior, when there was zero reason to sign him up on a six-year contract. 

BlueCo are part of a bigger beast, so liquidity should not be a long-term issue. But their own obscenely optimistic projections for future income are unlikely to be matched by reality, and further sporting sanctions are an inevitability, now that there are no more teams, hotels or car parks to sell to themselves and the loopholes have been closed. I'd say future European football seems unlikely for a while, but they've managed to achieve that outcome on the pitch without any interference from UEFA. They could kick off their next league match in the bottom half of the table.

Operating losses of £689m over the last three years – that equates to £629,000 PER DAY. £1.87 billion on new players, and debt of £1.39 bn taken on to fund this madness. A wage bill at 76% of total revenue, and a £500m loan currently attracting 11.23% interest. Is this not the sort of stuff fit and proper tests and regulators should be looking at?

WHAT WE HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK

THE REVIEW:- MASSIVE

Ahsan and Jordan look back on a huge win in the title race.

THE MARKET:- EPISODE 54

Ahsan and Lloyd dig into another round of transfer rumours. Big focus on right back links, a chat about Bradley Barcola and much more.

THE REVIEW:- TOP OF THE LEAGUE

Ahsan and Howard look back at the hard-fought win at Burnley. What it meant, missed opportunities, the title race and more.

OPPOSITION FAN:- SOUTHAMPTON

Howard caught up with Saints fan Greg to talk about a resurgent team and manager, promotion hopes and much more.

THE WEEKEND SHOW

Ahsan, Ste and Lloyd look back at another huge week, preview another trip to Wembley, Howard caught up with Nick Clarke from the Supporters Trust and a whole lot more!

FROM THE ARCHIVES, AS PROMISED

A CUT OUT AND KEEP GUIDE TO DEMEANING CITY’S ACHIEVEMENTS