Becoming a GLOBAL Brand

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Sheik (bless him) bought us eight years ago. In some ways that seems lifetime a go (it's amazing how fast you become spoiled really). Now this site has it's roots as mouthpiece for expats and international supporters. However seeing Manchester City fan outside of Greater Manchester area at that time was considered curiosity. I remember coming over first time over 20 years ago after supporting the club since I was six and people being very curious and also excited to see supporters elsewhere in the world.

When Sheik took us over it was made clear he was going to make us a global brand. I think lot of us, me included, were so stuck with being in little leagues that we couldn't even fathom being a true global player. I mean sure, when we started spending money we were all thinking that maybe we could some day win the league and even challenge for Champion's League or whatever but I think we all saw that it would happen in excisting surroundings. However over time we have truly built a strong global brand and have targeted parts of the world where there was lot of potential like far and middle east and USA. And now that you look at people commenting or liking anything official club put out on Facebook or Twitter you see thousands and thousands of people around the world.

How does that make you feel? David Conn actually wrote a book about his feelings few years back. ( https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/ ... onn-review ). Do you feel similarily detached or are you just enjoying our success? Have we lost part of what are and stand for or have we taken a new course and reinvented ourselves.

Personally I was struggling with the whole thing early days but after seeing us win things I could have never dreamed of and seeing players like Kompany, Silva and Zabaleta become true City legends same way as the likes of Kinkladze, Goater, Rösler and Quinn I am more than happy of what we have become.

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

On the flip side, I see mainly the same old faces on away trips.
Can your new fans cut it on a wet Tuesday night in Stoke?

[Pretty Boy Lee]

Love the success over everything else and would never trade back.


Hate having to discuss city with some "new fans".

Hate not being able to fly in and get a ticket to any game.

Hate the way the club has become very corporate ala the response to my email about previous point.

All minor gripes for lifting the premier league which for 28 years I never ever thought was possible.

[Im_Spartacus]

I recall at the time of the takeover many with foresight lamented the likelihood of us having to go down the rags' corporate route, attraction of cunts as fans, and the loss of the old club that most on here had been attached to since as young as they could remember.

But has it been so bad?

The reality is whilst the club has become less accessible in the corporate sense, in other ways it's become more accessible than ever through professionalism of communications and masses of free content through the website.

I have to admit I feel no less connection with the club than I did before, but my connection with football in general over that time has decreased considerably due to the crazy shit that's been thrown at us. In many ways I think that the UEFA and Premier League cartel behaviour over that time has actually brought many of us closer to the cause than we ever were.

I'd prefer the current level of professionalism to the shambles of the past all day long - that's just my natural disposition though.

[Hazy2]

On the flip side, I see mainly the same old faces on away trips.
Can your new fans cut it on a wet Tuesday night in Stoke?

What's this Cocoon FC...

[Tokyo Blue]

We were all new fans once.

[Mikhail Chigorin]

I recall at the time of the takeover many with foresight lamented the likelihood of us having to go down the rags' corporate route, attraction of cunts as fans, and the loss of the old club that most on here had been attached to since as young as they could remember.

But has it been so bad?

The reality is whilst the club has become less accessible in the corporate sense, in other ways it's become more accessible than ever through professionalism of communications and masses of free content through the website.

I have to admit I feel no less connection with the club than I did before, but my connection with football in general over that time has decreased considerably due to the crazy shit that's been thrown at us. In many ways I think that the UEFA and Premier League cartel behaviour over that time has actually brought many of us closer to the cause than we ever were.

I'd prefer the current level of professionalism to the shambles of the past all day long - that's just my natural disposition though.

Excellent post Sparty.

I think this captures much of what I feel today, especially paragraph four.

The way we've been treated by UEFA, the PL 'cartel' and their fawning media acolytes has greatly altered my own perceptions about football in general, as well as those of a good many others, I would wager.

Perhaps I'm a naive idealist but, in my heart of hearts, I just feel that City stands for something which is decent and good in a world of footballing corruption, dishonesty and blatant gerrymandering. As long as that is maintained and we try to play the most beautiful attacking football of all time, then I can happily live with all the taunts about tainted oil money, which are perpetually thrown our way.

At the end of the day, I'll never fall out of love with City and that never changes.


PS Terrific thread NQDP, well done to you for posting it.

[Dubciteh]

I kind of liked it better when we were shit(in some ways not all), i also got a lot more respect from football fans when they find out your a city fan esp abroad, in saying that im not going to let anything spoil what we have now so if its a pitfall of success fuck it i will take it and more!

[Grandad Rosler]

On the flip side, I see mainly the same old faces on away trips.
Can your new fans cut it on a wet Tuesday night in Stoke?

Its getting the tickets to be able to cut it that's the issue I reckon. And I'm not one of the new breed

[Grandad Rosler]

I'm definitely loving what we have become. I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would get to see my team lift cups at Wembley, be there for that goal, attract players and managers of the quality we do and have the best youth facilities in the world.

That said I do find myself harking back to the old days, which for me were the Gillingham final, the promotions, the relegations the awe of a diamond in the rough (SWP, Stephen Ireland, Ali Bernarbia etc etc) and just the down right pride that I was one of only 3 city fans in my class.

The love for city will never die, rich or poor we are in for the long run.

[Justified logic]

We usually get this sort of thread before an expected Barca tonking. The internet equivalent of whistling in the dark.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

I'm definitely loving what we have become. I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would get to see my team lift cups at Wembley, be there for that goal, attract players and managers of the quality we do and have the best youth facilities in the world.

That said I do find myself harking back to the old days, which for me were the Gillingham final, the promotions, the relegations the awe of a diamond in the rough (SWP, Stephen Ireland, Ali Bernarbia etc etc) and just the down right pride that I was one of only 3 city fans in my class.

The love for city will never die, rich or poor we are in for the long run.

It's a double edged sword isn't it. I mean as much as I love where we are now and wouldn't change it for anything I do occasionally long for the old days in the sense that we were all on the same boat (mostly paddling down the shit creek).

And I do hate explaining myself. I mean supporting City used to be hallmark of a true football fan and these days you have to go on and on about having been around more than few years. Then again I'm older and don't care much what people think anymore either way.

One thing though, I absolutely love it how my son can find De Bruyne and Aguero posters anywhere and other kids actually knows the players he is talking about. Remember having some Match cut offs at the wall when I was kid and none of my mates knew the players. "That's not Platini is it?", you know.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

We were all new fans once.

Tokyo, mate, you know I didn't mean it like that. I think these people, or at least some of them, will become true supporters over time. However since we barely see any new faces here I was thinking more about what the old guard thinks.

[Original Dub]

I love that we're the fastest growing football club/brand on the planet. It comes with shitbag glory hunters of course but that's par for the course.

We're no longer everyone's 2nd team, but looking back, that's patronising as fuck anyway.

[Wonderwall]

We are growing every day and it's a juggernaut heading to the top of the football world.

I know we were all ew fans at one time. However, the term plastic city fans really grates on me and I really don't like it. I was here, as many others were through the absolute dogshit years. We all deserve a bit of respect from the opposition fans for that IMO. I know it's banter from some, but say it for long enough and inbred thick bastards believe it to be true.

That's it I'm done. Off to the game now to be a plastic glory hunting twat.

[Mikhail Chigorin]

I'm definitely loving what we have become. I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would get to see my team lift cups at Wembley, be there for that goal, attract players and managers of the quality we do and have the best youth facilities in the world.

That said I do find myself harking back to the old days, which for me were the Gillingham final, the promotions, the relegations the awe of a diamond in the rough (SWP, Stephen Ireland, Ali Bernarbia etc etc) and just the down right pride that I was one of only 3 city fans in my class.

The love for city will never die, rich or poor we are in for the long run.

It's a double edged sword isn't it. I mean as much as I love where we are now and wouldn't change it for anything I do occasionally long for the old days in the sense that we were all on the same boat (mostly paddling down the shit creek).

And I do hate explaining myself. I mean supporting City used to be hallmark of a true football fan and these days you have to go on and on about having been around more than few years. Then again I'm older and don't care much what people think anymore either way.

One thing though, I absolutely love it how my son can find De Bruyne and Aguero posters anywhere and other kids actually knows the players he is talking about. Remember having some Match cut offs at the wall when I was kid and none of my mates knew the players. "That's not Platini is it?", you know.

Mind you, NQDP, when you talk about "back in the old days" , I remember our sides of the late 60s/1970s which were extremely fine teams, with some legendary players. We didn't win the silverware that, perhaps, we ought to have done in that period, but we were always a threat to anyone and always good to watch.

The 1980s and 90s, in that respect, were a sort of aberration from the standard reached prior to that and, after the turn of the century, our financial shortcomings mitigated against us making progress, particularly when there were wealthier and bigger spending Clubs around.

Perhaps, at this current time, City are only back where we rightfully belong and where we should have been all along in those desperate, doldrums decades.

[Grandad Rosler]

I'm definitely loving what we have become. I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would get to see my team lift cups at Wembley, be there for that goal, attract players and managers of the quality we do and have the best youth facilities in the world.

That said I do find myself harking back to the old days, which for me were the Gillingham final, the promotions, the relegations the awe of a diamond in the rough (SWP, Stephen Ireland, Ali Bernarbia etc etc) and just the down right pride that I was one of only 3 city fans in my class.

The love for city will never die, rich or poor we are in for the long run.

It's a double edged sword isn't it. I mean as much as I love where we are now and wouldn't change it for anything I do occasionally long for the old days in the sense that we were all on the same boat (mostly paddling down the shit creek).

And I do hate explaining myself. I mean supporting City used to be hallmark of a true football fan and these days you have to go on and on about having been around more than few years. Then again I'm older and don't care much what people think anymore either way.

One thing though, I absolutely love it how my son can find De Bruyne and Aguero posters anywhere and other kids actually knows the players he is talking about. Remember having some Match cut offs at the wall when I was kid and none of my mates knew the players. "That's not Platini is it?", you know.

Don't even get me started with posters. I distinctly remember my Tony Vaughan, Martyn Margetson, Kevin Horlock, Whitley bros et al. I still class Andy Morrison as my favourite player

[mr_nool]

I still love city, but being at the top has made me realise how corrupt and rotten football is. When we were shite I didn't really give a damn about what happened at the top. Frankly I have found myself falling out of love with football lately, and I can see myself giving it up all together if it gets even more commercialised and corrupt.

[gmercer1]

I still love city, but being at the top has made me realise how corrupt and rotten football is. When we were shite I didn't really give a damn about what happened at the top. Frankly I have found myself falling out of love with football lately, and I can see myself giving it up all together if it gets even more commercialised and corrupt.

+1

[Tokyo Blue]

We were all new fans once.

Tokyo, mate, you know I didn't mean it like that. I think these people, or at least some of them, will become true supporters over time. However since we barely see any new faces here I was thinking more about what the old guard thinks.

I know, mate. Not having a go at all, and my sincere apologies if you thought I was. It is just that this kind of thing might have mattered to me a bit back but now it basically doesn't. As long as people get something positive out of City, I am not generally that bothered.

I try to stick to what happens on the pitch, which is quite easy as I can ignore the media here or over there, and not visit the club website (such as it is) unless I have to. Accounting and branding and all that stuff, including Melbourne City and New York City, hold no interest for me whatsoever. I do watch the Women when I can though. That is definitely a positive development. After seeing Ladies international matches in the 90s and the amount of coverage the Japanese women's team get, I have developed a basic interest and let's be honest, the City Women are a very good side to watch.

I must say though that I do NOT miss finishing a night shift and then queueing up for tickets outside the North Stand/Main Stand/Platt Lane, depending on the length of the queue, in the pissing rain. Only to then be offered the same tickets by touts at five times the price. As John said, the professionalism has been a great improvement. The times move on and everything needs to move on with it, so I am trying to do so.

The new website is quite shit though compared to the old one.