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Exclusive: City bid to gatecrash world elite using United blueprint

Champions seek partner clubs in China, US and Mexico as they mount drive to become global brand

By Bitter, jealous, shitbag cunt, Ian Fucking Herbert.



Manchester City are exploring the establishment of partner clubs on three continents as part of the commercial revolution needed to smash into football's world elite.

The Independent understands that the champions have been investigating partnering with clubs in China, Mexico, the United States and elsewhere in Asia, as a way of developing the City brand. The partnerships would replicate a strategy Manchester United employed but later dropped, 15 years ago, and reveal how City are attempting to follow the Old Trafford club's commercial development, which has seen them rise to become one of the two biggest brands in world football, alongside Real Madrid.

City need a vast increase in revenues to compete because Financial Fair Play rules are about to curtail their ability to run up major losses. But the potential to increase their revenues in the UK is limited by the fact that their fanbase, still dwarfed by United, Arsenal and Liverpool, does not make it feasible to expand their stadium to increase matchday revenues LYING CUNT – despite the club having the space to do so.

City rejected suggestions by the Bloomberg agency, in December, that they may be looking at buying a Major League Soccer franchise to boost their following in the US – where City are planning a one-week post-season tour in May to build awareness. But chief executive Ferran Soriano declared in the club's annual report in December that "new, creative ideas and business models" would be required to undertake an "historic transformation" of the club and there is a feeling that North America may be the location for the most ambitious City partnership.

Commercial partnerships can take a number of forms, including the Udinese model operated by the Italian club's owner Giampaolo Pozzo and his family. The Pozzos also own Watford and Granada and have made millions by recruiting players from a multitude of countries and selling the best of them, such as Alexis Sanchez to Barcelona, for a huge profit.

Soriano, who was hired on the back of his track record in helping make Barcelona a world power between 2005 and 2008, appointed former Derby chief executive Tom Glick as chief commercial and operating officer to drive up City's commercial revenues and the club are hiring heavily as they seek to amass expertise to exploit the club's brand.

The overhaul has included the introduction of a system whereby City's non-playing staff are technically employed – and paid – by a different company to the playing staff, a legal device that is common in football. Analysts estimate that removes only £5m-£7m from the core City wage bill, which was a combined £178m last year. But with the club seeking to drive down their losses, which were £97.8m in the year to May 2012, and Uefa's FFP regime allowing only €45m (£39m) losses across three years to 2013, this is considered a prudent move. United have eight companies for accounting purposes.

The expertise City are seeking to amass includes financial fair play specialists. Alex Byars and Martyn Hawkins have joined from the Deloitte sports business which helped Uefa set up the FFP legislation. Both men, who were seconded by Deloitte to Uefa for 18 months, have a detailed understanding of the system.


(Titter).

But it is with global commerce that the big money lies. City are not currently selling out the Etihad and even though the 13 per cent rise in matchday hospitality during their historic title-winning campaign lifted revenues by £1.3m, the club need the kind of footprint which has enabled United's chief executive in waiting, Ed Woodward, and marketing director Richard Arnold, to drive major deals.

Whether partnerships are a lucrative way ahead remains to be seen. Tottenham Hotspur were one of the first clubs to try it, through Enic, an investment company registered in the Bahamas, which had stakes in Spurs, Vicenza, Basel, AEK Athens, Rangers and Slavia Prague from the late 1990s. Sources have told The Independent that Spurs found multiple ownership to be a distraction from their focus. The club eventually dropped the strategy.

United embarked on something similar in 1998, though their alliances were with outfits they saw as feeder clubs, including Royal Antwerp of Belgium, IFK Gothenburg of Sweden and FC Fortune of South Africa. Further deals were formalised with Shelbourne in the Republic of Ireland and Brommapojkarna, another Swedish club – though it is the Belgian club with whom United have retained contact.

City have not been prepared to discuss the form any partnerships will take. Soriano said in December: "Having returned to the summit of English football, the club has earned the chance to compete for a place as one of the biggest and most successful clubs globally in the years ahead."

title reminds me of an old joke...

why are there so many chinese people in north london?

first thing they say when they get into a cab at heathrow is "harrow!"


i'll get my coat

Also the lie about us not selling out.

haven't 95% (at least) of league games and the last 2 home FA Cup ties sold out?

Nigels Tackle wrote:title reminds me of an old joke...

why are there so many chinese people in north london?

first thing they say when they get into a cab at heathrow is "harrow!"


i'll get my coat

Do you know how often the Chinese have elections?

- Once evly molning!

Fuck off you cock!

He'll have a shock when a ground expansion is announced wont he?

mr_nool wrote:
Do you know how often the Chinese have elections?

- Once evly molning!

The Chinese family next door are pretty religious. The first thing the kids do when they get home from school is ask their mum if they can go outside and pray.

Don't laugh at that joke. Laugh at the ignorance of the small-minded people who tell such jokes.

Fucking hell. Bitter....

Alioune DVToure wrote:

mr_nool wrote:
Do you know how often the Chinese have elections?

- Once evly molning!

The Chinese family next door are pretty religious. The first thing the kids do when they get home from school is ask their mum if they can go outside and pray.

Don't laugh at that joke. Laugh at the ignorance of the small-minded people who tell such jokes.

Rollocks.

carl_feedthegoat wrote:
Rollocks.

Just covelling my back.

I'm sure I read on Bluemoan that they were going to fit more seats in this summer.

Hoorayforpeepee wrote:I'm sure I read on Bluemoan that they were going to fit more seats in this summer.

You're thinking of what they do at the swamp. We won't 'fit more seats in' making the ground look like a giant fucking lego set. We'll extend it and keep it looking immaculate.

Bad joke in title & pathetic, bitter, wanker writing the piece aside, there is actually some pretty serious & potentially enormous stuff in that article, which brings up all manner of possibilities.

Some Arsenal fans are shitting themselves over this, as they really genuinely thought FFP had us fucked & their club had been working on a cunning long term plan to see them come out on top, as opposed to just asset stripping..

Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaahahahahaahahahahahahaaaaaaghhh....hahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaa!

You ave to larf.

Ted Hughes wrote:Bad joke in title & pathetic, bitter, wanker writing the piece aside, there is actually some pretty serious & potentially enormous stuff in that article, which brings up all manner of possibilities.

Some Arsenal fans are shitting themselves over this, as they really genuinely thought FFP had us fucked & their club had been working on a cunning long term plan to see them come out on top, as opposed to just asset stripping..

Once you got past the shit, it was quite illuminating Ted. I don't think it's just Arsenal fans who should be worried by City's present rise and future ambitions.
Though I hate to say it, even with the Glazers skimming the rag's profits and loading them with debt, they seem to have a plan to remain extremely financially viable and not be hampered as many (including me) thought.
The rise of Spurs alongside us is a bigger problem for Arsenal as it may force Arsenal out of the top four and into a similar position as Liverpool. It seems the Arsenal experiment under Gadzidis/Wenger has/is failing. Spur's rise could cause them big problems.
The biggest victims seem to be the Fenway group at Anfield. They bought the Scousers on the understanding that the FFP was being introduced domestically, which shows that the planning to keep City down and out has been going on a long time. If City are successful and Spurs continue to rise under Levy, the Scousers are pretty much fucked.

Ironically if the old English elite of Arsenal and Scouse fail to get back to or remain in the top four, their biggest problem for recovery will be the very rules they set up by their greed working now AGAINST them.

Now you can really laugh Ted.

john68 wrote:

Ted Hughes wrote:Bad joke in title & pathetic, bitter, wanker writing the piece aside, there is actually some pretty serious & potentially enormous stuff in that article, which brings up all manner of possibilities.

Some Arsenal fans are shitting themselves over this, as they really genuinely thought FFP had us fucked & their club had been working on a cunning long term plan to see them come out on top, as opposed to just asset stripping..

Once you got past the shit, it was quite illuminating Ted. I don't think it's just Arsenal fans who should be worried by City's present rise and future ambitions.
Though I hate to say it, even with the Glazers skimming the rag's profits and loading them with debt, they seem to have a plan to remain extremely financially viable and not be hampered as many (including me) thought.
The rise of Spurs alongside us is a bigger problem for Arsenal as it may force Arsenal out of the top four and into a similar position as Liverpool. It seems the Arsenal experiment under Gadzidis/Wenger has/is failing. Spur's rise could cause them big problems.
The biggest victims seem to be the Fenway group at Anfield. They bought the Scousers on the understanding that the FFP was being introduced domestically, which shows that the planning to keep City down and out has been going on a long time. If City are successful and Spurs continue to rise under Levy, the Scousers are pretty much fucked.

Ironically if the old English elite of Arsenal and Scouse fail to get back to or remain in the top four, their biggest problem for recovery will be the very rules they set up by their greed working now AGAINST them.

Now you can really laugh Ted.

This has saved the Glazers because if City had spent unlimited amounts for the next five years (for the very top players it would have dwarfed our previous spending) the Glazers couldn't compete & pay off the debt at the same time, & not competing is not an option as Utd would have no support ouside UK, Ireland & Norway within about 3 years if they stopped winning titles.

Long term, it means Utd can compete so long as we don't vastly outperform them financially & then start spending accordingly. If/when we do that, they will have to change the rules again so that all clubs are limited in the amount they can spend irrespective of income or profit.

And they will if it happens.

I expect some kind of regulation on academies to be introduced next when they realise we are light years ahead on that score as well.

Twatish author aside, I loved the bit about us hiring the two guys who had basically set the whole FFP thing up.
(how can he get away with the claim that we're not selling out our home games though?)

Dameerto wrote:Twatish author aside, I loved the bit about us hiring the two guys who had basically set the whole FFP thing up.
(how can he get away with the claim that we're not selling out our home games though?)

Or why has he chosen to say it in the first place when 30 secs research could have told him the truth ?


I think we know the answer to that.

It's going to be very interesting to see how the politics of this pan out over the next few years.
Both of the FFPRs were designed to protect the trough. and even if the likes of City, PSG, Malaga and the Russians get through the gate before it slams shut, it will probably mean the likes of former big clubs like Ajax and certainly most of the east European former giants will suffer badly.
Maybe the old elite will have to accept a slightly smaller percentage of the share out, but I don't think the war is run yet. The apparent political partnership of the rags and Arsenal (and Scousers), the movements of Gill and Gadzidis into more prominent and politically powerful positions within the FA, UeFA, the ECA and their representation on finance and policy committees within FIFA, give me the feeling they may be arming up for the next battle. I would not trust these...you get the picture.

Liverpool may benefit somewhat from the Prem FFPRs but for them it could be a long road back, if ever.

Arsenal are teetering, still viable but their policy of happily not spending big whilst sitting securely(?) in the top four and reaping the profits could be at an end. It will be very interesting to see how they respond as the pressure mounts. We are financially almost alongside them and should leave behind over the next couple of years. Amusingly, it could be the rise of Spurs that sees them topple. Not sure how they would deal with that.

John 68, I think the only way to put an end to what will be an on-going, protectionist reaction from the big clubs will be to go down the legal route. But nobody seems to want to do this, despite the obvious illegality of the restraint of trade that the new rules involve (and given football does not have special dispensation with regard to trade in the eyes of European law).