How to pass yourself off as a city fan

[Avalon]

Pitiful...

[Mark Garrett]

Embarassing article and one that needs to be removed off the site asap.

By all means do articles about our history and traditions but that is just cringeworthy and absolute garbage.

[Avalon]

It is indeed. It is the kind of thing a fan should tell another person if they would ask specific questions about the anthem, players, or whatever.

[Chinners]

You do realise it's a piss take/joke out of United fans don't you?

[dazby]

Fuck sake lads. Make a mountain out of a molehill.

[Surrey Sky Blue]

I watched the Tunnel video and loved it on the OS and then read that tripe!!

[steveo_88]

That's one of the most embarrassing articles I've ever seen about city and worst of all we've done it to ourselves! Whoever authorised that drivel needs a smack in the face.

You don't need a guide to be a blue, your city or your not.

[Arjan Van Schotte]

although not the funniest thing in the world..... if you don't get the concept, you're thick. fact.

[Chinners]

What Arjan said ... seriously, I'm getting worried about some of our fans of late ....

[belleebee]

What Arjan said ... seriously, I'm getting worried about some of our fans of late ....

I'm glad that there are others putting the same interpretation on this as me - a bit of a joke aimed at non-City fans (and possibly gravy-trainers).

[bluenoon]

Who would have thought a bluffer's guide would cause such a reaction on twitter? Clearly not I and I'm the man who asked for it to be written.

I have an admission to make. I've been working one the websites at MCFC for a few months and I can't help myself, I now care about the Club. I didn't think I'd cave in, but working with the @mcfcgeeks team has been great and some of their passion has rubbed off on me. I don't know much of the history, and I want to know more. More importantly, I thought there would be other people out there who might want to know more too so I asked one of our excellent journalist team - a man who has been a City fan since birth and is a diehard Blue - to write me a guide. And so the bluffer's guide was made. The tone was intentionally light-hearted, a bit tongue-in-cheek, open and welcoming. It was relying on the Mancunian sense-of-humour …but clearly some people didn't take it that way.

"Cringeworthy" seems to be the main complaint on twitter and I apologise to the hardcore fans for the misunderstanding.

I'd have thought it pretty obvious, but this wasn't an article meant for you and it wasn't meant to be patronising. We've been getting more people coming to our website - showing an interest in the Club's community and atmosphere as well as players and the performance on pitch - and these are the people we were trying to help. Brits like me or people from overseas who weren't brought up on football or who don't know the full story.

Twitter can be a really powerful medium - but it can also make it really easy for people to jump on a bandwagon. There's nothing easier than clicking RT and it doesn't always convey a depth of thought. However, it's clear from the reaction that there are some loyal supporters who feel very passionately and we try hard on the site, on twitter and facebook to listen to the fans. Of course, as a club that's gaining wider international exposure we will get interest from people who haven't been fans before. We will need to find a way to welcome them into the City way of life - and maybe the reaction to this story suggests we need to have a conversation with the lifelong fans about the best way to do that.

I suppose the word 'Bluffer's' might be the problem. We could have called it 'a briefing' perhaps, but I think most people would agree that it's short-hand for giving a quick explanation of the topic. It was hardly a genuine attempt to help people pretend to be fans - more an explainer to help those who might wonder what on earth the Poznan was if they see it on global coverage of the FA Cup.

What amazes me about some of the online comments is how quickly reaction can change. Yesterday, about an hour before the bluffer's guide went live, we put up Tunnel Cam. Exclusive footage from inside the tunnel at the match against Spurs. Reaction online was great and it's not the only example of our efforts to be more open and accessible to our community of fans. I don't know of any other football club, or even sports club for that matter, who give the level of frank, honest, straight-talking behind-the-scenes content that we do. What's more, that interaction with the community is a reflection of the work the Club does in and around Manchester - more players have spent more time with supporters' clubs and visiting hospitals or kids clubs over the last couple of years than ever before.

In real life, I've found the fans and the Club's atmosphere to be open hearted, welcoming and willing to indoctrinate me into a great culture and the rituals of City life. It seems, in the online world, we face the challenge of how to share the culture in a way that welcomes people who want to get to know the Club better.

[Rae4685]

Who would have thought a bluffer's guide would cause such a reaction on twitter? Clearly not I and I'm the man who asked for it to be written.

I have an admission to make. I've been working one the websites at MCFC for a few months and I can't help myself, I now care about the Club. I didn't think I'd cave in, but working with the @mcfcgeeks team has been great and some of their passion has rubbed off on me. I don't know much of the history, and I want to know more. More importantly, I thought there would be other people out there who might want to know more too so I asked one of our excellent journalist team - a man who has been a City fan since birth and is a diehard Blue - to write me a guide. And so the bluffer's guide was made. The tone was intentionally light-hearted, a bit tongue-in-cheek, open and welcoming. It was relying on the Mancunian sense-of-humour …but clearly some people didn't take it that way.

"Cringeworthy" seems to be the main complaint on twitter and I apologise to the hardcore fans for the misunderstanding.

I'd have thought it pretty obvious, but this wasn't an article meant for you and it wasn't meant to be patronising. We've been getting more people coming to our website - showing an interest in the Club's community and atmosphere as well as players and the performance on pitch - and these are the people we were trying to help. Brits like me or people from overseas who weren't brought up on football or who don't know the full story.

Twitter can be a really powerful medium - but it can also make it really easy for people to jump on a bandwagon. There's nothing easier than clicking RT and it doesn't always convey a depth of thought. However, it's clear from the reaction that there are some loyal supporters who feel very passionately and we try hard on the site, on twitter and facebook to listen to the fans. Of course, as a club that's gaining wider international exposure we will get interest from people who haven't been fans before. We will need to find a way to welcome them into the City way of life - and maybe the reaction to this story suggests we need to have a conversation with the lifelong fans about the best way to do that.

I suppose the word 'Bluffer's' might be the problem. We could have called it 'a briefing' perhaps, but I think most people would agree that it's short-hand for giving a quick explanation of the topic. It was hardly a genuine attempt to help people pretend to be fans - more an explainer to help those who might wonder what on earth the Poznan was if they see it on global coverage of the FA Cup.

What amazes me about some of the online comments is how quickly reaction can change. Yesterday, about an hour before the bluffer's guide went live, we put up Tunnel Cam. Exclusive footage from inside the tunnel at the match against Spurs. Reaction online was great and it's not the only example of our efforts to be more open and accessible to our community of fans. I don't know of any other football club, or even sports club for that matter, who give the level of frank, honest, straight-talking behind-the-scenes content that we do. What's more, that interaction with the community is a reflection of the work the Club does in and around Manchester - more players have spent more time with supporters' clubs and visiting hospitals or kids clubs over the last couple of years than ever before.

In real life, I've found the fans and the Club's atmosphere to be open hearted, welcoming and willing to indoctrinate me into a great culture and the rituals of City life. It seems, in the online world, we face the challenge of how to share the culture in a way that welcomes people who want to get to know the Club better.

Fair play to him for making the effort to explain himself

[Blue Since 76]

wouldn't mind us taking the mick out of ourselves, but that totally misses the target. Football websites and blogs are already using it to laugh at us. When they have a go, who cares, but don't give them the ammo, ffs.

[the_georgian_genius]

Football and City just died a little for me reading that article. Is this is what it has come to? Ridiculous articles like that? It's times like this where i ask myself can i really see me being involved in 10 years time? At this moment i can't, i just want to see us win a cup, a league and the european cup and then i will leave this circus to those who learnt about us by reading that buffer guide.

[ashton287]

Football and City just died a little for me reading that article. Is this is what it has come to? Ridiculous articles like that? It's times like this where i ask myself can i really see me being involved in 10 years time? At this moment i can't, i just want to see us win a cup, a league and the european cup and then i will leave this circus to those who learnt about us by reading that buffer guide.

Don't worry because in ten years time after abit of success most of the real fans will probably be priced out of CoMS and it will be a place for the plebs who that article was intended to help and there gay hair anyway.

Rugby will still be cheap though.

The future will be a sad sad place.

[Arjan Van Schotte]

now, either we have a glitch in the site, or the last few posts have been removed by someone?

[mr_nool]

I thought it was very informative. I will do my best to blend in our Saturday.
Too bad that they didn't have a crash course in speaking Manc, though. Then nuffink would of gave me away.

[Arjan Van Schotte]

I thought it was very informative. I will do my best to blend in our Saturday.
Too bad that they didn't have a crash course in speaking Manc, though. Then nuffink would of gave me away.

nuffink? cockney cunt. it's nowt.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Can we all pretend this never happened?

[Rae4685]

Can we all pretend this never happened?

What's that then?