An Exiled Manc's View On City

We receive many e-mails and it is great to hear from so many supporters with so many diverse views. The trust will have many members all with differing opinions and it will be they who vote in the aims of the trust and it will be they who vote in the trust board.

We will continue to publish e-mails we receive from time to time, here's one received at the weekend from Greg Donovan:-

"I have been a little puzzled by the Supporters Trust aims and objectives - not the written ones which seem perfectly reasonable - but the implicit ones that appear as a result of many of the postings, many if not most of which are negative towards the club. The air of negativity and the lack of humour are both depressing and I do not feel reflect the MCFC I know and love and have supported since 1965 through the good and the bad. Like many, I am saddened by the 'money god' that has taken over the Premiership but it appears to be a fact of life. That being said, in my conversations with many friends and colleagues who support other clubs, I believe that the City board, for all its failings, is one of the better ones and that seems to be becoming lost in the discussions.

For the Trust to be effective, it needs to try to work with the Board and that means recognising and acknowledging the good points as well as criticising- we have a fantastic ground (if not atmosphere always - and that is not really the Board's fault but ours) and we have some of the lowest ticket prices in the Premiership - but Premiership clubs cannot be run on thin air and players' wages and transfer fees (and hence ticket prices) are not governed by our Board but by all Boards, Agents and players.

Our present Board is paying the price for the strange ('typical City') behaviour of many Chairmen and managers over the years (remember the return of Malcolm Allison?) and while of course I don't agree with everything they have done or will do, Wardle has put money into the Club and I believe cares passionately about the club. I for one will be renewing my season ticket - again at the frozen price - even tho' it represents a lot of money for me and (now I am exiled down south) a lot of time and money travelling. My kids are now above the cheap season ticket age but I applaud the decision to offer these reduced tickets, even tho' cheaper adult ones would have benefited me personally.

I applaud the investment that has gone into the Academy - if we can keep these lads together that is the way we will progress as a club - and we have some fantastic youngsters. I applaud the honesty of Pearce and within reason I am prepared for him to learn lessons as he goes along (what price all of the rapid turnover managers I have lived through) - and I believe he is learning although I know many do not. Of course, I hang my head at some of the inept displays (not the first time I have seen that at City) but I also stand in amazement at some of the great stuff we have played; the highs and lows are part of football, and certainly part of being a City fan, aren't they? Even in the days of the blessed Trinity (Bell, Lee, Summerbee) it was the same. The difference was that standing on the Kippax we pretty much always stayed behind the team and the criticisms were full of (often dark) humour not just abuse. I'm not one of these 'why can't it be like the old days' supporters (though I would love to be allowed to stand again) - I am a passionate City fan for now - but I do believe that we as fans have our part to play if we want a great team - by making a noise, not leaving 10 minutes before the end, supporting the players when things are not going well (I've yet to see the team or an individual play better with abuse and moaning - save that for the pub afterwards) and, yes, by parting with our hard earned cash. There seems to be a feeling nowadays that everything can be blamed on someone else - manager, board, players - if there is anything to blame it is the culture that has been brought about by Sky TV, UEFA (the outrageous sums of money going to the Champion's League thereby causing and enhancing the few rich clubs at the expense of the rest), the general attitudes fostered by some agents and players and an unrealistic expectation of success NOW.

Yes, there are problems at City just like anywhere else - but if we care about the club we should accept our responsibilities for putting things right and not simply just blame others. The Trust has the potential to be a positive force (and that includes constructive criticism). I hope it fulfils that promise and does not simply become another outlet for whinging or demands that City give away tickets, spend non-existent money on the plethora of proven goalscorers whose clubs are desperate to let them go and get into the Champion's league THIS season playing football like Brazil. I used to believe we were the best fans in the land - I'm not sure we are anymore but I hope am wrong. I love this club and that means through the dark days as well as the good.

CTID

Greg Donovan"