I went on the City stadium tour at the weekend

Big Andy

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It was my stepsons birthdays earlier this month, so we took them to Manchester for the night at Hotel Football, and as one is a blue, and one a red, we also did the stadium tour at each ground.

City's had no museum at all, nothing really about any of the history of the club bar a 2 minute video at the start about how Manchester is theirs, and showing the Aguero goal on repeat. They also seem to like stealing things from other teams.

The Tunnel club thing was stolen from Wolves.
The dressing room layout stolen from Barca.
Their new "blue wall" stand extension idea stolen from Dortmund.
Their "trinity" statue idea stolen from United.

There were 30 people on our tour. When they asked "Does anyone not support City" about 15 hands went up. Some Chinese guy was walking round on the tour carrying a United megastore bag, City "fans" not knowing who Colin Bell was. Nothing about Maine Road, nothing at all pre 2008 other than a token mention of Colin Bell when entering the stand.

They have statues for Aguero, David Silva and Vincent Kompany. They don't have blue ketchup any more (I asked). And they don't take kindly to people (me) answering "Curly Watts" as their favourite City legend.

All in all, pretty underwhelming, but then for a team and ground that's been about about 20 years and were largely irrelevant before then, I don't know what I expected really.
 
Many people who support City are just fans of Guardiola. Once Guardiola moves to some other club, they will move as well.

Just like people who support Ronaldo and Messi rather than the clubs they play in.
 
City have almost become MK Dons like, it's a seperate entity to the previous club except they retained the name and stadium.

Manchester City est. 2008
 
Why did they build statues for Silva, Aguero and Kompany for? I get that they are legends but strange. I mean United don’t build statues for Cantona, Keane and Scholes, do we?
 
Big Andy said:
It was my stepsons birthdays earlier this month, so we took them to Manchester for the night at Hotel Football, and as one is a blue, and one a red, we also did the stadium tour at each ground.

City's had no museum at all, nothing really about any of the history of the club bar a 2 minute video at the start about how Manchester is theirs, and showing the Aguero goal on repeat. They also seem to like stealing things from other teams.

The Tunnel club thing was stolen from Wolves.
The dressing room layout stolen from Barca.
Their new "blue wall" stand extension idea stolen from Dortmund.
Their "trinity" statue idea stolen from United.

There were 30 people on our tour. When they asked "Does anyone not support City" about 15 hands went up. Some Chinese guy was walking round on the tour carrying a United megastore bag, City "fans" not knowing who Colin Bell was. Nothing about Maine Road, nothing at all pre 2008 other than a token mention of Colin Bell when entering the stand.

They have statues for Aguero, David Silva and Vincent Kompany. They don't have blue ketchup any more (I asked). And they don't take kindly to people (me) answering "Curly Watts" as their favourite City legend.

All in all, pretty underwhelming, but then for a team and ground that's been about about 20 years and were largely irrelevant before then, I don't know what I expected really.
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I don't suspect they know who Keith Curle is either ;)
 
Surprised there was no mention of the trivia of why they had 3 stars on the old badge
 
SATA said:
Why did they build statues for Silva, Aguero and Kompany for? I get that they are legends but strange. I mean United don’t build statues for Cantona, Keane and Scholes, do we?
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Beggars can't be choosers. It was either them or Kevin Horlock.
 
I don’t think the City owners care about anything pre-takeover. They are trying to fast track their own ‘history’ for the club.

Unfortunately, unless they are punished for these charges, in about 15 years they probably would have achieved it.
 
From a German perspective: Sad to hear no mention of Bert Trautmann. One of those people who closed the gap between our countries after WW2.
 
I don't like City because of their owners but I simply don't understand this obsession of football fans with history. I have a strong dislike for everything conservative or overly traditionalist and I think many football fans are similar in general, why do they suddenly care so much about that stuff when it comes to football? Disliking something because it is new is so stupid. Apart from the big clubs, I don't even know which English clubs have tradition or not but give me a fresh and modern club like e. g. Mainz 05 over a nostalgic one that lives in the past like Hamburg or Schalke every day of the week. It's not as if I'm going to relive the glorious past anyway.
 
Zehner said:
I don't like City because of their owners but I simply don't understand this obsession of football fans with history. I have a strong dislike for everything conservative or overly traditionalist and I think many football fans are similar in general, why do they suddenly care so much about that stuff when it comes to football? Disliking something because it is new is so stupid. Apart from the big clubs, I don't even know which English clubs have tradition or not but give me a fresh and modern club like e. g. Mainz 05 over a nostalgic one that lives in the past like Hamburg or Schalke every day of the week. It's not as if I'm going to relive the glorious past anyway.
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Absolutely. It would be much better if football clubs became franchises like in America so they could relocate to where the money is. Given the state of things in Germany at the moment, the last thing you need is an understanding of history.
 
Zehner said:
I don't like City because of their owners but I simply don't understand this obsession of football fans with history. I have a strong dislike for everything conservative or overly traditionalist and I think many football fans are similar in general, why do they suddenly care so much about that stuff when it comes to football? Disliking something because it is new is so stupid. Apart from the big clubs, I don't even know which English clubs have tradition or not but give me a fresh and modern club like e. g. Mainz 05 over a nostalgic one that lives in the past like Hamburg or Schalke every day of the week. It's not as if I'm going to relive the glorious past anyway.
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There is a difference between nostalgic and between embracing your history. It's called "being successful today".
 
John XII said:
Absolutely. It would be much better if football clubs became franchises like in America so they could relocate to where the money is. Given the state of things in Germany at the moment, the last thing you need is an understanding of history.
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Ok, wow, that has to be one of the most disorted conclusions I've seen in here. Quite impressive, actually, because the traditionalists, conservatives and those who live in the past are the ones who vote for right wing parties. In Germany, we call right extremist voters "die Ewig-Gestrigen" ("eternally yesterday's"). Learning "political" history is incredibly important for a society, learning the history of a football club most definitely isn't.


stefan92 said:
There is a difference between nostalgic and between embracing your history. It's called "being successful today".
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I get your point. But I still find it weird when people talk about past events so emotionally when they weren't even alive when said events took place.
 
Done a lot of work there recently in their legends suite. The food was average. The stands were empty and I kept saying “looks like a home game” to moderate laughter.
 
Zehner said:
I don't like City because of their owners but I simply don't understand this obsession of football fans with history. I have a strong dislike for everything conservative or overly traditionalist and I think many football fans are similar in general, why do they suddenly care so much about that stuff when it comes to football? Disliking something because it is new is so stupid. Apart from the big clubs, I don't even know which English clubs have tradition or not but give me a fresh and modern club like e. g. Mainz 05 over a nostalgic one that lives in the past like Hamburg or Schalke every day of the week. It's not as if I'm going to relive the glorious past anyway.
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That is because your club has only ever won 4 trophies in 120 years. It was only 2 trophies until last season. Of course you don't understand people enjoying their clubs history. Your club doesn't even have one.
 
Zehner said:
I don't like City because of their owners but I simply don't understand this obsession of football fans with history. I have a strong dislike for everything conservative or overly traditionalist and I think many football fans are similar in general, why do they suddenly care so much about that stuff when it comes to football? Disliking something because it is new is so stupid. Apart from the big clubs, I don't even know which English clubs have tradition or not but give me a fresh and modern club like e. g. Mainz 05 over a nostalgic one that lives in the past like Hamburg or Schalke every day of the week. It's not as if I'm going to relive the glorious past anyway.
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I get what you’re saying but City aren’t a new club, they have been going since the 1800’s so to completely ignore that and only focus on the last 10 or so years is embarrassingly small time of them.
 
Zehner said:
Ok, wow, that has to be one of the most disorted conclusions I've seen in here. Quite impressive, actually, because the traditionalists, conservatives and those who live in the past are the ones who vote for right wing parties. In Germany, we call right extremist voters "die Ewig-Gestrigen" ("eternally yesterday's"). Learning "political" history is incredibly important for a society, learning the history of a football club most definitely isn't.
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Without wanting to go too far off topic, as I was being a bit sarcastic in my comment, I would argue that those are the types that understand history the least.

Regarding football. I don't know much about German football culture, but in the UK almost every club has an identity that is connected to its location that has evolved over time and is an important part of identity. Surely football is about more than just sport, it is also part of culture. Our understanding of where we come from and how we got to where we are now helps us judge where we do and do not want to go in the future.
 
Curious how United's stadium tour is in comparison.

Do people in general view it as a good experience?
 
Zehner said:
Ok, wow, that has to be one of the most disorted conclusions I've seen in here. Quite impressive, actually, because the traditionalists, conservatives and those who live in the past are the ones who vote for right wing parties. In Germany, we call right extremist voters "die Ewig-Gestrigen" ("eternally yesterday's"). Learning "political" history is incredibly important for a society, learning the history of a football club most definitely isn't.
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I have to disagree here, because you can't divide these things. Football history is often also the history of their society. Manchester City replaced the keeper of the English national team with a German prisoner of war shortly after WW2. It's stories like these that bridged the gap between the countries and paved way for finally creating the EU. Forgetting about these developments leads to the rise of the right wing and to decisions like Brexit.

Of course City not acknowledging Trautmann (the only part of their club history I am interested in or even really know about) in their current stadium tour isn't the reason for Brexit, but I think it's a good example how development of a society and of football clubs can be mixed into each other. And these stories shouldn't be forgotten.
 
Dudu said:
Curious how United's stadium tour is in comparison.

Do people in general view it as a good experience?
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It was much of a muchness in terms of what you see. Changing rooms, benches, tunnel, etc but at United you have the museum first and that was a good hours worth, they also talk about best, law, Charlton, cantona, Fergie, class of 92, etc
 
Dudu said:
Curious how United's stadium tour is in comparison.

Do people in general view it as a good experience?
Click to expand...

I have been on the tour loads of times due to me living in Manchester, I am 65 and can remember all the trophy's and players from the 60's up to today, reminders of attending games with my Dad and now me with my son. United's has a museum with artifacts from past decades, I personally love reading about United's history, looking at trophy's, players shirts, boots medals etc, It goes right back to the foundation of the club. It does seem sad that a lot on here can't be bothered about our history and achievements, I suppose being a manchester lad going to matches for years you feel part of that history.
Im hoping when the ground is renovated or renewed the museum is a centre piece of the new development. Unlike Etihad FC 2008, Man United has a rich history. I do remember another local club called Manchester City who once had a history, not as grand but they did have one. Oh and dont forget the city legends that were Little and Large.
 
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SATA said:
Why did they build statues for Silva, Aguero and Kompany for? I get that they are legends but strange. I mean United don’t build statues for Cantona, Keane and Scholes, do we?
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Same thing Arsenal did with Henry Bergkamp and Adams
 
Zehner said:
I don't like City because of their owners but I simply don't understand this obsession of football fans with history. I have a strong dislike for everything conservative or overly traditionalist and I think many football fans are similar in general, why do they suddenly care so much about that stuff when it comes to football? Disliking something because it is new is so stupid. Apart from the big clubs, I don't even know which English clubs have tradition or not but give me a fresh and modern club like e. g. Mainz 05 over a nostalgic one that lives in the past like Hamburg or Schalke every day of the week. It's not as if I'm going to relive the glorious past anyway.
Click to expand...
Not understanding the importance of something you don’t have. Okay.
 
Zehner said:
I don't like City because of their owners but I simply don't understand this obsession of football fans with history. I have a strong dislike for everything conservative or overly traditionalist and I think many football fans are similar in general, why do they suddenly care so much about that stuff when it comes to football? Disliking something because it is new is so stupid. Apart from the big clubs, I don't even know which English clubs have tradition or not but give me a fresh and modern club like e. g. Mainz 05 over a nostalgic one that lives in the past like Hamburg or Schalke every day of the week. It's not as if I'm going to relive the glorious past anyway.
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I agree with this. Whenever someone does well, there will always be others looking to piss on the bonfire.

United successful? Oh, but Fergie time, no fans from Manchester etc.

Quite often it’s the same people that pour scorn upon new success that vehemently oppose things like The Super League, which is quite ironic.
 
Big Andy said:
It was much of a muchness in terms of what you see. Changing rooms, benches, tunnel, etc but at United you have the museum first and that was a good hours worth, they also talk about best, law, Charlton, cantona, Fergie, class of 92, etc
Click to expand...
FOG said:
I have been on the tour loads of times due to me living in Manchester, I am 65 and can remember all the trophy's and players from the 60's up to today, reminders of attending games with my Dad and now me with my son. United's has a museum with artifacts from past decades, I personally love reading about United's history, looking at trophy's, players shirts, boots medals etc, It goes right back to the foundation of the club. It does seem sad that a lot on here can't be bothered about our history and achievements, I suppose being a manchester lad going to matches for years you feel part of that history.
Im hoping when the ground is renovated or renewed the museum is a centre piece of the new development. Unlike Etihad FC 2008, Man United has a rich history. I do remember another local club called Manchester City who once had a history, not as grand but they did have one. Oh and dont forget the city legends that were Little and Large.
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Glad to hear! Thanks for the anecdotes :)

Hope to do the tour and watch a game at OT - one day hopefully.
 
SATA said:
United don’t build statues for Cantona, Keane and Scholes, do we?
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I'd give Scholes one.

Keane is such a jerk he doesn't deserve to even be mentioned and Eric lost my respect once he started doing cringeworthy TV adverts.
 
stefan92 said:
I have to disagree here, because you can't divide these things. Football history is often also the history of their society. Manchester City replaced the keeper of the English national team with a German prisoner of war shortly after WW2. It's stories like these that bridged the gap between the countries and paved way for finally creating the EU. Forgetting about these developments leads to the rise of the right wing and to decisions like Brexit.

Of course City not acknowledging Trautmann (the only part of their club history I am interested in or even really know about) in their current stadium tour isn't the reason for Brexit, but I think it's a good example how development of a society and of football clubs can be mixed into each other. And these stories shouldn't be forgotten.
Click to expand...

Don't heed the rubbish in here, the man has an entire section. Literally a statue of him and more.
https://www.mancity.com/news/club/m...ity Etihad stadium,Club after all these years.
 
Dudu said:
Glad to hear! Thanks for the anecdotes :)

Hope to do the tour and watch a game at OT - one day hopefully.
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I live far from Manchester and have only been there a few times - once in the summer when kids were out of school. Hot day, herding kids, flustered - you get the picture. We did the museum, the stadium and the store and something to eat.
Got back to the (rental) car 3 hours later and couldn't find the keys. Checked every pocket 3 times, wife's handbag, kid's pockets - everything! Went to the ticket area to see if someone had handed them in - No!
Wandered back to the car with everyone checking the ground in case I had dropped them somewhere - No!
Walked around the car and there were the keys in the boot lock. I had opened the boot to put something of value there for safety as we set off!!
Needless to say my tired, cranky wife and kids were not impressed with Dad.
Impressed with the honesty of OT visitors.
 
I live about 18,000km away from Manchester yet I was fortunate enough to do the stadium tour at Old Trafford in 2018. Tour group was about 30-40 people, and there was loads of activity in and around the stadium. There were 2-3 other tour groups going around at the same time we were.

Loved the whole experience as I've been a fan since 1993. I found the Munich memorial room very moving.
 
Sky1981 said:
To be fair only tourist needs a stadium tour.

Would you take one ar Old Trafford? I took one, but I've been here 15 years i read alot about United, or else there'll be gaps to be filled.
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i think people who are fans of United who don’t happen to live in Manchester would slightly be aggrieved to be called a simple ‘tourist’ when making the pilgrimage to OT

id call them more folks who are not as fortunate to be close the home base as some of you
 
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