Pep Guardiola thinks he might have his Manchester City back. Thousands of fans worry they might have lost theirs.
A Premier League game took place on Wednesday night that put plenty into perspective. This is a fixture that won't be seen next season, with Leicester presenting themselves as one of the worst sides ever seen in the division with a miserably limp performance that gifted City a 2-0 victory.
Nico O'Reilly got his first Premier League start after his matchwinning turn off the bench at Bournemouth, and had another positive performance. The cheers reserved for him from the stands gave a reminder of the extra connection when a homegrown player makes it into the first team, while the biggest ovation on the night came when Oscar Bobb came off the bench for his first appearance since the Community Shield.
Jack Grealish looked good on a rare start and an even rarer start in midfield, scoring the first goal inside the opening two minutes. And when Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen and Wout Faes got in a horrible mix-up in their own six-yard box, January signing Omar Marmoush was there to tuck home his fifth Premier League goal.
City's victory lifts them into fourth ahead of Chelsea's game against Tottenham, with Brighton and Bournemouth below them missing the chance to win. There were more bright signs for the future on the pitch, however much you have to caveat that by pointing out just how awful Leicester were.
But what does the future hold for the club? A lot will depend on the outcome of the Premier League charges, but with City still confident of a positive outcome as they have been from the start the verdict may not be the bombshell that rivals are hoping for.
Change is coming though, and at a pace that had thousands of fans worried enough to boycott the first nine minutes of this Leicester game after a peaceful demonstration attended by around 100.
The club making Viagogo their ninth official ticket resale partner was the straw that broke the backs of so many Blues, but concerns have been building all season around various ticketing issues; of several songs that were heard outside the Colin Bell stand in the shadows of the statue commemorating Bell, Franny Lee and Mike Summerbee, 'We want our club back' and 'You greedy b******, you've priced out our kids' were the ones that hit hardest.
It could be argued that the absence of fans in the first nine minutes didn't impact on the team as Grealish scored inside two, but the atmosphere was lower than Leicester's chances of staying up. The goal felt like an unwelcome return to the pandemic, and the loudest cheers in the minutes after City took the lead were opposition supporters cheering whenever they completed a pass.
It's daft to think that the Etihad will empty overnight. Work goes on to finish the North Stand expansion that will take capacity over 60,000 and City have only built it because the demand is there.
Bums on seats do not guarantee atmosphere though, as the first nine minutes of this game with up to 45,000 in attendance could testify. As with the playing squad, you can replace anyone but that doesn't necessarily mean there is going to be an improvement.
This is the point that the protesting fans are making as they wait to find out if their season tickets are going to go up yet again and what the makeup of the new North Stand will be.
Making more money from matchday revenue is a necessity, but if it is done in a way that harms atmosphere to the point where it makes the product - both the results of the team and the entertainment for all in the stadium - inferior that money may be wiped out by the relative losses incurred from broadcast and sponsorship income.
City have put a lot of thought, time and money into rebuilding Guardiola's squad for the future, with £175m spent in January and a big summer planned ahead of an expected challenge next season.
It is to be hoped that the club have listened to supporter concerns as to who they want it to be seen by, because this was a pretty grim glimpse into the future.
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