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ACL 2023/2024


TheStig
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3 minutes ago, citypool said:

Yes we can beat these teams!!

It's definitely a very do-able group. Should be able to get through this at least in second, maybe with a bit of luck could top the group...

So the group is

GROUP H

Buriram United (Thailand)

Ventforet Kofu (Japan)

Zhejiang FC (China)

 

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Also want to say that I liked the presentation. Short and sharp, and very watchable, and no unnecessary bullshit. If this had been in Australia we would have had to endure 5 minutes of utter bullshit commentary from "football personalities" between each ball coming out of its pot.

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16 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

Also want to say that I liked the presentation. Short and sharp, and very watchable, and no unnecessary bullshit. If this had been in Australia we would have had to endure 5 minutes of utter bullshit commentary from "football personalities" between each ball coming out of its pot.

You would expect it to be more professional, probably not hard when comparing to the way the A-League is run. Given it's the champions league of Asia...

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17 minutes ago, citypool said:

How was it not professional? 

A-League grand final decision is an obvious one... The uneven fixturing with bulk home and or away games. Not pausing for the Asian Cup. The list is rather long if I spent more time knit picking the issues. 

It's run decently but I would still say poorly in comparison to other credible leagues overseas

7 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

I think he means that it was more professional and I ought to have expected it to be so, because it was the ACL and not the A-League.

Yeah pretty much this...

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8 hours ago, Mr MO said:

What are the odds that we don’t make it to the knock outs but remain unbeaten?

Surely this is Griff and a piss take? Love it.

edit: thought it was the club but it’s Talking City kudos there.

image.png.aa523eaf44634be51e2a61ba8167cf06.png

I thought it was the club for a second too haha

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First match we're at home to Ventforet Kofu, Wednesday 20th September, 8.00 p.m.

Second match away to Zhejiang F.C.  4th October.

Third match away to Buriram United 25th October.

Fourth match home to Buriram United Wednesday 8th November 8.00 p.m.

Fifth match away to Ventforet Kofu 29th November 

Sixth match home to Zhejiang F.C. Tuesday 12th December 8.00 p.m.

Edited by jw1739
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It will be interesting to see how the club approaches selling tickets for this. 

Obviously for the cup, friendlies, ALW, that entry is more often than not free for City members. However I assume the AFC will have a large say in what prices tickets are sold at.

I know in the past Victory have sold an AFC Champions League membership as I've used my mates a couple of times (once had a very fun evening in the Uslan Hyundai Away Bay).

And on the other end of that, I'm curious what the buy in from fans will be. The died-in-the-wool Melbourne City supporters I know are really up for it, but with 8pm kick offs, compounded with the increased cost of living expenses, could easily see the more casual supporter just giving it a miss completely.

Personally, my expectations are pretty low in terms of crowd numbers - even by our standards. Like I said, I've been to Victory fixtures that had about 4-5k punters when their league matches were pulling closer to 15k.

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1 hour ago, IssySG said:

It will be interesting to see how the club approaches selling tickets for this. 

Obviously for the cup, friendlies, ALW, that entry is more often than not free for City members. However I assume the AFC will have a large say in what prices tickets are sold at.

I know in the past Victory have sold an AFC Champions League membership as I've used my mates a couple of times (once had a very fun evening in the Uslan Hyundai Away Bay).

And on the other end of that, I'm curious what the buy in from fans will be. The died-in-the-wool Melbourne City supporters I know are really up for it, but with 8pm kick offs, compounded with the increased cost of living expenses, could easily see the more casual supporter just giving it a miss completely.

Personally, my expectations are pretty low in terms of crowd numbers - even by our standards. Like I said, I've been to Victory fixtures that had about 4-5k punters when their league matches were pulling closer to 15k.

My understanding is that City members will receive free entry to the Group home matches. The KO times are a compromise, remembering that for TV coverage Japan is one hour behind us, China 2 hours, Vietnam and Thailand 3 hours etc. etc.

IMO the main reason why ACL matches don't draw bigger crowds is that there is virtually no media coverage, no hype and no build-up, and, I suspect, a body of opinion that somehow anything "asian" is inferior in some way or other.  The ACL is actually the oldest of the Champions Leagues, and deserves a lot more credit than it receives.

I hope that the club will give it everything that we've got and that City supporters will get right into it too.

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48 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

The ACL is actually the oldest of the Champions Leagues, and deserves a lot more credit than it receives.

I hope that the club will give it everything that we've got and that City supporters will get right into it too.

Had no idea it was the oldest! It is an exciting competition for sure. But I  would assume people don't give it the amount of credit is probably due to no one knows any of the players in Asia. 

The world is obsessed with the EPL and the other big European clubs that make the UCL

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24 minutes ago, rass said:

Might be off the mark, but didn't Real Madrid win a shitload of European Cups before then? Surely it's older than the ACL.

Yeah they won 6 cups between 1955 and 1965. Apparently the UCL was founded in 1955. If correct the ACL has been around for one more year...

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59 minutes ago, rass said:

Might be off the mark, but didn't Real Madrid win a shitload of European Cups before then? Surely it's older than the ACL.

@rass  I think it's all a bit murky and that you may be correct. What was called the European Cup commenced in 1955, but some clubs competed by invitation rather than by qualification as such. So I'll withdraw my "absolute" statement pending further investigation! At this stage I'll content myself by saying that the ACL isn't a mickey mouse competition, but has a long history of its own.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Interesting.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/sep/14/asian-football-confederation-multi-club-ownership-pif-city-football-group?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

I have been waiting for this issue to arise. More in the context of Yokohama than Mumbai, but I’m pleased that it is out in the open now because ownership of multiple clubs is a creeping evil in the game.

 

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41 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

Interesting.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/sep/14/asian-football-confederation-multi-club-ownership-pif-city-football-group?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

I have been waiting for this issue to arise. More in the context of Yokohama than Mumbai, but I’m pleased that it is out in the open now because ownership of multiple clubs is a creeping evil in the game.

 

So because Mumbai and Melbourne are in west and east regions it’s okay?

I think CFG owns only a small stake in Yokohama.

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7 minutes ago, Mr MO said:

So because Mumbai and Melbourne are in west and east regions it’s okay?

I think CFG owns only a small stake in Yokohama.

Correct. 20% in Yokohama according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokohama_F._Marinos but 65% in Mumbai City according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai_City_FC

Irrespective of that it would appear that CFG have been able to satisfy the AFC that there is no material risk in City and Mumbai being in the same competition, although I can see why some other clubs might object to that assessment. 

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