Stefan Borson unimpressed by ‘unnecessary’ Man City gesture after ‘calamity’
Manchester City’s chances of qualifying automatically for the last 16 of the Champions League are now out of their own hands.
Man City were beaten 3-1 by Bodo/Glimt last week, leaving them sitting 11th in the Champions League table heading into their final fixture against Galatasaray.
Pep Guardiola has come under fire from Man City fans following the result, with some questioning whether he is still the right man for the job despite his hugely successful reign at the Etihad Stadium.
It emerged after the game the Manchester giants’ players will reimburse the 374 away supporters who made the trip to the Arctic circle for the clash.
Each ticket was priced at £25, meaning Man City’s stars will pay out £9,350 to refund their fans.
How much did Man City fans spend on trips to Bodo/Glimt?
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider the gesture seems “unnecessary” despite the “pathetic” performance from Guardiola’s side.
Man City have now lost twice in the Champions League this season following their defeat against Bayer Leverkusen in November.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the gesture following the Bodo/Glimt loss, Borson said: “It seems to me to be a bit unnecessary. It’s £25. I mean, the trip has cost people £1,000, so what does a gesture do? Okay, so it’s the players basically saying the performance was unacceptable. Well, we kind of know that already.
“It was a pretty pathetic performance. There were individual mistakes. Unfortunately, a very young player made two real howlers and then they were 2-0 down. But then the most experienced player gets himself unnecessarily sent off just as City might have a chance of going back into the game.
“It was a calamitous night, and alongside the Leverkusen game, it has put them in a really tricky situation because so many teams have got 13 points. I think it’s 50-50 whether they qualify in that top eight or whether they’re in the play-offs.”
Why Man City are facing fixture pile-up after Champions League blow
Man City are facing a fixture pile-up if they are unable to secure a place in the top eight of the Champions League, with ninth to 24th taking part in a play-off.
“If you’re in the play-offs, you’ve got two more games in February,” said Borson.
“Of course, you can pay the fans £25 for their ticket to Bodo, but if there’s two more games, that brings in another home game where the ticket price will not be £25, and on top of that, there’s another away trip that a lot of that 400 who were in Bodo will be going on that second leg of the play-off to wherever it is.
“It could be anywhere in Europe, and it will cost a lot more than £25. I can tell you that. It’s perfectly nice for the players to say, ‘Look, we’re sorry, here’s a gesture’. It’s very hard to criticise it, but I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Man City head into their game against Galatasaray level on 13 points with seven other teams, but they have an inferior goal difference to five of the sides battling for a top-eight spot.
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