Manchester City owners must get messaging right or risk own fans turning against them

Sport fans aren’t just consumers but stakeholders so what Manchester City say during their crisis could be existential for them, write Jess Chan and Matthew Gilleard.

“Some people believe football is a matter of life and death…I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”

So said Bill Shankly, encapsulating both sport’s penchant for hyperbole and the undeniable strength of attachment that people feel to football.

The sentiment shows why, when it comes to sports, crisis communications is a different ball game – one where fans and rivals alike will storm the field and impact the outcome. 

Since the publication of findings that Manchester City had breached Premier League regulations, the pitch invasion has been swift and overwhelming. 

With far-reaching implications and hordes of rival fans smelling blood, the communications field has been flooded with commentary.

The tribal nature of English football means that fans are active brand champions. They are both investors in, and influencers of, the reputation of the organisation they follow. So when crisis hits, supporters are not spectators but stakeholders. 

Wimbledon and European Super League offer lessons

Management of this key stakeholder group is critical. As Oliver Reed’s Proximo tells gladiator Maximus: “Win the crowd and you will win your freedom”. 

Fan fervour among rival clubs is unlikely to be swayed by anything that City say, but if the club lose their own fanbase, disaster turns into genuine existential threat. 

This is a unique characteristic of the sports world. Apple or Tesla may have cult-like followings, with customers blindly devoted to their products and vision, but football fandom is something else entirely. 

You don’t buy an iPhone because you have core memories of your parents taking you to your first Apple Store as a child. Your grandparents did not stand on the Tesla terraces in years gone by. 

Football clubs are central to this nation’s heritage and cultural identity. Fans are not merely followers or consumers of a product, but the very fabric of a club. Players, managers, even owners come and go, but the fan collective is a constant.

Wimbledon FC’s relocation to Milton Keynes and the backlash to the European Super League show us that overlooking a fanbase can be a fatal error reputationally. 

So when times get tough, an organisation’s communications approach must be mindful of this dynamic. 

Tactical analysis: Time to settle for a draw?

The club has thus far been strident and bullish in its communications. In an arena like sport, where teams are expected to fight for every hard-earned victory on the pitch, fans may be pleased to see City staunchly defending the club off the pitch.

But they, too, will ultimately want answers and certainty.

In the other dugout, rival clubs’ supporters and other commentators will continue to challenge the club’s position.

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has said he would throw his winners’ medals in the bin if implicated in such a verdict, while other pundits have called for titles and owners to be removed. 

Opposing fan vitriol will not die down, nor be swayed by City’s statements. But the club must carefully consider their communications, and stubborn ownership must not risk City’s own fans turning against them. 

In face-saving terms, the playbook now is surely the equivalent of settling for a draw rather than walking away with nothing. 

The reputation game: City must earn trust

Reputations are built on trust and success – both of which lie at the heart of the Manchester City issue. 

The successes are already being called into question. Trust cannot be completely lost too, otherwise the reputational rebuild will be that much harder.

The club’s communications around how they defend and explain their actions and how they respond to the fate that awaits will define fan trust and belief in the organisation going forward. Against this backdrop, Shankly’s words might not seem so hyperbolic after all.

Jess Chan is a reputation consultant and Matthew Gilleard is a communications consultant at Infinite.