According to Football pundit Paul Parker, Manchester City fans have to start turning up in the Champions League if they want the club to be taken seriously.
He said Pep Guardiola wants to win the Champions League with Manchester City and make them an elite club, but the fans have to understand as well that it’s a big tournament.
He added that, the Champions League is now the competition that everyone talks about and all the big clubs want to win, so the City fans must go and back the players and their team by turning up in their droves.
Walker continued by saying “They talk about being the biggest club in Manchester, but they need to show it by turning up and supporting the team at every single game and filling that stadium, the Etihad Stadium should not be empty for a big game like that, against Lyon, it should be sold out for every single game. It was terrible, and it was embarrassing. If City want to see themselves as a big club, the fans must turn up to every game, not just picking and choosing”
He proceeded on and said “Okay so they say they have an issue with UEFA, but it does not matter about that, making points to UEFA does not win or lose games but filling the stadium and providing a decent level of support can help in a big way. There is no doubt that if the Etihad had been sold out with a good atmosphere and support for the City players it would have made life much harder for Lyon. As a visiting player, you love to see an empty stadium because it tells you that the club are not taking the match seriously. They may have big money, but if the fans are not interested, that’s the message it sends. Quite simply, everyone at City needs to start taking the Champions League as seriously as the owners and the coach”.
The pundit further said,”When it really mattered against Lyon, the fans were not there. It’s a big missed opportunity as the Champions League can be very special.European nights at Old Trafford or Anfield are unbelievable – but they are professional European clubs. Their fans see it as their night and their trophy to be won. If City fans want their club to be taken seriously on the big stage, they have to start showing that they are interested. Guardiola has to realise that when he is not on the touchline it has a huge effect on his players. It’s hugely important that he keeps his emotions in check in future. Players used to take their foot off the gas if Sir Alex Ferguson was not on the touchline and managers like that have a big influence. It’s no different to the impact bosses have on different individuals in all walks of life. Guardiola will have learnt a lot about certain players in that City team who did not produce when he was up in the stands and there is no way they would have lost had he been on the touchline.
He concluded by saying, “It is very important for City moving forward in the Champions League that Guardiola does not get sent to the stands again and keeps his composure as he would expect his players to – he’s better than that. Okay, we all know he is very emotional and passionate, but his players look to him for guidance and support during matches and if he is AWOL that’s a big problem. He’s come out and apologised, but his own ego will surely have shown him that he needs to be there on the touchline and it’s his responsibility to be there when it matters”.