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Manchester City fans are ready for another year of Champions League football but space on the trips may be limited in the group stage
What to make of the Champions League draw? That has been the question since it was made on Thursday night, and all the managers involved will be asked for their thoughts.
Pep Guardiola will think, if not say, that the most important team in the competition is his own. Play to their strengths and they can beat anyone but any hint of last season's flaws coming back and all levels of opposition teams will be able to find joy against them.
If City can be pleased with what looks to be a favourable draw - certainly easier than last year - the picture for supporters is less positive.
Blues have been blessed for the last 15 years that they have been able to contemplate European trips as part of their annual journey supporting City. It remains a novelty for many to try and tick off new destinations or revisit former favourites in what has become an expanded tournament.
This year's first phase may not appeal to many City fans though precisely because it doesn't look as though many will be accommodated. As the UEFA regulations state: "The visiting association or club must be allocated 5 per cent of the total stadium capacity as tickets for their supporters in a dedicated sector of the stadium."
There is the chance for that number to be increased but it often isn't, and given City's standing as one of the premier teams in Europe it is hard to see that being the case this year. It is not like Bodo/Glimt are going to be short of Norwegians wanting to watch Erling Haaland in the flesh.
The percentage of away fans is the same no matter how big the stadium, and of City's first four trips there aren't many big ones. Bodo/Glimt have a capacity of 8,270, Monaco have 18,525, and Villarreal have 23,008; five per cent of those totals are 413, 926, and 1150 respectively.
For three of City's four away games in the first phase of the Champions League, it is likely that the biggest support the team will be able to have will be just over a thousand. With Norway and Monaco notoriously expensive for tourists, that also adds to the disappointment of the draw.
The fourth game is of course at the Santiago Bernabeu in Real Madrid, one of the most impressive stadiums in world football that houses one of the biggest clubs. That could see 4,200 Blues in the Spanish capital and transport links should be affordable and straightforward.
It is here that City's continued participation in the Champions League becomes the issue. Where many Blues for years would have dreamed of watching their team play at the Bernabeu in a high-stakes match, for each of the last four years thousands of them have done just that.
This is the fixture that just keeps on happening, and this year it is not even as a result of both teams progressing to a stage where they are drawn together. They could always meet again in the knockouts, but are guaranteed a group stage match.
Some may pass up on the chance to go back if they are tired of the fixture, and that would allow more fans the opportunity. Many will go again though simply because they go wherever City go and it puts them in the best position of being able to go to future away trips, and there is nothing wrong with that.
It is difficult to get novelty after 15 years of the same, but to be fair the team have managed it. They have never before played their Norwegian opponents, and it is 14 years since they last faced Villarreal in the Champions League.
Those offer new opportunities for supporters, it is just a shame that stadium capacities mean it will be on offer to so few. That will see further pressure on the club to ensure that every possible ticket for the away games goes to fans through the regular channels, even if there have to be a section for corporate supporters.
There will also be added scrutiny of what the club do for the four home fixtures against Bayer Leverkusen, Galatasaray, Dortmund, and Napoli. Everyone will want a ticket for the Napoli game to see the return of Kevin De Bruyne to the Etihad, yet the Belgian is the only real star attraction across the four teams.
As a result of the changes to the competition, but also the prices, City fans ended up paying more to watch Champions League football at the Etihad last year than they had the previous year despite the team exiting two rounds earlier. With group stage matches, the risk of tickets being resold and ending up in the hands of supporters who aren't City fans grows.
That could be particularly acute for the Galatasaray game. In 2023, Manchester United were forced to apologise and admit that 2,000 fans of the Turkish club had been sat in the home end for their Champions League game that had caused safety issues inside the stadium.
City won favour with their own fans for freezing season ticket prices and reducing the cost of matchday prices in summer, but that came on the back of widespread protests at games last season that tens of thousands took part in. There are already fresh concerns this season due to changes in the terms and conditions of season tickets as well as new turnstiles at the Etihad that caused unnecessary delays for the opening game against Spurs.
It doesn't help City that the away trips do not look like they will reward many supporters, so they will have to make sure that fans feel they are getting a good deal from the home games if they want the best atmosphere and the lowest safety risks.
After that, it comes down to the players. Anybody inside the Etihad for the games against Feyenoord, Club Brugge and Real Madrid could not say that they weren't entertained - it just wasn't the football that anybody was expecting for most of those games.
Guardiola will need to pick his players up and challenge them to play their way back into being contenders for the Champions League again, capable of mixing it with any team. But after the scars of last year, it will not be straightforward and the league campaign has already suggested that there may be inconsistencies along the way.
Having that fan support is going to be important to getting City back to where they need to be, but for the group stage at least there may need to be an acceptance that external factors have not helped.
From the few lucky enough to get on the away trips to the many that City hope will fill out the Etihad for the four home games, it is going to be another testing year in the Champions League.
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