'They will pick us off' - Why Man City fans have launched a supporters trust

A group of Manchester City fans have come together to launch The Citizens Trust with the hope of making life better for Blues

As of last week, Manchester City have a supporters' trust. The Citizens Trust has been launched by nine matchgoing Blues with the aim of working with the club and existing fan groups to make things better for everyone at the Etihad.

But why has it been launched, and what is it going to do? Talk of trusts can be quite technical, and a lot of the money paid for membership - at least initially - will go on boring admin things that have been necessary to get the organisation up and running.

And, in true City style, this isn't your typical supporters' trust. There has been no one flashpoint or even a straw for the camel's back that has been the catalyst for action, unlike most of the trusts that have been set up at other clubs.

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"It's a funny one really," interim chair Nick Clarke told the Talking City podcast. "The vast majority, I'd say nine out of ten if not more, of supporters trusts are actually born out of a period of crisis within a club, within a fan base. You only need to look at Liverpool with the whole Hicks and Gillett drama, Manchester United Supporters Trust very obviously with the Glazers - these kinds of things.

"Especially lower down the leagues, usually when a club is at risk of falling into administration or completely falling out of existence, the point of the trust around the turn of the millennium was about protecting those clubs, allowing fans to buy the clubs and ensure that the community is not robbed of, in some cases, its most important asset.

"And that's not been the case at City, there's not been one immediate moment of crisis, although I think it's been really clear over the past few years for any fans who've had half an eye on proceedings. A lot of this is the general direction of travel in football. We're talking about ticket pricing, ticket policy, but you're also going to TV scheduling, broadcasts."

Mark Todd, interim deputy chair, is one of a number of the nine fans in position at the start of the trust who has previous experience working with the club as a representative of the City Matters board. City Matters holds regular meetings with the club about fan issues, although there is a limit to how long supporters can serve on it and there has been some frustration at how much change they can actually bring.

There was a time when any criticism of the club would be sacrilege - never mind fans airing their criticisms with media organisations. Some Blues still stick to this, yet, despite the unprecedented success that Pep Guardiola has brought to the club, more supporters are now comfortable with shouting up to defend their interests against upcoming danger that they see as coming for them.

"It's a typical Mancunian thing. If it's not right, it's not right," said Todd. "So if the rules on season tickets are not right, people protest; if the prices are not right, people protest. So the fact that some of the people like Nick and others got those protests off the ground shows there is a groundswell of opinion amongst the fan base about these important issues, wanting to keep the club still Manchester City and thinking about future generations.

"And I think that's a big part that the trust is going to play, making sure that City is there for future generations, our kids and our grandkids. So that's why we want to really get involved in community work as well as represent fans."

The protests last season saw thousands of Blues stay in the concourse for the start of home games, making a visual point in a televised game when Jack Grealish scored in the opening minutes of a match against Leicester and celebrated in front of empty seats. Some questioned what it would achieve, yet by the summer it had helped in the club's decision to freeze season ticket prices and even reduce matchday tickets.

Liverpool fans began protests at the weekend after the club announced season ticket increases for the next three seasons, and supporters of all clubs have started to appreciate that despite their rivalries on the pitch they are all fighting similar battles in the stands. The Citizens Trust gained over 400 members in the opening 24 hours and a week after launching had climbed up to over 600 by the start of this week.

"I think fans are realising that it has never been more needed to stand together because they will pick us off one by one, the tribalism that we all play our parts in is the easiest way to divide us. It's divide and conquer," said Clarke. "The way I like to say with it when I'm chatting to Scousers or United fans about this is that I want us both to be there in the stadium with our kids in 20 years slagging each other off across the away end.

"On the outside we'll stand, hold the banner together and be in solidarity but I think football supporters are noticing that more than ever so really I don't think we're leading the charge here, I think we are just mopping up the desire for it."