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Sport
Sinead Butler
Aug 11, 2021
Manchester City is getting roasted online after posting a photo of new signing Jack Grealish and other players dressed as Peaky Blinders – the popular BBC show which is set in Birmingham.
The club made headlines when they paid a record-breaking £100m for the Aston Villa player and it appears that someone on the Man City social team got a bit carried away with the transfer.
The club’s official Twitter account posted a mocked-up picture of five of their players walking away from the Etihad Stadium while dressed as Peaky Blinders characters, including the trademark flat caps and waistcoats.
The tweet also referenced the famous line from the BBC series “By the order of the Peaky Blinders”, with the club writing: “By order of...,” with an eye emoji.
People have assumed that the image is a nod to Grealish’s roots. He was born in Birmingham. But, with the exception of Grealish, nobody else in the photo is from the area.
By order of... 👁 🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re https://t.co/yEa2QolD7B— Manchester City (@Manchester City) 1628625115
Raheem Sterling was born in Jamaica and raised in London; Phil Foden was born and raised in Stockport; John Stones was born and raised in Barnsley, and Kyle Walker was born and raised in Sheffield.
Grealish himself was actually raised in nearby Solihull. And anyway, why is a Manchester club linking itself with something so clearly associated with another city?
So many questions – and football fans wasted no time pointing all this out...
@ManCity @sterling7 @JackGrealish @PhilFoden @kylewalker2 You literally can’t get your own thing?! This is honestly… https://t.co/woxrpVNuzC— James Wassell (@James Wassell) 1628625974
@ManCity @sterling7 @JackGrealish @PhilFoden @kylewalker2 Seriously? @ManCity That's just embarrassing. Give your heads a wobble.— Wendy 💙 (@Wendy 💙) 1628671117
@ManCity @sterling7 @JackGrealish @PhilFoden @kylewalker2 https://t.co/X9PyETQ5Zc— Jamie. (@Jamie.) 1628626417
ah yes the famously mancunion peaky blinders https://t.co/B2j2T4DJ9A— Callum K (@Callum K) 1628669787
Points deduction @FA https://t.co/xCfCLFRYpO— ryan (@ryan) 1628628071
This has to be a parody account surely….?! https://t.co/6vcR1CIeE9— Howard Eastwood (@Howard Eastwood) 1628676404
Others also pointed out the detail that Peaky Blinders is based in the Small Heath area of the city, which is associated with Birmingham City FC and not Grealish’s former club, Aston Villa (which is located in Aston, Birmingham).
@ManCity @sterling7 @JackGrealish @PhilFoden @kylewalker2 Birmingham City can do this. Manchester City definitely can’t.— Arthur Newman (@Arthur Newman) 1628633356
@ManCity @sterling7 @JackGrealish @PhilFoden @kylewalker2 1) Jack is from Solihull not Birmingham 2) Peaky Blinder… https://t.co/zQAWfeU8cp— ChrisB (@ChrisB) 1628628277
@ManCity @sterling7 @JackGrealish @PhilFoden @kylewalker2 Putting a Villa fan in Small Heath cosplay is an absolute shambles, to be fair.— Nanomatticles (@Nanomatticles) 1628625464
@ManCity @sterling7 @JackGrealish @PhilFoden @kylewalker2 Odd… Peaky Blinders was based in Small Heath, home of Bir… https://t.co/gaFZG5QlE3— Carl Hobbis (@Carl Hobbis) 1628662790
Someone needs to remind the Man City admin that they signed Grealish from Villa and not Small Heath.. 🥴🤮 https://t.co/TZ80Lsmg3k— Chris Rowley (@Chris Rowley) 1628626783
Some just couldn’t see the connection between the gangster family and the Man City football players...
What on earth does a bunch of murderous gangsters taking over a city have to do with football? https://t.co/XXHCi6M5j3— Gilles (@Gilles) 1628627863
@ManCity @sterling7 @JackGrealish @PhilFoden @kylewalker2 Peaky blinders are brutal criminals… what are you saying… https://t.co/zbTgsEcpUN— jamie dickson (@jamie dickson) 1628638474
@ManCity @sterling7 @JackGrealish @PhilFoden @kylewalker2 How embarrassing... using a premise of a programme re vio… https://t.co/dyATiihZOu— Martin Ellicott (@Martin Ellicott) 1628671238
Manchester City broke the British record with a transfer fee of £100m in signing Grealish from Villa.
The 25-year-old had signed with Villa as a boy and described the decision to move as “one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make.”
Grealish explained: “I’ve always said how much I wanted to play Champions League football – I couldn’t do that at Villa this year.
“I have come here to win silverware and play in the Champions League, so that is my only focus now.”