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Manchester City's glass tunnel will be the most dramatic realisation yet of Ferran Soriano’s vision to transform the Etihad into the ultimate fan experience.

The controversial development of the Colin Bell Stand - which will include a

with season tickets starting from around £7,500 - has prompted claims that the club has

with ‘proper’ supporters.

Luxury touches, such as a chauffeur service, have been cited as an example of how football has left the ordinary working man behind.

But part of Soriano’s target when appointed by City in 2012 was to change the match-going experience in this country.

The former Barcelona vice president specifically set up teams charged with the responsibility to innovative.

Members of different departments throughout the club would convene to brainstorm.

Representatives from sister club New York City FC would join in via telephone link up.

Little surprise then that the idea of introducing a clapometer on big screens - well known in US sports - was floated, but is still to be implemented.

Replacing seating with some form of camera, enabling fans from overseas to ‘sit’ among the Etihad crowd, was another suggestion - and another that is still to materialise.

To the long-standing supporters, who have dismissed the Tunnel Club as simply catering for the ‘prawn sandwich bregade,’ clapometers and virtual seating may only add to their sense of disenfranchisement.

To others, it is a natural consequence of a club with ambitions to become a global force in the era of Abu Dhabi ownership.

They have attracted the world’s most sought-after manager - now they need a worldwide fanbase to follow.

A bewildering array of foreign sponsorship is all part expanding the brand.

But the challenge of increasing UK-based support is also among Soriano’s chief concerns.

That includes attracting the next generation of football fans.

The link-up with Chinese robotics firm UBTECH appears to be a progression from another initiative dreamed up by the innovations team.

Dubbed ‘CityBots’ the idea was for robots to be on site on matchdays, with iPads for faces.

Theoretically a five-year-old could have a conversation with one of their heroes, such as Pablo Zabaleta.

City’s chief commercial officer, Tom Glick, describes the partnership with UBTECH as ‘natural’ because they ‘share our passion for innovation'.

So far that partnership has produced videos of dancing robots in a series of challenges with players like Yaya Toure and Fernandinho.

Whether such innovations attract a new breed of fans remains to be seen.

As does its effect on existing ones, who fear they’re being left behind.