Newsletter #1928

Tactical genius? Norwich and CSKA.

Or, over-hyped? Chelsea and handling Joe Hart?

Well a week ago I was of the latter view about young Manuel, but having seen us simply dismantle two decent opposition since, things are swinging towards the former.

What a topsy-turvy period this is. Especially for poor Joe Hart. Let’s hope this time out of the spotlight allows him to settle back down and come back re-focused and back to his best… which is pretty darn good!

Speaking of pretty darn good. Agüero and Silva have been simply stunning and with Negredo claiming the ‘number 9’ slot for his own we suddenly look a scary proposition for opposing defences… which I’m hoping hasn’t jinxed us into a goalless trip to Blunderland on Saturday!

For those of you in attendance, give them a cheer from me!

CHELSEA 2 CITY 1

The game between Chelsea and City lived up to its billing, a tough and an exciting game. Martin Demichelis played his first game for City and taking into consideration that it was his first game, he did very well. It has proved very much that City depends on Kompany just too much, and his injuries have been costly. At least Pellegrini recognized this and brought in Demichelis to cover.

Regarding City losing this game in the last minute of regulation time to such a silly goal, my thoughts are that Hart should have shouted “It’s my ball” then Nastasic would have left the ball alone, for he only had his eyes on the ball. Sorry Joe, your fault, unless you shouted; it did appear that you did not shout but I could be wrong.

Another great goal from Agüero; he never gives up. Kudos to Silva with some magic from our Merlin who teamed up well with Agüero and Nasri.

I know that it’s easy for me to give my feelings in hindsight of the game, but why was our Beast (Negredo) not given more time? He never came on until it was all too late for him to do anything, with just a few minutes to go.

Sorry but if Pellegrini can’t see any player better than Garcia in the squad then the rest of our squad must be pretty bad!

Overall the City team gave Chelsea a good game; at least we should have got a point. There’s a long way to go in the season and we shall welcome Chelsea to the Etihad on February 1st.

I give our manager 8 out of 10 for this game, for there were many positives from this game.

Win, draw, or lose… we are behind City!

Come on City!

WHY NOT 10?!

So it was a win by 7 but why not 10?!

“I am too hard” did you say, but the impression I get when City players are on the attack is that they are too slow and that also they give the impression that they have to try to walk the ball into the net! My wife during this match against Norwich made the comment “they are trying to walk the ball into the goal!” This without me having prompted her.

Also another example of City players being too slow came at least with one attack by Norwich in the second half when with better finishing by their player he could have scored, due to the City defenders not able to catch up with the play!

And so to the next game. Come on City.

JOE

Enough. That was a Sunday League error that Joe made, and it cost us a well-deserved point. He really has to be demoted now for the good of the team, as he is no longer Mr. Reliable. Sad thought it is, but he’s lost something, and the team must come before him. Many more points lost in the manner of today’s idiocy and we can forget about the league – and that would be ridiculous, as we have the best attack and midfield in the league.

I’m beginning to wonder about Clichy as well; he seems to have lost a yard of pace and some defensive nous. He was at fault for the first goal (as he was for the FA Cup goal), and we need to get the defence stable ASAP. I’m not sure that Alex isn’t a better bet at the moment.

Please don’t let us let down the man dynamo Agüero in such a rich vein of form.

JUST A THANK YOU

As a long-time “lurker”, I’d like to break my silence to thank the contributors from last week’s (1927) edition for what were really well written and interesting articles. In particular, Phil Banerjee’s comments regarding England seemed, sadly, even more apposite following the events surrounding Yaya Touré in Moscow.

It’s funny – with the Internet today, when we can get results and news far more readily than we ever could back when MCIVTA first started (and as a boyhood fan since 1970, who moved to Sydney in 1978, I relied on it totally when I discovered it), it could be argued that you no longer need a newsletter of this type, but that would be to miss the point.

It’s the best start to my day to see this email in my inbox and I still love to read the passionate but informed match reports and opinion pieces. Last week’s great match review and thoughtful insights only confirmed this and it made me wonder if the writers realise just how much relevance their efforts have and how much joy they bring to the many recipients. I also noted in the subtext (if that’s the right phrase) that a couple of contributors had alluded to be also experiencing personal travails and/or illnesses at the time of their writing, which only makes their efforts all the more admirable and worthy of acknowledgement.

So, thanks again! It really is appreciated.

I DON’T WANT TO APPEAR CYNICAL BUT…

Oh, the above title could refer to so very much of what UEFA is all about but, on this particular occasion, it’s very relevant to City, and thus this forum.

We still don’t officially know whether it was booing or monkey chants. Erm, maybe but our own ears told us that unless every last one of those (ahem!) “booing” people suffered from a pronounced mid-vowel stutter, then we can presume differently.

Let’s face it, ‘No to Racism’ in football is what ‘The War on Drugs’ is from politicians – nowt more than mere lip service, except for the odd token gesture.

The ironic thing is that Yaya happens to come across as an affable, educated, soft-spoken, true gentleman, whilst those folks stripping off to (ahem, again!) “prove their ‘ardness” are clearly so very much closer to their simian roots than he could ever stoop. Maybe next time they make monkey noises, they should stand in front of the mirror.

If this were England, they would have been identified and banned at the very least. As the telly was on them, and surely a competition as big as the Champions’ League demands all clubs involved have CCTV, then there is no excuse that this isn’t the case here.

HONG KONG SUPPORTERS’ CLUB

Hi Blues.

The HK Man City Supporters’ Club are very proud to announce that City legend Sun Ji Hai has agreed to be our Honorary President.

All visiting City fans will receive a warm welcome at our home, Heart of the City, “Maya Bar”, Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, where you can catch us on matchdays (including in the middle of a typhoon last derby day when we had a good turn-up!). A picture of Sun now graces the bar.

Come down and join us!

CTWD, Marc Luk / Tom Derbyshire – Co-Chairpersons, Hong Kong Man City Supporters’ Club
Catch us @”Maya” on match days

AND FINALLY… 1986 FAYC TEAM REUNION

On Tuesday 12th November, Reddish Blues are hosting the reunion of the 1986 FA Youth Cup Team.

The players that have confirmed that they will be attending are: David White, Ian Brightwell, Andy Hinchcliffe, Paul Moulden, Steve Redmond, Paul Lake, John Clarke, Steve Crompton, Andy Thackeray, Steve Macauley and David Boyd. Also confirmed are Bernard Halford, Tony Book, Glyn Pardoe and Eric Mullender (scout who discovered most of the team). MC’s for the evening are Susan Bookbinder and Ian Cheeseman.

This will be one-off event and entrance is by ticket only. Tickets are priced at £2 for adults or £5 for a family ticket (2 adults and up to 3 children U16). We also have a very limited number of VIP Tickets for £25, which include a free copy of the Teenage Kicks book, hotpot supper, reserved seating and exclusive access to the players.

All proceeds raised will go to four charities nominated by the players.

For more details please visit our website at http://www.reddishblues.com/.

MCIVTA FAQ [v1112.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

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[2] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

Deadlines for issues are nominally 6pm, Monday and Thursday evenings by email. Unfortunately we cannot accept email attachments.

[3] MCIVTA Back Issues and Manchester City Supporters’ home page/Twitter

http://www.mcivta.com/ is the unofficial Manchester City Supporters’ home page. Created in 1994, it is the longest running of the Manchester City related web sites. Back issues of MCIVTA are also hosted on the site. You can also follow on www.twitter.com/mcivta to get the latest updates.

[4] What is the club’s official web site?

The official club web site can be found at http://www.mcfc.co.uk/ and the official club Twitter page at www.twitter.com/mcfc. The club also has a facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/mcfcofficial

[5] What supporters’ clubs are there?

The Official Supporters’ Club and the Centenary Supporters’ Association have merged to become the Manchester City Supporters’ Club (http://www.mcfcsupportersclub.com/). The club also recognise the Manchester City Disabled Supporters’ Association (http://www.mcdsa.co.uk/).

[6] Where can I find out about Points of Blue?

The committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. Points of Blue appears on the club website under the “Fans” heading (http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Fans).

[7] What match day broadcasts are available on the web?

Live match commentary can be found on the club website. The Radio Manchester pre- and post-match phone-in is available on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/england/manchester/.

[8] Where can I find out if City are live on satellite TV?

http://www.satfootball.com/ provides a listing of Premier League games being shown on UK domestic and foreign satellite channels. A useful site for North American viewers is http://msn.foxsports.com/.

[9] Do we have a Usenet newsgroup?

Yes we do: uk.sport.football.clubs.man-city is our home on usenet. If you are not familiar with Usenet, a basic explanation is available here: http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/Usenet

[10] Do any squad members have their own web pages?

There are a number available and direct links can be found at http://www.mcivta.com/players/

[11] Do any squad members have their own Twitter accounts?

A list of genuine player accounts is maintained at http://twitter.com/#!/MCFC/players

[12] Where can I find match statistics?

Statistics for the current season are available from the club site, but for a more in-depth historical analysis try http://www.mcfcstats.com/.

DISCLAIMER
The views expressed in MCIVTA are entirely those of the subscribersand there is no intention to represent these opinions as being thoseof Manchester City Football Club, nor of any of the companies anduniversities by whom the subscribers are employed. It is not inany way whatsoever connected to the club or any other relatedorganisation and is simply a group of supporters using this mediumas a means of disseminating news and exchanging opinions.

Philip Alcock, editor@mcivta.city-fan.org

Editor: