Newsletter #262

The airwaves have been full of impending transfers at Maine Road but as of this evening, it looks like we’ll be choosing from the same squad that Neal had for the Palace game on Saturday. Having said that, our three injured players did play today in a ‘behind doors’ friendly, in order to assess their fitness. Somehow I can’t see them being pitched in at this stage.

The news details the still ongoing Warhurst ‘on/off’ saga and the arrival of a new assistant manager from… guess where? There’s also the inside story on the ‘band’ at the Port Vale game from Christine Haynes, news of another Internet footie match, plenty of opinion, some humour and a Why Blue (more please!).

NEWS – BOLTON BID FOR WARHURST

This morning’s Guardian (Tuesday 7th January) reports that Bolton have tabled a £1.5 million bid for Paul Warhurst, which may well stymie any attempt by City to get him on loan.

It is yet to be seen whether the failure of Sandy Anderson’s bid to take over at Forest will impact Frank Clark’s move to swap Nigel Clough for Des Lyttle and Tommy Wright. As a side note, I saw Lyttle at Ashton Gate a few seasons back. before Forest bought him from Swansea, and he was a dirty little git – could be just what we need ;->>>

NEWS – NO CLARK DEAL

Frank Clark was reported on GMR yesterday to have absolutely no interest in signing Lee Clark! However, there does seem to be a grain of truth in the supposed bid for Gio from St. James’ Park; maybe they used Lee Clark as bait but Frank didn’t bite!

NEWS – YOUTH TEAM, WARHURST AND HILL

City’s youth team lost 2-1 at home to an impressive young Leeds United side in the F.A. Youth Cup on Tuesday night. City went behind to a 20-yard effort in the 3rd minute but battled back (Neil McNab’s influence clearly visible in some of the tackling) to equalise with a George Doherty penalty in the second half after Jeff “Paddy” Whitley’s mazy run was ended by a trip just inside the penalty area. Leeds scored the winner in the 82nd minute when a low cross was met at the near post, giving Brown no chance.

Lee Daly, the goalkeeper who collapsed after taking a knock in the youth team’s replay at Walsall in the previous round, is now out of intensive care.

Alan Hill, 25 years at Nottingham Forest, has left to become Frank Clark’s assistant manager at Maine Road. He resigned after the latest takeover bid at Forest was rejected by shareholders. Still at Forest, Stuart Pearce has rejected a bid by City to swap Nigel Clough for Tommy Wright and Des Lyttle, saying he wants the players for the fight against relegation. Since Nigel Clough is now favourite to become Pearce’s number 2 at Forest though, a deal is still a possibility.

Bolton have denied claims that they made a £1.7 million bid for Paul Warhurst and now seem to have lost interest in him after discovering that Nathan Blake is not yet suspended. They wanted Warhurst as cover for Blake. This makes it very likely that City will get Warhurst, at least on loan, and hopefully in time for Saturday’s game against Palace. Frank Clark saw Warhurst score Blackburn’s goal in a reserve game on Monday.

City’s reserve match at Barnsley on Wednesday night has been postponed, thus delaying the returns of Peter Beagrie, Alan Kernaghan and John Foster, all of whom were due to play.

The Extraordinary General Meeting to finalise the Boler/Wardle investment deal will now take place on Friday 24th January as the original date clashed with the rearranged Brentford F.A. Cup tie.

City’s postponed game at Birmingham City has now been rearranged for Tuesday 11th March. No date has yet been fixed for the Grimsby home game.

And finally, it looks like City’s long relationship with Umbro is set to end. The Blues are likely to have a new kit manufacturer next season and that will mean a new away kit as well as a new home kit.

NEWS – WARHURST & COMEBACKS

Paul Warhurst has still not decided where his immediate future lies; it seems that a mystery club has made a £1.5 million offer for him and he’s thinking it over. Birmingham City have also expressed an interest in signing him on loan and it is possible that Bolton may renew their interest after John McGinlay suffered a thigh strain on Wednesday night. It now seems unlikely that he’ll be playing for us on Saturday though.

City will play a private reserve-level game against Tranmere on Thursday to give Peter Beagrie, Alan Kernaghan and John Foster, all returning from injury, some match practice.

NEWS – STILL NO MOVEMENT ON WARHURST

There’s still no indication of what’s going to happen to Paul Warhurst; Blackburn are asking for £1.5 million for him but City, Bradford and Bolton all want to take him on loan first to make sure that his injury problems are over. Birmingham have said they are no longer interested in him though.

MAN CITY SUPPORTERS’ CLUB HOME PAGE

Although feedback has been excellent, it would be nice to get an email contact for all of the Supporters’ Club branches. I would like to make the site more interactive. If you are a member of any of the branches and have access to email, I would like you to contact me in an effort to improve the speed and accuracy of information for all the City fans in Manchester and around the world in respect of the Supporters’ Club news.

http://user.itl.net/~dylan/mcfcsc2/

THE BAND – THE INSIDE STORY!

Hello everyone and happy new year. Maybe at last we can look forward to brighter things in 1997?

As there isn’t much news around at the moment, I thought I might as well let you know about the fiasco which was “The Band” on Boxing Day at the Port Vale match.

About 15 people turned up with instruments on the day and some people had gone to a lot of effort to liven up the atmosphere by turning up in fancy dress and bothering to borrow instruments. There were 3 or 4 drums, a trumpet, a clarinet, tambourines, maracas and sleigh bells, kazoos and an air horn. I didn’t have any instruments to speak of, but I tagged along as I’d got in for a donation to the Junior Blues rather than pay full whack for a ticket. Let’s thank God for small mercies.

Anyway, we met in the Oasis Suite at Platt Lane and marched noisily down to the ground at about 2.15. We had been told to go to the main entrance to meet Colin Barlow so we duly arrived and… you guessed it, no Colin Barlow. We were met with bemused smiles from the stewards and no one seemed to know what to do with us. Typical City organisation!

Eventually, this guy came out (can’t remember his name, something to do with publicity though) and we proceeded to trudge around outside half the ground before he decided to take us back to the main entrance again… and then walked us further down and we eventually went in and walked through the players’ tunnel and to the left to the North Stand. We were put right at the back in the corner of the Main and North Stands. In my opinion, this was a bit of a daft place to put us because the Junior Blues now sit in this part and they’re not likely to be too thrilled to have a band booming down on them.

After kick-off, the band was constantly moaned at by parents (well, a few women) that they were too noisy. Yes, they were noisy, very noisy, but their main objection was “we want to hear the atmosphere.” So the noise duly stopped and all we heard was the Port Vale fans chanting away. As usual, deathly silence from the near capacity home fans. Not long after, this steward marches over and tells some of the guys on drums to shut up. His attitude was really aggressive and unfriendly and he told them to only play occasionally as they were too noisy. So they stopped for a bit, but when they started up again, he stormed over and threatened to chuck us all out and started talking into his radio like he was calling the storm troopers or something. The guy who had organised it (Steve) said they had official backing from the club but this steward didn’t care. He also confiscated the air horn (“They’re not allowed in the ground” – oh yeah, I hear one every game!) and was basically a right git! After he’d flounced off, another steward came over, apologetically, and told us to ignore this other guy, he was a Red! Quelle surprise!

So the guys were feeling pretty naffed off by now but still valiantly tried to drum up (literally!) some atmosphere. What a pity the team didn’t do the same. We all know what happened. At half-time we all considered leaving but some in-bred masochistic streak kept us there to witness the rest of the pitiful City performance. One high point was the reception Summerbee got when he was subbed! Now if that doesn’t tell management something, nothing will!

We all left about 5 minutes before the end, as did several thousand others by the looks of it. On the long, long, lonely walk home, a few people came up and said “Well done lads” and “you were working harder than the team” and stuff like that. So a bit of a mixed reception really.

I acknowledge that the band was really loud and sometimes got even on my nerves but a lot of effort had been made and the general opinion was that it was a complete waste of everyone’s time.

The club actually phoned Steve and asked how he thought it went and he pretty much told them. The amazing thing was, they want him to organise it again! They want to put them in a different part of the ground, though, but I don’t know if anyone who was there could be bothered doing it again if all they were going to get is grief off snotty stewards and humourless, rude people in the crowd.

So that’s the end of that sorry tale.

See you all on Saturday (minus the noisy gits!)

REVIEW – CITY MAGAZINE: ISSUE 5, VOLUME 2

Well, what a surprise, somewhat earlier than I expected, on my mat arrives the latest edition and considering the Coppell article the other month, I expected another similiar “out-of-date before it’s published” mag. No! Big Frank’s on the cover! Inside knowledge or what?

On page three we have a full spread of Clarky, with a good exclusive for the mag; the article certainly looks good for Frank and he definitely comes over a lot better than Coppell ever did.

The Editor also apologises for the fact that the rest of the magazine is a bit shuffled due to this Stop Press piece! The rest is filled out with the usual photos and Diary. The Maine Event covers new fanzines – including a website – My Blue Heaven – if you want the address, buy the mag!

For all of you who have wondered about the money for players, share issues, etc, there is a good article on the AGM. The mag claims the feel-good factor willl be back, provided by Neil Heaney.

A useful article on the loan system and how, due to the injuries at the Academy, City have utilised it, and all the great players we have loaned?!

Best article, IMO, is “The Gong Show” (p25-31), a great piece on the review of ’96 – Poignant photo – Gio crying into his shirt on Black Sunday.

For anyone who wants to know a bit more on Martyn Margetson, there’s a chance by reading his interview; I thought it was interesting, and still think, with the right coaching, he could be a City great.

Worst page – 37 – Lee Crooks is gonna hate that photo, haunting him for the rest of his life. I’ll forgive him putting me off my cornflakes if he becomes a great!

Final point, the new publishers have made a number of what I think are impressive changes throughout the mag, just small things like jazzier graphics, different fonts, all for the good of the mag.

If you liked this review, and it didn’t bore you too much, I have said I’ll do it regularly.

P.S. Ban your girlie/wifey from buying the new girl magazine – MINX – it gets a bit much when a girly mag starts taking the p**s out of City, and she’s there gloating about it!

YORKSHIRE FOOTBALL

Just wondering if anybody out there on the Yorkshire side of the Pennines would be interested in meeting up to play football every now and then in the Bradford or Leeds area? I guess it would be much the same as the games in Manchester, with either 11 or 5 a side depending on the numbers. There are also quite a few occasional teams in the Bradford area wanting a game too if we can get a team together. The lads from the Manchester games would be more than welcome to attend too if we can get some matches set up.

Also, due to a few strange events, it looks like there will be a match some time in May/June at Bradford City’s Valley Parade ground. I’ve been asked to form some kind of Manchester City supporters’ team to face Bradford and Ilkley Community College’s staff team. The match is to be a kind of memorial match for a senior member of the BICC staff who apparently was a big Manchester City fan. That’s why we could do with getting a team together so that we can do the lad proud and actually have a Man City team that wins a game!

If anybody is interested to either have a kickabout in West Yorkshire, or wants to be in for the game at Valley Parade, then drop me a line.

CITY WIN AT BRENTFORD!

Living the other side of the pond and being out on Saturday (so I missed the world service sports round up), I called my mother in law who informed me City had beaten Brentford. Oh such joy. She had no idea of the score, but I didn’t care. I then found out today that the game was called off and it was the pools panel I had to thank for the City win.

If nothing else it reinforces my feelings towards my mother in law.

IS THIS A RECORD?

Considering we have had five managers this season (Ball, Hartford, Coppell, Neal and Clark), does anyone know if this is this a record?

TEAM SPIRIT

I’ve got a good idea.

Apparently we have a relatively talented squad according to most managers of the teams that beat us but no team spirit. Well Frank, how about using some of the ten million pounds you have to spare and take them all out for dinner and a beer afterwards? This way they would get to know each other, become mates and then we can move to the next step, learning to pass to friends.

Just an idea.

HUGE RELIEF!

I am so glad that Keegan resigned now and not 2 weeks earlier, as who do we know who is a Geordie with a flair for good football and a good record in Europe? That was close!

I’m not sure Frank would like being called a Geordie as I think he’s from Durham. Close enough for us though!

OPINION – CLARK

Frank Clark?!

I was not surprised to read the following in MCIVTA 261:

“Frank Clark was Francis Lee’s choice right from day one as the new manager at Manchester City.”

After all, his record this season at Nottingham Forest is comparable to Alan Ball’s at MCFC last season. A good choice… not! Please, please, please, please let me be wrong!

A prosperous New Year to all and perhaps a few points to boot?

OPINION – GIO

I am a bit cheesed off with reading media gossip about Gio and the Geordies. I cannot believe that Frank will get rid of his (and our) prize asset now, especially as it is still “early days” and he (Frank) has yet to win over all City fans. Also with money in the bank to spend, it doesn’t make sense to be selling our best players… unless we are “reducing our wage bill” again (ha bloody ha).

Since when did anybody who had just acquired a new sports car with an amazing stereo system in it, rip out the stereo and put a cheaper set in before even driving the car! OK, the Geordie Lee Clark may be a good player but you cannot compare him to Gio in the long run, particularly when you consider that there are City fans who go to games just to watch Gio (at least for the moment, anyway, but hopefully things will be different from Saturday).

Frank has already made very complimentary comments about Gio in the press so it seems crazy if he is going to trade him in. Anyway, we all know how desperate the press are to make a story about nothing and obviously clubs like the Geordies are going to be interested in a player like Gio so 2 + 2 sometimes does equal 4; we shall see.

The Clough move sounds good to me… but it remains to be seen if the likes of Summerbee and especially Rösler get off their backsides and actually run with the ball and take men on (maybe they don’t know that they are allowed to do that under the rules?). I like the idea of Uncle Frank as our boss and my optimism is reaching dizzying heights where oxygen is running thin… a far cry (cry being the operative word here) from my feelings about Ball or Neal, nice men though they are!?

It will be very interesting to see what team Frank picks for Saturday. Palace will be tough opposition and there will be another big crowd (30,000+ I wonder) who should get behind the team. If we get a decent referee then… we may win and you never know…

… Frank’s appointment could prove to be a kiss of life for our sleeping giant after all.

OPINION – NEW VS. OLD KIT

I have just read on the City Homepage the news from Paul Howarth that we will no longer be using Umbro as of next season and this will mean that there will be a change of both the home and away kits!

Now I know that Umbro will have the copyrights for both kits so the new people (any idea who? IMHO Reebok make good kits) cannot continue with them, but having bought two away shirts this year (no I do not sweat so much I have to change at half time, one for me one for the dragon) will I get a discount on the new ones? In my dreams!

This brings us to the old question – why buy them? I do not know why you buy them, but I buy them to walk around in and show the world and the Rags that I am Blue and we are not going to crawl under some rock and disappear just because we are having a run of bad luck (20 years long!) but I am getting a bit fed up with football fans having to change the shirt before it’s even got home (re the Rags 3 kit changes and England two changes just after Christmas!).

“You don’t have to buy them… no-one is twisting your arm!” I hear you say, but it is getting harder and harder to feel that you are part of a football club these days and wearing a shirt is one of the ways of feeling that you belong; we can all remember the days when no fan was complete without his (no girls then… back at home having babies and cooking – the “good old days”) scarf around his neck, arms and hanging from the waist of his 3 button patch-pocket flares! Wearing your club’s colours has always been a way of feeling part of the club.

There is a way out I think! Old kits worn by heroes of times gone past, when men were men and sheep were sheep… sorry lost it for a second there. My fav’ is the 69-70 home kit. Blue with white around the neck and cuffs, the badge centre of the chest along with the red and black of the same season. Some I know like the white with the red and blue stripes; the point I am making is we should all get off the bandwagon of needing this week’s new shirt and return to the old kits – wear them with pride; then and only then will the kit makers and clubs stop the change of kits every other week.

What do you think? I will be going out in the close season to hunt out my new/old shirt and I think you all should do the same.

OPINION – A TEAM WHO CAN PLAY

Having watched all the home games and several away games this season I have decided that the time has come to voice my opinion on this “run of the mill season!” I have therefore come up with the following team (with possible and present players).

                              Hislop
       Brightwell      Symons  Kernaghan    Pearce
       Gillespie/Fox       Whitley    Lomas    Beagrie
                             Kinkladze
                            Kavelashvili
Subs: Dickov, Phillips and Margetson

Why?

• Hislop, if available would be worth paying £3 million for. He is ayoung player who has both potential and is better than what we haveat the moment.
• Gillespie/Fox are both players who would demolish firstdivision opposition and Fox may be available for less than £2 million.
• Stuart Pearce, ’nuff said!

OPINION – DON’T SELL GIO TO THE MAGPIES

I don’t know about you but I can’t agree with selling Gio to Newcastle or any other English club for that matter.

Think of the anguish if we end up having to play against his genius once we regain our Premiership status. Remember FH Lee returning with Derby after Swales booted him unceremoniously out of Maine Road? To this day, I can still recall Barry Davies’ match commentary (not helped by it turning up week in, week out in the opening titles to Fantasy Football).

Lee picks up the ball on the left-hand side of the penalty area.

BD – Here’s Lee. Interesting.

Lee shoots and scores across Joe Corrigan with a shot to the far right corner.

BD – Very interesting. Look at his face! Just look at his face!

Never again, thank you. Let’s leave that kind of painful memory to the Rags and the Denis Law back-heel. If the best player to don the sacred blue in 20 years must leave, let him go to his beloved Barcelona. We might get more dosh. And besides, there’s no chance of us meeting him in the Anglo-Italian cup.

City, I’ll never let go, tho’ you hurt me so.

WHY BLUE?

My name’s Brad Olds. I was born and bred in Broken Hill, a small outback city in western New South Wales. I actually moved from Broken Hill when I was 18, in 1982, to Wollongong on the east coast of Australia. I was offered a job as a Mechanical Engineer Trainee at BHP. After completing my time I moved in to the supply field and became involved with computer systems. I am currently the System Administrator for a UNIX based warehousing system using RF technology and laser-scanning devices, (interesting work actually).

I first began following English soccer (or football, if you like) in 1975 when I watched West Ham beat Fulham 2-0 in the F.A. Cup Final. I was still playing Aussie Rules footy at the time and all of my mates followed one VFL (Victorian Football League) team or another so I didn’t really get deeply involved with the support of any one particular team. The following year I went to high school and met a few new mates that followed Manchester United (only because they made it to the Cup Final that year). So I, always ready for a bit of friendly rivalry, decided to tentatively start following the Blues. It wasn’t until I saw them thrash Spurs 5-0 (Booth, Tueart, Barnes, Hartford and Kidd were the scorers) that I finally bit the bullet and decided that this was definitely the team I wanted to support.

Twenty years later, and no more being on the right end of a 5-0 thrashing (in the top division anyway), although we did have some good results when we were in the old second division. I do remember the Blues putting 4 past Palace in an F.A. Cup game (1981, I think?). Well, I’ve stuck with City through thick and thin and copped all the flak from all the Liverpool-Manchester-United-Blackburn-Rovers supporters who change sides depending on who’s leading the table in the current year (or the current week) but I still believe I’m supporting the best club in the world.

There’s actually a song written by a popular Australian musician that basically describes our current situation. The name of the song is “True Blue” by John Williamson and a couple of the lines go something like this:

“So you’ve knocked off for a smoko,
but you’ll be back later on.”

Let’s not hope it’s too late. 🙂

BLUE HUMOUR

Rumour has it that City have got a new sponsor: Tampax.

The board thought it was an appropriate change as the club is going through a very bad period.

WWW MANCHESTER CITY SUPPORTERS’ HOME PAGE:
http://www.uit.no/mancity/

MCIVTA ADDRESSES:
Contributions: Ashley – mcivta@tollbar.u-net.com
Subscriptions: Adam – Adam.Houghton@sheffield.ac.uk
Club Questions: Stephen – sbolton@buxtonrd.u-net.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.

Editor: