Newsletter #306

Apologies for the lack of ‘intro/editorial’ for this issue, but U-Net have been ‘down’ the entire evening so I’ve not been able to log on until 10.30.

Thursday’s issue is somewhat tentative at the moment; I’m moving house and it will be dependent on whether I have a telephone connection by then or not! Otherwise, it will be held over ’til Monday.

This one reaches 1,490.

Next game, Blackpool away, Wednesday 16th July 1997

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NEWS – LAKE TESTIMONIAL POSTPONED

Paul Lake’s testimonial, scheduled for 19th July, has had to be postponed as suitable opposition could not be found. Newcastle declined due to having other commitments and Rangers were apparently concerned about security. According to a report in the MEN, some foreign teams were approached but made exorbitant demands for guarantees. “We have had to call off the July 19th game but we are working at getting it on a little later,” said organiser Tudor Thomas.

Paul Howarth (paul@city-fan.org)

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NEWS – SUMMERBEE TO BE OFFERED IMPROVED CONTRACT

Nicky Summerbee is expected to agree a new contract at City next week after being offered an extra £1,000 per week by the club, according to a report on Teletext today (Sunday).

The Mole

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NEWS – VARIOUS

According to teletext and the Sunday Mirror, City are offering Nicky Summerbee an extra £1,000 to stay and sign a new contract. I had heard a rumour that City’s first offer was only an extra £100 a week. Big club that we are…

I also have heard from an extremely reliable source that City have been trying to ‘penny pinch’ over recent deals which could explain certain players’ apprehensions at coming to Maine Road.

As for the League Cup, all the Premiership teams that are in Europe get a bye to the third round. Thus more first division teams are needed, as well as Nottm Forest (bottom of Premiership) to fill the first round draw ensuring the correct (i.e. round) numbers in subsequent rounds.

On the new kit debate, someone told me that their company were designing a training suit for the new kit, which encorporated the Kappa logo and an eight sided City badge. I asked at the City shop were we getting a new away kit, and that oldish woman that works there told me no, we would still be in the maroon/white thing. The plot thickens…

Liam Hosie (man.scg.fs2.mmmr5lph@stud.man.ac.uk)

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NEWS – EAGLE?

I have recieved unconfirmed reports that our new logo will have the likes of an eagle. I have heard these from a somewhat reliable source, who has access to the top-secret innards of the club.

Mike Blue (msdoles@aol.com)

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VAUGHAN MOVE TO GO TO TRIBUNAL

The fee for City’s new defender Tony Vaughan is to go to tribunal after Ipswich Town asked for a fee of between £2 million and £2.5 million (depending on which report you read) for him. He had been thought to be worth around £1 million and that was the fee City were prepared to pay for him. Now City have come back with an offer closer to £500,000 and it will be up to a tribunal to decide on the fee, almost certainly somewhere between the two clubs’ valuations. It should be noted however that Vaughan is 21 and has made around 80 appearances for Ipswich; Arsenal recently paid £2.2 million to Luton Town for 18-year-old Matthew Upson.

Paul Howarth (paul@city-fan.org)

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NO BACKROOM CHANGES FOR THE MOMENT

Due to Andy Gray’s decision not to become the Everton manager (it’s about time they got some of the stick we had last season!), Richard Money will be staying on as City’s first team coach. Gray and Money are old friends and would at some time like to team up.

Another non-mover is Willie Donachie, who has turned down the offer of a coaching position with City. He is now favourite for the managerial vacancy at Walsall and has also been linked with Stockport following Dave Jones’ defection to Southampton. City’s Asa Hartford is also being linked with the Stockport job; he was manager at Edgeley Park between 1987 and 1989, though this is very much speculation IMHO.

Paul Howarth (paul@city-fan.org)

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FRANNIE INTERVIEW

The latest interview with Francis Lee appears on the Supporters’ Club site on http://user.itl.net/~dylan/mcfcsc2/

Bob Young (dylan@itl.net)

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INTERNATIONAL SUPPORTERS’ CLUB

I have been to speaking to City for a few months now about forming a MCFC International Supporters’ Club. The Club have agreed to the basic proposals I have made and are now in the process of working out the finer points such as costs and benefits of membership.

I have received fantastic support with these ideas from around the world that came about during Francis Lee’s visit to Jersey and my subsequent visit to Manchester to see the Chairman and Mike Turner.

The fantastic support I am talking about includes the guys who visit Blue View and subscribe to MCIVTA. We have a great team of City fans here and I would especially like to thank Clive, Gio’s Bootlicker and Paul H. for really getting behind the project and helping me along the way.

I see the International Supporters’ Club making Manchester City a truly international football club.

If you want to be kept informed of developments and you feel that you may be interested in joining this new club, please email me on dylan@itl.net with your name and address and comments and questions. I will do my best to answer them.

Bob Young (dylan@itl.net)

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THE LONDON BRANCH AGM

This year’s AGM takes place this Saturday (28th) at 1pm in the Sekforde Arms, Sekforde Street, London EC1. The nearest station is Farringdon and the pub is just of Clerkenwell Green.

Anyone living in the South East who isn’t already a member, but would like to join is welcome to attend.

The meeting will involve the election of the Branch Committee, the latest news regarding our discounted travel arrangements, by rail, to matches and the ticket arrangements for away matches during the forthcoming season.

A buffet will be provided and following the meeting a ‘session’ will no doubt develop in the bar downstairs!

Julian Cooke – Chair, Manchester City Supporters’ Club, London Branch (jcooke@tpmde.ac.uk)

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NEW LEAGUE CUP FORMAT AND FIXTURE CONGESTION

Martin Ford asked why all 1st Division teams (excluding Sunderland and Middlesbrough) are in the 1st Round of the League Cup.

Well, at last week’s meeting of the Nationwide League, the League Cup was reorganised so that the top Premier League sides enter at a later stage (round 3 instead of round 2) – so reducing fixture congestion later on. To compensate for this, all 1st Division teams now enter the League Cup in Round 1 with the exception of the two best placed teams last season (Sunderland and Middlesbrough).

On the subject of fixture congestion, Man Ure were offered an even earlier start to the new season to prevent a repetition of last season’s problems. However, Man Ure declined as this would mean cancelling a lucrative pre-season tour. Having your cake and eating it, or what!

Richard Mottershead (richardm@ftp.com)

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GEORGIAN SHIRTS I

In the relentless pursuit to buy a Georgian shirt, how about contacting the Georgian Football Association? Their address is:

Georgian Football Federation
5, Shota Iamanidze str.
380012 TBILISI
GEORGIA

Telephone Number 995-32/96 07 50
Fax Number 995-32/00 11 28

Also, who makes the shirt? You could approach them and ask if there is anyone in the UK who sells them. If all that fails, you could try the Georgian Embassy, or consulate.

Ralph Sheppard – Palmerston North (get your atlases out for the lads)New Zealand (R.P.Sheppard@massey.ac.nz)

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GEORGIAN SHIRTS II

I am a Georgian student at the Oxford University and a devoted fan of Gio (know him personally) and the Manchester City. I see some people want to get Georgian kit and do not know how. I thought I might do something. All I can do I’ll inquire this at the Georgian Football Federation (I am going home for a short while) and e-mail you back about the places where you can get a kit if at all, or I may organise something directly from Georgia.

Levan Bouadze (levan.bouadze@sant.ox.ac.uk)

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TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

You can tell it’s approaching the football season once again as more and more news starts to fill the Sunday tabloids sports sections.

The latest news being accredited towards the Blues doesn’t make particularly cheerful news:

It looks like Andy Dibble is certainly on his way out of Maine Road (and many of you would celebrate that fact, but I’m not one of them), the club interested in taking him on, Nottm Forest. So maybe he’ll come back to haunt us at least twice this season? A few final words for Andy: cheers for the laughs, thanks for the saves, congrats on getting us promoted (89, had a good season), good luck for the future.

So just where is Peter Beagrie destined? First he was reported to be linking up with Steve McMahon at Swindon, then all of a sudden he’s being linked with another City old boy, Peter Reid at Sunderland. Pairing Beags and Quinn might just give Sunderland the necessary ammunition to win the league (if they can both stay fit!). Once more I’ve not got a harsh word for Beagrie, good luck at which ever club, but I hope you have two bad games against the Blues.

Money-go-round…

With Summerbee still holding out for an improved contract and using the Bosman ruling as a bargaining chip, it looks like City might be backing down and preparing to offer him an improved deal. It’s been reported that City only(!) offered Buzzer a £200 a week pay rise, thus the rumours about him going to Cannes started. It looks like City are keen to keep him and are prepared to offer him £1,000 a week pay rise; how can he/club justify that sort of pay hike? As you all know I’m not the biggest Buzzer fan, he’s taking the p*** out of the club. From a personal point of view, get shot of him ASAP. He doesn’t deserve any wage half the time!

City have another ‘pay rebel’ in the shape of Richard Edghill. He’s been given a £300 a week rise (I think?), which would take him to earning £950 a week, but he’s holding out for more. He’s not a bad player but he’s not played in over a year so can he even justify holding out, we’ve not seen him in a competitive game so who knows what the year has done for him!

I suppose this is all City’s own fault, they’ve brought it on themselves by giving Gio a fantastic contract. Obviously players have seen/heard what Gio’s been given and are trying to screw the club for some more money! What is it that FHL said when he first came in, the wage bill was too high, well paying Gio ain’t gonna help matters further!

Have City signed any other players other than Vaughan and Wiekens? Where’s the promised strikers? £10 million to waste (c’mon we know City!) and they’ve only spent a fraction of that. Smith, Russell, Arveladze(s) and the Pompey striker, none signed yet. The pre-season tour starts in a month and still no real activity on the transfer market: are we going to be left with empty promises?

Talking of the Pre-season Scottish tour, any other MCVITee’s intending to go? I’ve booked my accommodation so maybe I’ll see some of you at the delights of Livingston (Edinburgh, Princess Street and the Royal mile, hic!), Stirling, Kilmarnock (staying in Ayr) and Falkirk. Any of our Scottish based readers recommend any decent boozers, eateries, clubs for the trip? Anyone know where there’s any on line maps of these towns?

Martin Ford (MFORD@fs1.li.umist.ac.uk)

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AWAY STRIP, RAG FOREIGNERS AND BLUE FOREIGNERS!

Away Kit rumour from my mate who works at JJB. It is white and maroon (half and half) and an official from Umbro has said it is far better than anything they have ever made for us.

Also Karel Poborski has been let off by the Department of Employment because, even though he has not played the required number of games ‘It is his first season in English football and we are letting him have time to settle down.’ Correct me If I’m wrong but wasn’t it Kavelashvili’s first season in English football and doesn’t he also have a family to think about? Another bit of proof that it is one rule for one and one rule for another.

Thomas Rance (Ttrance@aol.com)

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LATEST BETTING LINE – DIRECT FROM LAS VEGAS…

Attention all Blues wherever you are –

I recently moved from Denver to Las Vegas. On Saturday night I chanced upon the Race and Sports Book at Caesar’s Palace. I can now confirm that the official line on Manchester City winning the Nationwide First Division for the 97-98 season is – “What?”

David Atkins (D.Atkins@7Circle.Com)

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WHY BLUE?

Before I start let me say I live in Perth, Western Australia and know more Brits now than when I lived in the UK and most of these are Northerners; anyway, I have been trying to get a mate of mine to write a “Why I am Blue” story for months but he keeps telling me he doesn’t have time. Last week he suggested my story was worth sending in so here goes.

My interest in City started sometime last year when I was impressing one of the Oldham lads (the above mentioned) from the local club with the wonders of the net, and the amount of info that is available at the press of a button. He asked me if I could get something on City; what I came up with was MCIVTA.

To say the least this guy was blown away, The Blue Humour page was the talk of the club (about 90% are poms, many of these are from Manchester) for a few boozy nights. Anyway, I began to fax this guy (Steve Potter for the record) Latest News of the Blues on a regular basis from work in the morning, and depending on what time I got to work he would have a match report from a game that had barely finished, on his breakfast table before he could get the results from a dial-a-soccer result service.

It wasn’t long before I subscribed to MCIVTA to forward to this City fan, but not before I had a browse myself and started following the goings on between the MCIVTA pages. I never followed football while I lived in the UK but I can now say I have more than a passing interest in City and can contribute to a professional Manchester City conversation over a few beers between the Aussie bashing and sex talk.

If anyone in Perth who may be reading this and wants to come down to our little country club full of Northerners (and a few Rags fans) please E-mail me.

Keep up the good work MCIVTA.

Steve Gordon (sgordon@aidpo.agric.wa.gov.au)

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

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MCIVTA ADDRESSES:
Contributions: Ashley – mcivta@tollbar.u-net.com
Subscriptions & Club Questions: Steve – sbolton@buxtonrd.u-net.com
Technical Problems: Paul – paul@city-fan.org

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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.

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Ashley Birch, mcivta@tollbar.u-net.com

Editor: