Newsletter #1099

The Blues have travelled to Norwich tonight for our televised game, having had a two-week break, which KK says has done the team good.

Tonight we have opinion on Euro action, the Points of Blue (Fans’ Committee) minutes, answers to questions from last week’s McV, news of a new website and the usual requests.

Finally, after their postponed game last week, the reserves are in action tomorrow night (Tuesday) at mini-CoMS vs. WBA.

OPINION: EURO TO GO

Anelka will have no more European football this season as his new team Fenerbahce were beaten by Real Zaragoza in the UEFA Cup; they lost the first leg 1-0 and the second 2-1. But Fenerbahce are top of the Turkish League, and Anelka has scored one goal in a league game.

It looks like Anelka will see some European football next season, even if this season will be disappointing to him.

Who knows, if his attitude had been right he could have helped City be in Europe, and let’s not count City out of it yet, it’s not over until it’s mathematically impossible. What can help City’s cause is if two EPL teams from the top six play in the final of the FA Cup; that would mean that a seventh place finish could see City in Europe.

I think that Kevin Keegan will be pushing his players to the limit in an all out effort to make it into Europe, that would really keep quiet some critics.

As much as I would love to see City make it, I fear that we just don’t have that fire power up front, unless young Bradley comes on the scene and produces some goals.

We must never give in, come on you Blues!

OPINION: ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

To Dave Sterrett; Karl has a room/stall inside Mary D’s selling the programmes, which is across the road from the Key 103 South Stand.

To Mark Oldham; Kevin Keegan’s record is on our website, and is updated after each game. He has just become the longest serving manager for 25 years, since Tony Book in 1979.

http://www.mcfcstats.com/

OPINION: MANCHESTER-BASED FANS

I think regular contributor Simon Moorehead may have some difficulty in identifying Manchester-based fans by looking at postcodes, especially Salford ones. I live in Swinton, which once belonged to Lancashire but was handed over to Salford in 1974 and my postcode is M27. I work in the old City of Salford and to the best of my knowledge City of Salford postcodes are M5, M6, M7 and bits of M8. Some Manchester postcodes include some parts of Cheshire. At the other end some Manchester postcodes stretch almost as far as Wigan.

I believe postcodes were created simply for the use of the postal service and to use them to establish a fan base is fairly pointless and almost as exciting as train spotting.

Maybe I’m wrong and this will cause great excitement amongst McV readers and City supporters everywhere but please don’t contact me on this subject, my brain will only take so much stimulation [I think, Alex, it was more likely something dreamed up by the University to keep people busy – Ed]

OPINION: POINTS OF BLUE

Minutes of meeting with club officials: 7 p.m., 23 February 2005.

For club: Alistair Mackintosh (Chief Executive), Sara Billington (Head of Operations), Peter Fletcher (Stadium and Safety Manager), Paul Tyrell (Head of Communications).

For fans: Dave Miller (co-ordinator), Steve Parish (Warrington OSC), Tom Ritchie (City till I Cry), Simon Cooper (Bluewatch), Stephanie Ferraioli (Chorlton, Prestwich & Whitefield), Sarah Rooke (Planet City), Gavin Cooper (Hazel Grove OSC), Mike Illingworth.

1. Stadium branding: information needed before we can safely start acampaign to allow more MCFC branding, e.g. a blue sign saying “City ofManchester Stadium” might be permitted, but not “Manchester CityFC”. Plans were in hand for something to commemorate Joe Mercer.
2. Atmosphere: long discussion. Particular query regarding banning of Americanflag at derby: the only ban was on United fans bringing US flags in casethey intended to set fire to them. Other specific queries regarding officiousstewarding couldn’t be pinned down without more detail, but PeterFletcher’s phone number was available on the website for any problems to bereported (and sorting out reported problems was a full day’s work after amatch).
   The suggestion of moving away fans to somewhere less conspicuous wasproblematic for various reasons.
   Standing: a political matter essentially. Attempts were made to get homeand away fans to sit down, with possibly reduced allocations if people didnot comply (not all those standing want to stand; those who want to sithave no alternative).Offending away fans cited were Newcastle and Villa, and sections 116/117 inthe South Stand. Charlton have already been in court over this issue, andthe club do not want City to be a test case. Unless the law changes, clubmust seek to comply with the law (and compel fans to comply).Club agreed to review music (style; when not to play – as before derbykick-off).
3. Reserve match parking. If parking near the venue is allowed (instead ofon North Car Park), it will cause problems if and when another event meansthat reserve match customers have to divert to the North Car Park.Nevertheless, the club will trial it at the next reserve match (Tuesday 1March; this change to be confirmed).
4. Home cup match pricing: if a replay with Oldham had been required, theprices would have been £18 adults and £5 children.
5. Away match pricing: the Premier League Working Group was discussingthis; and various suggestions had been made that would be looked into.
6. Season tickets: £10 surcharge did reflect both charges by credit andsome debit card companies, and admin costs to the club.
7. Programme backnumbers: enquiries were being made about availability.
8. Kit: there will be a new away kit for next season.
9. Cards: confusion regarding Citycard / Smartcard / Matchcard. Matchcard now aredundant name. Citycard was the paid-for card that entitled holder topriority booking for matches (after seasoncard holders). Others (anyone)could get a Smartcard, which then could be used to “purchase a ticket” -i.e. program the card to allow admission – for any home match (subject toavailability). These could be obtained before they were needed to book fora particular game.Some discussion followed about perceived difficulties of getting tickets(i.e. having to wait while the loyalty points needed came down, even when -e.g. Norwich away – it was likely that anyone who wanted to go could go andthey could effectively be on open sale from the outset). Club agreed toreview the process, both to maximise revenue and as a convenience to fans.Through focus groups, the club was aware of the reasons why away attendancewas falling (price, TV, time changes, treatment of away fans byclubs/police, going away was simply less enjoyable these days).
10. Policing: As it happened away from the stadium, the club had noparticular explanation of the use of police horses in disturbances afterthe derby match, nor of police tactics at West Brom. It was understood thatthese incidents were subject of ongoing investigation.
11. Public Relations. Paul Tyrell responded to queries about “no replies”to correspondence. Letters were fielded by one person even if copies weresent to several staff. On particular issues regarding supporters’ club branches,and availability of guest speakers from the club, he had been asked by JohnWardle and Alistair Mackintosh to institute a system that was fair to allbranches. This included limiting the number of items per branch that theclub was willing to get autographed. Each branch could have (at a charge)one autographed shirt per year for fundraising. In addition, the clubconsiders other special requests for charity fundraising (i.e. other thanclub funds). Sometimes, as injury or other circumstances meant a playercould not attend as arranged, and to avoid disappointment, the policy mayhave to be one of “under-promising” and “over-delivery”. Discussions withOSC and CSA were ongoing.
    Regarding the incident of the interrupted GMR interview with the manager after theOldham game, the club had given all the press up-to-date information aboutFenerbahce’s interest in Anelka, and it was agreed that the manager wouldonly answer questions about the game; GMR went against the agreement, andnow accept that the question should not have been asked. There were otherissues to do with GMR’s reporting of City stories. The PR job is to protectthe club’s interests and its officials.
12. Website issues left to web-users group.
13. Seats / shelves. For safety reasons, seats could not be installed onthe lower concourse. Issues re DDA referred to disabled users’ group.
14. mcfctv.com: improvements would be in place for next season.
15. Matches moved for TV – the explanation given by Sky to one complainant,which implied that they give longer than six weeks notice to the PremierLeague but “there may be delays in receiving confirmation”, was dismissedby the club who say the consultations with police and local authorities areoften dealt with on the day that notice was given, and that often that wasnot long before the six weeks deadline. The club can only warn that anymatch may be moved for TV, and make representations to the Premier Leaguethat these changes are part of the current disillusionment with “the product”.
16. Corporate: the possibility of offering corporate packages to brancheswas being considered.
17. Other topics raised: switch from Cheshire Building Society to Britanniafor City-linked savings accounts; City in the “richest club” top 20 (byturnover); early announcement of pre-season friendlies; action regarding offensivechanting (Peter Fletcher outlined some instances where offensive behaviourhad been dealt with, but it depends on complaints being made); it wasreiterated that any matter can be raised direct with the club, but Pointsof Blue has had one success: the club was unaware that there were delaysfor cars getting into the North Car Park on matchdays (a fan asked for thisto be put on the PoB agenda but dealt with before the meeting by asking theCity Council to retime the lights sequence).

The meeting closed at 9.20. Thanks to club staff for their time.

REQUEST: NEW SUPPORTERS’ CLUB WEBSITE

The Official Supporters’ Club has now launched its new website, which can be found at: http://www.mcfcosc.com/

All branches have their own page, there are details on joining, local contacts and a new section for all the latest meetings, events and other useful information.

REQUEST: NY BLUES

In the last issue of MCIVTA (1098) New York Blues were put on notice to look out for Sean and Phung who have just moved to Manhattan. I distribute an email for supporters in New York indicating which matches are being shown on television. Sean and Phung should email me to get on the list.

For any other Blues living in or visiting New York, we regularly meet for televised matches at Nevada Smith’s (74 Third Ave., between 11th & 12th Sts.).

OPINION: NEIL YOUNG BOOK

The legendary striker, Neil Young, scored goals to win the league, FA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup for City.

I’ve read his autobiography Catch A Falling Star with Dante Friend. It’s a great read, and I think every City fan should read it. Available from the publisher: http://www.empire-uk.com/

RESULTS

27 February 2005

Newcastle United      2 - 1  Bolton Wanderers      50,430
Middlesbrough         2 - 2  Charlton Athletic     29,603

26 February 2005

Southampton           1 - 1  Arsenal               31,815
Aston Villa           1 - 3  Everton               40,248
Crystal Palace        2 - 0  Birmingham City       23,376
Tottenham Hotspur     2 - 0  Fulham                35,885
Manchester United     2 - 1  Portsmouth            67,989

League table to 27 February 2005 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Chelsea         27 10  3  0 25  3 11  2  1 25  5 21  5  1  50   8  42  68
 2 Manchester Utd  28 10  4  0 26  7  8  4  2 21 10 18  8  2  47  17  30  62
 3 Arsenal         28  8  5  1 36 17  9  2  3 28 15 17  7  4  64  32  32  58
 4 Everton         28  9  1  4 16 13  6  5  3 18 16 15  6  7  34  29   5  51
 5 Liverpool       27  9  1  3 23 10  4  3  7 18 19 13  4 10  41  29  12  43
 6 Middlesbrough   28  7  5  2 22 14  4  4  6 21 23 11  9  8  43  37   6  42
 7 Bolton Wndrs    28  6  4  4 17 12  5  3  6 19 22 11  7 10  36  34   2  40
 8 Tottenham H.    27  6  3  5 27 19  5  3  5  8 11 11  6 10  35  30   5  39
 9 Charlton Ath.   27  7  2  4 21 15  4  4  6 11 23 11  6 10  32  38  -6  39
10 Aston Villa     28  7  3  4 21 13  2  5  7 11 24  9  8 11  32  37  -5  35
11 Newcastle Utd   27  6  4  4 23 21  2  6  5 16 23  8 10  9  39  44  -5  34
12 Manchester City 27  5  5  4 17 12  3  4  6 14 17  8  9 10  31  29   2  33
13 Birmingham City 28  5  4  5 17 12  3  4  7 14 23  8  8 12  31  35  -4  32
14 Portsmouth      28  6  2  6 19 19  2  4  8 12 23  8  6 14  31  42 -11  30
15 Fulham          27  5  2  6 16 21  3  3  8 17 25  8  5 14  33  46 -13  29
16 Blackburn R.    27  3  7  4 16 18  3  3  7  8 18  6 10 11  24  36 -12  28
17 Crystal Palace  28  5  2  7 15 13  1  5  8 17 32  6  7 15  32  45 -13  25
18 Southampton     28  3  9  2 21 19  0  3 11  8 25  3 12 13  29  44 -15  21
19 Norwich City    27  3  5  5 20 25  0  6  8  6 27  3 11 13  26  52 -26  20
20 West Brom A.    27  2  7  5 11 21  0  5  8 12 28  2 12 13  23  49 -26  18

MCIVTA FAQ [v0405.02]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Heidi Pickup)          : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org
News/rumour (Don Barrie)         : news@mcivta.city-fan.org
Subscriptions (Madeleine Hawkins): subscriptions@mcivta.city-fan.org
Technical problems (Paul)        : paul@city-fan.org
FAQ (David Warburton)            : faq@mcivta.city-fan.org

[2] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

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

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

http://www.uit.no/mancity/ 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.

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

The official club web site can be found at http://www.mcfc.co.uk/

[5] What supporters’ clubs are there?

Manchester City FC recognises three supporters’ clubs: The “Official Supporters Club” (http://www.mancity.net/osc/); the “Centenary Supporters’ Association” (http://www.reddishblues.com/CSAWebsite/CSA.htm) and “The International Supporters’ Club” (http://www.mcfc.co.uk/article.asp?article=111845&Title=International+Supporters+Club&lid=Membership).

[6] Where can I find out about the fans’ committee?

The Fans’ Committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. The Fans’ Committee has been relaunched as “Points of Blue”. It has appeared on the club website as a minor entry under “Fans Zone”.

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

The GMR pre and post match phone-in is available on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/gmr/sport_intro.shtml.

Live match commentaries and archives of games, reports and interviews can be found at http://www.mcfctv.com/.

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

http://www.satfootball.com/pl.html provides a listing of Premiership games being shown on UK domestic and foreign satellite channels. Useful sites for North American viewers are http://canadatvsoccer.tripod.com/Fixtures.htm, http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/FSW/Index/Soccer, and http://www.soccertv.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://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci213262,00.html

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

There are a number available and direct links can be found at http://www.uit.no/mancity/players/

[11] Can I buy shares in the club?

Yes you can: Shares in Manchester City PLC are traded on OFEX. The latest prices can be on found the OFEX web site http://www.ofex.com/ (registration required) or in the business section of the Manchester Evening News.

[12] Where can I find match statistics?

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

[13] Where can I find a list of City-related websites?

Try Wookie’s Lair: http://www.wookieslair.com/modules.php?name=Web_Links

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.

Heidi Pickup, editor@mcivta.city-fan.org

Editor: