Newsletter #1155

A short issue tonight as people are no doubt celebrating The Ashes victory and our derby performance. A 1-1 draw at the Swamp sees us stay above those Rags, a game that saw the usual diving from Shrek and The Horse, some blind eyes turned by the referees and a committed performance from the Blues.

We have views on the game, corporate match days and ticket requests.

OPINION: THE DERBY

Watching at 7.00 Pacific Standard Time.

The game was on live on PPV in the U.S. so it was an early rise. Sometimes I think I should just sleep through and just check the final score. I get so tense watching the games against United. It is easy to be wise after the fact but I felt it would not be a high scoring game but that United would shade it. For a long part of the game this remained possible but all credit to City for continuing to look for a goal and for getting one, and for nearly getting another at the end. How different this is from a year ago when City could not get back into games once they had given up a goal.

On balance a good result and it must do wonders for the manager and players as they look at the next few games.

I still don’t like rating players but I would say that Barton played very well, as did Reyna and if Sinclair can play for 90 like he did towards the end I will be very pleased. However, I still feel we lack guile and the kind of player that can make something happen. Yes, I know he has gone to Chelsea but we must continue to look for players to bring in during the January window – or is there still no money! The other note from the game is that we did tend to make a bad final pass a great deal.

But those are small gripes compared with a well earned point. Bolton next. That was the game last season that saw off Kevin (and the game I flew back to watch – what a choice!). I am more inclined to see it as another chance to see how Mr. Pearce continues to take this team forward.

OPINION: ALL SQUARE

The multi-dollar team of so called individual stars (United) 1
The team of passionate players with the Manager of the Month (City) 1

Away at the Meccano stadium this was a very good result, and Stuart Pearce’s side has now gone 13 games unbeaten. King Cole came so close to claiming the winner.

Congratulations to Stuart Pearce, Manager of the Month in August. Well done you Blues, we are proud of you all.

OPINION: MCFCTV DERBY COVERAGE

Listened to some of the derby on MCFCTV.CO.UK but found myself getting wound up by Andy (Everton are a bigger club than Man City) Hinchcliffe.

And what seemed to be his mate from the pub (a Manchester United fan with some sort of Cheshire accent).

It seemed to me that the common tator was a Red, as each time United attacked he got very excited. Perhaps I am wrong but nevertheless this MCFC nonsense is taking the p**s and needs stopping now.

Any ideas from afar?

By the way, City were fantastic. I just can’t help but lovin de blues.

OPINION: CORPORATE THUMBS UP

The game against Portsmouth was on the day of my elder daughter’s 21st birthday. I am an exiled Blue in Portsmouth. Now the fact she is a Blue but was born in Portsmouth got me thinking.

So I went the whole hog. Flew me and Lyndsay (21) and my younger daughter Nikki (named after Nikki Reid) to Manchester on Friday night to our hotel in Piccadilly (I had the foresight to book early, didn’t know it was Mardi Gras weekend, and a few sights to be seen there). I had booked the Boardroom suite for the match. Still not sure about going to a football match in suit and tie but…

What a fantastic day. This is not a cheap way to watch football but for a special occasion. I would challenge any 5 star restaurant to rival the fare on offer that day. I won’t bore you with the menu but my gob was well smacked. Lyndsay was presented with a birthday present which, try as I might, I couldn’t prise away from her. I kept the menu to try to get some autographs on it for her to keep.

Enter star of the afternoon. Tommy Booth. He was an absolute diamond. I asked him for his autograph. He made sure he spelt Lyndsay’s name correctly and then spent a good 15 minutes at our table being a bl**dy good bloke,

I asked him if my hero Colin would be coming through. He said “Yeah, I’ll make sure he comes over”. Then said “Do you know you are in the Colin Bell Stand?” I said “Yes.” He said “They named a stand after him, but did you know they named a part of the ground after me?” I had to admit I didn’t. Tommy said “Yeah. A grid.”

Anyway, Colin Bell came in, Tommy shouted “Col over here now”. I am now the proud owner of a Colin Bell, arm round the shoulder photograph, which will have pride of place in my City “home office”.

Extra special treat for Lyndsay was her three best mates surprised her and drove up from Portsmouth to go out on the town with her on Saturday night (phew, saved me a job).

Why Blue? I have always loved City and, as a Kippax boy, don’t need special treatment. But the special way they treated my girls that day is forever imprinted on them. They are Blue forever and my gorgeous girls will never forget it. It is not a cheap way to watch football, but if you want a great experience, do it.

OPINION: HERO TO ZERO

Great piece by Bernard Molyneux. I reckon his version of events is spot on (if not, great story!).

REQUEST: NEWCASTLE TICKETS AVAILABLE

I have two spare adult tickets for Newcastle away on 24.9.05.

Please email me or ring me on 07944 775022 if you would like them.

RESULTS

11 September 2005

Bolton Wanderers      0 - 0  Blackburn Rovers      24,405

10 September 2005

Manchester United     1 - 1  Manchester City       67,839
Birmingham City       0 - 1  Charlton Athletic     26,846
Chelsea               2 - 0  Sunderland            41,969
Everton               0 - 1  Portsmouth            36,831
Newcastle United      1 - 1  Fulham                52,208
Tottenham Hotspur     0 - 0  Liverpool             36,148
West Bromwich Albion  1 - 2  Wigan Athletic        25,617
Middlesbrough         2 - 1  Arsenal               28,075

League table to 11 September 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          5  3  0  0  7  0  2  0  0  3  0  5  0  0  10   0  10  15
 2 Charlton Ath.    4  1  0  0  1  0  3  0  0  7  1  4  0  0   8   1   7  12
 3 Manchester City  5  1  1  0  2  1  2  1  0  5  3  3  2  0   7   4   3  11
 4 Manchester Utd   4  1  1  0  2  1  2  0  0  4  0  3  1  0   6   1   5  10
 5 Bolton Wndrs     5  1  1  1  2  1  1  1  0  4  3  2  2  1   6   4   2   8
 6 Tottenham H.     5  1  1  1  2  2  1  1  0  2  0  2  2  1   4   2   2   8
 7 Middlesbrough    5  1  1  1  2  4  1  0  1  3  2  2  1  2   5   6  -1   7
 8 Arsenal          4  2  0  0  6  1  0  0  2  1  3  2  0  2   7   4   3   6
 9 Wigan Athletic   4  1  0  1  1  1  1  0  1  2  2  2  0  2   3   3   0   6
10 Liverpool        3  1  0  0  1  0  0  2  0  0  0  1  2  0   1   0   1   5
11 Aston Villa      4  1  1  0  3  2  0  1  1  1  2  1  2  1   4   4   0   5
12 Blackburn R.     5  1  1  0  2  1  0  1  2  1  4  1  2  2   3   5  -2   5
13 Fulham           5  1  1  0  1  0  0  1  2  3  7  1  2  2   4   7  -3   5
14 West Ham United  3  1  0  1  4  3  0  1  0  0  0  1  1  1   4   3   1   4
15 Portsmouth       5  0  1  1  1  3  1  0  2  3  4  1  1  3   4   7  -3   4
16 Birmingham City  5  0  0  3  1  6  1  1  0  3  2  1  1  3   4   8  -4   4
17 West Brom A.     5  1  0  2  5  6  0  1  1  0  4  1  1  3   5  10  -5   4
18 Everton          4  0  0  2  0  3  1  0  1  1  1  1  0  3   1   4  -3   3
19 Newcastle Utd    5  0  2  1  1  3  0  0  2  0  4  0  2  3   1   7  -6   2
20 Sunderland       5  0  0  2  2  5  0  0  3  0  4  0  0  5   2   9  -7   0

MCIVTA FAQ [v0506.02]

[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.mcfcosc.com/); the “Centenary Supporters’ Association” (http://www.reddishblues.com/CSAWebsite/CSA.htm) and “The International Supporters’ Club”.

[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://mcfc.videoloungetv.com/do/preLogin?clubSiteCode=MCFC&CMP=AFC-003.

[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://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/FSW/Index/Soccer, http://www.soccertv.com/, and http://www.livesoccertv.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: