Newsletter #1361

Short and sweet issue tonight, due to international week. City (past and present) were influential in the England victory over Israel as both Sweep and Micah were on the scoresheet.

Tonight we have opinion on the season thus far, the medical report and usual requests.

Next up, Villa. Will Vassell get a run out for this one?

OPINION: INTO PERSPECTIVE

I think some perspective is needed in light of recent results and comments. After all, we are only 5 games into the season and a 9 point return from those five games is far better than we probably all originally expected!

We have been fielding virtually a new side, all of whom need to become more acquainted before we can even think about what is going to be achieved. There is no doubting that the squad is better and stronger than the one that finished the last season. It’s also a little premature to (in my opinion) to be worrying about the squad’s shortcomings so early on in the season. I think this team will improve with the more games that are played. Can we expect them to pull up trees in every game? No, because even the Uniteds and Chelseas aren’t going to do that, see Villa vs. Chelsea. The Blackburn game was a disappointment but Mark Hughes has proven to be a very shrewd manager and has done an excellent job there. I for the record would have had no qualms about him being our manager had we not succeeded in bringing in a manager of Sven’s quality.

Let’s just see where we are in October/November. Sven is nobody’s fool and if the squad needs to be strengthened in January then I have no doubt that it will be. Spurs proved last season that you can even be in the bottom half at Christmas and still comfortably qualify for Europe. What are the club’s aims for this season? I would say they want to qualify for Europe by hook or by crook. We have a good chance of doing so, we’re even in the third round of the League Cup – wow! – so the early signs are good, let’s be positive!

OPINION: DOCTOR ON CALL I

Take a bow Mr Buckley (MCIVTA 1360). That is without doubt the most entertaining piece I’ve read for years in MCIVTA. Total and utter class.

To think of the depths you went to get that update for your fellow Blues brought a huge smile to my face. Still smiling now an hour later.

Blue moon.

OPINION: DOCTOR ON CALL II

Just curious about the Bojinov update.

As a member of the medical profession, I would expect to face dismissal if I gave out medical details of a patient of mine to any Tom, Dick or Harry who phoned me up.

REQUEST: BLUES VIEWING IN CHICAGO/TORONTO

I’ll shortly be heading over to North America for about 10 days and will be over there when the next two City games are on TV.

Does anyone have any suggestions/recommendations for bars or pubs in Chicago to watch the Villa game (September 16), and also for the same in Toronto to see the Fulham game (September 22)?

Are there any Blues in those fine cities that meet up to watch games?

RESULTS

League table to 09 September 2007 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Liverpool        4  1  1  0  7  1  2  0  0  4  1  3  1  0  11   2   9  10
 2 Arsenal          4  3  0  0  6  2  0  1  0  1  1  3  1  0   7   3   4  10
 3 Everton          5  1  1  0  3  2  2  0  1  5  3  3  1  1   8   5   3  10
 4 Chelsea          5  2  0  0  4  2  1  1  1  3  4  3  1  1   7   6   1  10
 5 Manchester City  5  2  0  0  2  0  1  0  2  2  2  3  0  2   4   2   2   9
 6 Newcastle Utd    4  1  1  0  1  0  1  1  0  5  3  2  2  0   6   3   3   8
 7 Blackburn R.     4  1  1  0  2  1  1  1  0  3  2  2  2  0   5   3   2   8
 8 Manchester Utd   5  2  1  0  2  0  0  1  1  1  2  2  2  1   3   2   1   8
 9 Wigan Athletic   5  2  0  0  4  0  0  1  2  2  4  2  1  2   6   4   2   7
10 Aston Villa      4  2  0  1  5  3  0  1  0  0  0  2  1  1   5   3   2   7
11 West Ham United  4  0  1  1  1  3  2  0  0  4  0  2  1  1   5   3   2   7
12 Middlesbrough    5  1  1  1  5  4  1  0  1  2  2  2  1  2   7   6   1   7
13 Portsmouth       5  1  1  0  4  2  0  1  2  3  6  1  2  2   7   8  -1   5
14 Tottenham H.     5  1  0  1  5  3  0  1  2  3  5  1  1  3   8   8   0   4
15 Fulham           5  1  1  1  6  6  0  0  2  2  4  1  1  3   8  10  -2   4
16 Birmingham City  5  0  1  1  2  3  1  0  2  4  6  1  1  3   6   9  -3   4
17 Sunderland       5  1  0  1  1  2  0  1  2  2  6  1  1  3   3   8  -5   4
18 Reading          5  1  0  2  2  5  0  1  1  0  3  1  1  3   2   8  -6   4
19 Bolton Wndrs     5  1  0  2  5  5  0  0  2  2  5  1  0  4   7  10  -3   3
20 Derby County     5  0  1  1  3  4  0  0  3  0 11  0  1  4   3  15 -12   1

MCIVTA FAQ [v0708.01]

[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 Points of Blue (formerly the Fans’ Committee)?

The committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. Points of Blue appears on the club website as a minor entry under “Fans Zone”.

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

The Radio Manchester (née GMR) pre and post match phone-in is available on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/sport/manchester_city/index.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://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer, 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] 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/.

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: