Newsletter #1396

News from Sarah tonight with reaction to win against West Ham, plenty of transfer rumour and of course the “massive” news this week that KK had made a return to Tyneside.

We have match reports from the FA Cup game thanks to Phil and Colin, part two of the “soul of the club” and Steve has sent in the Points of Blue meeting notes.

Next up, West Ham again!

NEWS SUMMARY

Match Reaction

That’s Not My Way: After the disappointment at Everton, Sven was not happy either with the result or the way the team played, saying “In the first half, I don’t think we played football. We didn’t even try. We invited Everton too much during the first 40 minutes to control the game and play it how they wanted to.” The Blues failed to fire during the first half and after the half time chat with his players, Eriksson believed they came out fighting, but it was ultimately to no avail. “The last five (minutes) of the first half and during the second half we were okay. At least we were braver, we wanted to keep the ball and play football,” added Eriksson. “I said to them at half time we have to play football. If we don’t play football we’ll have to change half of our team! We don’t have football players who kick it long and go for second balls. We are not as good as other teams that do that and that is on purpose from my side.”

Bring On The Blades: Manchester City progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday night with a 1-0 win over West Ham. However, the night was far from perfect as Castillo was stretchered off on his home début with a serious looking shoulder injury. City medics reported the shoulder to be dislocated, but the player will undergo a scan today in order to assess the true extent of the damage. Castillo will almost certainly miss Sunday’s Premiership match, also at home to West Ham. Sven was happy with the result and in particular with Elano’s return to form “It is good to see Elano coming back to normal because he has been down for a little while,” said Sven after the Brazilian netted a second-half winner. “We have not had the real Elano since October or November. The last two times he has come back from the national team he has been injured. Then he was a bit sick, so he has not been training regularly. Thankfully, he has trained well for a few weeks now and physically, he is a lot better than he was a month ago. He is a world-class player and when you are looking for someone to do something special in the last third, he is the man.”

Damned by Faint Praise: Sven Goran Eriksson has revealed that he is still optimistic of strengthening his squad, with ‘several targets’ still a possibility. But he believes in general it is more difficult in January to recruit than in the summer as you have a shorter time, only a month. “We are working on several targets and I hope we can do some business in the two weeks that are left.” If unsuccessful in his New Year recruitment drive, Eriksson said it would not be a problem for him if he had to see out the remainder of the current season with his present squad. “The team are not that bad. We are doing rather well,” he said. “There is money available to buy players but I would be happy to play the rest of the season with the ones we have.”

The Problems Lie Playing Away: Defender Vedran Corluka has said that City’s problems do not lie in their lack of resources but in their away form, something the Croatia international believes needs to improve drastically. “I can’t explain why we play so badly in away games, we must be braver in away games than we are,” he said.“I think the problem is mental because we are the same team as in Manchester so I don’t see any other reason why we don’t play like we do in Manchester.”

General News

City Host South African Delegation: This week City hosted a delegation from South Africa’s Royal Thanda Zulu club, one of several sides with which the Blues began partnerships last year. Thanda head coach Roger Palmgren and other officials visited the Carrington training ground and the Platt Lane Academy complex to watch training sessions and to talk to City staff. The visitors are particularly interested in the success of the Academy as they look to establish one of their own in Durban, and Palmgren, who has coached the Senegal, Rwanda and Sierra Leone national sides, was looking for tips on preparation and conditioning of young players. “City is one of the English Premier League’s leading clubs and our coaching team, Roger Palmgren and Johan Eriksson, will study how it runs its player development programme and ensures the new generation of talent through its Academy,” said chairman Johann Glennmo. City chief executive Alistair Mackintosh said the Blues are delighted to help their visitors: “In recent years our Academy has been extremely successful, producing players including current first team regulars Michael Johnson, Nedum Onuoha, Stephen Ireland and England international Micah Richards.”

Team News

Hamann Ready to Sign: Didi Hamann is ready to put pen to paper on a one-year contract extension and could end his career at Manchester City. The 34-year-old Germany international was rumoured to be a target for Liverpool recently as a potential coaching assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann when he was offered Rafael Benitez’s job. But whilst he’s playing as well as he is, why would he want to retire? However, it is rumoured that Micah Richards is not keen to sign till the wage deal is upped.

City Rubbish Dunne Rumours: Manchester City have dismissed claims that contract talks with captain Richard Dunne have stalled. Reports claimed that Dunne was far from happy at the club after talks over an extension had faltered. However, City stressed that there is no such problem with Dunne and that talks are continuing. “A meeting took place on Tuesday between myself and Richard’s representatives,” said Blues chief executive Alistair Mackintosh. “Richard has made it clear that he is very happy at Manchester City, and we are very happy with him. The talks we are having are very constructive and neither party will be unsettled by an inaccurate newspaper story. He is committed to the club and we are committed to him.”

Mpenza Resting: The Belgian international has not rippled the back of the net in his last six outings for the Blues, and Eriksson admits he will rest the striker so he can fully recover from the hamstring problem. “I had a long talk with Emile last week, and we decided that he needed at least a week’s rest to get rid of the hamstring problem he has had,” the Swede told the club’s official website. “I “I hope that in a couple of weeks we will see the real Mpenza. He had a knee injury then he has picked up a small hamstring problem more recently, so he has not been properly fit for a long while now. I think that he needs to feel that he is totally injury-free, then he will be the good player we know he is. We took the decision to take him out of training for a week or 10 days and hopefully he will then come back totally fit.”

Meanwile… Sven was disappointed to miss Daniel Sturridge’s return (after a long spell out) as the reserve fixture versus Sunderland on Tuesday fell victim to the appalling weather.

Miller at a Discount: The Manchester City striker is on loan at the Hawthorns until the end of the season, yet if they want to sign him for a knockdown price of around £2 million they will have to act during the current transfer window. Manager Mowbray knows that if he decides against taking this option and Miller continues to impress, he could well return to Eastlands in the summer and eventually be worth five times this amount.

Dabo to Go: Ousmane Dabo is determined to leave Manchester City after being overlooked by the manager. The French midfielder has just one appearance to his name this season – a late substitute outing against Bristol City in the Carling Cup last August. Dabo has labelled his situation as ‘laughable’, and has questioned why he has not been given a chance to prove his worth.

Transfer News

Hunting for Huntelaar: Sven Goran Eriksson is set to battle it out with Sir Alex Ferguson for Dutch protégé Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Both City and United have been watching the Ajax forward, nicknamed ‘The Hunter’, since summer, along with Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle. They are hopeful that the Dutch club’s poor financial state will mean they can sign the 6ft 1in striker for a knockdown £12 million, even though Ajax value him at £18 million, according to the News of the World. Huntelaar, 24, has scored a stunning 53 goals in 65 games and has been likened to Dutch legend Marco van Basten.

Or Hoping for Podolski: Scoring goals has been a problem for City this season, especially away from home. However, the Telegraph has suggested that City’s strikeforce could be significantly bolstered by the £12 million signing of Bayern Munich forward Lukas Podolski, who is not a happy bunny. Sven’s trusty right-hand man Tord Grip watched Podolski in action last week, but recent reports suggest that the German club will be reluctant to let him go.

Former Blues’ News

Return of King Kev: Kevin Keegan has been appointed as the new Newcastle boss, returning to St James’ after three years out of the game. The 56-year-old former Fulham, England and Manchester City manager was a hugely popular figure during his first spell as Newcastle United boss from 1992 to 1997 and no doubt he will be looking forward to being re-united with Joey Barton.

MATCH REPORT ‘LIVE’ I: MCFC 1 WHU 0 (FA Cup 3rd Round replay)

Anyone thinking that this was going to a simple matter of City finishing the job on home turf has either probably not been a City fan for very long or they underestimated the opposition. If they don’t fall into either of those categories, then they believe that the moon is made of cream cheese, and like those deluded Geordie bar-coded types, that dear old Kevin Keegan is the answer to Newcastle’s myriad of problems (especially if Alan Shearer is behind him – word of advice, he’s better off in front of you, Kev, and watch those elbows…). No disrespect intended at all to King Kev, as he is a great bloke who gave us the most enjoyable season in recent years when we got promoted (before the cash dried up and it all faded), but there was hardly any national media build up to the FA Cup games this week, all because of a media feeding frenzy on a club and fans that have an over-inflated opinion of themselves. Rambling rant over (ah, that’s better!), so to the match, which was far from easy for City.

Dean Ashton twice should have put West Ham in front as the visitors had the only real chances in the first half. The West Ham striker, who looked rather overweight, poked a shot straight at Hart from 5 yards out, and then, when clean through after a Dunne header looped up kindly for him, City’s rising goalkeeping star thwarted him again with a good block. Other than that, City were rather over-elaborate in the first period and lacked a cutting edge. We looked rather lightweight both in central midfield with Elano alongside Hamann, and in attack where Nery Castillo partnered Darius Vassell. Was Sven underlining the point that he needs more firepower up front and muscle in midfield to Thaksin Shinawatra who gratefully acknowledged the respectful reception that he got from the City faithful? Surely Bianchi’s physical presence would have been more suited to the occasion than the diminutive Castillo, who needs time to settle in to English football. So it was proved after Castillo’s bad shoulder injury – that could not have been helped by that carthorse, Lucas Neill, thuggishly kicking out at him as the Mexican fell – as Bianchi gave us height and greater muscle.

West Ham could have taken the lead early in the 2nd period with Boa Morte opting to shoot from a tight angle on the right rather than square the ball to a better placed team mate. Again Hart thwarted him with another reflex save to cap his hat trick of crucial blocks.

City then found another gear as Petrov was at last brought into the game more, and he picked up from where he left off at Upton Park, tormenting the sluggish £60,000-a-week Lucas Neill, who doesn’t look remotely like a Premiership player. Much credit is due to the Bulgarian winger, though, whoever he is up against, as Petrov skilfully timed his runs and at the end of them, he consistently delivered a quality ball. A quintessential Petrov run proved to be decisive on this occasion and his cross from the left was headed against the post by Bianchi with Elano on hand to bravely stoop low and head in the winner.

Thereafter, City’s football flowed better and West Ham didn’t pose any significant threat. Referee Mark Clattenberg didn’t cover himself in glory in stopping Petrov in full flight as he was running past a stretched Hammers defence. The reason? Lee Bowyer was winded. Aw, bless. Clattenberg didn’t consistently apply the laws of the game either in only booking Boa Morte just the once for a couple of clearly cautionable fouls, and yet he booked Hamann for an innocuous challenge. He also failed to red card Ferdinand who kicked out at a prostrate City player. Sometimes it’s easy to believe that these referees make it up as they go along.

Dunnie had Ashton in his pocket as City comfortably held the lead and there was still Petrov’s pace and skill to enjoy as City looked the more likely to score. The second half was enjoyable enough with City always trying to play good football, and thankfully, there was to be no repeat of the traumatic 6th round defeat of 2 years ago. So we headed off and now we can ready ourselves for a tough trip to Bramall Lane in the 4th round. Bring it on.

Form guide:
Hart: Enhanced his reputation further with some fine saves and good handling throughout. Eriksson has again made the right call in making him our number one goalkeeper. 8
Corluka: Another efficient performance after being restored in his customary right back rôle. 7
Dunne: Wasn’t quite at his best in the first half, finding Ashton a real handful, but improved back to his very best to master the Hammers’ target man in the 2nd. 6
Richards: Solid. Didn’t put a foot wrong. 7
Ball: Another reliable game from him. 7
Ireland: creative and inventive, gave the City midfield good balance on the right, and did his fair share of defensive work, making some good tackles and interceptions. 7
Hamann: Industrious as ever in the engine room and surely worthy of another year’s contract. 7
Elano: Bravely scored the winner. Some nice touches in the second half. 7
Petrov: Dazzled us with his pace and skill in the second half and his contribution was decisive. 8
Castillo: Struggled to make an impact. Hopefully his injury is not too serious. 5
Vassell: Worked hard without a sniff of goal. Flexible as ever. 6
Subs:
Bianchi: Gave us a more physical presence up front. Could be his last game for the club before he heads ‘home’. 7
Gelson: Not enough time to make an impact: 6

MATCH REPORT ‘LIVE’ II: MCFC 1 WHU 0 (FA Cup 3rd Round replay)

We owed them one for two seasons ago in the same competition and we now had a chance to avenge that 6th round defeat.

The team had a much more attacking look, with Ireland, Petrov, Elano, Castillo and Vassell all in the starting line-up. However, the balance didn’t look right, with Elano and Castillo seemingly both just behind Vassell but unsure what they were supposed to be doing. In CoMS terms, the crowd looked sparse but nearly 28,000 for a midweek replay that was live on terrestrial TV wasn’t too bad. Well done to the club for the keen pricing as well, which probably helped.

City started really well with Richards going on a storming run through the middle that ended on the edge of the West Ham box. He kept possession but couldn’t make anything of the opportunity. And, as far as the first half was concerned, that was pretty well that. The rhythm, decisiveness and spark that we saw earlier in the season simply weren’t there. There were too many negative passes, quite a few of which put the defence under pressure. One bizarre and typical incident involved Richard “Row Z” Dunne, who tried to dribble the ball across the front of the area at one point. Naturally he lost possession and Hart had to rescue him. It was all really laboured and if the ball did get anywhere near the West Ham area, the delivery was poor. Hart was the busier of the two goalkeepers again.

In the thirtieth minute, Castillo, on his home début, went down after a challenge and stayed down. The stretcher came on and he went off, to be replaced by Bianchi. It was more like a conventional 4-4-2 now (although it wasn’t) and we ended the half a lot better as Elano slotted back into his old rôle, with Ireland on the right.

However, Sven failed to work his magic at the break and City started the second half even worse. For the first fifteen minutes they couldn’t get the ball out of the last third and seemed to be lethargically chasing West Ham shadows. It looked grim for us but they somehow snapped out of it and started putting something together, invariably via the industrious Petrov. The quality of the so called “final ball” was terrible however, Ireland being the worst culprit, twice in quick succession putting an aimless ball into the danger area (in fact not even finding the danger area at all). It seems to me that our main danger lies in Petrov getting past the full back and pulling a low ball into the box but this wasn’t happening, despite the fact that Neill was getting another roasting (in the football sense of course) from the Bulgarian.

Bianchi (I think) missed one seemingly glorious chance fashioned this way but eventually the pressure told and yet again it was Petrov involved, finding Bianchi at the far post. His header hit the post and rebounded into the six yard box, where Elano bravely dived in past Ferdinand to head the crucial goal on 73 minutes. West Ham gave it a go but the defence remained solid and Joe Hart, apart from one flap at a cross, looked in control. He’d already had to make a save from Ashton that he knew little about but there seemed little danger that West Ham would force the goal that would trigger extra time. And so it proved, with City winning inside the 90 minutes and setting up a fourth round tie at Bramall Lane next Sunday.

OPINION: GULF CRISIS I

It’s been a while since I’ve dropped a line to this venerable e-tome but Graham Mills’ comments in the last issue have left me somewhat dumbfounded. Granted, Trafford Rangers do occasionally play some attractive football; as a fan of the beautiful game I’m big enough to admit that, but what made my blood boil was Graham’s observation that there is a widening gulf between our club and the swamp-dwellers. Perhaps Graham has forgotten our stint in the (old) third division? There was something of a “gulf” between the two teams then. Indeed, it appears to me, that the “gulf” between the two sides is the smallest it’s been for the past 20 years.

Whilst the Rags managed 6 against the managerless bar codes at home we very recently did a very professional job against them in their own backyard. Likewise the Blue vs. Red “gulf” did not seem so wide at the start of the season when we turned them over at Eastlands. I was at the Everton game last weekend and although our first half performance was a little lacklustre we did enough in the second half against a very good Everton team to deserve a draw.

Sven has got City playing some of the most attractive football I’ve seen for many a year. The side bristles with class in every part of the field and we are already bearing witness to the dawn of a new Blue era, with loads more to come. Four decades of supporting City have accustomed me to the moaners and groaners who follow City, you’ll find them at every game, home and away, and they appear on every Internet fans’ forum – even here. What I don’t get though is when there has been so much opportunity to bemoan City’s performance on and off the pitch over the past 20 years do some people still want to have a bitch when things are actually going right? Graham Mills you should be ashamed of yourself.

OPINION: GULF CRISIS II

In response to Graham Mills in MCIVTA 1395. I don’t understand your comparison of us against Everton and the Rags against Newcastle. They have a squad that has had countless millions spent on it and has been assembled over a lengthy period. Without thinking very far I can name several of their squad that cost £30 million plus, several more around the £20 million mark and a fair few more that were between £10 and £15 million. On the other hand we have a squad that has been together for half a season and we have spent about as much as 50% of the Premiership did in pre-season (the fact that we conducted the majority of our business in a single week and have a super rich owner leading to press hype that are trying to ‘buy success’) and incidentally was probably about the same amount that the Rags spent on 2 kids for the future.

We are doing pretty well but the great thing is that all the signs point to us doing a hell of a lot better in the not too distant future, so enjoy and a bit of perspective and patience please.

OPINION: THE SOUL OF MANCHESTER CITY 2

In last Thursday’s edition I presented the first part of the article originally published in King of the Kippax, setting out what I believe to be the top 50 moments that sum up the soul of our club. The second part of this abridged article details the top 25 moments. So now you can tell me what I missed! By the way, in last week’s article, number 41 detailed the 1957/8 season, where City scored and conceded 100 goals. If anyone is interested in reading more, I can heartily recommend Dave Wallace’s “Century City” book on that season.

25. 8,015 for Swindon, January 1965
A ground that once held over 80,000 saw just a fraction of that number to witness the Second Division visit of Swindon Town, the lowest crowd for a first class game at Maine Road. And we think 38,000 is a poor turn-out!

24. Peter Swales becomes chairman, 1972
The archetypal local businessman joined the board in April 1971 and became chairman in October 1972. Things went well for a few years but his disastrous decision to bring Allison back in 1977 started a chain of events that led inexorably to the old Division 3. Swales was ousted by Francis Lee in 1994.

23. The first CoMS Derby, 2004
We’d lost 3-1 at the Swamp earlier in the season but Fowler and Macken put us 2-0 up before Scholes got one back. Sinclair restored the two goal margin before SWP scored a glorious and cheeky fourth goal in the dying minutes that just seemed to rub it right in their noses.

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22. The last Maine Road Derby, 2003
We were back in the Premiership for a final season at Maine Road and desperately wanted to go out with a long-awaited win against the Rags. We did of course and the win was made that much sweeter by Gary Neville’s little howler to set up the Goat. That photo with the “What have I done?” look never fails to amuse.

21. Keegan’s Championship season, 2001/2
Keegan and City was seemingly a match made in heaven and we weren’t disappointed as we stormed to the title. Many of those not privileged to watch us in the 1960’s and 1970’s reckon it was the best football they ever saw. And even some who did watch in those years agreed with them.

20. Halifax, FA Cup January 1980
Picking a game where we went out of a cup competition to lower league opposition could easily justify its own Top 50 but this has to be the low-spot. We’d gone out the previous season to Shrewsbury so we weren’t going to underestimate Fourth Division Halifax. But, of course, we did and lost 1-0.

19. Fenerbahce, European Cup, Oct 1968
Allison promised City would “…frighten Europe to death”. As usual however, it was their own fans they frightened with a scoreless draw in the first leg and losing the second. And that, as they say, was that.

18. The “Ballet on Ice”, December 1967
Snow and ice had affected the weekend programme but City’s home game against Spurs went ahead. Allison ensured that his players’ studs were able to cope with the conditions and City proceeded to hammer Spurs 4-1. Suddenly City were seen as title contenders.

17. Rodney Marsh, 1972
City were going well in the League and the title was in sight but Malcolm Allison decided that the flamboyant Marsh was the flair player he needed and bought him. Marsh wasn’t a team player and nor was he fit enough. The rhythm of the team was disrupted and the title slipped away.

16. Barton and Dabo, May 2007
Joey Barton had been in the news for the wrong reasons before but surpassed himself with an (alleged) physical attack on his team-mate after training. The case is due to come to court in June but it was the final straw as far as Barton was concerned and off he went to Newcastle.

15. European Cup Winners’ Cup final in Vienna, May 1970
Having failed miserably to make any impression on the European Cup the season before, this time there was no mistake. City beat Polish side, Gornik 2-1 to win the first (and so far only) European title in their history, adding the trophy to the League Cup won earlier in the year.

14. Colin Bell bought, March 1966
Mercer and Allison started to put together the team that would dominate the late 1960’s and had their eye on the teenage Bury midfielder. Eventually they got their man and he went on to be one of the most admired players of his generation and a true legend among City fans.

13. David Bernstein resigns as Chairman, March 2003
Bernstein had taken over as chairman after Francis Lee resigned in 1998 and oversaw a return to the Premiership. However, he fell out with Keegan over Robbie Fowler. Left in an untenable position, Bernstein resigned and Fowler came with the £6 million price tag that had so horrified Bernstein.

12. Winning the First Division, May 1937
After a decent first three games they failed to win in seven consecutive games but from Boxing Day onwards they only lost one game and deservedly won their first title. They scored in 44 consecutive games that season, a record only surpassed by Arsenal in 2002.

11. Luton at Maine Road, May 1983
It was between City and Luton for the third relegation spot. They were two points behind in the table but three points for a win had been introduced the previous season. City played for the draw they needed but a deflected shot from Antic found the net with just a few minutes left and City couldn’t respond. Funnily enough, Antic was Barcelona’s manager for the first game at CoMS.

10. Malcolm Allison returns, 1977
Tony Book was under pressure in the 1977/78 season. Swales appointed Allison as Book’s No 2 but Big Mal was never going to be anyone’s number 2 and Book soon departed. He spent a great deal of money on some inadequate replacements without being able to re-create the magic of the Mercer years.

9. Forward with Franny, 1994
By 1994, the fans had lost patience with Peter Swales and desperately wanted a white knight to come along on his charger. What they got was Francis Lee. Greeted as a saviour by City fans, despite his best intentions we got Alan Ball as the world class manager promised.

8. Illegal Payments Scandal, 1904-1906
After a previous investigation into City an Aston Villa player claimed to have been offered £10 to throw a game and Billy Meredith was made the scapegoat. He took umbrage, revealing the fact that City were illegally paying players over the odds and the authorities came down hard on City, 17 players being fined and suspended and the manager Tom Maley being banned for life.

7. Thaksin Shinawatra takeover, July 2007
After a dreadful season and some nervous moments the takeover went through although some thought our new owner too controversial. Things seem to be going well so far however and whatever happens, the takeover will almost certainly turn out to be a pivotal event in our history.

6. St James’s Park, May 1968
City knew that a win on Tyneside would be enough to lift their second title. City attacked and twice they went into the lead only to be pegged back but finally went 4-2 up. A third Newcastle goal led to a nervous last few minutes but the whistle finally blew to signal the Championship coming to Maine Road.

5. Relegation from Division 1, 1938
The season before we’d won the league and are still the only defending champions to be relegated. We finished second bottom despite scoring 80 goals, three more than champions Arsenal and even had a positive goal difference, having let in 77 goals. Was there ever a more “typical City” moment?

4. FA Cup final, May 1956
We beat Birmingham 3-1 after losing the previous final but the football world remembers this game for the heroics of Bert Trautmann. A brace dive led to a collision that left the ‘keeper in pain but he played on for the last fifteen minutes. After the game that it was discovered that his neck was broken.

3. Relegation at Stoke, May 1998
A team containing Kinkladze, Rösler and Goater had won only one of the last ten games of the 1997/98 season and desperately needed a win at Stoke on the final day. They duly got it, scoring 5 goals but other results went against them and we were down to the third flight for the first time.

2. Wembley play-off final, May 1999
City typically made hard work of their promotion from League 1 having to do it through the play-offs. 2-0 down to Gillingham as full-time approached, Kevin Horlock scored what looked like a consolation but deep into long injury time came the moment that will forever make Paul Dickov a City legend.

1. Mercer and Allison appointed, July 1965
In 1965, stuck in the old Division 2, George Poyser was sacked. Joe Mercer, out of football due to a stroke the previous year, was approached. Despite his wife’s concerns he agreed to take on the City job and appointed the visionary coach Malcolm Allison as his right hand man. The rest is history, with all three domestic trophies and a European one in the trophy cabinet within five incredible years.

OPINION: POINTS OF BLUE MEETING

Minutes of Points of Blue meeting from 30 October 2007, and delegate meeting with club officials (Alistair Mackintosh, Paul Tyrrell, Sara Billington) on 6 November 2007

Smoking

More health promotion (selling patches?); smoking in toilets; what chance apass-out at half-time?
CLUB: 70 people have been ejected this season forsmoking; City Council officers are keen to enforce (with possible fines onclub); pass-out not realistic; smoking is not allowed in any part ofSportcity.

Catering

South and north stands seem to crop up as having problems more than east / west.
CLUB: Complaints about specific locations will be investigated.
English as a second language with some staff.
CLUB: Previous comments about difficulties of recruitment apply.
Ways of serving beer faster? Multi-pourers still not a possibility? Roving beer sellers still around? Plastic bottles?
CLUB: Issues with roving sellers; plastic bottles were thrown at police; use of multi- pourers restricted because of cellaring constraints, smaller cooling units may change the situation; pre-ordered half-time pints (as at Bolton) would be looked at.
Food: new “deals” are fairly uninspiring, and prices not always clear so that you realise it’s only 20p off buying stuff separately. A request for pizza pods to be back on the menu. Oddest complaint: someone asked for a beefburger and was told “we’ve only got Cityburgers…”
CLUB: Comments to be taken up with caterers. If items are on the menu, they shouldn’t run out.

Can someone check spelling of names of players on bars? E.g. Roy Clark(e) bar.
CLUB: In hand.

Ticket Office

Bigger canopy needed though staff came out with umbrellas. Present canopy not much protection. CLUB: Will be looked into, but planning consent might be needed.
More clarity needed on info for purchase of tickets (especially for those starting from scratch). Accesscard/smartcard confusion (you might know they’re the same, but not the customers). Can you pay cash on the day and not need a card? Can South ticket office only do cash sales? Cup match on-night sales still a problem.
CLUB: Paper coded tickets available on day without a smartcard. Some amendments already made to website, and others in hand. South office can now do debit/credit card sales.

Failure rate of swipe cards / new system? (i.e. not recognising cards?)
CLUB: Same system, just new readers (swiping cards past the machine still works). Failures often due to misuse (cards left near heat, magnets etc.) or a small number of faulty cards.

Cup tickets direct: we’d like an assurance that there would be no policy of forcing season ticket holders to buy cup tickets.
CLUB: Never any thought of change but it could be raised with the Chairman (PoB chorus of “no need to bother”).

Reduced price season tickets. Are we not offering reduced prices (either around Christmas, or now, when we’re in the top four, why not reduce prices each match?)?
CLUB: Yes, half-year tickets on sale (as in previous years); offering other options now might be seen as not rewarding the loyalty of those who signed up before the takeover and the new managerial appointment.

Chelsea ticket allocation: could we have had more?
CLUB: Yes, but only in a tranche of 1,500 on sale or return, so if unsold there was a potential loss to the club of up to £70,000 (and too late to take extra once initial decision made). Whether to take full 3,000 allocation is considered carefully for each match.

If a season ticket holder takes a corporate package for a cup match, can they have loyalty points?
CLUB: This will be looked into.

Tickets for Doncaster away pre-season – despite advice from City, they were on sale on the day.
CLUB: That was the information given to City – worse to say they would be available but they weren’t.

East Car Park:

Stewards adopting policy of directing earliest arrivals to further part of car park. Should be first in get to park near exit surely? Still operating just one queue in.
CLUB: To be looked at, but filling from the far end is easier to manage.

Museum/Social Club

Still not much to encourage people to visit museum. Changing displays to encourage repeat visits? Why the change in who can use social club? Is it cost- effective (i.e. number of customers now compared to open access?).
CLUB: Will look at signage in the stairwell. There have been temporary displays that may need better publicity. Restriction of cafe to Official Supporters’ Club members is partly a reward for loyalty in difficult times; joining OSC isn’t expensive.

Segregation

Does segregation after the match encourage bad behaviour? Or is it necessary to prevent bad behaviour? Needed at every game?
CLUB: It would be a big gamble to change the arrangements in the hope of less confrontation; our arrest record is low, which may in part be down to the segregation; police unlikely to agree to change.

Reserves

Comments that Hyde was better: atmosphere, view; poor lighting at athletics stadium, why can’t we sit on east side?
CLUB: Players like it (good pitch and aspirations to playing in main stadium); east side has poor view; lighting is being addressed. Allows involvement of local community.

Media Relations

Do we have an instant rebuttal policy? Could we ban the Mirror’s reporters?
CLUB: Instant rebuttal happens all the time, including asking for errors not to be perpetuated in archives; banning papers would be counter-productive; no point in a war, but in the little battles, responses from fans to sports editors (not the offending reporter) is encouraged.

Focus Groups

What’s the rôle of Points of Blue amongst other methods of sounding opinion? Credibility of PoB is that anyone can come – and there’s a growing list of things changed after suggestions through PoB.
CLUB: Club values the openness of PoB and will encourage other representative groups to attend PoB meetings.

Company

At the EGM there were suggestions that there might be something to replace the AGM. Is that feasible / realistic? Will the accounts be published or will people just have to trawl the Companies House website?
CLUB: As there are now no private shareholders, there will be no list of ex-shareholders to receive accounts. If the attraction of AGMs was hearing the manager’s views rather than the presentation of accounts, this is fulfilled at Fans’ Forums.

Scoreboard

Can we now afford all singing all dancing scoreboards?
CLUB: This will be under review.
There was some comment about the messages to the King of Thailand but PoB consensus was that paying £80 million entitled you to send birthday greetings.

Tours

Thomas Cook not providing deals for away friendlies? Is Thailand on next summer?
CLUB: They were too short notice last summer. Options under consideration next summer are for a far-east tour or Sweden.

Casino

What now for the site?
CLUB: City Council in discussions with Government.

Fixture Changes

Update on how often matches can be changed? Christmas / New Year changes have particularly annoyed people.
CLUB: Again, the club has no choice; there is joy among Premier League clubs at the size of the new TV deal. Bank holiday fixtures do not suit everyone (e.g. no public transport on Boxing Day).

Did we not realise we needed an away match last day? Or that the derby was near the Munich anniversary?
CLUB: Clubs can only make representations to the League over the fixtures. In retrospect, getting an extra home match now has been a benefit. Extensive liaison already with United about the Munich anniversary and ways to include City fans in mark of respect and isolate those (from either club) inclined to disrupt (these will be discussed with supporters’ groups).

Players

Any re-think on links with supporters?
CLUB: No, first-team players attending back rooms of pubs for supporters’ clubs meetings is not likely to be revived. It is a different generation with Internet, magazines and blanket sports coverage. Branches are welcome to organise trips to the stadium (transport paid by the club) and meet manager and players, and the public can watch training at Carrington (except before matchdays).

Seats

Where did the old dug-out seats (from Maine Road) go?
CLUB: They were very decrepit, a health and safety risk.

RESULTS

13 January 2008

Sunderland            2 - 0  Portsmouth            37,369
Bolton Wanderers      1 - 2  Blackburn Rovers      18,315

League table to 07 December 2008 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD  Pts
 1 Manchester Utd  22 11  1  0 29  3  5  2  3 15  8 16  3  3  44  11  33  51
 2 Arsenal         22 10  2  0 26  8  5  4  1 17  9 15  6  1  43  17  26  51
 3 Chelsea         22  7  4  0 22  8  7  1  3 13  8 14  5  3  35  16  19  47
 4 Liverpool       21  4  5  1 21  7  6  4  1 14  7 10  9  2  35  14  21  39
 5 Everton         22  7  1  3 23 11  5  2  4 15 11 12  3  7  38  22  16  39
 6 Aston Villa     22  7  1  4 19 15  4  5  1 21 13 11  6  5  40  28  12  39
 7 Manchester City 22  9  2  0 19  7  2  4  5 10 16 11  6  5  29  23   6  39
 8 Blackburn R.    22  5  2  4 12 12  5  4  2 18 17 10  6  6  30  29   1  36
 9 Portsmouth      22  2  6  2 11  8  7  1  4 20 14  9  7  6  31  22   9  34
10 West Ham United 21  4  4  3 14 12  5  1  4 13  8  9  5  7  27  20   7  32
11 Newcastle Utd   22  5  3  3 16 17  2  2  7 11 22  7  5 10  27  39 -12  26
12 Tottenham H.    22  5  1  4 30 21  1  5  6 12 19  6  6 10  42  40   2  24
13 Reading         22  6  1  4 14 15  0  3  8 16 32  6  4 12  30  47 -17  22
14 Middlesbrough   22  2  4  5 12 18  3  2  6  7 18  5  6 11  19  36 -17  21
15 Bolton Wndrs    22  5  3  4 17 11  0  2  8  7 23  5  5 12  24  34 -10  20
16 Birmingham City 22  3  3  4 12 12  2  2  8 11 21  5  5 12  23  33 -10  20
17 Wigan Athletic  22  4  2  4 13 12  1  3  8  9 25  5  5 12  22  37 -15  20
18 Sunderland      22  5  3  3 13 13  0  2  9  9 27  5  5 12  22  40 -18  20
19 Fulham          22  2  5  4 16 18  0  4  7  7 21  2  9 11  23  39 -16  15
20 Derby County    22  1  2  8  7 20  0  2  9  3 27  1  4 17  10  47 -37   7

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: