Newsletter #1441

Pre-season fixtures are slowly trickling through as we have away games against Hamburg and Stockport County and a home game against AC Milan announced. The UEFA Cup first round game is to be held on at Oakwell.

Opinion tonight on Sven’s tenure, Thaksin in Thailand, big name signings and a special parking offer for McV readers!

OPINION: SVEN – DEBUNKING THE MYTH

Let me start by saying I did not want Sven to go. He has the CV to prove he can cut it at club level to the highest standard, and wanting consistency at the club I think he should have been given more time to prove he has still got it even though form the evidence of last season he did not deserve it. But he has gone and I’m chuffed to beggary; screw consistency with Sven, we have Sparky, and he is exactly the type of manager I want at the City helm.

However, I’m bored of people talking about Sven like the sun shines out of his posterior. There are several “myths” that need examination.

He did well with so many new players: If he had bought a load of players that had not gelled at the beginning of the season, and then proceeded to get them to work together, play as a unit and look like a team, we would all be harping on about how this was proof of the man’s grade A management skills. In real life exactly the opposite happened. He bought a plethora of players who instantly gelled and then under his managerial influence deteriorated into a lacklustre bunch of individuals, some of which could no longer get in the team. So why then is no one citing this as evidence of bad leadership on Sven’s part?

Time to buy players: In his defence people point out that he had very little time to buy players in the summer. Well those players are the ones that at the start of last season did well, with the exception of Bianchi who was used in a rôle as lone striker that he was not comfortable with. Then, having time to scout players, at Christmas he buys Castillo, Caicedo and Benjani. In my opinion the time spent on scouting the first two was wasted, especially as Sven failed to notice the lack of adequate defensive cover in the squad. And in Benjani he took the third highest scorer in the Premier League and made him look for the most part inept.

He developed Youth: He brought no youth through except Hart. The likes of Johnson, Ireland, Richards, Onuoha all were previously established in the squad. Etuhu and Sturridge showed promise but were then totally ignored, even though Etuhu looked competent on the right, a position Sven failed to adequately fill all season. Sturridge must be especially aggrieved as he was put further down the pecking order after the acquisition of Caicedo (who never got near scoring), until the match before the Youth Cup, when Sven decided to bring him back… only for him to get injured and miss the final. Genius!

He did well to finish 9th: £58-ish million spent, several players wasted, promising youth ignored, 6-0 Chelsea, 8 chuffing 1, got into Europe by signing players that are tackle shy, best finish for a million years (is it just me or did we finish 8th under Keegan and get into Europe through the very same fair play?), Plan A=4.5.1 plan B= plan A with a different striker. And before you bring up beating the Swamp dwellers twice, may I point out that you don’t get any prizes for that, and the only difference from previous seasons was 1 slightly lucky goal and 2 points. He only took 1 more point from 12 against Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal. I say he did badly and finished 9th.

His public persona: A true gent, honest, cares for the fans! Well ask Ulrika and Fire Alarm or whatever she was called if he was a true honest gent. Lest we forget that as England manager he was holding meetings with Chelsea to become their manager and with The Fake Sheik from the sun. He also has a history of leaving teams with a big fat pay off. Not even looking for a house in an area you supposedly plan to stay for 5 years does not exactly show commitment.

I have now typed similar (and longer) rants to this 3 or 4 times but not bothered posting them… perhaps now it is out of my system.

The future is bright. The future’s Blue.

OPINION: IN SHREDS?

The Thaksin shenanigans are getting lots of negative press here in Bangkok; the latest splash was the changing of City’s badge to reflect our Thai connections. We are, I’m afraid, becoming a little bit of a laughing stock especially with gimmick attempted buys like Ronaldinho.

And also remember that Thaksin was a curse on Thailand. He stole millions from his people and wooed the poor with gimmicks like free SIM cards. He also ordered the execution of thousands in the South as suspected drug dealers. Anyway, I’m sure the truth will out.

On a lighter note, I noticed a message from Mark Burgess thanking Don. If it is the guy from The Chameleons then I would just like to say hello. I’m a massive fan, and you have had an airing lately across the globe. I played Swamp Thing and In Shreds to my school in my assembly, with some 1200 bemused Thai and ex-pat kids! If you are ever in Bangkok I can guarantee a packed house at my school if you fancy a gig!

OPINION: OVER PAID AND OVER HERE? I

I must admit to being rather wary of the proposed signing of Ronaldinho.

His current club is, apparently, quite content to allow the player to leave so, why is he so very dispensable? In which case, why would City be so strong in their commitment to sign the player? Not to mention the quite ridiculous salary amount that has been banded around in the press, of late. Players’ earnings are already ludicrous why compound the issue? The sooner all Premier League clubs have to adhere to a salary cap, the better.

Of more concern to me is the apparent lethargic attitude of Ronaldinho at the prospect of determining his possible future club. Apparently, he is quite happy simply to wait and not make any decision until the latter part of July (?). Thanks.

Not exactly chomping at the bit to join City so, I seriously question his motivation and subsequent commitment to do all he can in the side.

To date, not for me, I’m afraid. I’d rather have a lesser-player with fire in his belly, willing to commit to the cause, by far. I fear this proposed signing may be more for the Chairman’s ego than what is ultimately best for Manchester City. We shall see.

OPINION: OVER PAID AND OVER HERE? II

Think someone should remind these overrated so called superstars that Chelski didn’t actually win anything last season, Real Madrid won La Liga and Portugal got knocked out last night so no medals for either Ronaldinhio or Deco.

OPINION: 5 A-SIDE THANKS

A bit late but I’d like to thank all who took part in the CSA organised 5-a-side on Saturday 14th June. In total 20 teams from the CSA, OSC and a few independent teams took part. The total of 99 matches played were well controlled by the 8 excellent referees, several of whom had contacted me following my appeal for refs on McV a few months ago.

City legend Neil Young came along to present the trophies to the 2 finalists. An excellent hot-pot buffet was provided in the Oasis Suite following the football. The football and the ‘do’ in the Oasis Suite was a great social occasion and an opportunity for City fans from far and wide to get together. We even had 2 Blues from New Zealand join us for the day.

For me the opportunity for Blues to get together is more important than the actual football but I have to say the standard of football played was of the highest order. It’s days like this that make me proud to be a Blue.

REQUEST: MCFC MATCHDAY PARKING SPECIAL FOR MCV

Anybody want a season ticket for official MCFC car parking for 2008/2009?

Please contact me as we are located 0.9 miles from the ground with scenic walk through Gray Mare Lane and a walk past the Queen Vic and Mary D’s.

Vehicles are kept in commercial premises in a locked compound. Normal season ticket price is £100 in advance.

McVittee subscribers get the knock down price of £80 in advance which, based on 19 home games, cup ties etc. brings the average price lower than £4 per game.

You can’t beat that for value!

REQUEST: GHANA APPEAL

I would like to thank all those who have donated both cash and kind for the Ghana Appeal by Alex Channon, for my teams Manchester City Babies. I am really happy for that your generosity and concern. Thanks a lot for that.

I want to register the team for the Ghana’s Northern regional Colts League. So we badly need football kits for our smooth participation in the league. So I would therefore appeal to readers and all fans of our great club Manchester City to come to our aid to help me relish the dreams of this children of becoming great footballers in future. Who Knows? Some of them might even be playing for our great club in future.

So readers can still sent their donations to Alex Channon, no donation is too small.

Once again I would like to thank all those who have donated in both cash and kind for us. We say thanks for that.

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[2] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

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[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.

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[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?

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

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[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/.

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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: