Newsletter #1463

With the dust settling from last week’s developments, we have some excellent opinion tonight on the latest takeover news and implications for City.

There are also the usual requests, Blue humour and a Why Blue.

OPINION: IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

I was listening to REM on my iPod when I learned that City were taken over by the Abu Dhabi Group last week, and I have to admit that my first thought was: “Oh no, I don’t want to support the new Chelsea”. The flashy statements from the guy with the chequebook, the outbidding for Robinho, the hijacking of the Berbatov bid. It was all clever work, surreal and devastating at the same time. In 24 hours City was upgraded from “the nation’s laughing stock to one of the High Five” as someone put it.

For 35 years I have supported Manchester City, an underachieving, clueless bunch of amateurs in the international scene of football. Watching Swales desperately holding on to the power, bringing back Allison to turn things around (which he did although the wrong way), the cups for cock-ups under Lee with Ball at the helm. The comical coming and goings of mediocre managers. The revolving door into the 2nd level and back. Never being able to make it past Christmas in the League, and pulling off a decent cup run just seemed impossible.

But City was my club and in my mind it was always going to be that way no matter how poor or good we were. Things changed to the positive after the play off final. The U-turn and the promising years under Keegan. City constructed a team that actually could entertain. The move to Eastlands and a stadium that was envied by our competitors. Watching us demolish the Reds 4 to 1. The construction of a youth system that worked. English internationals were starting to drip out of the Academy pipeline.

During the year with Taxi I admit I lost some steam. Witnessing City becoming a rich man’s toy, installing his family as Board members, give me a break. Out with the old familiar faces. Rumours of frozen assets, the sacking of Sven, installing a former Red as Manager (gave me bad vibes from the last time). Scraping through to the first round of the UEFA Cup. Then Taxi could not hold on any longer, it was getting too expensive. Should we thank him or the Thai government?

Then came September 1st 2008. New owners with extremely deep pockets. Bids for Berbatov, Villa, Gomez, van Huntelaar, van Nistelrooy and Robinho. And not puny offers. No, most of them were pushing the transfer record limit. We got Robinho and the owners made their statement. We’re here to build a Champions’ League winning team in 3 years.

Not since the mid 70s have I witnessed the media and opponents treat City the way that followed the next few days: with respect. In the beginning some people were laughing, some yellowish smoke came out from the ashtray downtown. Giggs proclaiming that it will take years to build a history (someone was getting weary). Liverpool fans were cheering loudly. Finally someone came out of the blue and outbid Chelsea for a player. Oh how they would have loved City to get Berbatov instead of United. Then they did the math. Who would drop out of the top 4 if City climbed to the top? Liverpool or Arsenal? The smile froze. The new reality was slowly sinking in.

I was as shell shocked as the rest of you. I’ve always hated how the game has turned into a big money competition for the biggest players and the highest wages. Sulking players with bling in their ears and racing cars in their garage claim more money in one week than most of us manage in one year. They want us to buy season tickets and new shirts every year to fill their pockets. There is no room for the likes of Nottingham Forest, Swansea, Burnley and Wolverhampton in this game. Who in the Premiership is going to be this year’s Derby?

Truth is; the Premiership has been predictable for many years now. It has been divided into:

• the top 4 (Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea)
• a bunch of teams that challenge for the UEFA Cup spots (various quality clubs)
• the ones that struggle to avoid relegation (quality selling clubs)
• and the hopelessly abandoned and yo-yo’s (newcomers and low quality small squad clubs)

City have moved from the lowest to almost the 2nd level in this model after winning the Championship under Keegan. Mostly because we managed to produce quality from our own ranks (Sweep, Barton, Richards), as well as buying outsiders (Benarbia, Anelka, Fowler). In this model the top 4 are the ones that have their hands in the “honey pot” called the Champions’ League. They have the assets to buy quality players and to have big squads. Quality players help you win important games, and big squads help you get past Christmas in the League. No other clubs in the Premiership have the means to challenge this competition because they (a) don’t have the quality, (b) don’t have the squad and c) don’t have the money to acquire (a) and (b). Remember how Everton struggled a few years back when they got their chance in the Champions’ League.

The big 4 have always been “buying clubs”. Remember Liverpool in their glory days? Keegan, and Dalglish were both buys. Today United spouts the “Fantastic 4”: Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney and Berbatov – all buys. Arsenal hardly have any English players left in the squad besides Walcott. And Chelsea? What about the other dominant clubs in Europe? Real Madrid (buyers), Barcelona (buyers), Milan (buyers), Juventus (buyers), etc. To be a dominant club in Europe you have to buy the best and most talented players you can get hold of (maybe with the exception of Ajax). Wenger has a good track record of finding them on the cheap. Otherwise you have to spend buckets. City got a lot of press after buying Robinho for £32.5 million. People were screaming “buyers”. United bought Berbatov for £30.8 million + Frazier Campbell (on loan for the season), and are completing the Tevez deal for £32 million. No big deals apparently.

Manchester City changing owners may have started a chain reaction. There are now 5 clubs challenging for the top 4 spots. Some richer than others, some better equipped than others. This will spark counter attacks before the next transfer window opens. Clubs will change owners and take measures to prevent the top 4 being invaded by the oil rich Manchester City. So far everybody below the top layer cheer on City as the dark horse to split the bunch. What will happen if City can’t recruit Gerrard, Fabregas, Ronaldo and Ferdinand, but have to settle for Barry, Bentley, Ashton and Lescott? How much longer will we have the thumbs up from the rest of the league? I guess if we pay enough they’ll forgive us just like they did to Chelsea in the deals of Sweep, Duff, Sidwell, Ben Haim, Joe Cole, Glen Johnson, and Scott Parker.

The new owners at Manchester City may look odd to the eye of most people, but the way they have hyped up the club and transformed it from a minnow to a club to be reckoned with is impressive. They picked their fights very cleverly. It was only against top clubs, which drew the most attention. And when City became the first club to beat Chelsea in the transfer market they set the standard for things to come. In one week City have become one of the “high five”, and Kaka is contemplating a move. My guess is that he didn’t even know Manchester City existed before September 1st. On the other hand; if we hadn’t secured the signing of Robinho it wouldn’t have been much to write home about, would it?

So what’s going to happen with Manchester City this season? There are more questions than answers I’m afraid…

What will happen to the current Manager? New ownership almost always results in a change of management. Does the investing group feel they have the right man to spend their money or will they look for a new horse? Will Hughes survive if we don’t make it to the top 4 come January?

Will we sign 18 new players? If yes, why? Who would they be? And who will have to make way? Surely we can’t buy Robinho, Ronaldo, Torres, Kaka, Gerrard, van Nistelrooy, Villa and Fabregas and play them all at the same time? And try to put one of the sulkers on the bench and see what happens… Valencia have put a stunning £121 million price tag on Villa, Juventus don’t expect to receive a £60 million bid for Buffon, United say they have to listen to offers in the range of £135 million for Ronaldo but doubt it will happen. The landscape is shifting.

Who will we buy if we don’t get the likes of the aforementioned names? Inflated prices for second level players won’t bring us glory, only make our competitors richer. We’ll start to see the Chelsea effect where every player we want to buy suddenly cost 50% more than expected just because our owners have deep pockets.

The Abu Dhabi guys may think that dragging their business partners to Eastlands to watch Ronaldo walk in the zoo for 90 minutes would be a fabulous thing to do. But what will Ferguson do with the £135 million? What will Liverpool do with the money they get from selling Gerrard? City don’t need today’s Ronaldos and Gerrards, we need tomorrow’s Ronaldos and Gerrards…

What will happen with the transfer pricing and wage structure now that City has all the money and the so called top clubs don’t? Will a petition to the FA and UEFA from the big name clubs result in a maximum price being introduced so that no club can spend an obscene amount of money (and wages) on one player? Will this secure the big clubs’ “rights” to sign the best players just because they still have their foot in the Champions’ League?

What will happen to the existing hard core fan base when we multiply them/us by 10? My experience from other media/brand/forums are that we (the 1/10th) will frown at the newly recruited or reborn City fans in their mid-thirties that suddenly came creeping out of nowhere with big demands of silverware and new signings. The old horses will start to feel alienated, flock together, and at first try to push the old culture (follow the club through thick and thin) on the new recruits before being swamped, give up, and ultimately abandon the scene, leaving it open to the moaners.

What will happen to the Academy and the youth policy at the club? So far we have managed to push through a lot of quality players from our own ranks, because we have a good Academy and because we have a small squad. We have been able to hold our heads high and other clubs and supporters have acknowledged this as a positive thing.

Which of the existing players will we keep? What will happen to the likes of Sweep, Hart, Richards, Johnson, Onuoha, Sturridge, Evans? What about the next batch of promising players that graduate from the Academy only to find their way blocked by £20 million signings playing in the reserves?

Should we (the existing fan base) make a statement regarding the continuing support of the Academy and the youth policy at the club before it is too late?

Micah Richards summed it up quite nicely last week when questioned about the signing of Robinho. He said: “I mean, he [Robinho] is the kind of player you would usually only pick for City if you were playing a computer game.” Is this really “the Manchester City computer game” we are all watching? I’m still trying to figure out who or what will save us if this venture goes up in flames. Will it be “Game Over” or “Insert coin to continue game”?

OPINION: THE NEW REGIME I

Being a City supporter for 30 years nearly, I have lived through all the ups and downs that this has entailed. The one thing this has taught me is with this club always expect the unexpected to happen (usually negatively). Therefore whilst I am as excited as any other City supporter about this year’s takeover I am just as expectant that there will be a downside to it.

My first (nightmare) expectation is that the due diligence throws up something so horrible that ADUG decide not to complete the deal, leaving us in a far worse situation than before last Monday.

My second much more real expectation is that City, known as one of the friendliest clubs in the land, loses that real sense of connection with its long standing fan base. I am sure the vast majority of us are really looking forward to the future success that we all think is guaranteed now, but I know it won’t be the same City that wins these things.

The one thing that turned me into a Blue and not a supporter of some other coloured persuasion was the fantastic sense of humour in the crowd, something totally lacking at virtually every other ground I have been to. The last 30 years have given our supporters many fine moments in which to exhibit that sense of humour, which I suspect has kept many of us going in those dark-dark days of late 80’s and 90′ football for this club.

Here’s to a bright future, let’s hope we don’t all start to take ourselves far too seriously and remember it may only be a game but supporting City is a way of life. Given the circumstances I still think last season’s two wins over the mob from Trafford will be one of the highlights of the first decade of the 21st Century for me.

I thought Paul Robinson (thought you were at Blackburn) and Thad Williamson’s contributions to the last issue were spot on!

OPINION: THE NEW REGIME II

I have some wishes to ask of the new owners:

1. Please shut up. Let Mark Hughes do the talking. Stop boasting. What will bewill be and the players on the pitch will do the talking. Boasting is not theCity way.
2. I’d like to hear them come out publicly to back Mark Hughes. Mark may be anex-Red but, for me, he’s done his apprenticeship in exactly the right waycoming up through smaller clubs, even has international experience, and goesabout his business in a dignified manner. Totally happy with Hughsie.
3. Whoever we try to buy, please don’t buy any United players. It’s not thedone thing and we City fans would prefer to surpass United with their teamintact. Buying a United player will not sit well with Blues.
4. Please back the Academy. Don’t let that go just because we can buy anyplayer in the world. We are constantly producing quality players that aremaking their way into the first team, something that didn’t always happen atone time. The Academy is our crown jewel.
5. Yes, please make City great again.

P.S. Can we have a proper black and red strip for our second colours, not the black with a bit of red that we have now. Thanks.

OPINION: BRAND BUILDING

Believe me, I’m excited as everyone else about the developments of the last week or so. But I read this article, and am a little curious: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/sep/08/manchestercity.premierleague

I would quite like to see a copy of this “83-page blueprint, A New Model for Partnership in Football”, apparently penned by Mr. Cook. What other “global” merchandising schemes are planned?

[More on it here Neal, sent in from <ID313(at)aol.com> http://www.arabianbusiness.com/530175-man-citys-secret-virgin-brand-plans-revealed – Ed]

OPINION: REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL PART I

At long last the prospect of eclipsing the Swamp dwellers is a reality. And if that means dealing with the ennui of success instead of having to suffer continual failure, then so be it. If it means the odd thrilling day out at a semi-final (a treat we haven’t had in 27 years) rather than yet another unspeakable embarrassing cup exit, then so be it. If it means buying world class international talent to take the place of promising Academy stars, so be it. If it means our celebrity as the best fans in the country gradually fades, even becoming mildly disliked, so be it. And, if it means our collective soul yields under the weight of global corporatism, then, sadly, so be it. We’ll be just like all the other fans of elite clubs, though not smugly so, because our decades in the shadows will keep us humble. We’ve earned our lucky break 100 times over, so let’s enjoy it.

OPINION: REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL PART II

OK. After weighing up the pros and cons for a few days I want to give my penny’s worth. I have been taking a lot of stick up here (Cumbria) from people saying we will just become another Chelski. Do these folk not realise that moneybags really started in the 50’s/60’s with the Rags and their “self made millionaire” chairman Edwards who made his millions selling tainted meat to Manchester Education Committee (allegedly). No wonder I rarely enjoyed school meals.

Of course the Premiership brought much bigger wealth and to the successful (Rags, Arsenal and lately Chelski) came even more wealth allowing them to form their monopoly. The only team to break it was Blackburn in the mid 90’s. How did they do it? On the back of uncle Jack Walker’s personal wealth and big money signings (Shearer for a then record).

The only difference now is the sheer scale of wealth gained and investment needed. The so called ‘big 4’ will never be challenged unless someone gets the financial clout to beat them at their own game. Sad but a fact of football life. The rest will always be picking up crumbs.

Our time in the sun has come. I really hope we don’t waste it and we don’t waste our fantastic ability to nurture talented youth through to first team level and beyond.

As for ‘glory seekers’, we have suffered ups and (mostly) downs for a long time now. Even so, our fantastic fan base gives us an average last year of around 43,000 so only 2,000 or 3,000 or ‘glory seekers’ will ever get that chance to soak up the atmosphere (especially with our loyalty points system rewarding the most loyal fans).

The rollercoaster is most definitely on an up curve at the moment. Let’s see how long it lasts and enjoy it while we can. Having been there during our successful years in the 60’s and 70’s, and during the depths of despair in the late 90’s, I don’t begrudge young Blues wanting to feel and smell success.

OPINION: KEEPING IT REAL I

I join all fellow Blues in being staggered by recent events concerning MCFC. I for one welcome the huge investment coming into the club (following the due diligence period) as it will enable the club to truly compete in the open market.

Unfortunately it will have to come at a price. Whilst I agree it would be great to continue the development of the Youth Team, as it has been for many a year the heartbeat of the club, it will be harder for the young lads to break through.

People have commented via this platform and other forums that it would be great to ‘qualify for the Champions’ League’ and ‘win the Premier League’ with half the team made up of home grown players – sorry, but a reality check is required here because it simply won’t happen.

We have used the Youth Team players for years because it has been convenient to do so. I wish it were different but it’s not – it was convenient because it cost us nowt when we couldn’t afford to buy decent players. The reality of it is that they are simply not good enough to all be in a team to win either of the aforementioned trophies. I’m not saying none of them are – Hart will still be in goal, Richards in defence and Johnson (if he stops living life like a big-time Charlie) in midfield. The rest – Onuoha, Ireland (someone who I would sell tomorrow anyway), Evans (someone who I think will be like Ishmael Miller, a great Championship player but probably not a Premier League player) and Sturridge would make great squad players as they are now anyway along with the up and coming Mee and Weisz.

Being entirely selfish, considering that I am 39 and don’t really remember the League Cup win of ’76, I want to see City win a meaningful trophy. I want to see City qualify for the Champions’ League, I want to see City win the Premier League and if it means doing that with a team of £30+ million players such as Robinho then so be it, but if it’s at all possible then of course I would prefer a splattering of Academy products to be included – but it’s winning a trophy that matters as a success starved Blue!

I completely trust Mark Hughes to make the right transfer selections in and out of the club and also his team selections on a match by match basis.

Anyway, I’m not counting my chickens but I’m off to book a Hotel in Istanbul for May 20th!

OPINION: KEEPING IT REAL II

In response to Thad Williamson (MCIVTA 1462)… you’re clearly a good man, with a heart of gold and I’ve shared many of your concerns over the last year.

But it seems to me that you’re saying that, having been concerned over the “non-democratic” history of an owner, your concern with the new lot is in their capitalist mentality (“City’s future success thus is to be bankrolled by the monopolistic control of a scarce natural resource by a patriarchal elite who have little interest in democracy”). Now don’t get me wrong… I believe fervently in democracy, and while I am all too aware of its failings, I probably subscribe to the idea that capitalism is a decent bet too. But it strikes me that by criticising other countries’ governments for choosing not to be democratic (à la “GW”), we rather defeat our own point, don’t we? It’s like saying “I believe in the right to choose, but I don’t believe you should be allowed to choose, unless you agree with me…”

As for the monopolistic worries re: oil I’m sorry, but democracy and capitalism are founded on the idea of possession and value of commodities. You can’t complain that the people in possession of a resource you want might not want to sell it to you. It only feels that way because the West has so wilfully wasted natural resources for a few hundred years – we feel that we have a right to oil and gas, when in fact we have been privileged to have it so cheaply, or at all, for that matter. In any case, if you’re saying you want your democracy without capitalism… well, finding an alternative bed fellow is a problem that has been the source of much head scratching and breast beating for far wiser men than I, for hundreds of years.

But I guess the key point is, it has little to do with football. Having said all of that, I enjoyed reading the blog, and it made me think a lot more than normal (which, like the gym, hurt a little, but felt better afterwards), so appreciations for putting the hours in. It’s been a very interesting read.

In response to Paul Robinson (MCIVTA 1462)… you are not alone at all mate.

OPINION: KEEPING IT REAL III

The press and media are full of which players MCFC would like to sign in the coming January window.

I just wish they would all go away, and let City get on with their game of football.

Let Sparky decide who he wants in January to strengthen his squad; right now I’m sure he is more concerned about the players that he has got, and the planning for the next game coming up.

I just hope that no one at City gets distracted from the job at hand, with the players that are in the present squad.

We should not be thinking about signing stars right now. Play football. January window is a long way off.

Come on you Blues! In Sparky we trust.

[A lot of the fantasy football reporting is due to the comments made by the new owners – Ed]

OPINION: KEEPING IT REAL IV

With all the goings on at Middle-Eastlands, there has also been some spectacularly lazy journalism around, a lot of which seemed to consist of going to various watering-holes and dreaming up fantasy teams based on who we might sign. Well, I suppose it’s better than working…

Curiously, none of these tired and emotional hacks seem to have remembered that there are now rules in UEFA club competitions that require a certain proportion of home-grown players be in the squad (not quite sure what ‘home grown’ actually amounts to, or how many, but I think it’s supposed to increase over the next couple of seasons). So, if the new owner’s ambition really is world-domination, then this can only be achieved by keeping our top Academy graduates. In fact, if you consider the current crop of graduates (Richards, Johnson, Sturridge, etc.) and can then add genuine top class signings in all positions, the future looks very promising.

So let’s enjoy the ride; if we really want to see City succeed then it can only be achieved these days with a huge wallet, and that’s what we’ve got. Don’t forget that the Champions’ League was created in order to ensure that those at the top would stay there in perpetuity; it’ll be nice to hear some bleating from those about to lose their place at the top table. And we didn’t have to kidnap our big money signing. And we’re not Newcastle.

OPINION: A FUNNY OLD GAME

Now that the dust is settling and we are all beginning to understand what is happening to our favourite football club.

We have to thank Dr Thaksin Shinawatra for raising the level of the club, and making it an attractive club for the group led by Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim to come in and take over, showing right away his intentions of making Manchester City the best club on the planet.

The signing of Robinho has rocked the world of football, everyone has taken notice of Manchester City, and most other clubs love it, and that it is City, because of their dislike of the Evil Empire and its arrogant ways; let us remain humble (up to a point).

I think that it is very important that Mark Hughes has the say in which players he wants to bring to his team. Gary Cook has already said that this will happen, and Dr Sulaiman has said that Mark Hughes will remain as his manager and in control.

Many of the older readers of McV might remember me saying many a time, “Building a team is like a jigsaw puzzle”, just going out and buying the best stars that money can buy might not work. Sparky has to build his team with players that fit his “jigsaw puzzle”, his team.

The players that we already have can certainly move the club in the right direction; it is very important how they play together as a team.

Come Christmas we shall all know, including the players, the manager Sparky will know if he needs certain players in positions to strengthen his squad. The nice part about it is that money should be no object, just will the clubs release some players. It’s easy to say money talks, in some cases it might not, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on it.

The future looks very exciting, it is a most wonderful time to be a City fan, the best I have felt for more than thirty years.

Oh to have some silverware, who remembers how to polish it?

On a sad note I do have feelings for King Kev Keegan who had to resign because of transfer issues at Newcastle, now more than ever let’s whip the Zebras.

I write this on Thursday, so tomorrow Friday I wish Stuart Pearce good luck with his under 21 England side.

Not forgetting all the international players from City playing for their countries – I wish them good luck! Come back safe and uninjured.

Come on you Blues! In Sparky we trust.

REQUEST: BRIGHTON TICKET I

Looking for a ticket for the Brighton game 24 September; if any one can’t go, or has a spare, I’d love to buy it off you!

Can meet at game, or send payment. Call me on 07535 665177, or email.

REQUEST: BRIGHTON TICKET II

Need a ticket for the Brighton game – live in Brighton can you help? Call or email 07810 806740.

REQUEST: CYPRUS ACCOMMODATION

I would like to inform you about our special offer for the game on 18-9-08 between Omonoia-Man City in Nicosia Cypus. Our hotel Henipa hotel (http://www.crownresortsgroup.com/) offers you 30 euro per person per day bed & breakfast. In addition to our special offer, we can arrange transport to and from the football match at a discounted price.

Our hotel offers a variety of facilities for your enjoyment such as indoor/outdoor swimming pool, disco, gym, tennis court, ping pong table, etc.

Thank you and we look forward to serving you.

WHY BLUE

For those of you who don’t know my personal football back story I will paint a thumbnail sketch for you. Don’t worry, this shouldn’t take long and I do so to illustrate a point.

Born 1970, St Mary’s Manchester.

Dad gave up good job to a become postman as the round he would get had Maine Road on it.

Dad moved the family home to Thornton Road as it was next to Maine Road and the game could be watched through the back bedroom (about three quarters of the pitch if truth be told).

Both sides of the family were Blue, but the old fella was a mental Blue of the old style.

As a kid I listened to stories about him playing with Neil Young at school, playing for Maine Road and only giving it up when we kids came along. How he was at Wembley for this final or that final, how he travelled with 4 mates to Newcastle for the Championship decider and only got in the Social Club because he knew Joe Mercer (“the place was full of people who had never been to a game and when Joe heard we couldn’t get in as we arrived back so late he sorted it out for us”).

I love all of that history and I enjoy it even now when Dad talks to my eldest (Michael, 15) in the same way.

But as I said I was born in 1970 and it’s not quite been the same since then. So I am jealous of my dad for having that link to our club, the family’s club.

But I’m also jealous of my kids (there are 5 of them: 15, 9, 6, 4 and 2) and they won’t ever know the pain and heartache that I have known.

Even Michael’s first footballing memory is of the play-off final, that was at least at Wembley and a win.

My 9 year old lad Ryan, who happens to be autistic and hugely practical because of it, made me grin when I tried to explain the enormity of the take over and the Ribena signing.

“So we are now the richest club in the world?”
“That’s what they are saying, yeah.”
“And we can buy all the players we need?”
“I reckon so.”
“But can I still boo United?”
“Of course you can.” “Well that’s good ’cause I wouldn’t like it if I couldn’t boo United!”

So I’m jealous of my dad, I’m envious of my kids as they probably won’t ever know the dire footballing world I inhabited for the 30+ years.

But I know in my heart of hearts that they won’t ever know what it’s like to be City in the same way as me.

And I’m glad because it’s not the taking part that counts, it’s the winning, and my kids will know all about that in the next few years, fingers crossed.

Booooo United.

BLUE HUMOUR

The one major difference between we City fans and our counterparts around the world is our unique sense of humour.

There’s a gem on youtube at the moment called “Manchester City Owners Spoof“ of the new owners and their address to the fans, some bad language so watch out, but funny nevertheless.

RESULTS

League table to 07 September 2008 inclusive

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