Newsletter #104

This is one of the shorter MCIVTAs but we still have good news in the form of Uwe signing a new contract and we now know that Bally’s first game in charge will be in Ireland. There’s another Why Blue but my stock is now getting low so if anyone else fancies revealing their memories and reasons to the world at large then now’s a good time! Lastly, the new kit is out and is apparently already a fashion item in Milan!

** To order the MCIVTA T-shirt see MCIVTA 97, deadline 15th July**

NEWS – MONEY, GOOD & BAD

The Guardian (12/7/95) reports that:

“Manchester City stand to gain £1m if Gerry Taggart’s move from Barnsley to Aston Villa goes through for a £2m fee. The details of the transfer were being negotiated yesterday. When Barnsley bought the Northern Ireland defender for £75 000 5.5 years ago, they agreed to pay City half of the proceeds of any transfer.

City are still trying to sort out compensation for taking Alan Ball from Southampton, who are asking for at least £300 000 compensation for the loss of their manager. Ball is unable to take up his new post at Maine Road until the matter is settled.”

Given our record of selling future star players for peanuts the Barnsley transfer clause seems like a must for future deals.

NEWS – CORK MATCH

I can confirm that City will play a friendly against Cork City on Wed. 26th July.

NEWS – ALAN BALL’S FIRST GAME

Manchester City will play Galway Utd. on Monday 24th July at 6.45pm. This will be Alan Ball’s first game in charge and with the Irish trio of Phelan, Quinn (who we hope will stay a Blue) and Kernaghan should provide a big crowd. Any Blues in Ireland who want to meet for the game please contact me. If any City fans from England or elsewhere are coming over and want some travel info my address is below – the Dublin supporters club will be travelling also. Looking forward to seeing the Blues.

NEWS – UWE SIGNS ON THE DOTTED LINE!

Uwe Rösler has ended speculation linking him with a number of German clubs by signing a lucrative new 4-year deal with City. Meanwhile, Francis Lee revealed in the MUEN that he had offered Alan Ball the City manager’s job before he had even taken over the club!

NEWS – VARIOUS

Clubcall, that ever reliable source of information and chinese whispers tells us that Uwe has signed a new contract. Guardian this AM notes that Franny had made a play for Ball during the War of Swales Wig – maybe he has been smarter than some have indicated, especially with George Graham being sidelined for the next year.

What an unhappy buunch those poor MU supporters are .. what with Martin Edwards saying that they aren’t interested in the fans’ opinions; with AK saying publicly that he cannot work with Fungusface, and the announcement that they will only see £3m of the Ince transfer fee up front, the rest being payed in instalments. My heart bleeds …… ;->>

RUMOUR – WALLACE

There’s a rumour going around my workplace saying that City are set to sign Rod Wallace from Leeds for £2 million. Ball isn’t supposed to be taking charge until Thursday, does anybody else know anything?

RUMOUR – INFIDEL(ITY) INCE

Further to the Paul Ince/Mrs. Kanchelskis story, the rumour has it that Kanchelskis squared up to Ince and was promptly battered by the so-called guv’nor! This would explain his absence due to a ‘hernia operation’ which was really cracked ribs.

MAN CITY SHIRTS AS HIP FASHION ACCESSORIES ON THE MILAN CAT-WALKS (SORT OF)

Last Monday, I went to Milan to see Oasis play (incidentally, Italy is a great place to see British bands, because they play much smaller venues than they do in England. This venue held just a few hundred people. Compare that to Oasis’s recent concerts in England, at Sheffield Arena and Glastonbury, where they played to tens of thousands of people).

Anyway, the band were excellent, despite a lousy sound system. And, needless to say, they had a Man. City scarf proudly on display above the speakers. Most intriguing of all, however, was the considerable number of official City shirts worn by the Italians in the crowd. I have never even seen City shirts on sale in Italy (unlike Man. Utd or Liverpool ones, which you can buy everywhere – and who said the Italians had culture?). So, congratulations to Oasis for making the Blues cool around the world. Still, it’s probably the closest City will ever get to Europe.

NEW KIT

I have just bought the new home top! Priced at £36.99 The shirt looks a lot better with a decent collar with stripes (not too sure about the stripes). There is a City badge imprinted in the shirt, also with “CITY” splashed across. The shorts haven’t changed too much as they are white. The one thing that does surprise me is the socks being white; can anyone recall us having white socks with the home kit in the past (it looks very much like Lazio)?

OPINION – BALL

By the way, what we need over the next few years, in my opinion, is to gain the respect of the general public. Too many people regard us as “Shitty City”! How can we tempt players of any calibre with anything but the lure of cash (which we don’t have)? As far as I can make out Ball likes to play attractive, flowing football and with Lee who never stops talking about the glory days, we might build on the reputation that has been rekindled by Horton. It obviously won’t be easy:- how will Ball cope with the awful defence, how will he cope without the likes of Le Tissier… Hopefully he can make a couple of good buys, keep us away from relegation for another year and be in a position to actually build a class side for the seasons to follow.

He’s unproven enough to want to excel at Maine Road but not as green as Horton was and at least he’s better than Graham.

Why Blue?
I don’t know. My psychiatrist asks me the same question.

WHY BLUE?

I was ten years old. Usual Welsh kid. Rugby ball under one arm, Wales soccer kit on. I was watching footy on the telly and I saw this old guy kick the ball over his head into the goal. It was 1976. I was a City fan. That was the last thing we won! I grew up and went on to play first division rugby in Wales. ‘Didn’t win much there either!

I lived in Wilmslow for two years and got to see quite a few games and met one or two faces. The idols of those Sunday afternoons and Saturday nights, on the telly. You know the people.. Asa, Paul, Big Joe.

I’m living in Chicago at the present, and spend most of my time working in Europe & the US. I get Blue as often as I can. This vehicle will help greatly.

Can’t really say anything else about Why Blue. It took two seconds and has lasted twenty years. Very little success, crap managers, overrated players, more board intrigue than Cluedo, but none of it has ever mattered. We seem happy with winning nowt and losing soft games as long as we get the chance to beat United. Even that seems a little distant now!

But there’s always this year.

WWW MANCHESTER CITY SUPPORTERS’ HOME PAGE:
http://www.uit.no/mancity/

Thanks to Huw, Steve, Johnathan, Rob, Tony, Dan, Ashley, John, Paul & Jeremy.

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.

Editor: