Newsletter #197

A match report adorns this issue which is pretty good going. seeing as City didn’t play! Otherwise, everything is still fairly quiet. MCIVTA F.C. are trying to put a team out for EuroNet 96 which is supposed to be taking place in Nottingham in June, see below. There is also an appeal for new designs for the MCIVTA T-shirt, as we hope to get a new design printed and out there before the end of the closed season. There’s also another Why Blue.

This one reaches 814.

MATCH REPORT ‘LIVE’!!!

IRELAND vs. CELTIC, Mick McCarthy Testimonial, Sunday 26th May 1996

I was just over in Ireland at the weekend and while I was there I learned there was a match going on… Ireland vs. Celtic. It was the testimonial for Mick McCarthy – being an ex-Blue it was only right that I pay tribute to him… As to the game, well it was more like the Celtic reserves versus Ireland of a few years back (with a few youngsters); the Blue interest was with Niall Quinn, Alan Kernaghan and Terry Phelan. Ireland easily outplayed Celtic, winning the match 3-0 with the help of a goal from big Niall (nice side-foot into the net from just inside the box). The second half saw loads of substitutions with Kernaghan going off, Quinn was off 10 minutes later, his replacement – Connolly (I think) who is a very promosing 18-year old who plays for Watford, scoring 6 goals in 4 games at the end of last season. With nearly his first touch he scored a good goal. The best goal of the match was right at the end.. I was chatting away to an Irish bloke about how Phelan was not too much cop (how he always loses the ball going forward) when he scores a brilliant, bending shot into the right corner of the net from 25 yards. Mick made a showing in the last 10 minutes to huge cheers and nearly set up a Celtic goal – a sure sign of an ex-Blue (-;

A couple things of note were: the absence of Psycho (Keane) and the new haircut of Tony Cascarino – he looks like more like Vialli – maybe Marseille mistook him for Vialli when they bought him (-:

and there you go, over 40,000 were at the match which is good for a testimonial; the game was very relaxed with neither side putting anything into it!

Well I can now say I have been to Lansdowne Road…

NEWS – MAY SALES RUMOURS

In an article in yesterday’s (Thursday’s) MUEN, it was alleged that City had turned down a £3.75 million bid for Uwe Rösler from Sheffield Wednesday. This I find quite unbelievable, as I’m sure any offer of over £2.5 million will be grabbed with both arms given Uwe and Ball’s differences.

Francis Lee has been warning off Premiership clubs thinking there are bargains to be had in the Great Maine Road Summer Clear-Out. “Nobody’s going for less than their true market value,” said Lee.

I heard a rumour yesterday that Leeds were about to offer City over £2 million for Keith Curle. Leeds have officially denied having any interest in Curle though 🙁

NEWS – IRISH

Alan Kernaghan has been named the Republic of Ireland captain for their forthcoming international against Portugal. This is due to the absence of Roy Keane who is apparently “too tired” to play. Niall Quinn is not included in the team despite scoring in Mick McCarthy’s tesimonial at the weekend.

Michael Brown will play for England U-21’s against Angola this eveing (Tuesday).

Francis Lee denied newspaper reports this weekend that an Arab consortium were set to pump £50 million into City, with Lee to retain the chairmanship. A similar rumour was circulating last year I seem to recall. Lee said that somebody must have seen him return from a trip to Dubai, put two and two together … and got eight!

MCIVTA FC & Euronet ’96

Following the success of the 2 MCIVTA F.C. 5-a-side sessions, we are hoping to enter a team in the internet football supporters’ tournament (Euronet 96) which is being held on Sunday June 16, in Nottingham.

There will be 16 teams entered and it will be an 11-a-side tournament. I think teams will be guaranteed a minimum number of matches before the knockout section starts.

If you would be interested in taking part in this tournament, regardless of whether you have been to either of the previous sessions, then please let us know.

You can do this by mailing Robert Watson at:

rw@wg.icl.co.uk

If you feel the inclination you could indicate the type of position you usually/used to play.

It does not have to be a 100% commitment to attend, just an indication that you might well be able to be there.

FRANKFURT TO PROVIDE THIRD GEORGIAN?

In my Subbuteo-team-buying heyday of the 80s the City away kit doubled up as the Eintract Frankfurt home kit… not that I’m looking for tenuous links between the clubs or anything…

MIXED FORTUNES FOR CITY PLAYERS…

Although most of the squad are off on their holidays, there’s still work to be done for some:

Michael Brown played in England U-21’s 1-0 victory over Belgium in the Toulon Tournament on Friday. The next game is against Angola on Tuesday.

Niall Quinn scored for the Republic of Ireland in their 3-0 victory over Celtic in Mick McCarthy’s testimonial in Dublin on Sunday. United’s Roy Keane didn’t turn up – is he the new George Best?

Wales played a warm-up game for their World Cup qualifier versus San Marino on Sunday; the side expected to play in that game (which surely would have included Kit Symons) were beaten 2-1 by a Leyton Orient XI consisting partly of trial players. Doesn’t bode well for the Welsh does it?

MCIVTA T-SHIRT

As some of you will already know, we did an MCIVTA T-shirt last year which was done on a ‘order one, get one’ basis. This meant that all those printed were automatically sold. Since then, we’ve had numerous requests for them, or for a second MCIVTA T-shirt; as it’s now close season we can turn our thoughts to doing another one. John Shearer has once again offered to coordinate the ordering etc, but to tackle first things first, we need a design. Last year, Svenn put together a couple of designs, posted them on the WWW Home Page and those who wanted to buy a shirt voted for their favourite. When all votes were cast we selected one and this was the sole design which was printed; considering that Svenn is not a designer, the result was really good. This year, the list is approximately 4 times larger than last year so we’d hope to get some more designs, perhaps even from a graphic designer or an artist (you must be out there), or anyone with artistic leanings.

So…

If you fancy trying your hand designing an MCIVTA T-shirt then fire away. If you have access to a drawing or artwork program then the results can be mailed directly to Svenn (svenn@hanssen.priv.no) and he’ll put them on the WWW so that everyone can take a look. If the design is non-computer generated, then the final design can be mailed (hardcopy) to Paul who’ll scan it in for the WWW. We should take the following into account:

1. The colour scheme shouldn’t be very complex as this will probablyrequire a complex printing process which may prove expensive.
2. Don’t use the club crest as we need to avoid the T-shirt being taken as’official’

Designs will appear on the WWW as follows;

http://www.service.uit.no/mancity/mcivta/t-shirt.html

If anyone else can help in any way which I haven’t stated here i.e. printing etc. then please make yourself known.

IT’S SEATS AT POMPEY!

Thought I’d drop you a line, which may be interesting to those who were hoping to watch some of their football ‘stood-up’ next season.

It would seem that you won’t be able to down here in Portsmouth. Virginia Bottomley has said ‘no’ to Pompey extending the amount of time they can have without all-seating. So poor old Pompey have to get it done before the start of the season. That means the whole of the North Terrace, and the Milton-End (where we would have stood behind the goal) need seats. The chances are Pompey won’t get the work done in time, and will have a capacity of only 6,500 until the work is done! This may mean no room for away fans 8-( I also think that this must apply to all other non-seaters too…

OPINION – M(U)EN

Well my impressions from reading MICVTA is that a fair proportion of the subscribers live away from Manchester. Now these people may be a tad envious of those (such as myself) that live near Manchester, and only a 20 minute drive to the ground. However, living in Manchester has one huge disadvantage – the local paper is the Manchester Evening News.

The rôle of the M(U)EN and its anti-City attitude has been discussed recently (by Martin and others). To those who cannot remember, our relegation was reported with 1 match report and a picture of Kinky and Immel crying, whereas the Rags were given 3 ‘back page’ pages and the front 2 or 3 as well. This is hardly fair reporting. However, one week later, after the Cup Final, the Rags’ propoganda machine hit overdrive. The front 4 pages all showed celebrating fans and parties, there was an 8-page pullout – Salute to the Team of the Century – or something like that, and the back few pages were full of Fergie’s blubberings as well. Added to this was the phone poll asking whether the United players should be given the freedom of Manchester for their services to the city (but surely they play in Trafford?). However, what topped it all was a story about a woman who had to call out the fire service to rescue her hamster from being trapped somewhere. Now this is the sort of story that would make the 11th page of a church magazine but not even bother a typist on the biggest selling evening paper outside of London. However, the hamster was called Eric Cantona.

As you can see, the Red half is rather well represented. I wonder if I called my dog Kit Symons and threw it up a tree and called for help, would the press be all over me? I think not. However, after not reporting on one of the most traumatic weeks in the club’s history, the M(U)EN came back with a vengeance recently, demanding that Ball must go. What brought this on? Perhaps there were no more dust mites called Ryan that needed to be rescued that day, so they thought about reporting on the other team in the area.

Well, I agree with other Blues, no more MUEN for me.

OPINION – CONSPIRACY THEORY

1. I’ve been thinking about this one since Franny’s comments about beingprepared for relegation earlier on in the season. Viz a successful businessman investing in new business which he holds very dear to his heart (wecannot doubt his love of the Blues). He appoints a “manager” with a proventrack record of relegating teams. Why? Either, his emotions and bonds haveclouded his judgement so as to make a very poor business decision (not thesigns of a successful business man), he’s gone mad, or he has some sort of”hidden agenda”. I favour this “hidden agenda” though I’m not sure what itis exactly. It could be he actually detests City and wants to see theirdemise. I rather think it is to do with the business side of the club andattempting to get thefinances in order. Somehow, there must be benefits in being relegated andthe only one I can think of is that it easier to offload high wage earners.To me, this seems an excessive route to sorting out the finances. Thistheory is the only one that keeps Franny’s sanity and reputation intact andthe only way I can keep faith with his regime.
2. The worst season in history has just been confirmed. The City relegated,and the Rags etc. (I can’t even say it), no derby victory. I usually workfrom a football uninterested office, where the ususal mickey taking ofbeing a City supporter is occasionally muttered. A temporary consultancycontract has taken me to a large company in the heart of South-East London.The building is painted blue, hoorah! But the Bastuds inside are all Red.In my dept of 20 people every one is a supposed Rag. I could not havepictured a worse end to the ****ing season. The conspiracy continues but aswe once sung a few seasons ago “thiiiiiings, can only get better!!”

OPINION – POST/PRE-SEASON ANALYSIS

I am not sure if I’ve gotten over the relegation trauma. Through the years that I’ve supported City, this is the third time we have been relegated and still it is never easy to accept the fact. The defeat at Luton some years ago was bad but this one IMHO is nothing less.

City got relegated, U****d won the double. As much as I do not care much of their success or failure, it is very difficult to be a City fan in Singapore and this perceived gulf in standard makes it even more so.

I put on my City shirt (proudly) to work last Friday – a “casual day” at work – and I get more stares than usual. I assume they all think I need psychiatric help. Worse was to come. In the elevator to my office, a man suddenly said sacarstically, “Your team was relegated”! I glared at him and said, “It’s a matter of loyalty, not glory hunting, like most fans of some certain teams. Did you see people walking around wearing Newcastle or Rovers shirt three years ago?” He was silent for a while then said, “I don’t really want City to go down but 1 point out of the possible 33 was a difficult start”, and stepped out of the elevator at his floor. I got more stares in the train on my way back home that evening.

What bothers me is why must these things happen to nice people like us? My friend, a ‘pool fan said, “notice how the Rags complained at every decision the referee makes throughout the FA Cup final?” and for all their “misdemeanours” they went on to win the double with a goal from the only player that I have heard of to have kicked a spectator in my whole life. What more can I say?

Another thing that really bothers me is the article on MCIVTA two issues ago from someone who attended a Supporters’ Association meeting somewhere. He mentioned that the City representative, after a few drinks, mentioned the astonishing lack of man-management skill of our AB and how it is affecting the team. If all he knows is to SHOUT at the players, I think he does not deserve to manage this great club at any level. That is simply unprofessional and unacceptable. I feel that the club is moving in the right direction in many ways but not the one when the chairman appointed AB as manager. To make it worse, the appointment was a very late one, too.

I am not one who is for another change in management, but I feel that if he can’t get us up at the end of this season (96/97) he should be shown the door. City have now given AB a year at managing a big club, while many other clubs have given him similar chances at various levels for many years now. He has not proven to anyone that he is capable of leading any club to glory. In fact, he has proven, beyond reasonable doubt, that he is really capable of leading a team to relegation! I will not want to have him for another year if he can’t bring us back to the top flight at the end of this season.

As for next season, I do not know what is the reason to release so many of our younger players. What we need to do is to release the deadwoods who do not deserve their wages at the club. We are playing in the Endsleigh League and this is the best time to give the young ‘uns their chance to prove their worth along with some of the core players in the current team. Sell Immel, Curle, Uwe (if he is still unhappy), Creaney, Frontzeck, Dibble (can’t think of more). Keep Kinky, Kit, Kav, Brown, Buzzer, Quinn and Clough, start playing Foster, Edghill, Crooks and Buster and hopefully we can bounce back fast. Assuming Curle and Uwe leave, I’d like to see the following team:

              New Keeper (who is more adapted to the English game)
                Foster        Kit        Edghill
                                 Brown
                   Buzzer     Nigel      Beags
                               Geo
                         Kav    Quinn

Subs: from Buster, Crooks, Kernaghan (give the man a chance), Greenacre, Margetson and some new faces.

If I were living in Manchester, I would definitely buy my season ticket this season because we all know that now is the time the team needs us most.

OPINION – FRIENDS:

I don’t want to bore you with transatlantic observations on our plight, because virtually everything has already been said. Besides, we can debate this ad nauseum and it doesn’t change anything. We’re down — and life sucks, especially for us Statesiders who have to root for an F.A. Cup rematch with the Rags just to have any hope of seeing the Blues on TV in the coming season.

Strangely, though, I love this side more than ever. All I can think about is September, when I make my first trip to England, my first trip to Maine Road … hell, my first trip to Grimsby.

Endsleigh Blue, you all must agree, is better than No Blue, right? How bad can Grimsby be? Pretty as Los Angeles, I bet.

I can only echo those who have begged the MCIVTA crew to keep up their thorough and entertaining work. I didn’t even realize, until someone shrewdly pointed out, that the other City pages on the WWW will be gone soon and replaced by Sunderland or something. Thus, this group will become an even more vital source of info for Yanks and others abroad.

And now, please allow me to become even more of a burden and ask a few favours that will help get me through the close season. Your help is much appreciated.

1. Can someone please e-mail me as soon as the souvenir catalogues are on thestreet? Living overseas, I’d rather not call the shop more than once, but thecatalogue is a must-read for the flight over.
2. Can someone let me know when Premiership/Endsleigh/etc. schedules will bereleased to the public? Is it something that happens soon?
3. I’ve read a lot about the rise in season-ticket sales. I selfishly wonder,great as it is for the club, if it’s going to be tough for me to get ticketsin September? Do I have to order them by phone in advance? Could someonee-mail me some advice as I plan my trip?
4. Thanks in advance for the help, everyone. I look forward to hearing from someof you. Scouring the Net and watching a tape of Uwe’s F.A. Cup and derby goalsagainst the Rags — over and over and over — is all I plan to do this summerafter Romania and future City star Gheorghe Hagi win Euro ’96.

P.S. — I realize I might be the only one, but I don’t want Uwe to go. Shaky as he was at times, No. 28 was a force in the final month or so. Furthermore, he had nothing to do with letting in three goals vs. Newcastle, 12 in three matches vs. Liverpool and the most heart-wrenching moment of the season: Clough and Summerbee inexplicably running into each other to set up Giggs for the most shattering goal we conceded. Defence was this club’s problem, not a world-class striker coveted by Franz Beckenbauer. We might have avoided relegation just by letting Uwe take penalties. Keith Curled (wide) brought City down at both ends.

BLUE-ISH HUMOUR?

From Friday’s Guardian…

A former soldier has been convicted of murder: as he is led from the dock he smiles at the judge and says:

“Perhaps I will be out in time for Manchester City to come back to the Premier League. Thank you. Have a nice day.”

He got life!

On a lighter note, is anyone out there planning to go to the pre-season games in Ireland? I saw a letter in the MuEN from the Prestwich branch of the Supporters’ Club who are running a trip, but if any MCIVTA’ers are going by car or minibus and have room I’d be interested to hear from you.

WHY BLUE?

I was born into a family of Blues – apart from my nanna, God bless her. For some reason she was a Red, but this was tolerated by the rest of us. In fact, I was born on 22 May 1968 [same day as bloody George Best as my (armchair) Red boyfriend is so fond of pointing out] – the same day United won the European Cup. My dad had been to see me in hospital and then decided to go for a celebratory drink. Alas, upon arriving at the pub he found out United had won and had to go home to sulk!

I was aware of City from an early age; me and my older brother had City scarves and used to boo at United and shout “Up the Blues!” to my nanna. My grandad has always been a Blue: he’s now 83 so he really has seen it all! He’s still got a load of his old season tickets, priced about £1.50 – those were the days! The players I remember best from being a kid are Colin Bell and Asa Hartford and I always seem to remember us winning things. Surely history will repeat itself?

The first match I actually went to was pretty boring: the 0-0 against Newcastle at the end of the 94/95 season. The game itself wasn’t anything to write home about, but I was completely hooked on the whole Maine Road experience! I then went to the final game of the season (the lacklustre 2-3 against QPR) and I only missed 4 home league games in the 95/96 season.

The reason I started going was I was so sick and tired of the United supporters gloating and being unbearably smug and humourless all the time. I wanted to go and support my team to try to balance out all the people who had suddenly become United fans. I had been following City’s progress over the years but it never occurred to me that I could actually go to a match, so one day I just went for it and I have never looked back since.

No matter how low things get I will always be proud to be a Blue and carry on the family tradition! This is just the start of a long and beautiful relationship ..

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

MCIVTA ADDRESSES:
Contributions: Ashley – mcivta@tollbar.u-net.com
Subscriptions: Adam – Adam.Houghton@sheffield.ac.uk
Club Questions: Stephen – sbolton@buxtonrd.u-net.com

Thanks to Christine, Andy, Paul (x2), The Mole, Dan, Marc, Nizam, Ian, Dan, Liam & Riccardo.

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: