Newsletter #330

After the sudden listing of Rösler, all appears to have gone quiet. I half expected Everton and Sheffield Wednesday to come rushing in, but so far nothing has been heard. The readership of McVittee seems also strangely subdued on this subject; I’d have bet good money that we’d would have had a few strident opinions on this matter, maybe many think that Uwe going would be no bad thing? Anyone out there have any strong views on this?

This issue – of the newsletter – contains a match report from Wednesday’s reserve game against Wolves; news of the internet gathering; Noel Bayley reveals just what those naughty Hammers fans were singing about Master Beckham down at the Swamp; and finally, another good offering under the Why Blue banner.

Lastly, the City Supporters’ Home Page carries a book review page which is gradually getting out of date. Does anyone have any of the more recent publications (check the page for details of what has already been reviewed) who is prepared to review them? If so, please make yourself known!

Match reports on the Norwich game to reach me by 9.30pm on Monday evening.

MATCH REPORT – RESERVES

City fielded a “star-studded” reserve side on Wednesday but they still only managed to beat a very inexperienced Wolves team 1-0 at Maine Road. The line up was as follows:

                    Wright
    Hiley  Kernaghan   Beesley   Vaughan (Jim Whitley)
  Dickov  Crooks (Jeff Whitley)  McGoldrick  Phillips
              Creaney    Rösler (Tsekinis)

When you consider that Rae Ingram, Ian Brightwell, John Foster, Michael Brown, Neil Heaney and the on-loan Nigel Clough and Chris Greenacre might also have been included, you realise just how many so-called senior professionals there are at the club.

Uwe Rösler played for the first half and nearly scored with a good header which beat Hans Segers in the Wolves goal but came back off the crossbar. City had by far the best of the game but just couldn’t make the breakthrough, going close several times. Paul Dickov, playing in an unfamiliar right side midfield rôle, still had more efforts on goal than anyone else despite his added responsibilities for tackling back, which he did very effectively.

City reshuffled a bit at half time, with Jim Whitley replacing Vaughan and miving to right back, Scott Hiley switching to left back. In place of Rösler came Jimmy Tsekinis, an Australian trialist who played a sort of inside-right rôle. Tsekinis had been playing for Adelaide Sharks before paying his own air fare to come to England. He holds a dual Australian-Greek passport so there shouldn’t be any work permit problems should City decide to sign him, though Bolton, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield have all declined the opportunity to do so recently. As it happened, Tsekinis had a pretty good game, showing good pace and enthusiasm, causing the Wolves defence a lot of problems. Worth another look IMO.

City’s pressure finally bore fruit on 75 minutes when Dickov shot powerfully home from the edge of the penalty area. It was a fully deserved reward for his man-of-the-match performance. There were a couple of late scares when the visitors might have snatched an equaliser (shades of the first team!) but City should really have won by three or four overall.

NEWS – FC DENIES £3 MILLION RÖSLER PRICE TAG

Frank Clark has denied putting a £3 million price tag on transfer-listed Uwe Rösler, saying: “We have not put a definite price on Uwe but will look at the situation and do what is best for the club. In eight months he can walk away on a free transfer but we expect there to be interest in him before then. Uwe’s turned down a new contract and I’m not going to talk about it again until there are any firm developments.” Rösler is expected to partner Paul Dickov for City’s reserve game against Wolves at Maine Road on Wednesday night (6:45pm).

NEWS – NO INTEREST IN UWE?

West Ham are the latest club to reportedly show an interest in Uwe Rösler (Paul Kitson is currently injured) but Frank Clark has revealed that he hasn’t even heard from Everton since Rösler’s availability became official on Monday.

NEWS – NEW CITY STORE TO OPEN SOON

The new City Store on the site of the old Social Club will soon be ready for business: here’s what Citynet has to say about it:

City Stores are proud to announce the launch of a new 3,500 square feet City Superstore on the site of the old Social Club with a larger range of MCFC merchandise than ever before.

Please note that the club will be direct mailing all season ticket holders, previous catalogue holders, those on our internet database and fans who have responded to the Kappa swing ticket with 97/98 catalogue in the next couple of weeks.

If you too would like to be kept in touch with merchandise and other information, please email citynet@mcfc.slv.co.uk.

TRIBAL GATHERING “GATHERING PACE”

As the weeks pass by, the Gathering draws nigh (it’s OK folks, this is not a poem!) and with our old friend Peter Beagrie doing wonders at Bradford (inevitably), we could not have picked a tastier clash for this event. Historically, Bradford games have meant so much particularly when we think back to that fateful match which sealed our promotion courtesy of good ol’ Trevor Morley. Now we have a new Morley to worship in the shape of David who is one of our bright young stars, of course. Has everyone taken time to have a look at Morley’s header (and City’s other goals) on Mike Brierley’s site?

I have had generous offers of accommodation for any out-of-town or overseas Blues who want to come to the Gathering but who are frightened off by the thought of having to find a reasonable hotel/guesthouse in Manchester. So please contact me if you need help with accommodation for the weekend of the Gathering (21-23 November 1997).

I’m hoping that we can attract some media attention for the new International Supporters’ Club in the light of our cosmopolitan group (not from a personal wish for fame or fortune but more to show the world who Manchester City are and what it means to be a City fan). We all know the feeling of animosity when we tell people that we’re from Manchester and the first words that come back are “Manchester U****d”. This is particularly true for us overseas Blues! To my knowledge, we are the first group of Supporters to arrange an Internet Gathering and as such I think we should make the most of it in terms of publicity. I welcome anybody else’s comments on this and also ask if anyone has media contacts that they sound them out. I’m asking this of the UK-based Blues on my behalf as I am somewhat removed from the situation here.

The arranged events so far include a tour of Maine Road, a Supporters’ Club meeting with the Prestwich and Whitefield group which will be attended by Tommy Hutchinson, Gerry Gow and Bobby MacDonald, the matchday events including pre- and post-match get-togethers, the match Gathering in the former M(U)EN Lounge in the Kippax, a curry in Rusholme and an evening in town (when I hope to pop in to the Lass O’ Gowrie for some of their beer… don’t tell me it’s closed down since I left Manchester please!), on the Sunday (The Day After) I would like to organise a 5-a-side competition comprising teams from UK, Europe and The Rest of the World but I need some help with this. Would somebody help me out with the hire of a pitch, kits(?), ball etc?

It promises to be a great occasion to meet your fellow Internet Blues from UK, Europe and elsewhere and I hope that we can repeat this in the future. Maybe next year we could charter a plane and have the Gathering here in St. Lucia! If you have any questions or suggestions for the Gathering please email me on harmony@candw.lc

P.S. The cost of the Gathering includes a £12.50 pounds kitty payment for drinks, pies etc. during the game (or for refreshments after the game if the kitty is not exhausted… I expect the kitty will be totally knackered after the game like I usually am!). I would also like to say that tickets for the Gathering are selling like hot cakes so please don’t delay in sending your 50 quid to Bob Young if you want to join us.

STOP SINGING ABOUT THE RAGS

On Friday night we had the usual excellent atmosphere that we always have at away games. Such a shame most fans spent more time singing about the Rags than City. OK so there are some Rag rejects in the Bury side, but it doesn’t mean we have to sing about them all the time. At Forest we got behind the team for most of the ninety minutes and there was very little of the usual stand up/sit down/clap your hands/do bloody cartwheels across the pitch if you hate Man U crap. I hate the Rags as much as everyone else, but I’m a City fan first and foremost so maybe we should act like City fans and stop playing up to the Rags’ image of us as Rag haters first and City fans second. Of course you can sing about the Rags at games, but please try and keep it in perspective. I got well and truly fed up with it on Friday night. Then there’s some of the songs and chants themselves. The stand up/sit down/clap your hands stuff is OK, and who the f*** are Man United is quite amusing (although I’m sure the Pope wouldn’t use that kind of language) but as far as I’m concerned the Munich references shouldn’t be tolerated. I’m sorry but singing about the death of several human beings, even if they are Rags, is just sick. IMO there’s absolutely no need for it. And let’s not forget that Frank Swift, a former City ‘keeper and a player some consider to be one of City’s greatest ever (although there can be very few that can still remember him) also died in the Munich crash.

And while I’m at it: racism. I’d never actually heard any before, so I was quite alarmed to hear a City fan standing a few rows behind me in the Cemetary End shouting “f*** off nigger” at one of Bury’s black players towards the end of the game. If anyone reading this knows him (I’d be surprised if he’s reading it himself – an ability to read would indicate at least some basic level of intelligence) please tell him from me that he’s a dickhead. There’s absolutely no need for it and something should be done to stamp it out.

That’s enough ranting for now, better do some work. Let’s try and get behind our team on Saturday and prove that we deserve our reputation as the best fans around.

HALF A STORY

By Noel Bayley (editor of Bert Trautmann’s Helmet)

Saturday, I turned the radio on and predictably the Rags had done just enough to beat West Ham… fluking it by the odd goal. However, the conversation on the radio centred around the Rags’ current golden boy, David Beckham. The subject of pre-pubescent Home Counties’ schoolgirls’ fertile imaginations, Beckham himself had, we were told, been subjected to a barrage of abuse from West Ham’s support. As there were only 2,000 of ’em in a ground (sorry, theatre) that holds some 55,000 I don’t know why the 53,000 daytrippers couldn’t just drown them out, but anyway, my gripe was that the radio station was either unwilling or unable to provide me with the information I so desired: Just what were the ‘Appy ‘Ammers chanting? I toyed with the idea of watching Match Of The Day, but who wants to watch those red b*****ds anyway? Not me, that’s for sure, unless they lose. Monday morning rolled round and the tacky tabloids went overboard on yet another Rags’ non-story (in fact, it was front page news in ‘The Star’), but still no one could illuminate me as to what was chanted at Beckham. Now I may work with two dozen Rags, but only one of ’em ever goes and I couldn’t find him, so I rang a photographer I know who I knew had been busy snapping from behind one of the goals at The Sty and what were they chanting? “Posh Spice is a slag” and “Does she take it up the **se?” Priceless fun!

However, my photographer friend also told me that, after the Rag’s goals, Beckham made a point of going over to the now not so ‘Appy ‘Ammers’ fans to give them the usual hand signals, together with Dunderhead Keane (who’s supposed to be their captain and therefore a shining example etc!) who also joined in. Well, I’ve not heard about the ref booking either so maybe nothing came of it just as nothing came of Beckham’s mooney at The Dell last year when the Rags were panned and just as nothing came of Schmeichel’s alleged racist attack on Ian Wright. Some things never change, but the funny things is, now that everyone knows about Beckham’s Achilles heel, you can guarantee he’ll be copping it every time he steps out to play a game. What a shame!

Did anyone see the programme “We All Follow United” on Monday night? I only caught bits of it myself, but there were some very nice boys (!) and girls on it, one of whom just couldn’t wait to book her ticket for last year’s European Cup Final in Munich. Displaying their typical arrogance, they all thought beating Borussia Dortmund a mere formality, after all they’d only won in Germany by a fluke goal and they wouldn’t like it at Old Trafford, what with 55,000 there… How I laughed! I’m going to watch it again now from the beginning, being sure to check out ex-Blue (now a Rag sympathiser) Paul Hince as I believe he was of the opinion that the Rags winning was good for business, ‘Manchester United Evening News’ business that is.

Finally (shameless plug coming up here), if anyone’s interested, I hit the deadline and got ‘Bert Trautmann’s Helmet’ to the printers so No 12a (Unlucky For Some Special) will be out on Saturday at the Norwich game (available at all the usual places). See you then.

JOB OPPORTUNITY?

Some of you might have already seen this post, but here you go a job for all self respecting footie fans (I’ve seen this before, but as to it’s genuine validity I don’t know): Section three, point three will count the vast majority of our Man Ure cousins (oooooo cheap dig!!!).

From: softsport softsprt@sprynet.com

SoftSport Employment Opportunity

SoftSport Inc., a privately-held California corporation, currently has several entry-level positions for computer operators. Our mission is to provide high-technology solutions to the international sporting and media community, especially in the sport of soccer. We are looking for qualified individuals to support our client at Manchester United Football Club. The selected individuals will have the unique opportunity to work with the top professional soccer coaches and teams in the U.K.

The following is the job description of our open positions.

I.

Job Title:

• Computer Operator for Soccer Match Analysis

II.

Responsibilities:
The selected individuals will be trained in operating a computersystem specially designed for soccer match analysis. Upon thecompletion of training, the individuals will perform the following:

• input data during the game at the stadium using a lap-top computer;
• input data from viewing the recorded games on video tapes;
• deliver computer printouts to the coach during or after the games;
• prepare complete match analysis reports for the coaches;

III.

Qualifications:

• Applicants must have the basic knowledge of operating a personal computer.
• Applicants must have good dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
• Live in or near Manchester.

IV.

Preferred Candidates:

• Macintosh Powerbook owners or experienced Mac users.
• Experiences in word processing, spreadsheets, or graphics software.
• Soccer enthusiasts.

IV.

Compensation:

• Please contact SoftSport to inquire.

Please submit your resume to SoftSport by February 20, 1997 at the following address:

SoftSport Inc. (USA)
P.O. Box 4967 West Hills, California 91308-4967
phone : (818) 887-4259
fax : (818) 887-4210
e-mail : softsprt@sprynet.com
Visit our Internet web site at: http://www.wp.com/softsport/.

A PLEA

Folks, I have a plea.

As you may know I’ve been trying to organise MCVITee’s first away fixture against ASB (Accrington Stanley Bowles), on Sunday 26th October (the pitch is being booked this Friday so I should have all the details within the next few days – all those who have volunteered please try to ensure your availability).

The ASB contact is a guy called Steve Papps, he’s trying to get in contact with his old Uni mate Neil Cornick (who’s a City fan), who lives in Poole and teaches computing and was wondering whether he or anyone who know Neil reads this list. If so give me (mford@fs1.li.umist.ac.uk) an email and I’ll forward your your message to Steve.

REQUEST – JAVA BLUES?

Are there any other blues out there in Jakarta or Indonesia? If so send me an E-Mail and we can organise a blue reunion! Better still if you can play football come and join us at DoIt United in the Jakarta International Soccer Competition, cause I’m fed up with playing with Arsenal, Celtic, Rangers supporters (the’re past education) and MU supporters (did they ever get an education?).

If MCIVTA ever want to arrange a soccer tour to Java / Bali I can arrange opposition.

WHY BLUE?

Although only recently subscribed to “McVittee” I can’t help but notice a striking (surely a mistake in a Blue article) similarity between most of the Why Blues? i.e. Surrounded by Rags and scousers at school, by chance first trip to the Academy are awestruck by the surroundings (even though we probably lost), immediately become lifelong Blue (lifelong masochist?) entailing dreaded Saturday afternoons and midweek 3rd and 4th division killing fields, incessant nailbiting (surely true Blues must have the shortest fingernails in Britain?). And then what do we do when we start families? – You guessed it, we enroll our kids in this tradition i.e. not only are we masochists but we turn into sadists.

My particular Why Blue, roughly follows the above pattern. At the age of 4 (1971) I move to Rochdale and start school where the majority of the kids are Rags and Liverpool fans. My dad is a ravid Derby fan (he is from Derby so he doesn’t know any better) and he worked at the time as a journalist in Manchester. The early seventies were a good time for Derby under Cloughie and therefore inevitably the first game I go and see is against Derby in Derby with my dad and grandad, where we happen to get stuffed 3-1 I think, and Derby go on to win the title that season. As you can see typically auspicious beginnings for a Blue!

At about this time a next door neighbour shows me his collection of City Match magazines and I manage to persuade my mum to buy me a City away top. I am now hooked! My first visit to the Academy was tinged with irony as I had to meet all the Liverpool players before the game (due to my dad’s commitments). I remember wearing my City kit, asking Phil Neal for his signature and proudly stating we were going to win. Of course we proceeded to lose 4-1 or 4-0, and Liverpool go on to win the title. My second and third visit to the Academy also ended in resounding home losses (once definitely to Liverpool – is it me or was there a series of 4-0/4-1 losses aginst Liverpool in the late Seventies early Eighties?), and I’m beginning to think already if I’m bad luck for the team i.e. four live matches, four resounding losses, and three titles for the opposition). This bad luck scenario is confirmed in my next visit when we are relegated in the Luton fiasco. I am now resolved never to go and watch City play again as I have this burdgeoning guilt complex, that City’s downfall is solely due to my presence at games. I even go to the extent of not watching MOTD highlights to ensure a win for the Blues. This now means of course that all my mates believe that I am an absolute whacko caused by dedication to one football club. How Blue can you get?

After several years abstention (and ridding of my complex), and now old enough to go from Rochdale to Manchester without parental attention, I start going back to City and lo and behold I see a City win; I can’t remember who the hell it was against but boy did it feel good.

Anyway since 1985, I have moved from Rochdale and lived in Edinburgh, London, Paris and now Jakarta, and hence have not seen a game since, apart from rare Sky appearances two seasons ago.

I will be back in the UK from Tuesday the 16th on a business trip, when I will buy my new Kappa kit and two for my kids (their first), and will try and be at the Norwich game on Saturday (if I can get a ticket – when will the International Supporters’ Club be able to arrange this) – I apologise in advance if we lose and I’m there.

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

MCIVTA ADDRESSES:
Contributions: Ashley – mcivta@tollbar.u-net.com
Subscriptions & Club Questions: Steve – sbolton@buxtonrd.u-net.com
Technical Problems: Paul – paul@city-fan.org

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.

Ashley Birch, mcivta@tollbar.u-net.com

Editor: