Newsletter #441

Oh dear… we have a match report and several matchviews on Monday’s shambles. Also, a review of City magazine, an archive match report from 1937, a disturbing close-up view of the Millwall violence, opinion and a Why Blue. We also have a new ‘News summariser’, in the form of Howard McCarthy, who some might know as ‘Howie de Blue’ from BlueView. Unfortunately, Roger Lee has had to give up the summary due to work commitments; nevertheless, thanks go to him for taking over last time. So, please send your news and rumour to Howie from now on at: howardmc@iol.ie

MATCH REPORT – ‘LIVE’

MANCHESTER CITY vs. PRESTON NORTH END, Monday 12th October 1998

Well, I can’t deny that I was very, very disappointed leaving Maine Road after the game. Before the game we had pondered on how it would look if Stoke were to drop points and we were to win. We reckoned that it was possible for us to end up only 3 points from the top and in equal third place. As it happened Stoke were only able to draw against Chesterfield and we were unable to beat Preston, and so end up by my reckoning 5.5 points behind the target points for promotion.

Anyway onto the game, as the team names were read out it seemed that the biggest cheer was reserved for Lee Bradbury; Michael Brown and Danny Tiatto were the changes from the names on the back of the programme and for the first time in the League this season we started the game kicking towards the Platt Lane.

It was obvious within minutes that the Preston number 6 (Sean Gregan) was a rough donkey, his arms flailing like a crazy windmill at any City player near to him, so much so that it was enough to bring a stream of abuse from the terraces towards him. On 3 minutes Dickov got clear and hit towards goal; whilst the attempt was never going to result in a goal we did win a corner from which the goalie punched clear – the ball went straight to Whitley who was unable to make the best of it and sliced the ball high and wide.

Lee Bradbury started the game looking sharp and quick. Within minutes he was able to lose his marker by some neat footwork, the likes of which have not been since since Fred & Ginger were doing their bit. Within 10 minutes the donkey like number 6 had a partner in crime, the Preston number 8 (Rankine); his play was cumbersome and clumsy, but nevertheless when Preston broke they looked quick and perhaps of all the teams at Academy this year they at least looked like they had come to get the points, which was of course consistent with their League position and their record as top goal scorers.

I don’t want to harp on about Goater, at the end of the day he’s a Second Division player in a Second Division team, but the amount of times he missed the old ‘onion bag’ was crazy. In fact it seemed that there were quite a few occasions when he actually passed across goal when he could have/should have lashed it in. It seemed that he was nervous of shooting. I’ll be interested to hear other views on that one. Lee Bradbury was really looking good and although he has had his critics surely everyone who is watching him will see he is starting to look a class above the rest. Maybe it’s just confidence but he’s now running at players, jinking at them, slipping past them and on more than one occasion bringing the crowd to their feet. If he continues at the rate he has done over the last four or five games I estimate that the home game against Colchester will finally see him exorcise the demons that have plagued him since he came to the Academy and see him crack a few to win over the few doubters that may remain.

On the positive side Edghill looked better in this game than in recent games, but Brown looked very poor. At times he didn’t seem to know what to do, but maybe that’s the way it is when you just get back into the team and play in front of almost 29,000. Another star of the night was Wiekens who really is reliable, Fenton also looked quite good, perhaps one of the best games I have seen him play.

Dickov was also looking good again, and smashed a magnificent effort onto the bar at around the 35 minute mark; Preston were sharp to pick up the rebound and clear it away to launch a rapid assault on the City goal; it looked like they were going to score a certain goal, but the ball went of wide for a corner.

Goater missed what must have been the clearest opportunity of his career about 2 minutes before half time; we were sure he was going to hit it in but instead he passed to Dickov who in his surprise could only hit it over.

0-0 at half time was probably a fair score, the second half though was easily City’s, apart that is from the little difference of them scoring and us not. Early into the second half, Brown who played most of the game in a pretty lacklustre, yard short of everything style, launched onto a blistering run that had shade of Brazil all over it; he jinked and slipped his way past four or five Preston players before curling a beautiful shot just high and wide of the corer of the net, it was a great effort.

Just after that the noisy Preston contingent started to chant for what I presume was their favorite cheese, something along the lines of Lancashire la la la la, how strange that they should champion a cheese, oh well takes all sorts I suppose, they were only shut up when one of their players was bundled to the floor in the City box in what was a diabolical, poor, two footed jumping challenge. Preston deserved and should have had a penalty!

Dickov and Horlock were subbed to be replace by Allsopp and Tiatto.

It was looking like it was going our way when we got caught and gave away a penalty. To be honest I thought it was offside and that a penalty should not have been awarded, but as we had got away with it a bit earlier we can’t really complain. The penalty was well taken and Weaver had no chance.

It seemed certain by this time that we would not get a goal, Preston were too good to let us back in. So we ended up losing our unbeaten home run and I think we are now six points from the top. I couldn’t be bothered jotting any more notes down so my match report really ends here.

In summary though we were for the most part as good as if not better than Preston. Bradbury was great, as were Wiekens and Fenton. Goater, Horlock and Brown were disappointing. I think the difference between where we are now and being on top of the table is our inability to establish a decent strike ratio of chances to goals. We must get it tight within the next half dozen matches and Lee Bradbury may well be the man to do it.

MATCHVIEW I

I will apologise in advance if this report is morose, downbeat and thoroughly depressing but this reflects my mood and the team’s performance. I think last night brought it home to us that, no matter what size crowds we get, we are in grave danger of turning into a run of the mill Second Division side who may get into the play-offs if we are lucky.

I had predicted that we would lose 1-0 before the match had started and the first half offered me nothing to change my mind. Alright, we had a lot of the ball and should have scored through Goater and Wiekens but we didn’t score. Again. End of hard luck stories. I am a firm believer in making your own luck and we cannot keep crying about how we are not getting the luck. We are not getting the luck because we aren’t earning it.

Right from the start I thought that though City had more of the ball, Preston looked the more dangerous side and they looked dangerous on the break. Shock, horror they actually played with wingers who were pacy and could beat men and cross the ball! Contrast this with our Tweedledum and Tweedledummer combination of Horlock and Edghill at wing backs who were absolutely awful once more. I have aired my thoughts on Mr Edghill recently so I will not do so here again. However, Mr Horlock now seems to be coming down with the dreaded symptoms of Edgyitis. Early signs included an inability to get above jogging pace, no attempts being made to get past a man and also severe difficulty in getting crosses above thigh high.

I think it really is time now to scrap this bloody wing back formation we are attempting to play with. We simply do not have the players necessary to make it work. Let us get back to playing 4-4-2, and start playing with wingers again. Preston’s team was full of unknowns but the wingers in particular looked useful and I think that you would struggle to find a single City fan who now supports the use of our trendy formation which does away with the people who provide the ammunition for the forwards. This City side struggles with the basics, let alone a formation that the English national side cannot get to grips with.

Talking of basics, do you remember a time when professional footballers could control the ball? Michael Brown’s and Shaun Goater’s first touches on Monday went further and were more powerful than their shots! Brown had an awful game overall and can have done his long-term first team prospects no favours with this display, rusty or not.

I think now is the time to start facing facts. We are a team that has gained 4 points from our last 5 matches and have not won for 6 games. We have a number of players who are far too lightweight/generally lacking in quality even in this division. In short, we are heading for mid-table mediocrity. The two half decent sides we have played in the League have beaten us this season and the League table does not lie. It doesn’t matter if you make 90 chances a game if the players are not good enough to convert them.

Something needs to be done quickly to ensure this is just an isolated slump but I fear most City fans feel it is something more than that.

There is something thoroughly depressing about watching a team who has not come from behind to win a game since we beat Reading 3-2 in the last game of the season in May 1997. It stinks of a lack of a will to win/ lack of self belief.

Depressed? I most certainly am and I feel I have every right to be.

MATCHVIEW II

This was one of those games that you want to forget, so, what the hell I’m I doing writing this? Not sure why really, probably to get it off my chest.

Preston are a big, physical side who can pass and run, and what’s more, they are on a roll. Lined up against them we had an impressive defence, a threatening attack, and an utterly impotent midfield. This game was won and lost in midfield: we had enough decent chances to have won, we were fairly tight at the back but we gifted them a goal from an unforced error in midfield. It was really 7 players versus 11 and I can honestly say I haven’t seen such an ineffectual midfield, in fact one in which 4 players contributed absolutely nothing to the team effort, for many a long year. Edghill was Edghill; Horlock looked knackered from the weekend’s exertions; Whitley specialised in running nowehere and being hustled off the ball; and Brown was quite simply appalling! I’m amazed we only lost by one when we were carrying so many players! Preston looked neat and tidy, but only because we let them!

Some ratings:

Weaver (7) Made a couple of saves and had one flap.
Edghill (1) Is he interested in playing for us? He doesn’t run, doesn’t tackle, can’t pass and can’t cross, which doesn’t help! His ball to Brown which led to loss of possession and their goal was diabolical.
Horlock (3) I like Kev, but his performances are getting worse and worse; I have no explanation!
Fenton (8) Outstanding; he was marking a big, experienced, physical Division 2 player and totally mastered him.
Wiekens (8) Calm and collected, was unlucky to hit the bar with a beautiful volley.
Vaughan (6) OK, but his distribution is poor and he gets caught out of position too often for my liking.
Whitley (3) This boy is far too lightweight, the opposition must be rubbing their hands with glee, it’s that easy to push him off the ball.
Brown (2) Terrible; off the pace, didn’t tackle (once actually) and looked most uncomfortable with the ball.
Dickov (5) Unimpressive; can’t shoot and dived far too often.
Bradbury (8) What a difference to a few games ago; he’s quick, aggressive, and tricky. Defenders looked panicky when he had the ball.
Goater (7) Not a bad game, missed his usual quota but did plenty of running and chasing.

MATCHVIEW III

Just thought I’d add my 2p on Monday night’s ‘performance’.

Things didn’t go well from the start… the arrangement was that I would make my own way to Manchester (from work at Pudsey) and then meet my mum outside the ground. So I was out of work at 4.30pm and got to New Pudsey station shortly afterwards. Then a decision… do I go into Leeds and get the fast train to Manchester Piccadilly or the direct stopping one to Victoria? Hmm. I decided to go for the slower stopping one to Victoria.

This proved to be a big mistake… the train was delayed, then stopped for a while at Bradford Interchange. By the time we got to Rochdale we were starting to get tetchy – we should have been in Manchester by then and it was 6.15pm… I was seated near two other Blues who had come from Todmorden and were starting to get worried… then an announcement came over the tannoy that we were to get off and go the rest of the journey on the stopping train (for which read – bus on tracks). So we all piled on… waited 10 minutes… then we set off – the way we had come! It seems that the train they had thoughtfully put us on was the slow train from Rochdale to Victoria via Oldham Mumps! One of the other Blues started to joke that we might just get to the match in time to see Shaun Goater get the equalizer! Hmmmm…

Finally we arrived at Victoria at 7, jumped on a tram to Piccadilly Gardens and made it to the ground in time to meet mum and we were in our seats some 3 or 4 minutes into the game.

I hope that all the above gives a small idea as to why the performance was so disappointing. Needless to say there was another decent attendance – 28,000 IIRC – and yet again it was the visiting fans who were celebrating at the end.

One thing I’ve got used to with City is that some of the team decide to take a night off – in fact it almost seems to work on a rota basis – but on Monday it must have been 8 out of the 11 of them. I really find it hard to say much good about anyone, perhaps with the exceptions of Nicky Weaver (who pulled off a terrific save with an outstretched leg when it looked like a goal was certain), Geraard Wiekens who seems to be the most consistent outfield player we’ve got at the moment and was very unlucky not to get on the score sheet, and perhaps Lee Bradbury, who really did seem to be more penetrative – shame there was never anyone there to take advantage! As for the rest, Tony Vaughan was shocking – his passing was terrible and again he was lucky not to get a yellow card for doing something impetuous (kicking the ball away in anger after handling). Richard Edghill continues to be a big disappointment, he really isn’t hitting any kind of form this year. Paul Dickov tried hard but didn’t really achieve very much.

All in all, there was no shape to the team, and the standard of the passing was awful. The other thing – and this I thought was the critical difference between the two teams, and the thing I thought really won it for Preston – was that Preston were up for the game, City weren’t. How many times did we have to watch the ball being lost simply because noone would go after it and try to tackle for it? I think that the whole team should have been made to stand and watch the kids at half time taking the penalties – some of those kids showed more energy and a will to win in one penalty than some of the team showed for the whole match… and that’s just not good enough. Jamie Pollock has his down side, but you can’t fault the man for his dedication to the cause and for effort. The sooner he’s back, the better.

And just thank God we’re not playing the likes of Wolves and Sunderland this year!

MATCHVIEW IV

God, am I sick to death of, saying nice things about City and the Euro Ad.?

I suspect that in common with a lot of City supporters a horrible, nasty wet feeling of déjà vu is beginning to crawl up the trouser leg. The cold slimy feeling that you get when having promised to quit smoking after the current packet, and you see you’ve only two left.

On Monday evening I watched a game that was so similar to any number of games that I’d watched over the last few seasons. I watched and could think of no sane, rational reason for being there. I could think of no plausible excuse for City’s performance except that this was our natural way of playing and that our good performances were the exceptions that proved the rule.

Preston did not come to Maine Road for their personal ‘Cup Final’, to get a point and go home to their ‘sad little ground’ and ‘sad little crowd’ and settle back in the cosy duvet of oblivion. No, this group of ‘no-hopers’ from Hicksville gave us a lesson in football.

They showed what can be done by modestly talented workers. They worked for and with each other, playing simple one-twos with pace and precision, attacking the open spaces and never letting us settle in mid-field. They were so well organised, defending and attacking as a unit and frankly cut through us like butter.

If it hadn’t been for Fenton, Wiekens and Weaver the score could have been, well it doesn’t bear thinking about.

We too created chances and I must admit that the game was as exciting a spectacle as I had seen on a football pitch in many a moon (Blue or otherwise) and if I could muster the impartiality of a neutral observer I would have to admit it was a great game. But let’s face facts I’m not a neutral observer, I’m the dumb prat that wants to see some sign that next season we’ll be in Division 1 with prospects of reaching the Premiership, a vision apparently not shared by the City team that took the field on Monday night.

We have a strange set of conflicting footballing notions (they’re not positive enough to be called a strategy, method or plan). As a team we don’t seem to have mastered ‘spreadout’ as a tactic; when we’re not tripping over each other, some of us are out of sight completely. We have a target man, eminently unqualified for the job. On Monday I can’t remember Shaun winning a ball in the air. He doesn’t vary his runs, I never saw him once attack the near post, hence all our crosses are lofty meat and drink affairs for the defence. He doesn’t put any real pressure on defences and if the truth be known I think he hides himself in plain sight, always there, but never really available. The truth is that Mr. Goater makes Bradders look like a three million pound player. In fairness however, in a well organised attack with support from midfield he is as good as there is. That’s where we create our best (and most) chances. We cannot go a whole season creating twenty chances in the hope of Mr. G. getting two or three. He will get 20-30 goals this season but who’s going to get the other 50-60 we’ll need to secure promotion?

Our wing backs obviously think that ‘getting to the by-line’ has something to do with getting up early to claim a place at the January Sales.

Midfield – to be blunt was ‘crap’. Brown came back, gave us one great run and shot, got his usual ‘hello I’m Michael’ booking trying to nail an opponent to the Kippax. When he wasn’t swanning around the park (is he on the ‘pull’ or what?) he was giving five foot passes to team-mates ten feet away. His lack of concentration (or basic skill) was instrumental in the goal we conceded. In fact we seem to have several players who think that controlling a ball is when the first touch doesn’t result in the ball bouncing more than ten feet away. And how many midfield players and wing backs can claim they have mastered the attack splitting through ball in the same casual manner that we can? On Monday, with Preston already leading, I saw Bradbury chase a ball to the corner flag, Goater was approaching the edge of the penalty area with three defenders and our midfield was jogging over the half way line.

OK here’s the issue. We’ve been found out as a team and as individuals. On our current form I have seen two or three teams that are better automatic promotion prospects than us. And I suspect that there are probably two or three teams that, when push comes to shove, will turn us over. Brace yourself – promotion is not a realistic prospect with the quality of the majority of our team or the way we play.

Our management/coaching staff are like rabbits frozen in the headlights of oncoming disaster. We are essentially playing a style of football that hasn’t worked in this or any other division for ten or twelve years.

Allsopp and Tiatto should be on as starters along with Mason and perhaps give Russell a run. It’s about time that the Browns, Goaters, Edghills and Whitleys of this world worry about their places in the team.

In previous articles and in drunken arguments with Rag fans I have stated that we are at our best when we play football in a controlled, calm and patient manner. Promotion aside, we must use this season to establish that culture if this club is to have any future outside of bobbing around the lower divisions like a nine-bob tart. Joe Royle must start this process if he is to undo the harm for which he is, in part, responsible. – and the point is, that a s****y situation has never been redeemed by throwing more s**t at it, especially if the current s**t bears a more than passing resemblance to the s**t we have seen before.

There – That’s my spleen vented – On as lighter note, my wife and I play this game, See how long it takes a Sky sports commentator to mention Manchester United in a commentary. 18 minutes 24 seconds: Alberta State Sheep Dog Trials (Open) and Lace Making Jamboree 1947 (Encore Presentation).

NEWS – FORGED TICKETS

Wigan Athletic v Manchester City
Saturday 17th October 1998
Kick-Off 3.00 PM
This match is all ticket.

We regret that all tickets are sold out for this fixture. Supporters are advised not to travel without a ticket. It is strongly suspected that forged tickets are in circulation for this fixture and supporters are advised not to buy tickets from any unauthorised persons or outlets.

Supporters who have bought genuine tickets from Manchester City are advised to arrive at the ground at least 1 hour before kick-off as special ticket monitoring arrangements are being put into operation.

NEWS SUMMARY

Transfer (In)Activity

Well basically no-one`s coming or going, City aren’t interested in Bradford’s former Crewe defender Ashley Westwood (Who?), and Oldham Athletic haven`t approached City to sign Chris Greenacre. Phew, sighs of relief all around eh? This hardly compares to the Gio saga of last season will he or won`t he do it? Also, not on the way is Tranmere defender John McGreal (26) and someone by the name of Cruyff, who is so proud of his famous father that he has the name Jordi printed on the back of his Rag shirt, perhaps he may be a trekkie? Oh and Lee Bradbury isn`t going to Crystal Palace either.

But the latest news is that City are after “a strong man” according to Willie Donachie. “It is early in the season and I still have faith in the squad but we have always said that we are looking for other players to strengthen the team. I feel we need one more strong man, whether it’s a forward, midfielder or a defender doesn’t matter, we just need someone to take the pressure off the other players and to say and do the right things.” So having no particular position in mind, never mind a player to fill it, the latest names and reasons they won’t be coming are: Mark Hughes at Southampton, Dave Watson at Everton, Ian Marshall at Leicester and Graham Stuart at Sheffield United. Hughes and Watson have both featured in their respective first teams recently and the chances of persuading them to drop two divisions for a loan spell are remote. Marshall has been hampered by a injury and is not fully fit, Stuart is playing in the Blades’ reserves and is a possibility, Don Hutchinson at Everton where he can’t get a game and wouldn’t have far to travel (what more reason do we need, we’ll get him a free bus pass instead of a club car?), Nigel Pepper at Bradford who is anxious to get away and has been linked with a permanent move to the club, and more controversially Vinnie Jones at QPR. What a skilful midfield Pollock and Jones; bookies at Maine Road would stop taking bets on who would score the first goal and give odds on what minute either of the two maestroes would leave for an early bath.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse Ged Brannan looks like he won’t get a permanent move to Norwich, and Gerry Creaney is to get £350 a week from St. Mirren; no mention of how many Holland’s pies are to be donated though. The Paisley club’s manager Tony Fitzpatrick said: “He is such a talented boy and I believe he has the desire and the ability to go right back to the top in the game. I don’t know why things didn’t work out for him at Manchester City but when you are being bounced around clubs on loan, it is bound to affect your confidence and maybe that’s what happened to Gerry. I know for a fact that at least one Scottish Premier League side has offered him a longer term deal, but he’s happy being with us enough to stay here for the month.” Yeah, talented boy… at what?

Someone who has departed from Maine Road though is Jason Beckford… no this ain’t some throw back to the 80`s. Our Jas has been appointed Wigan’s Athletic`s “Football In The Community Officer”. He ain’t severing his links with City ’cause he still trains our U-11’s. He said: “It is good to go into schools offering advice and encouragement to youngsters who are keen to make a go of things.”

International Activity:

Yep, despite our club being a lowly 2nd (alright 3rd) division club, our players are still called up for International duty. Gary Mason (a.k.a. Alvin Stardust I believe) is away with the Jocks’ U-21 squad in Belgium, and even thuough he`s still on the injured list Murty Shelia travelled with the Georgia boys to Greece… now if someone offered you the chance to sit on the bench on a Monday night in a freezing cold Maine Road or in lovely, sunny Greece which one would you choose? Yeah me an all… Maine Road every time. Watch out for Murty in future editions of BScumsB Greece Uncovered. Murty played alongside Gio and Kav and Georgia lost 3-0, now City may draft him into the squad for the match at Wigan on Saturday. I think someone here is extracting the urine; Shelia hasn’t played for City since March, yet they give him permission to play for Georgia when there is a doubt over his fitness just at a time in the season that we have a major crisis in defence – “If there were Cups for cock ups…”. Those Ulster Boys the Whitleys and captain Kev Horlock are back from N. Ireland’s win over Finland.

Willie likes it in the #2 Position.

Willie Donachie can`t wait for JR to return after his hip op. Management is not for the Wee Scot. “It won’t be too long before Joe is back behind his desk and that day can’t come quickly enough for me,” said Donachie. “The ideal situation for clubs would be to have a general manager who could handle all the paperwork and deal with agents and leave the head coach free to concentrate solely on the soccer side of the club’s business.” Anyone interested? I suppose you`d have to work for nothing after all the cost cutting that has gone on behind the scenes. But the pressure is getting to Wee Willie, he hit out at fans who barrack his players. Referring to his first match in charge against Burnley he wrote: “There is too much negative criticism of the team. Maybe it stems from so many years of failure. We have the best, most loyal fans in the country and their support is unwavering. But there are too many critics who want to emphasise the black side of everything here. Instead of drawing attention to our fourth successive draw as though that was some form of disaster why do people not praise our players for extending our unbeaten run?” Were you watching against Preston Willie eh? Just give us a reason to be proud of our team, a good performance every now and again, that’s all we ask.

David Bernstein is going find out what it`s really like to be chairman. In his first AGM since taking over from Franny Lee the chairman is in for a grilling over the position of the club’s finances, and the state of the team on the pitch, Manager Joe Royle is unlikely to attend the meeting because of his hip operation. It is normal practice for the manager to field questions from the floor about the team’s performance and with Willie Donachie needed to supervise training it is unlikely the team’s displays will get too much of an airing. The meeting is at the Bridgewater Hall in the centre of Manchester and starts at 10 am. Only shareholders are allowed to attend.

Premier Leauge 2

City could find themselves back in the big time sooner rather than later if plans for a Premier League 2 get under way. Our good friends at UEFA want the Premier (Greed) League cut down to 16 clubs, to accomodate their plans for a European League shake up. Which would necessitate another division, PL2. The criteria for this PL2 is not the performance on the pitch but the size of your crowds, which makes City prime candidates. This is a little more realistic than the Wimble Blues City idea, which sees City and Wimbledon merge to form one club, they move their players into our ground, and so as if by magic we are back in the Greed League.

Memories of those we once loved:

Spare a thought for Bob Brightwell who has been sidelined with an achilles injury since he moved to Coventry, Niall Quinn and Kit Symons (yeah do not adjust your set) scored for their countries in the qualifying rounds for Euro 2000.

Jobson on the Mend again!

Is it just me or are the similarities between Richard Jobson and his injuries a re-run of the Nigel Johnson saga of the 80`s? Nigel was signed from Rotherham under the noses of no less a man than Brian Clough, but he spent more time on Roy Bailey`s treatment table than on the pitch. Richard Jobson is looking at a first team return some time before Christmas. Jobson hasn’t played this season and underwent an operation last week to remove floating bone from his ankle. Joe Royle said: “That problem has now been successfully corrected by surgery and we expect Richard to resume light training at the start of next month.” We shall see.

City complain to the BBC

The BBC have apologised to Manchester City after taking the mickey out of the new yellow and blue away strip. Panellists on the Saturday television programme Football Focus held up a shirt posing the question: “Is this the worst kit in the country?” Officials at Maine Road were so incensed that fun was being poked at the club that they contacted the BBC demanding an apology. City’s media man Chris Bird said: “It’s an insult and just not on. The striped away kit is proving very popular. The colours are fashionable and everyone thinks it is great. I told the BBC that I wanted an apology and I am expecting a letter. It’s a bit rich the BBC having a go at Manchester City when this club’s home kit is the fifth most popular selling soccer shirt in the country. 30,000 people can’t be wrong.” City a laughing stock, no way. I wonder what they would have said if they had a player in it and the question was “Is this the worst player in the country?”

Bryan Brett R.I.P.

One of the members of the Manchester City staff has died at the age of 63 after a heart attack in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Former newspaper journalist Bryan Brett passed away just over 24 hours after attending City’s match with Preston North End on Monday. Brian was highly-respected in the media world and spent more than 20 years on the Manchester Evening News before retiring earlier this year. His last job with the paper was covering the fortunes of City. This season he has worked for the club on a part-time basis writing articles for the match day programme.

City get a new Coach

Before all you Blues who want to travel to away games get too excited thinking about luxury travel to destinations like Lincoln and Wycombe, this coach is a specialist footwork coach. Stainless steel salesman David Johnson (is this a wind up or what?) has landed the rôle after earning a big reputation in youth football and learning his trade with Dutch giants Ajax. He`s going to teach our young players the art of ball skills and improve technical abililty, seems to me he could do worse than have a go with the first team.

WIGAN DIRECTIONS

Not to far to go this time and we can be back in the pubs before closing time…

From North;

Exit M6 at J27, turn left at end of slip road. Turn right at T-junction to Shevington. After 1 mile turn left onto B5375 country road, arrive at crossroads, go straight on. After 3/4 miles, turn left at lights into Springfield Road then take 2nd left to ground.

From South/West;

Exit M6 at J25, turn left to Wigan A49. Keep in left hand lane and turn left at traffic light filter lane into Robin Park road. Follow road under railway bridge then turn right at crossroads. After 3/4 miles, turn left at lights into Springfield Road then take 2nd left to ground.

From East;

Exit M61 at J6 and take first exit at roundabout. At Next roundabout, turn left into Chorley Road, then turn right (Wigan B5238), then left left at Aspull War Memorial. Just after Earl of Balcarres pub, turn right at traffic lights, then left at another set of lights and get in right hand lane. Pass 3 sets of lights until Morrisons is on left hand side and college ahead. Turn right at lights into Parsons Walk to second set of traffic lights. Turn right into Springfield Road, then second left into ground.

As Wigan can get very congested especially on Saturday afternoons, I suggest you take the train from Victoria to Wigan Wallgate Stations.

REVIEW – CITY MAGAZINE

September, Volume 4 Issue 1, £2

In the new dawn that is the post-Brightwell era, Richard Edghill is the club’s longest-serving player. It’s hard to credit, as another yet cross drifts over the bar, that he is an England B international. In an interview with Bryan Brett, he does at least acknowledge his weakness: “I’m crap. There’s not another player at the club who can cross a ball as badly as me.” Okay, those aren’t his exact words, but they are no less ridiculous than his claim that, after his début goal at pre-season Deepdale, he is looking to add more (regular attenders at the Theatre of Base Comedy will appreciate this is going to happen later rather than sooner. Much later).

Gary Mason: Is he boss-eyed or what? You decide. Half a dozen league games gets you on the front of a magazine nowadays and this month’s honour belongs to the unfeasibly raven-haired midfield tyro (handy pub quiz trivia: his grandad was chairman of Hibs). Sixties stalwart Roy Cheetham – he’s the one described by Colin Schindler as “one of a number of interchangebly useless half-backs” – is interviewed after meeting his childhood hero, Ferenc Puskas. Here I must declare an interest: I did the interview with Roy and a helpful and pleasant chap he is, too. He might not have been that great, but he has played more games for our beloved club than you or I, Mr Schindler (there’s a longer version of the interview at http://www.mancity.net/interviews/royc.html).

This month’s antipodean audience is with king-size cutie, Danny Allsopp, and there are the first match reports of the season. The Academy fixtures for the under-17s and under-19s are also included. Photographic highlights include the Incredible Shrinking Man (Steve Kinsey), a reminder of what Craig Russell looks like and Moonchester at the Fifth Annual Costume Character Convention (with his pals Jungle Jim and Bradley Beaver). And Awayday Blues features the saddo crackpots of the London Branch who regularly make the pilgrimage. For some it’s a 16-hour journey (why put yourselves through it? Bless you all anyway).

Bog Standard City’s toilets finished mid-table in a survey of football loos (why, and how, do these people conduct these potty studies?). The survey, by Football Fans’ Guide author Janet Williams and featured in the November Match of the Day magazine, sees City squeezed into 54th place (sustaining splash back from those lavatorial giants Southend and Bournemouth). Awayday Blues beware: if you hadn’t already sussed, onset of micturition is likely to be delayed at the majority of this division’s latrines, most of which are even crapper than ours. And since you asked, Old Trafford, which obviously has a greater exposure to matters excremental than other grounds, came turd.

The magazine also has a nice close-up, spread across three pages, of a Blue’s buttocks taken from the away end at Macclesfield. Are they yours? There’s also an interview with Brian Kidd (he used to play for City, though you’d hardly know to read this) by Ashley Shaw, author of a new book: “Cups For Cock-Ups: The Extraordinary Story of Manchester City FC”. Anybody read it yet?

ARCHIVE MATCH REPORT

Manchester City’s Brilliant Display

26 March 1937
Liverpool 0 Manchester City 5

Manchester City literally made rings round Liverpool at Anfield. The biggest crowd that has packed itself into the ground this season saw a glorious display by the City, and a most inglorious one by Liverpool, and the margin of five clear goals did not flatter the visitors. They won as they liked, and, indeed, might have had more goals but for over-elaboration and easing off in the closing stages.

If they can maintain this form City will go very near to winning the First Division championship for the first time, if not actually realising their ambition. Their exhibition was one of the finest seen on the ground for many years, and disappointed as was the bulk of the crowd at the overwhelming defeat of Liverpool they could not but admire the play of Manchester City. There was not a weak link in the side; the win was by beautiful all round play, and the defenders seldom resorted to big clearances but met the advances of Liverpool by sheer skill and delightful understanding.

Liverpool did quite well for a time, but after about half an hour they began to weaken and in the end were chasing round and round after the tricky City men, who, having established a big lead, seemed loath to rub it in. Very few sides could have stood up to the City on this form; indeed few would have been capable of looking anything but second-raters against such opposition. There is, for this reason, some excuse for Liverpool’s inept performance, but there were obvious weaknesses in the side. The forwards were seldom together, and the inside men were inclined to kick the ball forward without bothering about direction.

The half backs, apart from Bradshaw, were out of touch, and the full backs had an unenviable task trying to cover up mistakes made by the men in front. Bradshaw was the man of the match as far as Liverpool was concerned. He was the only defender who seemed capable of offering any opposition to the City forwards, and but for him Liverpool would have lost more than the two goals which Herd and Brook scored in the first half.

After the interval Brook scored another two, the second from a penalty awarded for a foul by Cooper on Herd, and Doherty also beat Riley. In spasmodic raids Liverpool several times troubled Swift, but the City goal keeper gave a display of confident goalkeeping.

LIVERPOOL: Riley; Cooper, Dabbs; Busby, Bradshaw, McDougall; Nieuwenhuys, Bush, Howe, Balmer, Hanson.

MAN CITY: Swift; Dale, Barkas; Percival, Marshall, Bray; Toseland, Herd, Tilson, Doherty, Brook.

DAYS AT THE DISGRACES

(or “my recent away day experiences”)

A London Blue, I was in a party of three who went to the Northampton Town match a couple of Saturdays back. We had a few beers in town before the game – I can never watch City sober these days, it’s too painful – and set off for the ground at half past two.

(Incidentally, I broke my self-imposed ban on drinking Boddies – see MCIVTA passim – “cream of manchester” – that phrase can be interpreted in a few different ways)

It appears you can’t find a taxi for love nor money in Northampton on Saturday afternoon – but you can find plenty of Sharp tops – therefore we arrived at the ground 10 minutes after kick-off. Our tickets were for the home end and we strode Kappa-less up to the entrance only to see a Northampton season ticket holder in front of us being turned away.

No, he hadn’t had too much to drink (unlike us). It appears that there had been more than a few forged tickets and the ground was full. We shuffled away to watch from the grassy knoll overlooking the stadium, muttering the word “provinicial” to ourselves and mumbling the word “shambles” at policemen. I wondered aloud who had forged those tickets – couldn’t be the honest bretheren of Manchester, that’s for sure.

One copper then asked us if we were City fans. “Hello”, thought I, “back of the van time”. We tentatively said yes and were rewarded with the news that 30 more away fans were being let in in the South stand. We pegged it down there and were let in, despite our home end tickets, 20 minutes into the game. My initial reaction was “s**t ground, ugly fans.”

There were no seats visibly free so we stood by the corner flag in the gap between stands – not the best of views but at least we were in. Admittedly, we had an excellent view of City fans being thrown out of the home end into ours, some of whom were then inexplicably thrown out altogether. We also had a superb view of the “kick the ball into the back of the car” half-time competition. The bloke perched on top of the stand entrance throughout had a better view but I doubt it was very comfortable.

With five minutes to go and City the obligatory 2-1 down, I stood there quite calm in the belief that we weren’t going to lose this game. So I slowly repeated a mantra of “we’re not going to lose this game” to myself until Shauny’s late goal and through to the final whistle.

This tactic also worked at Millwall three days later. And when I was watching Sky Sports One waiting for our late goal against Burnley to come up on the vidi-printer. The other reasons we’re doing well this season (in comparison with recent seasons) is that I haven’t worn any other official colours to games. I did wear my blue CTID T-shirt to the Fulham game but we all know what happened there…

That flukily deflected late goal had me in stitches and I found it hard to contain my mirth as we bussed it back to town thence for more beers before staggering back down to the train station. Where we found yet another Sharp top. Then 10 Rochdale Blues, even worse for wear than ourselves, turned up. And guess what, Mr. Sharptop didn’t know who had scored their goals against Liverpool midweek. Much verbal ribbing ensued. Ho, ho, ho.

The hangover the next day was a bitch, though.

Millwall three days later was a completely different experience. “Nice ground, s**t fans” sums it up nicely. After our enforced wait inside the ground, we discovered that South Bermondsey man – the missing link has finally been found! – had been upturning bottle banks for missile material. They even used potatoes!

The police were excellent in dealing with the trouble, if somewhat taciturn with us Blues. Unlike the stewards inside the gorund who had not attempted to restrain any of the 200 or so fans who were constantly inviting us to – as Robbie Williams so eloquently puts it – “come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough” throughout the game. Purely because we fancied a bit of a sing-song. Pathetic.

So, what does all the above mean? Without once mentioning the quality of football, it tells me that we’re in a surreal division of jokers and villians. Some might say we’ve found our home but I say enough’s enough, a joke’s a joke. We need out.

And fast.

MILLWALL VIOLENCE

I’ve been on holiday and therefore haven’t had the opportunity to write before about the violence at the New Den, but I felt the need to contribute from another angle…

I only realised on the Monday that the rescheduled dated for this fixture was on the Tuesday. Living in London, there was no way that ‘those angels’ at the MCFC booking office were going to be able to grease my palm with a ticket. I did the only honourable thing, I spruced up my ‘Sarf Landan’ accent and rang Millwall. No problem of course, I could collect the ticket from the ground.

So, I’m sat in the ‘West Stand’ amongst the Millwall fans. On my own. I’ve done this kind many times and I am, just about, intelligent enough to not wear colours or even speak, for that matter. During my visits to many stadiums, I’ve heard all the usual stuff, the kind of thing that I’ve even sang/shouted in my time “You’re gonna get your f*ckin’ ‘eds kicked in”… “… home in an ambulance” etc.

I have, however, never seen a grown man standing on his seat, ignoring the match and staring at some distant City fan that he’s picked out of the crowd, and screaming “I’ve got a knife and your throat is mine”. This wasn’t an isolated incident from some ‘tanked-up’ nutter. In my section alone I saw around a dozen similar solo outbursts.

This completely overshadowed the amazement I felt when Shaun Goater was treated with ‘Ugh Ugh” style Ape noises. Does this really still happen?

So after the match, I was lucky enough to get out of the ground, back to my car and I drove off back past the ground.

This is when the fun really started.

Being parked pretty close and getting away rather ‘sharpish’, I ended up at the front of a queue of traffic being held up by the police who were keen to let the Millwall fans use the road to aid their escape from The Den.

Around 50 Millwall idiots (I can’t bring myself to use the word fan) were stood on the corner by the pub no more than 20 feet from my car. The police who were on foot and mounted were blocking the road letting the fans out.

Fine. No problem. I had my window down and was listening to the Aston Villa match on the radio.

Then, for no apparent reason and completely unprovoked the pack of Millwall idiots began pelting the police with glass bottles and stones. They were deliberately targeting two female officers on horseback. One rock hit a horse on the side of the neck and the horse went crazy, nearly toppling the officer.

Some ‘riot clad’ police charged in a removed a main ringleader, a tattood monster who looked about 45 and was easily 20 stone and in a scuffle they managed to wrestle him to the ground. The other Millwall idiots saw their moment and charged back from their retreat and started kicking the hell out of one of the police on the ground. I’m glad to say that the officer appeared okay apart from a nice cut that was now gushing with blood but he managed to get away.

Then followed a ‘stand-off’ of about ten minutes. Glass, rocks, soil and any available missile continued to rain down on the police, on the road, and on my car.

Then came the pitch battle. A pack of, maybe, 30 idiots ran at the police from behind my car (which to aid you picture the scene is now a barrier between the police and the idiots) and the intense battle that I’ve ever seen took place on, over, around and nearly in my car. This lasted about 5 minutes (it seemed like hours) until many more police back-ups came in both on foot and, thankfully, on horseback. The idiots were using anything available as a weapon (sticks, rocks, pipes, glasses etc.).

As the police pushed the, now retreating, gang of idiots back down the road I took my chance for escape and I sped off over the broken glass and into the night.

So, if you were one on the City fans who had to spend an hour back in the ground after the match you have a lot to thank the police for.

They saved you a much worse fate.

I had my camera with me in the car, I just wished I’d brought enough guts to use it.

OPINION – PRESTON AND ALL THAT JAZZ!

I have for several years worked with a women who is married to a PNE fanatic. So much so that he has infected his two children, a boy and a girl into also being PNE fanatics.

I have for several years been able to be very patronising about PNE, big club, illustrious history, good stadium, loyal following, won nowt for donkies’ years and not likely to win nowt in the near future (erm sound familiar). Now of course that’s all out of the window.

What I witnesed last night was a complete and utter tripe, Preston were cr*p , we were cr*pper. Preston out jumped us, they out ran us and they out tackled us.

I had originally been told by my work colleage that the game was so big that her children were coming back from college to see the game, only to hear how sick they were when it was moved to Monday. I heard this morning how a normally sober husband has returned home in the early hours a little worse for wear and babbling on about what a great win it had been over a mighty giant of football. You and I know that we fell from grace a long time ago but to the likes of Preston, that matters little. Unfortunately our present squad appear to have little understanding of the responsibility they hold.

In a recent posting someone asked why Edghill got such stick. Well perhaps he sums up the team, a wing-back who cannot pass, tackle and has no pace and is often the cause of the back line being exposed, apart from that he’s obviously the best in the country.

As I see it there are two ways Royle can run the team:

1. Pick the system and get the players to play in it, or
2. Play your best players in a system that suits them.

Unfortunately Royle does neither.

Many people believe we will be automatically promoted because we can buy our way out. Well wake up and smell the coffee. I will be attending the AGM on Friday, where we will receive the usual platitudes and be told that the club is £6,500,000 in debt. So Royle has no money to buy us out of trouble and judging from last nights débâcle we don’t have the bottle to battle our way out of it.

The really sad part is our still be there to watch it.

OPINION – WHAT A DISGRACE

No I am not talking about City’s poor performance (yes I agree it was poor) against Preston last night, I am refering to a large portion of our “loyal” 25,000 crowd. We gleefully remind other fans that we turn up in huge number when our team is struggling yet we fail to mention that the “support” comes from only a tiny percentage of those people. We cannot be pround of our huge attendances when the actual support it offers to the team is negligible, if fact sometimes even disadvantageous.

Poor Micheal Brown steps back into the team, with already low confidence after not having a game for so long, and becomes the target for the majority of the small minded individuals who only seem to attend in order to slag people off. Ok, I agree he had a poor game, but surely if we got behind and encouraged the lad then that would be far more beneficial than booing him everytime he touches the ball? If I was him I would tell those fans to shove their laser blue shirts up there arses and I would go and play somewhere where I was motivated by the fans, not slagged off.

No wonder our home record is so poor, how are the players – especially the young ones – supposed to play with confidence when they know that the first mistake they make will be met with howls of derision? If someone booed your child whilst he was playing for his school then I am sure the reaction would be rather hypocritical.

As I left the ground the attendance was announced with a “thank-you for you support”, I would have been inclined to say “…and if you are going to moan and boo the team and individuals then please don’t bother coming back.”

I have been a long suffering City fan, like the rest of you, for many a year and if I do stop attending then it won’t be because of the team’s performances, it will be because I am sick of listening to the moaning half-wits who call themselves supporters.

If you feel you have to moan and whinge then do us all a favour and bugger off somewhere else and do it and as you are doing nothing for the team the rest of us love.

OPINION – IT’S JUST LIKE WATCHING ENGLAND!

Further to last week’s posting regarding City’s pitiful performances this season, I was struck yesterday watching the England versus Bulgaria game, by how similar England and City have become. Two big ‘clubs’ with massive squads, surrounded by the pungent air of underachievement.

The most striking (not) similarily is of course the totally incomprehensible use of the wing-back system in ‘home’ games, against poorer quality opposition, who have no intent upon even crossing the half-way line. Is this Maine Road or Wembley I hear you ask? Watching the City game and yesterday’s international it was hard to tell the difference. It really is quite simple, the wing-back so called ‘system’ is an absolute recipe for disaster, as first we City fans, and now all England fans are beginning to discover. However, Hoddle, like Joe Royle (and Frank Clark before him) refuse to see it this way, the only people who can’t, yet of course, the only people who really need to. We now have three centre halves, when only two are needed; worse it encourages your average ‘hoof-it’ centre-half to think that he must actually try to play football, hence tons of pointless ‘fanny’ football swinging the ball across the front of your own penalty area, by players who don’t really want the ball at their feet. Worst still, the system removes an extra player from the midfield, so that your clueless centre half now has even less options than usual, queue the big boot directly to the opposition (à la Tony Vaughan). Aside from this problem with how to bring the ball out of defence, the centre-halves, there’s three of them now remember, are totally confused as to their natural rôle in life, which, via the strangest of ironies, makes the defence highly vulnerable to a direct down the centre run, or a simple cross into the box: witness City versus Northampton, England versus Sweden, Symons every game last year, dropping clanger after clanger.

So having destroyed your defence, let’s look at the impact on the rest of the team: first of all you no longer need ‘real’ wingers, meaning that you cannot guarantee decent service to your forwards, who end up drifting out to the wing in search of the ball (e.g. Rösler, Shearer, Owen). Worse, the guys now charged with crossing the ball and generally breaking open the defence are your full-backs, people not usually noted for this task (e.g. Edghill) – a few crap crosses later and the crowd are on the wing-backs’ back. Thus in one fell swoop, you encourage the centre halves to get in each other’s way, to dwell on the ball, your full backs to pretend that they are Mike Summerbee, and your most dangerous players never even see the ball. Put it this way, after the Bulgaria game, some people were questioning the relative merits and contributions of Messrs Shearer and Owen, as they were so rarely involved in the game – at City where we knew our forwards were crap anyway, we simply laid the blame at the feet of the only decent player we could have a go at. Yes, let’s all pick on Gio Kinkladze for his failure to beat five men at once (on the few occasions he couldn’t do it that is). I could go on about teams overrun with overpaid, overated clumsy footballers, who cannot even be trusted to take a penalty or nod a simple header back to the ‘keeper, but what’s the point – it’s getting too hard to determine whether I mean City or England. And like my last posting, I’m even starting to confuse myself.

Maybe that’s the exact position that Hoddle and Royle find themselves in, but unlike me, they probably think they can solve their problem by finding that ‘better’ centre half. Oh dear me, guess what, I’ve just heard that Royle is actually searching for yet another centre-half! Here we go again.

OPINION – PROBLEM

We have a problem – it is called our Midfield.

With one quarter of the season gone (and excluding Worthington Cup games), no one (i.e., Zip, Nowt, Nought, Zero, Sweet FA, Bugger All) has scored from a midfield position. Where are the dribbles into the box and the hard shots that are on target? Everybody is just passing the ball to somebody else to try to walk the ball into the back of the net.

Fortunately, we are still doing reasonably well and can still gain promotion (automatically or via the play-offs) if we put a run together, after all we are still only 7 points behind Stoke!

But… playing with three up front is doing us no good at all. The midfield three-some is spending all its time chasing the opposition and is quite often swamped by four or five opposition players. This leads to pressure on our defence, who start to panic and hack the ball clear – only to come under more pressure when an opponent picks the ball up in midfield. All this while our spare centre half is doing nothing but marking fresh air and our extra attacker is getting in the way of his compatriots and crowding the channels through which midfielders can pass the ball for our attackers to run on to.

If we are to stick with 3 centre halves and three attackers, the extra defender must learn to push up into midfield when they have little to do. Additionally, one of the three strikers (on a rotating basis so as to discourage man marking) must drop back very deep to help out in midfield.

WHY BLUE?

The day I became a Blue was when Stockport County sold Ken Mulhearn to City and took Alan Ogley in exchange. It’s not that I disliked Alan Ogley, he had many a brilliant game for County. Not least the night he lost his contact lens and I bumped into him whilst being chased across the pich at Edgeley Park by rampant Grimsby Town fans, who were set to win the then Fourth Division (bear in mind it was the days before crowd segregation,and the Stockport police strategy seemed to be let them kill each other and we’ll pick up what’s left). But I decided that if I was going to get killed I might as well be watching a big club (oh how my dear old granddad must be looking down now and saying “You should have stuck with County.”)

Despite becoming interested in City then, the first game I actually went to was an away match at “The Mighty Bolton Wanderers” in a League Cup match and true to City style we got hammered 3-0. But, despite that, I had been hooked.

I spent the rest of the Seventies watching City at home (every game), and away (most games). I have many great memories, not least of all being at Wembley when we beat Newcastle 2-1, although I came home to the news that my granddad, who introuced me to watching professional football at Stockport, had died (why do City, even in triumph, win on the wrong day). But I was still there in St Peter’s square (not Rome) to cheer them home. I was also at Wembley for my most scary experience, when we beat Scotland 5-1. I managed to keep myself contained until, I think it was the third goal, when the the greatest midfielder England has ever produced, and I will willingly go head to head with anybody who disagrees, scored. Colin Bell… I jumped in the air and only came back down when I realised I was in the car and heading back home.

I am now exiled in the Portsmouth area and the only saving grace is that they are so bad at football down here it’s easier to watch City away from down here than it is from home.

Everybody keep the faith. And being Blues I know you will.

RESULTS

Monday 12 October

Second Division Results
Monday, October 12 1998

Manchester City 0-1  Preston North End    28,779
    			 Parkinson (pen 71)
Stoke City      0-0  Chesterfield         10,557

Second Division Table

Up to and including Monday, October 12 1998 (9:51pm)

                               HOME            AWAY
                         P  W  D  L  F  A   W  D  L  F  A   Pts   GS
Stoke City              12  4  1  1  8  3   4  0  2 10  7    25   18
Preston North End       12  3  1  1 13  5   4  2  1 10  7    24   23
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Walsall                 12  3  1  2  9  8   4  0  2  7  6    22   16
Luton Town              12  3  1  1  6  2   3  2  2 11 10    21   17
Bournemouth             12  4  1  0  9  1   2  2  3  7  8    21   16
Fulham                  11  3  2  1 10  6   3  1  1  5  3    21   15
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Blackpool               12  4  1  2 12  8   2  1  2  6  9    20   18
York City               11  2  3  1 10  7   3  1  1  9  9    19   19
Manchester City         12  3  3  1 11  6   1  3  1  5  7    18   16
Wrexham                 12  5  1  2 13  9   0  2  2  2  7    18   15
Millwall                12  3  3  0  7  3   2  0  4  6 11    18   13
Wigan Athletic          12  3  1  2  8  5   2  1  3  7  8    17   15
Bristol Rovers          12  4  2  0 13  5   0  2  4  3  9    16   16
Chesterfield            12  4  0  1  5  2   0  4  3  1  6    16    6
Gillingham              12  3  2  2 13  7   0  4  1  5  6    15   18
Notts County            12  2  1  3  8  8   2  2  2  8  7    15   16
Colchester United       12  2  1  3  4  8   2  2  2  8  8    15   12
Burnley                 12  2  2  1  6  5   1  2  4  9 10    13   15
Northampton Town        12  1  4  1  8  8   1  1  4  5  8    11   13
Oldham Athletic         12  2  1  4  8 10   1  1  3  4  9    11   12
Reading                 10  2  2  0  7  3   1  0  5  4 14    11   11
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Macclesfield Town       12  1  2  3  4  6   1  2  3  5  9    10    9
Lincoln City            12  1  0  4  7 11   1  2  4  4 11     8   11
Wycombe Wanderers       12  0  2  4  3  8   0  1  5  3 13     3    6

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