Newsletter #483

Not a particularly upbeat issue, especially in comparison with last Thursday’s. Still, the conveyance of doom and gloom to thousands of households, companies and universities around the world, is something which MCIVTA has been doing very nicely for the last 4 years! Saturday’s performance was extremely disappointing, yet still we managed to create three times as many clear-cut chances as Oldham. The referee was fairly good and the day was immeasurably brightened up by a streaker, who scored in the Oldham goal and comically evaded capture for what seemed like a couple of minutes. I know I shouldn’t condone the act, but it was undoubtedly the most entertaining couple of minutes of the day, even the policemen who nicked him were laughing.

Everyone seemed strangely subdued during the game, but at least our car was fairly animated on the way home, as we encouraged several Blues who rang the GMR phone-in to take issue with an increasingly terse David White, who stuck to his certifiable assertion that Edghill is a Premiership-class player! We have a very entertaining match report (clearly Tony hasn’t said much about the antics on the field then) and a matchview – Mike Barnett has also kindly sent in a match report for the Burnley game.

Other news concerns the Kappa deal, which has been terminated by mutual consent – surely it’s us that’s done the terminating, considering the very healthy sales? The press have also been speculating on Cooke (is he going to be bought?) and whether the club are about to be sold to Rangers. We also have some more details on the plans for Eastlands, the identity of the Blue in the Boots gift voucher slips, and plenty of opinion.

Anyone care to do a ‘Why Blue?’

This one reahces 2,376.

MATCH REPORT – ‘LIVE’

MANCHESTER CITY vs. OLDHAM ATHLETIC, Saturday 13th March 1999

I don’t know a great deal about Oldham. Previous experience has been pretty much restricted to driving through a landscape that probably inspired a thousand pictures. Today the matchstick townsfolk, no doubt given the day off from the darkened mills by their masters, made their way to their very own cup final.

The route to the ground was brightened by the sight of the mill workers in their finery, their bonces adorned by the most magnificent display of flat caps this side of, er Oldham.

I was certain it would be an unusual day, this was borne out by the difficulty we had in finding somewhere to park amidst the horse drawn carriages and charabancs that had carried the mill workers to the Academy.

One odd thing that is perhaps worth mentioning is a comment my wife made to me before leaving for the game, “isn’t Oldham the home of the tubular bandage” and do you know I believe it is.

Well on to the match, it was not unreasonable to have expected a home win, after all we had hit six in midweek and we were playing the struggling Latics, a nickname that I can’t even begin to guess where it comes from.

An early indication from the visiting star in the guise of Ronald McDonald did little to offer pre-match encouragement. In a week when the likes of Vialli and Wenger have commented on the Rags’ style of play, I was not impressed to hear Mr McDonald claiming to be a City fan.

But on to the game, the Latics started well and to be fair probably had the best of the play in the first five minutes or so, managing to find space on the left as they attacked the North Stand end to fire across a couple of low shots that skitted and skimmed across the City goalmouth.

Goater and Brown showed some early promise as they combined well about 25 yards out from goal only to see Brown bundled down. Morrison got his head on the end of the free kick but was unable to target his effort.

About 15 minutes in we saw Brown weave the ball like cotton through an Oldham mill loom only to shoot high and wide.

Weaver was absolutely untroubled in goal, with nothing to do until Edghill brought the Latics player down for a penalty (and it looked to be a fair decision from where we were). Paul Reid for Oldham crashed the ball into the net and a thousand flat caps were lofted into the air at the Oldham end as they took the lead.

The move forward that had led to the charge on goal and the subsequent penalty in reality was initiated from a poor pass that failed to find its target from the City skipper Morrison [it was Edghill – Ashley], indeed it was to be another piece of misjudged work from Morrison that was to lead to the second half corner that gave the Latics their second goal.

So it was 0-1 at half time, a poor performance from City against a poor side from the lower levels of this wretched league. Despite the score there was no doubt that it was City who had made the chances, our failure once again in front of goal was to be our downfall.

The pattern of play in the second half was much the same. The Latics fans no doubt fired up by their exposure to the fresh Mancunian air and enjoying the daylight were in good voice. I was a little confused by some of their chants as they seemed to call for their team to rely on a defensive game as they chanted ‘come on hold them, come on hold them’ or perhaps this was merely a chant related to that most northern of pastimes pigeon fancying. In any event they were in better voice than the Blues.

I didn’t think this was something I would find myself saying but we looked to be missing Goater who had gone off injured earlier on. We made all the chances, were the team on top and yet still couldn’t find the net. A penalty though gave us hope. We thought that Horlock would be the man to take it, but it was not to be as the out-of-form Taylor spotted the ball, and hit it poorly to see the Latics’ ‘keeper make a not too difficult save. This provided an opportunity for the mill workers in the North Stand to lift off their flat caps from their ruddy faces and make patterns in the sky as they swirled their flat caps into the air in a dazzling display of synchronised relief.

Had we got the goal, I think most people at the Academy would have said we would go onto beat them; as it was we gave away a corner that we shouldn’t have done, Morrison headed back and when he could have safely collected the ball he allowed it to go, the in swinging corner from Reid was met superbly by an Oldham player who made a fine header push the netting to the limit.

What a disaster 0-2. They had two attempts at goal – both from set pieces – and had got them; we had had loads and got none. The fans who left early missed the best part of the game, the last 15 minutes saw City charge forward, a superb piece of skill from Brown (our best player again) saw him mesmerise the Oldham players before Taylor finished it to make it 1-2.

We did have a decent header cleared off the line and once again at the Academy we saw the away ‘keeper make some very, very good saves, but let’s not kid ourselves, you tend to get what you deserve in football and we just did not make our dominance pay.

The entertainment continued as a streaker dashed from the Maine stand, raced towards the mill workers and with arms aloft, appeared to waggle his ‘tubular bandage’ at them before weaving down the pitch towards the Platt Lane. Of course a couple of constables gave chase and the streaker showing a deftness of foot and a clean pair of cheeks was able to evade the law a little longer before slipping and thus allowing one of the uniformed officers to lie a little dangerously on top of him. I couldn’t help but think he ought to take care at this stage with his truncheon.

So what now then, another fine crowd, 30,321 (more than any Division One game and more than a number of Premier games), we’re still in sixth place, I think we will still make the play-offs but we simply must not slip up again. We can start to put things right on Tuesday when we take on Notts County.

The Oldham fans will have enjoyed their day out, in what to them must have seemed like a day in the countryside. We saw many of them after the game looking confused and bewildered at the open expanses of the car parks and the sound of the motorised vehicles. They had won their Cup final and good luck to them, I really do hope they can stay up, the game will have given them good cheer as they head backs to the grind of the mills and the polishing of cobbled streets.

Meanwhile we look forward to another spell in our very own sweatshop on Tuesday.

MATCHVIEW – LUCKY CRASS OR UNLUCKY CLASS?

Well it’s almost 24 hours later and I feel settled enough to perhaps respond to Saturday’s events in a manner less emotional. It is very difficult to watch our unbeaten run come to a halt against a side that had the same points and were in the same position as a side we had beaten 6-0 only a few days before, without succumbing to some real doubts about the way we play.

Is our football so fragile? Joe has had his wish come true, with only a few exceptions (Saturday being one of them), Maine Road has proved to be a fortress and it is fair to say that our defence is as good, if not better than any other in this division. How much this is due to our continued tendency to have a midfield whose instincts (or playing practice) is to merge with the defence rather than prompt and support the attack may be deduced from the number of draws that we have been involved in.

Are we a good side that’s had some bad luck or a crap side that has had some good? I, for one, am hard pushed to answer that question after Saturday. However, there is one question I do feel confident enough to answer and that is, what sides get promoted. Good ones or lucky ones? With one point for a draw and running rapidly out of games, to have a long unbeaten run, whilst preferable to the alternative, in our position is no great boast and the question to be faced at this moment is, which performance was the `temporary aberration’; beating Burnley or losing to Oldham? I hope this is a timely kick up the backside to all. At this time of the season there will be no walkovers. Teams not chasing promotion are fighting relegation and those in the middle and `safe’ will be relaxed and at ease and only too happy to turn over a contender or put the boot in for a struggler.

As for Oldham’s visit, the writing was on the craphouse wall in the opening minutes. Oldham twice had the ball cross our six-yard box unmolested by the defence and thankfully by the opposition as well. Stop me if you have heard this one before but we had the better possession and created the better chances, more than enough to win. I sometimes felt that on Saturday the team were working in two extreme modes, on the one hand we were just so casual on occasions and then a few minutes later we were trying too hard. How else do you explain that Sunday League crossfield pass Edghill made unchallenged on the halfway line that led to the Oldham breakaway in which Edghill clipped the ankles of an attacker who was surrounded by two other City defenders?

Brown spent most of the game in the land of Nod but when he did rouse himself from his reveries, on two or three occasions could have destroyed Oldham single-handed (for how long have certain sections of the City hierarchy blasted a small East European for just this kind of performance?).

Nicky Weaver will never have such a quiet afternoon again and come off the pitch on a losing side. Shaun Goater was substituted, never quite recovering from a tackle that would have earned Pollock or Horlock a trip to FA Headquarters. Paul Dickov never got into the pace of the game and as the game progressed too many attacks floundered when Paul’s lay-offs fell too short or his crosses went too long. Taylor squandered a hatful and Kevin Horlock (the only midfielder who at least attempted to support the attack consistently) missed a great chance. To add insult to injury Oldham conceded a penalty (a little fortunate from where I sat) but instead of the usual penalty taker (Horlock I believe – we get so few) it was given to Taylor, a little confidence booster I presume. Well, as a confidence booster this was as much use as a parachute that opens on impact or a Chairman’s unequivocal support.

In the second half Oldham went 2-0 up when an Oldham attacker headed in from the edge of the six yard box. The only resistance he met was a half hearted challenge from Horlock. He was at least there, the usually reliable Wiekens, Morrison and Weaver stood and watched. As I’ve remarked on many occasions, when driven to screaming advice from the stand – “YOU players! : US spectators!” I will not be furnishing any more clues.

Throughout the first half and for most of the second, Oldham were first to the loose ball and we generated so many loose balls for them to be first to. It was put so succinctly by the bloke in front of me: “How come they’ve got thirteen men on the pitch and we’ve only got three?”

Some of you will be reading this with the Notts. County result ringing in your ears. Hopefully some of these fears will be laid to rest and the old ghosts that have beset us will be closer to being laid.

Interactive report writing: if on the other hand we have lost or only drawn then continue to read this paragraph – Royle out! Bring back Clark, Ball, Coppell, Horton, Lee, Swales, Neal, The birch, National Service, Jubbly’s, Hula Hoops, Jethro Tull – Delete that which is not applicable.

Reasons to be cheerful – Part 1.
Preston North End, the team I most fear should we get to the play-offs have just managed to beat Burnley only 1-0.

RTBC – Part 2.
To renew or not to renew: Season Tickets not Marital Vows. The Capes household has decided to renew. Loyalty and allegiance are more important than league positions. The people we have met and the thrills and tears we have shared are more important than having a plausible response to the `fair weather Red Rags’ that seem to populate our daily lives. If you’d met my wife you’d know why I didn’t even start to form a cogent counter-argument.

RTBC – Part 3.
I’ve just consumed three monumental whiskies.

Unconfirmed rumours (are there any other kind?) have us linked, at least financially, with David Murray – Chairman of Rangers (Scottish Premier Division – I thought English Division 2 was rock bottom, we’ll be going to Dublin next!). Joking aside, City’s current predicament on the pitch is one which I feel is only curable by throwing money at. Sensible money thrown at sensible targets. Mealy-mouthed excuses thrown at loyal and disappointed, long-suffering fans we’ve had a belly-full of.

Pardon? Streaker! Streaker? – What Streaker? I will not provide these individuals with the oxygen of publicity… oops!

BELATED MATCH REPORT – BURNLEY

Goals: Horlock (16), Morrison (41), Goater (49, 58, 65), Allsopp (82).
City: Weaver, Crooks, Edghill, Wiekens (Vaughan, 65), Morrison, Horlock, Brown, Bishop, Taylor, Goater (Allsopp, 68), Cooke.
Sub not used: Tiatto.
Booked for City: None.
Top Blue: All of them.
Attendance: 17,251.
Referee: John Kirkby (Sheffield).

Burnley were walloped by Gillingham 5-0 in their last home match, a benchmark City had to approach to prove their play-off credentials. City were unchanged, except for Danny Allsopp, who replaced the suspended Paul Dickov on the bench. The Clarets had record signing Steve Davis back to firm up their defence.

From kick-off to final whistle, City were irresistible, and in truth, the home side were lucky to escape with only a 0-6 battering. On this performance, Burnley looked prime candidates for relegation. After surviving an early scare when Graham Branch forced a top save out of Nick Weaver, the Blues took control. City were solid at the back, creative in midfield, and ruthless in attack, and a goal just had to come. On 16 minutes, Morrison launched a long ball forward to the feet of Cooke (who was later to head on to the post) down the right. Kevin Horlock met the pinpoint cross with the perfect finish. Gareth Taylor, who had an excellent match despite not scoring, then met Michael Brown’s cross with a thundering header, only to see Burnley ‘keeper Paul Crichton palm the ball over.

Burnley certainly had their chances, but the Blues were not going to surrender a goal that easily. Weaver pushed another Branch effort round the post, but all it did was signal another City goal. Shaun Goater elected to shoot after beating two defenders in the box but before he could get his shot in, Brian Reid cleared, only for Morrison to meet Cooke’s resulting corner with a truly unstoppable header. The half ended with a clash of heads between Morrison and the Clarets’ Neil Moore. No prizes for guessing who came off second best.

After the break it became something of a procession as Goater put away his first City hat-trick in the space of a little over 15 minutes. He collected Taylor’s nod-down before drawing the ‘keeper and firing in for the first; the second came as he finished off a lovely cross-field move involving Cooke, Brown and Lee Crooks; and his third arrived via more good work by Cooke, who set him up for a simple tap-in.

Every time City attacked, a goal looked likely. Only heroics by Crichton, plus the help of the foot of the post which denied Horlock, kept the score down. Of Burnley’s outfield players, only gangling winger Glen Little, who gave Crooks a bit of a runaround and grazed the bar as he lobbed Weaver, looked anywhere near the required class. As for their defence…

Having done his job and shut up those fans who had been calling for him to be given a rest in the reserves, Goater left to a hero’s reception. Allsopp replaced him, and he too got on the score-sheet. With only eight minutes remaining, Taylor embarked on a run down the inside right channel and shot. Crichton could only parry the ball into the path of the young Aussie, who did the rest, although it wasn’t the most elegant of finishes.

Morrison demonstrated his commitment to the cause – as if anybody doubted it – by denying Andy Payton. Allsopp should have made it seven after Taylor’s square ball through a non-existent defence found him free with only the goalie to beat, but miss he did. Perhaps he was showing the home side some mercy?

Joe said “It’s been coming. Someone was going to get it sooner or later. I thought the first half was our best half of the season, we were outstanding. We looked a good side tonight, and at times we were going through them like a hot knife through butter. I just know that when we play like that, there’s nobody better in this league. It’ll make one or two people sit up and take notice.”

NEWS SUMMARY

Unbeaten Run Ends

In many ways, I suppose it was only too predictable. After the euphoria of a big victory in midweek, City lost 2-1 at home to Oldham, a performance with which Joe Royle was unhappy, though he still felt the Blues had enough chances to have won the game. In fact, the match probably turned in the space of a couple of minutes in the second half. With Oldham leading 1-0 from a first half penalty, City were awarded their own spot-kick opportunity on 54 minutes only to see Gareth Taylor’s effort saved by Latics’ ‘keeper Gary Kelly, who repeated his feat against Georgi Kinkladze a couple of years ago. Two minutes later, the visitors doubled their advantage when Lee Duxbury, the smallest man on the pitch, scored a header. Taylor made amends with a goal on 79 minutes, but it was a case of too little, too late. Terry Cooke hit the bar from an injury time free kick, but Oldham were able to hang on. City remain sixth and therefore in the last play-off berth, but wins for the rather erratic Stoke and the more consistent Wigan mean that these teams are breathing down our necks again. It’s certainly typical of City to follow up a run of four straight home wins with one point from six at Maine Road against two lowly teams, and it means the visit of another relegation threatened side on Tuesday is now of vital importance.

No Cash Before Deadline

After several quiet weeks on the investment rumour front, Sunday saw speculation, originating in Scotland’s Sunday Mail newspaper, that Rangers chairman David Murray was set to spend £20 million to acquire a majority holding in Manchester City. It seems that talks did take place before Christmas, but on Monday it was reported that UEFA’s strict ownership rules had put paid to Murray’s hopes of making City part of his empire. It’s claimed that Murray pulled out because he could have put Rangers’ participation in European competition at risk. David Bernstein said there’s no ongoing dialogue with the Ibrox chief, and affirmed that he wouldn’t ever let City become a feeder club. Moreover, he’s also conceded that it now looks highly unlikely there’ll be any injection of new funds before the March 25 transfer deadline. Talks are apparently ongoing, but evidently aren’t close to a conclusion, with the City chairman refusing (in my view quite rightly) to sign the club up to a deal which might not prove to be in its best long-term interests purely to make money available for players now. He’s promised that he’ll do his best to ensure that any cash Joe Royle needs before the deadline is forthcoming, though it’s hard to see what options are open to ensure that this actually happens.

Kappa Deal Terminated

Though next season was due to be the third and final year of City’s kit deal with Kappa, the club has issued a statement (which can be seem on the official City website at www.mcfc.co.uk) announcing that the contract has been terminated by mutual consent. No reasons are given for the split, though it’s known that City were unhappy with supply problems last summer which meant the launch of this season’s away kit was delayed by several weeks. There have been rumours of unrest from the Kappa side, too. The club says that several quality kit manufacturers have already shown an interest and that it hopes to make a detailed statement soon on future arrangements. There’s been speculation for some time that Adidas would be City’s next kit supplier, though as yet there’s nothing substantive to give weight to this rumour.

Cooke Uncertainty

Given that Terry Cooke is at City only on loan, there has been speculation about his future for weeks. One source of uncertainty is when the loan expires – while the traditional maximum for a loan has been three months, Premier League clubs this season are allowed to loan one player of under 24 to a Nationwide League club for a longer period. Saturday’s Manchester Evening News, however, claims that Cooke’s loan is for three months only, and that if City don’t buy him before April 17 (players already on loan can be signed on a permanent basis even after the transfer deadline), he’ll be out of the last few weeks of City’s campaign. The player says he thinks he’s good enough for the Old Trafford first team even though Alex Ferguson feels he isn’t ready, but affirms he doesn’t want to leave Manchester. Sounds to me like it could be a hint. I just hope the club will do everything possible to beg, steal or borrow the cash to sign him permanently if he is willing to sign.

Heaney Signs Robins Loan Move

Neil Heaney, something of a forgotten man at City, has moved to Bristol City on loan to the end of the season with a view to a permanent move. The player has only featured once in City’s first team this season – when Joe fielded a virtual reserve team in the Auto Windscreens Shield game against Mansfield – and played only three times last season. Heaney holds the distinction of being the club’s only signing under Phil Neal’s temporary stewardship, though he was recommended to the club by Alan Ball. By the end of this campaign, he’ll have been at Maine Road for the best part of three seasons so his contract may be up in the summer. If it is, don’t expect a new deal on the table for a player who hasn’t even had a sniff of first team action despite Joe’s well publicised search for wingers.

Violett Blue to the End

The recent death of former Busby Babe Dennis Violett has already been reported in many sources. Violett, a survivor of the Munich air crash, had an outstanding career at United and Stoke – he played for England and still holds the Old Trafford record for most league goals in a season. However, Violett’s widow said on GMR that, having grown up in Moss Side, he was a boyhood City fan, and even after moving to live in the USA, he kept in touch with his best friend, City stalwart Ken Barnes. These links meant that Violett kept an eye on events at Maine Road up to his death. Belated condolences to his family.

Notts County – Preview

An awful lot of water has passed under the metaphorical bridge since Notts County made their last visit to Maine Road for a League Cup tie back in August. That night saw the Blues run riot in a 7-1 win, but with the teams immediately below us now putting a few results together, it’s just vital this time that we score one more than the Magpies. County slipped into the relegation zone after an alarming run of results, but they’ve improved recently, having signed on loan or permanently no fewer than four strikers in recent weeks. One of them is a certain Gerry Creaney, who’s arrived from St. Mirren in a temporary deal, and he scored in a win over high-flying Walsall on his début. After three years at City in which his career stagnated, Creaney will no doubt feel he has something to prove should he be given the chance, while the whole of the County side will probably still want revenge for the August thrashing. It won’t be easy for City, but in the circumstances anything other than a win will be a big disappointment.

RUMOUR – RANGERS TAKEOVER

I had a call this morning (14 March 99) from a work colleague living in Edinburgh who after gloating about our defeat yesterday said that the Scottish Sunday papers were full of news regarding a David Murray bid for MCFC – lock stock and barrel!

Just as alarmingly on Saturday we had a young player who played in the first team early in the season (vain attempt to respect his privacy) sitting alongside us in the Main Stand and when Gareth Taylor stepped forward to take the penalty he was as surrprised as we were. Especially as he is not prolific in training from the spot.

Why not Wiekens as penalty taker? I remember him being very cool and scoring well against Blackpool in the shoot out.

TICKET NEWS

The club is pleased to announce that season ticket holders joining the Direct Debit Home Cup-tie Scheme up to and including April 10th 1999 will receive their tickets for this season’s possible play-off semi-final at Maine Road. Tickets will be posted directly to your home once the draw is known. The cost of tickets will be automatically deducted from your bank account by direct debit. Full details and an application form can be obtained by emailing Nathan Gould <nathan@mancity.bdx.co.uk>

We will also attempt to accommodate 1st year season tickets for next season although it may not be possible to guarantee your chosen seat.

EASTLANDS STADIUM – UPDATE

There have been a couple of recent reports in the construction press about the proposed Eastlands Stadium which may be of interest to MCIVTA readers. Manchester City Council is pressing ahead with the £90 million stadium despite rumours that the 2002 Commonwealth Games have hit financial difficulties, reported “Building” magazine in February. According to the report, it is understood that Bovis, Amec, Laing, Mowlem, Taylor Woodrow and HBG have been invited to tender, and the tenders should be returned by 7 March. A spokeswoman for MCC denied that the council needs to ask the government for extra funding, on top of a £112 million Sports Council lottery grant. Indeed, Tony Blair, at a local government conference in Manchester, wished the games good luck but reaffirmed that no extra cash would be available.

The stadium is likely to swallow up £77 million of the lottery grant, with an extra £13 million coming from council resources, and a tennis centre and sports academy will cost a further £13 million. Construction work should start in September this year and be completed by December 2001, ready for the XVII Commonwealth Games which will open in July 2002. According to the February issue of “Northern Builder & Engineer”, the stadium will be built as two stands around an 8-lane, 400 metre running track with a 10-lane finishing straight for the Games, and will have a 40,000 capacity. After the Games close, the stands will be linked as the track is taken up to make way for extra seating. By excavating a further 4 metres and installing additional seating the capacity will be raised to 48,000. There will be parking spaces for 3,000 cars and 250 coaches.

James Burland of Arup Associates, the consulting engineers (part of the design team including Lobb Sports Architects – designers of the Reebok and McAlpine stadia – and Modus Consulting Engineers) said that the completed stadium will not look much different from the model seen at the Platt Lane complex. The stadium will have three tiers along the sides and two tiers at each end. The stadium diameter will be 204 metres and it will be a steel and concrete structure incorporating a roof hung from cables supported by 8 masts and cantilevered beams. The roof will have transparent panels, graded from opaque to a clear leading edge. The screen walls will be in glass and stainless steel. Apparently Manchester City FC has come to an agreement in principle with the city council to take a long term lease on the stadium at the start of the 2003/2004 season and will meet all the operating costs. The club will then transfer the freehold interest of Maine Road to Manchester City Council for nothing and the ground will be rented out for sport, possibly rugby. There is a rumour that a major North-West rugby union or rugby league club has earmarked Maine Road as its new home.

My own comments are:

1. What happened to the plans for an 80,000 capacity national stadium to rival/replace Wembley?
2. Will a capacity of 48,000 be enough for the demands of City supporters?If we can fill Maine Road at a capacity of over 30,000 while in the thirdtier of English football, what will happen if we manage to get promoted?
3. My spellchecker suggested Wastelands for Eastlands!
4. Does anyone know if the deal outlined above has been agreed?

RICKY HATTON

Re: the article in MCIVTA concerning the footballer turned boxer, Ricky Hatton.

I have no records of anyone by that name playing for Manchester City at any level. However, I do wonder if the original article was in error in stating that he had played for the Blues; after searching through my records, I’ve found a Ray Hatton who could well be Ricky’s father.

His record is as follows:

Born: Manchester, February 1951.
Position: full back; played for Manchester and Lancashire Boys, and had trials for England schoolboys.
Signed: as an apprentice in July 1966, and pro in February 1969.
Played for the club: 59 reserve matches, scoring one goal (also played 3 Lancashire Senior Cup and 4 friendly matches).
Released: free transfer to Stalybridge Celtic in July 1971.

Any more info out there?

PAY-PER-VIEW COMMENTS

by Noel Bayley – editor of Bert Trautmann’s Helmet

Along with Les Saul (Supporters’ Club) and Paul Stanley (Bert scribe and director of the MCFC Small Shareholders’ Association) I met a couple of Sky bods, Chris and Vic (the latter being the MD at Sky Sports), for a few pints in the pub at Thursday lunch. I thought they might have been on a damage limitation exercise re Pay-Per-View and although we got the Sky guff, they seemed interested in our views on Sky and, in particular, PPV. Sure enough, they got our verdicts on Sky and PPV in particular (!), but I have to concede that it was something of a stalemate. Sky are governed not only by the Premier League, Nationwide League and also UEFA, with regard to what they can show and, more importantly, when they can show it, hence Colchester away at 6pm on a Saturday evening as obviously they cannot broadcast live at the traditional kick-off time of 3pm, but their policy is unlikely to change as their duty is to the new cancer in English football: armchair viewers. Sky can talk to us all day and as interesting as their findings may be, Friday Night/Saturday night/Sunday football is here to stay whether we – fans who actually go to matches – like it or not. Finally, if City’s game at Bristol Rovers in May takes on any amount of significance, Sky will more than likely show it, although it’s not clear whether it will be PPV or not, and should we make the play-offs – especially if we get Gillingham or Bournemouth, given their respective low capacities – Sky will be looking at showing the away game too.

COBBLERS AND ROBINS

Someone noted in the previous MCIVTA that Northampton have a strange nickname, the “Cobblers”. In fact, as with Macc’s “Silkmen” tag, this comes from the industrial past (well; courtesy of one M. Thatcher, there’s no industrial present is there?) of the area, which was not that long ago the prime shoe making area of the country.

I don’t know whether it’s been announced locally, but apparently the friendly which was meant to be played last season between City & Bristol City as a part of the Shaun Goater detail has been arranged for this close season. Saturday July 24th is the date, and I’ll be happy to meet any Blues planning to attend the game. As a regular attendee at Ashton Gate (and like Andy Noise a Goater fan from his free-scoring days here), I usually meet before home games with a bunch of folk from the Bristol City mailing list in an away-fan friendly pub 10 minutes from the Gate, and pleasantly situated by the harbourside.

You have to drink Cider though …

GARY MASON – SEPARATED AT BIRTH?

I’d been puzzling for ages just who Gary Mason reminded me of. On the pitch he may be Ray Wilkins, but off it it’s got to be Brian Molko (from Placebo). Er, that’s all.

RE BOOTS PHOTO GIFT SLIPS I

The City fan you spotted by Andy Longsaw is Philip Crabtree, a member of the London Branch of the Official Supporters’ Club. Naturally, we have commented upon this in our Branch newsletter and I beleive it may feature in CITY Mag in the near future. As you can imagine, Phil has had to put up with a fair amount of p**s-taking on our interminable train journeys to Manchester! The photo was taken, I understand, on his holiday abroad last Summer.

RE BOOTS PHOTO GIFT SLIPS II

With reference to Andy Longshaw’s observation about the Boots Gift Slip.

The new 1999 “Oasis” Village Lake District Brochure (similar to CentreParcs) features a full colour page of young lad playing football in City’s last season’s away strip.

Any more?

OPINION – GOATER

Thought I’d comment on the Goater debate. I tend to agree with the points made by Andy Noise in MCIVTA 482, although I hope his interesting thoughts re racist undertones making for Goater and Edghill getting a slagging are not correct. As most of my mates and the people who sit around me in the Kippax will know, I was one of the biggest culprits for getting on Edghill’s back earlier in the season. The main reason for this was because of his apparent lack of commitment and uninterest in the City cause along with his lethargic style of play. In my opinion, he gave the ball away far far too much and then tended to blame everyone else, apart from himself.

I get incredibly frustrated when I see these guys earning the money they do as professionals giving the ball away so needlessly. To be fair to Edghill, his attitude and general play has been much improved over the last couple of months and this is all we ask. We all pay good money to watch City and the absolute minimum we should expect is 100% from every player that pulls on a blue shirt. Anyway, my main point re Edghill is that if he had tried harder earlier in the season, I am sure he wouldn’t have come in for the stick he received, I certainly don’t think the majority of fans were having a go at him because he was black. Anyway, to Goater. I was at the Burnley game last Tuesday and I was so pleased for the guy. He has come in for a lot of stick which, going back to my earlier point, is I feel unjustified. In my opinion his attitude and commitment have been spot on and he has tried and tried to help get the team out of this poxy division. As we all know, his strike rate over the last couple of months has been poor but his work rate has been of the highest order. The people that slag him off, most of whom have probably never even kicked a ball listening to some of the comments made, want to just take note of just how many times he drops deep to pick up the ball and lay it off. He also holds the ball up well with his back to goal and let’s face it the reason he has had to do this so much this season was because of the very poor service being received from midfield. Some of his goals haven’t been half bad either, his first on Tuesday for instance.

The service has improved dramatically over recent weeks so hopefully more goals are on their way. What most people tend to forget, and what has been said over and over again is that he is a Second Division striker, playing for a Second Division club. If he was the next Shearer or Owen he certainly wouldn’t be playing for us and people should remember that. As long as our players give 100%, they don’t deserve to get slagged off, if they are not good enough it’s up to Joe to do something about it. Like Andy Noise said, it looks as though Shaun will be the highest scorer since Uwe and you can’t say fairer than that can you. So come on Goater, don’t make me eat my words and let’s start with another three against the yonners on Saturday. All about opinions.

One quick point of the atmosphere at Burnley, effing superb! How we actually made it back onto the terraces after half time was beyond me because the atmosphere and singing under the stand was tremendous, beer as well which helped! I just wonder what the Burnley players must have thought? For those of you who wern’t there, the players’ dressing rooms were in the City end, next to the bar where the deafening singing was coming from. Hardly a confidence booster when you are two down waiting to come out for the second half! We’d all like to think it spurred the City players on to the four second half goals anyway.

I feel a trip to Wembley coming on at the end of May and let’s face it, it’ll be a much better laugh going up at Wembley rather than a boring old automatic promotion place!?

OPINION – THE OLDHAM GAME

Just a few thoughts about the Oldham game.

Why is Richard Edghill a footballer? Why does he have to try to play this rôle for us? If he has international class then why aren’t the bids from the Premiership giants flooding in?

Answer – he is s**t.

Surely being able to pass, shoot, cross, tackle and control the ball are requirements of a footballer? How can you be a footballer and not be able to do any of the above? Recently he has been playing well, yeah right. He hasn’t been making his usual mistakes that lead to goals, he has just been ruining any quick attacks that we have with wayward crossing and poor passing.

Gareth Taylor: Watching him lumber around the pitch on Saturday was painful, watching him place the ball for the penalty was shocking, he showed twice as much commitment getting hold of the ball than he did in taking the penalty. When he stood up to take it the gasps from the crowd when they realised that he had been given responsibility said it all. Have they no confidence in his record (3 in 20?) they seem to know that he is not up to the job. I would much rather see Allsopp or Wright-Phillips given a try but JR will always be loyal to the big centre forward, I wonder why that is?

We seemed to be a totally different side on Saturday; this cannot be down to the loss of Crooks, although I think he has been playing well in recent games. This must put down to JR and a bunch of cocky players who thought that it was going to be Burnley revisited.

I thought that it would be play-offs at best, but unless we get a decent striker or 2 then we will get beaten by Wigan or Stoke for the last chance saloon.

OPINION – UNBEATEN RUN

A brief contribution, rambling over several topics …

All good things must come to an end and the long unbeaten run was good while it lasted. We had to lose sometime. Now we’ve got that out of our system, we have to hope we can launch into another equally good run, building up a good head of steam through Easter and into the last few fixtures.

Typical City to dash all our expectations after the Burnley win – personally I’d have preferred 6 lots of 1-0 if I had the choice. Yes I know that would mean “only” 6 goals from 6 games, but at least it’s 18 points, and to be honest I don’t think a sudden and more permanent opening of the floodgates goals-wise is ever going to happen this season now.

Over the last few weeks we’ve got 5 points from 4 games – not good enough, basically with a little hindsight it was obvious the unbeaten run was slowly running out of steam. We were just a bit lucky to get Burnley in such a poor, disorganised state.

Quick subject change … the Rangers connection. I phoned the Rangers telephone “Teamtalk” line tonight and it was referring to the interest in City becoming a “feeder” club for Rangers. So for example if this had been in place a year or so ago, then they would probably have taken some sort of 1st option on Weaver, maybe even lifted Wiekens away to Glasgow, while at the same time they’d probably have let us have Negri after he fell out of favour.

Even more interesting – on the Football 365 site tonight it is more explicit on exactly what the bottom line would be regarding the UEFA sanction against the clubs if the ownership rules were broken. Apparently, what would happen if there was any joint share ownership – which is expressly disallowed – is that if both Rangers and Man City found themselves in the same European competition, then one club would be forced to withdraw! Pardon? Man City qualifying for Europe! Excuse me what planet is this please (although I suppose there’s a slightly bigger chance of Rangers playing in the Inter-Bozo Cup)?

Finally, I would like all your sympathies – it has just dawned on me that I am flying out of the country with my lovely wife and kids for a week in Spain on guess what date? Yes, May 30th. And what are the chances that it will actually matter? Unfortunately the answer to that lies in the hands of all those teams with games in hand over us …

OPINION – CITY AT HOME

It’s not over till the fat lady sings, at least that’s what the saying implies. Manchester City do not deserve promotion with the home results this season. I want the team to prove me so very wrong!

I guess I’ve been a City fan too long and remember the glory days when City had such a great home record, it ended up all teams, did not matter who they were came to Maine Road just to get a point, and some games became boring. It was days of fantastic, attacking football, I always thought the best form of defence was attack. Yes, football has changed, but the basics have not, the whole idea of the game is to end the game with more goals than your opponents. For the fans, football is more exciting to watch when it’s attacking football. If this season had not been for our defence we would not be where we are now.

What’s wrong with City playing at Maine Road? Do the players feel more tension playing at home? Home is supposed to be our advantage and I will stress the fact even more so against the opposition we are facing. To make a statement, we only need players who can take us out of this division – bulls**t, if they can not win at our home ground, who are they? I am sorry I am a little off with my language, but I have said all season we must win at home to get promotion. Nothing would make me feel better than City to prove me wrong and win promotion with an away record!

To win 6-0 against Burnley was great, but Burnley have shown they have no defence for the best part of the season. When I coached (in a much lower level) my 12th man was team spirit. Where is Manchester City’s? As I started this email ‘it’s not over till the “Fat Lady Sings”‘, But that Lady must be getting real hoarse!

Come on you Blues, or is playing at the Great Maine Road tougher on you than the the teams who play to 6,000 to 10,000 every week? It’s the away teams that should be in awe of the vast Maine Road. Not the home team. It’s getting tougher, I am sorry to say my hard earned money will not be going on you for promotion until you prove me wrong at home.

Want to hear another chant from the past – “Attack attack attack attack attack”. I guess the real trouble most of us City fans have been used to seeing first class football, now even the refereeing is 3rd rate. I guess that’s what goes with the territory these days.

Well I will try to keep the faith but it’s not getting any better. Yes another sleepless night for us true City fans who deserve better. We have a boardroom full of directors who try hard, who want to do the best for the club, but really they are only fans, they do not have the funds to make City great again!

OPINION – NEW KIT

As a traditionalist (Sky Blue born and bred), I wasn’t overly enthusiastic when the laser blue kit was introduced. However, if there was going to be a change, I think the designers got it pretty much right. I became a convert!

Now we are to change shirt manufacturers again. Please, please, please learn the lessons from the present kit design, the fifth biggest seller in the country last year I believe. Apart from the colour change, the shirt is not cut up into a complicated array of colours/patterns. The sponsor logo (Kappa), fits well into the overall design. These basic concepts make people want to wear it not only for matches, but also as casual wear. If what I’ve heard is true, we don’t want ‘navy sleeves’ etc.

OPINION – SUNDAY: ENDLESS, MIND-NUMBING DISBELIEF!

Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

City are playing with our heads!

The mental health bills of City fans are rising each week and psychiatrists are rubbing their hands together at the thought of another influx of shattered spirits.

Why buy Cooke when his quality service is continually wasted by the Taylor/Goater striking débâcle (Burnley seems so long ago now).

Give Allsopp another run… he plays for 10 minutes and scores nearly every time.

OPINION – JUST A FEW THINGS

Andy. Despite being one of the best contributors, you shouldn’t make sweeping statements about race and goalscoring. I for one, have been at pains to point out that Goater should be in the team because he at least always looked likely to score (even if he didn’t). Whereas some of our paler strikers look like they couldn’t score in a brothel.

Which brings me to my next point. I am a bit concerned that Jonathon Daniels, at 15, knows what it takes to score in a brothel. One for his mum and dad there.

Elaine Clegg. It could be worse. You could live in Sheffield.

Wallace Poulter. Whilst agreeing with the sentiment, if we went to Portsmouth and Crystal Palace we would be likely to get Bradbury and Fitzroy back.

Jim Curtis. Tony Hawkes is a funny guy. Learn to laugh.

Paul Odusanya. I gave my support to PPV in a previous issue (after much heart-searching).

Ernie Barlow. Belated Happy Birthday.

Hugh at Planet Football. Thanks for actually caring when I had trouble last weekend.

OPINION – WELL, WELL, WELL!

I was just going to bemoan the deficiencies of our current strike force, when… what’s this? I went to see “The Thin Red Line” with a visiting friend, and as I hadn’t heard how City had got on, looked with trepidation on Telelext to see if they’d scraped a win at Burnley. After I’d leaped round the room half a dozen times, this after doing the usual pinching myself and blinking a few times I had to realise that, yes, we had scored 6, and yes, Shaun Goater did score three of them. Yeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhh! I think Kim thinks I’m nuts, then again, what does she know? She’s an Arsenal fan.

Incidentally, those who haven’t looked at the MCFC web site, might be amused to note that the match review says something to the effect that despite City’s six goals, we still managed to miss a number of ‘guilt-edged chances’ (sic). Someone’s been using the spell-checker at Maine Road but it seems like a Freudian slip to me. Has this got something to do with Willie Donachie’s latest bit of comment that our strikers are ‘too nice’?

So, my comments, based on our showing against Northampton, can be taken with the latest in mind. Since we are talking here about Manchester City, I know that I can’t turn up at Maine Road on Saturday and expect the same against Oldham, can I? You never know, and I would like to think that we can do a repeat.

Some points on the game against Northampton.

Terry Cooke was getting himself into some excellent positions and was consistently missed by Lee Crooks when delivering the ball. Lee, have you got a brain? Also he did himself no favours by allowing two balls to drift over the touch line rather than have a go at stopping them. I really think that City should find the money and buy Cooke. He’s intelligent and gets himself into good positions. It isn’t evidently critical in this division but when we get into Division 1, his talents will become much more important.

Of course we all know about the referee, so I won’t go on about that. However, it’s a measure of the standard in this division, that despite our being down to ten men for most of the match, we never looked like we were going to lose. Northampton were very poor. However, we really never looked like we were going to win either, and this is real cause for concern for me.

Our ability to play up to (or in this case, down to) our opponents’ level is proving to be a real problem at times. Our defence is still looking solid, and Nicky Weaver is getting better and better (despite the odd heart-stopping moment, when he decides to have a go at dribbling the ball past opposition attackers), but when are we going to see the attack do its job and see off such poor opposition? We really should be going in at half time with a two goal cushion in such games. It is especially important in the Nationwide League, where it is goals scored that count rather than goal difference.

It’s difficult to know what the answer is, though. I’m not really tempted at this late stage to start messing about with City’s attack, although I would suggest perhaps giving one of our young strikers a place on the bench and, so long as we are ahead, giving him a run out for the last few minutes. Perhaps have Shaun Wright-Phillips on the bench as third substitute? Just a thought. I certainly think that City’s best option is to go with a settled starting line-up, because they can beat anyone given the desire to do so, even with a Goater-Taylor strike force. It’s the motivation that is required – and that is missing in games like this one against Northampton, and getting that is JR’s job.

Another 6-0 on Saturday? Please?!

REQUEST – PHOTOS

I would really appreciate it if anyone could send me any photo’s, scans, etc. of Manchester City in their away kit. Also, any Nicky Weaver pictures would be appreciated. The reason been I am creating some wallpapers of the home and away kits.

Thanks.

REQUEST – CAMBRIDGE

City vs. Col Utd.

I will be visting the ‘outlaws’ in Cambridge on the day it is televised live on BskyB – any Blues in the Cambridge areas who know where it can be watched?

REQUEST – COLCHESTER TICKET

Folks,

CU*T (Colchester United Net Team) – most unfortunate name, have finally agreed for a game against McVittee IFC. However, the late decision means I’ve been unable to acquire a ticket for the Nationwide game as it’s now sold out.

I don’t want to particularly drive all that way and miss the game, so is there any kind individual who has a spare ticket and is willing to let me buy the said ticket off them?

AN APPEAL

Dear Footie fan,

My name is Dougie Brimson and I am the author of numerous books on the subject of football and its most important asset, the fans. I have also been involved in numerous campaigns to gain both rights and justice for football fans everywhere.

I am about to start a new book on the whole relationship between the game and its supporters and am appealing for input from genuine football fans such as yourself.

If you would like to contribute something, be it long or short, please feel free to do so. I have listed below some ideas which may get you thinking but really, if you have an opinion on something to do with the great game, be it negative, positive, funny or tragic, supportive or downright angry, then that’ll do for me.

Furthermore, as anyone who has read any of my books will know, I am also very interested in the whole issue of hooliganism and am particularly keen to hear any thoughts or information on this issue. Be it historical, recent or simply rumour.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope to hear from you soon.

Many thanks, Dougie Brimson, author of: ‘Everywhere We Go’, ‘England, My England’, ‘Capital Punishment’, ‘Derby Days’, ‘The Geezers Guide To Football’ and the forthcoming thriller, ‘The Crew’.

Ideas to think about:

• The future of the game in the light of the Premier League/Sky TV explosion.
• The future of the lower leagues.
• The relationship between the media and the fans.
• The relationship between the players and the fans.
• Ground sharing/mergers.
• The return of terracing.
• Commercialism.
• The financial side of the game.
• The policing and stewarding of football.
• The demise of atmosphere.
• Local rivalries.
• England abroad and the proposed anti hooligan measures.
• Club vs. Country. Which is the more important?
• The European Super League; Good or bad for football?
• Are football fans being taken too much for granted?
• The growth of the fans protest movement; is it worth it?

RESULTS

Second Division Results, Saturday, March 13 1999

Blackpool                 1-1  Wrexham                3,905
Ormerod (pen 72)               Connolly (56)
Bournemouth               0-1  Reading                9,445
                               McKeever (76)
Lincoln City              2-0  Chesterfield           5,262
Bimson (14)
Gordon (58)
Luton Town                1-2  Stoke City             5,221
Alexander (pen 46)             Kavanagh, G (pen 10, 16)
Macclesfield Town         2-0  Colchester United      2,796
Landon (65)
Bailey (90)
Manchester City           1-2  Oldham Athletic       30,321
Taylor (79)                    Reid (pen 27)
                               Duxbury (56)
Millwall                  1-2  Walsall                6,248
Harris (45)                    Cramb (pen 25, 38)
Notts County              4-2  York City              5,400
Richardson (22, 28)            Rowe (2)
Tierney (29)                   Cresswell (pen 86)
Beadle (75)
Wigan Athletic            4-1  Gillingham             4,248
Rogers (14)                    Lisbie (7)
Haworth (20, 66)
Barlow (87)
Wycombe Wanderers         1-2  Northampton Town       4,861
Baird (68)                     Parrish (15)
                               Corazzin (84)

Second Division Table, up to and including Saturday, March 13 1999 (5:35pm)

                              HOME            AWAY
                         P  W  D  L  F  A   W  D  L  F  A   Pts   GS
Fulham                  35 14  2  1 33 10  10  4  4 25 16    78   58
Walsall                 35 10  5  3 26 17  10  2  5 22 20    67   48
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Preston North End       34 10  4  3 39 18   9  5  3 25 16    66   64
Bournemouth             34 12  5  1 34  9   5  4  7 21 24    60   55
Gillingham              35 11  5  2 33 13   4  9  4 22 20    59   55
MANCHESTER CITY         35  8  6  3 24 11   6  8  4 22 15    56   46
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Stoke City              33  8  3  5 22 18   9  0  8 19 20    54   41
Reading                 35  8  6  4 24 20   6  5  6 20 24    53   44
Wigan Athletic          32  9  3  3 27  9   6  4  7 22 22    52   49
Chesterfield            34 12  2  3 28 12   2  7  8  9 19    51   37
Millwall                36  6  7  5 25 21   7  3  8 16 24    49   41
Wrexham                 34  6  5  6 16 20   5  5  7 20 27    43   36
Blackpool               34  5  7  5 19 17   5  5  7 14 20    42   33
Luton Town              34  7  3  7 19 21   4  5  8 21 26    41   40
Bristol Rovers          33  7  6  5 28 22   2  6  7 16 16    39   44
Colchester United       35  5  7  5 18 24   3  8  7 21 28    39   39
Notts County            33  6  3  7 23 22   4  4  9 15 26    37   38
Oldham Athletic         35  5  2  9 18 23   5  5  9 19 26    37   37
York City               35  4  7  6 21 24   5  2 11 21 37    36   42
Lincoln City            34  8  3  6 23 20   2  3 12 10 33    36   33
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Burnley                 34  5  6  7 15 28   3  4  9 21 35    34   36
Northampton Town        35  2  8  6 13 18   5  4 10 15 22    33   28
Macclesfield Town       34  5  4  8 13 17   2  5 10 11 24    30   24
Wycombe Wanderers       34  6  4  9 24 21   0  6  9  8 25    28   32

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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: