Newsletter #848

A bumper news round-up tonight with plenty of information on the Richard Dunne situation; he is very fortunate to have a supportive manager – don’t waste it lad. Also plenty of news on new links, old boys, and the fallout from Sunday’s game.

We also have opinion on the Danny and Dunne situation, a couple of questions to get the grey matter going, a sort of Why Blue and some Blue humour.

We make the journey south on Saturday to visit West Ham who are struggling this far so could we notch up our first away win of the season?

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

No Relegation? No Thanks! David Bernstein has declared himself to be against a proposal made last week that relegation from the Premiership should be scrapped. Although this proposal would be of benefit to the Blues, Bernstein believes that such a proposition would undermine the whole ethos of the English League. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Mr. Chairman said, “I am totally against any proposals to scrap relegation from the Premiership. There has to be competition and the incentive for clubs outside the Premiership to be promoted. If relegation and promotion was scrapped, then you would never see remarkable stories like Wimbledon climbing through the leagues as they did a few years ago.”

Worthington Cup Draw: The draw for the Second Round of the Worthington Cup was made over the weekend, and City start their campaign on Tuesday 1st October, with a tie against Second Division Crewe Alexandra at Maine Road. The match will kick off at 7.45pm. City did the double over Alex in the First Division last season, winning 5-2 at Maine Road, and 3-1 at Gresty Road.

Transfer News and Gossip

Call Me Ismail: Teenager Ismail Yabuku has returned to Conference side Barnet, after three days training with the Blues. Both clubs have stressed that this arrangement was to allow the 17-year-old to gain some experience, and a more permanent move is unlikely to happen for some time. It is excepted that City intend to monitor the youngster’s progress now that he has returned south, and any move for the young defender would have to wait until the transfer window re-opens in January.

Fuller Potential: On Saturday KK was spotted in the Directors’ Box at Deepdale, and was immediately linked with a move for Preston North End’s striker Ricardo Fuller. The Jamaican international scored his fourth goal of the season in Preston’s 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday. North End Manager, Craig Brown, has moved to quell the speculation. “There’s been no hint from anyone regarding Ricardo Fuller,” said Brown. “In fact, we are a striker short. I hope that none of the Premiership teams come in for Ricardo – simply he’s not for sale. The Board here at Deepdale pushed the boat out to bring Ricardo to the club which is something I’m very grateful of.”

All For Hall: City are said to be interested in Oldham Athletic defender Fitz Hall. Hall, who can play at either full back or centre half, has been watched by City, Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers. Oldham will have to wait till January to cash in on their asset.

Ex-Blues’ News

Flitcroft’s Back: As reported in Monday’s match reports in MCIVTA, Garry Flitcroft received a good reception on his return to Maine Road last Sunday. Before the game, Flitcroft reminisced about his time with the Blues. “I never had a problem with the fans, but I think you needed to be a certain character to play at Maine Road during my time at the club. The fans were so desperate for success and they backed you in great numbers every week, but they obviously voiced their frustrations from time to time. I didn’t want to leave, but the chairman Francis Lee and Alan Ball told me that they needed to sell me to help with the debts at the club, so it was good business for City. When I was there it seemed like I had about 12 managers in three years such was the instability at the place. But you always knew that, because City are such a big club, they would get it right one day. And I think that Kevin Keegan is the perfect man for the job at Manchester City. The City supporters want to see exciting football and Kevin has got them playing some outstanding flowing stuff. With City moving to a new stadium next season, this will probably be my last game at Maine Road. I never expected it would take me six years to get back there, but I can’t wait.” Flitty also hopes that an England career is not entirely out of the question. “I will never give up hope of playing for England and I will believe in my chances until the day I pack up playing. I’ve been close in the past, but I know I won’t get into any squad unless I am doing the business at club level and that’s always going to be my number one priority.”

Coppell to Swindon:

Steve Coppell is back in work. City’s shortest-lived manager is the new Assistant Manager at struggling Second Division side Swindon Town. Swindon boss Andy King said: “Steve and I spoke on Sunday about the club’s current plight and also discussed the possibility of him linking up with the team on a short-term basis. Hopefully his arrival will lift the side and provide us with some fresh ideas to help us get through this difficult period. Steve will bring a different approach and has a tremendous amount of managerial experience we can tap into.” Coppell’s managerial experience includes 32 minutes (sorry, days) in charge of the Blues in 1996-97 season.

Edging To A New Club: Good news for Richard Edghill. He has obtained a trial with Wigan Athletic, and played for the Latics in a reserve game with Stoke City on Wednesday. Edgy has been on the look out for a club since his contract ended with City in the summer. Wigan’s website report that manager Paul Jewell is seeking a full back, so Edgy could fit the bill.

Reactions and Comments

Disgusting Danny: TV viewers will have seen the look of contempt that KK gave Danny Tiatto as he walked past the Boss following his red card against Blackburn on Sunday. Tiatto had been on the field for a mere five minutes, before his two footed lunge into the solar plexus of Blackburn’s David Thompson. At least Keegan didn’t have to put the Aussie in a headlock, as happened in last season’s game with Norwich. “It was disgusting,” Keegan said. “I can’t abide people going on with an attitude like that. Tiatto will be fined the maximum I can. It was stupid and I won’t put up with it. Those sort of players are no good to anybody. It was a bad tackle and it had been against one of my players I would have been livid. It was so unprofessional and as far as I am concerned he wasn’t here today – and I have told him so. I sent on Goater and Tiatto but had no idea Danny’s idea of giving us a lift was to be sent off.” By Tuesday Tiatto was certainly contrite. “I didn’t get a chance to speak to David after the game but I would like to apologise to him,” Tiatto said. “There’s no way that I intended to hurt him and I would like him to know that. It was a bad tackle. I accept that and I know I let the club and the rest of the players down.” The Australian’s three-match suspension encompasses the Worthington Cup clash with Crewe on Tuesday 1 October, followed by the Premiership games at Southampton on Saturday 5 October and at home to Chelsea two weeks later.

Be Ruthless! Presumably Tiatto’s actions were not what the Boss Man had in mind when he had called for City to be more ruthless. Speaking before the Blackburn game, KK said he was worried that the Blues were getting a reputation as pushovers. He said: “The last thing in the world we want is for people to say nice things about us, pat us on the head and then pack us away. We need to be more ruthless.” After the game, KK had mixed feelings over the performance: “Apart from two or three outstanding individual performances, we weren’t playing well as a team, so the character we showed to pull back was impressive,” said Keegan. “The contrast between the attitudes of Shaun Goater and Danny Tiatto couldn’t have been more marked. Shaun has more of a case for being annoyed than Danny but he came on with a positive approach, which is exactly what I expected. We are shooting ourselves in the foot with silly mistakes but the great thing about most of them is their commitment. This is the place to be for action, that’s for sure,” he added. “There is no doubt about it that these players do not know when they are beaten,” he said. “I love working with these players and I know we will get better and more used to Nicolas Anelka who is an absolute gem of a player. I thought we had a few outstanding players in what was a very poor team performance. I thought Jihai Sun was excellent along with Sylvain Distin and you also have to put Peter Schmeichel in that category. The rest of them had little spells when they did ok but they didn’t really come to life until the last ten minutes. We didn’t play with any conviction.” KK had little sympathy for Blackburn and Graeme Souness. “Their inability to keep the ball cost them,” he said. “I have no sympathy for him. This is dog-eat-dog.”

No Bleating From The Goat: KK explained his selection of Chris Shuker, and paid tribute to the Goat. “I gave Chris Shuker a start before Shaun as I just felt that he deserved it. We have got some youngsters at this club and we have to have a look at them,” explained the boss. “Shaun didn’t take the attitude that he had been left out but should have been playing. He went on and stated his case in the only way he can and that is going out there and scoring goals. That is all you expect players to do as professionals.” The Goat meanwhile is keen to make the starting line up after his goalscoring endeavours on Sunday. “If the manager is saying he has not found the ideal partner for Nicolas then that is good news for me because I feel I have not had a real go yet,” said the Bermudian. “On Sunday I knew I had enough time to come on, try to lift the team and make a difference and coincidentally I managed to score. I need games to reach my peak of sharpness and match fitness. Hopefully the goal will have done my cause the power of good. I wanted to go out there and give the manager a selection headache as all players do when they are not in the side. I am a team player. I have belief in the gaffer,” stressed Goater. “He is a tremendous manager and he decided to go with Chris and I believe that was the right decision for the day. I am just trying to keep myself in the best shape possible so when I do get an opportunity I end up taking it. Hopefully, that is what I did on Sunday.”

Berko The Man: Sky TV made Eyal Berkovic the man of the match on Sunday, following his contribution to both City goals. “We started a little bit slow in the first half,” admitted Berkovic afterwards, “but in the second we performed better and overall I think we deserved a draw. We played better in the second half and created chances, but today we are happy with the draw. I am always optimistic if we play good football we will create chances and score. I said at half time it was important for us not to lose at home, and the supporters played their part with their encouragement,” he added. Earlier Graeme Souness admitted that he sometimes regrets not signing Berko when the Israeli was on loan at Ewood Park two years ago. “At the time, there was only enough money for either Eyal or Tugay and I went for Tugay simply because he would fit into a 4-4-2 system better than Eyal. It was a straight choice between the two. I just felt that I would have to play 3-5-2 to accommodate Eyal and I wasn’t keen to do that at the time.” Judging by Tugay’s half hearted show as a substitute on Sunday, City fans must be pleased at the choice Souness made.

Cheesed Off: Graeme Souness sounds like the kind of man who could give Sir Alex a lesson in ‘the hairdryer treatment’. He began venting his spleen on Sky TV. “At 2-0 up and City down to 10 men the game was over. Their two goals were avoidable. If Dwight Yorke could run the extra five yards on their free-kick… and for the second goal we were done on a one-two by a left-sided defender. We were not prepared to put in the extra yard of effort. When it really, really mattered we couldn’t dig in. I could not begin to describe my frustration. Mine is as high as anyone else’s could be. They raised their game at 10 men. I’m disappointed and frustrated because three points have escaped us. What happens on a hot day is you get tired. The brain takes over and tells you ‘my legs are not tired.’ We do not have enough people who can do that, I can’t do that for them. I am so cheesed off.” Not content with these observations, Souness later added, “It was an entertaining game but we were s**t at the end. To give two goals away like that is extremely frustrating and disappointing. I find it amazing.”

A Richard Dunne Special

The Boy Dunne Good: The news week began so well for Richard Dunne, with KK singing his praises. “Richard has done absolutely nothing wrong, nothing at all,” Keegan declared. “His only problem is that Jihai Sun has done so well from the moment we came back for pre-season. Sun has been terrific and has said from day one ‘you can’t afford to leave me out’. Richard has just got to keep his head down and keep going. So far his training has been excellent, his attitude excellent and his time-keeping excellent. We are going to need him, he is going to get games but he has to be patient. He is still a young player and we talk to him all the time. It is important that Dunney keeps his head up and keeps training right.”

Career Down The Dunnie? Things had changed somewhat by Sunday. With Steve Howey unfit for the Blackburn game, it was assumed that Dunne would be in the starting line up. Instead, Mikkel Bischoff made his début at centre half, while Chris Bird made the following terse statement: “Manchester City have suspended Richard Dunne for a serious breach of club discipline pending further consideration by the club.” After the game, when pressed on the Dunne situation, KK would only say that “We will have a board meeting to discuss the matter next week. It is something to do with club discipline but I’ll leave you to fill in the bits. We will give more details later in the week.” He then added with heavy significance, “It is not his first breach of club rules but it might be the last. We’ll see what we can do.” Dunne has been warned before about his off field activities by the Boss Man, and Everton websites report that Walter Smith had his fair share of disciplinary problems with the Irishman. The player’s agent, former England footballer Trevor Steven, was reported to be pleading with the City board to allow his man yet another last chance.

The Solution: We may never know if Steven’s appeals paid off, or whether City wanted to avoid a Dennis Wise situation. Whatever the reasons, City put out the following statement on Wednesday. “Following a meeting on Wednesday morning between Manchester City Manager Kevin Keegan, Directors John Wardle (Deputy Chairman), Dennis Tueart, PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor and Manchester City defender Richard Dunne the following actions have been agreed:
1. A decision has been taken not to terminate Richard Dunne’s contract with the Football Club.
2. Manchester City have imposed the maximum fine of 2 weeks’ wages.
3. Additionally, a specialist training programme will be carried out by the player.
Richard Dunne has accepted the seriousness of his situation having had similar disciplinary problems in the past. The PFA will now work together with Manchester City Football Club to assist Richard Dunne during this training period and to help him work towards achieving the goals he has set himself.” Thursday’s Daily Express reckoned that Dunne had to agree to enter a rehab programme, to move from Formby to Manchester, and (hardest of all?) lose 2 stone. “Sending Richard away from the club was the worst thing I could do. This is probably a time when it would have been very easy to dismiss him and to get him out of here. But it is probably a time when he needs a bit of help,” stressed the manager. “We have had an excellent meeting with the PFA on Wednesday morning and with the Vice Chairman and we have decided to give it a go. Dunnie is going to come in earlier than everyone else and he is going to do some training in the afternoons as well. We are going to get him very fit. He wants to be a player, he loves this club but there are one or two things he has to put in order and he has promised to do that. We have promised to help him all we can so we shall see where we go from here.”

Squad News

Wanted: Partner For An Elk: Speaking after the Blackburn game, KK made it clear that he is seeking a partner for Nicolas Anelka (in the football sense at least). “If we can’t find someone within the club we may well go outside when the transfer window opens,” said Keegan. “I have one or two combinations still to try. Shaun is one of those, as is Jon Macken and Paulo Wanchope. I will get that chance and it is important to get it right because Nicolas is such a wonderful player. His work rate was outstanding. Even when things were not going his way he never gave up.” Earlier in the week, Anelka revealed how he had been practising his dead-ball shooting, supervised by none other than Stuart Pearce. Psycho is impressed by Anelka’s work. “He hits the ball harder than I ever could, that’s for sure,” said Psycho. “You do not have to be muscle bound to crack a free-kick, it is all about technique and Nicolas has an abundance of it. It is not until you work with a player that you realise just what he has in his locker and watching Nicolas on the training ground it was clear that he has an exceptionally powerful shot on him. My job really is just to watch him and encourage him to have the confidence to grab the ball when we get a free kick and have the confidence to say he is going to have a pop at goal. Even though the strike against Everton was ruled an own goal it was great to see his work paying off at such an early stage.”

New Year For Jon: Jon Macken’s knee problem has finally been diagnosed and treated. The £5 million man had two scans on the troublesome limb, but the results were inconclusive. Now a third examination has found a piece of floating bone in the knee which had a tendency to settle back in place, thus explaining the intermittent pain that Macken suffered. The floater has been removed by an operation, and all being well the ex-Preston man will be back in first team action after Christmas.

Terry Stays: Canadian midfielder Terry Dunfield has had his loan spell extended into a second month at nearby Bury. Dunfield has been in impressive form for the Shakers in the last four weeks, although Bury manager Andy Preece may well rest Dunfield this week. “I’m delighted Terry has decided to stay with us because he has done really well,” said Preece. “But he is learning the difference between regular first team football and playing in City’s reserves. It’s only natural he is going to feel tired because it’s all new to him.”

The Great Dane: Niclas Jensen has been impressed by the start made in goals by Danish legend Peter Schmeichel. “He made some magnificent saves against Newcastle, Villa and Everton,” said Jensen, “Obviously it is a little special for me playing in front of him having always looked up to him as a youngster.” How has Jensen coped with Schmikes’ verbal, err, opinions? “Shouting is part of his game, it is what keeps him involved and we all accept that,” commented the wing back. “Often he is not just shouting for the sake of it because he can see the play as well as anyone from the back and he reads the game really well. He has an aura on the pitch that is for sure but off it, in the dressing room and when we are not playing, he is just like any other player joining in with the banter and giving out and taking stick. Peter is a born winner and he has been around at the highest level for what seems ages.” Back at Schmeichel’s last club, Aston Villa Boss Graham “Turnip” Taylor cannot resist making the odd dig in Red Nose’s direction. Taylor reckoned that centre-back Olof Mellberg is having a good season, because Schmeichel isn’t shouting at him any more. “Olof has been absolutely superb for us this season and has hardly put a foot wrong. I watched him for most of last season and it was apparent that Olof was a different sort of person from Peter Schmeichel. Peter is a great player, a legend who is still playing very well for Manchester City, but there were occasions when he would rollick Olof and I don’t think he is particularly receptive to that. I think Olof reacts to having someone with a quieter approach behind him. Certainly he has been superb this season.” It was therefore interesting to watch Schmeichel’s replacement, Peter Enckelman concede a Dibble-esque own goal in the Birmingham derby on Monday night. The ‘keeper let a throw in from (guess who) Mellberg slip under his foot and into the net. Nice one, Graham! Schmeichel is obviously not the sort to gloat (unlike this News Editor, of course). The Dane reportedly telephoned Enckelman the next day to commiserate and give advice to the Finnish ‘keeper.

Alfie and Roy… and Eamon

Deadline Extended: The Football Association has extended the deadline for Roy Keane to answer two disrepute charges, following a request from Cork’s finest. Keane has until 5pm on Friday to respond. The ghostwriter on Keane’s magnum opus, Eamon Dunphy has revealed that he has turned over taped transcripts of interviews with Keano, to be used in his defence. Dunphy went on to add, “Roy has done a service to Manchester United fans, to Irish fans and to people who buy the book. He hasn’t been one of those players who has deceived people by producing a book which says nothing. The public does deserve a sense of what the game is really like as opposed to the kind of fairytales they are frequently offered. If you are going to tell your life story, then tell it. There is nothing horrid in the book, there is no kiss and tell, there is no damning of colleagues – apart from the Irish situation.”

Alfie’s New Hope: Alfie Haaland has received encouraging news about the treatment of his knee injury. Amid fears that Haaland would have to retire, an American specialist has suggested a pain management course for the Norwegian, which takes in psychology, massage and chiropractic techniques. It seems that a third operation on the damaged knee might lead to permanent immobility in later life.

And Finally…

I don’t want the News Summary to become a Redsfest, but I thought we could all enjoy the following report in Wednesday’s Guardian newspaper:

Ferguson’s Maccabi mix-up: (Daniel Taylor, Wednesday September 18, 2002). It is the burning question in football: is Sir Alex Ferguson losing the plot? Mysterious team selections, puzzling signings and volcanic outbursts have all been a feature of Manchester United’s worst start to a Premiership season and even his most ardent fans might waver after his extraordinary faux pas yesterday. Before United’s first ever match with Maccabi Haifa tonight, Ferguson was holding a press briefing at Old Trafford when Lilach Sonin, presenter of the Israeli television channel Sports Five Plus, asked him his views on their opponents. “We’ve watched their videos,” said United’s manager. “Israeli football has improved a lot and beating Lokomotiv Moscow, Parma and AC Milan last season was a big step up. We know we cannot underestimate them.” There was an awkward silence. “I think you are speaking about a different team now,” said Sonin. “They’ve made changes?” asked Ferguson. “No, you are talking about a different team – Hapoel Tel Aviv.” Glowing the same colour as Peter Schmeichel’s nose, Ferguson admitted he was confused: “I’m sorry, I’ve got it wrong.” He tried to laugh it off but the Israelis were not amused, especially as he had made the same mistake in a briefing for Sunday papers last Friday. One visiting reporter told Ferguson at the start yesterday that it was a historic day for Israeli football and pointed out there were more United fans in his country than of their opponents. The game’s live screening in Israel is expected to break ratings there for a sports event. This briefing was also being televised in Israel. “I’m embarrassed for him,” Sonin said later. “He didn’t seem to know which team United were playing. Yet he’s the manager, isn’t he? Hapoel Tel Aviv finished second last season in the league and are Maccabi Haifa’s main rivals. They beat Chelsea, Lokomotiv Moscow and Parma in the Uefa Cup last season and lost to AC Milan. But Mr Ferguson did not seem to know the difference. People back home will be very disappointed.” Until now Ferguson had been best known in Israel as a player. He broke the nose of their star, Mordechai Spiegler, in a Scotland game in Tel Aviv in 1967.

OPINION: MR T AND THE DUNNYMONSTER

I have just read the statement on the website regarding Richard Dunne and his breach of discipline. I believe that we should have sacked him without any of this meeting nonsense as he has proved he cannot be relied on.

My bet is that in 4 months’ time on the eve of an important match he will once again let down the club and the supporters, knowing that Gordon Taylor, in an effort to justify his £700,000 a year, will back the player and prevent the club from taking justified action. If I ambled into work next Monday still drunk I would be dismissed immediately, I know this and I don’t do it.

The most positive thing to emerge from the incident is that Mikkel Bischoff has been given a chance. If the same amount of time is invested in him as has been wasted on Dunne we will be left with a quality player.

When KK took over there were the warnings that drink culture would not be tolerated. Weaver, Whitely and Dunne have proved that these were just words and that the club still has no spine.

I am one Danny’s his biggest fans, at least I was until Sunday. It’s time to look what money has been offered for this player and cash in on his diminishing value. To have a player on the bench or in the starting 11 that will be lucky to finish a game cannot be accepted. The coaches at the club need to look at their methods as an alarming number of players, Tiatto, Mettomo and Shuker have all demonstrated their ability to dive in with 2 feet.

OPINION: MR T

I saw Danny Tiatto sent off in this game and it brought back memories of New Zealand vs. Australia at Wellington. A World Cup qualifier. Danny was sent off less than 2 minutes after he came on the field with a vicious tackle on Manchester City team mate Chris Killen. Is this a coincidence or is it a lack of discipline? I feel Danny needs to be dropped from the 1st team until he can be trusted to stay on the field for the whole game. City does not need thugs in the team.

OPINION: THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES

What another outstanding performance from Jihai Sun or Sun Jihai (you choose) at the weekend; I must be honest I was a bit unsure at the end of last season when, in the brief appearances he made, I thought he was auditioning as an extra in the Karate Kid 4 as he seemed to jump in at every tackle!

As KK has said he has settled into his surroundings now and looks more accomplished each time he plays, I think that the partnership with Distin gets better each game although personally I would like Mettomo to replace Howey when he is fit and keep those three as the regular defence; I appreciate what Howey has given to the club but think that he lacks the speed to cope with the Premiership today.

As an aside, what is the name of that track, which consists mainly of drums, that plays shortly before the Blues come out? [Check the McV FAQ John, the answer is there! – Ed]

OPINION: FROM BLUE TO RED?

I recently heard a question on the radio asking for 3 players to have moved from Manchester City to Manchester United. I can think of one at the moment – Tony Coton. Can anyone out there think of any more?

OPINION: IS IT ME OR THEM?

Having been the butt of a running joke for 10 years re my attendance at matches and City’s inability to win, I have decided to buck the trend and go to as many games as possible this year.

It’s early doors, but record so far is not good:

City when I don’t have a ticket:
P4 W2 D0 L2 6 POINTS

City when I do have a ticket:
P2 W0 D1 L1 1 POINT

We should be safe at West Ham as it’s sold out. How long dare I leave it until I reimpose my exile?

Having been to Highbury and Maine Road on Sunday, a few observations. Outsinging the Arsenal was tremendous, especially the fat lad who got the brunt of abuse at the end. Being a London based Blue, it was good to be able to hold my head up when returning to work the next day. Indeed, many Gooners were surprised at how we played. The biggest compliment being, “nobody comes to Highbury and plays like that. It was like we were the away side waiting to hit City on the break.” I think that’s slightly over egging the pudding, and I’m not sure how pleasant the tube ride home would have been, had Foe scored that last minute header, but all in all very good.

The reverse was true on Sunday, with the team second to everything in midfield and the scraps round the edge of the box. Ali seemed strangely subdued, and the team was languid and sleepy (apart from Tiatto obviously!).

There were some positives to come out of the game though. Jihai Sun is getting better every week. Berko seems to be coming back into his own, and despite the poverty of the performance, there were no boos which was rewarded with two very well crafted and taken goals. I guess they just need to keep generating that “Arsenal” spark as not all will be as generous as Blackburn.

Finally, before the match I went out to see the new stadium. I was pleased and surprised to be let in by the security guard at the gate to take a photograph, but he said all he does all day is let Blues in for a sneak preview! As football fans can be a parochial bunch, it’s great to see everyone so enthusiastic about the move.

I’m from Yorkshire and fell in love with your town and City in 1986, so I cannot claim to fully understand but I will say this. Maine Road is special because of the Blues who have graced the pitch and the stands since 1923. It’s up to us to continue this into the new era.

OPINION: BIRMINGHAM

Birmingham City have been forced to reduce their prices in the away section of the ground from £35 to £25.

Birmingham were in breach of fabarclaycardpremiership rules and the fabarclaycardpremiership responded quickly to the MCSC London Branch campaign by forcing them to reduce prices with immediate effect. That’s good news for us but not such good news for Blackburn, Leeds and Villa fans who’ve already shelled out £35.

[And their inflated prices for extra stewarding/policing showed how effective that was on Monday! – Ed]

REQUEST: CITY GOALS DOWNLOADS

I have eventually managed to find the time to get the citygoals site up and running for the 2002/03 season. May I firstly apologise to those who wanted the site at the start of the season – work commitments simply allowed me little or not time to spend on the site. I have now redesigned the site and have gone for the no-nonsense approach. I have so far managed to get the goals on-line for the Everton and Newcastle games – I do hope to get the goals from the other games up soon. Blackburn goals will be available from 16/09.

Again the site is dedicated to those ex-pats who need their fix of City on a regular basis. My aim is to get the goals on-line and available for download within 24 hours (48 max). This year I have opted for files in mpeg format – if this is a problem for anyone then please let me know – it can be changed.

If you haven’t visited the site yet is free for all and no registration is required – simply pop by and download video files of the goals for all the games, watch them, save them, mail them, enjoy them.

http://www.citygoals.com/ – Download those all-important goals.

BLUE HUMOUR: A Note from Our IT Department

Please watch out for the following viruses:

• The Manchester United Virus… This is where your PC thinks it’s farsuperior than any other PC and develops a memory disorder, forgettinganything that happened before 1993.
• The David Beckham Virus… This affects newer PC’s mainly. The computerlooks great, all the lights are on, but nothing works.
• The Roy Keane Virus… This one is particularly nasty and will cripple your PC.
• The Alex Ferguson Virus… The computer develops a continuous whiningnoise and the on screen clock runs a lot faster or slower (depending on howyour day’s been), than all the other computers in the building.
• The Fabien Barthez Virus… This one’s not particularly harmful – but you just can’t save anything.
• The Neville Bros. Virus… Just when you think things can’t get any worse, this one pops up and causes a calamitous error.
• The Ryan Giggs Virus… The computer develops a processor problem, wherebyit thinks it’s better than it actually is. It also experiences dramatic fluctuation in performance.
• The Luke Chadwick Virus… This is a particularly ugly one.
• The Paul Scholes Virus… which works fine for the European market, but somehow fails to perform in Japan.
• The Laurent Blanc Virus… which is too slow for modern processes, the lackof speed makes you look in disbelief at your monitor.

WHY I’M ALMOST BLUE

Although a lifelong Chelsea supporter – we all have our foibles – some of my best friends are City fans, and I’ve learned a lot about the club and its history. I think it’s fair to say that I’ve always had a soft spot for the ground too – my other half (himself a City boy) is sick of being harassed by me about going to one last game before you move!

I try to be the first to congratulate when City do well, commiserate when they don’t, and can always find ten minutes to discuss team tactics for the next big game. Until…

Two weeks ago, when discussing the best approach against Arsenal, I made the mistake of referring to City as “we”. Apparently, I’m now a convert. Hmmmm… not sure about that. There’s too much of my heart at Stamford Bridge. But clearly a chunk of my heart has headed up the motorway and is now firmly resident at Maine Road.

I just wondered if there was an entrance exam I had to sit before I get honorary status. I’ve already passed the “can’t stand Man United or Millwall” paper, if that’s any help!

RESULTS

Recent results from 16 September 2002 to 18 September 2002 inclusive.

16 September 2002

Birmingham City       3 - 0  Aston Villa           29,505

League table to 18 September 2002 inclusive.

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Arsenal          6  3  0  0  9  3  1  2  0  6  3  4  2  0  15   6   9  14
 2 Tottenham H.     6  3  0  0  6  3  1  1  1  5  5  4  1  1  11   8   3  13
 3 Leeds United     6  2  0  1  4  1  2  0  1  6  3  4  0  2  10   4   6  12
 4 Chelsea          6  1  2  0  6  3  2  1  0  7  5  3  3  0  13   8   5  12
 5 Liverpool        6  1  2  0  7  4  2  1  0  6  4  3  3  0  13   8   5  12
 6 Fulham           5  2  0  0  7  3  1  1  1  5  3  3  1  1  12   6   6  10
 7 West Brom A.     6  2  0  1  3  3  1  0  2  3  6  3  0  3   6   9  -3   9
 8 Middlesbrough    6  2  1  0  6  2  0  1  2  1  3  2  2  2   7   5   2   8
 9 Birmingham City  6  2  0  1  5  2  0  2  1  3  5  2  2  2   8   7   1   8
10 Manchester Utd   6  2  0  1  2  1  0  2  1  3  4  2  2  2   5   5   0   8
11 Everton          6  1  2  0  5  4  1  0  2  2  4  2  2  2   7   8  -1   8
12 Manchester City  6  2  1  0  6  3  0  0  3  1  6  2  1  3   7   9  -2   7
13 Blackburn R.     6  0  2  1  4  5  1  1  1  3  3  1  3  2   7   8  -1   6
14 Bolton Wndrs     5  1  0  2  4  5  1  0  1  2  4  2  0  3   6   9  -3   6
15 Aston Villa      6  2  0  1  3  1  0  0  3  0  5  2  0  4   3   6  -3   6
16 Charlton Ath.    6  0  0  3  2  7  2  0  1  4  3  2  0  4   6  10  -4   6
17 Southampton      6  1  2  0  2  1  0  0  3  1  6  1  2  3   3   7  -4   5
18 Sunderland       6  0  1  2  1  5  1  1  1  1  3  1  2  3   2   8  -6   5
19 Newcastle Utd    5  1  0  1  4  2  0  1  2  2  6  1  1  3   6   8  -2   4
20 West Ham United  5  0  1  2  2  5  0  0  2  2  7  0  1  4   4  12  -8   1

MCIVTA FAQ [v0203.04]

[0] How do I contact MCIVTA?

 Articles (Heidi Pickup)        : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org

 News/rumour (Don Barrie)       : news@mcivta.city-fan.org

 Subscriptions (Geoff Donkin)   : subscriptions@mcivta.city-fan.org

 Technical problems (Paul)      : paul@city-fan.org

 FAQ (David Warburton)          : faq@mcivta.city-fan.org

Comments concerning this FAQ should be sent to David Warburton using the address: mcivtafaq@warburton.org

[1] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

Deadlines for issues are nominally Monday and Thursday evenings.

[2] MCIVTA Back Issues and Manchester City Supporters’ home page

http://www.uit.no/mancity/ is the unofficial Manchester City Supporters’ home page. Created in 1994, it is the longest running of the Manchester City related web sites. Back issues of MCIVTA are also hosted on the site.

[3] What is the club’s official web site?

The official club web site can be found at http://www.mcfc.co.uk/

[4] What supporters’ clubs are there?

Manchester City FC recognises three supporters’ clubs: The “Official Supporters Club” (http://www.mancity.net/osc/index.html); the “Centenary Supporters’ Association” (http://www.callnetuk.com/home/sef/) and “The International Supporters’ Club” (http://www.mcfc.co.uk/extra/fanzone/isc.asp)

[5] Where can I find out about the fans’ committee?

The Fans’ Committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. It has its own website, http://www.mcfc-fans.com/ containing info about forthcoming meetings as well as minutes from previous gatherings.

[6] Where can I find information about our new stadium?

The latest information regarding the progress of our new home can be found at http://www.mcfc.co.uk/stadnews.asp

[7] What match day broadcasts are available on the web?

Live match commentaries and archives of games, reports and interviews can be found here: http://www.mcfc.co.uk/comment.asp. An alternate live commentary service, hosted by Yahoo, is located at: http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/foot/audio/live/schedule/index.html.

[8] Are City’s goals available on the net?

http://www.citygoals.com/ has available for download, usually within 24-48 hours of a game being played, all the goals from City’s recent matches.

[9] What’s the music the teams run out to?

The music we run out to at Maine Road is “Nightmare” by Brainbug and is available on the Positiva label.

[10] Acknowledgements

Thanks go to John Arnold for providing the information regarding match day music and to Ian Bell for pointing out the alternate live match commentary service.

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.

Heidi Pickup, heidi@mcivta.freeserve.co.uk

Editor: