Newsletter #851

Predictably Michael Owen found his scoring boots and let us know with a hat-trick as Liverpool nicked the 3 points on Saturday. A bizarre game as many individuals put in sterling performances and despite outweighing Liverpool in terms of possession we were unable to do anything with it. At one point it took 4 City players to retrieve the ball from Owen.

Tonight we have two excellent match reports thanks to James and Svenn, opinion on tactics, Danny, the usual requests and an excellent Why Blue. Tomorrow evening sees us entertain Crewe Alex as we commence our Worthington Cup campaign, and tickets are available on the night.

This goes out to 3,300, and we welcome a new subscriber from sunny Mauritius to the ranks.

MATCH REPORT ‘LIVE’: MCFC 0 LIVERPOOL 3

It didn’t help that I wasn’t confident beforehand (neither was the normally ultra confident Andy ‘3/4 nil City win’ Stoneley); as with Arsenal I would have been pleased with a draw, but like Arsenal we came away empty handed. City lined up with Huckerby replacing the suspended Benarbia, but otherwise it was the same side that started against West Ham. Before I start with some match observations I would like to apologise for my criticism in recent weeks of Eyal Berkovic. I was corrected by a number of City fans who said that I’d been watching different matches to them and (to quote Stuart Hall I think) “Asking Berkovic to tackle is a bit like asking John Prescott to walk to work”. Oh yes and a special thumbs up to James Nash for getting served the quickest!

City kicked off from Platt Lane to North and enjoyed good possession, with Berkovic controlling things in midfield. However, with 5 minutes gone Sun tried a back header to Schmeichel; seeing as how Sun was well outside the box and without eyes in the back of his head the ball was easy for Owen to pick up on, but fortunately his shot was well saved by Schmeichel for a corner. The resulting corner saw Distin and Howey fail to head it clear, before Horlock headed it to Jensen, who smashed the ball against Howey, and thus the ball fell into the path of Owen who scored from almost on the goal line. The whole Liverpool bench rose as one, including Bignose who decided that 5 at the back might be a good way to counter the mighty Blues.

With Liverpool resorting to tactics that saw them do so well last season (despite boring everyone to death) City had plenty of possession, but without Benarbia the team seemed to lack the killer pass. SWeeP had a good run down the right (making Heskey look like the one of the Premiership’s most overrated players) but his cross was inexplicably missed by Huckerby, who swung a boot at the ball but seemed to miss it completely.

Anelka tried his luck with a lovely long-range shot that just curled wide of Jersey’s (sic) left hand post. Yet despite good pressure City were being well marshalled by Hyypia and Traore, with Murphy and Hamann supplying excellent additional cover.

Half time saw me nip for a pastie, so no comments on Mooney in the penalty shoot-out or who did the half-time draw. Quite what they make the pasties out of is beyond me, but it retains heat so well they should make winter coats out of it.

Second-half saw City again dominating possession but again it broke down in front of the Liverpool defence. Horlock did, however, manage to fashion a lovely left foot drive that Jersey spilt into the path of Berkovic, but Eyal decided to roll it back to the Scouse ‘keeper rather than chipping it for Anelka to knock home, or even finishing himself. Goater came on for Huckerby, although I wasn’t convinced as if he’d got into the game Darren may have caused them all sorts of problems. As it was Goater’s main work was done dropping back to defend on the odd occasion that Liverpool fancied finally increasing their lead. With City pressing it came as no surprise that it was Liverpool who got a second and on the hour, Owen raced free of Sun who snapped at his heels but was unable to prevent him from lofting the ball over Schmeichel for 2-0. There was a suspicion of offside about the goal but later replays proved Owen had timed his run to perfection, with Distin playing him onside. City almost came back into the match but Foe managed to head another cross over the top; this time he knocked the ball into the ground, where it ballooned over the bar for a goal kick. Next time he gets a header in that position I think he’s on 3rd time lucky?

Shuker came on for Howey as City tried in vain to get back into the match. You have to feel sorry for him as he was never going to really get into this sort of match, and at Blackburn no one really helped him out. Carragher then decided to lie on the ball without touching it with his hands, quite a good game, but Paul Durkin (who I was informed has the Rag team poster on his wall at home – from someone who knows his wife who was in the hairdressers and mentioned it) spoilt all his fun by giving an indirect free-kick to City in the penalty area. Anelka struck the ball laid to him by Berkovic but Jersey managed to save the shot.

Gerrard then managed to stop Shuker’s run into the box with his arm but Durkin waved play-on. So from Gerrard’s long ball, Owen ran clear of Sun before smashing the ball home off the right-hand post. An Owen hat trick and the City fans fled home as Pearce (sat in the Main Stand) looked on in disbelief.

We’ve now made defensive mistakes against Leeds (Nash’s fault for one of them), Villa (SWeeP not clearing the ball), Arsenal (SWeeP & Jensen not tracking back and playing people on-side), Blackburn (messing about with it on the edge of the box) and now the Mickey Mousers. Without a recognised partner for Anelka and without cutting these little errors out of our game we face a long, long season scrapping for points.

To make matters worth I was stood in the Chinese on Saturday night (The Ming Chef down Hercules Street, Darlington for anyone who wants to know); and as always there are kids messing about in front of you; when It suddenly dawned on me that the smallest of the two was wearing a red shirt, with Owen plastered on the back of it. Fortunately I made a restrained dignified exit and popped next door for a bottle of Dandelion & Burdock to drown my sorrows.

MATCH REPORT ‘TV’: MCFC 0 LIVERPOOL 3

It’s 4 pm. I’m sitting in a crowded, smoky bar. 150 people are sipping their beers, chewing on their chips or chatting over the newspaper. Some youngsters in the corner are eagerly flapping on their mobile phones, calling their comrades. It’s match day.

Suddenly all the faces are turned towards the wall. The big screen is lighted and the green grass of Maine Road is shown. I wish I was there, but alas. I have to put up with 120 Liverpool fans in a crowded room instead. And I don’t even smoke. The lights are turned down low. The youngsters in the corner turn on the lights on their mobiles. They shrug over the papers in front of them. The bets are on.

My nephew is sitting next to me, wearing his brand new City strip. I can see he’s proud to wear the airborne outfit even though 90% of the room are Reds. An Arsenal fan comes over. “Good to see you guys in Blue” he says. “Hope you trash them. Did you watch the game earlier today?” I hadn’t, but I heard that Arsenal thrashed Leeds 4-1. We did better when we visited Highbury.

Benarbia was suspended. This is Berkovic’s afternoon I thought. And so it was, until Owen crushed it. The big Dane at the back looked confident. A back three with him behind them is more worth than 5 defenders with any other goalkeeper. He saves the first from Owen but even he couldn’t save us when Horlock, Jensen and Howey fail in succession on the following corner.

The crowd goes bananas. I look towards my nephew, he looks back, uneasy with all the shouting and jumping around him. He doesn’t seem to quite catch what the fuss is all about. City are down, and the game hasn’t even started.

The City players look like going for a fresh start. “Forget that goal”, I say, “now City will take over and Liverpool will slip back into their own half”. I was right of course, but it wasn’t going to last.

City play well. I think to myself that today’s defenders are much more confident with the ball. They receive and pass the ball much better than any City defence I have seen lately. Distin is superb. Sun has been very consistent, and on the right Wright-Phillips shows both pace and technique. But the leader is Berkovic. I can feel the Red crowd crumble when he gets the ball and turns away Carragher, Berger or Riise. He never loses the ball and is enjoying his hour in the spotlight. Without Benarbia running the show, he is free, free as a bird.

But Berkovic also shows us his weak spot. He’s too fond of the ball. He seldom sets up passes for the strikers to run at, and with the pace of Huckerby and Anelka up front he should really have tried more often to put a ball behind the back-four. That’s where Benarbia is so cool; he can do that within the blink of an eye.

City earn their chances the hard way during the first half. They face a wall of Reds and when they approach the box it’s locked down. Wright-Phillips manages to cut between the defenders and his pass is aimed dangerously towards Huckerby but a Liverpool leg comes in between. Then it’s Jensen and Berkovic on the left, the ball is cut back for Huckerby, and his shot/pass scrambles between the defenders and the goalkeeper, but Anelka just can’t find it at the back post. Then Anelka unleashes a cracking shot that Dudek is miles from catching. The ball almost shaves the paint from the post, but goes wide.

City never manage to take advantage of their dominance in the field. Berkovic, Foe, Huckerby and Wright-Phillips make the Liverpool midfield look like statues. The ball is distributed swiftly and then punched into a Liverpool box overcrowded with red shirts. If this is Houllier’s tactics it may work on away ground but the Kop will kill them if they play like this at home. But the tactics produce acers for Michael Owen to run at, and today he doesn’t miss.

Nine minutes into the second half we get the second blow. Even Mahler couldn’t have conducted it better. Owen lurks just beside Distin and Sun never catches the striker when he races clear from the centre line. Schmeichel advances but the ball finds its way into the net. I look towards my nephew. “This is just like the Blackburn game, 0-2 down and then we bag the equalizer in the dying minutes”. The news didn’t seem to relax him noteworthy.

At this point the game slows down. The crowd sighs and boos whenever Liverpool get the ball and don’t look interested in going forward. Most of the time the Reds just play the ball back and forth. And then the long ball is hauled into the City half. Sad story, but effective.

Foe was to get the best City chance of the game. A corner finds its way to the Cameroon man’s head and he nods it down powerfully, too powerfully it proves. It bounces harmlessly over the bar. Then City got a free kick inside the Liverpool penalty area. Anelka shoots, but Dudek is there.

A guy passes me with a beer in his hand. He pats my back in sympathy. “Cheer up mate” he says, “it’s still time”. Yes it is, and now Goater is coming on. Huckerby leaves the field after a good run out, but goalless once again. Then Shuker is brought on for Howey as Keegan throws in all he has left. Where’s Kerkar I wonder. Surely he must have seen that Berkovic is knackered by now?

Schmeichel goes for the attack. He hasn’t been tested much during the game. The defence has played really well most of the time. Only twice have they let him down, but one is still to go. Schmeichel looks ready to dominate both halves. If he just could have brushed Dudek away and proclaimed both ends of Maine Road as his.

Then it happens again. A long ball finds Owen. He turns away Sun and smashes the ball in via the post. Schmeichel is furious, but it’s over.

It’s 5:50 pm. We are standing outside in the rain. A growing pain behind my eyes reminds me where I just have been. People are passing me in the street, hurrying to somewhere I don’t know. We walk towards my car. I glance towards my nephew, his new shirt protected by a dark, hooded sweater. “I can’t believe that we lost that game 3-0. The players looked so cool, and we must have had the ball 60% of the time. But we didn’t create the chances.” He just stares back. I continue: “Owen hadn’t scored in his last 9 games or something, and see what happens. Lousy timing if you ask me.” He lifts his hood over his head. “You know what,” he says. “In CM I’m second in the Premiership with City.” I sigh and look up into the grey sky, there is always next week.

OPINION: TACTICAL NAÏVETE?

At the start of the season KK said that our squad was good enough to be “top six”, but after the Liverpool game he inferred that at least several players were not Premiership quality and that further purchases would be necessary in the New Year.

Well, after watching the Liverpool game on TV, I wonder the extent to which our current position is due to poor tactics rather than personnel? Attacking with flair and imagination are fine, but this cavalier approach has a down-side. In our haste to go forward, we seem to leave large gaps at the back. Contrast that with genuine top-six teams like Arsenal and Liverpool that defend with large numbers. How often this season have we conceded goals where one (or no) defenders are left scurrying after a forward bearing down on Schmeichel? in this sort of race, the opposing team are always going to be in with a fair chance of scoring. And after going 1-0 down what does KK do? more often than not, he ups the stakes by sending on attacking players at the expense of defenders, thus exposing us further to counter-attacks.

I’m a big fan of entertaining football but KK has to find the right balance between flair in attack and a more solid defence.

That off my chest, I’d like to agree with Simon Moorehead’s remarks in MCIVTA 849 on Marc-Vivien Foe. Midfielder general he most certainly is not. Foe gives the ball away too often and his wayward headers have cost at least two goals so far. I’d much rather see Horlock take his place in the starting line-up.

OPINION: CAR MINDING

Has anyone else noticed a recent trend in the Wilbraham Road area? If you attempt to park on a street for a home game, you are immediately surrounded by kids, mostly on BMX style bikes offering to “Mind your car?” Not so long ago, there was an odd one doing this, but latterly this seems to have grown out of all proportion – maybe they are attempting to cash in before their victims disappear next season to the Eastlands area? If you refuse to pay them, there are all sorts of veiled threats – it is almost like a protection racket! Not quite sure what you can do about it, only keep your fingers crossed that you do not return after the game to find a brick through your windscreen. I know the solution may be to use one of the schools which offers paid parking on their grounds – but you cannot always get in these. Any similar experiences?

OPINION: DANNY TO GO? NO!

Ditto the last comments about Danny going nowhere. The last time we were in the Premiership Danny was the player of the season, and now he needs to be discarded!?

Putting it into perspective, Danny’s record in terms of sending off’s since KK arrived is exactly the same as Ali B’s. Both players are class and we wouldn’t think of selling Ali, just as Arsene Wenger wont sell Viera and Taggart wont sell Alfie’s Best Mate.

Danny needs to just calm down a little to show KK what he can do, and when he gets a good run, nobody will be saying we should even consider getting rid of him. However, I for one would love to see him give Keane a legal ‘Hip Charge’ in the derby.

OPINION: BLUE TURKEY

I would like to thank Chris Coleshill for his ‘Satellite Euro Footy’ link (http://www.satfootball.com/) showing all the games and their carriers.

Thanks also goes to MCIVTA staff and contributors for providing such an entertaining and informative service.

Being alone here in Istanbul, although soon to be meeting up with Mike, and Jane… sorry Jane, almost left you out ; ) – all courtesy of MCIVTA) is there anyone around who can please tell us where we can find any of the satellite feeds here in Istanbul (European or Asian continents) that carry English football matches and City’s in particular?

It is incredibly frustrating that FOX only shows matches on the North American continent, and one of their executives told me that the rights for UK footy in Europe are held by StarTV (a Turkish channel that so far has had b***er-all by way of UK football which I’ve found – the odd goal highlight excluded). Digiturk seem to have gobbled up all manner of public bars and private business and don’t seem to have access to anything remotely watchable, unless you like live Chilean football. The season before Cine5 had live UK footy, but I think it’s gone now under the new deal. Am I missing something somewhere? Can anyone please provide any clues?

Finally, here is a link which some might have found already: The Roy Keane Gallery (published in the Guardian Online).

P.S. I know this is practically impossible, but if Mike and I can make it over in November, does anyone know how we might work a major miracle and get a ticket for the derby? I don’t ask for much do I?

OPINION: OZ’S IMAGINATION

I wouldn’t take anything Octavio Zambrano says too seriously. While Clint Mathis’ return from injury was a shaky one it was nothing like OZ (as Zambrano is known here in the States) describes. Mathis’s foul was also somewhat iffy, when replays showed that he barely touched the player. Mathis is not receiving treatment and has stated that he has no intention of doing so. With the Metrostars dismal performance this season it looks like OZ will have plenty of time to visit a psychologist to deal with his problems of unemployment. As a fan of the Metros it’s safe to say that OZ was not well liked by the players or the fans.

Keeping on the topic of Mathis, if he can return to his playing style prior to his ACL injury, he would be a perfect pick up for City. He can be signed on a free transfer because his contract expires next year and he’s stated he wants to move overseas.

REQUEST: CHELSEA TICKET

If anyone has one spare ticket for Chelsea anywhere, please could they let me know.

Thank you.

REQUEST: SOTON TICKETS

Desperately seeking 2 tickets for Southampton game – if you can help please call 020 7725 3224 (w) or 020 7731 6912 (h) or email.

REQUEST: SOTON TICKETS

I have 2 spare tickets for Saturday. Face value. Call 07976 422971 or email me at the address below.

REQUEST: SOTON TICKETS

Please can you help, I know it’s late notice, but due to work commitments I have 2 together in the City end for the game at St Marys.

REQUEST: SOTON VIEWING

I have been told by a good friend of mine that the City game at St. Marys on the 5th October is on Canal+, and as I am unable to get to the match I am planning watching it down the pub with a few mates and more than a few beers, but I am in a state of panic as the pub I knew that had this channel no longer shows the game (or it may just be the City games as I think they are Rags).

So my question to everyone on MCIVTA is does anybody know of a pub in town that has this channel so I can see the game?

WHY BLUE?

or the ramblings of a long-time Blue

After a lot of prompting from Don to write a “Why Blue”, I have finally put pen to paper. What started as a few paragraphs quickly expanded to such an extent that I have had to re-title it, hopefully not boring ramblings.

My first visits to Maine Road must have been around 1942/43. Nothing organised, just nicking in at three-quarter when the gates opened. With the crowds being large and me being small, I saw very little until I could burrow down to the front near the wall. It wasn’t until funds were available that I was able to pay to watch a full game, sitting on the wall at the Platt Lane End.

Though United were sharing our ground, it never occurred to me to go and watch them, except on derby days. All my friends, both at home and at Wilbraham Junior School, supported City. Thinking back, I can’t recall knowing a Red supporter. It wasn’t until I changed schools to Chorlton Central that to my amazement, I met lads who actually supported United. City though, was pre-ordained, long before I was born.

My father was a Glaswegian, Rangers supporting, shipyard worker who played, I am told, to a pretty high standard for Clydebank. Unfortunately like many of his contemporaries in the early 1920s, he found himself out of work with very little prospect of yards opening to a reasonable level of employment. He then decided to cut his losses, move South, come to Manchester and join the Police. As luck would have it, he secured lodgings in Claremont Road, the year that City moved to that brand new stadium at Maine Road. His love affair started then. Without doubt, he was a major influence in my early years, on all my thinking in matters football.

It may have been different though. In his first year in Manchester, he apparently gained a growing reputation in local football. To such an extent that United offered him a professional contract. The insecurity of professional football, the security of the Police and his experience of being out of work in Glasgow, decided him to stay as he was. That, though, was 10 years before I was born. For him to have played for United doesn’t bear thinking about!

I was brought up on his recollections of teams of the 20’s and 30’s and his visits to Wembley for the 1933 and 1934 Cup Finals. In fact, I used to be able to rhyme off the ’34 team and I still have a souvenir brochure, published after winning the Cup that year.

My parents moved twice, as the family increased. First to a flat off Whitmore Road and then to the house where I was born. This was in an avenue near the Fallowfield Hotel. So we were never more that ten minutes’ walk from Maine Road. That was the basis of my love affair with City.

Like all love affairs, the road of true love is never smooth. Supporting City is no different. The Kevin Keegan alleged “rollercoaster ride” is not new to City supporters. The ups and downs only stiffen the resolve. For example, I was allowed to extend an illness by a day, to go to Maine Road with my dad on a Wednesday afternoon to see the second leg of the wartime cup against Bradford Park Avenue. We had beaten them 3-1 on the previous Saturday. We promptly lost 8-2 at Maine Road! As my younger sister once remarked “Anybody can support a continually successful, pot-hunting team, but to support City, you have to have character.” Therefore there was never a chance of my allegiance being other than City.

I have some abiding memories of my early days of going to Maine Road, during the war and the early post-war period. Few matches stand out, but events and happenings are still vivid.

In order to get as near as possible to my great hero, Frank Swift, it was imperative to get to the ground early, to secure a place on the wall closest to the goal, at the Platt Lane End. The tide of spectators drifting from one end to the other at half-time. The idea being, they would be behind the goal that City attacked. Opponents’ supporters would be doing the same thing, in the opposite direction.

The programme was a single sheet leaflet and the team changes were announced by means of a chap, walking round the running track with a blackboard on his shoulder. Only now do I wonder how the spectators at the back of the Popular Side (the Kippax) managed to decipher the names chalked on the blackboard.

The disappointment at having to regularly cross out the name of the legendary Peter Doherty. Apparently, he was unable to get leave from the RAF and turned out as a guest for Derby. Incidentally, my dad always maintained that Doherty was the finest penalty taker he ever saw.

Before the game, kids kicking-in at the Platt Lane goal, with a tennis ball. Did this really happen?

Trying a cup of Bovril/Oxo for the first time and being so repelled by the taste that I’ve never tried it since.

After a game, Frank Swift making we kids form an orderly queue whilst he patiently signed autographs. Then he would walk home to his Corporation house on Lloyd Street. Changed days.

Waiting, unsuccessfully, for Alex Herd to score another 40-yard rocket, as he had in the 1934 Cup run. A goal my dad never tired of recounting. I read in a newspaper report after the match that Alex Herd had forgotten his “shooting boots”. My young mind couldn’t understand why, as he only lived across Lloyd Street in a terrace house, he hadn’t gone home for his shooting boots. Then there was the time, Tommy Lawton of Everton put the ball in the back of the City net, with Big Swifty lying on the goal-line, having hit his head on the post, I couldn’t believe anyone, let alone Tommy Lawton, could do that with God prostrate.

I wonder if there are many older fans from my era, who remember collections for wartime charities being taken around the pitch on the running track. Usually, these collections were performed by teams of lads from the likes of the Naval Cadets, Army Cadets or A.T.C. (Air Training Corps). They would walk round the pitch with a tarpaulin stretched between them. Coins were thrown from the crowd, into the blanket. Any that missed were picked up by spare bods following and then put into the blanket. Thinking back, it must have been a dangerous occupation. Fans throwing coins today would risk arrest.

Another regular was the guy selling “Tip-Top Tablets” cough sweet. He walked around the running track with a tray, in the same way the girls in cinemas used to sell ice-creams. You threw or passed your money down to him, and he would send back a small packet of cough sweets. Hardly sophisticated marketing, but it seemed to work.

The team sheet during the war would contain “guest” players. A regular guest was Billy Williamson, a more than useful centre-forward from Rangers. I don’t know what happened to him after the war. He certainly played at least one post-war season for Rangers. Other names that come to mind are City players who disappeared from the scene after the war. Players like Jimmy Constantine and Jack Boothway, both were centre forwards. Another was Jimmy Heale, a Police colleague of my dad’s. Jim was signed from Bristol City in 1936 and played until a serious leg injury finished his professional career in 1938/39. He would turn out for City during the war, to fill-in when they were short. Jim was, in fact, an all round sportsman, having been an opening bat and spin bowler for Gloucester II’s.

The first post-war season saw the return of the pre-1939 leagues and we again had competitive football. City therefore resumed as a Second Division club. The 1946/47 season was probably the last season I was able to attend Maine Road on a regular basis for many years. I was playing for the school in the morning and the following season I also started playing in an amateur league on Saturday afternoons.

That season, City had a great team. Looking back, I realise it was an ageing team. For most of them, their prime was during the war. Frank Swift was in goal. The full backs were Bert Sproston and Sam Barkas. That was a formidable defence. Swift was superlative, Sproston was uncompromising and Barkas was more the classic footballer. In derby matches, Charlie Mitten, United’s very good left-winger, would disappear from the game after Sproston put him into touch, usually in the first five minutes. Bert would be red-carded today. The half-back line, depending on availability, included players like Joe Fagan, later to become manager of Liverpool, Les McDowall, future City manager, and Billy Walsh, an Irish international. Up front on the right wing, was a little whippet, Maurice Dunkerley. George Smith, who only had one hand, having been badly wounded in active service, but still managed to score plenty of goals. Andy Black signed from Hearts. A tremendous header of the ball. Alex Herd, must have been playing his last season at City, was inside right. The position where we were weakest was at outside left. This was rectified at the end of the season by signing a young Welsh lad from Cardiff City, Roy Clarke.

Though my spectating on a regular basis was to be drastically curtailed, I was never to lose the fanaticism for City that has been bred into me. The 1946/47 season was the first of the wonderful “highs”. This being a Manchester City story, there were plenty of “lows” to follow.

It’s the downs or lows, that only serve to stiffen the resolve. If it doesn’t, you’re not a true Blue! But when the good times come, God, do they taste sweet. Pure nectar.

RESULTS

Recent results from 24 September 2002 to 29 September 2002 inclusive.

28 September 2002

Leeds United          1 - 4  Arsenal               40,199
Bolton Wanderers      1 - 1  Southampton           22,692
Charlton Athletic     1 - 3  Manchester United     26,630
Chelsea               2 - 3  West Ham United       38,929
Everton               2 - 0  Fulham                34,371
Manchester City       0 - 3  Liverpool             35,131
Sunderland            1 - 0  Aston Villa           40,492
Tottenham Hotspur     0 - 3  Middlesbrough         36,082
Birmingham City       0 - 2  Newcastle United      29,072

League table to 29 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          8  4  0  0 11  4  2  2  0 10  4  6  2  0  21   8  13  20
 2 Liverpool        8  2  2  0  9  4  3  1  0  9  4  5  3  0  18   8  10  18
 3 Middlesbrough    8  3  1  0  7  2  1  1  2  4  3  4  2  2  11   5   6  14
 4 Manchester Utd   8  3  0  1  3  1  1  2  1  6  5  4  2  2   9   6   3  14
 5 Chelsea          8  1  2  1  8  6  2  2  0  7  5  3  4  1  15  11   4  13
 6 Tottenham H.     8  3  0  1  6  6  1  1  2  5  6  4  1  3  11  12  -1  13
 7 Leeds United     8  2  0  2  5  5  2  0  2  6  4  4  0  4  11   9   2  12
 8 Fulham           7  2  1  0  7  3  1  1  2  5  5  3  2  2  12   8   4  11
 9 Everton          8  2  2  0  7  4  1  0  3  4  7  3  2  3  11  11   0  11
10 Newcastle Utd    7  2  0  1  6  2  1  1  2  4  6  3  1  3  10   8   2  10
11 Blackburn R.     7  1  2  1  5  5  1  1  1  3  3  2  3  2   8   8   0   9
12 Aston Villa      8  3  0  1  6  3  0  0  4  0  6  3  0  5   6   9  -3   9
13 West Brom A.     7  2  0  1  3  3  1  0  3  3  8  3  0  4   6  11  -5   9
14 Birmingham City  8  2  0  2  5  4  0  2  2  3  6  2  2  4   8  10  -2   8
15 Manchester City  8  2  1  1  6  6  0  1  3  1  6  2  2  4   7  12  -5   8
16 Sunderland       8  1  1  2  2  5  1  1  2  1  5  2  2  4   3  10  -7   8
17 Bolton Wndrs     7  1  1  2  5  6  1  0  2  3  6  2  1  4   8  12  -4   7
18 Southampton      8  1  3  0  2  1  0  1  3  2  7  1  4  3   4   8  -4   7
19 Charlton Ath.    8  0  0  4  3 10  2  1  1  4  3  2  1  5   7  13  -6   7
20 West Ham United  7  0  2  2  2  5  1  0  2  5  9  1  2  4   7  14  -7   5

MCIVTA FAQ [v0203.04]

[0] How do I contact MCIVTA?

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 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: