Newsletter #1059

Another fairly short edition. Our reserves won 3-1 against Middlesbrough this week, and we have a report on the game from Gavin. Also some thoughts on the Southampton game, some more opinion on Fowler, another report from Dave on away ticket pricing, a few requests and the usual news summary from Don. Heidi’s back for Monday’s edition so keep your views coming to the usual address of <editor(at)mcivta.city-fan.org>.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

Say We Are Top O’The League! Let’s start with some good news shall we? City’s reserves sit at the top of their division after gaining a fourth successive victory, this time over second placed Middlesbrough. The 3-1 victory was secured thanks to two goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips and one from Christian Negouai. Jamie Tandy made a late appearance for the second string following his recent cartilage operation, while the Boro included former City goalkeeper Carlo Nash. Team: Schmeichel, Warrender, Collins, J D’Laryea, Onuoha, Jordan, Croft (Bermingham 84), Negouai (Tandy 84), B Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Laird. Subs: Matthewson (GK), Lee-Matthews, Bennett.

Magpies Move: Siblings living in the North East take note: the October fixture against Newcastle at St James’ Park has been moved due to The Magpies’ UEFA Cup commitments. The match was originally scheduled for Saturday October 23 but will now take place the next day, Sunday, 24 October at 3pm. Newcastle are involved in UEFA Cup action the preceding Thursday.

International Blues I: Ireland travel to Paris to face France on Saturday, but a potential Blue vs. Blue contest will not take place. Richard Dunne had made the Ireland squad, but has been ruled out of the clash with a calf injury. He has returned to Manchester today for treatment. There is still hope he could be back in the squad on Sunday and be available for the following clash with the Faroe Islands at Lansdowne Road on Wednesday. Manager Kerr said: “Following a review, our medical team felt it would be more beneficial if he was to return to Manchester City for intensive treatment rather than lose out on a day’s treatment by travelling to France. Richard will therefore return to Manchester today, but if he recovers sufficiently over the next few days then he will rejoin the squad in Dublin on Sunday.” And talk of Nicolas Anelka’s return to the French squad has yet again proved to be untrue, but coach Raymond Domenech says he considered ending Anelka’s two-and-a-half-year international exile. First-choice striker David Trezeguet has been ruled out by injury and Domenech decided to call up Olympique Marseille striker Peguy Luyindula as his replacement on Tuesday. But, asked if recalling Anelka had crossed his mind, Domenech said: “Yes, of course it has. But I decided to pick Peguy Luyindula instead. We already had Djibril Cisse in the squad who has the same profile as a player as Nicolas Anelka. And I wanted someone more like David Trezeguet for the next two matches,” he told a news conference at France’s training camp. Domenech, who took over from Jacques Santini, stressed that the door was open for Anelka. “Why should I sideline talented players? Nicolas has the qualities to play for France. He will have to prove in his club games that he deserves selection. He is eligible,” Domenech said. Elsewhere, the United States will be without captain Claudio Reyna for the World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador and Panama. Coach Bruce Arena has named a 23-man squad ahead of the games, but left out the City midfielder after he suffered a setback in his recovery from a thigh injury.

International Blues II: David James and SWP are definitely in the England squad to face Wales. And KK believes that Shaun has what it takes to make a huge impact on the international scene. “I think Shaun is ready for England, there is no doubt about that,” he said. “However, there will be players in there like Owen Hargreaves who have also been promised an opportunity and haven’t really had one. What I do know is that if Shaun is given the green light they might find it harder to get him out of the side than to put him in.” David James meanwhile hasn’t given up hope of starting for England despite the fact Paul Robinson is likely to get the nod. “I didn’t anticipate being out of the England side in the first place. But with Paul playing the last game, it means I have got to get back in there,” he said. “As much as I love playing for Manchester City, I am doing it because I want to play for England. My move from West Ham was with England in mind and not just my love of football because West Ham was a club I was really dear to. But I am happy with what I have done this season. We’ve conceded a goal a game and I’m not pointing the finger at myself for any of them. There are always areas in any performance that can be improved upon but I am happy and confident. Everything is in the right position for me to go on and play well. Other than that, I can’t do any more.” KK agrees. “David James will fight for his place back. At the moment it looks like Paul Robinson has got the call on him, but there will be fierce competition and that is good,” he added.

Ex-Blues’ News

Now Début for Karim: Karim Kerkar has still to make his full début for his new club Dundee United, although the Algerian did come on as a substitute against Celtic on Saturday, replacing Scottish international Billy Dodds. Kerkar couldn’t prevent United losing 3-0. Another former Blue, defender Paul Ritchie, is also at Tannadice but has made just one appearance so far this season.

Reid vs. Royle (But Not Doyle): There was a battle of the sacked City managers in the Championship on Sunday. Joe Royle’s Ipswich Town visited Highfield Road to face Coventry, managed by Peter Reid. Ipswich prevailed 2-1, and now join Wigan Athletic at the top of the division. If Town do make it back to the Premiership, Joe will be able to thank the City directors in person for investing in his personal pension plan following the recent court case. Kevin Horlock was bolstering Ipswich’s midfield, while Mike Doyle was playing for Coventry (don’t think it was our Mike Doyle, by the way!).

Spreading Himself: Joe Corrigan is a busy boy at the moment. After leaving his post as goalkeeping coach at Liverpool in the summer, we reported last month that the City legend was helping out in a similar rôle at Chester City. And now he’s also working closer to home with Stockport County. County boss Sammy McIlroy said: “He will be with us twice a week and also on match days. To be honest, I can see a difference already, this is a great coup for us.”

Reactions and Comments

Blank Looks: What a funny old game at St.Mary’s on Saturday. From the vantage point of the east end of my living room (thanks to pay per view), it looked like a match of little quality, yet City could have (and should have) won easily. And in true MCFC style, the home side almost snatched an unlikely winner late on. Mr. Keegan gives an excellent summation of proceeding in the following paragraph: “We deserved the win and I don’t think anyone, even Southampton fans, would dispute that. We didn’t quite do enough in the final third and carve them open as we should have done from the opportunities that we had. I think the problem was with the final ball and I can think of five or six opportunities where people had great chances but snapped at it or didn’t pick the right option. We could have been talking about two goals for Jihai Sun as he had two great chances. He got the first one on his left foot, he is a two footed player and a very good one but he snatched at it. Then he got one on the right foot and perhaps he felt he didn’t want to miss the target and by doing that he brought a great save from their ‘keeper. We have lots of things to work on but there is nothing wrong with the spirit, nothing wrong with the commitment or the endeavour. It is just that there are little things that win you football matches and they weren’t there. We went out in the second half and tried to do the things a little better to win the match. But I think suddenly the disappointment of so many good opportunities being wasted nearly cost us the game. We started to lose a little bit of shape and when Neil McCann came on they started to cause us one or two problems. They had the best chances of the match in the last ten minutes, chances that were probably as good as any we had in the first half.”

Pal Joey: Although the Sky audience gave Nicolas Anelka the man of the match award, it was Joey Barton who really caught the eye of the manager. “I thought Joey Barton was superb, and I told him that for me that was his best game in a City shirt since he got in the first team,” said KK. And Barton gave an honest assessment of proceedings. “Normally away from home in the Premiership you would be pleased with a point, but no-one in that dressing room is talking, smiling or having a joke because we are all so hugely disappointed that we didn’t win,” he stated. “I think we had about 18 or 20 efforts on goal and they have cleared off the line on several occasions and that is an accurate reflection of the match. Perhaps we got a bit sloppy near the end, but before that the level of performance was good and strong and exactly what we need to be comfortable in this league. They haven’t been in the game at all for 70 minutes and yet we have to go away with one point instead of three and that is really annoying. In hindsight, anyone who watched the game will know why the dressing room is so upset at not winning. We know we should have won the game.”

Sid’s Law (Misprint): So there was a sense of disappointment for both teams, but for different reasons. Southampton striker Kevin Phillips bemoaned the loss of fellow forward James Beattie with a suspected broken toe, and recognised Saints’ plight when he told Sky Premiership Plus: “It’s s*d’s law. James gets a broken toe – things don’t go for you when you are scrapping away. We need points to climb the table but we are down there. We have a break now but we have to go away and work hard. A lot was riding on today for both teams. We needed to win and so did they.” City ‘keeper David James claimed he was “frustrated” that the team did put not away their chances. “We had the chances and they had a few. It was similar to the Palace match where again we did not finish them off. We created chances from set-plays and we were good in defence and they were good at blocking on their line but we have to put them away.” He added: “It was frustrating. In our position in the league we need more than a point.”

Squad News

Gobsmacked: You somehow feel that Jan Molby won’t be getting many complimentary tickets for Eastlands in the future – the Kidderminster manager, and former team-mate of Robbie Fowler at Liverpool, has cast doubt on whether the Toxteth Terror will ever reach the heights of his early days. Quoted on http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/, Molby said: “Robbie Fowler’s demise is one of the saddest disappointments of the English game and I can see him retiring soon. It looks as if he’s fallen out of love with the game. After all, this isn’t the first time he has been warned to get fit. Unfortunately, I don’t think Robbie’s problems are going to be solved on the running track or in the gym. And it can’t be down to his current manager, because if you’re a footballer then there can be few better to play for than Kevin Keegan. You have to be prepared to give 100 per cent, and I’m not sure Fowler can any more. It’s to do with desire and I’m not sure he wants to play. If you’d have said to me five or six years ago ‘where do you expect Fowler to be in five or six years’ time?’ I would’ve said Real Madrid, not City, with all due respect to them. Nowadays I can’t see where he’s going to get that from again. He achieved a lot very quickly and has been through a lot too, much of it, it has to be said, through his own doing. I wouldn’t say he’s wasted his career because he’s achieved a lot. But you would’ve expected someone with his talent to have a load of England caps and international goals by now.” City reacted by issuing a withering rebuke to Molby. “We are gobsmacked that a man who had more than his fair share of personal problems as a player has chosen to publicly air his views in this manner,” said a senior City official. “Perhaps he would be better served concentrating his efforts on Kidderminster, where he has hardly pulled up any trees.”

Dunne Deal? Hot on the heels of last week’s news of new deals for Willo Flood, Joey Barton, and Sun Jihai, KK has revealed that he will hold contract talks with Richard Dunne in the New Year. Keegan is keen to reward Dunne for his impressive run of form in the last 12 months. The 25-year-old still has two years to run on his current deal and he is in line for an extension. “Richard Dunne has reinvented himself from what he was 12 months ago and he is on course for a new deal,” said Keegan. “He has received help from other people but the biggest help has been from himself. He seems to have got his life back together and his weight, which was a problem, is no longer an issue. I take my hat off to him because it was only 18 months ago that he was out there trying to battle a lot of things. It seems he has won. We had an agreement that if he started this season like he ended the last one, we would sit down and talk in January. At the moment he is certainly on course for a new contract because he has become a very important player for us.”

[NOTE – I’m away for the next three Thursday issues of MCIVTA, and Sarah Longshaw has kindly agreed to fill in for me. As usual, please send any contributions to the usual news address.]

MATCH REPORT: MIDDLESBROUGH RESERVES 1 CITY RESERVES 3

City Braced Up Top by Bradley

A brace of goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips and another quality volley from Christian Negouai gave City the three points to jump above their opponents and take top spot in the Premier Reserve league with their fourth straight victory. Middlesbrough’s goal from Danny Graham was a mere consolation as City dominated for nearly eighty minutes.

Nearly two years to the day, City’s reserve side came to the Riverside to play Middlesbrough and they won one nil, thanks to a solo strike from our very own Shaun Goater. That night we also had Carlo Nash in goal for us, but last night’s fixture saw him being worked very hard by the City strikers as he chose to swap Manchester City’s bench in favour of Middlesbrough’s bench at the beginning of last season. That victory was part of our post-war record-winning run that saw us narrowly miss out on the title. Prior to that run we had lost two games after an opening day victory, which at the moment is a near mirror image of the start of this season.

Given that we have a strong front pairing of Bradley, who has now scored six in seven league appearances, and Negouai, adding a further two to that tally, and the proven quality of our defence at this level, after my early season pessimism, I am glad to say that I think we have a real chance at challenging for reserve honours this season.

The Middlesbrough players had obviously warmed up quicker in the cold north east wind as City were put on the back foot in the opening ten minutes, where goal scorer Graham ran into the right hand side of the box but pulled his shot wide. Middlesbrough’s young Adam Johnson then hit a good volley on target, but fortunately for City, it was straight at Kasper Schmeichel in goal.

So, against the run of play, City broke forward and scored in the fourteenth minute. A superbly weighted defence splitting pass from Man of the Match Stephen Ireland found Lee Croft running into the box, who ran to the by-line and cut a short cross back to Bradley, who firmly side footed the ball into the far corner of the net.

City then started to play and pass much better, but it was a poor clearance from Danny Warrender that fell kindly from a deflection to Graham, who ran into the box and shot low past Schmeichel to level the score.

With Ireland working hard in midfield, he saw Bradley in space on the left. Bradley then had the option of Marc Laird who had played the overlap and received the return ball from him. Bradley then hit a lovely crossfield ball first time towards the far post, Negouai had peeled of his marker and hit the ball with sweet low volley that smashed into the far corner on thirty four minutes to restore our lead.

City dominated the play in the second half, with Middlesbrough only having one shot at goal, which went over the bar, leaving Schmeichel with no saves to make to keep our lead. That lead was very nearly doubled in the fifty sixth minute when Carlo Nash punched out a Croft corner only as far as Negouai, who controlled the ball and hit the return with interest on the half volley, but Nash saved well to his left.

Five minutes later, Bradley missed an absolute sitter when Ireland played a lovely lofted ball over a static Middlesbrough defence, which he ran onto to beat the offside; he adjusted his body to volley the ball but failed to make a telling connection.

However, he made sure that his earlier poor miss was banished from the statistics as he finished well from an Ireland pass into the box after a neat one two with Croft and Bradley fired his shot to the far post and the ball bounced back across and back into the goal.

Late on in the game, Karl Bermingham replaced Lee Croft and Jamie Tandy, making his first appearance after a knee injury in pre-season training, came on to replace Negouai.

Next week sees the first reserve league derby of the season, as City host Manchester United at the Athletics arena next Tuesday 12th.

Schmeichel: Had little to do all game – 7
Warrender: Improved his form from the Academy this season, booked and cost the goal – 6
Collins: Struggled at times with working with Laird on the left – 6
J D’Laryea: Not his best game, seemed to be lost at times – 6
Onuoha: Solid as a rock as ever – 8
Jordan (capt): Led by example by leading the line at the back – 8
Croft (84): Anonymous for 85 minutes – 6
Negouai (84): Great goal, caused Ehiogu to foul him constantly to try to stop him – 8
Wright-Phillips: Two goals and an assist – great performance – 9
Ireland: Just shades Bradley for MoM, due to a huge improvement from early season – 9
Laird: Worked very hard to win the ball back, but was sloppy at times – 7
Subs: Tandy & Bermingham (84): Too little time to score.
Not Used: Matthewson, Lee-Matthews, Bennett.

Middlesbrough: Nash, Clough (Walker 73), Grounds (Burgess 73), Ehiogu (capt), Wheater, Peacock, Reed, Wilson, Graham, Kennedy, Johnson.
Not Used: Roberts.

Att. 365.

MATCH VIEW: SOUTHAMPTON 0 CITY 0 (Sky View)

Usual story, dominated for an hour or so but didn’t have anything to show for it, then nearly lost it in the last few minutes – had Southampton not been so inept we probably would have lost. Plus points: Dunne and Distin dealt well with Beattie, Crouch and Phillips; James made some good saves but should have been given no chance by Phillips in the last minute; Anelka – OK but rather crowded out and with Macken appearing to play largely behind Anelka this left us a bit blunted. Still, 3 goal-line clearances and two bad misses allowed Southampton to stay in the game. Then they brought on McCann and suddenly we had no defence on our right side.

This is the first game this season that I’ve watched live but from watching highlights my thoughts are:

Thatcher and Mills are no real improvement defensively on Tarnat (or Jenson) and Sun and now our only attacking route from the wing backs seems to be a long ball. If only the board had found the cash for van Buyten instead, what a difference we would surely have seen. Sun doesn’t look comfortable on the left and neither he nor SWeeP are anywhere near as good when they are on opposite sides of the field. Macken, OK he deserves the chance but for me he’s a better poacher than creator and should be pushed up in the penalty area to pounce on loose balls, Anelka is better at creating something from around the edge of the box and I would see Macken as the front man with Anelka just behind – Saturday seemed the reverse to me. Bosvelt in front of the present back four further limits our capability to break from defence and although Barton is a bit better going forward we are still very weak at creating telling passes out of defence.

I’m quick to criticise referees and their assistants but I think that Uriah Rennie and his assistants had a really good game – major decisions looked OK, no yellow cards (Prutton and Mills can perhaps consider themselves a bit lucky) and generally they seemed on top of the game at all times. If only that were the norm…

This was an average performance against poor opposition; let’s hope for better against Chelsea.

OPINION: AWAY TICKET PRICING

As I threatened a few weeks back, I have begun to monitor the effects of ticket pricing for City fans this season. I am not sure if the table will be any good to MCIVTA readers, as it’s best viewed in HTML. However, if it does not replicate well in the newsletter, I am happy to email copies of the original spreadsheet to Blues who want to know more (anyone wanting a copy of the spreadsheet, please contact Dave direct at the email address below – Mads).

In summary, of the five away league matches that have been priced so far this season we have paid on average £8 more than our club will charge the travelling fans for the corresponding fixtures. This is something of which we can be proud, and should be used to encourage clubs to reduce their prices rather than reciprocate an upward spiral.

It is interesting to observe the price differences at small clubs such as Birmingham, charging a 60% premium; compared to a club such as Liverpool only charging a 7% increase. The correlation would seem, so far, to be that the bigger the club the cheaper the price. I might venture that this would confirm our status as a ‘massive’ club to save our regular Rag readers the time, were it not for our later visits to Chelsea and the rest of London which I expect will revoke this trend.

Further, Crystal Palace offer a 67% premium on our return price. This is shocking. We have never treated our ‘guests’ so badly. I go back as far the old Platt Lane to claim we would never have had the effrontery to charge returning fans one and a half times their prices in return for six portaloos to accommodate 2,500 fans at their place. Whilst there were infamous yellow rivers for the home fans at times, the away fans always had decent stones! We are now fortunate to have a fantastic stadium that travelling fans can still enjoy at an affordable price.

Over time I have found football clubs usually to have a generous spirit of fairness that goes with the spirit of the game. I am proud of our club in its efforts to always accommodate this spirit, sometimes to its financial detriment, but never to its social obligation. However, I am concerned this culture is disappearing into the realms of the business minds when such clubs as Birmingham offer an experience that I could comfortably replicate at Droylsden, with due respect to the Bloods, rather than provide value for money surroundings. I acknowledge that players’ wages have to be paid for, but is that not the rôle we defer to the preferential treatment we afford to the fly by night sponsors – I do not include such regular and long term sponsors as Rainhams Steel with whom I have never had any business, but would gladly support if I ever have the opportunity; or to the current heights of television revenue? It will be important for clubs to remember to whom they owe their lifeblood when the passing bubble bursts. I try to appeal to clubs such as Birmingham to follow the spirit of fairness and reconsider their pricing strategies for travelling fans for the rest of this season and beyond. I will be watching and monitoring the situation throughout the season for us Blues if it is of interest to anyone. I hope to produce sufficient evidence to suggest a premium band, say 10-15% limit. Do you think the Premier League would listen?

Whatever you do, stay Blue! Bring on Chelsea.

OPINION: THE NEXT GAME

We shall have to wait until after this weekend’s International games to have any idea of the line up for City’s next game versus Chelski.

Let’s hope that all of the City players return without injury.

A position that has to be filled is left midfield; we sure missed Antoine Sibierski whilst playing against Southampton. Now it’s reported that Sibierski will not be fit in time for he has cracked ribs (ouch!).

King Kev has some options, bring in Trevor Sinclair who should be fit, or Steve McManaman who also might be fit in time, but I would not play Macca unless 100% fit and committed to the City cause.

The other option is to move Joey Barton over and bring in Claudio Reyna who also might be fit.

But the last option to play Sun at left midfield, not for me, a good utility player to come off the bench to help in some other positions if needed, but not left midfield – he looked well out of position versus Saints, and continually had to place the ball on his right foot to kick it, no left foot.

Who will partner Anelka up front? Will Fowler be fit and ready to give 100% after his three weeks of special training?

It’s a very important 60th game with a £500,000 payment due to Leeds United if he plays number 60. Robbie Fowler has to be more than physically fit, he has to have a positive mental attitude. The game against Chelski could be the real comeback game for Robbie; none of us City supporters want to see any player in a blue City shirt fail.

The player wanting desperately to partner Anelka up front is young Bradley Wright-Phillips who yet again scored two more goals for the reserves versus Middlesbrough reserves in midweek, bringing his goal tally to seven. KK says he was ready to bring him on at Southampton if City had been winning 1-0, but because it was 0-0 decided that the timing was not right. I sort of agree with KK, for the pressure would have been put on BWP to win the game, pressure the young lad does not need just yet. To rush the player might not work, it’s a gamble, we must be patient for we have a star in the making.

Jon Macken, although he puts a lot of effort into his game, lacks the pace needed for Premier League football, that’s my opinion; I wish him the luck to prove me wrong.

Danny Mills has helped steady up the defence, Dunne and Distin have both been playing better, and with a positive understanding of each other. Thatcher will get better the more he plays, and might have a secret weapon in his free kicks (nearly scored against Southampton), but his distribution and passing of the ball must improve.

Shaun Wright-Phillips must get more involved against Chelski, Bosvelt is solid, and Barton is showing his willingness to fight for every ball.

The Chelsea fixture looks like a game to look forward to, City have the habit of playing better against the better sides. They must improve on set pieces like corner kicks, etc.

So until next week, may your home international team win this weekend whoever they may be.

Come back fit you Blues!

OPINION: ROBBIE FOWLER

I’m interested to read that Robbie Fowler is not fit and will require time before he can play for the first team. I’m all for giving people a chance and he certainly has had more than one. How long has he been a City player, 2 years? Last summer he came back overweight and sought KK’s wrath. This summer he was supposed to start early training and yet he is still unfit. Is this guy a professional? I would hesitate to say that he is one of those players young footballers at the club look to emulate. He was a terrific striker at Liverpool and is still young. On the salary he is paid (more in one week than most readers in a year?) he should be at the peak of fitness. He hasn’t been injured and has been playing first team football. Does he need confidence, loaning out or simply a kick up the backside?

As for the Southampton game, I watched it live here in Canada. I wanted to know why Anelka was so often found crossing the ball and not in the box receiving it. It harks back to England when Shearer was continually found on the wing scrambling for balls and not receiving them. City have one of the most exciting players in SWeeP in the country. Surely Anelka is best served in the box? We should have had that game wrapped up by 2 or 3-0 easily. I couldn’t help but lament poor finishing and passing. I then watched Arsenal and the space they always had was amazing. It was as though they had 12 men on the field. I know they are a cut above but why do City always seem to be fighting for balls rather than play with a free flowing game?

Oh well, another mid-table at best season. I just hope we don’t get into a dogfight again. It is far too painful.

REQUEST: MUSIC AT COMS?

Can anyone please tell me what the music is the players come out to at the Bluecamp, who it’s by, and where to get it from if possible?

REQUEST: 1956 CUP FINAL SHIRT FOR SALE!

Anyone interested in buying a short-sleeved purple with white stripes City shirt from the 1956 Cup final (has the Wembley 1956 badge on it)? It is from “Toffs” who make old-fashioned football shirts, and you can see the shirt at http://www.toffs.com/ – click on Man City in the select a team drop down menu and it’s the fifth shirt down.

A friend of mine bought me this shirt for my birthday, but it doesn’t fit me that well (the size is Large), and also I wasn’t around in 1956, so the shirt doesn’t have any memories for me. I have worn it for about 2 days, and it has been washed, but is in good condition. I can send a photo of it by e-mail.

Cost £32.99 new, happy to sell it for £10 o.n.o. … or swap for a short-sleeved 1969 Cup Final shirt or home blue shirt of that era.

RESULTS

League table to 05 October 2004 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  3  1  0 14  5  4  0  0 12  2  7  1  0  26   7  19  22
 2 Chelsea          8  3  1  0  4  1  3  1  0  4  0  6  2  0   8   1   7  20
 3 Everton          8  2  0  2  4  6  3  1  0  5  1  5  1  2   9   7   2  16
 4 Manchester Utd   8  2  2  0  5  3  1  2  1  4  4  3  4  1   9   7   2  13
 5 Tottenham H.     8  1  2  1  2  2  2  2  0  3  1  3  4  1   5   3   2  13
 6 Newcastle Utd    8  2  1  1  8  4  1  2  1  8  9  3  3  2  16  13   3  12
 7 Bolton Wndrs     8  2  2  0  8  4  1  1  2  5  7  3  3  2  13  11   2  12
 8 Aston Villa      8  2  2  0  7  3  0  3  1  3  6  2  5  1  10   9   1  11
 9 Middlesbrough    8  2  1  1  6  5  1  1  2  6  7  3  2  3  12  12   0  11
10 Charlton Ath.    8  3  1  0  6  1  0  1  3  2 13  3  2  3   8  14  -6  11
11 Liverpool        7  3  0  0  8  1  0  1  3  2  5  3  1  3  10   6   4  10
12 Manchester City  8  1  1  2  5  3  1  1  2  3  4  2  2  4   8   7   1   8
13 Portsmouth       7  2  1  1  8  6  0  1  2  3  5  2  2  3  11  11   0   8
14 Fulham           8  2  0  2  3  5  0  2  2  5  8  2  2  4   8  13  -5   8
15 Birmingham City  8  1  2  1  4  4  0  2  2  3  5  1  4  3   7   9  -2   7
16 West Brom A.     8  1  3  0  5  4  0  1  3  3  9  1  4  3   8  13  -5   7
17 Blackburn R.     8  1  3  0  5  4  0  0  4  2 10  1  3  4   7  14  -7   6
18 Southampton      8  1  1  2  5  6  0  1  3  1  5  1  2  5   6  11  -5   5
19 Crystal Palace   8  1  0  3  4  7  0  2  2  4  7  1  2  5   8  14  -6   5
20 Norwich City     8  0  3  1  4  7  0  2  2  3  7  0  5  3   7  14  -7   5

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Deadlines for issues are nominally 6pm, Monday and Thursday evenings bu email. Unfortunately we cannot accept email attachments.

[3] 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.

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

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

[5] What supporters’ clubs are there?

Manchester City FC recognises three supporters’ clubs: The “Official Supporters Club” (http://www.mancity.net/osc/); the “Centenary Supporters’ Association” (http://www.reddishblues.com/CSAWebsite/CSA.htm) and “The International Supporters’ Club” (http://www.mcfc.co.uk/article.asp?article=111845&Title=International+Supporters+Club&lid=Membership).

[6] 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.

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

The GMR pre and post match phone-in is available on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/gmr/sport_intro.shtml.

Live match commentaries and archives of games, reports and interviews can be found at http://www.mcfctv.com/.

[8] Where can I find out if City are live on satellite TV?

http://www.satfootball.com/pl.html provides a listing of Premiership games being shown on UK domestic and foreign satellite channels. Useful sites for North American viewers are http://canadatvsoccer.tripod.com/Fixtures.htm, http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/FSW/Index/Soccer, and http://www.soccertv.com/.

[9] Do we have a Usenet newsgroup?

Yes we do: uk.sport.football.clubs.man-city is our home on usenet. If you are not familiar with usenet, a basic explanation is available here: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci213262,00.html

[10] Do any squad members have their own web pages?

There are a number available and direct links can be found at http://www.uit.no/mancity/players/

[11] Can I buy shares in the club?

Yes you can: Shares in Manchester City PLC are traded on OFEX. The latest prices can be on found the OFEX web site http://www.ofex.com/ (registration required) or in the business section of the Manchester Evening News.

[12] Where can I find match statistics?

Statistics for the current season are available from the club site, but for a more in-depth analysis try http://www.mcfcstats.com/.

[13] Where can I find a list of City-related websites?

Try Wookie’s Lair: http://www.wookieslair.com/modules.php?name=Web_Links

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.

Madeline Hawkins, editor@mcivta.city-fan.org

Editor: