Newsletter #1060

Many thanks to Mads for stepping in and ensuring last week’s editions went out.

A lack of Premiership action so a quiet edition tonight; we have a mid-term review of the stats, which makes for good reading, the ticket rip-off continues, and the usual requests.

OPINION: MID TERM REVIEW

Ooh, I do love my stats. I’ve been having a look on the Premiership’s website where you can sort the league table all ways, and it came up with this as the half time league. I’ve added the real league position for comparison:

Pos   Club         Played        Points        Real position
1      Arsenal     8               18             1
2      Newcastle   8               18             6
3      Chelsea     8               14             2
4      Bolton      8               13             7
5      United      8               13             4
6      CITY        8               12            12

Now as it goes if you run the same table for last year we finished seventh.

Fun as this is, I think it makes pretty clear the key problem for City, and that is one which KK has already admitted for himself. When he resigned from the England job he said something along the lines of “I looked at the pitch and didn’t know how to change things”. My paraphrasing but the meaning is there. It looks to me like that factor is now working against us.

This isn’t a “Keegan out” by the way, but what I would love to see is someone else in there working with the players at half time, or if there is someone already then KK listening to them and bringing them on board. We don’t seem to make as many substitutions as other teams, maybe even someone else in charge of them.

Keegan clearly has some immense qualities that we must not lose, let’s add to them.

Views anyone?

OPINION: TICKET PRICES

I read Dave Clinton’s contribution with great interest, particularly as I’m one of, no doubt, quite a few fans who used to go to many away games, who’ve now been priced out of doing this.

Sadly, I suspect the Premier League’s response will be the predictable ‘free market’ argument, namely that you can choose not to go, and they will point to the generally high attendances.

All this ignores the simple fact that football does not operate in a free market, and that loyalty to a club is not like loyalty to, say, a washing powder or make of car. If I can’t afford a Mercedes, I may buy a VW or a Mini; if I can’t afford to go and watch City, it’s not likely I’m going to go and watch Stockport County instead.

In the end I think the only choice is for Blues to think the unthinkable – i.e. to choose as a group not to buy these tickets. Go to the cinema instead, the Bridgewater Hall, or Paris or Prague for the weekend (this is probably cheaper than going to Stamford Bridge anyway). And ring 606 in numbers to protest.

The only thing that will force the likes of Birmingham to drop their prices for away fans is to see an empty away end.

I personally don’t want to see City retaliate and hike the prices for Birmingham fans; after all, they are not the ones making the decision to charge these silly prices.

Many may well disagree with me on the idea that City fans should choose not to follow the team, and I accept that this flies in the face of everything we Blues hold dear, namely that we follow our team through thick and thin. But, when our loyalty is so blatantly taken advantage of, we have to make a stand.

OPINION: CHEAPSKATE BLUES

If there is one thing that I hate more than anything (and that includes both Alan Ball and Manchester United, erm maybe not United) it is tight-fistedness. Please tell me nobody gave John Edwards £10 for his graceless, shameless attempt to cash-in on a birthday gift. What next? I’m sure if your ‘mate’ read your contribution he would be made-up. We all have at least one friend like this (I know I have) but it’s too much. Why don’t you take it to a charity shop you graceless buffoon?

OPINION: MUSICAL REQUEST

In response to the question below from Friday’s MCIVTA 1059:

The music the teams run out to has recently been changed back to the bangin’ house tune by Brainbug. Some may suggest, with the aptly named title “Nightmare”. It is on Positiva label and is probably available from all good CD stores and some shoddy ones too.

REQUEST: FED UP WITH THE BEAUTIFUL GAME AND OUTPRICED?

My name’s Will Hawkes and I’m a freelance journalist. I’m currently trying to put together an article about away attendances at Premier League games. It’s my perception – from anecdotal evidence and from other supporters – that away attendances are suffering this year (and perhaps last year) in comparison to previous seasons.

I was hoping to get in touch with someone from the Manchester City supporters club: to find out if City’s away following has suffered and why that would be the case. Ticket prices and disillusionment with the predictable nature of the league are factors that have come up again and again when I have spoken to other fans – is this something that has affected City’s famously loyal support?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

REQUEST: TICKET SWAP CHELSEA/RUGBY

Whilst I’ll certainly be at COMS on Sat, my son has decided that he’d sooner be at the RL Grand Final at the Swamp. In the unlikely event that someone out there has access to a ticket and would like to swap it for his City vs. Chelsea ticket, please get in touch. Alternatively, if anyone has any contacts that might lead me to a Leeds vs. Bradford ticket, I’d really appreciate it. Yorkshire Blues think hard!

REQUEST: NEWCASTLE TICKET

As a Blue in exile in Newcastle, and with a 12 month old boy – also Blue, I have surrendered season ticket for family commitments. Always vowed to go to the North East games though, with SJP virtually on my doorstep.

If someone has one/two tickets spare, would be greatly appreciated.

REQUEST: CAIRNS BLUES VIEWING

A ‘friend of a friend’ is looking for a City contact in Australia. He will be out there for the derby game in Cairns and looking for a pub/club/BBQ etc., somewhere to watch the game with fellow Blues.

If anyone can help please contact me.

REQUEST: LAST MAINE ROAD TICKET

I realise this is one hell of a long shot but here goes! I also appreciate the delay in requesting this but I was only asked about it whilst on holiday during the past couple of weeks when we bumped into each other.

An acquaintance’s nephew was one of the mascots for the last game at Maine Road (if you’ve got any of the books on the subject, he’s the one holding Peter Schmeichel’s hand as they come out!). He was delighted to get a full strip, boots and the team’s autographs but he never had an actual match ticket.

Therefore my request is: if anyone is willing to let this young lad have their match stub from this game, he would be eternally grateful! His mum is doing a collage for him of the day and a match stub would be a crowning glory!

IF you can help, please either e-mail me or call 07876-191515.

REQUEST: PROGRAMMES FOR SALE

I don’t know if you can sell things on MCIVTA but: I’ve got the full season’s programmes from the 2000/01 season for sale. Not a memorable season but we did beat Everton 5-0. 47 progs in total including the abandoned Ipswich game and both derbys.

RESULTS

League table to 10 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

MCIVTA FAQ [v0405.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Heidi Pickup)          : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org
News/rumour (Don Barrie)         : news@mcivta.city-fan.org
Subscriptions (Madeleine Hawkins): subscriptions@mcivta.city-fan.org
Technical problems (Paul)        : paul@city-fan.org
FAQ (David Warburton)            : faq@mcivta.city-fan.org

[2] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

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.

Heidi Pickup, editor@mcivta.city-fan.org

Editor: