Newsletter #1110

Plenty of news from Don tonight on things post-Charlton, ex-Blues and current squad. We also have match reports, opinion on Pearce, a hatful of requests and another Why Blue.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

Picking Up Signals: Gaffer Psycho thinks he can make the manager’s job his own – provided results improve. “From day one, the board have been so positive, it’s been incredible – unless I’m very poor in picking up signals!” he stated. “They have talked to me in terms of the long-term – organising pre-season and bringing players in – and every word coming from them has been positive about my long-term future. I’m a realist. I know that I’ll be judged on results. I’ve got to show an aptitude in the job and an ability to get results. If the results are good enough, it might be enough to keep me in the job. But if not, then the chairman and the board will make an honest decision for this club. If not, I’ll walk away and wish the club all the best in the future. But I’ve worked from day one as though I’m going to be the manager for a long time.” He also mentioned that he had improved City’s training sessions after the departure of Kevin Keegan. “I’ve upped the tempo in training. We’d let that slip and that was my fault as I was a coach at the club under Kevin,” he added. “It was a case of saying ‘it’s not good enough on certain days, if we ask more from you, we need you to produce more’. It’s been a touch harder but not a slog. I think mentally they have looked stronger and that’s shown in our performances.”

Bailiff Claim Denied: Reports claiming that City had called in the bailiffs to collect the compensation paid to Joe Royle have been angrily denied. It was claimed that City had sent the court officials round to Ipswich Town’s ground in order to recoup £509,000 from JR. The former City boss recently lost an appeal against a High Court ruling, which had awarded him £422,819 last July. This story was dismissed by a ‘friend’ of JR’s, according to the Sunday People: “Bailiffs weren’t sent, just a representative from City’s solicitors. Joe has never seen the money; it has been sitting in his solicitor’s bank account.” Royle has said he plans to take the case to the House of Lords.

Elbowed Out: Tottenham defender Timothee Atouba has been suspended for three matches after being found guilty of violent conduct. Atouba elbowed Joey Barton during Spurs’ 2-1 victory over City on March 19. He denied the charge on Thursday after being given an extended period in which to respond due to international commitments with Cameroon. However, a Football Association disciplinary commission hearing found him guilty of the charge. The suspension takes effect immediately.

Quickest Goal of the Season? City’s Reserves showed the first team how to beat Bolton Wanderers this week with a 1-0 victory over the Trotters. And what an early strike it was too, with Willo Flood scoring with a free kick inside 40 seconds. ‘Keeper Geert de Vlieger continued his comeback, completing a full game. Team: De Vlieger, Warrender, Collins, J D’Laryea, Sommeil (Lee-Matthews 76), Richards, Flood, Ireland, B Wright-Phillips (Sturridge 74), Bermingham, Croft (Miller 90). Subs: Ellegaard, Bennett.

Transfer News and Gossip

Psycho Scrap for Tyson? By way of a change, let’s give the weekly “SWP is not for sale stories” a wide berth, and concentrate on a potential target for the Blues. Wycombe’s in-form striker Nathan Tyson could be a summer target for Stuart Pearce. Caretaker boss Pearce said recently that he would have no hesitation in signing players from the lower leagues, after making the jump from non-league to top-flight during his own career. Tyson, six feet tall and twenty two years old, has scored 22 goals this season including a hat-trick against Kidderminster on Saturday and could land a dream move at the end of the season if Pearce is appointed on a permanent basis at Eastlands. The player is trying to ignore such speculation. “People are talking about Manchester City and scouts turning up to see me but all I’m thinking about is scoring goals, getting into the play-offs and finishing the season on a high,” he told the Bucks Free Press. “Anything else is down to managers and chairmen.”

Danger – Poachers: The Daily Mirror brought news that the Premiership’s biggest moneybags are about to raid City for one of their young stars. No, not Shaunie… “CHELSEA are going to steal Manchester City’s top young prospect Daniel Sturridge in a controversial deal. Roman Abramovich’s club are ready to offer a stunning £1 million contract to the 15-year-old England youth striker who is tipped for big things. And the fear is the Midlands lad will head for Stamford Bridge at the end of the season. There is little City can do about it as Sturridge has not signed a professional contract – and they will have to settle for compensation. A fee of around £1 million could be set at a tribunal if the clubs go to war over the teenager who City have developed.” So said the Mirror (thanks Jigsaw Jim for that item). The Gaffer sounds keen to keep the youngster, however. “Daniel is one of our players. He has a bright future at this club but to say he is only learning his trade is a massive understatement,” said SP. “He worked with the first team this morning and will play for the reserves tonight, which is testament to how well he is doing. Daniel has a long way to go in football and we feel we are the club to bring him on. Me speculating on other football clubs being interested in our players isn’t worth my while. All I know is Daniel is a player at this club and talking to the academy and from what I have seen, he has a bright future. It’s important he keeps his feet on the ground and gives himself every chance of being a footballer. He seems a sensible enough lad and his parents are sensible as well. Hopefully he will be here for years to come.”

Ex-Blues’ News

Going Home: Eyal “He’s a Big Baby” Berkovic has signed a one-year-deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv a month after ending his nine-year-long European career. Berkovic left City after the mother and father of all bust ups with KK, culminating in his tirade against the Blues’ former boss on completing his move to Portsmouth. A sad way to finish career in Manchester, where he had established himself as a fine play-maker. The 32-year-old said of his move to Tel Aviv: “I have joined a big club with a massive fan base and I am anxious to play again. I returned here after nine amazing years in the UK and even though I signed for one year I would like to stay at the club much longer.” The outspoken midfielder struggled to hold down a first-team place at Pompey this season and left the south coast club by mutual consent last month. He had also had spells with Southampton and West Ham. Berkovic has also appeared 75 times for his country.

Paulo Plummets: Spanish league club Malaga are prepared to release City’s last no.9, namely Paulo Wanchope. Wanchope, 29, has failed to hold down a first-team place and was recently fined for climbing into the stands to argue with fans who had criticised him. Malaga general director Antonio Mendoza said: “We want Paulo to be happy and hope he will be with us next season. If that’s not the case we would reach a rapid agreement with Paulo if he wanted to move elsewhere.”

Reactions and Comments

Bootiful Robbie: Everyone seemed to agree that City played exceptionally well at Charlton Athletic last Saturday, and were somewhat unlucky to only draw 2-2. “I thought my team were exceptional,” mused the manager afterwards. “Everyone knows we maybe deserved to win the game 4-1 or 5-1 but I don’t ask for sympathy from anyone. The players were very disappointed afterwards and so was I. But there were some great performances from my players and it’s a good thing when you don’t like losing if you should have won.” Goalscorer Robbie Fowler looked lively throughout the game, and earned the following heart warming tribute from his boss. “Robbie is a very intelligent player. He needs pushing – we all do and hopefully the chairman will keep pushing me, just not out of a job! – but every time I’ve asked for something extra out of the players, they’ve given it to me. One thing people don’t realise is that he’s not afraid of work. He’ll work when the going gets tough, make no mistake about that. I’ve played against him – I’ve booted him, he’s turned round, looked me in the eye and booted me back – not in the last three weeks, admittedly – but that’s a good trait in a player. He’s prepared to fight his corner. You might say that over the past year or so he needs to have his vision challenged a touch more but since I’ve been in charge, he’s been excellent. Robbie is getting the best out of Robbie, not Stuart Pearce. We’ll lay a structure on the training pitch and pick a team, but it’s got to come from the players.”

It’s Just Like Watching Brazil: “I’m a bit lost for words,” claimed Charlton boss Alan Curbishley, before putting the lie to that statement. “We used every excuse in the book after the West Brom game and I can’t use any more. It was an abysmal first half, it totally shocked me. City played like Brazil, they were fantastic. The one thing this club prides itself on is desire and we needed a gallon of it. The crumb of comfort is that we kept going. We’re seventh and it’s sunny, but it still feels a bit flat. I’ve got to be delighted that we got the point, but have a serious look at what happened out there in the first half. The whole thing was just a shambles. I told the players that if I could have made eight or nine substitutions at half time, I would have done.” Charlton’s late equaliser came from Chris Perry, and the former Spurs man gave an honest assessment of his team’s performance. “They bossed the first half and should have been four or five ahead. We were lucky we were only 2-1 down but at least we took advantage of that in the second half.”

Reyna’s the Right-Hand Man: Claudio Reyna played his second successive game on the right hand side of midfield. “I enjoy playing on the right. It is a little bit different than the middle and I have played there before in the past,” he explained. “I am just happy to be on the field after the injury lay off. You get the ball quite a bit out there and I enjoy the responsibility of both defending and attacking. There is a lot of running, which is probably good for my fitness after all the time I have spent out. I am thoroughly enjoying things. With each game I play I understand the rôle more and more though I might just be keeping the spot warm for Shaun. We are totally different and I have to help the team in different ways. It will be great to have him back because he will add so much to the team. The sooner we get him back the better. It is great to have a home game coming up that gives us a chance to get that first win for Stuart. We know Liverpool have a lot to play for but with the crowd behind us we feel we can get the three points.”

Mack Backed: SP praised Jon Macken for his contribution to the draw, despite the striker missing two great chances in the first half when he was put through by Robbie Fowler. “Jon may be disappointed but to be honest with you he and Robbie up front were good,” stressed the boss. “When I was defending I can remember how difficult it was when those forwards had their back to you. Jon held that ball up well for us and he played a key part in our football side today. Alright he is going to miss the odd chance and he can live with that. But Jon will be stronger for that next week.” And let the record state that City’s goals both came from corner kick routines – not something you have expected from the Blues a couple of months ago. “We did our homework. We have a good scouting network at this football club. They watch the opposition as I do,” said SP. “I told the players in the meeting this morning that we would score from a set play. I didn’t believe we would get two. At half time I told them we would get another two. They let me down in that respect!” And the manager stressed that his squad would continue their work on the training ground as they start their build up to the meeting with Liverpool on Saturday. “It is nice to score from set plays. We have worked at them this week and we will have to work at them again in the coming week. They are a key part of football matches and really what they do is cement all the hard work that you put in between.”

Squad News

Loan Wolf Returns: Mikkel Bischoff has expressed his delight at returning to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Dane rejoined the Championship outfit for the rest of the season on transfer deadline day. The 23-year-old was forced to cut short his first loan spell after suffering a shoulder injury back in November. “I’d have only left Manchester City on loan to come back here,” Bischoff told the Express & Star. “I was a little bit surprised when I was told that Wolves were interested in taking me on loan again. But I had no hesitation in coming back. There were loan offers from other clubs, but I decided I would either stay and fight for my place at Manchester City or come back to Wolves. Moving to a new club is always difficult because you have to get to know new people. But I already know the people here and it was great to see the lads again because I really enjoyed myself earlier in the season. For the time being, I just want to get some games under my belt.”

In Sinc for Next Term: Trevor Sinclair has been detailing his comeback plans this week. His season ended last November, after just five appearances, as he severely damaged his knee ligaments. One operation Sinclair is already planning his return next season. “Things are good, really good,” Sinclair confirmed this week. “I’ve come through the worst of the injury and, though I’m obviously not out of the woods yet and there is still a lot of work to do, I’m walking about again, exercising and swimming. I just feel better about life in general. It was really hard not being able to walk and it was really tough. Christmas was the worst. It was snowing and my kids were out enjoying themselves, and I couldn’t do a thing because I was on crutches. I pretty much knew that something was wrong all along. I’ve had a six-month lay-off before but I have got to be really careful with this as the problem is on the outer part of my knee. Basically, I will be in pretty much throughout the summer training, so when the lads come back for pre-season I will be up and running,” he continued. “It’s important to start back on a level playing field with them. Whether it is Stuart Pearce or someone else, I have got work to do to try and win their support and get a place in the team. We’ve done a lot better and I’m gutted that I haven’t had a lot to do with it. I can’t wait to get an opportunity next year.”

Logan’s Run Continues: Carlos Logan will stay at Chesterfield until the end of the season after extending his one-month loan deal. The youngster has been with the League One outfit since March 3 and will now be at Saltergate until May 8. Chesterfield boss Roy McFarland was pleased to have secured the short term future of the speedy left winger, and revealed that he may look to bring in the City man on a permanent basis in the summer. “Carlos Logan’s contract with Manchester City is up at the end of the season and this further loan spell gives us the chance to look at him to see if he is one for next season,” McFarland told the club’s official website. “Whilst he’s been with us he’s got more confidence and he is really starting to show us what he can do, and, more than anything else, he’s improved whilst he’s been here.”

Bos Back and Thatch for Match? Psycho confirmed this week that he would have at least one, or even two, absentees from the Charlton game back in contention for this week’s clash with Liverpool. Paul Bosvelt is back in contention, after missing the last match for personal reasons. “When he asked me that he wanted time off for family reasons I had no hesitation in releasing him for a couple of days,” said Pearce, who also confirmed that “Ben Thatcher has returned to full squad training. We are hoping he will come through the full week with us and then we will see what happens.”

Kiki Dee-Lighted: Kiki Musampa thinks that he is beginning to show his best form, and the Dutch midfielder would like to move permanently to the COMS. He admits that he has had to adjust to life in a new country. “It is like coming in to a whole new world that you are not used to. The training regime needs adjusting to and so do even simple things like the food. I have to say that the more time I spend here the better I like it – both the club and Manchester as a place. We have not spoken about what will happen at the end of the season but I am enjoying my football and like being at City. The crowd is great, the stadium is great and everything is in place for me to be happy here so I would love to stay. Stuart Pearce has taken over as manager and he likes and encourages us to play attacking football and that is something that I like also. Maybe that was my best game for City at Charlton but I was disappointed not to score and that we didn’t win in the end but I thought we played well as a team.” The M.E.N. reports that Atletico Madrid’s fee of £1.5 million could be a major obstacle in the loan deal becoming a permanent one.

Soft Psycho? Some mistake surely? But no, Nedum Onuoha says there is a softer side to the caretaker manager. Provided, of course, you do as you are told! “The manager may look like a tough guy but he is actually a really nice person,” said Onuoha. “The only time he becomes ‘Psycho’ is when you don’t do things correctly. If you do things well, he will be fine. There is definitely a softer side to him. Put it this way, we have come across other people who are as stern and worked people just as hard. But it is a privilege to play for him. He has brought something that different. There are a lot more physical activities going on in training. If that is translated onto the pitch, perhaps it will give us a kick up the backside.”

MATCH REPORT: CAFC 2 MCFC 2

Well it’s a new one for me, but I’ve managed to get to two away games this season now and maybe one more to come. Charlton on a sunny spring Saturday (almost morning thanks to Sky) a completely different experience to a cold, crisp Monday night in February in the palacial surrounds of Delia’s back yard (also thanks to Sky).

After the pre-match beers, and discussions of tactics and managers,we moved to the ground. Not a bad effort, though obviously not quite on a par with Eastlands for ease on the eye, or Maine Road for atmosphere, but still, not bad. City lined up as many had predicted; I for one was doubtful of what Reyna could contribute on the right as that meant that City would have two wingers without much pace.

City started strongly and scored early; we all thought it was Dunne’s second goal for the Blues, but TV replays later on MoTD showed that a Charlton defender had kindly re-diverted it towards goal after Dunne had unfortunately been heading wide. Good start we all thought, and City seemed determined to build on it. But oh no. Silly, silly us, they wanted to make a game of it and so for the only time in the game Jerome Thomas got a bit of space down the left wing and cut the ball back. Even then, James, Dunne and Distin, just one of them, should and could have cleared it, in the end presenting it to Bartlett on the line. 1-1.

City then carried on pressing. Macken missed two one on ones, the second surely only needing a bit of air as Keily was going to ground very early. Still, Fowler volleyed straight at Keily, Reyna (or was it Fowler again?) had a rasping drive just wide and so on. Then another corner and another City goal (no City, normally we concede from corners, not the opposition). Fowler losing his marker well and popping one in at the back post while Murphy on the line watched. Fair enough though, it would probably have taken him into the net with it.

Half time. City came out second half, and for once weren’t half asleep.

They seemed like they wanted to put the game beyond doubt. Until 60 minutes that is, when they went to sleep. City were letting Charlton boss the game, a game they shouldn’t have even been in. We were all getting a bit worried that Barton and Sibierski were starting to play very deep. Still, on the break we looked dangerous and Musampa, Fowler and Macken again all had chances to put the game finally beyond Charlton. With hindsight, the last chance (well set up by Fowler for Musampa – side netting) could have been better used by boringly running the ball into the corner as Charlton then equalised on the break. But hindsight they say is a wonderful thing.

So, annoyingly it finished 2-2. Charlton getting a point that my Charlton season ticket holding friend said they were undeserving of. And City still don’t want to get past that 40 point barrier just yet.

James – 6 Could have done better with the first goal. Smart save from Murphy in the second half, not a lot to do really. Tidy when needs be.
Onuoha – 6 Pacey and didn’t let Thomas into the game. Just sometimes needs to work on distribution.
Dunne – 7 A “goal” and won everything in the air as normal. Apparently “lucky” not to give away a penalty in the second half and problems re: first goal.
Distin – 8 One excellent tackle in the second half. Won everything in the air as per Dunne. Problems re: first goal?
Jordan – 6 Tidy and efficient. Like Onuoha, sometimes needs to work on distribution.
Reyna – 7 I actually thought he played really well. Should have done better when through though, either square it or shoot. Don’t get caught in possession.
Barton – 7 Again gave his all for the Blues. Tidy and always harrying the Charlton midfield.
Sibierski – 7 Some excellent distribution, setting Musampa away on the counter attack. Like Barton, didn’t give the Charlton midfield any space.
Musampa – 6 Very strong, and just when you thought he was caught in possession, he’d manage to wriggle free. Should have done better with his shooting though.
Fowler – 7 Worked hard and found space well. Set Macken up a couple of times. Took goal well.
Macken – 6 Created some chances, held the ball up well. But shooting was certainly rusty. Kept his head up well though and stayed in the game.
The Manager:
Pearce – 10 Encouraged all the way, tackled with the players, lived every minute. Obviously has the passion for the job. And City are playing good football.

Just one thought: where was Bosvelt? Good comment on a Charlton supporter website “City used dirty tactics, Thomas Cook on their shirts had the Charlton players thinking of their holidays all game.”

MATCH REPORT: MCFC RESERVES 1 BWFC RESERVES 0

City’s young reserves hosted an experienced Bolton side on Tuesday night at MiniCoMS.

Teams below as usual, and with so many first team players in the Wanderers’ line-up we were in for a tough game, especially given their niggling and physical style of play.

Within the 30 seconds, BWP was fouled by their No 5, Jaidi. Willo Flood stepped up to take the free-kick from 25 yards out on the left hand side of the pitch. He hit the ball cleanly over the wall and over the head of their ‘keeper Poole. Less than 40 seconds gone, 1-0 and we were waiting for the onslaught.

Which came, but yet again we were left ruing missed chance after missed chance. Bermingham was through on goal as Bolton fluffed a pass, he was unmarked but hesitated just a moment too long and hit the ball wide. Down to the other end and Bolton had a goal ruled offside when Warrender misplaced his clearance, which Pederson hit on. This led to the inevitable moaning by Pederson, but the linesman called the offside correctly. All this within the first 10 minutes.

Campo then decided to make his presence known and committed his first foul of the game on Bermingham, followed by another on BWP. We then put together a nice attack and a neat pass from Ireland, which BWP ran onto, but shot straight at Poole. He followed this up with another move from Croft, but the goal was ruled offside (I’ll give the linesman the benefit of the doubt on that one!). De Vlieger was called into action from a Campo shot but saved with ease.

Whilst reserve attendances may be dropping, we have noticed there are an increasing number of hangers on trying to get inside for the City hospitality of free tea and sandwiches. Quite amusing entertainment to watch at half time.

As the second half began, we wondered whether City would again have switched off, a worrying trend they have displayed of late. This game was no exception. We let Bolton get the advantage of play, and Fadiga had a free kick that hit the bar. Flood and Ireland then combined in another attack, but Ireland’s shot was saved and Bermo had another attempt go wide due to the tight angle on goal in which he found himself.

Substitutions were made for both sides, City’s young Daniel Sturridge coming on for his début. He’s been getting a lot of interest lately for his City & England exploits. Although there were numerous scouts there, hopefully they were watching one or two of our other players in action.

City secured the three points they needed, and deserved, and are still in second place in the reserve league.

City: De Vlieger, Warrender, Collins, J D’Larye, Sommeil (Lee-Matthews), Richards, Flood, Ireland, BWP (Sturridge), Bermingham, Croft (Miller).

Bolton: Poole, Kribib (Talbot), Cesar, LaVille (Buval), Jaidi, Campo, O’Brien, Kaku, Pedersen, Barness, Fagida.

OPINION: PEARCE I

I do hope Pearcy gets the post as manager, he was always one of my favourite footballers in the past and I hope he can put that commitment back into our good ole City again.

Why not get a few more young Bradleys and Shauns in the team? The young ones have all to play for and nothing to lose. Surely there are a couple of lads just waiting to be put in the top team who can give the old ones a run for their money! Young ones who will continually make and take chances. David O’Leary did it with Charlton one year when he was manager and had a good team of young players who really showed him how thankful they were by playing some pretty good games.

OPINION: PEARCE II

I held back on passing any comment or opinion on SP and the new regime until I’d seen the action first hand so having had to miss the Spurs game, I couldn’t wait to get to The Valley for what I hoped would be a fine afternoon of “silky skills”, the usual amount of tension, a bit of Barnum & Bailey in defence and of course the right result. And to see SP and how he managed.

Let me take the latter first. My God! Does this guy have passion, pride, guts and attitude or what? In fact a lot of what we have been missing for a while now. The only downside is that you are torn between watching the action on the pitch and the action in the technical area. One example was just before H-T, an innocuous ball is cleared from our defence towards the sideline. In olden days, the Charlton full back would have jogged over to win the ball, with Fowler watching from the half way line. On Saturday, Robbie was “challenged” by SP to get there ahead of the Charlton player and having sprinted faster than at any time during his spell with us, duly won the challenge and we cleared our lines. That attitude is infectious and can only be good for our future.

The game itself: at half time, I was really pleased with what we had seen, some great football, 2 goals from set pieces (an instant improvement from KK days), the usual bumbling goal conceded but all in all it was a great feeling. At full time not a lot had changed. OK, so we let in a soft goal, and SP desperately needs a win to bolster his credentials, but if the style of playing and managing continues to improve as it seems to have done, then Long Live SP.

The one downside – I hope Macken never gets the honour of playing for us again. No, not because he missed 4 glorious chances and single handedly cost us the win; no not because he is so out his depth in the Premiership; but because his attitude does not belong in our team. He was the one player who did not reflect the new regime’s ‘Win or Die’ attitude. Again. People say “Oh but he works hard”. Tosh! He spent 86 minutes on Saturday with his shoulders slumped, head down, not interested, in a sulk and 4 minutes missing his chances. Goodbye.

To finish on a high, here’s to a Brazil-style showing against Liverpool on Saturday and SP’s long overdue first win.

OPINION: PEARCE III

For goodness sake Stuart, don’t change your ‘Psycho‘ image, to become a normal, inanimate manager. If half your enthusism rubs off on the players it can only be good for the club.

Be what you are.

OPINION: AND SO, THE TIME HAS COME

Hi all, after coming back to work after a week off I reluctantly decided to wind up my web page. The amount of work I have now means I cannot always keep my page up to date. This is only going to get worse, so may I thank all of you who over the years have signed my guest book, or taken part in my polls.

OPINION: TRAUTMANN STORY

MCIVTA readers might get a laugh from this, taken off the Internet – a piece about Bert Trautmann written by a German sports magazine for his 75th birthday a few years back – this is Google’s loose “translation” of the German original, but for those who know Trautmann’s story, as most City fans surely do, it’s a new way of writing it. So Trautmann must be German for “trusting man” and “torwarts” must mean goalkeeper, while the writer had Manchester City as “Manchester town centre”. And “legionaren” meant Germans who played outside of Germany.

(source is on p 2 of Bert Trautmann results on google)

Ambassador of the football
The German torwart Bernd “Bert” trusting man stands for Manchester town center in the gate

By Ulrich Schilling TRACK

It never played for the national team. At the table reserved for regulars also today still for the correct way of writing of his first name one struggles. Date of birth is disputed even. But one are certain: Bernd (“Bert”) trusting man is considered as one the largest Torwart Idole of this century. In past October the native of Bremen its 75 celebrated. Birthday – 50 years after a heavy start.

40,000 applied Englishmen had gone to 1948 on the road, in order to demonstrate against its first appearance. A German in the gate of Manchester town center – completely inconceivable few years after the end of the Second World War. But on it the indignant town center fans already briefly put their boycott plans to the documents. Unbelievable parades with the first away game in Fulham flowed at that time into an unusual final: The opposing players discharged trusting man with applause into the cab.

Thus began the career of a torwarts, who had landed as a prisoner of war in England – after eventful years in the armed forces. Condemned by a German court-martial as Saboteur, the paratrooper escaped in last second, in order on it of the Russians to be taken prisoner briefly. After a further escape only the Frenchmen determined it, then the Americans and finally the Englishmen, who received the escapee king with the unsterblichen sentence: “hello Fritz – as it would be with a cup of tea?” Already in the prisoner-of-war camp “POW Camp 50” in the English town Ashton had trusting man with the football career, which did not only set sporty boundary stones. Naturally the Englishmen loved it, because it held equivalent four eleven-meters for example in a play. But highest respect earned itself it in its host country, for sake which it shortened the first names “Bernd Carl” assigned by birth certificate to the user friendly “Bert”, as irreproachable Ambassadors of the football. Important chapters of the German/British reconciliation after the world wars were written by this man, who was praised of colleagues such as Stanley Matthews or Bobby Charlton as a “best torwart of all times”.

And a prominent place in the eternal book of the football legends secured itself. One wrote 5 May 1956. Prince Philip did not let be taken it to congratulate to the hero in the gate of the English Erstligisten Manchester town center personally to the triumph in the English Cup final. Then the curious question followed “why holds you actually the head so inclined?”, which countered Bert trusting man ungeruehrt: “property a rigid neck”. Only later a medical examination the true cause of the strange head attitude promoted four days to the light: In the dramatic conclusion-kept in track trusting man had broken again once head and collar risked – and thereby promptly the neck. Nearly a half year protected afterwards a shapeless gypsum tank the healing process of a courageous torwarts. At the latest with this courageous appearance Bert had become trusting man the most popular torwart in England, who was selected still in the same year as first foreigners to the “soccer player of the yearly”.

60,000 trailers in the overcrowded stadium to the Maine Road in Manchester discharged finally in the year 1964 a football Idol. Finally the German football federation sent the choice Englishman as a development aid into all world – a generous gesture for an exception soccer player, who never played in the German national team, because coach Sepp Herberger excluded the employment at that time from “Legionaeren” strictly.

REQUEST: FULHAM TICKETS

Desperately seeking 2 tickets for Fulham. Please email to address below – am currently away so not on phone, but picking up messages.

REQUEST: TOKYO BLUES VIEWING

I will be in Tokyo this weekend. Does anyone know a good place to watch Premiership football on TV?

REQUEST: VOTE FOR CITY SITES

You can vote for the original Manchester City Supporters’ website in this year’s footballshirts.co.uk Fan Site awards.

Voting is by visiting our homepage at http://www.uit.no/mancity/ and following the link, or direct at http://www.football-shirts.co.uk/mancityfans.html and voting for Supporters’ Home Page.

REQUEST: POINTS OF BLUE

The next meeting will be on Monday 18 April. 7 p.m. The delegate meeting with the club is likely to be on Tuesday 3 May.

Any agenda items other than following up minutes?

REQUEST: CITY WEB USERS

http://www.mcfc.co.uk/article.asp?article=268207&Title=An+invitation+from+the+website

The official City web site, mcfc.co.uk, will shortly be undertaking a redesign and as such Manchester City would like to invite your comments for input. The Club are looking to get together a series of focus groups in the next few days. If you would like to contribute any comments, likes or dislikes, regarding City’s web site then this is your opportunity.

The first focus group will take place in London on Thursday 7th April at 6.00pm in Chiswick. The second group will take place at the City of Manchester Stadium on Friday 8th April at 6.00pm. A third group will take place on the morning of Saturday’s game at the City of Manchester Stadium. If you are interested in attending either session, to be sure there is a representative cross-sample of support, please e-mail the following details:

Name:
Day-time tel no:
Whether you are a Seasoncard holder, Citycard holder, or neither.
Age:
Gender:
How often do you visit mcfc.co.uk?
Daily / Weekly / Twice monthly / Monthly / Less often.
Which session you would like to attend.

Please e-mail your details to: <research(at)mcfc.co.uk>. Places are limited and you will be contacted to let you know if you have been selected.

Each focus group will last around 90 minutes. Refreshments will be provided.

WHY BLUE

Just wanted to e-mail in to say how much I enjoyed Bill Jensen’s article in MCIVTA 1109. It was of particular relevance to me as I too support City and the New York Mets.

Why City? Well, I grew-up in Manchester, and with my dad being an armchair Burnley fan, back in 1983 when I was 6, I, like so many other kids, picked a local team to support. And who did I pick at that naïve and unrefined age? Man Utd of course! I supported Utd through to the spring of 1986, when an incident in the playground was to change the course of so much of my life.

As usual, we were playing football at lunchtime, and that day’s game was City fans vs. Utd. fans. City were short of players, so I switched to the City side, much to the mirth of my fellow Reds whose taunts gave me my first taste of being on the receiving end of that rich verbal eloquence that so typifies Man U fans – they jeered “aaah you’re a City fan” – genius. “Fine”, I said, being an obstinate sort of lad, “I’m a City fan” and so it was to be. Do I wish I missed school that day? Of course not, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

And The Mets? Well, two friends and I were in New York in June 2003, and whilst there, we wanted to do there was to watch some American sport. The main attraction that week was the Mets vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. At the time, I have to admit that I was disappointed that the Yankees weren’t in town, but once I got caught up in the atmosphere around Shea Stadium, I found myself becoming increasingly attached to the Mets.

It had occurred to me before the game, that to be supporting a team who had spent a lot of money failing to climb out of the shadows of their more illustrious neighbours would remind me of City, and it did. The reactions of the Mets fans watching their team again succumb to “inferior opposition” were all too familiar. We decided that if we adapted some English football songs to baseball, it might stir the crowd to extend their repertoire beyond their only two chants – the repetitive “Lets go Mets”, and the comic take-off, specific to our tier of the ground “Lets go Mezzanine”.

“Roger Cedeno’s disco pants are the best”, “There’s only one Mike Piazza”, and “New York Mets, New York Mets, New York Mets” sang to the tune of “Here we go” rang out from the Mezzanine level, but unfortunately only because three English lads were singing at the tops of their voices. Although we raised a few smiles and a couple of laughs, the Americans seemed all too satisfied drinking their Buds and chomping on their ‘dogs’.

Although our songs never caught on, we’d picked up the ubiquitous “Let’s go Mets”, and a bemused bloke on the Subway was treated to a rendition of it from three English guys in Mets baseball caps. His crime? Wearing a Yankees baseball cap. It had taken us a mere four hours as Mets fans to settle into the local rivalry. I’ve not been back to New York since, but when I’m next over, I’ll definitely be trying to go when the Mets are in town.

RESULTS

3 April 2005

Fulham                3 - 1  Portsmouth            20,502
West Bromwich Albion  1 - 0  Everton               26,805

2 April 2005

Charlton Athletic     2 - 2  Manchester City       26,436
Arsenal               4 - 1  Norwich City          38,066
Birmingham City       1 - 1  Tottenham Hotspur     29,304
Crystal Palace        0 - 1  Middlesbrough         24,274
Liverpool             1 - 0  Bolton Wanderers      43,755
Manchester United     0 - 0  Blackburn Rovers      67,939
Newcastle United      0 - 3  Aston Villa           52,306
Southampton           1 - 3  Chelsea               31,949

League table to 06 April 2005 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Chelsea         31 12  3  0 30  4 13  2  1 31  7 25  5  1  61  11  50  80
 2 Arsenal         31 10  5  1 43 18 10  2  3 29 15 20  7  4  72  33  39  67
 3 Manchester Utd  31 11  5  0 27  7  8  5  2 21 10 19 10  2  48  17  31  67
 4 Everton         31  9  1  5 16 14  6  5  5 19 19 15  6 10  35  33   2  51
 5 Liverpool       31 11  2  3 26 11  4  3  8 18 20 15  5 11  44  31  13  50
 6 Bolton Wndrs    31  7  4  4 18 12  6  3  7 20 23 13  7 11  38  35   3  46
 7 Middlesbrough   31  7  5  3 23 17  5  4  7 22 25 12  9 10  45  42   3  45
 8 Charlton Ath.   31  8  3  5 26 21  4  5  6 11 23 12  8 11  37  44  -7  44
 9 Tottenham H.    31  7  3  5 29 20  5  4  7  9 15 12  7 12  38  35   3  43
10 Aston Villa     31  8  3  4 23 13  3  5  8 14 26 11  8 12  37  39  -2  41
11 Newcastle Utd   30  7  4  5 24 24  2  7  5 17 24  9 11 10  41  48  -7  38
12 Manchester City 31  5  5  5 17 13  4  5  7 20 23  9 10 12  37  36   1  37
13 Birmingham City 31  6  5  5 20 13  3  4  8 14 25  9  9 13  34  38  -4  36
14 Fulham          30  6  3  6 19 22  3  3  9 17 26  9  6 15  36  48 -12  33
15 Blackburn R.    31  3  7  5 16 19  4  5  7  9 18  7 12 12  25  37 -12  33
16 Portsmouth      31  6  3  6 20 20  2  4 10 13 29  8  7 16  33  49 -16  31
17 Southampton     31  4  9  3 23 22  1  3 11 11 26  5 12 14  34  48 -14  27
18 West Brom A.    31  4  7  5 14 21  1  5  9 16 30  5 12 14  30  51 -21  27
19 Crystal Palace  31  5  3  8 15 14  1  5  9 18 36  6  8 17  33  50 -17  26
20 Norwich City    31  3  5  7 23 31  0  6 10  7 32  3 11 17  30  63 -33  20

MCIVTA FAQ [v0405.02]

[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. The Fans’ Committee has been relaunched as “Points of Blue”. It has appeared on the club website as a minor entry under “Fans Zone”.

[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: