Newsletter #1180

News and reaction to Sunday’s win, and another great report from Ed.

Don brings us a reminder that the transfer window is almost upon us as rumours start about Fowler, possible signees and Hussein being released. The pitch is attracting attention, and our youth team beat Coventry in the FA Youth Cup this week and are to face West Ham next.

We also have more stats, plenty of requests and views on recent performances.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

Perfect Pitch: If you are able to watch BBC’s “Match of the Day 2” on Sunday night, you’ll know that presenter Adrian Chiles particularly enjoys two features of City’s weekend appearances. One is the technical area performance of the beloved Gaffer Psycho, while the other is the cutting of the sward at the COMS. For those that haven’t noticed, City’s groundstaff don’t mow the pitch in straight lines – oh no, they’re much more creative than that. And the circles, diagonal lines and tartan patterns have featured recently in the M.E.N. “The patterns started after manager Kevin Keegan left. He wanted to stick with traditional cuts, so I did,” explained deputy head groundsman Lee Jackson. “But present manager Stuart Peace hasn’t mentioned it. We’ve had eight games at home and won all but one, so if it was affecting play I’d have been asked to change it by now. I was amazed when the patterns began to be motioned on TV, but I can’t take the credit. There’s a big team of groundsmen here and we all work hard to make sure the pitch is perfect for every game.” The article tells us that each change in design takes up to 18 hours to complete, and sometimes they use two mowers on the more complex patterns (thanks to the Northenden News Hound).

Sunny for Scunny: City will play Scunthorpe in the third round of the FA Cup at the COMS. Andy Keogh scored the only goal of the game as the League One side saw off non-league Aldershot in the previous round. Scunny are managed by Stuart Pearce’s ex-Forest teammate Brian Laws. The match will be played on the weekend of 7/8 January.

Fowler Still Good at Something: FourFourTwo Magazine produced their annual football rich lists this week, and the league table for the richest footballers in the country made interesting reading. The top 3 were David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp and Michael Owen, but there in fourth pace, worth a cool £28 million, is City’s Robbie Fowler. This is in spite of only appearing once for City, in the derby match at OT. SP’s been defending his rarely-seen striker this week, and Patrick Barclay in the Sunday Telegraph quoted Psycho’s Friday press conference in some detail. ‘Pearce asserted: “Make no mistake – Robbie is not shy of hard work. I can only judge by what I see out there on the training field and what I see is a person who wants to challenge for a first-team spot.”‘ But surely, someone argued, the time for such optimism had passed: was Fowler not washed up at 30, more evident in promoting his autobiography than helping City strike out for Europe? Again Pearce saw the amusing side. “I didn’t realise writing a book branded you as washed up.” He believed Michael Owen had brought out a book. “Someone tell him he’s washed up – he scored against us a couple of weeks ago!” This vote of confidence didn’t stop the press speculating again over Robbie’s future at the club. The Daily Star on Sunday thought that Fowler would be leaving the club in the summer, saving the club a cool £40,000 per week [no place in the reserves, but challenging for a first team spot – doesn’t add up! – Ed].

A Tale of Two Pens: City’s under-18’s won a close contest with Coventry City this week, to ensure the progress of the Young Blues into the next round of the FA Youth Cup. Things were looking comfortable after 70 minutes, as City held a 3-1 lead, thanks to two goals by Danny Sturridge and one from Micah Richards. But one missed penalty and one spot kick converted by the visitors ensured a frantic finish. Academy director Jim Cassell saw the injury to captain Richards as a turning point in the game. “In terms of dominance, I thought we got better as the game went on and if we had put more chances away we would have had an easier final 15 minutes than we did have. We made a conscious effort that we were not going to play deep, that we were going to push up and I thought we did that very well. Micah Richards going off was a little blow to us because his pace and power in the air were important, but Sam Williams came off the bench and did very well. It’s important that someone can come off the bench and do a job for you without the team being weakened.” He picked out the performance by goalie Laurence Matthewson. “I thought he was superb, he was competent and he concentrated,” said Jim. “Sometimes with young boys they lose their concentration a bit, but overall I thought his performance was top class because he was not fully occupied for long periods of the game. He’s learning all the time, and David Felgate, Alex Gibson, Paul Power and Frank Bunn can all take great heart from the fact that we were well organised. Individuals performed on the night, they did something different and Laurence falls into that category – he performed as an individual, which was great.” City will travel to West Ham United in the next round. City team: Matthewson, Obeng, Logan, McDonald, Richards (c) (Williamson 70), Marshall, Williams, Johnson, Etuhu, Sturridge, Moore. Subs: C Evans, Hartley, S Evans, Breen.

Transfer News and Gossip

More Strength Needed: Perhaps it was meant to gee up his current players (in which case, it worked for the Charlton game!), but SP revealed this week that he wants to strengthen the squad. “I went over the squad last summer and I know exactly what we have to do to strengthen the squad to take this club where I want it to go,” he said. “It does not really matter how results go, my opinion will not change.” The good citizens of the press corps have provided us with a couple of likely candidates for SP’s attention. And they are…

Taxi for Maxi? Barcelona striker Maxi Lopez is a loan target for City, according to Tuesday’s Daily Mail. The 21-year-old Argentinian, a £4 million signing from River Plate in February, has been restricted in his appearances this season and wants regular first-team football in the New Year in a last-ditch bid to make Argentina’s World Cup squad. Real Betis are also keen on the player but Barça would prefer Lopez not to play for one of their league rivals, meaning a move to the Premiership could be on the cards, with West Ham also interested in him.

Let’s Get Lescott: Wolverhampton’s Express & star newspaper reports that City could swoop for Wolves centre half Joleon Lescott. They claim that SP watched the 23-year-old in action at Derby last month and also visited Molineux to run the rule over him against Millwall in September. Lescott has just signed a new contract, so a fee would have to be paid for the speedy defender. Middlesbrough and Arsenal are also thought to be interested.

Reactions and Comments

Five Alive: What a way to end a goal drought! Andy Cole struck twice to inspire City to a rousing 5-2 victory at Charlton Athletic in the Premier League on Sunday. City’s third away win of the season consolidated their position in eighth place in the table, while Charlton’s poor run continued after their bright start to the campaign and they slipped to 12th. Cole put City ahead after 25 minutes with a calm finish, Darren Bent equalised for Charlton and Trevor Sinclair restored the visitors’ lead before half time. Charlton had chances to level but Joey Barton opened up a two-goal cushion when he rammed home the rebound after his 68th-minute penalty was saved by Charlton ‘keeper Dean Kiely. Substitute Jay Bothroyd gave the hosts hope with a rasping low drive from 20 metres but Cole released his strike partner Darius Vassell to add the fourth before rounding Kiely himself to complete the rout.

Change is as Good as a Rest: Mr. Pearce was understandably upbeat after this comprehensive thrashing. “I thought we were the better side for the 90 minutes. As I’ve seen many a time in The Premiership you never actually know, sometimes when you’re comfortably in control of the game the opposition score,” he said. “Once you go 3-1 up you think it’s going to be comfortable again but credit to them they battled their way back into the game and I don’t think it’s ever comfortable in The Premiership until you’re three goals in advance of the opposition.” Much of the pre-match analysis concerned Psycho’s decision to make five changes to the team. “The young boys that had come into the side, and three of them came on in the triple substitution at the end, had done extremely well and I just thought it was the right time drop them out, let them have a breather and look at the senior players having a bash today.” Pearce explained. “I made 5 changes today and obviously when you do that you worry about upsetting the balance of the side,” Pearce told Sky Sports. “We’ve not won a match for 3 games before today and I think, character-wise, it was a big game for us as a football club and a group of players. We delivered on all fronts really. They showed great character to want to carve out a victory and played some very good football. Plus Claudio Reyna’s not played for 6 weeks, Trevor Sinclair the same, David Sommeil’s been out with a fractured cheekbone for the same length of time, and Ben Thatcher’s also come back from having a bit of time out. So I think all round I was pleased with the way we played, pleased with the way we scrapped away and our honesty and endeavour.” It was another good day at the office for his strikers: “Andy Cole’s eye for a goal is sensational. In our dressing room he’s a leader. He is well respected and we need that. Darius Vassell plays off him fantastically well. They complement each other so well.”

Vass the Way to Do It: Darius Vassell paid tribute to his striking buddy. “All credit to Andy, he got two today and hopefully we can both keep chipping in. Playing with him, hopefully I can learn and improve myself. I’ve been watching him all his career and it’s nice to get that opportunity (to play alongside him) and I just hope I can blossom. We’re looking to kick-start the season and today was fantastic, all the lads pulled in well and we got the result we deserved. We were so close last season and if we can get into Europe I’m sure everyone at the club will be very pleased.”

Curbs Curbs His Enthusiasm: Only a few weeks ago Alan Curbishley was being touted as the next England manager, but half a dozen consecutive defeats, as well as the conceding of 8 goals in two home games in the space of four days, have left Curbishley angry and disillusioned. Sunday had been “A catalogue of disasters. The defending was unbelievable. We were on the back foot from the start. Our fans cannot take much more of this, can they?” he added. “They have been fantastic so far but even if we were booed off the pitch against City who can blame them? It must be obvious we have a lot of problems. We can score goals but we can’t defend, can’t keep a clean sheet. And it is down to me and the players. There’s no player in this club, from Dean Kiely to Danny Murphy, who can knock on my door and say, ‘What about me?'” he said. “We are not good enough and that’s it. City played well, but I’m fed up with every team that comes here saying that it’s the best they’ve played. The common denominator is us. We don’t look remotely as if we can keep a clean sheet. We’re letting goals in and whoever I change and bring in is making the same mistakes, so it is very difficult. When we came out of Stamford Bridge on a high after knocking Chelsea out of the Carling Cup in October, you couldn’t have legislated for what has happened to us.”

Sinc and Joey: And now let’s hear from two of City’s other goalscorers. Trevor Sinclair made a return to first team action and declared: “I’m delighted to get back.” Of his injuries he revealed: “I’ve had this niggling groin injury for quite a while now. I got back from the knee injury and then I’ve got this little groin niggle, which was frustrating. I’ve had a good team around me who have worked hard and known when to pull me out and rest me. I feel like I’m over that, now I’m just looking forward to training and getting back into it and playing a decent amount of games over the Christmas period and hopefully until the end of the season.” Joey Barton meanwhile thanked the fans for the support he received at the game. “It’s always nice to know that the fans are on your side, and I think they appreciate what I try and do for the football team, and I appreciate what they try and do for us as well. I just want to say a big thank you for the support I’ve received from our fans. Having 2,000 at Charlton on a Sunday a few weeks before Christmas, with the game on television speaks volumes about how well the Club’s supported, and how well they want the Club to do. The fans did very well for us yesterday and Sylvain and me tried to give our shirts to them because it meant a lot to me. Especially with how loud they were and how much they got behind the team yesterday.”

Squad News

It’s Only a Little Break… Stuart Pearce knows how to announce an injury. His pre-match interview on Sky Sports ran thus: Q. “So Stuart, you’ve made 5 changes from the last game. One of those not playing is Danny Mills. Why is that?” A. “He’s broke his leg.” Cue stunned silence from the interviewer. Mr. Pearce continued: “We found out two days ago basically. He received a rather nasty tackle at Arsenal a couple of weeks ago, which he needed stitches on. He was okay and we thought there wasn’t a problem with that. He developed a problem this week with it. We went for an X-ray and that proved negative. Then a scan proved a degeneration of the bone. I think he will be out for a couple of weeks with that.” A couple of weeks? Man, these full backs are tough!

Better Musampa on the Way? Despite not making the team on Sunday, Kiki Musampa remains determined to clinch a permanent deal at City. He just loves it here, apparently. “I’ve proved a few things here, but I can do more,” Musampa told the Sunday Times. “People can see a better Musampa. I didn’t know about City’s traditions for being a positive team until I arrived, but I love playing for them and their crowd. When I came here I was looking for the joy again and I found it. Now I enjoy coming to work. At the end in Spain I was losing my enjoyment. The way Stuart Pearce wants us to play here is quick, as a team, with everyone moving – the two-touch game. That’s what makes beautiful football.”

Huss’ Sorry Now? SP has revealed that Yasser Hussein’s contract won’t be renewed when it runs out in December. He made one first team start, in the League Cup at Doncaster, but Pearce paid tribute to the Qatari international. “I couldn’t speak highly enough of him as a man around the place, he’s been fantastic, it’s been a breath of fresh air and I think he’s given us and the Club everything he’s got. From his point of view he needs to play first team football because he’s been used to that. Now he’s an international player, he’s come back to us the other week after playing against Argentina, so to come back to playing in our reserves is a little bit disappointing for him. If he can get himself another club, that’s best for him. From both parties point of view it’s not just Manchester City and me saying ‘I don’t think you’re up to the standard’. What we’re saying is ‘you’ve not made the breakthrough in four or five months’, now between the pair of us we feel as though he has to play first team football and we feel he’s still behind one or two here.”

MATCH REPORT ‘LIVE’: CAFC 2 MCFC 5

A not so wintry trip was the offer this week from the Premier League, and realising quite late that City were back down London way, I left it quite late to get a ticket… no trouble despite our reduced allocation from Charlton.

Mood on the way to the ground was not optimistic having seen recently the performances against Fulham (a) and Liverpool (h). Surely we couldn’t slip up against a Charlton side who were lacking in confidence?

City started brightly, Vassell should have done better when put clean through by Cole, but a heavy touch proved costly as Kiely came out and collected (albeit taking a boot in the chest). Dunne looked like he wanted to improve his goals to games ratio with three “chances” in as many minutes, well, only one was a real chance, a free header that maybe should have been on target. Eventually though City’s superiority shone through and Cole provided a classy touch to a neat piece of control by Vassell (still not convinced it was a pass to Cole, or just Vassell trying to beat the defender, either way the ball was in the net and the City fans were going nuts).

Charlton then managed to have the ball in the City half for a few minutes and Ambrose (who at the time was being routinely booed by the City fans for having taken an age to be ushered from the field when injured) should have done better. Maybe he was actually aiming for us to try to keep us quiet? Who knows, but the ball ploughed into the City fans rather than the net.

A few minutes later though, Bent latched onto a horrible misjudgement by Dunne to fire coolly past James. 1-1. Charlton fans next to us had glee all over their faces, but no sooner had they turned round, pulled their seats down again and sat down with the smugness of a set of fans whose team has just scored, then we were jumping up as Sinclair nailed one across Kiely and into the far corner. Looked from where we were like a crossing position so I think the whole end was surprised when there was the crack of the net and the beautiful sight of it bulging 2-1.

Half time.

Second half stared much like the first. City were fluent in possession, looking threatening and creating the openings. One shot by Barton screamed by the top corner, though City fans had been baying for him to shoot earlier before defenders pressured him. Thoughts were flying through the head of how we might rue our missed chances like last season’s trip to The Valley, but then, anguish was relieved slightly when Sinclair got in space again on the right hand side and fired in a cross which seemed to hit Perry on the arm. I for one certainly thought the penalty had been given for handball, it was given smartly by the ref, but I’m not sure many City fans were appealing. TV replays showed it was for a pull on Vassell’s shirt. Either way, game on. City had the chance to put the game out of reach. Up steps Barton, facing the City fans all chanting his name and… woeful, straight down the middle! No matter, the rebound went straight to him and it was soon nestling in the bottom corner. 3-1. Game over. Nope. Back came Charlton almost immediately with a well struck free kick. Could James have done better? What was all the hassle with the wall for?

3-2. Back to being a nervous wreck esp. as Charlton now had their strongest spell of the game. James saving but spilling a Thomas shot, a couple of corners and the nerves were beginning to fray then Cole, one touch and Vassell was through, everyone in the City end was on their feet before Vassell neatly tucked the ball under the very slowly advancing Keily. 4-2, surely now we could relax? Yep. City lumped the ball forward a few minutes later and Perry and Keily summed up the Charlton defence that night with a nice bit of hesitating on the back-header, in nipped the lively Cole, neat touch round Keily and an even neater finish with the outside of the boot.

There was still time for the chants of “we want six” and maybe if Ireland hadn’t slipped on the edge of the box we’d have got it, but who can really complain with 5 goals away from home? Some good moments off the pitch too. Pearce responding to chants of “Psycho, give us a wave” by putting his hands behind his ears as if to say “I can’t hear you” and then punching the air (at 4-2), his celebrating when we got the fifth, the City fans chanting Barton’s name from the moment he stepped onto the pitch, and his acknowledgement of that fact before kick-off by raising his hands.

Also of note was the complete farce at the end of the game when Distin attempted to give his shirt to a fan in the front row and was stopped by 4 stewards. He proceeded to give them an earful (much to the delight of the City fans) whilst Barton calmly walked up about 10 yards away and hurled his shirt into the crowd to a huge cheer! Balmy, Distin needless to say had the full backing of the City contingent who let the stewards know their thoughts on the matter.

James: 7 confident on crosses and came out and collected well, which given Charlton’s mode of attack being long balls for Bent, was quite important. Could have maybe done better with the free kick.

Sommeil: 7 have to say, I’ve never been that convinced, but today, David “Edgar Davids” Sommeil looked assured and even had a mazy run into the box to write home about.

Dunne: 6 not his best game at the back, at fault for the first goal. Got more assured as the game went on.

Distin: 8 Legend as ever. Easily coped with the pace of Bent and won everything in the air.

Thatcher: 6 Solid. Maybe at fault for a clumsy tackle leading to the Charlton free kick?

Sinclair: 7 Best game for a long time (but then he has been injured!.) Quality strike, which I think changed the game as it stopped Charlton building any momentum from their first goal. Quieter second half but always an outlet and option for the midfield. Also got visibly angry with himself if he mis-controlled something.

Reyna: 7 Quiet but effective, should never cover in the left back slot as his poor control just after our 4th goal showed! Most important influence is his presence, seems to have a massive impact on Barton’s effectiveness as it takes some of the pressure off him.

Barton: 9 Poor penalty but good reactions. Could have scored a couple more from distance. Was everywhere and never let Murphy, Ambrose et al have a moment’s peace on the ball, which meant that Charlton didn’t look like they were the team with the extra man in midfield.

Sun Jihai: 7 Not a left midfielder, too often was dragged inside or backwards to where he seems more comfortable. Still provided some useful openings in the first half.

Cole: 10 2 goals, 2 assists away from home. Can’t ask for much more really. Only thing is he seems to need a goal before he really gets going in games?

Vassell: 10 1 goal 1 assist. It’s a useful partnership when they are both on fire isn’t it!? Works tremendously hard, harassing the opposition defence. Put his first half miss out of mind immediately and was always looking interested. Great outlet for the midfield.

The young guns weren’t really on long enough to make an impression, which was a shame. Good to see City looking to play the ball into the forwards’ feet rather than in the air (as against Liverpool and Fulham), also, Sinclair was always pulling away on the right hand side to give James an option with his goal kicks, which quite often meant Charlton were immediately put on the back foot.

All round, £25 well spent!

OPINION: CHARLTON PERFORMANCE

Time for my bi-annual contribution (and by the way, thank you to the MCIVTA team for your continued excellent work).

I had the pleasure of being at Charlton on Sunday, and it was indeed a great performance (although we still looked weak at the back). I think SP, wherever we finish, has proved to be inspired, getting these type of performances from essentially the same team KK squandered (accepting the fact that Darius and Andrew have since arrived).

Our early league position flattered us a little, and a respectable 8-9th finish in SP’s first full season would do me fine. If Wardle hadn’t wasted the cash over the past two years I can only imagine what SP would have done with £50 million. But hey, that’s another story.

Squad opinion:

James: Too many errors and moments of stupidity, but equally can make inspired match-saving saves.
Sommeil/Zorro: Ummm, still not sure – getting better, but lacks pace.
Dunne: Loved him last season, needs to find that form again.
Distin: Not sure he should be captain, but seems to be growing in stature.
Thatcher: First division quality – we need to dump him.
Mills: Same as Thatcher, but maybe bottom half Premiership quality.
Jordan: Gets beaten too often for top Premiership level, but has come a very long way.
Sinclair: Had a great game at the Valley-has he at last found some injury-free form?
Barton: Growing up every game – loved by the fans, and showing some skill too.
Reyna: Haven’t yet seen the great form that dominated the tail end of last season, but time will tell.
Sun: Too erratic in distribution and challenging – but has commitment and occasional inspired touches and positioning.
Vassell: Like to see some more finishing, but an excellent Robin to Cole’s Batman.
Cole: Excellent buy, and pure skill – only gripe is that he can wander alone and uninterested (à la Anelka) when the chips are down.
Ireland: Lovely player, needs a few years to grow into a major talent.
Croft: Not yet convinced, but occasional promise.
BWP: Love the enthusiasm, but not sure of the killer blow.
Kiki: Irritating. From moments of sheer class to moments of sheer ****. Obviously has a wonderful touch, but could do with being 10 years younger.

In short, a little too stretched and a little too weak for a major European challenge, and enormous credit to SP for doing so much with such a small squad.

Other rants: Stadium atmosphere; still appalling. Away kits (both first and second choice) horrid. City website; rubbish.

Biggest rant: the fat Charlton steward, who at the end of the game refused to let Distin give his shirt to a little kid at the City end. Totally pathetic and unwarranted. Hope everyone writes into the ‘family friendly’ Charlton to complain.

Time to put on my new Manchester City CD, and watch the highlights from Sunday.

OPINION: CHARLTON PERFORMANCE

Did I just see Richard Dunne have a shocker? Strange, but I’m sure it won’t happen again! I used to think that Distin only looked good because he was playing next to Dunnie, but he seems to be turning into a real Captain. Apart from Sunday of course, when I think Dunnie had a real stinker, I don’t think there is a better central partnership in the country.

I thought Sun gave us a lot of the energy that had been missing recently, I almost had him as MotM. Cole and Vassell proved that all we have to do is get the ball to them and they can do the rest, and Joey is maturing into a real footballer.

But I’m not sure we have turned the corner from our mini-slump yet; all those “City Jitters” were back again – I didn’t feel comfortable even at 3-1. But, confidence is everything, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.

I noticed that the Munich songs were out in force again when Andrew scored; did anyone else note the look of derision on his face?

Keep the faith.

OPINION: STAT ATTACK

Swings and Roundabouts

As we approach the festive period, I thought it was about time for a review of my bullish prediction of 66 points made in August before a ball was kicked, a Christmas cake iced or a turkey’s life insurance premiums suspiciously upped by his wife.

Hypothesis: I can predict the future.

Method: Simple. Abandon science and allocate prospective points to each fixture on gut instinct and previous, bitter experience all in one minute so as not to labour the deliberations.

Results and Observations: The current results table is printed below and we are in a surprisingly strong position despite our recent stutter. More importantly for my precognitive, prognostic, superabilities, we are exactly where I said we would be on 24 points!

How we got there is a bit more sketchy. I got 6 right and 9 wrong. Of the wrong…

• 2 Wins turned into draws -4 WBA B’Burn
• 1 Win turned into defeat -3 Bolton
• 2 Draws turned into defeats -2 Arsenal L’pool

Total -9

• 2 Defeats turned into wins +6 Brum E’ton
• 1 Draw turned into a win +2 Sun’land
• 1 Defeat turned into draw +1 Redsocks

Total +9

Net Zero Points

Conclusions:
If my observed error ratio is extrapolated to the end of the season, the following will be true:

• We will lose to West Brom, Birmingham, Wigan, Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Bolton,Everton, Sunderland, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Blackburn (0)
• We will draw against Tottenham, Newcastle, and Portsmouth (+3)
• We will beat the Redsocks, Charlton, Liverpool, Wigan, Middlesbrough,Tottenham, West Ham, Aston Villa, and Fulham (+27)

Net +30 Points

So we go into game 16 with 24 points plus 30 = 54 points, down 12 on the predicted finish but 2 more than last season.

The big scientific “however”, however is that after 15 games played only one real conclusion can be drawn: A bookmaker’s car will be bigger than yours in the ratio of the sum of all money placed in bets, squared.

TEAM           Predicted Accum   Actual Accum   Points +/-  Accuracy
WBA                   3              1            -2          DOWN
Birmingham            3              4             3           UP
Sunderland            4              7             2           UP
Portsmouth            7             10             0          RIGHT
Manchester Utd        7             11             1           UP
Bolton               10             11            -3          DOWN
Newcastle            10             11             0          RIGHT
Everton              10             14             3           UP
West Ham             13             17             0          RIGHT
Arsenal              14             17            -1          DOWN
Aston Villa          17             20             0          RIGHT
Fulham               17             20             0          RIGHT
Blackburn            20             21            -2          DOWN
Liverpool            21             21            -1          DOWN
Charlton             24             24             0          RIGHT
West Bromwich Albion 27
Birmingham City      28
Wigan Athletic       31
Chelsea              31
Middlesbrough        31
Tottenham Hotspur    32
Manchester United    32
Bolton Wanderers     35
Newcastle United     36
Everton              37
Charlton Athletic    40
Liverpool            40
Sunderland           43
Portsmouth           44
Wigan Athletic       47
Chelsea              47
Middlesbrough        50
Tottenham Hotspur    53
West Ham United      56
Arsenal              57
Aston Villa          60
Fulham               63
Blackburn Rovers     66

OPINION: SWEET REVENGE

I am sure that I am not the only Blue who amuses himself by hiding Man Ure merchandise behind other things to pass the time whilst being dragged around the shops. Just covering up their filthy calendars with other more acceptable ones, putting Rag books behind other sports books or moving them to other sections; you know the sort of thing. I’d like to hear from Blues who also enjoy this kind of thing. If you email me, I will compile the best ones and send it back to MCIVTA.

REQUEST: WEST BROM TICKET

I have one spare available for WBA away – face value of course. If anyone wants it, can you please ring me on 07929 387737.

I live in Altrincham if the buyer wants to collect it on Friday night, or I could meet them outside the turnstile at 2.30pm on Saturday – alternatively we’ll be having pre-match beers in Birmingham town centre from 11.30am onwards.

REQUEST: WIGAN TICKETS

I’m looking for 2 tickets for Wigan vs. City on Boxing Day. I will only be back in the UK for a week over Christmas and am really hoping to get to see us play.

Any help with this is much appreciated.

REQUEST: WIGAN TICKETS

2 tickets for Wigan, to continue years of tradition taking my exiled brother as his Christmas present.

Here’s hoping…

REQUEST: CITY CARD

Ho I know this has been covered, but due to a royale co*k up by me I’ve lost all my MCITVA emails. Anyway, how do you get hold of the free City card that lets you buy matchday tickets. I’ve been to the web site, but they only show the full season card or City card at 20 quid.

REQUEST: AUSTRALIAN BLUES

I’m looking for some help from Aussie based Blue! I am in Australia from the 7th of January 2006. I am arriving in Perth and plan to be there till at least the start of March before moving over to the east coast.

I was hoping someone could advise what the coverage of the Premiership/City is like over there. Which channels will I catch the games on? The derby match is on the week or so after I arrive I’m keen to have it all figured out before I go. I realise there are obviously different Blues in different places, so maybe if the head (or anyone!) at each branch could just let me know their contact details etc. so I can possibly contact you when I’m out there! I would really appreciate hearing from you guys.

I’m going to be in Singapore for the Spurs game on the 4th. It’s on Sky so I presume ESPN Asia will be carrying it. If there are any Blues in Singapore I’d be delighted to hear from you too!

RESULTS

5 December 2005

Birmingham City       1 - 2  West Ham United       24,010

League table to 07 December 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         15  8  0  0 22  4  5  1  1 12  3 13  1  1  34   7  27  40
 2 Manchester Utd  14  3  2  1  8  4  6  1  1 16  9  9  3  2  24  13  11  30
 3 Liverpool       14  5  1  1 11  4  3  3  1  7  4  8  4  2  18   8  10  28
 4 Tottenham H.    15  4  3  1 10  6  3  3  1  9  6  7  6  2  19  12   7  27
 5 Arsenal         14  7  0  0 16  2  1  2  4  6 10  8  2  4  22  12  10  26
 6 Bolton Wndrs    14  5  1  1  8  1  3  1  3  9 12  8  2  4  17  13   4  26
 7 Wigan Athletic  14  4  1  3  9  8  4  0  2  7  5  8  1  5  16  13   3  25
 8 Manchester City 15  4  2  2  9  5  3  1  3 11  9  7  3  5  20  14   6  24
 9 West Ham United 14  4  1  2 12  6  2  3  2  7  8  6  4  4  19  14   5  22
10 Middlesbrough   15  3  3  2 12 12  2  1  4  8  9  5  4  6  20  21  -1  19
11 Newcastle Utd   15  3  3  1  7  6  2  1  5  6  9  5  4  6  13  15  -2  19
12 Charlton Ath.   14  1  1  5  7 15  5  0  2 12  8  6  1  7  19  23  -4  19
13 Blackburn R.    15  4  1  2 10  7  1  2  5  5 13  5  3  7  15  20  -5  18
14 Fulham          15  4  1  2 10  7  0  3  5  6 13  4  4  7  16  20  -4  16
15 Aston Villa     15  2  2  3  7 10  2  2  4  8 13  4  4  7  15  23  -8  16
16 Everton         14  2  1  3  3  5  3  0  5  4 11  5  1  8   7  16  -9  16
17 West Brom A.    15  3  1  4 12 12  0  3  4  3 12  3  4  8  15  24  -9  13
18 Portsmouth      15  0  3  4  3 10  2  1  5  8 13  2  4  9  11  23 -12  10
19 Birmingham City 14  0  1  6  4 12  2  2  3  5  7  2  3  9   9  19 -10   9
20 Sunderland      16  0  2  7  7 20  1  0  6  7 13  1  2 13  14  33 -19   5

MCIVTA FAQ [v0506.02]

[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.mcfcosc.com/); the “Centenary Supporters’ Association” (http://www.reddishblues.com/CSAWebsite/CSA.htm) and “The International Supporters’ Club”.

[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://mcfc.videoloungetv.com/do/preLogin?clubSiteCode=MCFC&CMP=AFC-003.

[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://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/FSW/Index/Soccer, http://www.soccertv.com/, and http://www.livesoccertv.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: