Newsletter #1272

A welcome 3 points, another clean sheet at home and a first win over the Smoggies in far too long as Dunne scored a header from a corner (yes) although we spurned numerous chances to make it a more resounding win.

We have views on the state of the team, reasons to get behind them and stop the negativity and the usual requests tonight.

MATCH VIEW ‘TV’: MCFC 1 MFC 0

Stuart Pearce had the players fit, good team selection, good game plan, great team spirit. Richard Dunne as captain led his players with a well taken goal, and encouragement to his team mates.

This was the tonic that everyone connected with City needed, a game played with great intensity, and no player lacking in effort. One player I can never ever call a has been is Paul Dickov, the pit bull of the team – “feed the pit bull and he will bite”.

Beasley showed some skill and could be the player for the left that was needed, with Sinclair on the other side running his socks off.

The defence are yet to concede a goal at home this season, though we must admit to having a couple of lucky escapes when Maccarone hit the same post twice; had he scored it would have been harsh on City, who dominated for so much of the game. Welcome back Ben Thatcher, who also had a very good game.

All the players deserve a 10 for sheer effort and determination to win this game. Well done to everyone in the team who showed Stuart Pearce he deserves to be their boss.

Come on you Blues, now beat Charlton.

OPINION: LET’S DO POSITIVE

I don’t quite get all the doom and gloom. It’s all far too reactionary for my liking. Yes we have only 9 points after 9 games and we have played abysmally in some of them. But we played bl**dy well in some too. We had 10 points from playing these same matches (or their equivalent) last season, so it’s a slight dis-improvement but hardly calamitous. And nothing 6 points from the next 4 wouldn’t change!

Change the manager? I think not! Pearce will get through this and will be a better manager for it. We can thank our lucky stars that this slump has straddled two seasons, because a year long dip like this would easily have seen us relegated bottom. We need stability at the club and that means getting behind what we have and making the most of it. Yes it’s not the most talented squad we have had over the last few years, but it’s also not the worst. A few need their arses kicked and a stretch in the stiffs would show some of them what kind of “superstars” they really are.

I’m not a fan of Vassell as I think he gives up too easily. I know that will cause some consternation as he does run about a bit, but over a course of a match he seems to spend more of his time ambling back from an offside position that anything else. Maybe I just haven’t seen him enough this season.

I do like the look of Corradi. When he finds the net first time I think there will be no stopping him. Everybody knows (apart from vocal City fans apparently) that there is an acclimatisation that foreign players need. Did Shevchenko’s lack of goals suddenly mean he was a crap striker? Keep the faith; he’ll be the new Rösler.

Still looking for fellow City fans in Jamaica, there has to be a fellow Blue in Kingston somewhere willing to knock back a few red stripe watching us lose.

OPINION: BORO DIRGE

I saw my first City game in 1929 and today Oct 30, 2006 I endured 90 minutes of aimless football on TV.

Never have I seen a team with no sort of gameplan. There are not 2 players on the team that could have even made the reserve team 30 years ago. The type of game I witnessed was years ago known as “kick and rush”. These players should pay the spectators for coming out to see them.

If I was the manager I would have each player tested for color blindness; they can’t distinguish red from blue.

OPINION: THE STATE OF THE GAME

In response to Steve Kay’s posting in MCIVTA 1270 I have a great deal of sympathy with you but I think you miss the point that City are just part of a much larger institution that is failing its customers. Football.

Much to my distaste, I’ve come to realise that we’re like loads of other clubs, trying to pick up the scraps that fall from the table from the elite clubs. Whether that’s players, cash, sponsors, fly by night support, TV coverage or whatever, it all adds up to create an ever increasing gap.

Our position in this group of also rans has nothing to do with Wardle and the present administration.

At the time of the birth of the Premier League and all its associated wealth, we entered a period of board room fighting, managerial changes and some of the worst teams ever to step out in sky blue… as ever with our club, perfect timing! We fought back, largely because of the fans, but we’re still trying to make up ground even now.

It’s a simple point to make but the seemingly endless Russian money at Chelsea makes it impossible for anyone without a benefactor to compete (Reading in the Premiership without Madejski – unlikely). Without competition, what’s the point of any game. It’s all so predictable.

Chelsea claim they want to become self sufficient but how can that be when they pay Ballack alone 10% of City’s total income? If you want the biggest evidence of how ridiculous player wages are, Frank Lampard (2nd best player in the world in 2005 according to his peers) earns £40,000 per week less than Ballack.

Forget any notion that you might have that any player plays for the shirt. The days of Mick Doyle and all the others you mention are long gone, not just a City problem. Just watch the Football Icon programme on Sky; every kid that gets asked why they want to play football mentions Money and Women well before the love of the game.

The job of the supporter gets harder with every passing game; it’s difficult to support undermotivated millionaires. I’m not clamouring for NFL/Super League franchise type regulation but something needs to be done. People are voting with their feet at grounds all over the country and hopefully the money men are watching.

You’re not alone in feeling disenfranchised but try to keep the faith, it’s what make us different, it’s what makes City special.

OPINION: FINAL COUNTDOWN

Just another cheery thought that I’m sure many of you have considered but are in denial about.

Our final home game of the season is against ManUre. If we need to win to stay up and they need to win to secure the title… does anyone have Denis Law’s number?

OPINION: SUPPORTERS’ TRUST UPDATE

Since our first article appeared things have been moving along quickly and I have been asked to provide a summary of progress to date. Here are a few of the salient points.

We have published a mission statement that reads as follows:

“The supporters of Manchester City appear to be increasingly disillusioned about their club and generally feel remote from it. Crowds are falling as fans see themselves as less important than other external stakeholders. We see a democratically constituted Supporters’ Trust as the ideal vehicle to try to reverse this, being independent from the club management but ideally working with them, to ensure that the paying fans are recognised as key stakeholders in Manchester City’s future.

We want to create a mass-membership organisation, covering every element of our fantastic support, where everyone has an equal stake and whose actions are democratic and transparent. We see a trust as a channel that is run by the fans, for the fans and with the club’s best interest at its heart. We also recognise the excellent work that Manchester City already does in the community and wish to support that and spread it further, wherever possible. We do not see the trust as simply a pressure group but do see it engaging with and challenging management where we feel their actions are not conducive to the best interests of the club and its supporters.

We see a trust as the appropriate umbrella for existing shareholdings and also as a vehicle for potentially acquiring further shares, wherever possible. However, membership will not be limited to existing shareholders of Manchester City plc but all members will become shareholders in the trust for an affordable subscription, thereby ensuring it is accessible to the widest possible constituency.”

Our major concern is to get the support of the club by convincing them that we are not a threat but a unique way of helping them engage with the fans. Many trusts operate with the full support of their clubs’ boards and we want to be one of those as it is in all our interests that the fans of Manchester City feel part of the club. We wrote to them to gain their backing and we understand that they contacted Supporters Direct, the umbrella organisation for supporters’ trusts before asking them to arrange a meeting with us with a view to a meeting between all the parties (us, the club and Supporters Direct). This is tremendous news and we believe it illustrates the recognition by the club that a Trust is potentially both a good thing to have and a good thing to be seen to have.

Supporters Direct held their annual conference a few weeks ago and it was announced that the government are to extend further funding to SD and UEFA are also looking to introduce the UK trust model throughout Europe. So with the awarding of the 2008 UEFA Cup final to the City of Manchester Stadium, we believe that not only will Manchester City be able to demonstrate that we have one of the finest stadiums in Europe but that we are a progressive club in many other ways.

A great deal of work and research is going on behind the scenes and we have been contacted by and made contact with a number of interested or useful parties. One such group of contacts are existing trusts and I attended a game recently that, on paper didn’t look too exciting but was incredibly so in trust terms. Northampton Town, who were the pioneers of supporters’ trusts in 1992, played Brentford, who are one of the four league clubs controlled by their trust. In this case, the Brentford trust has 51% of their club’s shares. They got these at nominal cost but the downside was that they had to take on large debts. Life is no bed of roses at Brentford but at least they know their club is in the hands of the people who have its interest closest to their hearts.

We are currently planning for an open meeting to launch the trust early in 2007 and have, with the help of Supporters Direct, finalised a “roadmap” covering all the things we need to do to make that happen. High on that list is talking to the main supporters’ groups, namely the OSC & CSA. They have a long-term ongoing rôle in the Manchester City supporter community and we wish to engage with them to explain our position and objectives and explore how we can work together. We certainly do not see a trust as being a replacement for these groups and are confident that membership of a trust and a supporters’ branch is not mutually exclusive. We have also attended a Points of Blue meeting where the subject of a supporters’ trust was well received and will be discussed with the Club shortly, we understand.

There have been numerous other contacts and we have been amazed by the level of interest shown by supporters, shareholders and people able and willing to provide funds. We are currently a small group of four ordinary supporters but have been offered a great deal of support by other fans. We will be taking some of these up as the range of tasks and level of interest grows. If you want more information, we now have a “blog”, which can be at http://mcfcsupporterstrust.blogspot.com/.

This contains all the latest news as well as our contact details. We are sending out a regular newsletter summarising progress but for all the detailed and up-to-date news please see the blog. By the time you see this article we hope to have been interviewed by BBC Radio Manchester before the Middlesbore game. Some of the discussions we have had must remain confidential for the moment at the request of the parties involved therefore we can’t tell you everything that is happening at the moment.

When we started this we really had no idea whether it would ever get off the ground. However, the progress we have made has convinced us that the trust will be formed and that, with the support of the club, the outcome could be far more favourable than we ever believed possible.

OPINION: BARTON STATESIDE

I thought all the City fans might be interested in how the Joey Barton incident at Everton was reported here in the States.

“Cheeky” Elliott Harris of the Chicago Sun Times:
From the wonderful world of English soccer comes news that Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton was fined 2,000 pounds ($3,700) and given a warning for dropping his shorts in front of rival Everton fans after a Premier League game. Apparently, when it concerns rude behavior, far be it from that country’s Football Association to turn the other cheek.

Hope everybody gets a laugh out of this.

REQUEST: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Time for one of my nostalgic trips. I wonder if anybody out there under the Blue Moon knows the whereabouts of one of our staunchest? I’m looking for Joe Wilcock. Joe was, among many talents, known for the following:

Fitter in the assembly of Heat Exchangers at the Sharston works of Holden and Brookes. Joe was Manager, Captain, Midfielder, Club Secretary, Chief Sponsor of the short-lived and ill-fated West Park Albion who played their home games among the swamps of Wythenshawe Park. He sold the football cards for many moons in order to get his pet project off the ground, West Park.

Joe lived in Benchill area of Wythenshawe around thirty odd years ago and I’ve absolutely no idea where he can be now?

Greetings to all of the Blue Persuasion.

REQUEST: MAINE ROAD DERBY VIEWS

The MCFC shop used to sell framed pictures of Maine Road taken on certain match days. The pictures were usually taken from the rear of the Main Stand and were wide angle panoramic views of the ground. I believe the City Shop now no longer stock them.

I am trying to get hold of a copy of a picture taken on derby day, which was the last game against ManU at home at Maine Road before the move to COMS. Can anyone help me know where I could hold of one of these please?

REQUEST: BLUES VIEWING IN HONG KONG

I’m going to be in Hong Kong on 4th November. Is the game against Charlton going to be on TV there?

If so, where can I watch it with some fellow Blues?

REQUEST: BLUES VIEWING IN GLOUCESTER

Got to be in Cheltenham on the day of the derby in December – does anybody know any pubs that will show the game but won’t be full of Rags?

Might go to see Gloucester at Kingsholm afterwards, so Gloucester would be a possibility too.

REQUEST: REDDISH BLUES

The next meeting of the Reddish branch of the Centenary Supporters’ Association is on Wednesday 8th November at The Ash Hotel, Manchester Road, Stockport at 8.00pm and our confirmed guests for the evening are the one and only Colin Bell and Ian Cheeseman from BBC Radio Manchester.

Admission is free to branch members on production of their current membership card, non-members are £2 for adults and a £1 for kids – as always everyone is very welcome.

RESULTS

29 October 2006

West Ham United       2 - 1  Blackburn Rovers      33,833

28 October 2006

Sheffield United      0 - 2  Chelsea               32,321
Arsenal               1 - 1  Everton               60,047
Bolton Wanderers      0 - 4  Manchester United     27,229
Fulham                0 - 1  Wigan Athletic        22,882
Liverpool             3 - 1  Aston Villa           44,117
Portsmouth            3 - 1  Reading               20,146
Watford               0 - 0  Tottenham Hotspur     19,660
Newcastle United      0 - 0  Charlton Athletic     48,642

League table to 29 October 2006 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Manchester Utd  10  4  0  1 10  2  4  1  0 13  3  8  1  1  23   5  18  25
 2 Chelsea         10  4  1  0  9  3  4  0  1  8  2  8  1  1  17   5  12  25
 3 Bolton Wndrs    10  3  1  1  5  4  3  1  1  5  4  6  2  2  10   8   2  20
 4 Portsmouth      10  4  0  1  9  2  2  1  2  7  4  6  1  3  16   6  10  19
 5 Arsenal          9  2  3  0  9  3  3  0  1  7  2  5  3  1  16   5  11  18
 6 Everton         10  3  2  0 10  4  1  3  1  6  5  4  5  1  16   9   7  17
 7 Aston Villa     10  3  2  0  8  3  0  4  1  4  6  3  6  1  12   9   3  15
 8 Liverpool       10  4  1  0 11  3  0  1  4  1  9  4  2  4  12  12   0  14
 9 Fulham          10  2  1  2  4  5  1  3  1  7 10  3  4  3  11  15  -4  13
10 Reading         10  2  1  2  5  8  2  0  3  5  7  4  1  5  10  15  -5  13
11 Blackburn R.    10  2  1  2  7  7  1  2  2  3  6  3  3  4  10  13  -3  12
12 Tottenham H.    10  3  1  1  5  3  0  2  3  1  7  3  3  4   6  10  -4  12
13 Wigan Athletic   9  2  1  1  7  4  1  1  3  5  7  3  2  4  12  11   1  11
14 Middlesbrough    9  3  0  2  5  7  0  2  2  4  6  3  2  4   9  13  -4  11
15 Manchester City  9  2  2  0  3  0  0  1  4  3 13  2  3  4   6  13  -7   9
16 West Ham United 10  2  1  2  6  6  0  1  4  2  8  2  2  6   8  14  -6   8
17 Newcastle Utd   10  1  2  2  5  6  1  0  4  2  7  2  2  6   7  13  -6   8
18 Watford         10  0  4  1  5  6  0  2  3  2  7  0  6  4   7  13  -6   6
19 Sheff. United   10  1  2  2  4  6  0  1  4  0  8  1  3  6   4  14 -10   6
20 Charlton Ath.   10  1  1  3  3  6  0  1  4  3  9  1  2  7   6  15  -9   5

MCIVTA FAQ [v0607.01]

[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.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 Radio Manchester (née GMR) pre and post match phone-in is available on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/sport/manchester_city/index.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://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer, 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 Plus Markets Group web site http://www.plusmarketsgroup.com/ 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] I hear there is a TV programme specifically about City?

InsideMCFC is broadcasted by ChannelM. It is available on the SkyDigital (ch.203) and NTL (ch.26) platforms as well as being transmittedtraditionally within the Manchester area (ch.39). In addition, theprogramme is available to watch via the web. More details and schedule:http://www.channelm.co.uk/features/city.html

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: