Newsletter #1339

Plenty of opinion tonight on the takeover, the managerial and player situation including Svenn’s wish list, player loyalty and the usual requests.

OPINION: THE TAKEOVER I

I’m sorry, but David Walker in the last issue you are wrong on so many fronts. You know nothing of what Thaksin has done to Thailand. The military coup is not popular and they have messed with the democratic process, but it was done to rid Thailand of this character. Just read about the elections last year. Proper opposition members were murdered and stooges put in their place. In Thailand there has to be an opposition for a seat otherwise it cannot be contested.

I and many inhabitants of Thailand did not want the coup but we wanted rid of Thaksin. Do not use the coup to excuse Thaksin’s many, many crimes. I hope this deal falls through, I have followed City for over 30 years but I will stop if he takes control. Just remember, this takeover will not benefit City or its supporters, it will benefit one man and his family, Thaksin.

OPINION: THE TAKEOVER II

Not had a chance to digest all the comments on recent events, but look on the bright side, there is a club that:

• has appointed a new manager who was the subject of a TV exposé on transfer dealings
• and features in Lord Stevens’ report
• as does a previous incumbent in their manager’s chair
• has signed a player who has court cases pending that could conceivably result in a spell at Her Majesty’s pleasure
• upped their transfer fee to cover a ‘loyalty’ payment
• have been linked with Craig Bellamy
• have a star striker with a cut-price get-out clause, if the press is to be believed
• have been taken over by a recluse who floated his company on the stock marketearlier this year and has see the share price tumble whilst most others are goingup

and it’s not us!

OPINION: THE TAKEOVER III

So today as a shareholder I get the paperwork for the recommended cashoffer for Manchester City PLC.

I was rather hoping I could vote a great big NO and use the weight of my 205 shares to halt the process but alas it seems it’s a done deal and it looks like I don’t get a vote at all.

Interesting that the document states on the first page that “The offer price represents a premium of 77.8 per cent to the closing price of 22.5 pence on the 6 December 2006, the day prior to the Club announcing it was in talks that may or may not lead to an offer. The offer presents an opportunity for Manchester City Shareholders to realise their entire shareholding in Manchester City for cash, at a significant premium, within a relatively short timescale.”

But I didn’t buy my shares on the 6 December 2006, I bought mine back in 1996/1997 and they cost a total of £201, which by my calculations works out at the best part of £1 per share.

Plus I really, really, really don’t want to sell them to Dr Shinawatra and I certainly would not buy a used car from him.

So I face a bit of a dilemma now as I would prefer a person with his background to fail with their business venture and yet he has bought Manchester City football club but I really, really cannot wish him well.

OPINION: THE TAKEOVER IV

I am happy that the takeover bid is stalling. I was having serious doubts about supporting City with such a dubious character at the helm. More than that though, I am becoming increasing tired of the frenzy of buying up football clubs. It smacks of an ill-conceived idea that has become the vogue. Someone has seen the new revenues from the TV deal and they are trying to work out how to get their cut. If they had been around British football long enough they would realise that it will go straight into the players’ pockets and the clubs will be left with higher than ever debt mountains.

Let’s not forget that when one of these “benefactors” gives over money for a transfer kitty, it is debt to the club, usually with a market interest rate that goes straight back. Low risk investment, tidy cash return and probably some capital growth in the equity of the club as the revenues (but not necessarily profits) increase. Just who is doing who the favour?

Glynn Alberquerque fairly laid into Malcolm Hough because he expressed a sentiment that he wants some community connection with the Club. I agree with Malcolm. With all the spending going on, the only beneficiaries will be some very average players. All these clubs with rich benefactors: Villa, West Ham, Newcastle, Liverpool; how many will be challenging for the title? None. If City got their man and we had a kitty of £50 million would we suddenly become world beaters and challenging for European glory? No we would not. Adding two and a half Darren Bents to our team won’t change a thing. There will still be only 4 teams in the Big Cup (maybe 3 soon) and 3 teams in the Euro Vase. Try as we might, no matter how much money we throw at the club, we will only be challenging for the latter. Glynn poses the question about who among us does not dream of City being Champions of Europe. We probably all do Glynn but at what cost?

I think we must have one of the best academies in the country, although Middlesbrough seem to get all the credit. I have supported City for many years so by definition I am not a glory hunter. One of the things that kept me coming back was good, attacking football. Going down with Kinky in the team is preferable to staying up and not scoring a goal at home all year. The kids are enthusiastic and they feel some pride and loyalty to the club. Yes, many will become too big for their boots like SWP and Joey and so they move on. We get a tidy bit of cash and lose a player who has probably given his best, most committed years to our club. What we need is a good tactical manager who can organise his troops and encourage young talent. I would suggest Brian Kerr who is a brilliant tactician and worked wonders with the Ireland youth teams, though he did get a little stage fright when he moved up to the big boys. We would probably lose Steven Ireland if we got him though!

Taking the same business plan as all the other clubs will only ever mean failure, as someone else will always do it better. We need a different paradigm to take the club forward and I like the idea of investing in the Academy. I’m not saying don’t buy any players, but rely on scouts a bit more and stay off the back pages of the tabloids to find “quality” players. So what if we go down? Yes we’ll lose TV revenues for a while but if you are not paying “Frank Sinatra wages for Frank Ifield voices”, or extortionate transfer fees, you can take a little hit. Who amongst us didn’t enjoy the comeback to the top flight? The football, the goals; winning a game once in a while!

We often bemoan the lack of atmosphere at the new stadium. It is not the stadium or the stewards, it’s the football. Give us something to get excited about like a new SWP in his pomp bombing down the wing. Give us a connection to the club through the community. If it’s all about money, then it’s a business, not a club. Losing becomes disaster because of all the funds pumped in and the focus changes from winning to avoid losing. That can only breed negativity, which permeates the whole club.

OPINION: THE TAKEOVER V

Best news for some time. No debts, money to buy and an exciting season ahead. Why all the moral high ground? It’s business, it’s dirty. We’ve witnessed what running a business on emotions is all about. Now Manchester City is going to be run as a business by businessmen with no emotional involvement? Damn, we sound like our neighbours from Stretford.

Only one question? Why did it take so long and I’m not talking the 2 months of the buy-out. I’m talking about the last 40 years! And if it all goes t**s-up in December, we’ve still no debts! Win, win, win, win…

OPINION: THE TAKEOVER VI

For the 35 years that I have supported City, I have got behind every Chairman and Manager. To those who are saying goodbye, then you are not true fans, but live in a dream world. To those who are leaving for what they say are the past acts of Mr Shinawatra, then have you never heard of Iraq? But back to football, Perhaps the fact that we have not done well over the past few decades might be down to some of those names who have not been asked to stay on the board. Tueart, Boler, Makin etc.?

As for loyalty, if a player is prepared to play at any club and do so with supposed pride then why can’t someone buy any club and have the same pride? As for Sven then just take a look back at some of the managers from the past that have been appointed by those named above.

The only thing that concerns me is why some wealthy people have been looking to buy clubs who can’t fill their ground even when the tickets are given away (Blackburn / Birmingham) but we seem to have struggled to get a buyer. Maybe that’s down to those named above as well?

OPINION: THE TAKEOVER VII

Who gives a t**s about Frank’s political history? That’s politics, not football. Ask the family of the poor beggar whose life was ruined by some toerag dealing drugs about whether they care if he was shot on sight or not. I’d say Roman Abramovich didn’t get where he is today without having an adverse effect on one or two people, same with the Glazers. In every walk of life people who strive for the top don’t necessarily give a damn about who they walk over to get there. Did Frank set up the Bangkok Hilton? No, but he’s addressed its overcrowding problem somewhat! Give it all a break, it’s boring and let’s face it, nobody likes politicians even here in quiet, laid back NZ!

OPINION: THE TAKEOVER VIII

As the clock ticks down closer to the new season, it’s getting more and more important to find a team manager. Most of us have had our hopes on one of our favourites being the manager, but so far they have all said no to the job because they are happy where they are, or could not wait and went to Juve.

It now appears that Goran Eriksson will become the new manager of Manchester City F.C. This does not make me a happy camper but I shall have to look at it in a positive way. He should be able to attract some of the best players to City. Eriksson has a very good track record with club sides (let’s forget England, and give him a break) or we can just keep on complaining, and that will get us nowhere.

Not everyone has liked the idea of Frank Shinawatra taking over the club because of all the accusations coming out of Thailand. Until proven guilty of any charges he is innocent, and I will reserve my judgement until then.

It’s easy to say we would have liked someone with no outside football problems, but no one with the right kind of money has come forward, probably because of the large MCFC debt.

With a new owner we must also look at the positive side: the debts will be gone and no longer will MCFC be looking over their shoulder at what happened to Leeds United.

The club will get some new players to help City move up the table and challenge for trophies, something that we have not had a look in for so many years.

I say let’s support the new owner and whoever he picks as the team manager. It’s a new era at MCFC if we want to succeed and have a team to really give the big guns a challenge; the alternative would be avoiding relegation every season.

Come on you Blues!

OPINION: BRING ON NED

Nedum Onuaha, you are incredible.

Not only did you withstand some disgraceful comments from Serbian “supporters”, but you then conducted yourself like a veteran in dealing with the media moments after coming off the field of play.

You then gained rave reviews from the press for your overall performances during the U21 tournament and have now signed a new 4 year deal that will take you to 2011. Fantastic news.

But then, you’ve come out with another beauty. God bless you Nedum. Let’s hope there are many more to come like this.

Twenty year old Nedum, yes twenty year old Nedum, states that his injury is a groin tear and (copied and pasted from the City website): “As I get older I’m realising that I’ve got to listen to what my body’s telling me. In the past, when something’s not felt right I’ve carried on playing and that’s made things worse. Now, if something’s not right then I’m not going to take a chance. This is only a two-week injury, but in the past that could have turned into two months because I had carried on.”

‘As I get older’ The guy is 20! Nedum, you are priceless. One of the best players to come out of the Academy and what a mature head!

Fantastic.

OPINION: TRUST

In the throes of the takeover at City, one or two City fans have got a little bit over-excited and denigrated the Manchester City Supporters’ Trust, and sadly in some cases, subjected one or two of its members to rather unpleasant personal abuse. Some of the small-minded personal abuse and petty, political point-scoring was directed after comments by the Trust were misquoted over the issue of whom the fans want to take over as manager. The abuse and point-scoring says more about the perpetrators than anything else, and you get the distinct impression that the minority that decry the Trust do so because it wasn’t their idea!

Just because we have a takeover by a wealthy new owner does not mean that everything is fine and dandy, and that there is no rôle for supporters’ trusts. On the contrary, never have football supporters needed independent representation more as the recurring problems that alienate true football supporters still remain and in many cases, get worse: namely astronomical ticket prices, inconveniently rearranged kick-off times, ticket allocations, standards and prices of catering, safety etc. It will be great to have some investment in City’s team and fresh, positive ideas blowing through the corridors of Eastlands, but it’s naïve in the extreme to think that Thaksin’s millions are going to making everything okay. Whoever is in charge at City, a supporters’ trust is an independent voice that can improve the dialogue between the fans and the club, providing fans with independent representation on issues that are important to supporters with the aim of improving conditions for us all. I’m very impressed by the expertise and dedication of those who have set up the Manchester City Supporters’ Trust and I’d encourage any fellow Blue to join it.

OPINION: NEW MANAGER I

Someone please reassure that City are not about to appoint Sven. The thought is giving me sleepless nights!

Let us all not forget the following about Sven: he looks like a bank manager, is pre occupied with his numerous love affairs, plays players out of position, makes really poor substitutions, is tactically idiotic, is prone to favouritism (Beckham), does really irritating post match interviews, comes across as totally self deluded when talking about level of team performance and seems to lack any sort of passion or ability to motivate. Ok so these comments are based on his time as England manager but that’s good enough for me.

Maybe the City fans who want Sven as Manager were asked the question as they stumbled out of the pub?

OPINION: NEW MANAGER II

Jon Marshall says in MCIVTA 1338: “As for Eriksson… you don’t win major competitions with Sampdoria unless you are a decent coach.”

Sven was at Samp from ’92 to ’97 and in that time the only trophy he won was a single Coppa Italia.

Whilst this is the major cup competition in Italian football, the clubs treat it with less interest than our major clubs treat the Carling Cup. In the early rounds of the competition clubs often struggle to attract four figure crowds.

OPINION: SVENN’S CITY WISH LIST

With the appointment of a new Manager just around the corner, and possibly a Swede running the show at Eastlands, there is only a short amount of time before the club will dip into the transfer market to fill up the team with new players. The problem is that we really need players that are capable of making an impact in the Premiership, not players that can turn out Tuesday nights in the reserve league.

We need 6 players; two strikers, three midfielders, one defender and maybe a goalkeeper. And every one of those must be the number one choice in their position. A lot of players have been connected with City during the last month. A player like Mido is reportedly monitoring the development and not agreeing terms with Fulham just in case he’s still wanted by City.

On my personal wish list two players are clear above the rest; Jermain Defoe (24) and Shaun Wright-Phillips (25). Both are England internationals, young, proven players with extreme qualities. And above all; they connect well together and are personal friends. It would be a dream come true for both if they could play in the same team in the Premiership. Defoe is a proven goalscorer but has been third choice behind Keane and Berbatov at Spurs. If the club manage to secure the signing of Darren Bent from Charlton, Defoe will be the first to make place. SweeP has had a nightmare at Chelsea. 49 out of 83 games have come from the bench. He lost his place in the England team and missed out on the World Cup. SweeP had a decent end to the last campaign and showed glimpses of the quality that made him a star at City. But at Chelsea some people find him too lightweight (!) and next season he’ll still find himself behind in the pecking order. For £20 million we can have both and what a lethal pair they would be.

The next player I would like to see coming to City is Carlos Tevez (23). Heck I’d place him at the top if it wasn’t for the stunning partnership Defoe and SweeP would make. The South-American magician was the main reason why West Ham survived last season and would be a great asset to the team. With him and Defoe at the front we’d have a pair that would knock the socks off any defence. And with Mpenza as cover we could afford to let Samaras build his way back into the game without carrying the club at his shoulders.

With the injury prone Didi Hamann as the only experienced midfielder in the squad we badly need to add some sting to the engine room. If Sven is appointed Manager, Freddie Ljungberg (30) would be only a phone call away. Just as Didi, he’s had his bad experiences with injuries, but a fully fit Freddie would be a great player to have in the team. Another good catch would be Kevin Nolan (25), the Bolton Captain. A very experienced and highly regarded midfielder despite his young age. He enjoyed an extremely good 2006/07 season, which also brought him into the England frame. Last season he was not quite as dominant. Maybe a change of air would do him good now that Big Sam has left Reebok? And a move to City would be like moving across the street.

As for adding to the defence and goalkeeping position, I believe we should give the youngsters a chance. Let Micah or Nedum fill Sylvain’s position; they will be ready and capable. Nedum, Dunne, Micah and Ball will make a decent back four. A player that I would like to see added to that list would be out of favour Wayne Bridge from Chelsea. A good left sided player that could step into the left midfield position as well. If both Weaver and Isaksson leave we’ll be in real trouble. Hart is up and coming but we need experience between the sticks. If Sven arrives as manager I doubt that Isaksson will leave. However, Jussi Jaaskelainen (32) is now in his final year with Bolton and is not renewing his contract. He could be tempted to leave and Bolton tempted to cash in. Jerzy Dudek (34) has been widly tipped as a cover for Isaksson, and on a free transfer I can see it happening.

Summary (total £55 million):

1. Jermain Defoe (24) Tottenham – £11 million
2. Shaun Wright-Phillips (25) Chelsea – £9 million
3. Carlos Tevez (23) West Ham – £18 million
4. Fredrik Ljungberg (30) Arsenal – £5 million
5. Kevin Nolan (25) Bolton – £6 million
6. Wayne Bridge (27) Chelsea – £5 million
7. Jussi Jaaskelainen (32) Bolton – £1 million
8. Jerzy Dudek (34) Liverpool Free

OPINION: PLAYER LOYALTY

Just thought I’d make a couple of (probably unpopular) comments about Joey Barton’s career at City and transfer to Newcastle.

First of all, I think the concept of player loyalty is borderline ludicrous. I recently read Mike Doyle’s “autobiography” in which he discusses how he almost moved to Man United in the middle of his City career. The move eventually fell through, but not because of Doyle’s loyalty to City. Despite his reputations as the archetypal “True Blue”, Mike Doyle was prepared to move to United, of all teams! I don’t believe players these days are all that different from players in other eras, only their working and earning environment has changed. Does anyone really think Bobby Charlton would have stayed at United, or Colin Bell at City, if they’d been offered twice as much to play somewhere else and/or their prospects of winning something were greater? Would you (and if so, what would your wife say?)? Come to think of it, how did Bell end up at City in the first place? Where was his loyalty to his first club (I can’t remember who it was exactly). Presumably City offered him a load of cash and the chance to win trophies. So my argument is that there really rarely has been any loyalty in football. It just seems worse now because it’s easier for players to move around, and the financial discrepancies are much greater. When other teams had to buy you, even at the end of your contract, and when they could only offer you a bit more than you were already getting, it was much more likely that players would stay put. But this doesn’t prove any great sense of loyalty.

What about Barton’s loyalty? Well, he thought he was worth £30,000 a week, and when he got it, he signed a new contract. It turns out he may have accepted quite a bit less than the he could have got, since Newcastle (and West Ham) were both willing to double that amount (I suppose you could argue that he was only worth £30,000 when he signed the contract). If he hadn’t shown some loyalty, some desire to play for City by signing then, we’d be getting nothing for him now. Like Distin. I hope Distin’s loyalty is being questioned just as much (but I don’t think it is).

And what about City’s loyalty to Barton, despite his many indiscretions? Well, football clubs are well known for showing loyalty to players and staff. Ask Stuart Pearce. Ask Willo Flood. Ask Lee Croft. Etc, etc. If a club doesn’t think someone’s going to help them out, they’re gone. And the fans would complain if they didn’t do this. There’s very little loyalty there. So why did they show such ‘loyalty’ to Barton? Because they valued him as a player. And thank God they did, or we might be preparing for the Championship about now. Look at what top players get away with in all sports all over the world. Would a reserve team player be shown the same loyalty? Not likely. Should this be the case? No. But let’s be realistic; City kept Barton (and publicly criticized him, and fined him heavily) because they thought it was the best thing for them. How would Taggart have dealt with the same incidents?

And what about those ‘incidents’. Some of them sound terrible – no excuses (cigar stubbing, beating up Dabo), but others just get added on whenever a reporter is trying to make the point that Barton’s a thug. His brother’s a murderer (clearly his fault), he slapped a teenager who looked at him funny (or something like that), he dropped his shorts and mooned some fans (plumbers show more crack on a daily basis), he violently studded Mendes’ achilles tendon from behind (you see worse challenges in every single game). Yes, you may believe he’s a brainless thug (and with some justification), but let’s at least condemn him on his true crimes and not add on all the other stuff.

Many City fans have never rated Barton as a player. They should now be deliriously happy that some idiots were willing to pay £5.8 million for him and that he’s gone. So his contract had an extra £300,000 for him if he was technically sold against his will. It seemed to me that City were telling everyone that he had no future with them after Dabo (and probably rightly so), so it seems reasonable to assume that Barton also had this impression, in which case talking to Newcastle and West Ham wouldn’t be the same as asking for a transfer. It would just be giving the club what it wants, his exit. Anyway, it seems to be a subtle legal point that was resolved by Newcastle effectively paying it themselves. That in itself shows what a bargain they feel they’ve got (and I agree). I would hazard a guess that many of the same people who are up in arms about the £300,000 are probably also the ones who wanted him sacked, or given away, or sold for £2 million last season. Even if he’d got the extra money from us we’d still be £3-5 million better off than in any of those scenarios.

So I say “good luck Joey”. I won’t condone or try to defend some of his actions, but I’ve always felt he was a very good player (certainly not perfect, but on the basis of the World Cup, neither are Gerrard or Lampard, for God’s sake) in a pretty c***py team. He makes those around him better, and I believe in a good team (we’ll have to see if Newcastle is that team), he could improve quite a bit himself. If he’s ever given the chance, I think he could be a regular and very important player for England (I can hear the laughter clear across the Atlantic!). I think Sam Allardyce and the Newcastle fans will be very pleased with their acquisition in the coming years.

Of course, I also thought Stuart Pearce was the best young coach in England 18 months ago, so what do I know?

OPINION: LAUNCH YOUR OWN TAKEOVER

I found an article in last week’s Economist describing how a chap called Will Brooks has devised a scheme to takeover a real football club selling ‘rights’ to the first 50,000 subscribers for £35; to date he has taken over 37,000 names. The idea is that any club decisions will be put to the shareholders for a vote. For further info see the Economist website (http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9340102) or you can go to the website Brooks set up at http://www.myfootballclub.co.uk/.

OPINION: BLUE TO THE CORE

The difference between Blue and Red in MCIVTA 1338 was great to read! Thanks for that John.

According to City’s website, season card sales are booming since the takeover deal was announced. I’m afraid I’ve swapped my “Season Card” for a “City Card” but according to one “die hard” supporter outside the ground I should be ashamed of myself.

I’m not, strangely enough, but as things are I won’t be committing my money for lots more reasons other than dodgy owners. Who knows what to think or who to believe? What I do know is that City fans are divided more now than I’ve ever known before.

I want my old City back (don’t care about losing as long we attack, play for the shirt and the fans) and my old Division One please too. Oh and Maine Road. Is it just me?

I will always love Man City and never change my allegiance but I’m out of love with football for the foreseeable future.

Robbie Brewer was a character in the film “There’s only one Jimmy Grimble”. It was his magical boots that helped Jimmy get over his low self esteem on the football pitch. Great film. Perhaps we should get hold of his boots.

REQUEST: HISTORY OF FOOTBALL

Some time ago I promised everyone an update on my research and writing on the History of Football in Manchester. Well, unless something dramatic happens, this week sees the first in a 6 part series on Channel M covering the story. The first programme is scheduled to be shown 7.30pm on Monday (potentially repeated at some point over the following week or so) and the show is hosted by Susan Bookbinder. I’ve researched and written the series, plus provided support in the overall production of it.

The series covers all the Manchester region’s League sides, plus former League team Stalybridge Celtic (and Glossop North End) with the main City story coming in episode 3. Episode one covers the birth of football in Manchester, the development of Hurst, Manchester FC, and snippets on City’s birth, United’s birth and the game in Tameside.

The research for this was initially performed for my forthcoming book. More details will follow on this next month.

REQUEST: MILTON KEYNES BLUES

The Milton Keynes branch of the OSC are having their AGM this coming Wednesday the 27 June.

It will commence at 8pm and will take place at The Chequers pub in Fenny Stratford, Milton Keynes. All members and prospective members are welcome to attend. If anyone would like any more information, or directions to The Chequers, please contact me at the email address below.

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: