Newsletter #1347

Another pre-season win last weekend against Carlstad, now for Charleroi to make it 4 in a row (hope they have fixed the “wobbling stand” from Euro 2000).

Tonight we have opinion on the team and squad so far, requests and a terrific Why Blue from Down Under.

OPINION: SO FAR SO GOOD I

Got to admit that I am impressed with Sven Goran Ericksson’s handling of the team. He has created a minor miracle in getting Corradi to find the net, he seems to have discovered a real find in Bianchi and so far his buys have been intelligent and he has avoided getting into inflated haggling sessions for the likes of Harewood, Ljungberg and Anelka.

We are still obviously short of cover and need a few more strategic signings but it is encouraging to see Logan and Laird being given a chance in the senior line up.

Early days yet but there seems to be some thought being put into the makeup of the team. Good to see that we are not buying everybody that moves à la West Ham or Portsmouth. Here’s hoping for a rejuvenated side that once more shows the attacking flair so far exhibited in the friendlies.

Oh by the way, a speedy recovery to Joey Barton… not!

OPINION: SO FAR SO GOOD II

I wrote some time back saying how much I dreaded the prospect of City being linked with Sven, even calling him a cretin. Well guess what, I take that all back, as I am pleasantly surprised with the way he is going about re-modelling our club. I was so incensed with the way he managed England that I was not willing to give him a fresh start back into club football. I am very pleased that he is addressing our “attacking” options, plus bringing in other players and not journeymen “has beens”, but younger players who will get better hopefully. I am also surprised that he has not ditched a lot of our “under performers” of last season, before bringing in new faces. Admirably he is looking at a lot of players including the talented younger members – like Logan, Laird, Johnson, Kasper.

To date all City fans have been either very pessimistic with the takeover or very relieved. Personally I am in the latter camp and cannot wait for the new signings, especially as we have been linked with so many to date. I really thought much of Nery Castillo after watching the Copa America, a talented left sided attacker. I was also impressed with Josue the relatively unknown new boy playing for Brazil in the centre of midfield. In my opinion, we need a couple of good creative midfielders (box to box), a tall centre half and a back up left back. I know we are being linked with Yakubu from Middlesbrough and I don’t mind him as he has plenty of pace and strength and a decent goal scoring record. However, we will have too many strikers on our books – Corradi, Vassell, Samaras, Dickov, Mpenza, Bianchi. They will need quality service from our wide men and current centre midfielders. I am not so sure about the likes of Dabo and Hamann, maybe Sven will replace them for some better players. What I am surprised about is that we have not bought any Scandanavians to date; maybe that is being addressed.

Well I am certainly happier and a lot more optimistic now, mainly as we are more concerned with activities on the pitch, rather than the Boardroom, and we are scoring nearly 4 goals a game in our pre-season friendlies (appreciate that they are not the strongest opposition), and this must be a great confidence booster to the players. With a few more signings to come, the atmosphere in the ground will undoubtedly reflect this, and most if not all City fans will back the management and the players for the start and hopefully the rest of the season.

OPINION: ALL TOGETHER NOW

To the tune of Amore

Whheennnnn thhheee ball hits the net, it’s a fairly good bet, that’s Bianchi.
He is from Italy, he has pasta for tea, that’s Bianchi.
He is faster than light, he is pure dynamite, that’s Bianchi.
He can head, he can shoot, with his left and right foot, that’s Bianchi!

Sorry folks, I can’t claim credit. Someone posted this on the MUEN website forum.

OPINION: NEW AWAY SHIRT

The new away shirt was given to Noel Gallagher on Soccer AM near the end of last season – you can see the clip on youtube.

It’s back to the purple and white stripes I’m afraid – much the same style as the home shirt by the looks of it.

The MEN website did say that two away kits will be coming out this season – anyone seen what the third strip will be?

OPINION: LUCKY NUMBERS

This is a public service announcement. Is anyone out there, like me, on Option 3 from BT?

Do you get annoyed when you have to ring 0870, 0845, etc. numbers because they are non geographic and, therefore, chargeable?

There are geographic numbers behind all of these 08 numbers. I just found a website that shows them: http://www.saynoto0870.com/

The 0870 062 1894 number for City has a geographic number of 0161 231 3200.

Happy dialling.

WHY BLUE

Does anybody remember that scene from the movie “Fever Pitch” (about a fans lifelong obsession with Arsenal) when he goes to his first football match with his dad?

They climb the stairs to the top of the stand and, reaching the top, a wonderful scenario unfolds in front of his eyes. A bright emerald green pitch immersed in a sea of thousands and thousands of people and a ear shattering roar of excitement that sounded like a steam train at full pelt speeding through a station.

The first time I saw that scene in the movie I felt a wave of nostalgia and déjà vu and my mind went racing back to Maine Road, Moss Side, Manchester 1967.

I was born in Salford in 1956 (the year that City won the FA Cup) and at eight years of age our next door neighbours in Hattersley near Hyde had a son Tony Jackson who was training with Manchester City at the time and very kindly had gotten tickets for my dad and me to attend my first ever match.

It was exactly like the scene I described, except the steam train had turned into thousands and thousands of the City faithful screaming “CITY, CITY, CITY…”

It was a life changing moment for me and still sends a shiver up my spine now some 43 years later. From that moment, I became a lifelong supporter of the “Sky Blues”. I don’t remember much of that first match (I think we were playing Wolverhampton Wanderers) but I do remember the euphoria erupting in the stands after the final whistle and being swept away with the unbelievable excitement of winning a football match at Maine Road.

I soon had my favourite player sorted out (Johnny Crossan, until he left at the end of the ’66-’67 season) and then turned to an inspirational player by the name of Mike Summerbee. I still have a framed picture of him hanging in my bar.

I attended every home game that fantastic 67′-68′ season by saving my pocket money and helping the local milkman with his rounds before school. I can recall proudly purchasing tickets from the local paper-shop for my first ever Manchester derby (you could buy tickets in those days with absolutely no hassle).

My grandmother, God bless her soul, had bought me a brand new City beanie hat that I was so proud of and with the excitement building, my ticket to the Kippax Street stand in my hot little hand, at this stage I was ten years old, I got on the bus with the rest of the City supporters and headed for Maine Road. So began my lifelong hatred of Man United.

I had no sooner passed through those ancient turnstiles behind the Kippax when a group of United supporters spotted me and came charging down and ripped my brand new beanie from my head and went running off up the stairs yelling and screaming as if they had just won the FA Cup. It was a traumatic experience for a ten year old and I have never forgotten it.

But it was not all doom and gloom. I can say proudly that I got to see that day, some of the best footballers that Britain has produced. The formidable trio of Lee, Bell, and Summerbee. Doyle, Young, Pardoe, the balding head of George Heslop and also some of the United greats: Charlton, Stiles and of course Georgie Best.

Unfortunately, my brief two year encounter with Maine Road came to an abrupt end in March 1968 when my dad informed the family that we were emigrating to Australia. We were going to become £10 Pommie migrants.

I hated those first few months in Melbourne. No football as I had grown to love, only some poncey game called “Aussie Rules” (aerial ping pong I called it) and I soon had my Mancunian accent beaten out of me at school. The only news you could get then about British football was a small snippet in the local Monday paper with the weekend’s results, which I devoured every week looking for any news about my beloved Man City.

Growing up in Australia, my obsession with City began to wane and during the seventies and early eighties my interests had turned to things like cars, beer and of course girls! I met my beautiful Dutch girlfriend Truusje (Trish) in 1976, the year that City won the cup again, and in 1977 we got married. We managed to produce four healthy children over the next six years (three boys and a girl) who all play football or soccer for our local team Bayswater Strikers, and I am proud to say the are all fanatical City supporters and so are most of their mates, with a bit of influence from yours truly.

I now have three beautiful granddaughters and last Christmas they all got City shirts from Santa.

So here we are at the start of a new season with a new owner, a new manager and a bag full of cash to spend on new players. Judging by the friendly results over the past few weeks, could this be the season where everything falls into place and Man City become the great football club that we have always known they should be?

I for one am certainly hoping so. If the echoes of the past can reverberate into the future we are going to be in for one hell of a ride.

“CITY, CITY, CITY…”

REQUEST: DUBAI / UAE BLUES

A staunch Manchester City supporter for 25 years, originating from Sale, I reside in Dubai, UAE. I have started up a Dubai Manchester City Football Supporters Society group on Facebook within the UAE network and I am advertising to all the Blues out there that there is a venue where many Blues get together to watch the games within Dubai.

The Group wishes to promote to all Blues in Dubai and the rest of the UAE who support MCFC that if they want to watch City and drink with fellow Blues it is possible. This season every game will be shown on Showtime within the UAE. There is no excuse why Blues cannot watch their beloved City.

So, any Blues living out here or visiting the UAE, let’s get together and watch football. The venue is the Players’ Lounge at the Chelsea Hotel Bur Dubai.

REQUEST: MCIVTA FANTASY LEAGUE

I’ve set up the fantasy league for the 07/08 season. Here is the website: http://fantasy.premierleague.com/M/info.mc or here: http://fantasy.premierleague.com/

On the official Premier League site you may register your fantasy premier league team and compete against other managers from all over the world. You start out with £100 million and after choosing a team of 15 players you can either set up your own league with your friends or join one of the other leagues that has been created.

As usual you need to follow the easy directions and set up your team, then join the league. The league name is MCVITA (sic) CITY FANS and the league code (i.e. the code you need to input to join) this year is 4098-1847. The league administrator is Jack “Thaksin apologist” Buckley.

I’m hoping there will be more than 100 players this year when the whistle sounds on August 11th.

Decision: There will be no rule penalizing any manager who chooses to field any player from any team this season or next season etc.: so let it be written, so let it be done.

The reasons:

1. The fantasy league is supposed to be fun, this is not fun! Not fun!
2. This smells too much of ex post facto law making.

Every law that makes an action done before the passing of the law and which was innocent when done to become criminal and punishable as such [a crime]; every law that aggravates a crime or makes it greater than when it was committed; every law that changes and inflicts a greater punishment; and every law that alters the legal rules of evidence, and receives less, or different, testimony than the law required at the time of the commission of the offense, in order to convict the offender.” 171 S.W. 2d 880. Such a law violates Art. I, Secs. 9 (Cl. 3) & 10 of the Constitution of the United States, which provide that neither Congress nor any state shall pass an ex post facto law; these provisions have been held applicable only to criminal statutes. 3 U.S. (3 Dall.) 386, 390.

I’m going to apply the principle here.

1. Many teams are competative in multiple leagues and banning would affect them all.
2. The banning tool is a blunt weapon, and any points gained by using anyplayer falling within the prohibition cannot be deducted.
3. The practical problems of notifying managers they have violated therule. Most managers will not / do not read the league forum.
4. Do we really want to engage in “public shaming”? (no).
5. The practical problem of detecting violations. Taking 5 & 7 togetherwould perhaps mean some would be penalized, some not, This is not unjust,but it is unfair.
6. There is a monthly / seasonal competition with prizes for the bestmanagers accross all leagues. This rule would put all managers who play inMCIVTA at a disadvantage.

MCIVTA FAQ [v0708.01]

[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 Points of Blue (formerly the Fans’ Committee)?

The committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. Points of Blue appears 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] 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/.

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: