Newsletter #1440

News tonight of the new season fixtures, the continuing transfer rumours with no progress as yet on the big incoming names although several City players are attracting interest from other quarters. There have also been more back room departures as the new coaching team beds in.

We also have opinion on the transfer process and the managerial debate.

NEWS SUMMARY

Transfer Tittle Tattle

Football is Going Well: So how are things going with the club’s attempts to sign one of the world’s most famous players, Ronaldinho? Not very well, if some press reports are to be believed. Chelsea are being mentioned more and more as the place where the 28-year-old will end up. Chelsea’s new boss, Luiz Felipe Scolari, worked with Ronnie during Brazil’s route to 2002 World Cup glory. Deco, his Barcelona team-mate, is also thought to be heading to the West London, and he has urged Ronaldinho to move there as well. “It would be good for Chelsea to sign Ronaldinho,” Deco is quoted as saying in The Sun. “He would go to a great club and I would love to see him playing in the Champions’ League for a great team, and showing he is still the best player in the world.” Our own Blues haven’t given up hope, however. Dr.Thaksin is still hoping to steal a march on Chelsea’s incoming coach, by tying up the services of the two-time World Player of the Year before Scolari takes up his new post. “We are still trying every day to convince him to join the club,” Thaksin said in Bangkok. “The new manager is courting new players for the team. Football is going well.” One report suggests that Garry Cook’s experience with Nike could be vitally important in snagging the snaggle-toothed Brazilian. Former Nike Executive Cook is using his contacts to try and negotiate a deal – Ronaldinho is closely tied to the sportswear company that they have contractual call on a set number of dates for personal appearances, adverts and endorsements. City would allow him to fulfil his commitments (based mainly in Spain), at the cost of missing some games for City, perhaps in the Carling Cup. Meanwhile, Elano has been putting in a good word for his club. “At first sight, one could believe it is a mistake to leave Barcelona for Manchester City,” Elano was quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror. “But I know Manchester City, I know its structure and I can say one thing for sure: it would be very good for Ronaldinho and excellent for our club. I hope it becomes concrete.”

Zab’s the Way We Like It: City have resurrected their interest in 23-year-old Pablo Zabaleta of Espanyol. The Daily Mail believes the versatile Argentine, who can play in central midfield, at right-back or right-wing, was originally scouted in Sven’s time, but was also on Mark Hughes’ radar while the manager was at Blackburn. The chances of him going to City looked to have diminished with Eriksson’s departure but Hughes is still interested. Zabaleta, who has a Spanish passport, has also been monitored by Juventus and both Milan clubs and would cost around £10 million. If Marky Mark Hughes is interested in defenders, how about Flamengo’s full back Juan? Juan, who gained a Spanish passport last month, spent two years at Arsenal and had a spell on-loan at Millwall. Flamengo are seeking £2.5 million for the left-back, who is aware of City’s interest, says Globo. Or, there’s Brazilian defender Marcelo Mattos. Mark Hughes is ready to battle Portsmouth in the race to sign the Panathinaikos star. The Greek side have valued him at around £5 million. And as half of Blackburn’s team allegedly want to rejoin their former boss, City are supposed to be launching a £7 million bid for Rovers defender Ryan Nelsen.

A Close Shave: ‘Arshavin’ sounds like a very painful thing to do – but apparently it’s the name of Zenit St Petersburg’s star playmaker. Andrei Arshavin is currently with his national side at Euro 2008 but has missed Russia’s first two games because of suspension. He could have added £5 million to his fee though with a superb performance in the third game, beating Russia’s 2-0. The Sun claims City have been given a one week deadline by Zenit to complete the signing of Arshavin. A spokesman for the Russians has put a timescale on any potential transfer if Mark Hughes decides to make a move. Zenit official Konstantin Sarsania told the MEN: “Andrei wants to try playing in one of the leading European leagues, but if he doesn’t leave us by June 20 he’ll stay in the team.” And it that deal doesn’t cut it (as it were), Inter Milan midfielder Dejan Stankovic has also been mentioned. And this paragraph’s Blackburn link; England wide midfielder David Bentley has said he wants to leave Ewood Park, so naturally he’s on his way to the COMS, ya know. The Guardian report Bentley saying “I made it clear to the club what I wanted to do. The situation is I want to move on. I want to be playing Champions’ League football, or in Europe. I’ve been here for three years and I love the club and I love playing for them but I feel like I’ve done everything I can. I want a new challenge. I believe I have done as much as I can at the club and want to push on somewhere else.”

Oh No – No Jo! So what happened to the transfer of CSKA Moscow striker Jo, which Garry Cook assured us was about to take place? Not a lot, is the answer to that question, because the Premier League are trying to block it. It has emerged that the deal may break down due to the Premier League’s stance over third-party ownership. Kia Joorabchian, who was at the centre of the controversy surrounding the ownership of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, is working as a consultant for Jo – who also played for the same Brazilian club as Tevez, Corinthians. And a Premier League spokesman has confirmed that the signing of a player who is third-part owned is considered illegal. Dan Johnson said in The Sun: “We are aware of the situation with Jo and the rules are very clear. At the Premier League AGM held two weeks ago it was agreed that third-party ownership of any player will not be allowed.” Garry Cook says the Club are working closely with the Premier League over this issue – they’ve been in contact with Premier League Chairman Sir David Richards and assured the league that no player will be brought into the Club who has third party ownership issues. Garry Cook said: “Jo is a player who interests us and we are currently in discussions with CSKA Moscow and his representatives. We are hopeful of progress. I have spoken personally to Sir David Richards [The Chairman of the Premier League] and we are keeping in contact with the Premier League on the issue. Manchester City is fully aware of the rules regarding third party ownership of players and any transfers will be completed to Premier League regulations.”

Lassa Fever Hits Hughes: Mark Hughes has triggered Manchester City’s summer spending spree by making an £8 million bid for Portsmouth’s Lassana Diarra. The former Blackburn boss and Manchester United legend is targeting the ex-Chelsea and Arsenal defensive midfielder. He is currently on duty with France at Euro 2008 and sources from the camp have revealed that City are moving in for Diarra, the News of the World says. His reputation has soared since Harry Redknapp prised him from Arsenal during the January transfer window in a £5 million deal. The player made a huge impact and played a leading rôle in Pompey’s FA Cup success. Last season he managed to be at Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth (not at the same time I hasten to add). He joined Pompey for £5 million in January after gaining special permission to do so from FIFA – players are not supposed to have been registered with more than two clubs in a season. When he joined the South Coast club, the defensive midfielder claimed the move was “a stepping stone for the future”. Portsmouth may hold out for £10 million. Elsewhere, City are following AS Monaco striker Steve Pinau. The France youth international made a senior breakthrough last season with Monaco and is being watched by City.

This Means Nothing to Me, Oh Sienna: A quick update on a couple of players who are probably leaving the club. Siena are moving for Bernado Corradi. The 32-year-old is returning to City after his loan at Parma expired last week and Siena are ready to step in and discuss a deal with City for the Italian. And Valeri Bojinov has admitted to being flattered by talk of interest from Torino. “I have had no contact with Torino, but I have heard that they and Genoa are interested in me,” Bojinov told firenzeviola.it. “What can I say? All this makes me very happy, it means that I left a good image of myself in Italy and I have not been forgotten yet. Even last summer while I was discussing my future with Fiorentina I was approached by Torino. We will see. It does not depend on me. I still have three years on my contract with Manchester City, any decision is up to them, as it should be.”

Hart Stopping? A quick couple of snippets about City’s goalkeepers. Tottenham are said to be interested in England’s no.1, Joe Hart, who is still disgruntled at earning a piffling £10 grand a week. Boss Marky is keen to keep the young custodian, so is pushing for a substantial pay rise for the 21-year-old. Andreas Isaksson, a lot older than Hart and presumably earning a lot more money, is still wanted by Galatasaray, while Atlético de Madrid are hoping to Isaksson on loan for a season from with a view to a permanent move after seeing Christian Abbiati return to AC Milan.

Ched Heads South? Said to be the richest club in the country after being bought by Formula 1 bigwigs earlier this year, Championship side Queen’s Park Rangers are interested in Ched Evans. The 19-year-old caught the eye on loan at Norwich last season and another temporary spell away from Eastlands, this time at Loftus Road, could be on the cards. Rangers have the cash available for a permanent deal, but Mark Hughes is unlikely to make any hasty decisions as he evaluates his squad. Evans scored 10 goals for the Canaries last season and also made his full international début for Wales.

The Rest

New Season is Upon Us! Blimey O’Reilly, only five minutes after last term finished, and the fixtures for season 08/09 are already out. City begin with a double dose of claret and blue – away at Aston Villa on Saturday 16 August, and home to West Ham on 23 August. Then City face a trip to Sunderland on August 30. The first derby takes place at the CoMS on 29 November, and City’s Boxing Day fixture sees new boys Hull City visit the Blues. A trip to Old Trafford is pencilled in for Saturday 9 May, while the season finishes with a home match with Bolton on Sunday, 24 May. I’d expect a few changes in those dates, if I were you… Mark Hughes’ reaction to the games was as follows: “It’s always an exciting time when the fixtures come out, and the staff and players always feel it as much as the fans do. Villa are one of the teams that finished around us last season, like us they have made real progress in recent times and will be aiming higher in this coming season. They are certainly a side we should judge ourselves against. I think our fans will look forward to going to Villa Park for the first day of the new season, they always turn out in great numbers there and it’s a ground I like a lot. The fixture list makes everything a little more real, and I’m looking forward to a great start to the new campaign.”

Clear Out Continues: The cull of City’s off field staff continues apace. Following Alistair Mackintosh’s sudden departure last week, we now have first team coach Derek Fazackerley, goalkeeping coach Eric Steele and fitness coach Stefano Marrone all making their exits. The Blues are expected to replace Mackintosh with a Chief Operating Officer, with former Leicester Chief Executive Paul Aldridge the leading candidate for the post. Aldridge, who left Leicester last week, had been working at the Walkers Stadium since his departure from West Ham in the fall-out from Carlos Tevez’s controversial move to Upton Park.

The Special Ones: It’s been a great Euro 2008 so far for Croatia, winning all three of their opening games, including a 2-1 win over Germany. Vedran Corluka was in good form in the first two games, with his national coach Slaven Bilic calling the City boy “the best defender in the World.” Clearly, the feeling’s mutual. “For us, Bilic is just perfect,” Corluka said. “The Chelsea fans had a nickname for Jose Mourinho – ‘the Special One’ – but for us, Slaven Bilic is ‘the Special One’. He gives us belief, but he also makes us relaxed.” Croatia face Turkey in the Quarter Finals on Friday. Andreas Isaksson’s Sweden have endured a more torrid time. The Swedes lost to Spain thanks to a late David Villa goal, then got severely tonked by Russia. Isaksson and his defence endured a torrid time as the Russians won 2-0. Of the tournament, Mark Hughes says: “Everything that’s happened to Croatia has been fantastic for them so that’s a positive from our point of view with Vedran. We hope that all our players come back fit and well, that’s always the worry as a club manager. International football is important to the individuals involved, players have huge feelings about playing for their countries – rightly so. But from the club manager’s point of view, you are selfish on occasions, you’d prefer that they limit their commitments sometimes and come back fit and well, but that’s not always an easy task. I’ve been an international manager as well, and I understand their frustration when it becomes difficult to get players released. It’s something that’s part of the football calendar, you plan accordingly. Most of the players here are internationals, that was known when they were brought to the club, so we can’t complain too much.”

Fitness First: New Assistant Manager Mark Bowen has stated that the fitness of the players will be a key factor in the Mark Hughes era at City. “It all comes from the manager and the way he played throughout his career,” Bowen says. “Everyone knows about his time at United, but he played for Everton, Chelsea and abroad in his time. He always had that desire and the will to win. Looking at ourselves, if we want to perform we have to be physically up to the challenge. In the four years that we were at Blackburn we were very proud of the fact that we were regarded as possibly the fittest team in the Premier League. If you have that base to work from, you are giving the players a fantastic base for them to go out and express themselves. But before that, they have got to be up to the challenge physically.”

Richard’s Riches: Mark Hughes has put on record his keenness to keep Richard Dunne at the club. “I’ve spoken to Richard, he’s on holiday abroad at the moment but I’ve had a discussion with him and I’ve told him my feelings on the situation. Obviously I’m very keen for him to remain at the club, and we’re working in that direction. It’s a little bit difficult because he’s away at the moment, but I’m sure that when he’s back this will be resolved very quickly. We have offered Richard a substantial deal, there may be more negotiations to be done but I am very hopeful that he will continue to be a Manchester City player.” The Boss added: “I played alongside him, and even though it’s a while ago now I know his qualities very well. He’s been outstanding at City, he’s key to what we are trying to do here and if we can, we’ll make sure we do everything we can to keep him.”

Dickov Off: Paul Dickov may be heading for the MLS in the United Sates, or perhaps make his loan at Blackpool a permanent one. He’s certainly got a few options to consider – there has been interest from Toronto, coached by fellow Scot Mo Johnston, and from New York Red Bulls, who number former team-mate Claudio Reyna and fitness coach Juan Carlos Osorio among their ranks. And Dicky enjoyed a successful spell at Bloomfield Road last season, scoring seven goals in as many starts. “One thing I don’t want to do as a player, at whatever level, is overstay my welcome,” he told the MEN. “I will be the first one to admit when I cannot do it anymore. I still feel I have something to offer as a player but I want to go into coaching eventually and I will need to do the badges because that is important.” Dickov rates the new man at the COMS; “I know Mark Hughes well,” he says. “I know how he trains and how his staff will want the players to train. He is the best I have played under and City will not lack for fitness and commitment that is for sure.”

OPINION: SVEN vs. STUART

I am genuinely stunned! How can anyone, and I mean anyone, consider that Stuart Pearce was even in the same league as Sven as a football manager?! To say Sven relied on the purchases of the season prior is an insult to the man!

The football under SP well… You saw it, I need say no more! Talk about fickle? It really does take the cake. Sven was class.

A gentlemen, a great manager who did City proud – truly in their hour of need. I will always have the utmost respect for the man and his amazing achievements at MCFC. We City supporters sure have (very) short memories…

OPINION: NEW SIGNINGS

Why does it seem that many things that MCFC do are complicated ones?

The transfer of CSKA Moscow’s star Jo cannot go through according to the Premier League, because he is supposedly owned by a third party MSI, who also owned Tevez. Was this not thought of beforehand?

Meanwhile, the battle goes on to sign Ronaldinho, who has had permission to leave Barça along with Deco and Eto’o. Interest has been shown by several clubs including Chelski.

LA Galaxy are also in the battle to sign Ronaldino, with so much money involved on, and off, the pitch with marketing etc. Is it really worth all that money?

Sure, I like many other City fans would like to see Ronaldinho playing for City, but are the risks worth it all, with the North West winter to contend with after playing so much of his time in the sun? But of course Ronaldinho has got class written all over him.

One superstar does not make a team, but several very good players do.

It will be up to Mark Hughes to have all his players to fit into his kind of jigsaw puzzle, so they all play together as a great unit.

MCFC are not the only club that has problems signing players these days, so many hoops to get through, agents etc.

Whichever players City decide to go for, they had better move in before others move in ahead of them; it has become very competitive to sign the best.

Right now I think that Sparky has got his priorities right in signing Dunne and Hart with new contracts; we must keep both of them.

Come on you Blues!

WANTED: NEW NEWS EDITOR

Owing to changes in my working routine, I am giving up being News Editor of the mighty MCIVTA. This is sad for me, because I still enjoy trying to write something entertaining about City every week (mind you, there’s always plenty of material for entertainment!), but my travelling to and from work has increased significantly in recent times, and it means that I’m bowing to the inevitable. Thanks for reading my ramblings since I began in November ’01, and a big thank you to all those contributors who sent me bits and pieces over that time. And where would I have been without the able stand ins over that time, especially Sarah. I won’t be going for a few weeks though I hope to end my tenure and hand over the reins at the end of July. Which brings me to the real purpose of this posting…

Do you spend a lot of time reading up all that City news and gossip? Want to have a legit reason for doing it? Then how would you like to be the new News Editor? If you fancy giving this City News reporting lark a go, then drop me an email. If you’re a budding newshound, why not send in a sample of your writing? If you want some guidance on what the job entails, I’m happy to answer any questions you might have, and I’m currently writing some notes on how I put the news together it’s not a definitive set of rules of course, it just shows how I approach the weekly writing.

If you are interested, can you let me know by June 30, emails to the address below.

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: