Newsletter #1451

The Blues lost their Hamburg encounter, we have opinion on the game tonight, and now attention turns to the second leg of the Streymur game to be held in Barnsley on Thursday.

We also have opinion on ticket prices, pre-season and behind the scenes.

OPINION: HAMBURG GAME I

This is my first posting and I’m a City fan of over 50 years. On Saturday I had the undoubted privilege of watching my beloved club live on DSF down here in deepest Bavaria. Kitted out with regulation scarf and hat to the dismay of my eldest daughter (it was 30c outside) and amusement of my 10 year-old son who claims to support FC Bayern, and a cold weissbier in hand I settled down to watch a mostly boring encounter.

There was little in it but City made HSV look good and no doubt they were the keener side. I’m afraid “baldy” Ireland was clueless on the day and Ball and Dunne were given the run-around, which is worrying. The introduction of Sturridge and Evans was interesting but neither looked menacing. Suffice it to say we played pretty but ineffective footy.

When Schmeichel swapped with Hart, the commentator stated that he understood that Hughes preferred Kasper (we’ll see). Despite the stupid goal (atrocious man-marking) I enjoyed the game, but I agree with the majority: we desperately need a nifty striker (saw Santa Cruz at Bayern) and a midfield dynamo. Alas Podolski is staying here as Mark van Bommel assumes the captaincy of Bayern. Never mind, I’m looking forward and not back (I’ve seen it all in my time but that story can wait).

MCIVTA I salute you. Keep up the excellent work.

OPINION: HAMBURG GAME II

No wonder City got beaten in Hamburg as the official site gives the temperature at the game in the high 80’s. Well when I woke up Saturday morning in Amsterdam it was in the 20’s and rising and I was knackered. Must have been around 25 degrees or so here around kick-off time so I cannot imagine anyone, however well paid, doing any more than going through their paces. I was in Australia years ago and when it reached 40 degrees well I thought nothing could beat this. Well Germany in July must have been something else.

OPINION: TICKET PRICES I

Mark Redgrave is right to point out the price hike. Also, when I called to book my seat in East level 2 I was offered a good seat in 204 but for £35! I asked if that included the £5 discount to be told ‘what discount?’ After she went away and checked I was given the seat for £30. Why did she not know?

So, Citycard holders, ensure you get your discount. It isn’t given automatically.

OPINION: TICKET PRICES II

I read Mark Redgrave’s item on ticket prices and can only agree. I find the pricing of Premier League games absolutely obscene now, but obviously this is because of players’ huge wages apart from anything else.

To put these prices into context, and actually, one of the reasons why I now attend games lower down the league, I will be going to see Wycombe vs. Morecambe in League 2 on the first day of the Football League season. I will have a car park pass, a tour of the ground, a full 3 course waitress served meal, seat in the centre stand, programme and team sheet, refereshments at half time, and all for £40! Now then, my philosophy is don’t let the football spoil your day, and on that basis, how can it?

I know it’s all relative, but with regard to value for money, the lower league clubs really do put the big boys to shame.

OPINION: THE SQUAD, THE MANAGEMENT AND THE CLUB

I have had a number of conversations about the state of the Blues’ squad recently with people who know about football, and some United fans as well.

The general consensus is that we are pretty thin in terms of quality and are very, very unbalanced in terms of numbers.

It’s a damning assessment of SGE’s tenure at the club that we find the new manager having to spend big in almost every department.

It must be a hard enough job getting the players’ psychology and the tactics right as well as improving (what has been reported as poor) fitness levels without the added issue of introducing a lot of new players.

For anyone blinded by the early success under SGE I hope you can now see the reasons for his departure.

No matter how you add it up he was a very limited success, and in truth I would mark him down as a failure when the investment is taken into consideration.

There are a number of mildly extenuating circumstances but it seemed to me at the time, and more so now, that the longer he was in post the less impact he was having.

I have also previously commented on the internal problems around the club in the run up to, and the fall out from SGE’s departure.

If anyone remembers the general point was that the senior management were not necessarily conducting things as professionally as the owner expected. The evidence of the departures of Mackintosh and others seems to frank that.

As for the “lock down” at Carrington I have it on very good advice that there were far too many agents and representatives offered free movement under SGE (another example as to his spineless approach to man management in my humble opinion) and something considered unhelpful by Dr Thaksin and Hughes.

Let’s hope that the club are now set-up as a professional and dedicated group all pulling together. From what I have seen so far I am impressed and hope Hughes gets the targets he wants at the club.

As for Dr Thaksin he may be an internationally reviled and corrupt politician and business leader but he is our internationally reviled and corrupt politician and business leader who happens not to have been found guilty of any crime.

If he has a flaw it maybe that he trusts his advisors a little too much. That’s evident from the initial appointments at our great club.

Have a good summer and I look forward to a record breaking start to the season.

OPINION: PRE-SEASON

So the performance by the City team in the friendly versus Hamburg was not that good? One must remember that Sparky has to see all his players, and to find out which formations are best, and to get the players 100% fit.

I personally feel that we should all reserve our judgements until we see the City team (without Jo) who play versus AC Milan at home in the final pre-season friendly.

By this time Sparky will have had a better chance to see what he has as a team, and I am certainly not saying that Sparky will have got it exactly right by the time AC Milan come to City, just that the best possible City team will be playing that day, and every player should know his rôle in the team.

The game versus AC Milan will show any weaknesses and our strengths, to move forward.

Come on you Blues!

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: