Newsletter #1478

More disappointment in the North East as we lost to Boro last night. Alex’s news summary brings us recent match reactions, injury news and contract deals.

We also have a view on the recent Newcastle performance, the team building conundrum and player views as well as the usual requests and a piece on Paul Lake at 40.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

Potential For Points: After the display at St James’ Park that caused many football fans to question the true credentials of the newly rich City side, manager Mark Hughes stated that the next few weeks are key to City’s season. Sparky will have been chuffed with the three points against Stoke and believes the Blues can continue in the same vein in the coming weeks: “We like to feel that we go into every game with the desire and the demand to win every one. Certainly we’ve looked at this period when we got the fixtures as an opportunity to pick up points so we have to make sure that we do that. We’re looking to get some positive back-to-back results and I think at this time of the year if you get two wins on the run then you can shoot up the table very quickly.”

Experience is the Key: With one of the youngest sides in the league, bolstered by a group of Academy graduates, City are beginning to look a little shy of some experience. The likes of Dunne, Ball and Hamann are in to steady the Blues’ ship but Hughes believes that whilst his youngsters are capable of great things, something more is needed and that can only come from those who have been around the game for more than a couple of seasons. Sparky is looking to the returns of Darius Vassell and Benjani to add that extra edge: “We’ve got a lot of guys that are new to the Premier League, a lot of young guys anyway, in terms of years. It takes time to adjust to the Premier League and it’s an exceptional league, very strong and very physical. You need experience and an understanding of what it’s all about and at the moment we just lack a bit of the experience that would help us.”

The Hart of the Matter: Young City number one stopper Joe Hart has put pen to paper on a new deal that will keep him at Eastlands for the next five years. The man whose name comes with an endless array of puns has stated that he is delighted he got his break in the first team and that now he has the number one jersey, he has no intention of giving it up for a long time to come. Again a great testament to City’s youth policy, Hughes expressed his joy at tying down the England capped ‘keeper: “I’m very pleased that Joe has signed this contract. Our young players are a huge part of our plans for this club, and securing the services of one of the most promising ‘keepers in the country was key to what we are doing here.” The man himself is promising to work as hard as possible to be an integral part in the City revolution: “I won’t take anything for granted; I know full well that I don’t know what’s around the corner, but in a positive way with the finance that’s now available. I want to keep my side of the bargain, keep playing well and keep my place in the team.”

Squad News

Petrov Possibility? Last week it was reported that the Bulgarian left winger had been ruled out for the rest of the season or for at least for months. Now, we are told that the next two weeks will be crucial for Martin and that if he can come through them unscathed, then we may see Petrov and SWP combine sooner than we expected. Hughes reported that his physios had re-assessed the situation: “He does have a problem with his meniscus but the view is that maybe for the next couple of weeks we will try to build up the strength around the injury. If after that there is no marked improvement then we will have to do something about it, and he will be out for a significant amount of time. For the next two weeks we are hoping that the strengthening around the injury may take the pressure off it and he may able to play, with getting it done at the end of the season a possibility. It’s a long shot, but maybe worth taking for the sake of a couple of weeks.”

Robinho’s Brazilian Pledge: Having scored a hat-trick in the 3-0 victory over Stoke at the weekend, the Brazilian starlet proved that he is worth every single penny. And there’s even more to come. This man is the difference between top ten and top six and I for one can’t wait to see how he can possibly get any better. Goals, skills and entertainment, he’s the perfect all round player and he plays in our kit, brilliant. But the striker claims that we haven’t seen his best yet and when he gets completely used to the Premier League, he’ll make it his stage: “My main objective is that the team does well, but my personal objective is that I achieve 30 goals. I’m happy, but not completely happy because I still have a lot to give and to learn. I’ll be happy if we have achieved a good season at the end of this season.”

Transfer News and Gossip

Daniel Sturridge: After his most impressive display so far for the Blues against Stoke, Danny Sturridge has caught the eye of a few clubs in recent weeks. Chelsea, Arsenal and now QPR are in for the 19 year old youngster. The Championship side are lacking goals this season and believe that the England under 18 international could bring a new dimension to a side going through as much transition as City themselves currently – granted on a much smaller scale. Hughes may look to loan Sturridge out over the coming months in order to allow him to gain some first team experience before coming back and making a true claim for a first eleven place.

Ryan McGivern: The eighteen year old Northern Irish defender has moved to Morecambe on a one month loan deal. McGivern, who was a part of the FA Youth Cup winning squad last season looks set to be one of the next Blues’ Academy graduates to progress into the first team, if he gets the chance, but first he must prove that he can cut it in the senior game and has been given the opportunity to show off his skills in League Two. Morecambe manager Sammy McIlroy stated: “I have seen Ryan play a few times and been very impressed by what I have seen and all the reports I have had of him. He will be a very welcome addition to the squad.”

Vagner Love: After the long, ongoing saga that was the £19 million signing of Jo from CSKA Moscow, City are looking back towards the Russian Champions for some more attacking inspiration. Vagner Love, long the target of former Spurs boss Juande Ramos, may have put himself on the market but not for a move to the capital. Reports claim that if he were to leave CSKA, the capped Brazilian forward would prefer to join up with former team mate Jo at the Blues and now that the recruitment structure at Tottenham has changed, City would face much less of a challenge bringing Love to Manchester: “If there is something clear I will consider it, because an offer from England is always attractive. My friend and former team-mate Jo is playing for Manchester City and they have a lot of good forwards. The Tottenham situation is different. I know they have a bad position in the table.”

Lassana Diarra: With the manager looking to strengthen City’s leaky defence and Harry Redknapp suddenly departing Portsmouth, Lassana Diarra may be the perfect target for the Citizens. The Frenchman joined Portsmouth in the summer transfer window of 2007 and at once declared his intention to use Pompey as a ‘stepping stone’ to bigger things. Though the versatile box-box player could cost up to £15 million, Sparky believes that he could be the perfect player to play alongside Vincent Kompany. One stumbling block will be a likely bid from Spurs, given their recent change of management.

Jermaine Defoe: City’s bid to further bolster their attacking options may culminate in the purchase of Jermaine Defoe. The England striker is yet another player to be affected by the departure of Harry Redknapp and as such may feel it is time to move on himself. It is likely that the former Spurs striker will cost £20 million and again Redknapp has already made clear his intentions to raid his former club. City’s league position come January could be key to any signings made but the South Coast side are currently strapped for cash and may be more inclined than other sides to sell. Having missed out on Roque Santa Cruz, Hughes may look to Defoe for some proven goal scoring talent, given his one goal every two game average at Pompey.

Mario Balotelli: The Inter Milan striker has handed in a formal transfer request in recent days due to fears that his career will stall under the new Mourinho regime. The promising Italian striker believes that although a permanent move may not be possible in January, a loan move would be available to him and therefore City’s scouts are on high alert. Though a move for David Villa may be off the table after he pledged his loyalty to current club Valencia, the very similar Balotelli may make a very good second best.

Post-Match Reaction

Stoke City: City looked as good as they did against the mighty Pompey and probably could have hit six again if they’d been consistent in front of goal but that man once again made sure the Premier League knew that he had arrived. Robinho’s hat-trick, Sturridge’s skills, Ben Haim’s work ethic, all great signs of what City can achieve if they put their minds to it and Joe Hart looking as good as ever only hours after signing his new contract. Three points were crucial after what will be considered two dropped against Newcastle and being placed back in the top ten never hurts. City were brilliant in all positions and the defence has very little to do for the whole of the second half. The manager told of how proud he was with the overall performance: “Robinho will get the headlines, and rightly so because the quality of the goals and the finishing were all top class. He was excellent on the day, but it was not all about Robinho. I was pleased with our defensive performance today, Stoke will ask questions of you physically and mentally you have to be up for the challenge. We answered those questions today, stuck at it and once we won the ball back we broke with devastating effect.” Reflecting on other individual performances, Sparky picked out Danny Sturridge as the man to watch: “If there is a criticism of Daniel on occasion it’s that when he comes on, he is so desperate to do well he’s picked the wrong option. He maybe shoots when he should pass, and pass when he should shoot, but that was not the case against Stoke. I thought he was excellent, he linked up really well and picked out people in key areas.”

MATCH VIEW: NUFC 2 MCFC 2

Having watched the Newcastle match, I am very relieved, but at the same time very frustrated with the poor performance soon after taking the lead. Newcastle could easily have had 3 points, but for a last gasp equaliser. All the plaudits go to them.

Watch how Liverpool attacked us when we went down to 10 men, they really stretched us all over the par, and they were very direct. What did we want to do? Look pretty by passing the ball around the park, via the midfield and backwards to the full backs then back to the goalkeeper.

Newcastle just retained their shape. We needed to get at their defence, by either directly running at them or playing down the channels with fast, incisive passing. We had 2 holding midfielders on for most of the match… how creative is that? Ireland was not getting into the game, Robinho was on the periphery, and only SWP was showing any purpose. This is when I would have taken either Kompany or Hamann and brought on Elano. What is Mark Hughes watching? Not tactically at his best. We need a quality creative midfielder like Deco or Fabregas to make those killer passes, after all we are supposed to have a quality 4 man attack!

As for Dunne, another pair of blunders nearly cost us the match again; both goals were his fault. Richards is poor as a right back and Garrido is not much better at left back. Jo is stll way off the pace and did not pose as much a threat to Newcastle, whilst Ameobi was a constant nuisance and won nearly everything lobbed up to him. The worst player in our team must be Onuoha, absolutely awful, never looked comfortable on the ball, and his passing is woeful to say the least. Kompany also had a poor match. I am annoyed because we have so much “potential” but we are labouring to grab the match by the scruff of the neck and kill off teams like Chelsea do, that’s whom we have to emulate.

Hart: not much to do, apart from pick the ball out of the back of the net. 6
Richards: average performance, poor passing, and not good enough to play right back. 6
Ben-Haim: did ok, but how come 2 strikers who were quite isolated got so much of the ball? 6
Dunne: looked comfortable for 40 minutes and then made 2 blunders. 4
Garrido: just not good enough to play left back, defensively poor, why did he not pick up Ameobi when Dunne cleared? 4
Hamann: played ok when he was on and I would not have taken him off, it would have been Kompany. 6
Kompany: for a big strapping lad, he was out-jumped too often by Ameobi. 5
Ireland: flitted in and out of the game, scored a vital goal so his mark goes up. 7
SWP: always gives 100%, though he was not at his best and forgot to put on his shooting boots. 6
Robinho: apart from scoring the penalty, flitted in and out of the game, needs to do much much more. 6
Jo: doesn’t do enough for the price tag. 5
Evans: tries very hard and this is what the fans appreciate. 5
Onuoha: absolutely rubbish. 2

Mark Hughes really needs to get the cheque book out in January, as we need 2 big (over 6ft 2″) centre halves (look at Collocini), a quality left back and a quality creative midfielder.

Here’s hoping we get back on track for our next match.

C’mon City!

OPINION: TEAM BUILDING

How long does it take to buy good players to fill the weak positions in your squad? Not long, if you have the money. How long does it take to train a team to play together to the best of their ability? Not all that long, weeks, maybe months, but not years. So by that logic, Hughes shouldn’t take a long time to turn the team into a top four challenger.

Except I think that logic is wrong.

How come Alex Ferguson keeps producing good United team after good United team? How come he never seems to go through a phase where he is building the next one, where it’s a work in progress, and so United fans will just have to be patient for a while and expect a couple of 10th place finishes? Why does that never happen? How come the same is true of Arsene Wenger, who builds team after team on a shoestring and rarely drops below fourth while doing it?

Obviously, the answer is that Ferguson and Wenger are never really building a team from scratch, but evolving new teams by gradually switching out players from the old one. But the same process that keeps these teams at the top is the process that gets you there in the first place. It’s an evolution rather than a revolution.

Sometimes people add up the prices of all of the players of a ManU team and they say “that team cost X to build” where X is the total. But that’s not true. That team cost a lot more than X to build because Ferguson had to buy a lot of misfits to find the one perfect piece. The misfits were usually bought for more than they were sold, and so there was a cost associated with shipping them in, finding they don’t fit perfectly, and shipping them out. So the United team you see on the field is not simply the sum of the players, but is a team precisely because of so many players bought and sold that were not exact matches. Ferguson has been able to consistently spend, not only on the best, but on the best fit, and over time he has a collected a set of players that fit one another like hand to glove.

It takes a lot of time to do that. I think that it can be accelerated, as Chelsea did, by buying a very large number of very good players and then sitting most of them on the bench, eventually shipping them out, retaining the ones that fit best. But even then it takes time to try players out, give them a decent chance etc. So there are limits on how much you can rush this (and remember that Chelsea were a top four club when Abramovich took over).

Moreover, I’m not sure that buying large numbers of players is consistent with our plan of bringing through the youth.

OPINION: TWINKLE TOES

I was sat just behind the North Stand goal for the Stoke game. I’ve never seen footballers enjoying themselves more, not even when my village team put 8 past Wollaston Victoria.

The best moment came after the second goal. Danny Sturridge had created it with a mazy run in from the right. He was clearly trying to beat two defenders for a shot on goal, when suddenly he reversed the ball back to Robinho, who materialised out of nowhere to slot home. According to the City website report “The latest bizarre goal celebration appeared to see the striker invite his team mates to kiss his right knee; answers on a postcard, please.” Here’s the answer, from ten yards away. Robinho went down on one knee and invited Danny to rest his foot on the other so that Robinho could clean Danny’s boots for him.

So next question on a postcard. Of the seven most expensive players in English football, who else would pretend to clean the boots of a lad just out of the youth team? Berbatov? Shevchenko? Rio? Veron (whoever he was)? Essien? Drogba? Don’t even get me started on whether Anelka or Fowler would have had the humility or humour.

The guy’s a gem.

OPINION: RESPECT

I fully agree with Bernard Paton’s comments in MCIVTA 1477. I don’t think there’s any need for name-calling against players on McV. It’s childish at best and shows a lack of self-awareness and intelligence from the writer, and because of that, doesn’t make for an enjoyable read.

A bit of name-calling and abuse is perhaps understandable during the heat of the match, but one expects amore considered argument when sat at a keyboard supposedly thinking it through. Thankfully 99% of the contributions to McV are rational and perceptive, and I hope it stays that way.

OPINION: HART

Well at last someone that agrees with me about Joe Hart. Paul Mooney has got it in one about our first team ‘keeper, and I agree with everything he said. I was a ‘keeper for forty years, should have played for my country but never had that desire.

Anyway that’s another story, back to Joe. For a tall fella he doesn’t command his area, he is suspect under the high ball and his confidence doesn’t seem to be there this year. Kasper on the other hand is a very good shot stopper, and has his father’s confidence, but he doesn’t seem to have his coach’s confidence.

I’m not saying Joe’s a bad ‘keeper, he’s not, and has the makings of a very good ‘keeper.

I hope I’m wrong about him, but when everyone says he’ll be the England Number 1, blah, blah, blah, we’re putting a heap of pressure on the young kid; that pressure may be telling this season.

Thirty two million quid for Robinho looks a snip at the moment. With every player and his dog linked with City, we really only need two or three top quality players to be than a useful side. Mind you, knowing City the way I do, we’ll probably lose to Middlesbrough and end up with ten players on the field. Pity we didn’t keep Geovanni though, could have been useful.

Staying Blue, ’cause my daughter likes Joe Hart!

OPINION: LAKE AT 40

I wrote this tribute to Paul Lake, who turned 40 on Tuesday. I don’t think he should be forgotten. I spoke to him at the start of the week and, as anyone who has met him will testify, he is a genuine nice guy. We spoke about him, football and City for over an hour.

People can leave their own comments about Paul here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A42751785

Here’s the article:

When you think of talented footballers who never fulfilled their potential then, for my generation, Paul Gascoigne is the first name that springs to mind.

Yet despite his injuries and off-pitch problems, Gazza played professionally until he was 37, won more than 50 caps for England, spent time in Serie A and and collected a lorry-load of trophies with Rangers – think of the waste if he had been cut down in his prime?

That was the fate of Paul Lake, a name that may be forgotten outside of the Blue half of Manchester, but who will live long in the memory of any Manchester City fan.

Lake, who turns 40 on Tuesday, played only 134 games for City and his career was effectively over by the time he was 21. He suffered the same cruciate ligament injury that clipped Gazza’s wings – only his curtailed his career completely.

An elegant six-footer, Lake was skilful, fast, intelligent and versatile – he could play anywhere across the middle of the park and pretty much anywhere across the back too. Like Gascoigne, his senior by 18 months, Lake was named in Bobby Robson’s provisional England squad for the 1990 World Cup but, while that tournament made the Tottenham player a global star, Lake was cruelly denied the chance to reach those heights.

In fact, despite being capped at Under-21 and B level, Lake never made a senior appearance for his country although he received several call-ups into the full squad. Injury meant he had to drop out on each occasion.

For those who followed Lake’s progress from the time he made his first-team début for City in January 1987, it had become a familiar story. Sometimes it just appeared the youngster from Denton was jinxed.

Before he began his futile battle to save his career, Lake was involved in another horrific incident in March 1989 when he was knocked unconscious in a clash of heads during a game against Leicester City and, with his airways blocked, almost died of suffocation.

However, Lake was soon back in action to help City win promotion back into the top flight that season – and his effortless style sparkled in the old Division One too.

In the aftermath of Italia 90, Liverpool made a £3 million bid for Lake – a huge fee at a time when the British record was the £2.3 million Manchester United had paid Middlesbrough for Gary Pallister a year earlier – but then-City chairman Peter Swales rejected the offer, rightly fearing a revolt on the terraces if he allowed Lake to leave.

Instead, Lake signed a five-year contract and was installed as City captain. It should have been the start of something special for player and club. Sadly, just a few months later, his career was all but over.

An innocent-looking collision with Aston Villa’s Tony Cascarino on 5 September ended up ruling Lake out for two years. He returned in 1992 but, eight minutes into his second game back against Middlesbrough, his cruciate ligament snapped again.

This time Lake went to America for a pioneering transplant, in which dead men’s ligaments were inserted in place of his own. In all he had 17 operations but, over the next four years, every time he tried to return, his knee would swell up painfully.

“Each time it was worse and worse,” Lake told BBC Sport. “I’ll never forget being asked by fans ‘Paul, how long are you going to be, when are you back?’ and I always used to say ‘hopefully about six weeks’. I don’t know where that came from – I used to say it in my sleep in the end.”

“Season in, season out I was going to City on Saturday, watching the games, seeing fans. Trying to be upbeat and positive. Looking back now I honestly don’t know how I did it. I was training two or three times a day, I was as strong and as fit as I could be but my knee was failing and nobody seemed to be able to help me.”

“There were bad times. I would come home to an empty house and check on Ceefax to see how City had got on away from home. I watched players come and go and saw the squad list go from 20 to 60 with me 59th or 60th on that list of players. Other people knew full well that I would never come back but I never thought that.”

“But there was still plenty of black humour around the club. The other players used to call me Robocop because I had to wear a full-length leg brace to enable me to train.”

Eventually, in January 1996, Lake had to accept the inevitable and retire. Another, final, major operation to straighten his leg followed a few days later.

His former manager at Maine Road Howard Kendall led the tributes at the time when he said: “I used to value him at £10 million when clubs asked about him but that was in the days when clubs couldn’t afford that sort of money. I would be frightened to put a price on his head these days. It is a tragedy he has had to retire without being able to prove to people how good he was.”

The 90s were a lean decade for City fans and I was not the only one to think things would be better had Lake been around. Yet the last we saw of him was his testimonial against Manchester United in October 1997.

“I was always projecting myself into a City shirt and thinking ‘if only'”, Lakeadded. “When I retired there was the uncertainty of what was around the corner.I suppose I was clinically depressed at the time but you don’t realise thatbecause you just put on a front and say the right things.”

“From being 21 to being 30 was the most miserable time in my life. The games I played are blighted by four years of operations and surgery. I don’t know how I coped.”

What helped Lake move on was a close network of family and friends, who helped him come to terms with life as an ex-professional footballer.

They encouraged him to take a sports therapy course, which Lake says “lit a candle in me” and from there he went to Salford University to study physiotherapy.

Upon graduation he worked at Burnley, Altrincham and Macclesfield before taking a post with Bolton Wanderers in November 2007.

It would be easy for Lake to feel sorry for himself and be bitter about missing out on a potentially glittering – and lucrative – career but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He is more bothered about his future than the past.

“All the trapping and financial rewards that could have been on my door had I played on and even been three-quarters of the player I was – that has not bothered me at all,” Lake explained.

“I am a firm believer in fate and I wouldn’t be where I am today with my wife and my children and good friends who have been there through thick and thin without going through this massive, if unfortunate, learning curve.”

The legacy of the repeated operations Lake underwent does rankle, however.

“Just to be able to throw my shorts on and go out for a run for 20 minutes and come back the following day and not have any problems, that is what I miss, that is what I am bitter about,” he added. “I can run on to a pitch and treat a player because I am on and off in 30 seconds, I can ride a bike in the gym but that is all I can do. I can’t go for a run anymore and the inevitably of needing a knee replacement is getting nearer and nearer as time elapses. That is where I am at 40, as a dad, a husband, and a physio in professional football I couldn’t be happier but with regard to my health and the surgery I was exposed to, it has been an absolute disaster.”

OPINION: ALLIANCES

I have a friend out here, (Liverpool supporter) who works closely with Khaldoom Al Mubarak and he tells me Khaldoom is, and always has been, a mad Man United supporter. I’m sure this would be bad news for a lot of City fans who have a blinkered view of the game but in reality it’s really good news I believe. Being a Red he would be much more likely to have the same long term outlook as the United camp who famously stayed loyal to Sir Alex when he was struggling those many years ago. So interesting days as always!

REQUEST: SCHALKE TICKETS

Five of us have booked flights and hotel rooms but we only have four tickets for the match against Schalke and not enough loyalty points to secure another. I realise we are not alone in seeking tickets, but if anyone has a spare they would sell me I would be very grateful.

REQUEST: BLUES VIEWING IN BANGALORE

Are there any Blues fans in Bangalore? Here for the next 11 months probably.

REQUEST: BLUES VIEWING IN SOUTH KOREA

Calling any Blues in the far east, I will shortly be moving to South Korea for 12 months and I have no idea what the situation is with regards to Premier League football (i.e. if it is a big deal over there etc.).

Does anyone know if there is much of an appetite for watching English Premier League games in Korea? I know games can be streamed from the web but the quality is often awful and I was wondering if many bars/pubs showed any of the games. If you are a Blue in Korea please get in touch!

RESULTS

29 October 2008

Aston Villa           3 - 2  Blackburn Rovers      35,985
Hull City             0 - 3  Chelsea               24,906
Stoke City            1 - 0  Sunderland            26,731
Arsenal               4 - 4  Tottenham Hotspur     60,043
Bolton Wanderers      0 - 1  Everton               21,692
Fulham                2 - 0  Wigan Athletic        22,500
Liverpool             1 - 0  Portsmouth            43,378
Manchester United     2 - 0  West Ham United       75,397
Middlesbrough         2 - 0  Manchester City       25,731

28 October 2008

Newcastle United      2 - 1  West Bromwich Albion  45,801

League table to 29 October 2008 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Liverpool       10  4  1  0  8  4  4  1  0  7  2  8  2  0  15   6   9 26
 2 Chelsea         10  2  2  1  8  3  5  0  0 14  1  7  2  1  22   4  18 23
 3 Arsenal         10  3  1  1 12  7  3  1  1 10  3  6  2  2  22  10  12 20
 4 Aston Villa     10  3  2  0  9  5  3  0  2 10  7  6  2  2  19  12   7 20
 5 Hull City       10  2  1  2  5 11  4  1  0  9  3  6  2  2  14  14   0 20
 6 Manchester Utd   9  3  1  0  9  1  2  2  1  6  4  5  3  1  15   5  10 18
 7 Portsmouth      10  3  1  1  7  4  1  1  3  3 11  4  2  4  10  15  -5 14
 8 Manchester City 10  3  0  2 15  6  1  1  3  8 10  4  1  5  23  16   7 13
 9 Middlesbrough   10  3  0  2  6  8  1  1  3  4  7  4  1  5  10  15  -5 13
10 Sunderland      10  2  1  2  5  6  1  2  2  4  5  3  3  4   9  11  -2 12
11 West Ham United 10  3  0  2 10  8  1  0  4  4 10  4  0  6  14  18  -4 12
12 Everton         10  0  2  3  5 11  3  1  1  9  8  3  3  4  14  19  -5 12
13 Blackburn R.    10  1  2  2  3  8  2  1  2  8 10  3  3  4  11  18  -7 12
14 Fulham           9  3  1  1  6  3  0  1  3  2  5  3  2  4   8   8   0 11
15 Stoke City      10  3  0  2  8  8  0  1  4  3 10  3  1  6  11  18  -7 10
16 West Brom A.    10  2  0  3  6  9  1  1  3  2  7  3  1  6   8  16  -8 10
17 Newcastle Utd   10  2  1  2  7  7  0  2  3  5 11  2  3  5  12  18  -6  9
18 Wigan Athletic  10  1  1  3  3  8  1  1  3  8  7  2  2  6  11  15  -4  8
19 Bolton Wndrs    10  1  2  2  4  5  1  0  4  4  8  2  2  6   8  13  -5  8
20 Tottenham H.    10  1  1  3  4  5  0  2  3  7 11  1  3  6  11  16  -5  6

MCIVTA FAQ [v0708.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

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[2] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

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[3] MCIVTA Back Issues and Manchester City Supporters’ home page

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[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: