Newsletter #1479

Another disappointing performance as we helped out struggling Bolton yesterday at the Reebok. We have match views and opinion on that game tonight.

Also in tonight are views on the players, reaction to Bernard’s Team Building article and more Schalke requests/information together with the latest Points of Blue topics.

Next up McLaren’s FC Twente visit. Pack a brolly in case it’s raining.

MATCH VIEW: BWFC 2 MCFC 0

What a very poor excuse of a performance against Bolton, yesterday. We were pathetic.

Sadly lacking determination in most areas of the pitch. Our players are for the most part simply not up to much of a fight, that much is all too painfully obvious. They make, on average, how much money each week, for simply bothering to show up? Very sad.

Not good enough, by far. I have to assume Mark H is currently not at all looking forward to his forthcoming overseas trip to the meet with the club’s owner in a couple of weeks. How can one even begin to defend displays such as yesterday’s? The players must be made to pay heavily for recent displays and consequent results. Much, much is expected, and therefore should be demanded.

OPINION: KEEPING A COOL HEAD

Went for a walk to clear the ol’ head, thought a bit about the game (Bolton) and our start to the season. Came up with a few ideas, musings and general thoughts about what’s gone on.

We can all scream for Dunne’s head on a platter, but I feel we need to get behind him until the January window at least, we don’t have a better centre half at the club. The same has to apply to Hughes as well. Hughes has always played his teams with 2 tough tacklers in the middle of the park. At the moment we only have Kompany; this means that he is being overrun too often and with that the back 4 is under too much pressure.

We have to make a choice between Ireland and Elano for the good of the team. They are both far superior footballers to most in our team, but we are a “Team” and should never be 11 individuals.

The weak link at the moment (this season) for me is possibly Richards. He seems to have lost some of his pace and without that raw athleticism he will continue to get caught out. He seems to believe his own press. I feel that he doesn’t use the line very well when playing as a full back (left or right). The England management won’t touch him with a bargepole and they know a damn sight more about football than most of us. His touch leaves a lot to be desired as does his reading of football, in terms of using the pitch to your advantage. His attitude doesn’t seem to be as hungry and a spell on the bench could be the making of him. A youngster can learn the things mentioned above, especially if he has the natural physique and raw pace of Richards when he quite literally burst on to the scene.

SWP hasn’t quite lived up to my expectations, he played well in patches. There was an awesome piece of skill to leave a player for dead today. But I’m still hoping that he can come good, I’m sure he will and we’ll see the player he once was.

Talk of dropping Robinho is ludicrous, he is a class apart, I think he’ll be a legend. Is he a very, very talented individual and will shine for many seasons to come. The best thing that we as fans can do is get right behind Hughes and his team. Remember we as Blues stayed with Pearce at the end of that awful season, so I’d give Hughes a lot more that 12 games, he needs to be given till the end of the season at the very least.

This talk of us being the richest club in to world seems to have clouded quite a few people’s judgment. We have brought in 1 player with the new found wealth, we have stepped on the very first rung of the ladder. It’s a long, long hard slog to the top (or anywhere near the top). The Sky reporters outside the ground were asking leading questions about Hughes’ future. I hope that we stick it to Sky and their top 4, “Super Sunday” carry on.

The future is going to very bright and we’ll be bringing in some unbelievable talent over the next few years, let’s chill out and enjoy the ride.

OPINION: TYPICAL CITY

Win one lose one!

Having just watched the match on Sky Sports, I can’t help feeling we are going backwards, just like the end of last season. How can a mediocre team like Bolton, who were comprehensively outplayed and hammered by Chelsea a couple of weeks ago, defeat a team some people reckon could break into the Top 4 of the Premier League?

I am having serious reservations about Mark Hughes’ ability as a manager. Why is he playing people out of position? Surely he must know what our best team is, and the best formation for us? For starters, why play Micah Richards at left back? Crazy! That is the position that is giving us all the problems, what is wrong with Garrido (I know he is not great there himself), at least he is a left back by trade.

I hope our scouts are looking at the wonder boy, left back at Sheffield United, we just might need him.

Our defence can be brilliant for three quarters of the game, but you just get the feeling that sooner or later they will cave in, and that’s exactly what happened, our left and right backs are not good enough or consistent enough for us to be considered a good Premier League team, and our centre halves are not the biggest either. For all Dunne’s mistakes, I thought he did reasonably well, and was a tad unlucky to score an own goal.

Any team with a tall centre forward wreaks havoc for our defence, and we just about scramble the ball away, whilst the opposition tend to look relatively comfortable against our pint sized attackers. What were we doing playing long balls in the air to our wingers who were beaten in the air 99% of the time? There was no cohesive passing, we could not keep possession for more than a few seconds before surrendering the ball once more. Why play the Bolton way? We need to play the ball on the floor, 5-a-side style, get through and round the opposition’s defence with quick, incisive passing.

I am totally cheesed off with the City team, nothing really enthuses me, our defence never picks up the opposing players in our box, and inevitably we concede. Our midfield should be Ireland on the left, Kompany, Elano, and SWP on the right. Elano is still not playing as well as expected and we desperately need a quality centre midfielder.

I am a Robinho fan, but what we really miss is Petrov’s direct left wing play, he hugs the line and causes most defences problems, and creates a lot for our forwards. Robinho should be played as the 2nd striker, and not on the left wing, as he comes inside a lot, and leaves the flank wide open. Ched Evans for all his effort is not Premier League quality and should only be used as a substitute; I think Sturridge has far more talent.

We have 9 strikers on the books, and most of them are cr*p and injured. What has happened to Castillo and Caicedo, are they not good enough, both internationals? Surely Castillo could play left wing, and maybe Caicedo and Sturridge up front in the absence of the other injured centre forwards? How long is Benjani going to be out for?

We desperately need to get a win soon, as we are only a few points from the bottom of the table. If teams come with a game plan of pressing and closing us down for 90 minutes, then we are going to find it extremely hard to win, and need to find another way of playing.

I just cannot wait for January for some new signings.

C’mon City!

OPINION: TEAM BUILDING I

Bernard Molyneux writing about gradual team building (MCIVTA 1478), couldn’t be more right. The question is, will Hughes be given the chance?

After the ‘boro game, the MEN website amongst other places was overrun by “fans” calling for Hughes’ head. Nobody was calling for his head last Saturday, but one defeat against a team in a similar position in the table is too much to bear apparently.

Sure enough, after the loss at Bolton, more fans are pouring out their displeasure with Hughes. This is bordering on clinically insane at this point in the season.

It’s going to take time to get where everybody wants the club to go, and the long view is the right one to take.

For my money, Hughes is one of the more level-headed and analytical managers we’ve had in recent times. I accept that the decision to place Richards into left-back is an experiment that doesn’t seem to be working, but if that’s the worst that we can point to we’re not doing badly.

Bolton outplayed us. They’re capable of it, they worked hard, City didn’t respond adequately. It is not a breakdown in the dressing room, it is not a team disintegrating – they’re just still working out what they’re capable of and performing consistently as a unit. We’re weaker at the back than we need to be, and a coach trip seems to put the team off.

Major personnel changes at the top aren’t the answer. We’re 10th in the league and not far adrift from further up the top half of the table, which if we’re being honest is not something we’ve always had the luxury of after 11 games. Our goal difference shows we’re connecting up more than the four clubs above us and the only issue is performance away from home in terms of conceding goals.

It’s hardly nearing relegation is it?

Slowly, with time (and we have plenty left this season), I believe he’s going to get the team to work out how to gel together. When the transfer window opens in a few months I have no doubt he’s going to move people around again to move us into a better position.

Until the transfer window closes and we’ve seen what he’s managed to build, we can’t even begin to assess his quality as a top-flight manager.

Besides, it’s much more fun to blame it on a cursed away strip, surely? The future’s bright, the future’s light blue…

OPINION: TEAM BUILDING II

In response to Bernard Molyneux MCIVTA 1478 you can’t buy the success he’s talking about, it’s down to management of individuals. If you can’t manage 11 individuals then you will not create a good team. Look at some of those managers without money; they manage what they have and get workmanlike performance.

Providing we don’t go into free fall and get relegated then we can’t complain, though Sparky could be out of a job.

OPINION: PAUL LAKE

What a great article on Paul Lake on BBC Sport website.

When you consider players routinely recover from cruciate ligament damage nowadays it makes it all the more worse that we lost such a great player before he even reached his prime. It’s such a shame he was let down by people who claim to have medical know how.

I’ll never forget how he effortlessly destroyed United in the infamous 5-1 demolition in September 1989 and how close we became to having a very good side under Kendall when he made him captain deservedly so ahead of Steve Redmond.

Best wishes to Paul – unbelievably now 40 – for the future!

OPINION: CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

Well Bernard,

Having just watched the Bolton game are you still a Dunne fan? I will agree that he had a good game in his last outing but you just know it is only a matter of time before the next howler. I agree he has been a good servant when we were in a different place but where we are now and where we want to go is beyond him and he has to drop to being a standby player at best.

OPINION: CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

Could someone please tell me exactly how many own goals Richard Dunne has scored while he’s been at City. One or two over a career for a defender would be acceptable, but 2 in the last 3 games I would say is clumsy at the very least.

If anyone has the number, please post it. I reckon close to 10.

REQUEST: SCHALKE TRAVEL

I’m flying from Stansted on the afternoon of Wednesday 26th returning Friday evening. If anyone wants to share fuel and parking costs please contact me. As at 30th Oct flights out are still a tenner including tax and the return trip is £121 including tax. Anyone booking should be careful about all the extras Ryanair will try to charge you.

The tickets for the home matches of Schalke 04 are also tickets for the suburban transport on your way to the Veltins-Arena and back. The tickets apply in the VRR tariff area on match day up to 3:00am the next day. You can find a map showing the VRR area here: http://www.vrr.de/imperia/md/content/tsr/verbundraum_vrr.pdf

I’m flying to Weeze (Ryanair call this Dusseldorf-Weeze) and stopping there on the Wednesday night. Weeze is not within the VRR tariff area, so all I need to do on match day is pay to get into the VRR region at Kempen and travel free from there. There are route planners at http://www.bahn.de/ and http://www.vrr.de/ (there are English language versions).

There’s also another money saver. There is the “SchönerTagTicket Nordrhein-Westfalen” (snappy title proving that the Germans don’t use a short word when there’s an alternative with lots of syllables) with which up to 5 people can travel together, all day, anywhere in Nordrhein-Westfalen for only €33. This is a wide area see: http://www.nahverkehr.nrw.de/media.php?mv_id91302922

REQUEST: SCHALKE TICKETS

Booked the flights, booked the hotel, watched in despair as the tickets sold out the day before we had enough loyalty points to buy any… If anyone has 2 tickets available then my mum and I would be eternally grateful, otherwise we’ll be watching the game somewhere in a bar in Gelsenkirchen.

REQUEST: SHIRTS FOR AFRICA

I have an old shirt or two that I no longer use and would like to end to a good home. Can anybody tell me how to get in touch with the guys that send them on to youngsters in Africa?

REQUEST: PARISIAN BLUES VIEWING

Just moved to Paris and dearly missing my dose of City.

Wondering if there are any supporters who meet up in Paris for the games?

Here’s hoping, thanks!

REQUEST: PERTH BLUES VIEWING

I am now living in Perth, Australia; having been to my first Perth Glory match I spoke to a couple of Blues in the ground who said they have a supporters’ club in North Perth.

Does anyone have any idea of the website/phone number to get in contact with them please?

THANKS: SCHALKE TICKETS

How effective is MCIVTA! Got our two tickets for Schalke via one of your subscribers who saw the plea.

Thanks to everyone else who offered to help via the newswire.

BLUE HUMOUR

I just received this from my Scum-supporting brother. They really are a sad lot:

The Barclays Premiership

The new owner of Manchester City Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has figured out a wonderful way to make sure that his team win the title. Rather than leave things to chance and having to worry about buying players, he just bought the bank instead. Watch out next year for new sponsorship rules that award points for different things that make sure City win the title.

As an example:

1. 10 extra points per game for every Brazilian you play.
2. Extra points for every one of your supporters that brings a blow up banana to the game.
3. Additional points if your fans can sing Blue Moon.
4. Other teams losing points for fielding players that have previously won the title.

I am sure that there can be no other reason for Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan buying into Barclays and after all he did say he would do whatever was needed to make sure that City won the title next year.

POINTS OF BLUE

Minutes of Points of Blue meeting 28 October 2008

Club represented by Pete Bradshaw, Head of Community & Social Responsibility, and Sara Billington, Head of Operations.

There will not be a further delegate meeting. Club responses indicated here are based on what the club’s representatives understood to be the case but some issues need further investigation.

Around Stadium

East Car Park: policy of last in, first out; only one queue in; possibility of leaving via south east gate when other traffic has gone.
CLUB: there’s a wholesale review of stadium arrangements going on, and these matters will be included.
Delays on exit: Police / council policy gives priority to pedestrians.

Alleyway gates in the neighbourhood were closed for the Stoke match.
CLUB: this was likely to be due to expected trouble for that game only (City have a good relationship with local residents’ associations).

Smoking policy enforcement:
CLUB: Around 40 people are ejected each match for smoking.

A mini-store under the concourse, as in the old Kippax?
CLUB: part of stadium review.

“Chalky mess” on exit near B of the Bang.
CLUB: there are major discussions by the City Council on the development of Sportcity; including the future of B of the Bang.

Thanks for benches on Joe Mercer Way; any chance of transport for less able supporters from/to North Car Park?
CLUB: The provision of golf buggy style transport for disabled supporters is already under consideration.

Wind turbine?
CLUB: Wind turbine idea is dead after health and safety concerns about ice falling from the blades.

Catering: multi pourers. Now that we are the richest club in the world can someone sort that out? CLUB: not without structural alterations to the stadium.

Can we have cheaper beer prices, better service and better food? More fans in the ground before the game, so more revenue to City. At other stadiums their facilities and prices leaves ours standing.
CLUB: pricing is a balance; we benchmark against other clubs, but if there are specific facilities at another club that are better, let us know and we’ll look at it.

Ticketing Issues

Some problems still reported when cards don’t work and it takes time to sort it.
CLUB: there should be separate windows for collections (of which there are few) and for queries. PDA machines (the blue hand-held machines operated by stewards near each gate) do sort most problems.

If using card but not for usual seat, could there be PDA machines in ground?
CLUB: there were podiums to check outside the stadium but they were little used. Check if the seat details on receipts are printed clearly, and enquire early if not.

Loyalty points: 20 loyalty points for going to the Faroes, and 10 loyalty points for getting a free bus to Barnsley for the return leg.
CLUB: the more difficult matches tend to be ones to which the most loyal fans go, so weighting the points more to those matches would only reinforce the advantage those fans have anyway.

Not being able to buy tickets from certain games online: (This from an overseas fan so phoning is expensive). Also whether the club will not suspend online sales at the slightest hint of complications.
CLUB: Reliability of online ticketing is still a problem, and suspending the facility is better than (e.g.) having the system indicate tickets have been sold when they haven’t.

Third tier closures: Can’t blocks of people be moved to seats together elsewhere?
CLUB: Specific instances can be investigated but the general problem is that it is not known for a while whether or not s.t. holders in other tiers are going to take up their usual seat. It was said last year that the third tiers would not be closed, but this has been reviewed because of the poor atmosphere when a small crowd is spread around all tiers.

Are TC Package trips only available to fans having the relevant number of loyalty points? Why else were there still package trips available after the “sold out” signs had gone up at the ticket office?
CLUB: an allocation is given to each sector of sales; there may still be packages available (to those with the points) after the general allocation sells out (due to the commercial necessity of filling seats on the planes) so the points needed for the packages may come down.

For Schalke, people had had emails from Thomas Cook uncertain about whether customers had got a ticket or not.
CLUB: send us the email and we’ll investigate.

Booking fees being charged on each ticket rather than per transaction.
CLUB: For this facility the agency charges less than for other ticketed events; particularly on discounted tickets, for the club to bear the cost would be a further discount.

Tickets not on sale for UEFA games until 9am, even on the phones?
CLUB: we will review wording on website.

The seat exchange. Why is there a 72 hour cut-off, and why is a percentage taken from both buyer and seller?
CLUB: This is a commercial venture by an outside company who set their own rules. It is an extra facility for supporters, but when tickets are on open sale from City, there is no advantage for a purchaser to use seat exchange rather than buying direct from the club.

Miscellaneous

Pre-match video has City’s Latin motto spelt wrongly.
CLUB: to be sorted.

Policing at Middlesbrough (last season) seemed aggressive for no obvious reason.
CLUB: Club’s safety officer raises issues but they need to be reported at the time.

To improve attendance and atmosphere, why can’t we have free entry to the first home game in both domestic Cup competitions for season ticket holders?
CLUB: we’ll look at any ideas like this.

David Sommeil has retired after suffering a heart attack. As two players in recent years have suffered heart problems, one of them fatally, can the club donate proceeds from the Thomas Cook Trophy game to heart charities?
CLUB: we’ll consider this; most of the club’s charity donations are to local charities.

Kits: is it still the policy to have a new home kit only every two years?
CLUB: With changes in kit supplier, this has not been adhered to, and may not be in future (there followed discussion about whether shirts should have a sponsor, or whether the club could use shirts to sponsor a charity, either global, national or local).

Could we play EB/Streymur in a game at our stadium somehow, as they had to play at Barnsley or at least invite the team to watch a game?
CLUB: We’ll look at that.

Away teams not being announced just before kick-off, perhaps to avoid away fans getting too excited?
CLUB: if this is policy from the pre-match team, we’ll review it.

Cashcards for use in the stadium:
CLUB: City have no independent initiative but City Council and traders are looking at a Manchestercard for travel, retail, and other use and City would expect the card to be used in the stadium.

Pete Bradshaw drew attention to the community engagement of the club with all sectors of the local community (see the MCFC website: Community blue:print); half a million young people each year have some involvement with the club and adult engagement included forming a City Choir and Big Band. The general review of facilities is extensive: ticketing, ground conditions, etc. It has already been decided to rename Eastlands Crescent to Kippax Crescent; whether to rename the east stand will be open to further consultation with fans.

RESULTS

2 November 2008

Bolton Wanderers      2 - 0  Manchester City       21,095

1 November 2008

Everton               1 - 0  Fulham                31,278
Chelsea               5 - 0  Sunderland            41,693
Manchester United     4 - 3  Hull City             75,398
Middlesbrough         1 - 1  West Ham United       25,164
Portsmouth            1 - 2  Wigan Athletic        18,416
Stoke City            2 - 1  Arsenal               26,704
West Bromwich Albion  2 - 2  Blackburn Rovers      24,976
Tottenham Hotspur     2 - 1  Liverpool             36,183

League table to 02 November 2008 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Chelsea         11  3  2  1 13  3  5  0  0 14  1  8  2  1  27   4  23 26
 2 Liverpool       11  4  1  0  8  4  4  1  1  8  4  8  2  1  16   8   8 26
 3 Manchester Utd  10  4  1  0 13  4  2  2  1  6  4  6  3  1  19   8  11 21
 4 Arsenal         11  3  1  1 12  7  3  1  2 11  5  6  2  3  23  12  11 20
 5 Aston Villa     10  3  2  0  9  5  3  0  2 10  7  6  2  2  19  12   7 20
 6 Hull City       11  2  1  2  5 11  4  1  1 12  7  6  2  3  17  18  -1 20
 7 Everton         11  1  2  3  6 11  3  1  1  9  8  4  3  4  15  19  -4 15
 8 Middlesbrough   11  3  1  2  7  9  1  1  3  4  7  4  2  5  11  16  -5 14
 9 Portsmouth      11  3  1  2  8  6  1  1  3  3 11  4  2  5  11  17  -6 14
10 Manchester City 11  3  0  2 15  6  1  1  4  8 12  4  1  6  23  18   5 13
11 West Ham United 11  3  0  2 10  8  1  1  4  5 11  4  1  6  15  19  -4 13
12 Stoke City      11  4  0  2 10  9  0  1  4  3 10  4  1  6  13  19  -6 13
13 Blackburn R.    11  1  2  2  3  8  2  2  2 10 12  3  4  4  13  20  -7 13
14 Sunderland      11  2  1  2  5  6  1  2  3  4 10  3  3  5   9  16  -7 12
15 Fulham          10  3  1  1  6  3  0  1  4  2  6  3  2  5   8   9  -1 11
16 Wigan Athletic  11  1  1  3  3  8  2  1  3 10  8  3  2  6  13  16  -3 11
17 Bolton Wndrs    11  2  2  2  6  5  1  0  4  4  8  3  2  6  10  13  -3 11
18 West Brom A.    11  2  1  3  8 11  1  1  3  2  7  3  2  6  10  18  -8 11
19 Tottenham H.    11  2  1  3  6  6  0  2  3  7 11  2  3  6  13  17  -4  9
20 Newcastle Utd   10  2  1  2  7  7  0  2  3  5 11  2  3  5  12  18  -6  9

MCIVTA FAQ [v0708.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Heidi Pickup)          : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org
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[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.mcivta.com/ 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: