Newsletter #1484

News from Alex on reaction to the Hull game, injuries and squad updates, transfer rumours and another award for MCFC.

Continued opinion on performances on and off the pitch and the usual requests.

Next up, Arsenal.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

A Note From the Boss: Despite rumours that Mark Hughes’ position was under threat, new City owner His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has voiced his support of the manager and his staff. Sheikh Mansour, who met with the Chairman, manager and Executive Chairman this week, claimed that he had full faith in the people who he had in place and fully believed that Manchester were capable of challenging the elite in coming years: “I find that both Mark and Garry share an ambition for success and the enthusiasm and capability to deliver on that ambition. I’m delighted at the potential for both men to positively impact the evolution of Manchester City Football Club in its entirety. I fully endorse the plans approved by the Manchester City board that Khaldoon, Mark and Garry shared with me tonight. They reflect our shared aim of seeing Manchester City Football Club evolve to become a significant force in the world of football. Importantly we see that evolution being on every level and borne out of a sustainable approach that has its foundations in the club’s academy; its fans and the relationship with the Manchester community. Mark shared with me his plans for how the team should be developed. His strategy is compelling and he has my absolute mandate to implement his plans to evolve this team in the right way over the short, medium and long terms.”

North West Community Club of the Year: Following the club’s success as the Kickz club of the year last week, Manchester City was again recognised for its outstanding work in the community. City in the Community was named the best community project in the region to once again promote City as the club of the people. CITC’s Executive Manager Alex Williams MBE said: “Community work isn’t really about winning awards but it’s great to see the hard work of the community team being recognised at such an event. I would like to thank all those organisations who support us – in particular the football club, the PFA, the Premier League and the Football Foundation.”

Europe Beware: The Premier League’s most expensive signing has pledged his intention to win the UEFA Cup with City this year. Despite a run of poor form in the Premier League, City’s UEFA Cup campaign got off to a winning start against FC Twente a fortnight ago and Robinho believes we can push on from there. The former Real Madrid star claimed: “We can win the UEFA Cup. It is one of our targets for this season. We know we are a side that is developing and growing but we also know we are capable of great things when we play well. I want to stay here for many years and make history at City and become one of the great heroes. Doing well in the UEFA Cup would be a great start. I came to Manchester City because I see them growing and getting bigger. Can they be as big as Real Madrid? Yes, I hope so.”

Noël Deal or No Deal: The January/Christmas transfer window (apologies for the pun) is the second step in City’s plan for world domination and yet it could be much more costly than first assumed. Being labelled the richest club in the world brings huge price hikes with it but Hughes has stated that he has no plans to pay over the odds for anyone: “There may be the danger that prices go up because it is Manchester City that are interested, but I think that people will understand that we won’t get ripped off. The owner and the chairman are very astute businessmen, and they know the value of a good deal so they are not going to be taken for a ride.” But the former Wales national boss has told fans not to worry because plans are in place to bring the right men into do the job: “Player acquisition is not an exact science, you try to do your homework and ensure that everything goes through. Even the best-laid plans get compromised at the last minute and then don’t go through, but we are going to make sure we do everything that we can to bring in the players that I know will help us.”

Squad News

Hart-Break: England International Joe Hart has been ruled out of action for three to four weeks following his injury against Hull City at the weekend. The 21-year-old has injured his ankle and whilst the full extent of the injury is yet to be assessed, Hart did miss out on the chance to represent his national side having been called up for the away fixture against Germany yesterday. Fellow goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who will replace Hart for the games against Arsenal and Stretford Reds, told of Hart’s disappointment: “He’s gutted, and we all are for him because he’s worked so hard recently. It could only happen with an international coming up when he gets called up to the full squad. It’s so typical, he’s a very good friend and I’m really sorry for him. Not playing is frustrating, but Joe has done well. I’ve been working harder than I ever have, I’m doing a hard regime in the gym and I just want to be in as good a shape as possible whenever I get the call.”

Sparky Puts His Foot Down: Both Elano and Jo have been fined by the club this week for indiscipline. Elano’s fine came after an outburst against the manager’s selection just before the Spurs game last week in which the Brazilian claimed he didn’t understand why he was sat in the substitute’s bench week in, week out. Fellow Brazilian club mate Jo on the other hand was caught breaking curfew when supposedly ill at a Manchester nightclub last week. Sparky explained the rationale behind Elano’s fine: “Everyone at the club knows it was wrong. You knock on my door and we speak. We’ve done that now. The situation has been resolved, he knows my take on it and he understands that it can’t happen again. He has been fined. Elano is an emotional guy and he wants to play every game, which is to his credit. Every professional footballer wants to play in every game, but sometimes I will make decisions that will affect players personally and professionally.”

Kelvin Comeback? Kelvin Ethuhu, who hasn’t played a competitive game since the opening weeks of the season against West Ham due to injury, may be on the way back to senior duty. The 20-year-old winger has been hampered by a hamstring problem since pre-season and he has had to sit out on the sidelines for the past two months. Hughes gave his assessment of the injury and how he thought given some hard work Ethuhu may be back sooner than first believed: “We’ve had to be strict and retrace steps and go back and start again with him, which is frustrating really because he’s been out for too long.”

Transfer News and Gossip

Villa or Zaki? After Real Madrid and Valencia both put themselves in contention to sign Wigan sensation Amr Zaki, Manchester City’s hopes of signing Valencia striker David Villa have been given a huge boost. Attempts to lure the Spaniard from Mestalla on the last day of the summer transfer window proved unsuccessful but given Valencia’s poor state of financial affairs, selling Villa and replacing him with Amr Zaki may be their most sensible option.

Kaka: The message from Robinho this week was “break the bank to sign my mate Kaka”. Robinho believes that given the chance, Kaka would love to play in the Premier League and that the challenge at City may be just as appealing to him as it was o the Premier League’s most expensive player. The City star claimed: “Kaka’s a great player and a great person. He’s so strong, intelligent and fast. Obviously I’m hoping that I can play with him here at City. If Kaka or any other great player wants to come here then the door’s open. All the players here are happy to try to make this club the best in the world.”

Elano: Despite rumours that Elano is unsettled, the former Santos midfielder has pledged his future to the club, yet this hasn’t stopped the media linking him with a move away. Having already been chased by Inter boss Jose Mourinho, a new candidate looks set to bid for his signature, a much more unlikely candidate… QPR. QPR, recently taken over by F1 moguls Ernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatorie, apparently have millions of pounds at their disposal and are set to spend some of that on Elano. Briatorie has stated his intentions to speak to close friend and Brazil manager Dunga in order to persuade the midfield maestro to make the move.

Adriano: Newly appointed Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho looks set to offload striker Adriano come January. The Brazilian, who has also attracted interest from Lyon, has told the Italian media of his wish to play in the Premier League and it seems City may be the perfect challenge for him. Though he is out of favour at the Italian Champions, Adriano would still cost £16 million yet this is no longer a problem given City’s new status as the richest club in the world.

Post-Match Reaction

Hull City: Finally the run of games without a win came to an end and a point away to Hull wasn’t a bad result on the balance of things. Geo was always going to score but the question is why the only non-English speaking player on the pitch was given the armband? With games coming up against Arsenal and Stretford Reds, three points wouldn’t have hurt but Hughes seemed pleased enough and believed that this point was a platform on which the players could build their revival: “Overall, we were determined today and we needed to get something out of the game, which we did. It was not the three points we wanted, but it was a good away performance, we looked a threat on the break. If we could have avoided individual errors and one or two decisions had gone our way, then we could have had the win here.”

Ex-Blues’ News

Diamond Geezer: Bert Trautmann has been honoured by the German FA with their most prestigious award – the Diamond pin. The goalkeeper is remembered most famously for his FA Cup final antics in 1956 in which he played on despite breaking his neck. The ‘keeper also went on to win England’s Player of the Year that year. The President of the German FA lavished praise of the former Blue: “He is the personification of understanding between nations. Bert Trautmann, was and is, as a sportsman and a person, a great ambassador for Germany. He did a lot for the reconciliation of Germany and England after the war.”

OPINION: IN TOO DEEP

In response to Mike Bains – In Too Deep (MCIVTA 1483) concerns about Mark Hughes.

No, you probably are not alone in your thoughts among the many thousands of City supporters. But I don’t know why or how you think changing the manager yet again is going to solve the problems of a largely inherited situation. Been there, done that, seen the shambles that has created in the past. I think you have to give Hughes the benefit of the doubt, get some players in to solve the problems of porous defence and no bite in midfield. And then see where we stand.

Why should the “big players” show him respect? Because he’s the boss and, despite your blinkered opinion of his career to date, he has proven he can hack it as a manager in the past. I see no reason why Frank Rijkard would do any better the SGE (an equally big name manager) did for us.

If Elano truly believes he shouldn’t be warming the bench then he needs to get out there when he next gets the chance and make whatever position it is he is after his own through the performances he puts in. Sorry but he hasn’t done that since about game 12 of last season. Fantastic in fits and starts but actually looked like a bit of a lightweight for too many games.

OPINION: DEFENSIVE OPTIONS

Please can someone explain why the best centre half on the club’s books cannot get into the team?

Nedum Onuoha is by far the best of Dunne, Ben Haim and Richards. No wonder Elano is upset when Darius Vassell is picked ahead of you, also meaning SWP is played out of position. Two weeks ago I preached patience, recent selections have got me questioning my own patience.

Why not try 442 away from home with Zabaleta, Onuoha, Richards, Ball, SWP, Ireland, Kompany, Garrido, Elano and Robinho up front. Also anyone got any ideas as to who will be back up goalie? Tobias Johansen has been playing for the reserves but is only 16!

OPINION: SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE

Being a long time reader of MCIVTA I’m used to City fans losing perspective and calling for heads to roll. I vividly recall a cold midweek away at Reading before they moved to their new ground, and reading a sign in the toilet, which proudly stated they had been renovated for my convenience. The sign was partially obscured by weeds growing down from the broken roof and I recall thinking things couldn’t get much worse but of course they did when we were relegated to the 3rd division.

What I’m not used to is borderline racism, Wales described condescendingly (and I’m being polite) as an English village followed by a posting about the ‘taffia’. What has Sparky’s nationality got to do with his management of the team? Ok results aren’t great but then a number of other fancied clubs are in worse positions than us and given we only became the richest club in the world on the last day of the transfer window (typical City) we shouldn’t get too carried away.

I was disappointed, at the time, to see Sven go and especially disliked the manner of his dismissal but in retrospect it seems that other sides had worked out how to play us and our form after Xmas was shocking so there’s a decent chance we would have been no better off had he stayed and we certainly wouldn’t have scored half the goals we so far this term.

I know talk about strikers won’t go away but I’d like to see us shore up the defence and bring in a new Diddi Hamman first. We can clear the deadwood up front in the summer, these days £5-6 million on a striker seems to be money down the drain, we’re better off bringing through our own talent in Sturridge and Evans and then going big à la Robinho.

OPINION: CENTURY CITY

Loved reading Dave Miller’s review of Dave Wallace’s book Century City in MCIVTA 1483. I can’t match Dave’s eloquence, but I can heartily recommend the book. It’s a classic in its own right and a must for the fans of a certain vintage and for those with an interest of when football was all about football.

OPINION: THE ACADEMY FORGOTTEN

Whilst everyone knows the City Academy is prolific at turning out players for our first team, 27 at the last count, there have also been 15 more that have played league football elsewhere.

Brian Murphy, goalkeeper. Played 1 game on loan to Peterboro before signing for Swansea where he made a further 13 appearances. Now playing in Ireland for Bohemians.

Rhys Day, defender. Went on loan to Blackpool (13 apps) before joining Mansfield initially on loan before making the move permanent (121 apps, 14 gls). Dropped out of the league to join Aldershot where he helped them regain league status (89 apps, 6 gls).

Carlos Logan, midfield. Loaned to Chesterfield (9 apps, 1 gl) before moving to Darlington (42 apps, 4 gls). Had a loan spell at Bradford before dropping out of the league with Altrincham. Now rebuilding his career at Barrow.

Paddy McCarthy, defender. Loan spells at Boston (12 apps) and Notts County (6 apps). Moved on to Leicester (72 apps, 3 gls) before hitting the smoke at Charlton last season (29 apps, 2 gls) and Palace this season.

Karl Bermingham forward. Had loan spells at Lincoln (2 apps) and Burnley (4 apps) before heading back to Ireland with Newry Derry and Waterford.

Danny Warrender, defender. Joined Blackpool (17 apps) before being released where he went to America before coming home to Rossendale and now plays for the fcum’s.

Marc Laird midfield. Loan spells at Northampton (6 apps) and Port Vale (10 apps, 1 gl) before ex reserve boss Kenny Jackett took him to Millwall where he is a regular (29 apps, 1 gl).

Nathan D’Laryea, defender. Loan appearance at Macclesfield before joining Rochdale (10 apps) where just like at City he has been hampered by long spells on the sidelines due to injury.

Ashley Grimes, forward. Loaned to Swindon (4 apps) before joining Millwall (4 apps, 1 gl) last summer.

Garry Breen, defender. Released in the summer when he joined Hereford yet to make an appearance but has been on the bench recently.

The following players are all still at the club but have tasted action elsewhere this season:

Clayton Mcdonald, defender. Loan spell at Macclesfield (2 apps).

Karl Moore, midfield. On loan at Millwall (6 apps).

Javan Vidal, defender. Loan spell at Grimsby (4 apps).

Donal McDermott, forward. Loan spell at MK Dons (1 app).

Ryan McGivern, defender. Currently on loan at Morecambe (2 apps, 1 gl). Played more full international games than club games! Capped 4 times for N. Ireland.

OPINION: ‘KEEPER

Did not see the match on Sunday, but listened to the commentary on the radio. Did we play better when Hart went off?

I ask because I’m not convinced that he is a better ‘keeper.

OPINION: THIS’N’THAT

Ned O’New and Dave Miller have both written great articles in MCIVTA 1483. Will get the book and Ned puts better than me just why MH has to go pronto. And Mike Bains make a very interesting proposal about his replacement being FR.

One of the best McVs.

Martin O’Neill has laid out template of how to beat Arsenal. Let’s see if MH can learn, stop being stubborn and set up City accordingly. Hopefully then SWP will be employed properly, now 3 games in row out of position.

THANKS: TICKETS

Folks, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all the many people who offered to help me out with tickets for the Racing game. It goes to show what a great group of people read MCIVTA.

Thank you.

REQUEST: DERBY TICKET AVAILABLE

Unfortunately, after buying my ticket for the derby game I find I am unable to go.

If anyone can use it please let me know. It is in East level 2, block 204 and cost £37.

REQUEST: BLUES VIEWING IN ABU DHABI

I will be spending 5 days in Abu Dhabi on my way to Australia and will also be there on the night of the Schalke game. Does anyone know where it will be on and meeting up to watch the game?

If H.H. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan would also like to watch the game with us he is warmly welcome. I look forward to hearing from you.

Keep the faith and CTID.

RESULTS

League table to 18 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         13  3  2  1 13  3  7  0  0 19  1 10  2  1  32   4  28 32
 2 Liverpool       13  5  1  0 11  4  5  1  1 10  4 10  2  1  21   8  13 32
 3 Manchester Utd  12  5  1  0 18  4  2  2  2  7  6  7  3  2  25  10  15 24
 4 Arsenal         13  4  1  2 14 10  3  1  2 11  5  7  2  4  25  15  10 23
 5 Aston Villa     13  3  2  1 10  7  4  0  3 12  9  7  2  4  22  16   6 23
 6 Hull City       13  2  2  3  7 14  4  1  1 12  7  6  3  4  19  21  -2 21
 7 Everton         13  1  3  3  7 12  4  1  1 12  9  5  4  4  19  21  -2 19
 8 Middlesbrough   13  3  1  2  7  9  2  2  3  7  9  5  3  5  14  18  -4 18
 9 Portsmouth      13  3  1  2  8  6  2  2  3  5 12  5  3  5  13  18  -5 18
10 Fulham          12  5  1  1 10  5  0  1  4  2  6  5  2  5  12  11   1 17
11 Sunderland      13  2  1  3  6  8  2  2  3  6 11  4  3  6  12  19  -7 15
12 Manchester City 13  3  0  3 16  8  1  2  4 10 14  4  2  7  26  22   4 14
13 Bolton Wndrs    13  2  2  3  6  7  2  0  4  5  8  4  2  7  11  15  -4 14
14 West Ham United 13  3  1  3 11 11  1  1  4  5 11  4  2  7  16  22  -6 14
15 Stoke City      13  4  0  2 10  9  0  2  5  3 15  4  2  7  13  24 -11 14
16 Wigan Athletic  13  1  2  3  3  8  2  2  3 12 10  3  4  6  15  18  -3 13
17 Newcastle Utd   13  3  2  2 11  9  0  2  4  6 13  3  4  6  17  22  -5 13
18 Blackburn R.    13  1  2  4  4 12  2  2  2 10 12  3  4  6  14  24 -10 13
19 Tottenham H.    13  2  1  3  6  6  1  2  4 10 14  3  3  7  16  20  -4 12
20 West Brom A.    13  2  1  4  8 14  1  1  4  2 10  3  2  8  10  24 -14 11

MCIVTA FAQ [v0708.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Heidi Pickup)          : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org
News/rumour (Alex Rowen)         : 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.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: