Newsletter #1505

Victory against Boro at the weekend, as Hughes’ team slowly takes shape, sees us nudge up into 9th place ahead of the game against managerless Pompey.

We have a match view tonight thanks to Glyn, and opinion on the new signings, performances and team.

MATCH VIEW: MCFC 1 MFC 0

Having just watched the match on Sky Sports, I am happy if slightly relived, as we were playing our “bogey” team.

We started off really well, and Bellamy came so close when a lovely through ball was fed to him, and as the goalkeeper raced out, Bellamy slightly took his foot off the pedal as he was expecting to be clattered. We had a few half chances, but nothing clear cut.

Ireland, Zabaleta and SWP were running the show and we got quite a few corners, but we were up against a very big defence and were depending on Kompany, Richards and Onuoha to get their head to the ball. Unfortunately Huth, with his formidable height, won nearly every header into the box.

Middlesbro’ were content to play only on the break, and boy did they do it well; their 2 forwards had many occasions when they were 2 on 2, and Alves had a point blank shot saved brilliantly by Shay Given. We then broke forward and nearly scored ourselves.

It became predictable that when Middlesbro’ created a chance we replied with one too. Bellamy should have scored but saw his shot well saved. Ireland hit the crossbar, and then towards the end of the half we should have scored when the ball was played back across the front of the goal, only to see it inches away from Bellamy’s toes. Given then made 2 great saves, once with his right hand and the other with his feet.

In the second half it was much the same, with City dominating play and Kompany and De Jong holding the middle very well. Kompany made an error and once again Alves was one on one with Given, and guess what, Given came to the rescue once more. Bellamy broke the deadlock with a great pick up and turn before firing a low left foot strike in the far corner. We needed a 2nd and the best chance fell to Robinho who wasted another good opportunity. Middlesbro’ always looked capable of getting an equaliser and this is what kept all the City fans on tenterhooks.

We managed to play out time for a well deserved victory, if a little bit lucky that all the chances fell to Alves who just could not get the better of Shay Given.

M.O.M. – Shay Given.

Ratings:
Given (9) Faultless display on his début, made a series of fine saves, just brilliant.
Richards (6) Makes too many errors to be considered international class.
Onuoha (7) Had a very good game, and settling in nicely at centre half alongside Kompany.
Kompany (7) Would have got an 8 but made one error that nearly cost us a goal; nevertheless, he was a commanding figure in the centre of our defence, and sweeping up behind our midfield.
Bridge (6) Still does not exude the qualities of Cole or Evra, but slowly getting better.
De Jong (7) Had a very good game as the holding midfielder, smothers up a lot and keeps it simple, and will get better.
Ireland (8) Once again he showed why he has been the most consistent performer in the City side, nearly capped it with a fine goal, knits things very well in midfield, and tracks back too.
Zabaleta (7) His dogged and tireless running is proving to be a big asset to our midfield, and he looks very assured in midfield; a few stray passes, but can be forgiven for this because he works so hard but left his shooting boots at home this time.
Bellamy (8) You can see why Hughes wanted him, he works his socks off, and capped it with the winner; must be one of the City fans’ favourites now.
Robinho (4) Waste of space and should have been subbed a lot earlier. For a top international, he does not run at the oppo’s defence, and rarely did he give me the impression he was likely to score. Nearly everything he tried did not come off, and he just does not work hard enough off the ball, unlike our other players like SWP and Ireland.
SWP (8) Now here is a bloke that you want on the ball, he makes things happen and is direct. He has a big heart, and backs it up with a healthy workrate, especially tracking back.

If Chelsea come in for Robinho in the summer, I for one, would be more than happy if we swap him for Drogba. Robinho is too lightweight at times, and way too often is on the periphery of the game. He should take a leaf out of SWP’s performances, be quick and direct and run at the defenders (compare him to Johnson their winger: one was tricky and direct the other was just ordinary, I would rather have the Middlesbrough player in our team!). Mark Hughes needs to drop him to the bench when we play away and get Sturridge or Elano to play up front; I am sure we will be more effective. Our set pieces are pathetic to say the least, it really makes me wonder what we do on the training ground.

How ironic, Jo scores 2 goals for Everton and is their MOM; perhaps he needs someone to put an arm around him and show some faith in his ability? Perhaps Moyes has done this! It will be interesting to see, if his performances for Everton continue in the same vein, what will happen in the summer? Surely we cannot chuck £19 million away!

Come on City!

OPINION: BORO GAME

These early morning kick-offs are getting hard to stay awake the next day, showing my nearly 60 years.

Few points from the game:

1. £8 million for Given could be the best signing of the last five years!
2. Lovely article on Shaun Goater at half time.
3. The stats beforehand didn’t fill me with confidence; Boro had beaten Citymore times than any other side in the Premier League!
4. Kompany and Nedum were great, pity the full backs were s**t!
5. Stephen Ireland looked the goods again.
6. De Jong controlled everything ,Bellamy ran everywhere, nice goal.
7. Ship Robinho out, heart not in it. Caicedo and Bellamy has everything.
8. Wonder what game Hughsie was watching when in the after-match interview saidwe had a great back four?
9. Liked the way Given organised, one time even telling Richards where to standfor a corner and where to move with his marker, something that Joe needs tolearn (and players need to listen!).

Well the sun’s shining, my granddaughter’s been up for hours and three points – the makings of a great day.

OPINION: IT’S A GIVEN

Thanks to Shay Given we came away with 3 points against a side who really should have scored at least two goals from their four clear-cut chances. Then again, we should have scored many more than just the one. Four or five-two would have been a fairer reflection of the game, I feel.

I was delighted Mark was able to sign Shay, as I had hoped several weeks ago, and he did himself proud throughout today. As well as completely dominating his 6-yard area in each half, his ball distribution was spot on, too, as I’m sure was noticed by all. He put on an absolute masterclass today and I hope his student, Joe Hart, was watching, learning and making notes. Bert Trautmann would have been proud! Joe Hart, as good as he is, needs to stick like glue to his new mentor and hang on his every word; these two goalkeepers will make a terrific partnership, that’s for sure, and City will be the main benefactor as a result. The main thing is for Joe to hang in there, as his chance will come, sure enough. I just hope, in the meantime, Mark H doesn’t send him out on loan to, say, Everton, where he plays a blinder against us, at some point. Which reminds me, very well done to Jo, today. We get him back in the summer, I believe!

And, another energetic display from another of Mark’s signing’s today, Craig Bellamy who scores for us, yet again. A really nicely taken shot. That makes 6 goals in his last 7 games for this player, so not a bad ratio for a forward not many wanted to see in a blue shirt. Hopefully his critics are now entirely won over. The guy never stops and, as such, is a great rôle model for the younger, less experienced forwards coming up.

I’ve never been too much of a fan of Santa Cruz and from what I saw of him today, for Blackburn, no great loss from the transfer window, that’s for sure. Ok, for less than £8 million, otherwise Mark should forget all about the player as far as I’m concerned. Funny how no other club was racing to sign him, I noticed, during the transfer window, as far as I’m aware.

We still need a dominating forward and they don’t come more menacing-looking than Caicedo; he has some nice touches. This player definitely needs more game time, because with more confidence he could become one heck of a threatening presence for opposing defences, being the size his is. I hope Mark perseveres with this guy as I’d like to see more of him on the pitch alongside Bellamy again, a player Caicedo should learn a great deal from, if Mark H gives him the opportunity, which I feel he certainly should.

Robinho is a player I’m still not entirely comfortable with, as he’s too temperamental and flits in and out of too many games for me. Lacks consistent effort and I don’t like to see that in a player. I just don’t see him and City as a good fit, somehow. It would not surprise me if Chelsea or some other club secures him during the summer. For me, I’d do a deal with Liverpool and swap him for Torres. Time will tell, with this player, but, I just don’t see he fits in, somehow.

Lastly, I thought the crowd, today, was very quiet. Forget the tepid songs, several ongoing and rousing chants of City! City! from the entire stadium would be far, far more effective. Give it a try, at least.

Here’s to Craig Bellamy’s next goal, next game and, to having Petrov and Bojinov in contention as soon as possible.

OPINION: DOING IT FOR THE HUGHES

I’ve been following the debate on the MCIVTA emails around whether MH should stay or go and I have to say I have been on the fence for a while. I don’t want to see City descend into another hire and fire cycle just as much as I was concerned in the early part of the season to see MH field teams in a formation that we simply did not have the right players for.

So, the ‘Boro victory to me is a bit of a watershed. Bellamy scores the only goal of the game and Shay Given is the main differentiator between the two sides. Both of them MH signings, both of them fitting in to a team that finally seems to have some shape and logic about it. In my eyes MH is closer to staying that going.

OPINION: TAKING STOCK

Let’s take stock. As I write this we are 10th in the Premier League, with over half the games played. We have scored more goals at home than any other team in the Premier League, two more than Man. Utd., six more than Chelsea, nine more than Villa and Arsenal and eight more than Liverpool. We have the second best goal difference at home in the Premier League, after Manchester United. Away form is hurting us though, because we only have the sixth best goal difference in total, though at least 6 goals better than any team outside the top 5, and we haven’t even found someone to own that striker position yet! Converting that goal difference into points is proving a little bit tricky though. The goals are clumping in some games and not appearing in others. Hence, we’re only tenth.

Not a week goes by where Ray Bardsley doesn’t tell us how atrocious we are under Leslie Mark Hughes.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I could have said we were, at the time of writing, only 5 points clear of the relegation zone, having just been beaten by 10 man Stoke. So I can see what’s getting Ray’s goat. I’m not sold on Hughes either, though most of his purchases for the first half of the season – SWP, Robinho, Kompany, Zabaleta but not Ben Haim – have proved their worth admirably. Much better than the random dabblings of Sven in the transfer market (in case you have forgotten Bianchi (oops), Geovanni (good, but Sven didn’t think so), Petrov (always crocked), Bojinov (always crocked), Elano (attitude), Corluka (score 1 for Sven) and fringe players Gelson, Garrido, Benjani and Caicedo). A bit of a collection of Danny Mills’s. No, I take that back.

Anyway, Ray and I have disagreed over Sven in the past. Ray liked him. Me, not so much. But the merciless hounding of Hughes bemuses me unless it’s because he’s an ex-Rag. If it is, then I get it. I don’t think I could stand having Cantona, Keane or, in the future, Rooney or Ronaldo as manager of City, even if they were doing a decent job (though I’m amazed that I stomached Schmeichel in goal, but I got used to it, so maybe I’m more tolerant than I think). But it can’t be because he is doing an atrocious job, can it?

OPINION: BRAZILIAN BLUES

There has been no justice in the way the FA has given SWeeP a three match ban, but I guess the rules have to be kept to the letter, and common sense means nothing.

Seeing Jo with a new lease of life at Everton makes me wonder if Sparky is handing the Brazilians properly. We also see Elano, who at one time said “I love it here at Manchester City”, now he is also unsettled. Robinho was not on his form versus Boro; is he too not producing his best?

We all know that Jo was scoring goals in Russia, that is why MCFC paid so much for him. I have made remarks in earlier editions of MCIVTA that at the time Mark Hughes was pushing Ched Evans, and that this was not doing anything to help Jo’s confidence. Putting in Ched ahead of Jo, who sat on the bench, did nothing for Jo’s confidence.

Only Jo’s time for the rest of the season at Everton will show if something very wrong was happening at City.

From now until the rest of the season it is going to be a trying time for Mark Hughes. It is without doubt, make or break time. Part of a manager’s job is to have a happy dressing room with a great team spirit, it brings out the best in every player. I sense that just maybe this might not be happening?

I still back Mark Hughes until the end of the season, and I hope that he can do the job, but I now have a question mark on his kind of management; is it the Brazilians at fault or the manager and coaching staff?

Come on you Blues!

REQUEST: CARL RAMSBOTTOM APPEAL

Many thanks to all who helped with the bucket collection vs. Boro and to all those who donated. A total of £1,800 was raised.

The next event being organised is a cabaret night on Friday 3 April at the Blackley Royal British Legion, Victoria Avenue. Compère James H Reeve, music with DJ Dave, comedian Mike Lancaster, entertainer Dom Collins and ex City star Tommy Booth.

There will be raffles and auctions on the night. Tickets are only £5. Please contact Spike in 0161 775 7500, Ian in 07852 826 150, or Phil on 07956 459 132. If anyone would like to donate a raffle or auction prize, please contact me.

RESULTS

8 February 2009

Tottenham Hotspur     0 - 0  Arsenal               36,021
West Ham United       0 - 1  Manchester United     34,958

7 February 2009

Manchester City       1 - 0  Middlesbrough         45,558
Blackburn Rovers      0 - 2  Aston Villa           24,267
Chelsea               0 - 0  Hull City             41,802
Everton               3 - 0  Bolton Wanderers      33,791
Sunderland            2 - 0  Stoke City            38,350
West Bromwich Albion  2 - 3  Newcastle United      25,817
Wigan Athletic        0 - 0  Fulham                16,499
Portsmouth            2 - 3  Liverpool             20,524

League table to 08 February 2009 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Manchester Utd  24 10  1  0 25  4  7  4  2 16  6 17  5  2  41  10  31 56
 2 Liverpool       25  7  5  0 19  7  8  4  1 23 10 15  9  1  42  17  25 54
 3 Aston Villa     25  5  6  1 18 12 10  0  3 22 12 15  6  4  40  24  16 51
 4 Chelsea         25  6  5  2 21  7  8  2  2 23  8 14  7  4  44  15  29 49
 5 Arsenal         25  7  3  2 18 11  5  5  3 20 14 12  8  5  38  25  13 44
 6 Everton         25  4  5  4 18 16  7  2  3 16 12 11  7  7  34  28   6 40
 7 Wigan Athletic  25  6  4  3 13 11  3  3  6 13 13  9  7  9  26  24   2 34
 8 West Ham United 25  6  1  6 18 17  3  5  4 13 15  9  6 10  31  32  -1 33
 9 Manchester City 24  8  0  5 28 12  1  4  6 14 20  9  4 11  42  32  10 31
10 Fulham          23  7  3  1 19  9  0  6  6  3 10  7  9  7  22  19   3 30
11 Sunderland      25  5  2  6 15 15  3  4  5 12 18  8  6 11  27  33  -6 30
12 Hull City       25  3  3  6 13 25  4  5  4 18 21  7  8 10  31  46 -15 29
13 Newcastle Utd   25  4  5  3 19 20  2  4  7 14 22  6  9 10  33  42  -9 27
14 Bolton Wndrs    25  4  2  6 11 14  4  1  8 16 23  8  3 14  27  37 -10 27
15 Tottenham H.    25  4  5  4 11  9  2  2  8 15 22  6  7 12  26  31  -5 25
16 Portsmouth      24  4  2  6 16 21  2  4  6  9 20  6  6 12  25  41 -16 24
17 Stoke City      25  6  3  3 13 11  0  3 10  8 29  6  6 13  21  40 -19 24
18 Blackburn R.    24  3  4  6 15 21  2  4  5 12 19  5  8 11  27  40 -13 23
19 Middlesbrough   25  3  5  4 10 15  2  2  9  8 21  5  7 13  18  36 -18 22
20 West Brom A.    25  5  2  6 18 24  1  2  9  6 23  6  4 15  24  47 -23 22

MCIVTA FAQ [v0708.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

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[2] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

Deadlines for issues are nominally 6pm, Monday and Thursday evenings by 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: