Newsletter #1689

In a weekend that saw a record number of goals in the Premier League, we have opinion tonight on our 1-1 draw at Stoke. We’re still in fourth spot for now and have the distraction of a Europa league game this week, weather permitting.

We also have further opinion on Nelly and a couple of requests.

MATCH VIEW: SCFC 1 MCFC 1

A belated “Happy Birthday” to our manager Roberto Mancini. Buon Compleanno.

The first half saw Stoke come out fighting for every ball and by their football being played deserved to be ahead.

Stoke, as many of us know, are a physical side: being physical is fine, but the fouls that went on with the referee showing a blind eye to it was not. The referee also turned a blind eye to giving City a deserved penalty.

In the second half City showed a lot more endeavour and came close to scoring that all important goal on several occasions. The goal came in the 81st minute when full back Micah scored, only to see Stoke get an equalizer in injury time. How many times have we seen City concede a goal with just seconds to go?

It was a goal with great skill from Stoke and we cannot really blame the City defence or the ‘keeper for the goal against. In fairness the result was correct at 1-1, a game being played in frozen conditions.

City still remain fourth in the league but two teams above us won on the day. On Sunday Liverpool play Spurs, who cannot overtake City but can get closer.

Come on you Blues!

OPINION: NEIL YOUNG I

I have just read with great sadness the news about Neil Young;, truly devastating. Like your other correspondents I was at the replay at Maine Road against Newcastle.

I drove up from Norfolk and stayed the night with relatives. What a night crowned by Neil’s great goal. Neil was a member of the great team of the 60’s and whilst Lee, Bell and Summerbee attracted all the plaudits (rightly so), Neil tended to be overlooked.

I remember an interview in the press at the time when Gordon Banks was interviewed and was asked which forward he most feared: he replied “Neil Young”. That left foot was truly awesome.

When one looks at the so called “stars” of today, one realizes what a great star Neil Young was. I really hope that Neil can progress from his illness and wish him and his family all the very best.

OPINION: NEIL YOUNG II

Following my email and posting of last week I have received a fantastic response both by email and the Royal Mail. I’ve received emails from all corners of the world with promises of cards and notes for Neil, which I will pass on to him and Carmen.

I’ve already received almost 20 cards and letters from UK based Blues, which will be forwarded as soon has I have collected tomorrow’s post. Nelly tells me he has already received many cards and messages of support from City fans and that Mike Summerbee has visited him.

I have recently spoken to Neil and Carmen who I have to say are in remarkably good spirits considering the devastating news they got just over a week ago. Neil confirms the doctors have given him a 50% chance of living between another 6 months and 1 year. It will be up to Neil to decide if and when he has that famous left leg (Nelly’s Welly) amputated. Neil will hang onto that left leg as long as possible but if the pain becomes unbearable he will make the necessary decision.

Neil tells me he has an appointment at the Cancer Unit of Wythenshawe Hospital to start treatment in preparation for chemotherapy, that is being pumped full of various vitamins prior to the chemotherapy.

Several people have since contacted me and Neil suggesting some kind of fund raising for him. To be honest that thought had never crossed my mind, nor Neil’s. However, I now realise there is a groundswell of support for the idea. Neil is also flattered by the various proposals. I am also flattered by his request that I take charge of any such fund raising efforts. Neil insists that any monies raised must be split between himself and the Cancer Unit at Wythenshawe Hospital, where in his words he has “received tremendous support and that the Unit is under funded”.

Obviously, I cannot take such an undertaking all by myself. I would need your suggestions how best to raise funds and the need to set up maybe some kind of ad hoc committee to administrate and organise fund raising activities. If you’re interested, get in touch with me.

To answer a couple of questions I’ve been frequently asked, the answers are: Neil is 66 and a bit years of age. Neil and Carmen both live on old age pensions.

REQUEST: PLEAT’S SHOES

I am sure there are plenty of City fans who would be interested in an eventbeing held in Luton early in December. We all remember with anger and outragewhen David Pleat danced his way across the Maine Road pitch on that tragic dayin 1983 when City were relegated and Luton stayed up (look were they arenow!). Well, can I direct you to the following web page:http://www.lutontown.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10372~2229463,00.html,where it announces that the shoes that Pleat wore on that day are up for auction at theLuton Town 125th anniversary reunion dinner on 2nd December 2010.

I just thought that a City fan would be interested in bidding for the shoes – and burning them!

REQUEST: SELLING MY GEAR

I am selling my match/issue worn shirts; if there are any collectors interested they can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/man_city_match_worn/

RESULTS AND TABLE

28 November 2010

Newcastle United      1 - 1  Chelsea               46,469
Tottenham Hotspur     2 - 1  Liverpool

27 November 2010

Aston Villa           2 - 4  Arsenal               38,544
Bolton Wanderers      2 - 2  Blackpool             25,851
Everton               1 - 4  West Bromwich Albion  35,237
Fulham                1 - 1  Birmingham City       24,391
Manchester United     7 - 1  Blackburn Rovers      74,850
Stoke City            1 - 1  Manchester City       27,405
West Ham United       3 - 1  Wigan Athletic        34,178
Wolverhampton Wndrs   3 - 2  Sunderland            25,112

League table to 28 November 2010 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  15  7  1  0 24  6  1  6  0 11 10  8  7  0  35  16  19  31
 2 Chelsea         15  6  0  1 17  3  3  2  3 12  7  9  2  4  29  10  19  29
 3 Arsenal         15  4  0  3 17  9  5  2  1 15  8  9  2  4  32  17  15  29
 4 Manchester City 15  3  3  1  7  5  4  2  2 13  7  7  5  3  20  12   8  26
 5 Tottenham H.    15  4  3  1 13  8  3  1  3 10 12  7  4  4  23  20   3  25
 6 Bolton Wndrs    15  3  4  1 17 11  2  4  1 11 11  5  8  2  28  22   6  23
 7 Sunderland      15  3  4  0  9  5  1  4  3 10 13  4  8  3  19  18   1  20
 8 Stoke City      15  4  2  2 12  9  2  0  5  7 10  6  2  7  19  19   0  20
 9 Newcastle Utd   15  2  3  3 16 10  3  1  3  7 12  5  4  6  23  22   1  19
10 Liverpool       15  4  2  1 12  6  1  2  5  5 13  5  4  6  17  19  -2  19
11 Blackpool       15  2  2  2 11 11  3  2  4 12 18  5  4  6  23  29  -6  19
12 West Brom A.    15  3  2  2  8  9  2  2  4 12 17  5  4  6  20  26  -6  19
13 Blackburn R.    15  3  2  2  8  6  2  1  5 10 19  5  3  7  18  25  -7  18
14 Birmingham City 15  3  3  1  7  5  0  5  3  9 13  3  8  4  16  18  -2  17
15 Aston Villa     15  3  4  1 12  9  1  1  5  5 15  4  5  6  17  24  -7  17
16 Everton         15  2  3  3 10 12  1  4  2  7  7  3  7  5  17  19  -2  16
17 Fulham          15  2  4  2 10 11  0  5  2  5  7  2  9  4  15  18  -3  15
18 Wigan Athletic  15  2  3  3  6 15  1  2  4  5 11  3  5  7  11  26 -15  14
19 Wolves          15  3  2  3 12 13  0  1  6  5 14  3  3  9  17  27 -10  12
20 West Ham United 15  2  3  3 10 12  0  3  4  4 14  2  6  7  14  26 -12  12

MCIVTA FAQ [v1011.01]

[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 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. You can also follow on www.twitter.com/mcivta to get the latest updates.

[4] What is the club’s official web site?

The official club web site can be found at http://www.mcfc.co.uk/ and the official club Twitter page at www.twitter.com/mcfc. The club also has a facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/mcfcofficial

[5] What supporters’ clubs are there?

The Official Supporters’ Club and the Centenary Supporters’ Association have merged to become the Manchester City Supporters’ Club (http://www.mcfcsupportersclub.com/). The club also recognise the Manchester City Disabled Supporters’ Association (http://www.mcdsa.co.uk/).

[6] Where can I find out about Points of Blue?

The committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. Points of Blue appears on the club website under the “Fans” heading (http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Fans).

[7] What match day broadcasts are available on the web?

Live match commentary can be found on the club website. The Radio Manchester pre- and post-match phone-in is available on the web at http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/manchester/hi/tv_and_radio/.

[8] Where can I find out if City are live on satellite TV?

http://www.satfootball.com/pl.html provides a listing of Premier League games being shown on UK domestic and foreign satellite channels. Useful sites for North American viewers are http://msn.foxsports.com/, http://www.soccertv.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.mcivta.com/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: