Newsletter #1733

A look tonight at the Tévez dilemma, news on the US visit, Mancunian rivalries, bans, points of view and the usual requests.

OPINION: TÉVEZ TÉVEZ GIVE US A WAVE

As the season now is at an end and we look forward to the next big event – the Charity Shield, the speculation surrounding Tévez and his future will start to build through the summer. If typical of such signings, we won’t see a result till an hour before the season begins and the usual sequence of events has already started:

• Vote of confidence #1 from manager (a.k.a. the kiss of death)
• Vague assurances from the concerned player
• Veiled threats from agent and mentions of various European and in this caseSouth American countries
• The holiday where the player disappears on a well deserved break (Torquayanyone?) and is unavailable for comment
• The sightings where various tabloids report that the player is seen with otherteams’ players or managers at dinner or in hotels (God forbid players know otherpeople and want to go into hotels)
• Vote of confidence #2 from manager (also know as the nail in the coffin)
• The ‘Other Player’ wherein the team show interest in a player we have neverheard of before with a price tag that would make even an billionaire footballclub owner blush
• The last few days’ frenzy where the papers and Internet are full of claim andcounter claim
• The comment from the player which when analysed actually translates to “warblewarble warble”
• The decision

Me, I think Tévez will go. He is a great and one of the greats to pull on the blue shirt but this is the age of the mercenary and kissing the badge as you run towards the fans is now meaningless. I of course hope he stays but players are assets to be traded back and forward. Love him to stay but won’t be shocked if he goes nor feel any bad feeling towards him if he does as his legacy is assured.

OPINION: US TOUR

Just heard City are kicking off their American mini-tour in SF. Finally. Better than last year when they were way up north. Classy place to play for a classy team. We’re getting a crew together for this. Probably have a few fine beverages at Reds Bar on the Embarcadero at the waterfront beforehand, then stroll on down to the game.

Anyone else over here up for it? I’ll probably be able to cobble together a dozen or so US Blues (all my own converts). So if you’re on holiday or on the West Coast let’s get something together.

http://mcfc.co.uk/News/Club-news/2011/May/US-tour-to-open-in-San-Francisco

OPINION: KOLO BAN

Good news for Kolo and for us. There was clearly nothing ever in it, besides an oversight but I hope the Kompany/Lescott pairing is not disrupted.

OPINION: MIND THE GAP

The gap continues to close between Manchester City and Manchester United both on and off the park. The Red dominance that City are now challenging has been stunning.

Like it or not, United’s position as a footballing superpower will always be the benchmark for the new Manchester City, but under Roberto Mancini’s shrewd guidance, the Blues are showing threatening signs of setting their own standards.

Since the Premier League was founded on the 20th February 1992, The Blues have played in 14 of its 19 seasons. For the vast majority of those campaigns United ruled England with an unrivalled, globalised spending power that enabled them to build a squad that has maintained a grip on major honours right up to the present day. Indeed, the Stretford club have been crowned champions in 9 of City’s 14 Premier League seasons.

Anyone who questioned this month’s explosion of joy and relief at Eastlands or was in any doubt of the pain Manchester City supporters have had to endure at the hands of their out of town neighbours need only scan the history of the past three decades to realise that but for a brief renaissance under Howard Kendall and Peter Reid, United have lorded it over City in the modern era’s top flight.

Yet despite repeated setbacks, even dropping down to the third tier of English football, The Citizens have kept on coming back and it’s those hard fought battles back from near extinction that gave the club the opportunity to be in the right place at the right time when foreign ownership came to town.

The majority of the figures below are a case of look back and wince for Planet Blue but the quickening resurgence that has taken place over the past three years gives every Blue the right to some serious optimism whilst preparing for the club’s first ever Champions’ League season.

City versus United: Mind The Gap

(Season, points gap, City manager and final Mancunian league positions)

Premier League:

• 2010/11: 9 points gap, Roberto Mancini – Rags 1st, City 3rd
• 2009/10: 18, Mark Hughes / Roberto Mancini – Rags 2nd, City 5th
• 2008/09: 40, Mark Hughes – Rags 1st, City 10th
• 2007/08: 32, Sven-Göran Eriksson – Rags 1st, City 9th
• 2006/07: 47, Stuart Pearce – Rags 1st, City 14th
• 2005/06: 48, Stuart Pearce – Rags 2nd, City 15th
• 2004/05: 35, Kevin Keegan / Stuart Pearce – Rags 3rd, City 8th
• 2003/04: 34, Kevin Keegan – Rags 3rd, City 16th
• 2002/03: 32, Kevin Keegan – Rags 1st, City 9th
• 2000/01: 46, Joe Royle – Rags 1st, City 18th Relegated
• 1995/96: 44, Alan Ball – Rags 1st, City 18th Relegated
• 1994/95: 48, Brian Horton – Rags 2nd, City 17th
• 1993/94: 47, Brian Horton – Rags 1st, City 16th
• 1992/93: 27, Peter Reid – Rags 1st, City 9th

Old First Division:

Johnny Marr once composed and jangled the instrumental track ‘Money Changes Everything’. Money spent heavily at Old Trafford from the late eighties onwards had a major impact that realised a tidal wave of domestic honours. It could be that history is about to repeat itself, but this time, inside the city walls.

OPINION: DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH

Just a small point for Sam (MCIVTA 1732) who said:

“I can say I was there and spent the last 10 mins watching the clock as that’s when we give it away and what did Tévez do? Lost the ball in a position were frankly he should not, they went up the pitch and got 2 corners all those around me had their hearts in their mouths.”

Don’t quite know why your point is about Tévez. He was substituted after 87 minutes for Zab and unless he sneaked back on in the last minute, he was neither careless or culpable.

OPINION: POINTS OF VIEW

While I agree with Sam on a number of points, including I thought we had a team to win the league this year, and while it was a very good season, it wasn’t great… it could have been.

But for goodness sake Sam, take a step back and enjoy the moment. I’ve supported City since the late 60’s, through the Mercer/Allison era, through the eighties/Peter Reid/Frank Clark, Alan Ball and a few other so-called managers, through to Keegan/Sven and Hughesie (who I personally thought were both shafted by the club) and onto Mancini.

I’ve been a critic of his from the start but even I can look back at finally getting that 35 year hoodoo off our backs and be happy at the year’s result. Three hundred million spent on the side, some dud purchases, but all that is for another day. Enjoy it.

Here in New Zealand we have endured massive earthquakes, and over 6,000 aftershocks, which sort of puts football in perspective really. So next time we think of moaning and groaning… Oh what the hell, let it rip!

Thanks again to Heidi and her team for another year’s great work. Onwards and upwards.

OPINION: WEMBLEY RESULTS

Manchester clubs at Wembley, Season 2010-2011:

City Played 2 Won 2

United Played 2 Lost 2 (plus one trashed dressing room)

REQUEST: MCFC vs. SCFC PROGRAMME

Does anyone have an unwanted copy of the programme from the Premier League home game with Stoke City on Tuesday 17 May 2011? As it was the last game of the season, programmes were in demand on the night. So much so that all kiosks outside and inside the ground sold out well before kick off. I tried 5 or 6 myself and ran into 10s of other City fans doing the same.

If anyone has a spare copy I would be delighted to send cost and postage. Please contact me at the address below.

REQUEST: POB MINUTES

Very belated (I understand the club has been a bit busy…) minutes are now on mcfc.co.uk at: http://www.mcfc.co.uk/~/media/Files/Points%20of%20Blue/Final%20Points%20of%20Blue%20Minutes%20March%202011.pdf

MCIVTA FAQ [v1011.01]

[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 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: