Newsletter #1745

As we get ready for the pre-season tour, the headlines are all about our finances and Tévez, both of which feature tonight.

OPINION: EVERYWHERE YOU GO

I enjoyed reading Phil Banerjee’s extensive missive in MCIVTA 1744 … in particular the Bayern Munich and Boateng angle and the high state of disregard that club is held in by the majority of German football fans.

Before I retired I was lucky enough to work with some really nice people in Munich, this was way back in 2004, and when we sold the company to its management team we had a “bit of a do” and a some farewell speeches. The head man of the the German company told me that “Bayern Munich are the Manchester Yoonited of Germany and that is why nobody in Munich likes them… our favourite team here is called München 1860, they play in blue and white, they are the fans’ team and they are just like Manchester City”. Of course we have moved on a bit since then but what made it all the more interesting to me was that I had never discussed football with him before or since.

Regards to Blues everywhere.

OPINION: NEW SQUAD

With the season fast approaching all clubs will have to name twenty-five players to be their squad; under aged players do not have to be named. Some players have already been set aside by Roberto Mancini as players not wanted, leaving Adebayor furious because he has been left out of the American tour. All players know that there is only one place to show your skills and passion and that is on the field.

If City are to move the players on the “not wanted list”, they will probably have to lose some money, or keep paying them because of their contracts. On the subject of contracts, Carlos Tévez has a contract for the next three years with MCFC; if City fail to get the transfer fee that the club will be happy with, or an exchange player, Tévez will have to play for City. My main concern if that happens and Tévez is forced to play for City is that Tévez might not give his best; I look back at last season’s form by Tévez and it was fantastic before his Christmas transfer request but once refused, his goal scoring for City went down, and his form was not quite as good.

There is no doubt that Carlos Tévez is and can be a brilliant player when he wants to be, and his work rate top notch! A happy player is always a better player; would it be wise to keep a player against his wishes? I don’t think that there are many City fans that want to see Carlos Tévez go; I think a lot of what is happening with him is generated by his agent Kia Joorabchian who of course gets a cut from every new contract! I of course would love Tévez to stay, but only if he is willing to give 100% to his playing style and to City!

Good luck to City on the North American tour; let’s have some wins this time (nice way to travel).

OPINION: FAIR PLAY RULES

Am I missing something here? City had a deficit of £100+ million last year and will have a similar deficit this year. Surely these sums are being used to construct a squad of young world class players and a world class coaching team? When this squad building is complete, future seasons will only require the normal tweaking i.e. the odd player or two being replaced. I believe that UEFA rules come into play in 2013, by which time major spending on players will be complete. Why all the frenzy by the media concerning City’s current spending?

OPINION: ETIHAD ANAGRAMS

So far I’ve come up with:

I DEATH de jong?
A EDITH we all had one, or not.
TH’IDEA (we are northern after all).
ID THEA probably means something in Latin.
HEAT DI?

My favourite though… HEAD IT!

I’m here all week folks.

P.S. Looking forward to th’game week Saturday. I’ll get to my Yahoo account – promise – and reply to e-mails.

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: