Newsletter #1768

Bayern Munich emerged victors in a 2-0 win on Tuesday night as we were given something of a lesson. The biggest news to come out of the game though concerns our former captain and his ongoing refusal to conform or behave like a pub team footballer, never mind a millionaire international player.

Understandably, patience amongst the fans is wearing thing and both player and his agent are fast losing credibility.

Tonight we’ve a look at the game on Tuesday night, opinion on the irksome Argentinian, fans hitting the big-time in New York, problems with City’s social media and a ticketing thanks.

Next up Blackburn and time to refocus on the league.

MATCH REPORT: BMFC 2 MCFC 0

City were given a football lesson by Bayern Munich on Tuesday, and we can only hope that the players have learned from it and can bounce back straight away.

Yet it could all have been so different. We played some very good football early with Silva pulling the strings as usual. City should have had a penalty after a couple of minutes when Silva was clearly brought down in the penalty box, but the referee was not brave enough to give it. Dzeko should have put us in front after that when played in by Richards’ cross, but he tamely shot at Neuer. Richards was upended in the box as well but whilst this was a far less convincing case than the first penalty claim, the phrase ‘seen them given’ springs to mind.

We were the better team for the first half hour but we paid dearly for the refereeing decision over the first penalty and Dzeko’s failure to take that chance. The third and decisive factor in our defeat was poor defending. City were too slow to respond to second balls after the first half hour. Indeed, both goals came after City defenders were much slower to react than Bayern attackers to loose balls.

The brilliant Ribery was given too much room by both Touré brothers for the shot that led to the opening goal. Hart made a brilliant double stop but the City defenders were too slow to react to both rebounds.

The lesson was not learned as Kolo Touré was too slow to react to the rebound from Joe Hart’s save from the free kick for Bayern’s second goal. The Ivorian was off the pace all night and we’d probably have been better if we’d stuck with Lescott.

It has to be said that Hart was in no way to blame for either goal and richly deserves credit for his performance.

It was a bad night particularly for Roberto Mancini. Was he a little too open in his selection? If we had been awarded the penalty and if Dzeko had taken his chance we probably wouldn’t be asking that question. Replacing Dzeko with de Jong was a strange one to say the least, but Mancini’s plan was to calm things down with an extra man in midfield, to help us retain possession better, then bring Tévez on a few minutes later. Dzeko after all was not holding the ball up in this game. Mancini was not to know that Tévez, selfishly and pathetically, would refuse to play.

Carlos Tévez refusing to play is completely unacceptable, unforgivable and he must never play for Manchester City again, even if he says he wants to. He cannot be trusted any longer. For starters, he must be fined the maximum amount of money possible. He must be made to train on his own, away from the first team because he has become a trouble maker who spreads disharmony. The City lawyers can then look into suing him for breach of contract. Not only was Tévez refusing to play but he was rowing with Pablo Zabaleta amongst others on the bench. By the end of that exchange, Zaba was clearly disgusted as Tévez tried some pathetic, mealy mouthed justification of his refusal to play. Quite rightly, Zaba didn’t want a bar of it. It must have been very hard for a wonderful professional like Zaba to see his countryman behave so appallingly. City cannot allow Tévez to spread disharmony further. Luckily for us, the club can afford to make him sit out his contract until we get the right valuation for Manchester City.

Manchester City and the City fans have been prepared to give Tévez the benefit of the doubt despite some appalling, selfish behaviour off the pitch because, we thought he was professional and gave 100% every time he pulled on a Blue shirt. No longer. Graeme Souness, who has no agenda against our club, is absolutely right in saying that he is a ‘bad apple’ and a ‘disgrace to football’.

Dzeko’s offence was nowhere near as serious but he should not have shown dissent or thrown his tracksuit to the floor. That is disrespectful not only to the manager but to us as a club. I don’t want players to be happy being subbed or on the bench but he and the rest of the players must be reminded of his responsibilities, and Roberto Mancini has said he will have a word with him. To be fair, Dzeko could not complain about being subbed, given his performance which was disappointing, but he wasn’t alone in under-performing.

Every manager makes mistakes, and our manager made a few selection and substitution errors in Bavaria, but the club should back Roberto Mancini to the hilt, especially with regards player discipline. Anything less than that will send out the wrong signal. There is already a plan for the fans to back Roberto vocally at Blackburn.

The most disappointing thing was the way that City melted away. We didn’t threaten to even come back against Bayern in the second half. We gave up far too easily and Bayern were given too easy a ride.

Barry should have been hauled off before he was. He too is a good player, but for all his effort he was well off the pace in this game in a way that was reminiscent of England’s dreadful defeat to Germany in the last World Cup. His poor pass just after the half hour put us in trouble and Schweinsteiger should have scored from the resultant move. This incident started the torrent of Bayern attacks and it was not long before they were in front. Whilst Barry cannot be held responsible alone for the defeat, he has given away two crucial loose balls in two consecutive Champions’ League matches now. Lessons must be learned about ball retention because the likelihood of being punished is even greater than in the Premier League.

If City are to have any chance of progressing into the last sixteen of this competition we have to defend far better, show more character in adversity and take our chances when we are in the ascendency. Villarreal may have started badly but they too cannot be taken lightly in our next two European matches.

Anyway, we have a Championship to play for, and we must go to Blackburn and win on Saturday.

MATCH VIEW: BMFC 2 MCFC 0

I have no intention of reviewing the Bayern game as others no doubt will have similar views.

However, after waiting 21 years for my beloved City to play my local team (Bayern) anywhere under any conditions, this was my night and I was darn-well going to enjoy it.

The atmosphere before (downtown, where many of us had gathered in the sunshine and at the …’Fest as advised by my neighbours) and during the match was terrific and we were well-behaved. I was proud of our support and wish I could say the same of the team!

Typical Bayern though to put us all in the “gallery” where the vocals were almost drowned (my head was practically touching the roof, no kidding). But it was nice to be back with the travelling choir.

There was no trouble either on the train back into town, even though a number of fans were still visibly drunk. I think all-in-all the Bayern fans were impressed with our devotion and acceptance of the result and laughed along with some of the chants and songs.

City are now established on the European scene and perhaps we have gained some respect. Disappointed that we don’t look like going back to the final (well I might) but looking forward to the re-match. My brother and I were able to drown our sorrows next day at the Oktoberfest, so I am still happy.

Keep up the good work: I much appreciate the banter on McV.

OPINION: WHAT’S IT WORTH?

After supporting City for well over sixty years I can now actually look forward to seeing us play. Fortunately here in New Zealand we get to see most games and what a pleasure to see the likes of Silva and now Agüero as well as others, like Dzeko, who have lifted their game. Players like these are obviously the future of City and that is just in attack. A little bit more cohesion in defence, I think, is needed.

Just a thought. I don’t know what difficulties may arise, but using a bit of help from Sergio Agüero, what are the possibilities of enticing Diego Maradona to be welcomed to Eastlands? It would give fans a chance to applaud one of the greatest players of all time and hopefully help to secure Agüero for the future. Maradona obviously has the ear of Agüero and giving him a first hand look at the depth of feeling at City about their heroes would do no harm, I feel sure.

From the other side of the world, currently involved in a different code but with England a remote chance.

OPINION: THE THREE STOOGES

Now City are resembling the footballing version of Fred Karno’s Army we knew was lurking close to the surface, let’s not pile it all on Tévez. Save a little for his boss.

Clearly he can’t play again for Mancini unless he performs a massive, public, knee-crawling mea culpa. So let’s assume he’s a goner, at least as far as the first team squad is concerned.

But let the incident not pass without also asking the question: why wasn’t Tévez on the field from the beginning? I for one thought Mancini was saving him for this game after a few early games in the dog house as punishment for his attempts to escape the penal servitude to which he has been sentenced in Manchester.

Tévez is, after all, a goal machine and was the Premier League’s joint top scorer last year. So I was slightly surprised when he didn’t start, fully expecting to see him run on for the second half.

Who would have guessed that instead, Mancini would choose instead to defend a two goal deficit? In the words of the late great Eric Morecambe: “There’s no answer to that.”

OPINION: UNGRATEFUL NOBODY

I haven’t commented in a while because I’ve been so happy with our club’s progress. Since I last wrote we’ve won the FA Cup, beating our not-so-lovely neighbours on the way, and have bought some great new players and started playing to the potential we showed in a few matches last season (such as Fulham away and the first half of Everton away). So I apologise for coming back on here with a negative story again, but unfortunately this one is too big to ignore.

Let’s be quite clear about all this. What happened on Tuesday evening during the match against Bayern was a premeditated action by Carlos Tévez over which there can be no misunderstanding. Having failed to get his move away from City over the summer Tévez (and when I say Tévez, I mean he and his agent Joorabchian) has been stuck with having to play for a team he has publicly been quoted as saying he would never play for again, in a city he says he can’t stand. Not only this, but if you type ‘Carlos Tévez laughs about Man City departure on Argentinean TV’ into YouTube you will see that, as I have always suspected, he has no respect for the club, the fans, the manager or even the other players. His actions at all the clubs he has played for have continually shown that for Carlos Tévez, football is only about him. And no-one else.

So, having lost some face in having to come back to City because he was unprepared to drop his financial demands to go back to the continent he was supposedly desperate to return to, he has done the only thing he could think of that could give him a quick exit, with a potential move to another club to earn further millions at the expense of ordinary fans. He will love it if City just simply terminate his contract because that will leave him a free agent, so he was prepared to play brinkmanship with a manager who demands a team ethic and refuse to play. There was nothing unclear about his actions – he can clearly be seen refusing to get up off the bench when asked to go on, and Zabaleta has since confirmed that he didn’t want to play.

Tévez has form with this because he did the same thing when at one of his South American clubs; he has always considered himself the biggest fish in the pond, as evidenced by his attempt to copy Rooney’s behaviour last season to get higher wages under the guise of being unhappy away from Argentina. Let’s face it – he has played us all for fools to a greater or lesser degree, and only got away with his behaviour because of the club bending over backwards to accommodate him, and because he usually put in a good performance on the pitch. However, if City fans are honest we haven’t had a single good performance from him since he put in his transfer request last season, and since he returned from injury at the end of last season he has been abysmal on the pitch too, and came back from his extended summer break overweight and out of condition. His refusal to warm-down after the Everton game probably prevented him from making the starting line-up against Bayern and was probably the final straw from Roberto’s point of view – that is before he went and pressed the nuclear self-destruct button and did what no player should ever do by refusing to play.

I say there should be no misunderstanding because some of the media and pundits out there are trying to stir things to create further discord. The ridiculous Steve Claridge for example was trying to say yesterday that Tévez’s refusal was a direct result of Mancini putting de Jong on for Dzeko – as if it is ever a player’s prerogative to question a manager’s substitution or tactics during a match (as it happens I believe that was the right substitution because Dzeko was having a stinker, and Barry and Yaya were not doing a great job of protecting the back four and were also not bridging the gap between defence and the forward line sufficiently well, so de Jong coming on was to try to get Yaya in particular to play further up-field and link play with Samir, David and Sergio). The press are all over this like a rash, as we’ve come to expect, so when pundits come out with nonsense like this we have to be 100% clear that we back the manager in this. It is his right, whether we agree with his tactics or substitutions, to make the decisions that either bring us trophies (as he has already started doing) or cost him his job. In Roberto’s defence he has done a huge amount to try to accommodate Tévez’s demands to keep him at the club, just as he did with Robinho (another vastly over inflated ego). He has allowed him extended leave on more than one occasion, made him captain in the hope that this would inspire him to greater things, à la Maradonna at Napoli, and even allowed him a later return this summer even though he played less games in the Copa America than Agüero did. Can you imagine Roberto’s feelings having made him captain when half-way through last season he handed in a transfer request? I think Mancini has had enough sand kicked in his face from Tévez and I fully understood his rage after the Bayern match, and thought he managed to control his emotions with a great deal of dignity.

Also, do not misjudge Agüero’s or Zaba’s comments on this – they may have to play with him again in the national team, and Argentinian football politics are tricky at the best of times. We need a marker from the club that goes beyond self-interest to prevent this happening again with any other player – the two-week suspension is a start but he must be hit with the kind of punishment that clearly sends out a message to all players that they are not bigger than any club. I do not know what can be done legally but it is welcoming to hear that FIFA are prepared to back up any decision by banning him from football if needs be. That is the only way that it can be brought home to him what he has done – he has escaped any repercussions from all of his previous actions but it is time that the chickens come home to roost. Perhaps before he goes he could appear one more time at Eastlands on the bench and be made to warm-up throughout the game so that he can get a good idea of what the fans think of him, so that he is in no doubt that he is not wanted in football any more. Goodbye and good riddance, to you and your agent.

P.S. The title of this e-mail are what I have discovered to be Carlos Tévez’s middle names!

OPINION: HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE I

Others will talk the Tévez situation to death, but for a comparison of another high cost player struggling to get regular starts since the arrival of a new signing this summer, step forward Kolarov.

I can only imagine the lad’s surprise when he got the nod to get the tracksuit off with the instructions to pay up front in an old fashioned inside left position but he did so without hesitation or questioning of Mancini’s orders. Almost got us a late consolation with a surge through the channel at the death as well. All the talent in the world counts for nothing without the professionalism to go with it and Mr Tévez would do well to remember this as he reflects on events back in Manchester.

Keep the faith, still 4 games to go, it wouldn’t be City if we did it the easy way.

OPINION: HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE II

The headlines that City lost 2-0 to Munich is one thing, but for Tévez refusing to play is one of the worst things that I have heard in football, period.

If Tévez did not want to play he should have told his manager Roberto Mancini not to include him in the squad for Champions’ League.

Tévez should be made to return all monies to MCFC pronto, and send him back to Argentina. No point in keeping Tévez in Manchester to foul up other players’ minds; who befriends him now?

Zabaleta is from Argentina – what a very big difference in this man, he has Blue blood! I thought that Tévez was a true professional; how wrong I was!

Everything is not lost yet, but a strong lesson in many ways was learned tonight.

In Mancini I trust!

OPINION: PLAYER OF THE MONTH

September is coming to a close, and I’ll very soon be able to turn to the next page of my City calendar and thus avoid having to look at our friend Tévez on my wall.

As far as I can see, the defence of “misunderstanding” doesn’t hold water. He was sitting beside Spanish speaker Zabaleta, who has an excellent command of English.

OPINION: TALK OF THE TOWN

We’re the boys making all the noise. I’m convinced someone at the NY times is a Blue. We always get a mention in the sports section of the Sunday paper, albeit 2 sentences between the American “sports”. Now this. Isn’t it? Wasn’t it? Marvellous. To quote Ron Manager.

City are on the cover of the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/

And the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/sports/soccer/manchester-city-antes-up-for-a-seat-at-soccers-power-table.html

OPINION: DO THEY MEAN US?

I’m a bit baffled at Andy Lea’s message in MCIVTA 1767 complaining about Jeff Dale’s letter. I’ve looked back on the last half dozen McV’s and can only find one message from Jeff Dale, in MCIVTA 1766.

In it, he asks for Munich tickets. Bayern Munich away! How is that encouraging City fans to call United fans ‘Munichs’?

And Chris Duxbury, everyone is entitled to an opinion but my only moan at yours is that it went on for too long. Good job you are not charged by the letter!

OPINION: MCFC FACEBOOK WOE

This may not be the most appropriate forum but please forgive me because I’m getting desperate.

I recently signed up to Facebook and made the mistake of putting “ManchesterCityofficial” in my list of favourite teams. Now I am being driven demented by what appears to be every waking thought of Robert Mancini, his pronouncements and that of his staff.

It is cluttering up my Facebook page and I cannot seem to get rid of it. Please does anyone know how I unsubscribe from this daily bombardment of City-related trivia that is obliterating other more relevant stuff?

I love the team but…

THANKS: MUNICH TICKETS

I’d just like to record my thanks to all you Blues out there through McV who contacted me about the Munich tickets – there are some truly decent Blues out there. Shame about some of the players!

RESULTS AND TABLE

26 September 2011

Norwich City          2 - 1  Sunderland            26,107

League table to 28 September 2011 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  6  3  0  0 14  3  2  1  0  8  2  5  1  0 22  5  17  16
 2 Manchester City 6  3  0  0  9  0  2  1  0 10  5  5  1  0 19  5  14  16
 3 Chelsea         6  3  0  0  9  3  1  1  1  3  4  4  1  1 12  7   5  13
 4 Newcastle Utd   6  2  1  0  5  2  1  2  0  2  1  3  3  0  7  3   4  12
 5 Liverpool       6  2  1  0  6  3  1  0  2  2  5  3  1  2  8  8   0  10
 6 Tottenham H.    5  1  0  1  5  5  2  0  1  4  4  3  0  2  9  9   0   9
 7 Stoke City      6  1  2  0  2  1  1  1  1  2  5  2  3  1  4  6  -2   9
 8 Aston Villa     6  1  2  0  4  2  0  3  0  3  3  1  5  0  7  5   2   8
 9 Norwich City    6  1  1  1  3  3  1  1  1  4  5  2  2  2  7  8  -1   8
10 QPR             6  0  2  1  1  5  2  0  1  4  2  2  2  2  5  7  -2   8
11 Everton         5  1  1  1  5  4  1  0  1  1  2  2  1  2  6  6   0   7
12 Wolves          6  1  0  2  2  5  1  1  1  3  3  2  1  3  5  8  -3   7
13 Arsenal         6  2  0  1  4  2  0  1  2  5 12  2  1  3  9 14  -5   7
14 Sunderland      6  1  0  2  5  3  0  2  1  2  3  1  2  3  7  6   1   5
15 Wigan Athletic  6  1  1  1  4  3  0  1  2  1  6  1  2  3  5  9  -4   5
16 Swansea City    6  1  2  0  3  0  0  0  3  1  9  1  2  3  4  9  -5   5
17 Fulham          6  0  3  0  3  3  0  1  2  1  4  0  4  2  4  7  -3   4
18 Blackburn R.    6  1  0  2  5  6  0  1  2  3  7  1  1  4  8 13  -5   4
19 West Brom A.    6  0  1  2  1  3  1  0  2  2  5  1  1  4  3  8  -5   4
20 Bolton Wndrs    6  0  0  3  3 10  1  0  2  5  6  1  0  5  8 16  -8   3

MCIVTA FAQ [v1112.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

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

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://www.bbc.co.uk/news/england/manchester/.

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

http://www.satfootball.com/ provides a listing of Premier League games being shown on UK domestic and foreign satellite channels. A useful site for North American viewers is http://msn.foxsports.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://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/Usenet

[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] Do any squad members have their own Twitter accounts?

A list of genuine player accounts is maintained at http://twitter.com/#!/MCFC/players

[12] Where can I find match statistics?

Statistics for the current season are available from the club site, but for a more in-depth historical 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: