Newsletter #1800

A brief issue today, with one of the reasons being Phil B sunning himself in Florida. Bearing in mind the conditions and temperature here I can’t deny I’m jealous.

Nevertheless, some interesting musings on global warming and encouraging news on Trevor’s flu, and of course another century of issues under our belt. Incredible isn’t it!

On the football front, eyes glued to the African Nations Cup to see if the Touré siblings can build on Yaya’s recent award as African Player of the Year.

MATCHVIEW: CITY 3 FULHAM 0

City turned Etihad Stadium into a Winter Wonderland as they beat Fulham 3-0. The game being played during a snow storm, from the kick off City had a point to make. They had to win this game.

Congratulations to both teams for making it a good game and warming up the supporters in attendance.

Sergio Agüero and Edin Dzeko both got goals that were of importance and add to their tally for the season. Every City player played his part in this victory.

City back with a three point lead as we await the result of the Chelsea versus United game.

The main objective of MCFC for this season is to win the Premier League and take the title away from the Rags; City are on track to do just that.

Every game that City play now until the end of the season must be played as a Cup Final, every game will be fun and with nearly every City supporter and fan with no nails left by the end of this season.

We have not seen anything like this since the late 60’s, early 70’s; great stuff!

Good news from Africa as Ivory Coast and the Touré brothers make it into the last four. Good luck and hurry back!

My thoughts are that all at the Etihad Stadium got home safe after the game as snow fell on the roads.

Come on you Blues!

ARTICLE: RECENT REFLECTIONS

City vs. Everton

I watched my recording two days after the match and, from other peoples’ comments meantime, I was getting the idea already that it was a bad result. I kept putting it off because I have had a flu virus and so has my wife. My wife’s started first about mid-January. As she got better I started with same symptoms except no sore throat. We are very much better today. We have not had runny noses, just feeling awful and coughing fits!

Anyway, got to watch Everton and, had it been the first match of the season, I would have the thought that City have much promise but of course it was not the first game of the season and, therefore, a very poor match result.

I get the impression they are trying in every game to walk the ball into the net as there are very few direct shots on goal. In this Everton game I do not think Howard had any shots to save: oh yes, one or was it two shots that beat Howard and hit the bar/post but two shots in 90 minutes I ask you!

Adam Johnson came on and I wonder after the match finished where had he been, it was difficult to realise he had been playing he was so missing in action!

A change of playing strategy is needed which is, in my humble opinion, simple: Silva and Nasri to put through balls for Dzeko to run on to and shoot first time with Agüero hovering for the rebound save from such shooting by Dzeko… result: maybe Dzeko scores, great, or Agüero scores, also great… simple!

As for Johnson/Richards/Clichy, a through ball inside the wing defence for them to take the ball forward if possible. Heading towards the penalty area goal line and a square cross to Dzeko and Agüero depending upon who gets there first and perhaps depending if it is from the right-hand side or left-hand side of goal with Barry/de Jong/Yaya Touré following up for the rebound saves (would I make a football manager – oh yes we have to have a defence too, so perhaps I keep to my day job!).

Then the opposition managers would have to rethink their own strategy as presently I think they have worked out Mancini’s operation! If no change then the season will not be successful for City either in the League or the European League they are still left in.

City vs. Fulham

Just watched this match and wondered if Mancini had read my mind as early on there were a few shots on goal, but it was short lived, just a coincidence! City played much the same as against Everton but won!

Adam Johnson got more involved at least. As for the snow I now realise why I stayed in the North Island of New Zealand and also keeping away from the middle of the island’s mountain area! However, I am still puzzled by the global warming as Europe seems to be having a very cold winter and NZ is not having warm temperatures in recent months!

AND FINALLY… CABARET NIGHT

The Cabaret Night at the Embassy Club was a fantastic success. Andy Morrison, Tommy Booth, Tony Book and James H Reeve were first class. The comedian, Frankie Allan, was on top form and everyone had a great night.

Many thanks to Bluewatch for their help and support.

The place was packed and Andy Morrison was class doing Play Your Cards Right. Tony Book and Tommy Booth are just great people and credit to them for turning out.

Local councillor Pat Carney also popped in to say hello. All in all it was a fantastic night and many thanks for all who turned up.

RESULTS AND TABLE

5 February 2012

Newcastle United      2 - 1  Aston Villa           48,569
Chelsea               3 - 3  Manchester United     41,668

4 February 2012

Arsenal               7 - 1  Blackburn Rovers      59,643
Norwich City          2 - 0  Bolton Wanderers      26,358
Queens Park Rangers   1 - 2  Wolverhampton Wndrs   17,351
Stoke City            0 - 1  Sunderland            27,717
West Bromwich Albion  1 - 2  Swansea City          24,274
Wigan Athletic        1 - 1  Everton
Manchester City       3 - 0  Fulham                46,963

League table to 05 February 2012 inclusive

                            HOME           AWAY          OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L   F   A  GD Pts
 1 Manchester City 24 12  0  0 37  6  6  3  3 26 13 18  3  3  63  19  44  57
 2 Manchester Utd  24  9  1  2 35 14  8  3  1 24 10 17  4  3  59  24  35  55
 3 Tottenham H.    23  9  2  1 24 10  6  2  3 20 15 15  4  4  44  25  19  49
 4 Chelsea         24  7  2  3 27 19  5  5  2 17 10 12  7  5  44  29  15  43
 5 Newcastle Utd   24  7  3  2 18 12  5  3  4 18 19 12  6  6  36  31   5  42
 6 Arsenal         24  8  2  2 24  9  4  2  6 22 25 12  4  8  46  34  12  40
 7 Liverpool       23  4  7  0 14  8  6  1  5 14 13 10  8  5  28  21   7  38
 8 Sunderland      24  5  4  3 19 11  4  2  6 14 13  9  6  9  33  24   9  33
 9 Norwich City    24  5  4  3 19 15  3  4  5 15 24  8  8  8  34  39  -5  32
10 Swansea City    24  5  6  1 16  7  2  3  7 10 22  7  9  8  26  29  -3  30
11 Everton         24  4  3  5 12 13  4  3  5 12 14  8  6 10  24  27  -3  30
12 Stoke City      24  4  4  4 15 14  4  2  6  8 22  8  6 10  23  36 -13  30
13 Aston Villa     24  3  4  5 14 16  3  6  3 15 17  6 10  8  29  33  -4  28
14 Fulham          24  5  4  3 22 18  1  5  6  7 17  6  9  9  29  35  -6  27
15 West Brom A.    24  2  2  8  9 16  5  3  4 15 18  7  5 12  24  34 -10  26
16 QPR             24  2  4  6 13 20  3  2  7 12 21  5  6 13  25  41 -16  21
17 Wolves          24  3  2  7 16 23  2  4  6 11 21  5  6 13  27  44 -17  21
18 Bolton Wndrs    24  2  2  8 14 25  4  0  8 14 24  6  2 16  28  49 -21  20
19 Blackburn R.    24  3  0  9 16 24  1  6  5 18 30  4  6 14  34  54 -20  18
20 Wigan Athletic  24  1  5  6 11 22  2  2  8 10 27  3  7 14  21  49 -28  16

MCIVTA FAQ [v1112.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Philip Alcock)         : 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.

Philip Alcock, editor@mcivta.city-fan.org

Editor: