Newsletter #1812

Well it was all set wasn’t it?

Our captain and his centre half partner out, Chelsea returning to form, the Premier League record for consecutive home wins up for grabs, Torres back to scoring form, Nasri hitting the same spot on the crossbar twice, Mario fluffing a 1-on-1, 3 fouls on a corner ending in a deflected goal in our net… the title heading to Salford.

Pack up your bags, say goodbye till next season and… and… hang on a minute…

Not a classic game but, for sure, a classic night. Immense performances from a number of players, with Sergio and Nasri the brightest.

I felt proud of the team and proud of the crowd – simply perfect to clap Tévez and chant ‘Mancini’… class.

MATCHVIEW I: CITY 2 CHELSEA 1

Wow what a match, what an amazing result, I will go into work tomorrow, with a spring in my step and a smile on my face.

City dominated for long periods and Nasri was incredibly unlucky not to score, seeing his early effort coming back off the crossbar. Balotelli who was running around a lot without really looking dangerous, then had a glorious chance to break the deadlock, after picking up a loose ball from Lampard, in the middle of the park; with no one around him, he ran towards the Chelsea goal and he really should have taken on the GK and either rounded him or lobbed him, but he surprisingly decided to shoot early, and his tame effort was tipped away by Cech.

It left me shouting at the TV, as I knew we could not waste these gilt-edged chances especially against a team like Chelsea. You can have all the possession but you need to convert that into a goal. Our defence generally looked quite comfortable, albeit with only a couple of early scares. Richards and Touré generally bossed Torres (how awful is he?), whilst Silva had an absolute stinker (could not take corners to save his life). What has happened to this guy, whom everyone was talking as potentially the Player of the Season? How he lasted so long on the pitch before being subbed is a mystery.

As luck would have it, Chelsea scored against the run of play (I thought it was a push on Barry) and a deflected shot gave them an undeserved lead. I could not believe our luck, especially as in the away game last year, we were robbed when Silva should have had a penalty to give us a 2-0 lead and then we lost Clichy to a red card before finally losing the game.

I thought yet again we were going to lose, after playing the better football, but the change of Barry for Balotelli gave us a better balance and then Tévez came on (love him or hate him, but when he is playing in a blue City shirt, I will always be right behind him, as I know that when he is on the pitch, he gives 100%). City dominated possession and Chelsea were happy to have 11 men behind the ball, just keeping us at bay. Time and again any cross into their box was headed away by Luiz, and I was shouting for Mancini to take off Silva and bring on Dzeko to give us an option in the air.

Then out of the blue Zabaleta shoots, the ball hits the raised hands of Essien and we get a penalty. How cool was Agüero, neatly slotting the ball home and bringing us level at 1-1… game on!

It was all City and you could sense we could go on and win this game. Have you ever seen Lampard defend so much?

A lovely bit of possession on the left, a pass from Nasri to Tévez, who shielded the ball and played a great pass to the on-running Nasri who collected the pass and coolly chipped it past Cech into the far corner, for a fantastic winner.

I was just counting the seconds down, as you just never know what Chelsea can do. The final whistle went with me clenching my fists and shouting yes… yes… yes.

Wow, relief and joy… we are back in the race but need to maintain this good form. I firmly believe that if we play positively and really have a go, both home and away, we can beat anyone.

I thought Zabaleta was immense at right back. Touré, Richards and Clichy were good at the back, mopping up nearly everything that came their way. Hart did not have much to do but his kicking was poor. Our midfield of Touré, Barry and de Jong were all brilliant, worked hard and kept the ball well. Silva was very, very poor (personally I would have him on the bench); on current form he does not deserve to be in the team (I cannot believe I am saying this about a player I rate so highly… but it’s true).

Balotelli, he either blows hot or cold, and today he was cold; give Dzeko a chance. Agüero and Nasri were my joint men of the match, both were a delight to watch, both scored, and I am glad they are wearing a City shirt. Agüero chases everything, and nearly scored after a great solo run.

This was Nasri’s best performance in a City shirt, and how timely, especially seeing Silva’s magic is on the wane.

Hopefully the return of Tévez the prodigal son could give City the boost they need.

Let this not be a false dawn, as we have a tricky match against Stoke away.

Come on City!

MATCHVIEW II: CITY 2 CHELSEA 1

On a chilly but perfect night for football, a script seemingly pre-written (he says in retrospect, and now that his fingers have stopped trembling enough to hit the right keys on the computer) was acted out in an atmosphere that could be cut with a knife, such was the nervousness all around.

A bright, snappy start by City could easily have given us an early goal, with Nasri in particular looking dangerous, and Yaya staying on his feet as best he could when a knackered-lift job might well have won us a penalty (when Mike Dean pointed for a goal kick I initially thought he’d given us the pen) but it was not to be, and as the first half wore on, optimism turned to low level frustration, with no lack of possession but genuine chances simply not opening up – sound familiar?

When off the ball I thought we were largely very good, pressing quickly and forcing many an errant Chelsea pass. This continued throughout the second half, with Micah, in particular, having a gem of a game defensively. I was so happy to see the way Mancini had gone with the back four.

Earlier in the day I’d had this conversation with a fellow Blue who didn’t trust Richards to slot into a position he hasn’t played for a couple of years but I maintained that he would surely still be less of a liability than Savic. Even had Zab been unavailable, I’d still have welcomed Milner or Stefan himself playing right back. As it happened, Torres was having one of his livelier showings this season, and I don’t think the Montenegrin could have handled him: not an issue for Micah, mind.

Oh, and whilst I’m mentioning Chelsea players, their other clown this season, David Luiz, was also having one of his better matches; in fact he was as solid as I’ve seen him.

So the second half started with more City possession and renewed zip but after going close a couple of times, Nasri again the main threat – he’s hit the woodwork a heck of a lot for us, eh?, Chelsea got a huge slice of luck, around the hour mark, from a seemingly innocuous corner that was not cleared (was it Yaya or Kolo who looped his header up in the air?). We could easily have been given a free kick when the ball was still up in the air and Luiz simply barged Barry out of the way. From there, Barry had another chance to clear but the ball came to the foot of Cahill who slammed it against Yaya, thus heavily deflecting it past Hart. Gutted! It seemed undeserved but somehow inevitable at that stage: the logical punishment for not making such huge slices of possession count.

Cue the man of the moment – be that for reasons good or bad – and also cue a mixed but mostly positive reaction from the crowd as Tévez replaced de Jong after 65 minutes. Ten or so minutes later a slice of luck came our way: a clear handball by Essien in the box from a Zabaleta rasper, and equally clearly it was hand-to-ball and both arms were up over his head, but at that close range they are often not given, and after our trip to the Bridge earlier in the season I wasn’t confident over penalty decisions against Chelsea. Still, this one we got and Sergio dispatched it with both aplomb and a coolness that belied the situation.

Now the crowd seemed to believe a winner was on the cards, very much in a way that wouldn’t have been the case up until this season. Five minutes left and Nasri duly obliged, hooking up with a certain Carlos something or other who you might have heard mention of at some point this season, in a gorgeous one-two and a chip just inside the far post.

Despite what I’d said about belief coming from the stands, the subsequent wild celebrations both in the crowd and on the pitch – and indeed in the strange way that Mancini seemed to be under attack from a colony of wasps – were every bit as much about relief as they were excitement. The next 9 minutes including injury time seemed to last a week (I’d have to combine going on a treadmill with simultaneously having my teeth filled to make time go slower) but, in saying that, we defended excellently, not giving up our usual nerve-shredding last-minute chance or two. We might have taken the ball into the corner a couple of times, rather than going for a third goal ourselves, mind.

Highs and lows: Yaya was his usual, excellent industrious hub and got MotM. I was amazed that it didn’t go to Samir though, he was magnificent – his best game yet in our colours and only the third time in the Premier League that he’s genuinely looked worth his fee, the other two being against Spurs). Richards, as stated above, was superb: dominant in the air, flying into tackles and giving no quarter throughout.

Mario was back to his seemingly disinterested ways, the shot he had when clean through in the first half was lame and he did little else to distinguish himself prior to being taken off at the break. Silva had another very lacklustre game: his recent form, whether through tiredness or not, is a worry. Three other players who seemed to give the ball away a little too often were Clichy, de Jong and Barry, though Nigel did plenty to keep the Chelsea midfield off their game.

Squeaky bum time? Nah, not even close (and if you believe that…).

MATCHVIEW III: CITY 2 CHELSEA 1

Roberto Mancini and his team showed huge strength of character to maintain the challenge at the top of the League with this hard-earned win over Chelsea. It was a richly deserved victory, because City dominated this game, and should have taken a lead into the break.

The game was barely a few minutes old when Zabaleta teed up Silva with a pinpoint cross but the Spaniard fired well over. Chelsea were quick to bear their teeth too: in the eighth minute Torres was given far too much room to turn and he played in Mata but he too fired well over when well placed.

City very nearly scored a minute later with an even better chance. Yaya Touré played a perfectly weighted, lofted ball into the path of Nasri, who chipped Peter Cech, only for the ball to hit the bar.

It was breathless stuff. Yaya then Balotelli set the pulses racing with exciting runs at the heart of the Chelsea defence. At the other end, Mata forced a save from Hart with an angled drive in the 23rd minute. Then Nasri tried his luck with a thirty-five yard shot that dipped just over the bar.

A rather chubby looking Tévez warmed up in front of the Colin Bell Stand/ North Stand corner with Gareth Barry and James Milner to polite applause which they acknowledged.

We were denied a penalty when Lampard pushed Yaya Touré over in the box. Yaya, honest as ever, tried to stay on his feet and probably paid for that honesty as referee Mike Dean, one of the better referees in this league, if not the best, ignored City appeals.

Chelsea fans broke out into a “Champions’ League… you’re ‘aving a larf” chant. That’s all very well, but Chelsea are the Engelbert Humperdinck of Europe right now (have you heard his Eurovision single? You have been warned. Gadzooks…). Way out of date (even for Eurovision) and there’s no good reason why they are still there.

There are plenty of lessons to be learned from Chelsea for the future and that will be dealt with in separate article.

City really should have scored when Lampard uncharacteristically gifted the ball into the path of Balotelli and he had oodles of time and space to drive through the desolate Chelsea defence, but his low, goal-bound shot was slightly too close to Cech who made a superb save to push it round the post.

As the fading (and lightly booed) Cashley Cole was being kept occupied by Silva, Pablo Zabaleta was enjoying a lot of space down the right, and he crossed again and Agüero’s overhead kick flew over the bar in the 43rd minute.

City had dominated the first half, but we wondered if we were to pay for not taking our chances. Mario Balotelli paid for his miss and possibly his moodiness, as Roberto Mancini switched the emphasis of the attack, replacing him with Gareth Barry. This freed the sublime Yaya Touré forward into his best position, just behind the striker.

Barry was quick to make a difference, winning a crunching tackle in midfield to feed Silva who advanced, before feeding Agüero who worked it to Yaya who blazed over.

Nasri was thriving in the big match atmosphere again, and his teasing cross was nearly tipped into his own goal by Cech. The great goalkeeper was rather relieved to see it hit the bar. City piled on the pressure as Chelsea defended in depth. A Silva corner resulted in another Agüero overhead kick sailing over the bar. Agüero was a joy to watch, darting here and there with his highly intelligent movement, velvet touch and solid work ethic. He is loved by the crowd who regularly chant “Sergio… Sergio…”.

Chelsea were become more and more desperate and Lampard was booked for a cynical challenge to stop another powerful Yaya Touré run. Unfortunately Yaya blazed the free kick over.

There looked like only one winner at that stage but Chelsea took the lead against the run of play and it owed more to luck than anything else. In a rare 2nd half Chelsea attack a corner was cleared on the left on side of our box to Cahill whose bouncing, volleyed shot took a wicked deflection to totally wrong foot Joe Hart and beat his flailing left hand.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. That man is Roberto Mancini. It has been difficult to stomach Carlos Tévez coming back after his appalling behaviour, but if Roberto Mancini can forgive him then that is good enough for most us.

He would be failing to do his job properly if he did not make use of the all the resources at his disposal, and yet again, he did here, and to positive effect. Tévez entered (sorry, waddled into) the arena to some cheers (not the loudest it has to be said, which is fair enough), which over-shadowed the boos (let’s say about 25% of Blues cheering, 10% boos and the rest of us neither). This was followed with a loud chant of “Mancini, woooah…” emphasising endorsement of Mancini’s handling of a difficult situation. Without wishing to be too self-congratulatory, sometimes we get it absolutely spot on. Sometimes we don’t, like when idiots bring fireworks to football matches and throw them, but that’s another point.

Tévez was straight into the action, using his strength to hold off a marker (Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down), chesting a ball across the Chelsea box for Clichy of all people to force a routine save from Cech. City had to be careful though, as Chelsea carried a threat on the break and Hart had to be alert to save Mata’s angled drive at his right hand post. That threat became greater when the largely ineffective and diving Torres was replaced by perennial bogey man Drogba.

Mancini shuffled his pack again, showing his managerial agility. On came Dzeko for Silva who sadly was not at his best for the fourth successive game. Either side of Dzeko at centre forward, Agüero dropped slight deeper into an inside right role and Tévez to inside left, but both floated round, tying the Chelsea defence in knots.

Then in the 78th minute, Zabaleta, who was having a really good game, prompted the breakthrough, when he shot from an angle in the box, which hit Essien’s raised hands. Mike Dean didn’t hesitate to point to the spot. TV replays showed that Essien was very close to Zabaleta but you cannot raise your hands so high and expect to get away with it. In any case it could not be said that he was trying to get his arms out of the way, unlike Lescott for their penalty at Stamford Bridge, so Chelsea have no grounds for complaint, and to be fair to Essien, he didn’t.

With regular, “dead-cert” penalty taker Mario Balotelli, benched, penalty taking duties fell to Sergio Agüero. The Etihad held its collective breath, but we needn’t have worried. Agüero sent Cech the wrong way, slotting in to Cech’s right, and the crowd celebrated with relief. “Sergio… Sergio…”.

City prompted and probed for the winner. Clichy, who was doing more and more down the left flank, fed Tévez who in turn played in Dzeko whose shot was saved by Cech. It was pressure, pressure, pressure, as City laid siege to the Chelsea goal.

Then in the 83rd minute came the decisive moment. From the inside left position, Nasri played a pass to Tévez on the edge of the box. With his back to goal, Tévez swivelled and played a superb return pass that Nasri skilfully chipped over Cech for an ecstatic winner. Off came Nasri’s shirt as he ran to the Kippax/North Stand Corner with his team mates in hot pursuit. It was bedlam in the Etihad!

City tried to extend the lead: the highly influential Nasri played in Tévez who forced a save from Cech. It was thrilling stuff, but there were too many thrills when Dzeko kept giving the Chelsea ball as City tried to run the clock down. The Bosnian must improve his touch and his decision making. Chelsea fashioned a chance when Drogba fired wide after the skilful Mata played him in. At the other end Agüero fired wide after an exhilarating run, but the shrill whistles of the crowd filled the air of a highly charged spring evening.

Not only was it brilliant that we won a crucial game, but this game was most pleasing in that it that it showed that we can come back from behind and win. We can take the pressure. Roberto Mancini again showed his ability to think on his feet and team mirrored his flexibility, seamlessly taking the changes in their stride.

It was our 20th home League win in a row: a feat not achieved in the top flight since Liverpool in 1972, and we join a select band of Preston and Newcastle who have managed it. From all that, I am sure you have all deduced (if you didn’t know already) that City are the first team to achieve this in the “Premier League era”, but if you are like me, you don’t believe that Football began in 1992, and may share my view that being in that select little band of clubs means more.

Even more importantly it is on to Stoke now and another “must-win” game. Come on City…

Att: 46,324

Ratings:
Hart: Alert to make a good save from Mata when required. One kick went straight into touch, but otherwise did well: 7
Zabaleta: Slotted straight in at right back after his injury to have another very good game: 7
Richards: Colossal at centre half. Authoritative, read the game well, good distribution. Showed the taller Torres who is boss after the Spaniard tried to bully him: 8
Kolo Touré: Steady Eddie alongside the captain for the night: 7
Clichy: Very good in defence and grew as an attacking force as the game progressed, with some good crosses: 7
Nasri: His influence on this game grew with every kick, and it was fiting that he scored the winning goal. With terrific performances against Arsenal, Tottenham, and now Chelsea he is showing us that he is very much a big match player. How about a 4th one on April 30th? 9
de Jong: A good, rock solid screen for our makeshift central defence: 7
Yaya Touré: demonstrated his full range of passes: short, long, lofted, driven-low, and showing us yet again that he is the complete footballer in this game. Exhilarating attacker, box-to-box midfielder with superb technique. What a player: 8
Silva: He just wasn’t able to dominate the game like he has for the vast majority of this season. Started on the right flank. Switched flanks with Nasri briefly in the first half, and came inside at times. There are rumours that he and Mancini don’t see eye to eye (hope this is not true) but it is far more likely that he is feeling the effects of a season where he has been kicked from pillar to post: 6
Balotelli: Really should have scored, but he didn’t do a lot wrong really: 6 Agüero: Played the game with relish whether it was as a centre forward or as a slightly deeper inside right. A sheer pleasure to watch, and he will get even better: 8
Subs:
Barry (for Balotelli 46): Freed Yaya Touré up. His highlight was one crunching tackle to set up an attack soon after the break: 7
Tévez (for de Jong 65): Undeniably an immediate influence on this game. Set up the goal with great poise, strength and timing: 7
Dzeko (for Silva 75): Some good flicks, but needs work on his touch and decision making: 6

Best Oppo: Juan Mata: Cleverly found space a la Silva at his best, he was Chelsea’s biggest threat.

Refwatch: Mike Dean: Had a largely decent game, but not as good as normal. As well as failing to award a penalty to City in the first half he allowed Chelsea’s central defenders to take an illegal hold on Balotelli and Agüero without punishment before the break: 7

MATCHVIEW IV: CITY 2 CHELSEA 1

Roberto Mancini had to make some serious changes in his side after Kompany and Lescott failed fitness tests.

It was good to see two familiar faces back in the City side. Zabaleta, who got injured after just twenty minutes against Bolton, returned to right back, which enabled Micah Richards to return to a central defender role, a position he has not played in for over two years.

A big majority of City supporters at the Etihad Stadium gave Carlos Tévez a very good welcome back.

The game ended in a stalemate half time, 0-0. City were very unlucky to go off with no goals for their effort, Yaya sent Nasri a brilliant through ball, with Nasri having a great effort hit the underside of the crossbar. Balotelli was given a gift when a pass from Lampard went adrift; it was a one on one with just Cech to beat, but the ‘keeper just got his fingertips to send the ball for a corner. I have seen Mario make better efforts.

The second half saw Chelsea take the lead when Cahill scored after the ball had been deflected, leaving Joe Hart with no chance. This put a lot more pressure on the team and Mancini made more changes, bringing on Tévez who made a major contribution on the night.

Agüero scored a penalty, sending the ‘keeper the wrong way. The game was again even but it lifted City, who put great pressure on the Chelsea goal. The winner came after a brilliant assist from Tévez to Nasri to get the deserved winner!

I have the opinion that this was Nasri’s best game since he joined City, and I call him the man of the match! Roberto Mancini made the right decisions in this game, and the result brought City their twentieth consecutive home win in the Premier League, which is a record!

A remark was made about me in the last McV edition starting the saying “In Mancini I trust”; that person appears to have supported City for about the same number of years as me and has seen City go through so many managers throughout the years, which was part of our downfall. It is nice to see a very good man in Roberto Mancini as the manager. It’s true he has had the funds to help make that difference, but for the best part it has improved the City team.

But I shall always say “In Mancini I trust”; who in their right mind would want to change him? Roberto Mancini is a strict manager who has a fine record before he came to MCFC, and he continues to do well under pressure of having key players missing.

The next game is another tough one at Stoke; nine to go, and every game a cup final type of game.

Come on you Blues!

REMEMBRANCE: FRANK HORROCKS

I would just like to echo the words of Ernie Barrow in MCIVTA 1811 on the news of the sad passing of Frank Horrocks.

I remember Frank as one of my earliest associations with City when I first started to travel to Maine Road as a wide eyed innocent youngster (yes I am going back) in the early 80’s.

At a time when lots of things about City were governed by friendly disorganisation, Frank stood out from the crowd. On the Saturday morning of every home game, Frank would arrive at the little Supporters’ Club Office at the northern end of the ground.

Always dressed impeccably in his suit and tie, this completely unflappable man would calmly deal with supporters’ clubs coming at him from all corners of the country and overseas. Tickets that had been ordered through the correct channels were dispensed with military precision.

Tickets that hadn’t and/or last minute requests and changes were still somehow accommodated but with that knowing raise of those eyebrows that let you know that you hadn’t quite lived up to the standards Frank expected of himself or of others. I was aware that his health had deteriorated in recent years but his death marks the loss of one of the great unheralded servants of our Club.

Rest in Peace Frank – to me, and I’m sure to several supporters’ club members from those years, you will always be a true City legend.

REMEMBRANCE: FRANK HORROCKS

I would like to pay tribute to Frank Horrocks.

My husband and I knew Frank in the mid ’60s when we were in the Supporters’ Club and were sorry to read that he had died. I know that he had been ill for some time. They were great times to be City fans and we went to most of the away games in those days with Frank when our branch (Burnage) wasn’t organising our own.

Frank was a very hard worker in the supporters’ club during the time that Mrs Whelan was secretary and then when he took over the post. He was the obvious person in that job as he lived and breathed City and spent most of his spare time being busy helping to organise events etc. In those days there were a lot of successful branches and we had a lot of sports and social events.

I would like to send our condolences to Frank’s family.

DID YOU KNOW…

Stephen Ireland is so unpopular in his native Cork for refusing to play for the national team that they now call him “Stephen England”.

UPDATE: POINTS OF BLUE

We are having the extra session with Premier League Match Officials’ head Mike Riley on 12 April (with the DVD of what should be red cards) – but will not be watching the DVD at next week’s Points of Blue (6.30 pm on Tuesday 27 March at the Commonwealth Suite).

AND FINALLY… STATS DON’T LIE…

…unless you are the Chancellor of the Exchequer. A little bit of politics in budget week!

A certain stat though is emerging around our still fledgling international ‘keeper.

Embarrassingly, your editor is somewhat of a statto (as my 42MB database on the club will testify! Every game, every line up, every goal and full career records… I’ve got the lot!).

I spotted something about young Joe Hart and his goals against to games played ratio. Namely, it’s less than 1. This is very… and I mean very, rare.

So rare that it’s unique in the club’s history for ‘keepers who have played over 100 games. As things stand, after the Chelsea game, the “‘Keepers’ Table” is as follows:

Joe Hart played 162, conceded 160 (Ratio 0.99)
Nicky Weaver 208/232 (1.12)
Tony Coton 195/221 (1.13)
Jack Hillman 126/145 (1.15)
David James 100/116 (1.16)
Joe Corrigan 605/709 (1.17)
Alex Williams MBE 125/155 (1.24)
Jim Goodchild 349/456 (1.31)
Andy Dibble 141/196 (1.39)
Harry Dowd 222/315 (1.42)
Jim Mitchell 108/154 (1.43)
Walter Smith 264/382 (1.45)
Len Langford 125/186 (1.49)
Charlie Williams 235/355 (1.51)
Frank Swift 513/777 (1.51)
Bert Trautmann 549/1,017 (1.85)

Obviously inter-generational comparisons don’t work due to the differing rules, technologies and styles of play. However, it is insightful to compare Joe to recent peers.

Nicky Weaver had a simply massive effect on the team when he emerged in 1998 but his record was largely outside the top-flight. We had Coton at the very top of his game and how he never played for England is still shocking. David James was the established England number one and, again, at the peak of his powers in a top-half Premiership team.

The real benchmark for me is Big Joe Corrigan. Longevity, a career completely in the top-flight and the heartbeat of the team. If Joe can match Big Joe’s record, then we have seen another of the genuinely great ‘keepers at the club.

RESULTS AND TABLE

21 March 2012

Manchester City       2 - 1  Chelsea               46,324
Tottenham Hotspur     1 - 1  Stoke City            35,172
Everton               0 - 1  Arsenal
Queens Park Rangers   3 - 2  Liverpool             18,033

20 March 2012

Blackburn Rovers      2 - 0  Sunderland            20,056

League table to 21 March 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 Utd  29 11  1  2 39 15 11  3  1 34 12 22  4  3  73  27  46  70
 2 Manchester City 29 15  0  0 44  7  7  3  4 27 14 22  3  4  71  21  50  69
 3 Arsenal         29 10  2  2 31 12  7  2  6 27 27 17  4  8  58  39  19  55
 4 Tottenham H.    29 10  3  2 31 14  6  3  5 22 21 16  6  7  53  35  18  54
 5 Chelsea         29  9  2  3 31 19  5  5  5 18 15 14  7  8  49  34  15  49
 6 Newcastle Utd   29  8  5  2 22 15  5  3  6 19 26 13  8  8  41  41   0  47
 7 Liverpool       29  5  8  1 18 10  6  1  8 17 19 11  9  9  35  29   6  42
 8 Swansea City    29  6  6  2 19 10  4  3  8 15 24 10  9 10  34  34   0  39
 9 Sunderland      29  6  4  4 21 13  4  3  8 15 20 10  7 12  36  33   3  37
10 Everton         29  6  3  6 15 14  4  4  6 13 18 10  7 12  28  32  -4  37
11 Stoke City      29  6  4  4 18 14  4  3  8 10 26 10  7 12  28  40 -12  37
12 Fulham          29  7  4  4 29 22  2  5  7  8 18  9  9 11  37  40  -3  36
13 West Brom A.    29  4  2  8 14 16  6  4  5 21 22 10  6 13  35  38  -3  36
14 Norwich City    29  5  5  4 21 18  4  4  7 18 28  9  9 11  39  46  -7  36
15 Aston Villa     28  4  4  6 15 17  3  8  3 16 18  7 12  9  31  35  -4  33
16 Blackburn R.    29  5  1  9 22 27  2  6  6 20 33  7  7 15  42  60 -18  28
17 QPR             29  3  5  7 17 24  3  2  9 15 26  6  7 16  32  50 -18  25
18 Bolton Wndrs    28  3  2  9 17 28  4  0 10 14 29  7  2 19  31  57 -26  23
19 Wigan Athletic  29  1  7  7 12 25  3  3  8 13 29  4 10 15  25  54 -29  22
20 Wolves          29  3  2 10 17 35  2  5  7 13 28  5  7 17  30  63 -33  22

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[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: