Newsletter #1887

Bob Dylan, our Spanish correspondent, fair play analysis, ticket price shocker… and… I reckon this is genuinely unique… a request where to watch the Blues in Marathon!

Where in the heck do you get this kind of variety for free?!

I’ve known nothing like it since paying a penny for entry to the Ritz on Whitworth Street on a Monday night in the ’80s (anyone else used to go there?!) – they even threw in a complimentary bottle of lager!

However, not every bunny in the hutch is happy it appears! Despite Steve O’s lovely article in this issue, I received correspondence from a disgruntled reader who felt I’d been editing a gloss over our current ailments.

Sadly the only gloss I can claim is one of altering formats, grammar, punctuation and spelling to give us a more consistent read. Can I assure you all, I print what is sent – good, bad or indifferent. The only thing I really alter is bad language. Not because I’m a sensitive soul, but because corporate firewalls reject such things.

Do let me know though if you have any suggestions for improvements, bright ideas and the like. We really do take note.

SORIANO-GATE

If you are not aware, there is some very nasty stuff going on in Barcelona and it concerns Ferran Soriano.

It all stems from the bad blood emanating from the take-over at Barça back in 2003, when Joan Laporta gained the Presidency, the dumping of his then VP, Sandro Rossel, and loads of intrigue up to and including the next Presidental election.

Sandro Rossel, the current President, and his backers feel great animosity towards Laporta and his then right-hand man, Ferran.

There will be repercussions for Ferran as he’s left himself exposed and they are now calling it Soriano-Gate.

Should you want to get the exact details, you can go to http://www.mundodeportivo.es/ and utilise their built-in translation feature.

The journalists who have covered the story these last few days are Joan Josep Pallas, Lluis Foix and two editorials from Monday and Sunday last.

Hope this is of help to you.

SPOT ON

Phil Banerjee is spot on with his “Greed Fair” article.

I agree with every word.

The Premier League was only created to make more money for the bigger clubs and forget everybody else.

There is a lot of hypocrisy from those same clubs who just want to maintain their financial edge.

Separately, may I voice my support for Roberto Mancini. He has done a fantastic job for City and it will be a sad day when he ceases to be our manager.

Forza Mancini.

SURPRISINGLY ENJOYABLE

Well, despite myself and my misgivings, I actually had a thoroughly enjoyable read when this last issue came through.

Many of my stomach-gnawing thoughts over the last week were so perfectly encapsulated within. Last May we had a certain magnificent instalment known as “The Champions’ Edition”, so maybe this should have been labelled “The Cathartic Edition”.

I am guessing that a few of the contributors felt better afterwards for getting it off their chests. (ED – not everyone it seems!)

I couldn’t bring myself to share my myriad of negative opinions at the time but how exactly did I feel whilst watching the match last Saturday evening?

Well, to quote one of my very favourite Bob Dylan songs:

“Look ooouuut, the Saints are coming through,
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue.”

WHERE TO WATCH IN MARATHON?

My brother and I will be in Marathon, Florida on Saturday March 9 for the Barnsley tie… any suggestions as to where we might be able to watch it?

AND FINALLY… TICKET PRICES

I’m a Blue, exiled to the North of Scotland, and I get down to about 6 games a season – after holding a season ticket from 1997-2008, attending the record low-crowd of 3,004 against Mansfield, the Play-Off Final and hardly missing a game in 10 years, following City absolutely everywhere and anywhere when they were at their very worst.

I am down in South Manchester over Easter and have just gone to book tickets for the Newcastle game for myself and my 7 year old, who I usually take with me these days.

The price is £51 for me and £28 for him. Looking into this, the club now seems to have a policy of increasing the rates when the tickets are in short supply and down to the last dozen or so ‘blocks’. They were £43 and £16 last week, which to be quite frank was bad enough.

It deeply saddens me to say this but as a point of principle I will be taking him to watch Macclesfield Town versus Stockport County, which will be £12 for me and £3 for him, pay on the door.

Believe me, the money is not an issue for me, but how can the club justify charging those kind of hastily increased prices when they pay the players such a ludicrous amount. They could try fining Tévez a week’s wages for missing the Southampton game; that would save them £180,000 and they wouldn’t have to jack up the ticket prices like loan sharks.

My support for Manchester City will never waver but this has left me seething.

RESULTS AND TABLE

17 February 2013

Liverpool             5 - 0  Swansea City          44,832

League table as at 21 February 2013

                    P  GD Pts
 1 Manchester Utd  26  31  65
 2 Manchester City 26  24  53
 3 Chelsea         26  27  49
 4 Tottenham H.    26  14  48
-----------------------------
 5 Arsenal         26  21  44
-----------------------------
 6 Everton         26   8  42
 7 Liverpool       27  15  39
 8 Swansea City    27   4  37
 9 West Brom A.    26   1  37
10 Stoke City      26  -5  33
11 West Ham Utd    26  -9  30
12 Fulham          26  -6  29
13 Sunderland      26  -6  29
14 Norwich City    26 -15  29
15 Southampton     26  -9  27
16 Newcastle Utd   26 -12  27
17 Aston Villa     26 -25  24
-----------------------------
18 Reading         26 -15  23
19 Wigan Athletic  26 -21  21
20 QPR             26 -22  17

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: