Newsletter #1908

Well we have the first of the summer arrivals through the door with the arrival of the Fernandinho (hopefully no relation to Rio) and, except for formalities, the genuinely exciting talent of Jesus Navas at God’s own club.

The element of surprise is that they have arrived before the new manager is in place. Though this may be the new way of things in our new holistic world!

Congratulations to Paul Lake on his exciting move to the FA, though commiserations to Richard Dunne and Carlo Nash who both find themselves out of contract.

TA RA LAKEY – OOLA JESUS!

… and Txixi for Mancini – (I’ll get me coat).

It was ever thus that Bobby would eventually go, but the lack of elegance in which people leave the club is still quite tactless. I don’t necessarily disagree with the decision to let Bobby Manc depart but the manner is still ham-fisted and “City-esque” despite many things having changed.

One thought that struck me, which is a tad contradictory. The two top Football Directors (ex-Barcelona) at City – Begiristain (Sp) and Soriano (Sp) are pulling the strings. Clearly Mancini was not one of their signings and they therefore wanted “their man” in the chair, hence the appointment of Pellegrini. Bienvenidos á Manchester Señor Pellegrini.

Seemingly the two top boys will “direct” i.e. do the transfers, negotiate, ship out the dead wood, change the direction of the club, formulate the strategy. Evidence of this is that Jesus Navas has arrived before Pellegrini has been officially appointed. Buenos Dias Jesus (“hey zues”). This appears to be the continental style of having Directors of Football They will direct and Pellegrini will therefore coach (as opposed to manage). I have no problem with this model.

However…

Upon the dismissal of Mancini, the Club issued a statement that they wanted someone with a “holistic” approach. This caused much hilarity and mock scoffing in the media as use of such word “holistic” in football terms is forbidden. University graduates such as Hawksbee and Jacobs scoffing at the word as if they have never heard it before and pretending to not know what it means; this faux pretence to be dense is quite risible. The question is: does it help them to bond with their “white van man” demographic by mocking a word they pretend not to know?

Anyway.

The statement intimated that MCFC wanted more than just a coach, they want someone with a holistic approach (a whole approach), with responsibility beyond just the players and the team – they wanted much more, succession planning, youth development, academy plans, sponsorship etc. Contradictory!

I could use some clarification on this.

RESULTS AND TABLE

Final League table 2012 / 2013

                        P / GD / Pts
 1 Manchester Utd      38 / 43 / 89 CLQ
 2 Manchester City     38 / 32 / 78 CLQ
 3 Chelsea             38 / 36 / 75 CLQ
 4 Arsenal             38 / 35 / 73
-----------------------------------
 5 Tottenham Hotspur   38 / 20 / 72
-----------------------------------
 6 Everton             38 / 15 / 63
 7 Liverpool           38 / 28 / 61
 8 West Bromwich Alb   38 / -4 / 49
 9 Swansea City        38 / -4 / 46 ELQ
10 West Ham Utd        38 / -8 / 46
11 Norwich City        38 /-17 / 44
12 Fulham              38 /-10 / 43
13 Stoke City          38 /-11 / 42
14 Newcastle Utd       38 /-23 / 41
15 Southampton         38 /-11 / 41
16 Aston Villa         38 /-22 / 41
17 Sunderland          38 /-13 / 39
-----------------------------------
18 Wigan Athletic      38 /-26 / 36 R/ELQ
19 Reading             38 /-30 / 28 R
20 QPR                 38 /-30 / 25 R

MCIVTA FAQ [v1112.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Philip Alcock)         : 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/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: