Newsletter #1814

No Kun Agüero for tomorrow’s game it seems, so with Mario feeling the wrath of Mancini in the week and some destabilising speculation around Dzeko’s future, what’s the betting that Mr T makes a start against Sunderland? Whoever does start, we’ll be needing the points to keep the pressure on in what are now all must-win games. At least they are not accompanied by the stomach churning fear of relegation!

Enjoy the game if you are able to get there and an opportunity possibly to get tickets from Chris Ryder, see below.

TICKET AVAILABILITY: SUNDERLAND

I may have 2 tickets available for the Sunderland game. Anyone interested please contact me directly.

KING OF THE KIPPAX

We are pleased to announce, if exhausted, that King of The Kippax number 196 should hit the outlet at Aleef (corner of Cross Street and Market Street) on Friday March 23rd and the selling points around the Etihad and subsequent games home and away.

On the same day we’re delivering some ‘Us and Them’ books to Kitbag in Chadderton, so hopefully they’ll reach the City stores before the end of the season, for your exciting holiday reading!

KK 196 is a 48 page A4 issue with a front cover showing Rio Ferdinand spouting his usual drivel about City fans being glory hunters with an appropriate caption (from KK contributor Neil Shaw).

This issue contains a Costel Pantilimon interview, stuff on the media, Nedum Onuoha, Tévez, referees, Mancini, review of the ‘Watching Football is not a Crime’ and ‘Foreign ownership’ debates, Manchester the City Years – information on Gary James’ new book, Us and Them book advert, Points of Blue, tons more plus all the KK regulars.

It sells at just £2.50, and can also be purchased for £3.50 including P&P from King of the Kippax, 25, Holdenbrook Close, Leigh, Lancs, WN7 2HL.

ARTICLE: POLLOCK WONDER (OWN) GOAL

In the last MCIVTA, Phil A referenced Martyn Margetson’s blunder to gift QPR a goal. Later in the same match, whilst storming into the penalty box, Jamie Pollock deftly lofted the ball high over a Rangers player and then looped a perfect header over the ‘keeper for a wonderful goal… unfortunately it was our penalty box and our ‘keeper!

It neatly illustrated our talent for shooting ourselves in the foot but thankfully those days have long gone… haven’t they?

ARTICLE: REFEREEING

After watching referee Michael Oliver bottle his penalty call against United, it puts into real context what City are up against if they are to clinch the Championship. Oliver makes the correct call, Murphy scores from the spot and the whole championship race changes. But no, Oliver refuses to make the call and United scramble all three points.

Over the final eight games, you can bet that this scenario will be repeated. There seems to be a feeling amongst league officials that United has some divine right to dominate the championship and short of a complete capitulation by the Rags, unfortunately I am sure the fates will be on their side.

It’s admirable and correct that Gareth Barry says all we need to do is win our final eight games and we claim the championship, but really, under the above scenario, what is the reality of this happening? I do think we’ll beat United at Eastlands but it’s the games against Arsenal and Newcastle that worry me. It would be a super effort for us to win all eight but I am afraid that we will trip up against Arsenal and Newcastle, get a bad call or an unfair sending off that will cost us points. That’s not to say United might not stumble either but you just know they are going to get the calls that we don’t.

All we can hope is that, game for game, we give it a go and do our best. Do not get into a slanging match with Fergie and Co.! They are obviously worried but let them spew the hot air and keep our talking for results on the pitch. It would be helpful though if Mancini approached the final eight games with an attacking flair and try to recapture the same form that saw us destroy Tottenham and the Rags earlier this season. He has got to have faith in Dzeko and Balotelli, give Tévez a shot, use Johnson out wide and show he has an attacking Plan B when Silva and Agüero bog down in the centre of the attack.

Hey we may not win the title this year, but let’s go down fighting. If some referee wants to conspire to help United and take points off us, then let’s make that so obvious. But the refs can’t do much to influence a game when we’re winning 5-1 and 6-1.

Come on you Blues!

P.S. could Patrick Vieira please put a sock in it! His whinging isn’t helping our cause!

ARTICLE: CONTROVERSY

I feel a little self-conscious that I have not contributed for a while, despite being slightly anxious that contributions seem to be falling. It didn’t seem right to bemoan the lack of centre-half cover any more. It is blatantly obvious why our slide has occurred. The decline in contributions seems to be in inverse proportion to our success, so I expect it will grow if we do the unthinkable and miss out on everything.

I know Blues are renowned for their loyalty, stoicism and their sense of humour (and it must be said, for their tendency to make vitriolic attacks on players, managers, refs when the humour takes them). I find the lack of contributions worrying because I cherish MCIVTA and do not want to see it flag.

Perhaps some controversy might incite a response (it has been known to work in the past). I think that nice Sir Alex is the bestest man on earth and thoroughly deserves to take the title. Discuss.

RESPONSE TO MR KILROY

Good to see comments from Mr Kilroy on McV.

Over the years of writing articles in McV, I have never claimed to be perfect or to have never made a mistake, for I am just a City fan who stands by his team in every way, and I express my opinions, which will not always be what some other people think, and this is why other comments are made welcome by McV.

So this will have been Roberto Mancini’s second season with Manchester City. In his first season in the Premier League we won the FA Cup and now in the second season, we went to Old Trafford and beat the Rags 1-6 and right now are fighting for the title!

City have got the record in the Premier League for most consecutive home wins, twenty and still counting!

So Roberto Mancini is not perfect, but is any manager? Some might come close; I bet Mr. Kilroy will jump up and down for Fergie! I hope that Mancini stays with City for several more seasons to help bring stability to our club.

In Mancini I trust!

Come on you Blues!

P.S. One day referees will all be fair and United will tumble!

AND FINALLY… REDDISH BLUES

Reddish Blues have a players’ meeting this coming Wednesday night 4th April at Reddish Working Mens Club, Greg Street, Stockport and as always, everyone is welcome.

The meeting starts at 7.30pm (doors 6.30pm) and entrance is free to all Supporters’ Club members (on production of this season’s membership card); for non-member adults it’s just a £1 and under 16’s are free.

For more details / directions please contact branch secretary Howard Burr on 07731 846 194 or e-mail <reddishblues(at)btinternet.com>.

RESULTS AND TABLE

26 March 2012

Manchester United     1 - 0  Fulham                75,570

League table to 28 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  30 12  1  2 40 15 11  3  1 34 12 23  4  3  74  27  47  73
 2 Manchester City 30 15  0  0 44  7  7  4  4 28 15 22  4  4  72  22  50  70
 3 Arsenal         30 11  2  2 34 12  7  2  6 27 27 18  4  8  61  39  22  58
 4 Tottenham H.    30 10  3  2 31 14  6  4  5 22 21 16  7  7  53  35  18  55
 5 Chelsea         30  9  3  3 31 19  5  5  5 18 15 14  8  8  49  34  15  50
 6 Newcastle Utd   30  8  5  2 22 15  6  3  6 22 27 14  8  8  44  42   2  50
 7 Liverpool       30  5  8  2 19 12  6  1  8 17 19 11  9 10  36  31   5  42
 8 Sunderland      30  7  4  4 24 14  4  3  8 15 20 11  7 12  39  34   5  40
 9 Everton         30  6  3  6 15 14  5  4  6 15 18 11  7 12  30  32  -2  40
10 Swansea City    30  6  6  3 19 12  4  3  8 15 24 10  9 11  34  36  -2  39
11 Norwich City    30  6  5  4 23 19  4  4  7 18 28 10  9 11  41  47  -6  39
12 Stoke City      30  6  5  4 19 15  4  3  8 10 26 10  8 12  29  41 -12  38
13 Fulham          30  7  4  4 29 22  2  5  8  8 19  9  9 12  37  41  -4  36
14 West Brom A.    30  4  2  9 15 19  6  4  5 21 22 10  6 14  36  41  -5  36
15 Aston Villa     29  4  4  6 15 17  3  8  4 16 21  7 12 10  31  38  -7  33
16 Blackburn R.    30  5  1  9 22 27  2  6  7 21 35  7  7 16  43  62 -19  28
17 Bolton Wndrs    29  4  2  9 19 29  4  0 10 14 29  8  2 19  33  58 -25  26
18 QPR             30  3  5  7 17 24  3  2 10 16 29  6  7 17  33  53 -20  25
19 Wigan Athletic  30  1  7  7 12 25  4  3  8 15 30  5 10 15  27  55 -28  25
20 Wolves          30  3  2 10 17 35  2  5  8 14 30  5  7 18  31  65 -34  22

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: