Newsletter #1934

You couldn’t make it up could you?!

Absolutely battered at home, B team selected, 0-2 down and unable to get out of our own penalty area, already one player off injured… we should have known then that we were bound to win!

To everyone connected with the club, what a special night and perhaps… only perhaps… might prove pivotal in our season.

Although pivots work two ways of course and we may be left ruing our Alan Ball-esque error in not being aware we only needed one more goal to win the group.

It leaves us facing a very tough game in the next round but let’s face it, no easy games in Europe!

Speaking of hackneyed clichés, we are up again young Wenger today. Our biggest game of the season… so far!

BAYERN VICTORY

Some thoughts on the Bayern victory. First, the media here have suddenly discovered James Milner. They are raving about him. On the TVE “Estadio/Estadia” programme late last night, in their Champions’ League in-depth study, they voted him the star of the week’s games. The newspapers all the same.

The downside to this is that if City don’t give him more game time, there will be offers in abundance next summer for his services. He’s coming to the peak period of his career, so hopefully City can keep him happy and get the proceeds of those years.

Zaba was amazing. Ribery had enjoyed himself in the first 15 minutes, up against Micah. Zaba came on and had the world’s top player of 2013 in his pocket for the remaining 75 minutes. Lescott and Demichelis immediately started to play at another level as soon as Zaba got to grips with Ribery.

It then went right through the team (even Javi Garcia never put a foot wrong, Dzeko was like he was against Newcastle and Silva/Navas were a joy) and the rest is now history. What a great performance. I was in Vienna in 1970, but I think the Bayern victory was our “Finest Hour” so far in Europe.

Nobody wants City in the next round. Even the Barça and Madrid fans. Now, just stop and feast on that fact, because it means we have really reached the Big Time.

Hope the extra days rest/less travelling/home advantage gives us the edge over Arsenal on Saturday. One-nil will do for me.

Last thoughts. The match report and later further analysis/articles this week in MEN, about the Bayern game and aftermath, have risen to the occasion, putting Jamie Carragher et al in their place, amongst other things. Superb journalism.

CONSISTENCY

I think it’s fair to say that a fair amount of my frustration, so far this season, has come from the infuriating lack of consistency between home and away performances, so as if I wasn’t emotionally confused enough by this then the result by our ‘B’ squad against Bayern away – a team who were recently tearing all other teams apart, and appeared to be on track to do the same to us in the first twenty minutes or so – has left me completely perplexed! To cap it all, none of our players or manager it seems knows the rules for qualification or how to count!

Are we ‘Typical City’ once again?

In my last message I mentioned the similarities between our current results / performances and those under KK. There is one big difference though, and that is in the quality of the squad, which is why the inconsistency is so frustrating, as we can all see how brilliantly our team can play when ‘on blob’. Is it just a case of getting used to the new manager’s ideas (I know footballers aren’t generally bright, so there may be something in that)?

How can the same ‘B’ team that performed so well against Bayern struggle against Sunderland and in patches in other away games? Is there a Plan B developing at last (we played one up front as we did against Chelsea away, where we would have got a result had it not been for Joe’s blunder at the end)?

At least we know now that if we can get consistency across the squad to go with ability then we should fear no-one – I just hope that this consistency kicks in soon because I’m liable to end up in a straitjacket before the end of the season!

A good result against the Gooners followed by a win away at Fulham would certainly help!

IN-FORM NASRI

Interesting point from Keith Sharp. There is no doubt that Nasri is playing better than he has before.

Is it coincidence that this has happened during David Silva’s absence, or is it that he has accepted his responsibility and stepped up to the plate? Does MP deserve credit for getting the best out of him? Does he feel overshadowed when Silva is playing? Or, more worryingly, do we face an England-like ‘can’t play Gerrard and Lampard together’ dilemma?

I don’t know, but we should find out when Silva returns to the team, which hopefully will be soon.

I throw another one into the ring: can we get the best out of Navas when Zaba is playing? Before I get bricks thrown through my window, let me qualify that statement. I absolutely adore Zaba as a player. He has, in my opinion, everything you would want from a modern full back, and a little bit more, because he’s actually also a very good defender. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also Blue through and through. He would be one of the first names on my team sheet.

My point is that he is so good at going forward he is usually overlapping into the space Navas would like to attack, therefore closing that avenue off, forcing Navas inside, and to all intents ineffectual. Maybe another scenario of can’t play them together.

Right. Going to watch Brian Munich Reserves vs. City Reserves now (I refuse to believe we’ll risk anybody with Arsenal on Saturday).

MCIVTA FAQ [v1112.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

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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/.

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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: