Newsletter #1937

Well tonight finds us with just a whiff of a chance of returning to the top of the table. Only a whiff mind, as Wednesday brings us the always tough assignment of taking points from a traditional bogey team of ours, Tottenham.

This comes after a plucky come back against a lively Watford side, which saw Sergio return to full form. He is such a special player.

Other news sees the City name popping up in Australia, Guidetti on his way to Stoke and, oh yes, nearly forgot… how silly of me… United… Capital One Cup… oh my word, did you see it?!

MELBOURNE HEART

What a dilemma it is when your favourite club buys a rival local football club. As is the situation I find myself in with the Blues’ recent AUD$11 million purchase of Melbourne Heart. That being said, and despite being a member of Adelaide United (terrible name) I will have a soft spot for Heart (pun intended); they are a beleaguered club who will benefit greatly from the expertise and sponsorship that City management will bring. I have also heard that my beloved City are heading to Australia for a tour in May ’14 and will be playing a game at Etihad Stadium, Melbourne. If there are any other supporters, local or international, out there who will be going, it would be great to catch up as a group and head down to the Docklands to watch the game.

LAUGHING IN ADVERSITY

I happened to be in Leigh on Wednesday night and saw Sunderland’s triumph at the Swamp in the Bowling Green, with my youngest. I was wearing a jacket, boasting the badge of the mighty Blues and was surrounded by R*ds.

I found it surreal and uplifting how good-humoured they all were. The aggressive arrogance of the past 30 years was totally replaced with cheerful good grace. It was incredible!

Never seen Reds behave decently before. They seemed quite human.

Perhaps humility is an unexpected bi-product of Moyes’ reign. I can only say, well done lads. Long may it last!

PELLEGRINI ON TRACK

Manuel Pellegrini has reached the Capital One Cup Final with a blistering 9-0 win over West Ham after playing the two legs, home and away.

Since taking over at City, Pellegrini and his friend Ruben have gradually made Manchester City into a fast, attacking team. I just love this style of football; brilliant!

When Pellegrini first came to City, he looked at his squad, was given £90 million to spend, brought in Negredo, Navas, Fernandinho, Jovetic and Demichelis; what a great contribution to the team these players have made, with the exception of Jovetic who has been injured.

All the players in the squad have worked together, and from the Academy a young Lopes appears with some brilliant football, a star of the future without doubt.

I love Pellegrini’s positive approach to his future games, taking them one at a game, resting a player here and there to keep a balanced team, and still going all out for the four trophies, and who can say he will not do it?

We have some very important games to play; keep winning in the Premier League. Including Chelsea at home and the Gooners away, then no one can stop City!

The F.A. Cup next round at home to Watford keeps us in that competition.

February 18th, the big one versus Barça, first leg at home. Right now, the way City are playing, with fast, powerful, attacking football, City have a very good chance.

As City fans we all have to be very happy with our progress.

In Pellegrini I trust!

Come on you Blues!

BANG ON PAR

Four goals per home match, so we were bang on par again, eh? It really is fantasy stuff to behold right now, isn’t it?

Yet, until we can tighten up our defence, I’ll not be confident we can go the whole way. I have visions of the season that Newcastle’s overly swashbuckling approach finally ran dry – although a multitude of dodgy reffing decisions colluded in that eventuality.

I’m struggling to see how Demichelis manages to start so many matches for us. I know that much was made about his part in the first Cardiff goal (and to be fair, Kompany hardly covered himself in glory either) but he was also caught utterly flat-footed on the second.

It probably says something about Clichy this campaign, that Kolarov – having his best season for us, yet often a defender only by title – should be edging him out.

I will say one thing, mind: if Navas continues celebrating his goals like that, then I hope he continues to achieve both the necessary height and also horizontal propulsion otherwise he’ll be sucking his thumb with a greatly increased vigour.

BARÇA TICKETS

Looking for one ticket to City vs. Barcelona, any ideas? Tried Viagogo, no joy.

AND FINALLY… MCFC RARE FILM SHOW

In March I’ll be hosting 90 minutes of MCFC footage from the collection of the North West Film Archive at the Cornerhouse. It contains many rare and unseen items. The evening will include an interview with Joe Mercer on the day he resigned as boss (only shown since that day in my film shows!); the sight and sounds from the Kippax Stand on its last day in 1994; Maine Road in the 1920s; colour film of the ground in the 1930s; interviews with Book, Allison, Bond and Swales; fans at the ’76 homecoming; fans queueing for tickets in 1981; film of the recording of “The Boys In Blue” and much more.

The footage shown comes from a great archive and is not footage widely available on DVD, the Internet or even at MCFC on match day. Rather than focus on cup final goals and memorable highlights, we’re showing material that is not known or hasn’t been seen for years. The only concession is that we’ll be showing highlights of the 1956 final as they were shown in cinemas at the time on the big cinema screen. The impact of the collisions that day stunned the audience when we played this for the first time last year.

Headline details are:

The Boys in Blue: Manchester City FC on Film

Gary James, author and Manchester football historian, curates an evening of films about the history of Manchester City FC selected from footage preserved at the North West Film Archive, Manchester Metropolitan University. From the legendary Billy Meredith through to Maine Road’s final match, amazing archive material will be brought to life by Gary’s unrivalled knowledge of City’s history. Rare interviews with chairmen, managers and players combine with the sounds of the Kippax for what promises to be a great show.

Tickets are available now from: http://www.cornerhouse.org/film/film-events/the-boys-in-blue-manchester-city-fc-on-film-3

MCIVTA FAQ [v1112.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Philip Alcock)         : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org
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Subscriptions (Madeleine Hawkins): subscriptions@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: