Newsletter #247

The rumour mill is grinding again; firstly we are being linked with both Paul Kitson (NUFC) and with Steve McMahon (Swindon). Another rumour surrounds Coppell’s resignation – this is far too libellous to print but we’ll know if it’s true in 2 weeks or so! Let us just say that it all adds to the curiosity shop that is MCFC!

I can’t make the home game tomorrow due to work commitments, so I’ll be dependent on match reports sent to me.

This one reaches 1,156.

MATCH REPORT ‘LIVE’

PORTSMOUTH vs. MANCHESTER CITY, Saturday 16th November 1996

For those of you who were there on Saturday, you will know how difficult this report is to write. The doom and gloom continue. The only bright spot during the whole embarassing spectacle of Division One Football was that it didn’t rain. You can tell I’m clutching at straws! As for the match, I thought I’d paid a tenner to watch a game of football – wrong. It was a Sunday morning car boot sale – lots of people turn up, not much on offer, so you go home again.

Portsmouth fielded an ex-MCFC player in the shape of Fitzroy Simpson – if we offered him enough money, would he come back, along with every other player we’ve got rid of and who now play well for their current clubs? Anyway, on to the game. City played badly, scored a bad goal, Rösler fell down a lot, Summerbee just looked crap, Symons did a bit, Brightwell did even less, McGoldrick I didn’t see, Wassall was poor, Rodger scored the goal which even I could have scored, Margetson had been taking lessons from Dibble in the art of non-moving goalkeeping. Whitley and Kave came on for a bit and did a bit of running. Dickov was OK (well, he’s my favourite player, which is saying something, as he’s only just joined the club!).

Meanwhile Portsmouth scored two good goals and hung on to the lead despite their captain being sent off (something I missed – There was so much coming and going in the last 20 minutes). Although with hindsight, it did explain why Gio started to play. The Pompey captain had been marking him like a hawk. The twenty minutes of injury time could have been the saving grace for City, if only we’d scored.

I did find it more interesting watching our subs warm up, as I was right behind them and got a good view of Whitley’s bum!

Only fourth from bottom now – not bad. Two games in hand – play off position all to play for. Realistically, on this form and the form at Reading and Swindon, it’s minor league oblivion for us now. I refuse to give up though – one day, my prince will come and haul MCFC out of the mire of despair!

Funny moment – a few lads were singing ‘we’re s**t and we know we are, we’re s**t and we know we are’ etc. A copper came over and asked them to stop. So they sang again, inserting the word “poo” where “s**t” had been. A few minutes later the same copper came over again and said ‘you are s**t, aren’t you!”

FHL was outside the ground asking old ladies carrying heavy bags of shopping, if they could manage. Old ladies said no, so FHL says, ‘oh well, I’ll try to find someone who can.”

I can’t get to a game now until Birmingham on New Year’s Day. Maybe that’s a good thing, as I’m beginning to think that I’m the reason that City are playing so badly. Every time I’ve gone to a game this season, they’ve lost!

Final score: Portsmouth 2 City 1

MATCH REPORT ‘LIVE’

PORTSMOUTH vs. MANCHESTER CITY, Saturday 16th November 1996

This is becoming a depressingly familiar story. We go to another struggling first division club, attract a crowd nearly double their average (12,841 this time compared with an average of around 7,000) and lose to them. To rub salt into the wound, our opponents’ star player was a City cast-off, Fitzroy Simpson.

At least we didn’t get wet this time. The rather cramped seats were uncovered but the weather was bright and sunny, albeit cold. Gio looked cheerful as he got off the coach, no sign that he was “not at all happy” to be there as his Swiss agent had reported.

Phil Neal made a few changes to the side that capitulated to Oxford on Wednesday, sensibly replacing Dibble with Margetson, playing a flat back four of McGoldrick, Wassall, Symons (who was warmly welcomed back to Fratton Park by the locals) and Brightwell, recalling Lomas to the midfield after his suspension and playing just R