Newsletter #505

This issue is inevitably dominated by a single subject, the dramatic events of Sunday afternoon. That match simply has to be the most memorable I’ve experienced as a City fan, and will most probably never be bettered as long as I live. I was driving along today (Monday) and it still seems vaguely surreal, how could any team – let alone City – recover from 2-0 down with only seconds of normal time remaining to play? My memories are diverse: the disgrace of a national stadium they laughingly call the ‘Venue of Heroes’; disbelief and relief when the Gills failed to score from a Weaver miskick; disbelief that their ‘keeper saved a certain Dickov goal without being aware of it; coming to terms with 2nd Division football next season (with 5 minutes to go); wondering whether I should throw the programme away that I tried valiantly to preserve in something approaching decent condition throughout the match (with 5 minutes to go); the sheer ecstasy of the equaliser; the emotion of Weaver’s last save and the victory it bestowed; the guy in the row in front who hugged me like his own mother, and the guy and his girlfriend/wife behind me with tears in their eyes (I was in Block 231, Row 9, Seat 211, in case it was you)!

Many of you will have been there or seen it live; however, as today is a Bank Holiday in the UK, I imagine that a good many of you will not have had access to your email (work/college). Please don’t let this stop you sharing your memories of the day with everyone in the next issue!

MATCH REPORT – ‘LIVE’

MANCHESTER CITY vs. GILLINGHAM, Division 2 Play-Off Final, Sunday 30th May 1999

Unbelievable. Never have Man City produced such an amazing comeback as this in all the years I’ve been following them. To do it in such an important game as this is pure fantasy. After all the recent years of misery that have been heaped on us City fans, this Sunday’s amazing performance has finally rewarded our blind loyalty.

Unfortunately, with the unfair ticketing policy that City adopted, many loyal yet long-distance supporters were denied the opportunity of witnessing first hand this historic match. My wife and I have been to nearly half the matches this season, travelling from our home on the south coast. Yet, because we are not season ticket holders we couldn’t get tickets through City. I guess what annoyed me most about the whole situation was the attitude of the woman in the ticket office, who I finally managed to speak to after phoning for a day and a half. When I argued my case, she just told me that the distance I travelled and money I’ve spent was irrelevant and that I should have bought a season ticket. Nice to be told that after spending the majority of your weekends travelling to City games, and feeling devastated when they lose yet again that your support is irrelevant. When I argued that the main problem was City’s decision to sell 2 tickets to season ticket holders she said the decision wasn’t hers. So, happy to insult the fans and quick to pass the buck when losing the argument. Nice lady.

The advice given on City’s website advising supporters to keep their stubs for future matches, should be amended such that ‘Supporters are advised to make best mates of Season Ticket Holders as well’.

My bitterness and feelings of being hard done by receded after reading the last MCIVTA. Hearing about even worse hard luck stories than mine, I consoled myself that at least it wouldn’t be too far to go to Wembley to try and get a ticket on the day. Arriving at Wembley at about 10am, I figured that they’d be loads of fans flogging tickets. At least going in the Gillingham end would be better than missing the match. But after walking round for an hour and half, I found not even a sniff of people selling. There were ever increasing numbers of City fans looking around too. All the Gillingham fans seemed to have distributed their allocation amongst themselves, with more grannies than in your local bingo hall. Eventually though I got my ticket, and in the City end as well. Within an hour, I was inside Wembley Stadium. I rushed to my seat and just sat there in an almost empty stadium, just so relieved that I was finally there.

Two hours later the fun and games began. What an entrance, fireworks, thousands of balloons, a deafening beat of thumping music, and the teams emerged. After the City players had the ‘honour’ of being introduced to the Divisional Director of the Nationwide Building Society, everyone sang the the National Anthem most enthusiastically.

Finally, the players were released for their final knock-up and lined up in the following formation.

                      Weaver
             Crooks  Wiekens  Morrison
    Cooke  Brown  Whitley (Jeff)  Horlock  Edghill
                  Dickov  Goater

With Whitley man-marking the Gillingham captain Hessanthaler, Horlock adopted a more central position than usual, with Edghill covering the left flank.

Straight from the kick off, City launched an attack when a long ball from Crooks was nodded on by Horlock. Dickov flicked the ball over his shoulder to Goater, but the ball was intercepted by the Gillingham defender using his arms. A blatant handball, but the ref bottled out from giving a penalty in the first minute.

After a couple of minutes Gillingham had a free kick on the edge of the box, which swerved wide of Weaver’s right hand post. On seven minutes, Crooks slipped, leaving the Gillingham full back with acres of space down the left. Luckily, nothing came of the attack, but it was worrying to see the City players, Crooks in particular, constantly slipping over. Did they not check the wet surface when they walked on the pitch a couple of hours earlier?

The action was end to end in the first 10 minutes. Whitley tried a long range shot that went just over, and on nine minutes, Hessenthaler had Gillingham’s best chance of the half when he turned Crooks in the box and forced an excellent save from Weaver. After a quarter of an hour a good passing move between Goater, Dickov and Horlock saw the ball finally reach Crooks, who tried an ambitious shot from 35 yards, which went through a whole ruck of players, missing the post by about a foot. A couple of minutes later the ball broke free to Whitley from a corner, who volleyed from a good 40 yards, only to see his shot fly 4 or 5 feet over. It was now all City and a cross from Dickov just evaded Horlock rushing in at the far post.

After 26 minutes, City had their best chance of the half. A great challenge from Cooke robbed the Gillingham full back. The ball broke free to Dickov, who quickly played the ball back to Cooke. His first time cross landed straight on the head of Horlock, whose powerful header from only five yards out was too close to the ‘keeper, who pushed the ball away for a corner. Much of City’s forward play was being channelled through Cooke, and on 32 minutes he ran inside from the wing and shot left footed from outside the area ending up just past the post.

After 37 minutes Gillingham broke and Hessenthaler played the ball to Asaba who headed in. From our end, it was clear to see that it was offside, but for a few seconds the Gillingham supporters went barmy. City immediately responded when Brown played a great ball across the penalty area to Edghill rushing in at the far post, and his diving header went just wide.

With both teams attacking their own sets of suporters in the second half the excitement increased. A couple of long throw-ins from Michael Brown followed by a couple of corners saw City putting on the pressure, without actually creating any chances. City were playing the ball around with good first time passes, and were now looking the better side.

On the hour, City made a double substitution with Vaughan replacing the struggling Morrison and Bishop taking over from the slightly out of touch Brown. Although, he’d worked hard, his distribution wasn’t up to his usual high standard. He did look dejected though to be taken off. With Morrison gone from City’s defence, suddenly they looked very shaky. After 65 minutes a cross from the right found a Gillingham player free in the box, and he should really have done better than his off-target header. On 70 minutes Asaba broke free in the box, but Bishop made a great late challenge to clear. Immediately after Gillingham shot from the edge of the box and Weaver almost let the ball squirm under his body before diving on it at the second attempt.

On 75 minutes Goater had City’s best chance, Dickov released Cooke on the right. His first time cross found Goater at the far post. His first time shot from an acute angle just failed to squeeze into the narrow gap between ‘keeper and post and hit the post. Straight after Weaver made a bad clearance and the resulting long shot from the Gillingham player went just wide. It was really end to end stuff, and Dickov played the ball across the penalty area, just too far forward of the incoming players. Straight after, a brilliant left footed shot from Cooke on the edge of the area brought a great save from their keeper.

On 81 minutes Gillingham took the lead. Smith played the ball through the legs of Wiekens to the on-rushing Asaba who toe poked the ball past Weaver. Aaagh.

Straight after Gillingham nearly made it two, when Weaver made a great save to turn Taylor’s shot onto the post, and on 83 minutes, Bishop fired the ball into the crowded penalty area and Dickov saw his first time side-footed shot saved by their ‘keeper.

On 86 minutes Gareth Taylor came on for Crooks, and immediately after Asaba put Taylor through and he fired his shot past Weaver to make it 2-0. Aaagh.

Loads of City fans around me started leaving. The bloke in front turned to his wife and kids and said ‘That’s it, City aren’t going to come back from that. Were off.’ Oh what a bad call!

With 15 seconds of normal time left Horlock scored what we all thought was just a consolation goal. Goater was through on goal, and a late challenge from a Gillingham defender saw the ball break free to Horlock on the edge of the box and he fired in low through the crowd of players. A muted Yes. The fourth official put up the amount of injury time to be played, but he didn’t turn round to my corner, so I had no idea how long was left.

After 3 minutes of injury time, I made my move back up the rows, so that I could make a quick exit. After all, City fairytales just don’t happen do they? But then after 4 minutes the unbelievable happened, Wiekens played a long ball towards Taylor. He flicked it on towards Goater, and the ball broke free to Dickov. He showed a great touch by controlling the ball and placing it into a shooting position in one touch, and then fired it high and past the ‘keeper. Yesssss. What a goal. The City players went barmy, the fans went barmy and I went barmy. Never have I experienced such a feeling of elation. Thanks to the City fan who returned my camera and match programme that fell out while I went mad. Never have I seen City come back in such a fashion, let alone such an important game as this. Unbelievable.

With the game now in extra-time, all the noise was coming from the City end, The Gillingham fans were understandably stunned into silence. Those City fans who had left before the goals returned. The dad who took his family out earlier returned and looked gutted. His wife was complaining that she didn’t want to go anyway! After the excitement of the last 10 minutes of normal time, it was understandable that the tempo slowed for the first half of extra-time. Two minutes into the second period Cooke played a good ball into Goater who was just thwarted by a last-gasp challenge from the Gillingham defender, and a couple of minutes later a long drive from Whitley was just headed over by Vaughan.

On 20 minutes a sloppy pass from Vaughan put Weaver in trouble and he was just able to push the ball away from the first Gillingham forward, and then kicked clear from the second. A minute later Horlock broke free on the left and his cross to Dickov ended up in the ‘keeper’s arms. On 24 minutes Dickov fired just over and with 2 minutes left Taylor headed into the box, but it was cleared just before Goater could get to it. With City putting on the pressure the ref blew, and City’s fate was to be decided by penalties.

I had a feeling that the choice of ends was crucial to the outcome, and thankfully City’s end was chosen. Horlock scored first for City, and with a deafening noise of whistles, Weaver saved with his feet from Paul Smith. Yes. Up stepped Dickov and his shot hit both posts. Aagh. Was the fairytale ending about to finish? No, because up stepped Adrian Pennock for Gillingham and he blasted his penalty high and wide. Yes. Terry Cooke was next for City and he coolly slotted his into the bottom right corner. Next up for Gillingham was John Hodge who blasted in. Aagh Next for City was Edghill, and I’d read in the last MCVITA that he had done well during City’s practice penalty sessions during the week, and sure enough Edghill blasted the ball in off the crossbar.

All of a sudden it dawned that if Gillingham missed their next penalty, then City would be promoted. Up stepped Guy Butters and Weaver brought off a brilliant save, and City had done it.

The players went mad and the relief from all the supporters was immense. We sang, danced and cheered the players and just didn’t want to leave. The Dambusters tune, You Can Stick Your Treble Up Your A***, and a rousing rendition of Blue Moon. Oh what a great moment. The players lapped it up and went to each side of the pitch and in unison bowed a ‘We Are Not Worthy’ to all the City fans. Well today they were. Each player was magnificent and I just can’t wait until next season.

Just to put a damper on things, I returned to my car to find that Brent Council is the only Borough in the country that tows away your car for parking on a single yellow line on a Sunday. £165 to release my car made it a very expensive day. But I didn’t care, City are back!

MATCH REPORT – ‘LIVE’ TV

MANCHESTER CITY vs. GILLINGHAM, Division 2 Play-Off Final, Sunday 30th May 1999

Yesterday I saw my first, last and only City game of the season. I wasn’t at Wembley, I saw it on telly at a pub here in Stockholm. Do I sound like a glory-hunting armchair supporting b*stard? Well, I can assure you that I’m not and I’ve suffered as much as you have, especially last autumn when we didn’t exactly cruise through this crap division. Anyway, I thought I might give you my view of the game and especially the players as I’ve read a lot about them through MCIVTA, Blue View etc. this season without actually seeing them in action.

I saw the match at Tudor Arms Pub in Stockholm. It’s a small pub but it was filled with Blues. It was quite an uplifting experience seeing all fellow Blues there as you don’t really bump into people in City wear every day over here. The match had hardly begun when City should’ve had a penalty when a defender clearly raised his elbow and knocked the ball away. I was surprised that the City players didn’t react, it was such a clear penalty. The first half wasn’t that well played. I was struck about how our defenders just cleared when they could’ve been playing a bit more constructively, but I guess it was the fact of playing at Wembley for the first time (for most of them anyway). Gills dominated the first 15 minutes but then City took over and were the best team when the half ended. Horlock had a sitter which he headed straight at the ‘keeper. Edghill also had a good chance but instead of volleying the ball he headed it wide.

In the second half City started to dominate totally, but I was always nervous when Gills were on the counter attack. Anyone else thought that, after Weaver’s poor clearance, the Gills’ player’s looping ball was going to end in the net? City had the best chance though, through Goater who hit the post. We had a couple of good corners as well. Then Gills got another break and the unbearable happened, Asaba scored in the 80th minute. I have to admit it was a good goal. I was struck about the silence in the pub. Only one man cheering but I don’t think he was a Gills fan. A minute later they could’ve made it 2 but Weaver got a hand to the ball and deflected it onto the post, though the ref didn’t give Gills the corner. Then City had a great chance through Dickov and the goalie didn’t even know he’d saved it. So, when Gills minutes later got their 2nd, I was thinking about going home, but I decided to stay as it was the only time of the season that I would see City. I even thought that City had given up cause they didn’t really look like attacking after the goal. However, Goater got free and shot at the ‘keeper, the rebound fell to Horlock who scored in the open goal. Then the assistant ref showed 5 minutes of injury time and hope started to rise again. Then Dickov got the ball, did a really good turn on the ball and you know the rest. The pub exploded.

The extra time was dead nervous. My heart was deciding to jump up and say hello to my teeth when Vaughan gave the ball away and Weaver only managed to half scramble the ball away, but the Gills’ forward couldn’t finish it. To my relief Gills had taken Asaba off (I didn’t notice when it happened) and they didn’t look as threatening on the breaks any more. City had some good chances and they still dominated the play. Dickov had a good shot among others, but no more goals.

Penalties. We could see the players the ref was putting down in his book, Horlock, Dickov, Cooke… Edghill!? and Goater!? Erm, I didn’t really feel that confident after that. I was relieved to see that we were drawn to start shooting, after all, it puts more pressure on the other team if you score first. Horlock stepped forward, no problem, 1-0 (or 3-2 if you want). Then the Gills’ taker had a really poor penalty saved by Weaver. Dickov hit both posts and out. Unbelievable! Gills’ Colin Hendry lookalike defender missed the goal with Weaver standing still in the middle of the goal. I think “Colin” was trying to see where Nicky would dive and when he didn’t he got so confused he missed the goal. Cooke scored a good pen near the left post although the goalie dived that way too. Gillingham scored a good penalty in the top right corner. Edghill scored in the top right corner. The ball touched the bar and went in. You couldn’t believe he’d never scored before. Nicky dived to his left to save the 4th Gills’ pen and Wembley went nuts. So did our pub by the way.

I won’t give any ratings for the players just some reflections: Weaver looked solid except his poor clearance which nearly ended in a goal. I was doubtful before the penalties ’cause I thought a more experienced ‘keeper, like the Gills’ ‘keeper, would benefit, but Nicky proved me wrong. The defence looked a bit dodgy. I thought this was our strongest part? Maybe it was the nerves? I was struck by how they slipped all the time in the beginning of the match which led to some good Gills chances. I thought Edghill looked quite useful when attacking, at least better than I’ve read in MCIVTA.

The midfield was good. At least I think they should have cred for the way City dominated the play for most of the game. Brown looked surprised when beeing subbed and also I thought that it was going to be Whitley instead. Cooke didn’t really get around the defenders that much but you could see that City always had an option to play it wide. He made a marvellous trick at the end of the extra time but he was brutally kicked down and the defender got away with a yellow card when it really should’ve been a sending off. Horlock was also a constructive and good player.

The forwards who’ve been to blame for most of the season looked really good I thought. Dickov was fast and always dangerous and scored a great goal. Goater really surprised me. After reading MCIVTA I thought this was a quite poor player whose only strong part was being in the right place at the right time, but I thought he was really good setting up others. He looked like a good target player. Taylor on the other hand didn’t impress. I can’t remember seeing him at all in the extra time.

All in all, maybe it wasn’t the greatest of performances (how do I know? I haven’t even seen them before this season) but a day like yesterday, who cares? We’re back in the 1st Division and now there’s only one promotion to go.

MATCHVIEW – TO HELL AND BACK

I guess this will be one of those occasions we’ll tell our grandchildren about. I had a suspicion City might make it hard for us; I’d also felt for some time that we were going to do it, but at 2-0 down with only injury time remaining I have to admit I’d given up hope… who hadn’t? The history books will record that the team, however, hadn’t given up hope. From despair to elation in approximately 35 minutes; surely a record even by City standards!

In the absence of tickets, the four Blues plus guests (thanks for the moral support Clive!) who ‘packed’ the Beaver pub’s big screen TV area had a nervous start to the afternoon’s proceedings, not unlike the team. Perhaps it was too much to expect the ref to spot the handball that would have given us a penalty after 20 seconds, but for the first 20 minutes or so, we struggled to make much headway against the Gills’ 5-man defence, and they were pushing us back though without creating many significant chances. We came into the game more as the half wore on, but seemed to be having trouble staying upright on the slippery surface (I presume there was some attention to the studs at half time as the problem was less obvious in the second half).

We continued to play the ball around in the second half but without really making much headway in the final third. Dicky was his usual tenacious self but along with Shaun G wasn’t getting much change out their defence. The minutes ticked away, the beer continued to disappear and we wondered would we ever get the breakthrough? Then two goals in 5 minutes left our little crowd in stunned silence; another season of Division 2 footy loomed; our nearest game would be against Scunthorpe. When Horlock scored, it barely registered, a mere consolation goal (some consolation!) but as it turned out a crucial first step. The next was the decision by the ref to add another 5 minutes. Why, we couldn’t figure out, but it gave us time, time for Dicky to come to the rescue some 4 minutes into that injury time. We saw it go in but we didn’t believe it. Anything U****d can do we can do more dramatically! Cue scenes of unbridled joy in the Beaver; we may have been few in number but boy did we make a lot of noise!

Not surprisingly we went into extra time with our tails up; they were gutted and it showed. They hung on for thirty minutes as we laid siege to their goal but we couldn’t get the third, so penalties it was. Cometh the hour, cometh the man! Step forward Nicky Weaver. Two saves, another blazed well wide, and Dicky’s miss didn’t matter. We went bananas and we were up!

So now we can look forward to the summer with anticipation. Will the rumoured cash now be forthcoming? Who will be on the summer shopping list? What will the fixture list bring us? Will we get a big name sponsor? I’m pleased that the risk that Cookie took in signing for us has paid off for him; ditto Nicky Weaver for having the faith to sign up for 4 years. I’m pleased that Edgy got a goal though I doubt it will be classed as an official duck-breaker. I’m pleased we’ve got a team that doesn’t give up. Most of all I’m pleased for all of us because this season has been hard work, we’ve invested a lot of emotional energy in earning this the hard way and we’ve had to live with the increasing hype and media obsession with ‘that lot next door’. To have lost this game after they’d done the treble would have been a nightmare too horrible to contemplate. So long Division 2, we hope you’ve enjoyed our brief stay but we’re on our way back to where we belong. One small step for men, one giant leap for Man City.

MATCHVIEW – THE BIGGEST COMEBACK FOR MANCHESTER THIS SEASON

Two-nil down, not one-nil; five minutes to turn it around, not the whole bleeding match… Anyway, reckon there’ll be loads of match reports, so I’ll just keep it short. When City win the European Cup in twenty years’ time ;), I’m going tell my children, I was there at Wembley when they won promotion to the First Division in the most dramatic of matches. At which point, I want to say a big thank you! to Alan and Sue Logan for helping me with the ticket to this slice of Wembley magic!

Pre-match was all hope and expectation; the Globe on Baker Street was so packed with cheering fans that I couldn’t find my mate Bill whom I’d arranged to meet there. Met Bertie Blue and Mark from BV instead, and we had quite a good number of beers between us then and walking up Wembley Way. I was sloshed enough to forget to buy a match programme, but full of the conviction that City would win. After all, I’ve yet to see City lose while sitting in a City end…

The first 75 minutes of the match were end-to-end stuff, Gillingham looked very well organised and City looked slightly discomforted by the rain that was pouring down at the start of the second half. How Goater hit the post we all didn’t know, but then their first goal came as a smack in the face. We went on cheering the Blues, but when Gillingham went 2-0 up with five minutes to play, I thought it was all over… I buried my head deep in my hands for a few minutes, thinking of all the times for my no-lose record to go… and then stood up to pitch all that was left of my voice back into the chants that were acquiring a defiant bite… City till I die! et al… and then Horlock puts the ball in from the easiest of rebounds with two minutes to go. More urging the Blues on. Then with the last kick of the normal time, Paul Dickov somehow manages to squeeze into the area past a knot of defenders and squeeze the ball past Bartram into the goal. And Wembley erupts.

City were very much dominant in extra-time, having the psychological edge and superior fitness; but of course being City we’d to go to penalties, which is rather like hoping England would beat Germany in penalties.

But when Nicky Weaver saved their first and then their fourth penalty to give City victory… man, it was something just to have been there.

NEWS

Just when you think you’ve seen it all…

This isn’t a news summary in the conventional sense, as the news of the last five days can be summarised in six words: City are promoted to Division One. Those six words, however, do scant justice to the drama of a day which amazed even the most seasoned of City watchers. In almost a quarter of a century following the club, I thought I’d experienced more or less everything they could throw at me – from smashing the British transfer record to sign mediocre journeymen to playing keep-ball in the corner with an eye on preserving a result which would seal relegation. On Sunday, they surpassed themselves.

The bald facts are that Gillingham took the lead through Carl Asaba on 81 minutes and doubled their advantage five minutes later through Bob Taylor. With the Wembley scoreboard showing 89 minutes gone, Kevin Horlock pulled a goal back to give City hope and after four minutes of injury time, Paul Dickov equalised. After a scoreless 30 minutes of extra time, City won the penalty shoot-out 3-1 with Horlock, Cooke and Edghill finding the net and Nicky Weaver emerging as hero of the hour thanks to his saves from Paul Smith and Guy Butters.

Much of the press comment centred round the similarity between City’s fightback and the late burst which sealed Manchester United’s win in Barcelona five days earlier. As Joe Royle noted, “Manchester has two sides that don’t know when they’re beaten. My team never gives up.” Gillingham manager Tony Pulis was disappointed with the amount of stoppage time played, claiming, “I can’t imagine where the referee got five minutes of injury time from. But if that’s what he said that’s how long we should have been defending properly and we let them get back.”

Weaver, meanwhile, admitted, “I haven’t saved a single penalty in training so it was great to stop those two today.” When asked whether his mentor, City goalkeeping coach Alex Stepney, had offered any words of wisdom before the shoot-out, the young goalkeeper revealed, “He just said, ‘Do what you want’ and I did.” Weaver also said he thought the City fans had played a crucial rôle in the shoot-out – the penalties were taken at the end where the 40,000 Blues were massed, and the wall of noise seemed visibly to affect some of the Gillingham penalty takers. The City hero reflected, “Our fans gave us such tremendous backing [during penalties] that we had a real advantage.”

While there were scenes among the City fans in the stadium of what can only be described as delirium both when Dickov equalised and when Weaver saved the crucial penalty, Joe Royle was a little more measured in his reaction. “We’re not getting too excited about this. A club of this size shouldn’t be too euphoric at getting out of the old Second Division.” He promised bigger celebrations when we regain Premiership status!

What Royle viewed as more important was proof that the club could overcome what he referred to as “Manchester City-itis”. “We can handle the big games now,” he explained, admitting that the never-say-die attitude (to which Alex Ferguson ascribes much of his own team’s success) saw the Blues through “even though we weren’t at our best today.” Certainly there appears to be a spirit now among the players which has been lacking in City teams for a long time.

More vital in the manager’s eyes, though, was the fact that the club had achieved the target which was set last summer – instant promotion. Like the rest of us, Royle has quite plainly not relished his first taste of the third tier of English football and his relief at escaping its clutches was evident in his statement that, “We’ve played 49 Cup finals this season. When they’re hanging from the rafters to see you at Colchester, Wycombe and Lincoln, it’s been a bl**dy hard division to get out of.”

Now the task is to continue the climb, and Royle has already expressed his confidence that he has the nucleus of a squad which can take the club further. He pointed to Watford’s success this season as evidence that promoted teams can mount a serious challenge in Division One. David Bernstein, too, is on record as saying he feels the first success will be hardest to achieve. Hopefully, promotion on the back of a run of two defeats in 27 matches will give the club the momentum to make further progress.

Of course, progress won’t be achieved without the necessary off-the-field backing, and promotion will certainly make easier the chairman’s task in securing funding for the club. Indeed, he’s constantly said he’d be “confident” as to his prospects of success in this area if the club were in Division One. We could well see movement before too long. The search for a new sponsor, too, is likely to yield much more lucrative results now that our higher status has been secured. Meanwhile, although the manager seems by and large to be happy with the squad at his disposal, there will undoubtedly be personnel changes in the summer. Some departures are inevitable, since the numbers on the payroll are still higher than Joe would ideally like. It’s also likely that there will be one or two incoming deals, as the manager has already noted that a couple of areas in the team require strengthening. Here, too, promotion will make a difference – some players of the quality we’d like might turn their nose up at Division Two but could be within reach now.

So it promises to be a fairly eventful close season. But that’s for the forthcoming weeks – and when it happens, it can be reported in more conventional news summaries. Maybe stories and rumours will have started to emerge by Thursday – and maybe I’ll have my voice back by then! For now, let’s just enjoy the moment. Even if it was just the third (in real terms) division play off trophy, we’ve seen a City captain go up the Wembley steps to lift a trophy for the first time since Harold Wilson was Prime Minister. And most importantly, even though making further advances will be far from easy, we’ve taken the first step on the way back. Hopefully, the worst is now behind us – and in my book, that’s a thought to savour.

AT LONG LAST

I should imagine that this is going to be one hell of a letter from all the Blues around the world, but I wonder how many fans missed out because they walked out? We arrived at Wembley at midday, to join in the celebrations and the walk up Wembley Way, met a few pals from work, my two sons and I took up our seats, and got ready to cheer on the Blues; it became obvious that City were going to find it hard, as the Gills (what a shi**y name) were out to make it hard, which they did. When they scored the first goal, gutted we felt, but maybe with a bit of luck, the Blues could pull one back; when the second one went past Weaver, we walked out, we thought there was only a couple of minutes left, we were on Wembley Way when a copper said City had pulled one back. Still we thought, no way they will get another, next thing we are on the car park, and the coach drivers were shouting like mad, that City had equalised, and then it was a mad dash back to the ground, got to our block (202), only to find a steward there blocking our path; there were angry exchanges and a lot of verbal, then he relented to let us in (images of Hillsborough).

Once inside for the second time, we made our way on to the steps, and only five minutes of extra time had been played. We were surrounded by fans who had left the ground earlier, but then I thought we had come to see a different team from the first and second half team, there was real commitment and determination, they really looked good the longer they played, then it was time for the penalty shoot out. This was getting to me badly, our luck was not going to last, was it? Thank God for Weaver for saving two of the penalties, how many other goalkeepers manage two saves to one goal, not many I bet. Now the boys in blue are back where they belong (nearly), but next year they are going to have to go for automatic rather than play-off, as this is what they deserve, and what the fans deserve.

THAT FUNNY ‘P’ WORD

The Manchester City rollercoaster really out-did itself this time, plunging new depths by going two goals down practically de-railing itself at 90 minutes, only to scale new heights by screaming back into the game before a few more “uppers and downers” of a penalty shoot-out which had me hanging on for dear life, and all taking place at the home of football on a world stage. Could it have been any better?

When the Gills went 1-0 up with nine minutes left I was convinced I was witnessing yet another City humiliation and galling disapointment which I’ve become used to over the years, so to see them come back in such dramatic fashion was unbelievable.

When it went to penalties, the words of my father came back to haunt me. A Blue for 55 years and ever the pessimist said at the start of the season when things looked good for an instant return to Div. 1 “I bet we’ll get to Wembley in the play-offs and lose to someone like Gillingham on penalties.” At the time, I thought the Gods were just prolonging the agony of defeat which made the victory all the more incredible.

Even sitting watching on TV round my father’s and not being at Wembley itself did not take anything away from a magnificent occasion and City’s best performance for years.

I now look forward to a summer of real hope and celebration of achieving a real treble. A magnificent come-back, a penalty shoot-out win and promotion, all in the same day.

Thanks to the club, thanks to Joe and Willie, thanks to the players for never giving up, even when I had, thanks to the supporters who looked and sounded fantastic, thanks to McVitte for helping me keep the faith, but most of all thanks to the person who managed to get hold of Alex Ferguson’s “Magic Minute-Making Stopwatch!”

WEMBERLEY – THE ALTERNATIVE VIEW

So with all hopes of a legitimate ticket passing us by, we turned to a “reputable” ticket agency. Tommy Tout assured us, promised us, pledged us, guaranteed us, crossed his heart and hoped to die, that we had a pair of tickets at the Man City end. But we couldn’t pick them up until Sunday, Wembley Hilton Hotel. Distinctly unhappy with the deal, but with no other alternative we used a Visa card to secure our tickets and paid a deposit. Must be legit, take Visa, we tried to assure ourselves. The big day, numerous calls to Tommy on his batphone produced, doesn’t take an Einstein to guess what’s coming, nil, zero, zilch. We toured the ground trying to find alternatives. Gillingham end a few. City end nothing. At 2.20 it suddenly dawns, we’re not going to get in. It hits you like a hammer blow. At 2.25, but we’re City fans. What’s one more knock? Back to the Wembley Hilton. At 3.00 along with another 98 City fans, and none from Gillingham, we console ourselves. We’ve saved a lot of money. We’ve got a good, comfortable view of the television. There’s a bar, a toilet. There’s a chap next to us who flew over from Jersey just for the game. Another guy paid £80 for his City end ticket only to find it was a forgery. He sold it on for £60. Don’t agree with that. At the end of the game the bar was now full to close on 200 City fans, I assume swelled by those that had left at 0-2. For some peculiar, ridiculous reason they closed the bar at the end of full time. At their prices, 200 people buying just one more drink would have bought them in £600. Thank God, for them, they didn’t turn off the television at the same time. Atmosphere – absolutely superbly, breathtakingly, mindblowingly, brilliant. I know I’d rather have been inside the ground, but as an alternative it was pretty damn good. Roll on the Grimsby.

YET ANOTHER TICKET STORY

As a London Blue, within earshot of the twin towers, the thought of having to miss Sunday has driven me into the arms of the evil touts. I have departed today (Thursday) with a hefty £220 for what I have been promised is a good City ticket near the halfway line. This probably means I will be in the middle of the Gillingham fans, at the far end, behind a pillar.

For those still searching, it took me over 40 telephone calls to both respectable and somewhat mysterious “agencies” before I was lucky. So keep on trying, but expect to double your mortgage.

Surely there has to be a better way than this?

CONGRATULATIONS

Never having written to MCIVTA before, I thought it high time that I sent in a message to say congratulations to everyone at Manchester City FC for giving the fans something to cheer about. Living outside Dublin, my choices for following the team on Sunday were watching the game on Sky at the pub up the road, or listening to BBC Five Live. Not wanting to jinx the team by watching them on the box (they always lose or draw if I watch them on TV) I decided to listen to Alan Green on the radio. What a nightmare! In disgust I nearly gave up listening just before Kevin Horlock scored our first goal and couldn’t believe my ears when Paul Dickov equalized in injury time. What a team. What a fantastic climax to our season. As for the penalty shoot-out, I took great confidence in hearing Chris Kamara say that Gillingham hadn’t bothered to practice penalties during the week. It is probably the most exciting City game I’ve ever heard on the radio and I love listening to BBC Radio 5. Even if the tension was almost unbearable, I can’t help feeling that this game and this season has pulled the team and supporters together in a way that no other could have. Hopefully, it is onward and upward for all of us. With a very badly needed cash injection, maybe we could continue to improve our squad and get back to the big time sooner rather than later. Well done everyone!

IT’S TRUE!

Is it Sunday morning and I’ve just woken up after having an unbelievable dream? No, it’s Monday morning and it’s true.

Altogether now; Wem-ber-lee, Wem-ber-lee, we’re the famous Man City and we won at Wem-ber-lee (repeat several times).

P.S. Was that Colin Shindler I saw ticket touting outside entrance D?

GREATEST DAY EVER!

I thought I really had to contribute after the most amazing game/day ever. What elation, what a feeling, what an emotional rollercoaster. And how incredible to see Captain Morrison leading the Blues up the steps, the famous steps, and lifting our 1st piece of silverware for 23 years. This only half an hour after seemingly losing. The club is at last going places. I think consolidate next year with a top 10 finish, then get promotion the following year. Whatever, I’ll never forget yesterday.

ANYONE REMEMBER PROGRAMME TOKENS?

Hello again. It appears a couple of people regarded my City of Manchester shirt sponsorship comments as less tongue in cheek than I intended them to be, oops! Anyway, to be serious, I’m an exiled Blue now living in the West of Scotland. I travel down whenever work and finances allow (500 miles round trip to home games) so this season I’ve only been to Notts County away (league) and Preston away (league). My friend Ian, a Kippax season ticket holder offered to queue up on Wednesday for Wembley tickets for me and my son. What a waste of time! I could have got them by credit card by ‘phone if I’d known they were available! I was there in ’76 at Wembley as a junior season ticket holder and I’d like to suggest that the club reverts to what it did then to supply tickets to non-season ticket holders. Older fans will remember that each match programme sold at Maine Road bore a voucher. In the event of the team reaching a major game, a certain number of vouchers were required to apply for a ticket. Credit was given for vouchers redeemed early in the season and a voucher sheet to which they were attached was included in the 1st programme of the season. Vouchers were issued at all home 1st and 2nd team games. The front page of away programmes were (I think) counted as 1 voucher as well. Programme sales were boosted and everyone was happy. You might say but I could buy the programme in the shop without being at the game! Simple, get the staff to run a black marker through the vouchers of any programmes bought at the shop after the match has been played, thereby invalidating them. Result-real fans get the big match tickets! Food for thought I hope as climbing the leagues again will only increase the problem.

Only good news about the Rags’ triumph in Europe is that last time they did it we were champions (hopefully a good omen) and Ferguson may now retire, leaving their new dream ticket of Robson and Kidd to take over, thereby ensuring trips for them to places like Scunthorpe and Hull in the reasonably near future, as City, the team for the new millennium return to where we belong, the top! Watching at home on Sky on Sunday.

COMMENT – MIGHTY BLUES

There’s 8 minutes left at Wembley; the first Gills goal goes in; my 8-year-old son is in tears; I’m wondering why I ever brought him to Maine Road; most Irish kids follow the Rags or Liverpool; why put him through this? The 2nd goal goes in, the poor kid is devastated, surely there can be no way back; the rest is history. I have been a City fan for nearly 30 years and I cannot remember the Blues having that kind of luck before; but we did deserve that luck. God I wish I was at Wembley today but like so many Blues I had to settle for the television; I don’t think I will ever forget the 30th of May 1999. Kindest regards to City fans all over the world.

OPINION – THE PLAYERS ON SUNDAY

After having watched City’s typical rollercoaster game on the box I feel I must give my comments as to the players who were wearing the blue / yellow and black shirts!

Weaver – good game, confident apart from the one clearance to Taylor.
Crooks – Edghill’s replacement, worked well with Cooke.
Edghill – Vaughan for left back. Edgy may wear his heart on the badge as he kissed it when he scored the penalty but he does not give me for one confidence when on the ball. Passing, tackling or basically in the team.
Wiekens – was better when Morrison was off as he had to play the balls out of defence.
Morrison – ‘who ate all the pies?’ this is the first time I have seen him and his contribution was very good. Over the break the fitness team need to introduce a slimline Morrison so that he can improve.
Horlock – why can he not play in the centre of midfield? He tackles and gets into the box à la Flitcroft. There was a spell just before and after his header when he came into the middle during the first half – was a good spell for City.
Whitley – should join his brother on the transfer list. Apart from one run at the end where was he? Needs glasses for his shooting ability.
Brown – I am a big fan of Brown but yesterday the emotion got to him and he on occasion tried to do somthing flash and it failed. Worked well with Crooks and Cooke on the right. Should stick to tackling and passes over 5-10 yards only.
Dickov – class. He wanted to win and showed it clearly. Balls to feet need to be better. Played well on the left later on.
Goater – which teams does he score against? He was carried by Dickov. Contrast Taylor and Asaba who worked together, our forwards did not.
Cooke – Ok but wasted 2 chances in the second half trying to be fancy… this is the Second Division Terry not the Champions’ League! Simple things first.

Subs:
Vaughan – needs to play left back though does not show pace. Failed to mark Taylor for the second goal.
Bishop – the difference between the 2 sides. I thought he was past it but when he came on he wanted the ball, something Whitley did not do. I hope he can continue and cope with next season.
Taylor – crap! what a waste of money. £80,000 buys Morisson and £500,000 buys Taylor?

What we must do for next season:
Goalkeeper – a good mature pro to help develop Nicky and be around for cover.
Joe talks about full backs, well I agree with him – we need.
Centre half – Will the big Georgian be fit? Where is Shelia?
Centre midfield needs a good general, let’s hope Pollock can improve and likewise Brown but Hessenthaler would be a good buy.
Wings – what about Sinton from Spurs for the left wing and let Horlock play left back or centre midfield?
Up front – 2 strikers needed. What about bring Kav back from Switzerland? Less restrictions now on non-EU players for next season. Someone in the pub said Chris Armstrong. Whatever, Goater will not do.

Conclusion:
For futher improvement Joe must buy four new players, he can sell Edgy, Whitley and Taylor from Sunday’s team for some extra cash.

OPINION – DICKOV

Not long ago, I wrote a match report in which I suggested that Paul Dickov was a footballer much underrated and mostly at that by his team’s supporters. I said that he was a skilful, classy and thoughtful player and one that has an indominatable fighting spirit and matching stamina. What prompted me to write about the man was the barracking he got from a section of the crowd amongst whom I was sitting in the Platt Lane Stand. Even our esteemed editor took up a contrary position to mine on the subject even though he did so whilst remaining neutral (a great feat of diplomacy).

I just wanted to say, ‘I told you so’ but I’m not the kind of guy to gloat and anyway everyone’s smiling with me!

OPINION – THE FIRST STEP

The longest journey needs that first step.

Well done to all you Blues!

OPINION – RAGS vs. BAYERN, AND TICKETS

As a Blue working in Germany I was intrigued by some of the comments from other Blues at home who ‘supported’ Bayern in the Champions’ League Final. Anyone who follows German football realises that Bayern are the German equivalent of the Rags. I often go to Bundesliga Division 1 and 2 games in the Cologne area. It pains me to see little kids attending games here (600 kilometers from Munich) wearing Bayern shirts which are as aggressiely marketed here as Rags shirts are in the UK. The real Munich fans support Munich 1860 who share the same stadium as Bayern and who, wait for it, wear sky blue!

I couldn’t care a toss who won the European Runners-Up League – I just want to see City back on my Sky teletext next season and in the Premier the year after that.

As for getting a ticket for Wembley, I booked a flight over to London three weeks ago, convinced a) That City would get through easily and b) That the allocation of tickets would be halfway reasonable. Needless to say I haven’t got a ticket and there’s no way I am going to Wembley to stand amongst a crowd of Southerners who doubtless ‘support’ the Rags from their armchairs in their spare time while the true fans are at the other end cheering the Blues to promotion. So, I’ll bin my flight ticket, watch the game on Sky here in Germany, celebrate with a few German beers and hope all you true City fans who went through the usual hell provided by our wonderful ticket office to get your tickets have a fantastic time on Sunday. Give them a shout for me and all the other exiled Blues around the world.

P.S. I’ve just read Colin Shindler’s book and I was at almost all of the matches he describes – including the one against Bury when Harry Dowd, our goalkeeper scored.

OPINION – TRANSFERS

I have just read reports on City’s website that Gerard Wiekens may be going to a Premiership club which backs up Peter Brophy’s claims that he is off to Sunderland for around £2 million. I cannot believe that City would let him go at all, especially not for a measly £2M! He is worth double that, at least. It is not just the price though that is the problem. He has been a major factor in City’s turnaround. He has won our player of the year by a fair way, and to let him go would be pure stupidity. Without Gerard the team would be perhaps tenth in the league. Okay, he is not the sole reason why we are in the play-off final, but he is the best defender in Division Two and probably Division One as well! He reads everything so well, has great strength, good skills and scores the odd goal too! Remember that volley against Stoke? The man is class, so please City don’t be stupid and for once don’t go for the money option, stick with Gerard!

Another point that I would like to raise is that of Jamie Pollock. He too should be offered a new contract, he is a far better player than Jeff Whitley, no disrespect to him. He is an experienced, influential battler of a player. He works hard all the time and Joe should not let him go. What happens if Bishop picks up an injury or even retires? He is 32/33, he can’t go on forever… Pollock is the natural replacement and is at least Division One quality, so again keep him Joe!

OPINION – COMPUTER RELIABILITY IN KIWILAND

Was apprehensive checking “TeamTalk” this morning and heart sank when I saw 2-2 and the words penalty shoot-out, but no result… aaarrrggghhh!

Went to City’s website next but computer stalled… aaarrrggghhh!

Got back in but some serious lag wuz happening… aaarrrggghhh!

Everything was going wrong… we must’ve lost I thought.

Then at last I saw… City 5 Other lot 3… penalty shootout secures City’s return to Division 1… yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

Bring on Blackburn, bring on QPR, bring on Wolves… Coppell (the b*****d) has to come back to Maine Road (haha), no more t**ts from Millwall, watch out Rags we’re on our way.

Please let the Lee Dixon/Niall Quinn rumours come to fruition… players that will shed blood for a club they love… City! Thank you Joe/Willie and the players for giving the fans worldwide something to smile about at last.

Can’t wait till August!

OPINION – YEESSSS!

Yeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss!!!!!
Yeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss!!!!!!!
Yeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!

What more can you say – being at Wembley on Sunday was up there with the birth of my children!

The elation of the Dickov goal was the most amazing moment I’ve ever experienced, when he struck the ball you could here a pin drop, the ball moved in slow motion… the ball entered the goal… silence.

The ball burst into the top of the net – Yeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss!!!!!
Yeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss!!!!!!!
Yeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!
You had to be there.

The celebrations lasted for what seemed 20 minutes and then the extra time lasted no more than 5 minutes each way!

Einstein was right, you can travel in time!

Fantastic.

OPINION – THE RAGS’ SUCCESS

Dunno about my fellow Blues, but I was totally gutted at the Rags’ Houdini act today… not that I’m a fan of German football (indeed they have robbed British sides too often). Never before has a team who deserves so little, won so much! Somebody has been watching over them… first Bergkamp duffs a semi-final spot kick, then Juventus fall on their swords and now this. Bayern were all over the scum in the second half… woodwork twice denied class strikes, and the irreplaceable Dane pulled off 2 awesome saves… then two bloody miskicks after 90 minutes and they’ve won.

Damn I was depressed today at work… only a Blue wave in the form of a comprehensive di**ing of Gillingham this weekend can save me from an off-season of discontent.

Knowing that the Rags will no longer have the big Dane saving their leaky defence next season gives me hope that Premiership football will not subside into a boring same old samo competition. Dunno what you guys think but British Football needs more Sunderland, Wimbledons, Southamptons and Coventrys winning trophies at the expense of Leeds, Liverpool, Rags, Spurs. Otherwise it’s bloody monotonous.

Come on you Blues… come Monday morning the Eurpean Cup will pale into insignificance.

FROM BRAZIL

I’m lucky, if you look at it in a certain way. I missed Wembley, due to inescapable working commitments in Brazil, but also missed the reaction to them winning it.

And so, the mostly post-1993 Rag swarms will have been going on about now being one game from being the greatest club in the world. Not so fast… they have to beat Palmeiras. I am a Corinthians fan after hearing that their nickname is “The Loyal”. It’s a tenuous link and, although Palmeiras are Coro’s biggest rivals and eliminated them from the Libertadores last month, how could I let this get in the way? The green-shirted “Verdao”, as they’re known, used to be called Palestra Italia after being formed by Sao Paulo Italian immigrants in 1914. They are also nicknamed “O Porco”, or the ‘pig’ because @$&***????? Verdao were in the Libertadores as holders of the Brazilian FA Cup. Admittedly, this is a different kettle of pigs to our Cup; all the ties, including the final, are over two legs, and it is contested mainly by winners of the individual state leagues (as opposed to the Brazilian national championship … no, I’m not explaining it all, income tax is easier to understand). Palmeiras have been in good form lately. In this year’s Brazilian Cup, they disposed of Flamengo, Romario et al. It was 1-1 in Rio. “Mengao” came to Sao Paulo and scored twice. The 1982 World Champions then sat on their arses, got knackered. Palmeiras equalised and promptly put on a young striker called Ueller, pronounced as in Paul W… oh forget it. Two corners in the dying minutes, two Ueller headers… 4-3 to the Pig.

Players to watch? Well, there’s Junior Baiano and Cesar Sampaio from the national team, and midfielder Zinho, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994. Jackson is one of Brazil’s rising stars, a gutsy but skilful midfielder bought from Sport Recife, one of the few North-Eastern Brazilian teams to do well in recent years. Alex is a nippy midfielder who was brought in to ‘replace’ Rivaldo. He’s been criticised for disappearing acts in big games, but scored the decisive goal in the Libertadores semis, against River Plate, a 35-yard corker. Arce, who played in France 98, is a member of the Paraguayan team which gave France a scare. He’s currently rated as the best winger in domestic Brazilian football. Paulo Nunes is a former Gremio striker who won the Libertadores with them. Oseas is his strike partner, a centre forward who celebrates goals with moves from Capoeira. Capoeira is a deadly combat form derived from African slaves which originated in Oseas’ home state, Bahia. As Junior Baiano is also Bahian (thus the ‘Baiano’ part of his name), he probably knows a move or two. Just wait for Keane to get clever with one of them, then sit back and enjoy the carnage.

Palmeiras are managed by the charismatic Luis Felipe Scolari, who prefers the trackie and baseball cap to the slick suits favoured by other big Brazilian managers such as Sao Paulo’s Paulo Cesar Carpeggiani and Wanderley Luxemburgo, the national team’s excellently-named replacement for Mario Zagallo. Scolari won the Libertadores with Gremio in 1995. And that team then went on to win the World Club title. All is not lost.

BLUE HUMOUR

May I say congratulations to Joe and the lads for that heart stopping day out on Sunday. Here are some jokes to keep the celebrations going:

Did you hear that the Post Office just recalled their latest stamps? They had pictures of Manchester United players on them… and people couldn’t figure out which side to spit on.

WHY BLUE?

My name’s David, and I’m a… City fan, I have supported City all my life. I remember the first time I saw Maine Road, my brother had passed his driving test and took me and my sister for a drive around Manchester! I was 7 and ever since I saw that unique roof on the Main Stand, I was obsessed by City, most roofs don’t have that effect on people, but by God this one did. My first City match was memorable as well. My brother (he was my main inspiration for being a Blue) bought the tickets and took me and my sister to Maine Road. I can’t remember any of the match, I spent the whole game looking around, mesmerised. By brother told me off for not watching the game, but I could hardly see over the people in front. I spent most of the match staring at other fans, and gazing over at the other stands. After that, I longed to go again, and that I did. Although I didn’t go that often, I still kept up to date with the happenings at the club.

My brother had a City calendar, and used to test me on all the players’ names, he was really chuffed when his 8-year-old brother could recite the entire first team, from memory. I started to get more involved at City as I got older. I went to more matches, I watched them when they used to be on TV, and in primary school, I could talk about City with other people. And when we used to charge around the playground, chanting football songs and competing with the Rags and a Liverpool fan, I knew a few songs to sing at the United fans.

Then City got worse; as I moved into secondary school, I realised there were only about 10 City fans in the whole of the school, out of 900. This made me more loyal as I had to fly the flag now, no matter what anyone said, I was a Blue, and proud of it. Then of course, at that Liverpool match, it happened. United were champions, City were relegated, and my heart sank. It was during summer of that year that I contemplated giving up on football, I couldn’t support United, and City were no longer the club I grew up with. But after thinking about it, I decided that from now on, I’m City Till I Die. I went to more matches, scraping money from anywhere, and trying to go as often as I could. My brother moved to university in Sunderland, my dad couldn’t be bothered, and I couldn’t find any City fans at school, so for the past few years, my attendance at Maine Road has been nothing more than disgraceful. However, it’s getting better, my support’s never been so strong. My room is like a shrine to the club, I breathe, eat and live Manchester City, and most of all, I’m proud to wear my City shirt in public. No matter what anyone says, I support Manchester City, and I’m proud of it. Whatever league we’re in, whatever the circumstances, I will always support City. Why? Because I know that City supporters are the best bunch of humans to walk this planet. We are unique. We mock ourselves when we’re doing badly. We make jokes when we play terribly, and we have more faith than flipping Islam and Christianity put together. So that’s why I’m Blue. And even though I have never seen any glory, although I have never been to Wembley (I doubt I will this century, no thanks to bad ticket selling for the play-offs), or ever seen our team lift a trophy. I am a Blue forever.

WWW MANCHESTER CITY SUPPORTERS’ HOME PAGE:
http://www.uit.no/mancity/

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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.

Ashley Birch, mcivta@tollbar.u-net.com

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