Newsletter #1020

A short issue tonight, with transfer views and stadium tour news.

OPINION: SELLING THE FAMILY SILVER?

Strikes me we are in danger of being kidded into selling the family silver, when all we need to do is copper up the loose pennies.

A concerted campaign in The Ech-ko has now filtered through to the Evening News. We firmly need to keep hold of Joey Barton and build a team with him as an integral part.

To fund DvB we need to copper up; here is my loose change:

Negouai         £250,000
Bosvelt         £250,000
Vuoso           £500,000
McManaman       £0
Sun             £750,000
Fowler          £2 million
Total           £3.75 million

I reckon Marseille would do the deal for DvB at £2.5 million plus Sommeil. With the addition of Cole on loan, this is how my squad would look next season, with funds in reserve to tinker in the window:

      Anelka  Wanchope
Sinclair Cole   Barton  SWP
Jordan   Distin DvB     Dunne
           James

Subs:
Macken, Sibierski, Elliott, Reyna, Bischoff, Ellegaard, Flood, McCarthy, SWP2, Croft, Kinkladze, Weaver (?)

This would leave us with a fresh but stronger team than any of the shrapnel could better. Whilst the squad might be thin, contrary to KK’s opinion, I think we need less, not more, players to stop the inconsistency that has plagued us with this season’s ever-changing midfield. In reserve we have a strong flavour of youth with bags of potential and a good blend of experienced players who would get a deserved chance as the season unfolded. I have chucked in my old hobbyhorse, Gio, as an outside chance as I still think with a close season of hard graft he could do a job.

We have given the players who have played more than a fair chance: Robbie has had time, but I feel we need to cash in whilst we can; I have egged on Sun as he makes another unsuccessful goal saving run and have watched a pedestrian Bosvelt be traffic-copped by an all too disappointing McManaman. Now we have survived, I think it is time to change. The other two on my list are not worthy of further comment, in my opinion.

I believe this is a team that will compete, will gel and we could play through inconsistent periods with only small changes. It will also give us room on the wage bill for another high profile loan deal, if the right man becomes available. It looks at lot healthier and does not, on paper, weaken performance based on this season’s showings. I have seen almost every game this season home and away and will be there again next. I think Kev has been let down by a team that looked good on paper, but has woefully failed him. Now is the time to change at the expense of our under performers, not our star players.

Whatever you do, stay Blue!

OPINION: BARTON

I’ve seen the rumours linking Joey Barton to Liverpool for a few weeks now. If they become reality then Keegan must be sacked. City’s youth policy is beyond a joke considering how successful the youth teams are, yet when are any of them ever played by Keegan? Surely money could be gathered from any of the other cr*p he’s managed to accumulate over the past couple of years: Vuoso, Negouai, McManaman etc.

Frankly I’m disgusted, appalled and seething with anger. From Ball to Keegan, not much has changed, City still sell their best and most promising youngsters for next to nothing.

No policy, no plan, no idea! Keegan out (eell he can stay if Barton does and we make top 7!)!

OPINION: VAN BUYTEN

There seems to be a change of tune with the DVB camp, with the player apparently stating that he would like to stay at City.

This guy is a must buy; the few games he played, not only did he play well but all of a sudden we looked like we had a great defence. He also plays football with a smile on his face, and would become a firm favourite with the fans.

If it is purely down to money, then there are a few high wage earners at the club (McMnammnm, Fowler, etc.) that we could lose without even noticing, but bringing DvB in would give us a good, solid defence, which is the basis that any team needs to start with, and to build on.

OPINION: PARKING

In response to Bryan Clarke’s message about parking, I parked regularly on Vickers Street, which is just off Hulme Hall Lane. It is quite a secluded street backing onto a couple of factory/warehouses. Since the police don’t seem to patrol the streets where many cars park, this does make your vehicle vulnerable to would-be vandals or thieves. I was fortunate to not suffer the fate of others until the last game of the season, when I returned to my car with the window put through, my stereo taken along with articles out of the boot. A great day suddenly had the shine taken off it. As I said, other cars have suffered similar fates, but unfortunately there are no secure streets to park on around Eastlands because of the restrictions that are in place preventing supporters parking in more residential areas. I’m not sure what we will have to do next season, but I’ll probably have to begrudgingly pay to park safely in a supervised car park, unless anyone else has any better suggestions!? Perhaps if our beloved traffic police came from hiding behind bus shelters with their speed guns our cars might just be safe – controversial hey?

REQUEST: NEW SHIRT

I have noticed in recent McVittees that it is possible to purchase the new City shirt at a price that is below that charged by the club shop. Could anyone tell me where these can be obtained? I live in the southwest so I’m looking for a shop that might have branches down here. Thanks.

REQUEST: THE MANCHESTER CITY EXPERIENCE (MUSEUM & STADIUM TOUR)

Most supporters will be aware by now that the City Experience is open for tours of the stadium and visits to the museum. The official opening was in April, although visits started formally in January.

So far almost 8,000 people have visited and the museum has received some excellent reviews. The Manchester Evening News called it the ‘best show in town’, while the Museums Journal claimed: “In one League at least Manchester City are ahead of their rivals.” In addition the Experience was shortlisted for an Award For Excellence at the Museums & Heritage Show held last week at Earl’s Court and the Cafe Royale. Sadly, we didn’t win but the Experience is the first sporting museum ever to be shortlisted at these prestigious awards (not bad when you consider the competition includes you-know-who, the National Football Museum, LFC, Arsenal, WHUFC, Wimbledon LTA, Twickenham, Lords etc.).

The Experience is open daily except on days when there are major events taking place within the stadium (concerts, games etc.). In addition, stadium tours will not be possible during the week of the pop concert (14th June – 20th June inclusive).

This close season will see a series of events take place within the museum. The first one of these is on Wednesday (26th May). The events include:

Wednesday 26th May – Maine Road: the Final Scenes:
For one day only, exclusive images of Maine Road’s demolition will be displayed on the Experience Theatre’s large screen. These images are highly emotional and it is recognised many supporters will not want to witness such a sad end to our old stadium. However, we have been inundated with many other supporters wanting to know how the stadium has been taken apart. It’s worth pointing out that the images have been taken by a passionate Blue, who has worked for the club for a few years and is also a resident of the Maine Road area. The ground and area means so much to him, and these images are very, very powerful scenes of the place he loves. Usual admission prices (£7.50 adults, £4.50 concessions) for museum & tour apply.

Friday 11th June – Fifty Years of City Imagery:
Lifelong City fan, photographer, and former international referee Richard Tucker will provide an insight to his photography of the Blues over the last 50 years. His rare colour photos include scenes from the 1969 FA Cup Final never previously published or exhibited (these include City fans walking up Wembley Way, images of Joe Mercer etc.). These will be exhibited on the Experience’s large theatre screen and Richard will also exhibit unique cine film from the 50s showing Trautmann & others in action at Maine Road. There will also be an emotional journey through Maine Road’s final day. Not only did Richard photograph the day, but he also recorded the sounds and these will be played alongside his images.

Places are strictly limited and must be booked in advance. Tickets are priced at £10 (access to the museum plus 45 minute stadium tour at 4pm, 90 minute talk & film show at 5pm) or £7.50 (access to museum & talk/film show at 5pm, but no tour). Concessions are priced at £7 (including tour) or £4.50 (no tour). Demand is anticipated to be very high.

Tuesday 15th June – Ed Garvey’s Photographic Review of 2003-04
For one day only, scenes from COM stadium’s first season will be displayed on the Experience theatre’s large screen. These will show Ed Garvey’s photos from the stadium’s key matches – including large victories over United & Everton – plus other key moments. Ed will be present between 12noon and 2pm to discuss his work. Special museum-only admission price of £4.50 adults and £3 concessions will apply on this date (no tours will be available).

June and July – Photographic Competition:
Look out for details of our search to find the best photographs of our new home. This competition will start in June and will be open to supporters of all ages.

For more information on the Experience or any of the events call the Experience booking line: 0870 062 1894 (option 8).

MCIVTA FAQ [v0304.07]

[0] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Heidi Pickup)          : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org
News/rumour (Don Barrie)         : 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

[1] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

Deadlines for issues are nominally 6pm, Monday and Thursday evenings.

[2] MCIVTA Back Issues and Manchester City Supporters’ home page

http://www.uit.no/mancity/ 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.

[3] What is the club’s official web site?

The official club web site can be found at http://www.mcfc.co.uk/

[4] What supporters’ clubs are there?

Manchester City FC recognises three supporters’ clubs: The “Official Supporters Club” (http://www.mancity.net/osc/); the “Centenary Supporters’ Association” (http://www.reddishblues.com/CSAWebsite/CSA.htm) and “The International Supporters’ Club” (http://www.mcfc.co.uk/article.asp?article=111845&Title=International+Supporters+Club&lid=Membership).

[5] Where can I find out about the fans’ committee?

The Fans’ Committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. It has its own website, http://www.mcfc-fans.com/ containing info about forthcoming meetings as well as minutes from previous gatherings.

[6] What match day broadcasts are available on the web?

The GMR pre and post match phone-in is available on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/gmr/sport_intro.shtml.

Live match commentaries and archives of games, reports and interviews can be found at http://www.mcfctv.com/, whilst an alternate live commentary service, hosted by Yahoo, is located at http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/foot/englandprem/cal/index.html.

[7] Where can I find out if City are live on satellite TV?

http://www.satfootball.com/pl.html provides a listing of Premiership games being shown on UK domestic and foreign satellite channels. Useful sites for North American viewers are http://canadatvsoccer.tripod.com/Fixtures.htm, http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/FSW/Index/Soccer, and http://www.soccertv.com/.

http://www.foxsportsworld.com/content/view?contentId=1288602 also provides a guide to pubs in the USA showing football.

[8] What’s the music the teams run out to?

At the start of the 03/04 season it was actually a mix of two tracks: Starting with “O Verona” (from the film “William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet”) leading in to “Barber’s Adagio for Strings (Ferry Corsten remix)” by William Orbit. The first part is available on the movie soundtrack (volume 2) and the second is included on a variety of CDs such as Kiss House Nation 2000, Galaxy Hit Mix, Cream Live, Ibiza Chill and Dance Nation 4.

Currently we use a selection of different music, which seems to change each game.

[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://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci213262,00.html

[10] Do any squad members have their own web pages?

There are a number available and direct links can be found at http://www.uit.no/mancity/players/

[11] Can I buy shares in the club?

Yes you can: Shares in Manchester City PLC are traded on OFEX. The latest prices can be on found the OFEX web site http://www.ofex.com/ (registration required) or in the business section of the Manchester Evening News.

[12] Where can I find match statistics?

Statistics for the current season are available from the club site, but for a more in-depth analysis try http://www.mcfcstats.com/.

[13] Acknowledgements

Thanks go to Damian Quinn, Stephen Webb, Roger Haigh, Martin Price, and Adrian Howarth for the Satellite TV info.

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.

Heidi Pickup, editor@mcivta.city-fan.org

Editor: