Newsletter #1057

News and opinion tonight on another win for the reserves, young players, contracts, ticket rip-offs and the usual requests.

I’ll be taking a break next week and Mads has kindly offered to step in for issues 1058 and 1059, so please keep your views coming in to the regular address at <editor(at)mcivta.city-fan.org>.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

Reserves Rampant: There’s no stopping those reserves boys. They recorded their third straight league win last night with a 3-2 victory over Sunderland. City took a first-half lead when Bradley Wright-Phillips lobbed the Sunderland ‘keeper. Sunderland’s Richie Ryan immediately pulled a goal back for the visitors as they sought their first win of the season, but Karl Bermingham restored City’s two goal advantage – his second goal in as many matches. On 77 minutes Sunderland again reduced the deficit to a single goal through a Neil Teggart penalty. Team: Ellegaard, Sommeil, Collins, Onuoha, McCarthy, Laird, Croft (Richards 83), Negouai, B Wright-Phillips (Bermingham 58), J D’Laryea, Ireland. Subs: Schmeichel, Lee-Matthews, Murphy.

Dunnie Flushed to be Back: The Republic of Ireland announced their squad for their World Cup qualifiers against France and the Faroe Islands later this month, and big Richard Dunne has won a recall. The twenty-five year old was disappointed not to be involved in the first pair of Ireland’s qualifiers against Cyprus and Switzerland. “It was frustrating being out of the squad for so long,” said Dunne. “But Mr Keegan told me that if I persevered, an international recall would be on the cards sooner rather than later. I am glad he has been proved right.” The Irish face France in Paris on 9 October and then entertain the Faroe Islands in Dublin on Wednesday 13 October. Meanwhile, the City pair Willo Flood and Paddy McCarthy have been named in the Republic of Ireland U21 squad for the equivalent games.

World Champs on Parade! The World Champions did a lap of honour at half-time during the Arsenal game. The unofficial World Champions at under-15 level, to be precise, a title that City’s lads won in August against the Reds at OT. “I think the reception that the U15s got was magnificent. Even the Arsenal supporters were very appreciative,” said Academy Director Jim Cassell. “I think in general supporters love to see young players doing well within a club and I think their achievement was the best since I have been here. To win an international tournament with so many thousands of teams that took part you have got to have played well and you have got to have good players. Prior to us the winners have come from Spain and Argentina so no one from the British Isles has got anywhere near it before. The system has its critics,” added Jim. “But if you didn’t start to learn to read and write until you are nine you probably won’t do too well. Why is it different for football? The Australians have proved that the Academy systems do work. The French have proved it too. And I think in many ways we should be investing as a country more and more in our youth. We have so much publicity now about children who are obese and not athletic enough. Society has changed and you don’t have the freedom to play out in the street and in the parks. So now we have to encourage them to play in a different way.”

Jamo Rises to the Occasion: David James may well be on the way to being the next Pele. Not on the football field you understand, but in his TV work. Heidi spotted this snippet recently: “David James has been signed up as TV presenter for satellite channel Bravo and his agent confirms ‘David will be presenting a few slots offering health advice for men. He’s agreed to do the first series, but it’s not going to be a full-time presenting job’.” The TV careers of City’s former custodians has been mixed – let’s hope DJ is more in the successful Schmeichel mould and not the toe-curlingly embarrassing efforts of Seamo on TV ads and “They Think It’s All Over” – it is now, Safe Hands…

Transfer News and Gossip

Bischoff Joins the Wolves Pack: Mikkel Bischoff has joined Wolves on a month’s loan. City signed the 22-year-old for £750,000 from Copenhagen two years ago but injury has prevented him from winning a regular first-team place. “He has been a Danish Under-21 defender and is highly regarded,” said Wolves’ boss Dave Jones. “There is an opportunity for him with the problems we’ve been having in that position in particular.”

Wright Here, Wright Now: You can call me a cynic, but was Arsene Wenger playing mind games ahead of City’s clash with his side? Saturday’s papers were full of the Gunners trying to sign ickle SWP – “He is getting higher every year. He is a guy we have an eye on and we follow his progress,” said Wenger. “He will be a major threat to us. He has a tremendous work rate and tremendous penetrating power. With the combination of the two, and his improvement technically every year, he will be a very good player. He is a Wright – and the Wrights have a big love affair with Arsenal. At the moment I do not want to say we are buying him but he is one of the interesting players on the right flank in England. Could he be at Arsenal one day? It is not impossible but I don’t know yet.” [Thanks John Doyle] He may be a Wright, but he’s our Wright, right? Luckily KK was able to rebuff Monsieur Wenger in more eloquent fashion. “Any manager in the world at the moment who is in charge of a seriously big club that has got terrific ambition will go and look at players and there are probably only four of five players like Shaun in the world,” said Keegan. “I think it’s a great compliment to Shaun and that Arsene Wenger is being very honest. If he didn’t look at players like Shaun he wouldn’t be doing his job properly. As for what happens in the future we have control of that because Shaun has signed a long term contract and he is loved at this club.”

‘New Solskjaer’ is Back Again: This time last year, a young starlet named Tomasz Sokolowski came for a week’s trial with City from his Norwegian club Lyn (see MCIVTA 951). Well he’s back for the Blues to have a second look. “I don’t think anyone in Norway is near to him in terms of skills,” said Morgan Andersen of Lyn. “He is good on everything and he can become as big as only he wants to. He is far ahead of where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was at his age but, of course, Solskjaer has got a unique position, not least as a human being.” Steady on, Mr. Andersen! City are thought to be weighing up an offer for the 19-year-old.

Reactions and Comments

Great With A Capital ‘G’: What a difference a fortnight makes. City’s previous home game had seen the Blues subside to a 1-0 defeat to Everton, leading to plenty of criticism of the team’s performance and to speculation over KK’s future. This week saw another 1-0 home defeat, this time against Champions Arsenal, but this time City emerged with some credit for a battling performance. Ashley Cole’s 13th-minute strike proved enough for Arsenal to see off City’s spirited effort. “We did everything we could and I think that is as good as we can be against a team of the quality of Arsenal,” mused the Boss Man later. “We possibly could have got something. There was a twenty minute period in the second half when we got a little bit of momentum going. We started to win a lot of ball in midfield and they started to get a bit sloppy, which is unusual for them. But we just couldn’t get that breakthrough, that deflection or goal that really would have set this game on fire. The crowd today, like me, thought this was a great opportunity, a difficult one to beat a side like Arsenal but nevertheless an opportunity. We are the sort of side that could beat them on our day but today was not our day. The effort and the commitment and passion that they showed got this crowd going and the crowd stayed for the ninety minutes. And I think while they will be as disappointed as I am they will realise that there is not a lot wrong at this football club that a win, a good result and a bit of confidence won’t put right.” Keegan tipped Arsenal to lift the Champions’ League trophy in May. “They have so much strength, I just think they are the best team and it would be no surprise to me if they went on to win the European Cup this year. I know they have had some problems in Europe in the past but they have so many assets it might be different this time. People think they are just about pace but that is so wrong. They have strength, a good work ethic and quality throughout the side. Like most sides, we had them watched about six times before we played them. When we started to do the usual strengths and weaknesses list, we ran out of paper when we started on the strengths and when it came to the weaknesses, we were really nit-picking to find any. I don’t think my team could have done much more today. We set the question ‘How good are you’. The answer is they are a great side.” Keegan then echoed the thought of some City fans when he wondered aloud: “I asked the players why they couldn’t have produced that level of drive and desire against Everton. But the truth is we found a level we have been unable to reach too often in the past and Arsenal still deserved to beat us. We put a lot of sweat on the shirts and played with a big heart, but we were still beaten by an excellent side,” he said. “They are great with a capital G.”

Cup Tie Football: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was relieved to see the Gunners triumph. “Man City played a Cup game today – I’m happy with the three points,” he said. “They were hard-earned. City made it very difficult for us – they were tenacious and they played well – a lot of credit goes to their defenders. We played well in the first half but we didn’t get the second goal – and when you don’t finish the game off it means the other team has a chance.” But the Frenchman could not resist a dig at the tactics he thought City employed to try to unsettle Lehmann. “Jens should get more protection,” he said. “I have nothing against people challenging for the ball with him in a fair manner. But there are players around him who are not even looking where the ball is. As far as I am concerned, that is a foul. He has a reputation in this country for being easy to upset but sometimes the tactics used against him go overboard.”

Squad News

Flood’s Rising to the Challenge: KK has said that Willo Flood will be offered a new deal, following the Irish youngster’s breakthrough into the first team recently. Flood marked his home début against Barnsley last week with a goal, and KK thinks that the time is right to secure Flood’s services. “Because of circumstances at this football club, we are having to lean on our younger players and I think that’s a good thing,” said Keegan. “When they come into training here they have got to be good enough. Willo Flood is definitely good enough, there is no doubt about that. We are looking to do a new contract with him because he deserves it and not because we have to do it. We could leave it another six months and make double, double sure about him. But I think we want to send a message to all the young players here that whilst we’ve got some great players in here by paying money, we aren’t closing the door on them. We won’t bypass them if they are good enough and that’s the key. I think we have got four or five here that are coming through now and making progress and have come from the Academy with a terrific grounding.”

Settle Down, Settle Down! Joey Barton was another of the goalscorers against Barnsley, opening the scoring with a 25 yard piledriver. And the 22-year-old has been talking of his relief at having secured a two-and-a-half year extension to his current deal. “I can settle down now,” He said. “It is always quite weird when your contract is about to run out and you never know what the future holds. To get it signed and out of the way is a relief because I can concentrate on helping to push Manchester City forward like the rest of the playing staff. I always wanted to stay here. It was just a question of me putting pen to paper. It’s done now, it’s behind me and I’ve just got to get my head down. I think I have calmed down. At the time I thought what I did against Barnsley was right but in hindsight it wasn’t and I realise that reaction was a little bit rash. But it’s not just because of that incident. It’s a number of things. I’ve grown up a littler bit more as a man and matured a bit more as a person. I think that has helped me a lot. The test now comes in the rest of the season. I’ve got to show that I have pushed on from last season,” said Barton, a former England Under-21 international. “This year is no different from any others. You have to keep trying to better yourself and that’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Sun Set For New Contract: Another player clearly in KK’s good books is Chinese defender Jihai Sun. “His contract is up at the end of this season and I have started talks with his representative earlier this week,” explained the manager. “There was a period about six months ago towards the end of last season when it looked as if his mind was not here. But since his wife has come here with the baby as she had been in China he has been a different guy. I like Jihai Sun, he is good to have around the place and he can play anywhere. He adapted to the left back against Arsenal. I thought because he was playing in a strange position he was our best player. I had the choice of playing Stephen Jordan at left back but as it was Arsenal Jihai Sun’s experience won the day and I was glad I was proved to be right. You couldn’t tell he was a right footed player. I think he has really settled into English football. It has taken him a while but I think he is settled now. I tried him in a central midfield rôle in the reserves but that didn’t go too well. Had it have done then I would say he could play anywhere in the back and midfield.”

Fat Chance: Robbie Fowler’s City career may well be at a crossroads, as KK has told his striker to get fit before he will be considered for first team action. Keegan has consistently defended Fowler against allegations he was overweight following his £6 million move from Leeds in January 2003, but rumours that the relationship between the pair had become fractured surfaced a fortnight ago after claims that Fowler had stormed away from the COMS after being substituted during the 1-0 home defeat to Everton a fortnight ago. KK has now revealed the striker was fined after this incident (believed to be one week’s wages, around £30,000). While the manager strenuously denied reports of a bust-up, he also confirmed the former England man will not be considered until the home game with Chelsea on October 16 at the earliest. “I had a chat with Robbie a week ago and we decided to spend the next two or three weeks, until after the international break, getting him as fit as we possibly can,” said Keegan. “There has been no bust-up. The reason I fined Robbie was because he left the game. When I sat down to talk to my players afterwards, he wasn’t there and that is not right. I asked him to give me a good excuse and he couldn’t. I understand his frustration and he is not the first player to do it, but he accepted he was wrong and I fined him. He was here watching the game but I promise Manchester City fans the next time they see Robbie Fowler, it will be a different Robbie Fowler. As hard as he has tried since he came here, Robbie knows his level of fitness is below what he really needs to have. He looks in better shape already but he has to go beyond that now. He has bought into the situation big time and we have worked together this week but he knows there is no quick fix.” And in an interesting twist, the Leeds Today website then claimed that there could be other motives for the Fowler freeze-out. City were due to pay Leeds United another £500,000 after he had played 60 games, and whether by luck or design, Fowler has played 59 times thus far. As the Yorkshire based website says: “The cash would be a welcome boost as the United board look to continue their massive rebuilding plans, but they are being made to sweat it out as they wait for the payment. Fowler hasn’t played for City since September 11 and his prolonged absence is denying Leeds valuable cash.” (thanks to John Doyle and Dave Warburton).

Midfield Malarkey: City face a bit of a dilemma when it comes to the midfield at Southampton on Saturday. Claudio Reyna is definitely out and may miss a month of the season with a thigh strain. And KK has revealed that, despite his appearance as a substitute against Arsenal, Steve McManaman is unlikely to be ready for a full 90 minutes. “Steve is not back to full fitness. I just put him on the bench on Saturday as we were that short,” explained the manager. “There were a number of youngsters on the bench on Saturday and I just felt that I would need him if in the unlikely event we went 1-0 up and wanted to sit on the ball. I asked him last Friday if he would sit on the bench for us even though he had trained pretty hard but I said that I would not give him more than half an hour. I may have to do the same again this week but that is a decision that I will take on Thursday. I have told him to keep following his programme until Thursday when we will then take a decision. He will probably sit on the bench again.” Antoine Sibierski is now a major doubt – “We have got Antoine Sibierski with what are possibly cracked ribs. He got a knock on Saturday and stayed on,” explained Kevin Keegan. “We are waiting to look at the x-rays but we think he has a cracked rib in which case it would be very difficult for him to be fit for Thursday. We have lost a lot in midfield where fortunately for us we have a lot of players. But suddenly with Trevor Sinclair out as well we just don’t have as many players. The international break has come at the right time from that point of view. If ever there was a right time for us it is this time. Hopefully by the end of it we will have Trevor Sinclair back, we will have Macca back and Claudio Reyna back. Depending on the results of the scans and x-rays we could have Antoine Sibierski back as well. I don’t know how long it takes for a cracked rib to heal, it could be a couple of weeks it depends how badly cracked the ribs are. It is a very painful injury.” Sound like it’s time to send for Willo!

MATCH REPORT: MCFC RESERVES 3 SAFC RESERVES 2

City Pounce on Black Cats

An exciting game at SportCity Athletics stadium gave City a hat-trick of wins and lifted the Blues up to third in the league, on goal difference, just one point behind leaders Birmingham. Two goals from our up and coming star, Bradley Wright-Phillips, either side of half time, and a goal from his replacement, Karl Bermingham, was enough to see off Sunderland, who have failed to win any of their six opening fixtures and remain rooted to the bottom of the table with only a draw against Blackburn Rovers to their credit.

Sunderland’s two goals in the second half flattered them as a Richie Ryan strike and a disputable penalty from Neil Teggart was not enough to overturn fine City approach play and occasional quality finish.

As early as the fourth minute though, it could have been a totally different story as a misplaced pass from City led to Sunderland’s Sean Thornton having a fine strike against the crossbar and Kevin Ellegaard saving Thornton’s second effort with his legs from the rebound off the bar.

However, from that point on, and for the remainder of the half, Sunderland hardly got a kick as City powered forward time and again. City’s new striking partnership of Christian Negouai and Bradley really looks to be developing into an effective weapon to be able to carve open opposition defences.

For all his good work, it was not to be Negouai’s night in front of goal as Sunderland’s ‘keeper, Ben Alnwick, was either there to thwart him, or Christian failed to find the target with some wayward shots.

City broke the deadlock on twenty six minutes when Lee Croft put a short cross in from the right. Sunderland’s Ben Clark failed to deal with the ball as Bradley dispossessed him and chipped the onrushing Alnwick from twenty five yards.

Twelve minutes later, a fine mazy run from Bradley freed him into space where he was able to lay the ball off to Lee Croft, who hit a fine strike against the outside of the post. The half ended with Sunderland finally winning their first corner in the dying minutes.

As early as the second minute of the second half, City could have doubled their lead when Negouai cheekily back heeled for Paul Collins to run on to Sunderland’s by-line and put a fine cross into the box, where Nedum Onuoha firmly headed at goal, but it was straight at the ‘keeper.

Ten minutes later, City doubled their lead, when Jonathan D’Laryea gave a short pass to Bradley on the edge of the area and he jinked his way past three defenders and stuck the ball firmly into the roof of the net. Almost immediately City found their advantage cut in half. Sunderland’s Richie Ryan found himself free on the far post and his shot across the face of the goal came off the inside of the post and into the net.

Two minutes later Bradley was replaced, obviously to save his legs for a place on the bench at Southampton on Saturday. His replacement, Karl Bermingham, did not have to wait long to get in on the action. In only the second minute of being on the pitch he was played through down the centre by Marc Laird and Karl dinked the ball past Alnwick, who had rushed off his line to no avail.

Ten minutes later the referee awarded a contentious penalty when Paddy McCarthy challenged Neil Teggart into the box and Teggart decided to fall to the ground quite theatrically; the referee then made the matter worse by booking McCarthy for what was a very fair challenge. Teggart then picked himself up to smash the penalty home straight down the middle.

Lee Croft was replaced seven minutes from the end to help bring some more stability to midfield. His replacement was Micah Richards, making his reserve début, and he made his mark by getting booked with only his second touch of the ball with a strong challenge, three minutes from time.

In the last five minutes Negouai could again have got his name on the scoresheet but his effort was firstly wide and then Alnwick made a fine save to deny him yet again.

City now travel to second place Middlesbrough next week to help confirm their desire to be title contenders this season.

Ellegaard: Some good saves, but could have done better for their first. 7
Sommeil: His first 90 minutes of football for City in a while. 7
Collins: Much better than last week’s very poor display. 7
Onuoha: Hardly put a foot wrong as always. Just edges the MoM award. 8
McCarthy (capt): Put his head & body behind every clearance, ref harshly treated him. 8
Laird: A steady as you go display from Marc. 7
Croft (83): Great 1st half like last week. Not so good 2nd like last week. 7
Negouai: Great work but would have liked to have scored obviously. 8
Wright-Phillips (59): Two great strikes, is turning the screw on Macken & Fowler. 8
J D’Laryea: Ran the show in the first half, not quite as dominant in the second. 8
Ireland: Better display and more running than last week. 7

Subs:
Bermingham: Worked well and scored a good goal. 7
Richards: Too late to mark.
Not Used: Schmeichel, Lee-Matthews, Murphy.

Sunderland: Alnwick, Dickman, Taylor, Leadbetter (Kingsberry 90), Clark (capt), Christensen, Oster, Thornton, Teggart, Johnson, Ryan.
Not Used: Ingham, Wanless, Clarkson.

Att: 721.

OPINION: POLL RESULTS

Hi all, as promised here are the results from September’s poll “Has KK lost it?” There were 162 votes; thanks to all who took the time.

64 (38%) voted: stay it will all work out
55 (33%) voted: go now
17 (10%) voted that it was time Psycho took over
15 (9%) voted that he should go at the end of this season
14 (8%) voted: are you mad, the man’s God

This month’s vote is: “Is the balance right between the kids and the older players?”

Please go to http://www.tttd.net/ to vote and this month have your say!

OPINION: THE GREAT TICKET RIP-OFF

I read the article about some clubs’ ticket prices for away supporters in the last MCIVTA with interest. Whilst the policies adopted by, say, Birmingham City do seem unfair, unfortunately it is inevitable that admission prices vary depending on what match you are going to see. You are always going to pay more for a game in high demand with a low supply of tickets – i.e. every City game away from home.

“Surely it must be illegal for the admission price to a venue to vary depending on which club you support?” This doesn’t really hold up – it’s like saying it’s not fair to pay more to watch The Rolling Stones than One True Voice if they were both playing the same venue. The petrol analogy doesn’t either – in effect you are buying a different product – the crowd is segregated and you are paying to sit in the Manchester City section of the stadium rather than the Birmingham City section – where less of the product (i.e. seats) is available.

Following that logic Rolling Stones fans should complain to the OFT that they are being punished for supporting a popular band. If the games are selling out you can’t say the prices are too high, if people stop going to matches then the prices will come down. Birmingham City realise that they are a bit cr*p and don’t have the same level of demand for tickets that City enjoy – and hence they are forced to price their home tickets at less than the away tickets. They aren’t being generous to home fans and mean to away fans – do you think that if they sold out every game they would hesitate to put their home ticket prices up? I suppose the only exception to that rule might be our friends in Trafford – but then, they can afford to keep their prices down as gate receipts are propped up by a global marketing operation – you probably don’t get many people in Thailand proudly sporting a Birmingham City shirt.

You can’t have the Premier League arbitrarily determining ticket prices (that genuinely would be a price fixing cartel and a case for the OFT/Competition Commission). Many fans might still be priced out of going to games (home and away) even if the prices were reduced to say £15, and following the logic in the original letter to the OFT to its conclusion, the only truly fair solution would be free admission – otherwise some fans will always be priced out of going to matches. The rule that you can’t charge away fans more than home fans should be sufficent – it’s a matter for the PL rather than the OFT if clubs are breaching that rule.

OPINION: ROYLE DEAL

I am a Joe Royle fan going back to when I used to take my step-father to Everton (they then lived close to the East Lancs.).

Never did understand why (and I shall not go into whether or not he had brought us on as far as he could before being replaced) we did not leave him in charge of seeking talent. If he only picked upon 2 potentials per year at today’s prices that would have justified his position and salary.

I wonder in sheer amazement that so few of your correspondents see how on a very low budget he has brought on Ipswich.

Given 1% of the money available to Mr Keegan where could this “appointment” have taken us. Just one buy (Holland my namesake but no relation) would have paid nearly 2 year’s salary.

I am one of the many who bought shares way back and also later when I think we were looking for £13 million.

For those with short memories (and also being City supporters), Joe was very instrumental in negotiations for Eastlands.

Would I now sell my (really worthless in value) City shares? No, I see these as a proof that there is some loyalty in being a supporter.

I do go back to cycling to and parking my bike in the backyards close to Maine Road during the War.

OPINION: GO GET HIM KEV

Living in the North East I regularly listen to the local football phone in. There is a striker who is currently getting rave reviews in the North East from pundits and fans alike. I think he could do a really good job for City as Wanchope has departed and Fowler could not hit a barn door from five yards. Kevin Keegan should go and get him before he gets snapped up. Apparently he is not quite the finished article but is an excellent finisher and shows lots of tenacity and drive. His name… Stephen Elliot, whoops let that one go didn’t you Kev? The pundits in the North East cannot understand why City let him go until one of the local football writers pointed out that Keegan would not know a good player if he fell over him. Maybe a little unfair and I know Kev wanted him to stay but could not offer first team football but let’s hope we do not live to regret it.

OPINION: TIME WASTING

Re Rich Fenton’s report on the Arsenal match:

“For me the most disappointing part of the game was the Arsenal’s players time-wasting, attempts to get City players booked by bickering with the ref and in one case unsportsmanship, when they refused to kick the ball back to City after the ball had been knocked out for an injured player (with City on the attack). This behavior sours a team which are so good to watch, they don’t need to resort to such tactics!”

I’m not defending Arsenal’s timewasting, but I got the impression on that occasion that Toure (I think) was telling Mills he was willing to kick it back to James, but Mills either didn’t understand, or is just so hard, he likes the dropped ball…

OPINION: INTERNATIONAL CITY CARD

Following Garry’s recent request about the ICC process and ticket applications, here is what to do:

When you apply for a ticket if you include the ICC numbers for the people you want tickets for, what game it is for and payment details including the credit card number, expiry date, valid from date and issue number if the card has one (not all cards have them, i.e. Visa and Mastercard) and send the application through by email we will process the application and e-mail you back with all the seat details and relevant details.

REQUEST: SKY VIEWING

I remember reading some time ago in one of the issues that if you subscribed to Sky, it was possible to tune in to local television channels, e.g. Granada, even though you might live in the South. Does anyone know how this can be done?

Thanks from the wife of a long-suffering City fan.

Beryl Grindrod <beryl_grindrod(at)ntlworld.com>

REQUEST: ROMAN BLUES VIEWING

I am in Rome with the Mrs when we play Arsenal in the Carling Cup, and what better way to treat my good lady in one of the most romantic cities in the world than dragging her to the boozer to watch the City match and get blind drunk on crap Italian lager.

As the game is being shown on Sky Sports, does anyone know a good venue in Rome where we can watch this footballing ‘treat’.

If at all possible, a venue selling lava hot balti pies and lukewarm bovril served by simpletons will make the venue most authentic, and make me feel like I was actually at the match.

REQUEST: OLD BIG ‘EAD

I have been commissioned to put together a book on Brian Clough (probably called “The Top One” but we are open to suggestions). The book will comprise quotes from all that held the great man in high regard. All quotes will be credited e.g. Richard Clarke, Manchester etc.

It is one of the book’s aims to have a few quotes from every club. I have contacted various sites and hope you will be able to help by inviting your readership to submit their quotes for the book which will be published before Christmas.

Dave McKay is earmarked to write one of two forewords with the other a notable Forest player. Please email any thoughts, stories etc through to me at:

REQUEST: PREMIERSHIP STATISTICS

An up-to-date version of “The-BIGGER-One” (the Man City and all Premiership team-progress spreadsheet file) has just been posted on my website (with results entered up to 27th Sept. and rescheduled fixtures). The file now has a compressed sorting routine (slightly smaller file size), and some minor format modifications.

“The-BIGGER-One” is available as a free download at http://www.freewebs.com/vincents-odds-n-sods/thebiggerone.htm

Please visit the website to read the full list of the file’s features; but, basically, it’s an Excel spreadsheet file. All you need to do is type in the scores (or your predictions) and all the statistical tables and graphs are instantly revised (without the use of imported macros).

It is ready with the date of every Premiership fixture for the season, plus a few new features since last season. Also available is a completed statistical version for last season.

The website has been checked-out, and has a priority listing with http://www.soccerlinks.co.uk (under the miscellaneous:other, listings) If you like the sheets, please tell your mates.

RESULTS

27 September 2004

Charlton Athletic     1 - 0  Blackburn Rovers      26,193

League table to 29 September 2004 inclusive

HOME AWAY OVERALL

                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Arsenal          7  2  1  0 10  5  4  0  0 12  2  6  1  0  22   7  15  19
 2 Chelsea          7  2  1  0  3  1  3  1  0  4  0  5  2  0   7   1   6  17
 3 Everton          7  2  0  1  4  5  3  1  0  5  1  5  1  1   9   6   3  16
 4 Bolton Wndrs     7  2  2  0  8  4  1  1  1  4  5  3  3  1  12   9   3  12
 5 Manchester Utd   7  2  1  0  4  2  1  2  1  4  4  3  3  1   8   6   2  12
 6 Newcastle Utd    7  2  1  1  8  4  1  1  1  6  7  3  2  2  14  11   3  11
 7 Charlton Ath.    7  3  1  0  6  1  0  1  2  2  9  3  2  2   8  10  -2  11
 8 Liverpool        6  3  0  0  8  1  0  1  2  2  4  3  1  2  10   5   5  10
 9 Aston Villa      7  2  2  0  7  3  0  2  1  1  4  2  4  1   8   7   1  10
10 Tottenham H.     7  1  2  1  2  2  1  2  0  2  1  2  4  1   4   3   1  10
11 Middlesbrough    7  2  1  1  6  5  1  0  2  5  6  3  1  3  11  11   0  10
12 Fulham           7  2  0  2  3  5  0  2  1  5  6  2  2  3   8  11  -3   8
13 Manchester City  7  1  1  2  5  3  1  0  2  3  4  2  1  4   8   7   1   7
14 Portsmouth       6  2  1  1  8  6  0  0  2  1  3  2  1  3   9   9   0   7
15 Birmingham City  7  1  1  1  2  2  0  2  2  3  5  1  3  3   5   7  -2   6
16 Blackburn R.     7  1  2  0  3  2  0  0  4  2 10  1  2  4   5  12  -7   5
17 Southampton      7  1  0  2  5  6  0  1  3  1  5  1  1  5   6  11  -5   4
18 West Brom A.     7  0  3  0  3  3  0  1  3  3  9  0  4  3   6  12  -6   4
19 Norwich City     7  0  2  1  2  5  0  2  2  3  7  0  4  3   5  12  -7   4
20 Crystal Palace   7  0  0  3  2  7  0  2  2  4  7  0  2  5   6  14  -8   2

MCIVTA FAQ [v0405.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Madeleine Hawkins)     : 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

[2] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

Deadlines for issues are nominally 6pm, Monday and Thursday evenings bu email. Unfortunately we cannot accept email attachments.

[3] 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.

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

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

[5] 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).

[6] 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.

[7] 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/.

[8] 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/.

[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] Where can I find a list of City-related websites?

Try Wookie’s Lair: http://www.wookieslair.com/modules.php?name=Web_Links

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: