Newsletter #1392

Into the new year, the new transfer window and with a respectable tally of 6 points over the festive season. We have a match report on the Liverpool game tonight, thanks to Phil, with match views on that game and other recent performances.

There is debate on the commitment and ability of some players, transfer targets and debate on the refereeing decisions during the Blackburn game.

Apologies for the lack of news summary tonight, our newshound Don is unfortunately on his sickbed with flu. Sarah Longshaw has kindly agreed to step in next week to provide the news coverage, so keep any snippets on the news front coming to the regular address.

FA Cup action begins for City this weekend as we travel to Upton Park.

MATCH REPORT: MCFC 0 LFC 0

City deservedly earned a hard fought draw against one of the footballing aristocrats to keep European ambitions intact and maintain a 3 point cushion of the chasing teams. Richard Dunne and Dietmar Hamann were the stars of the show for City and the team defended superbly as a whole, battling hard for each other, further demonstrating that Eriksson has fostered a great team spirit at Eastlands.

City began with a slightly defensive formation with Hamann and Corluka in central midfield, Vassell alone up front, and with Dunne playing to the left of Richards.

Early on, both teams were feeling their way through what was always going to be a tactical battle. Liverpool started off mixing up short passing with a long ball, but John Toshack was nowhere to be seen. Neither was the suspended Peter Crouch for that matter, with rumours persisting that Sven is interested in signing the England centre forward.

City started off well. Stephen Ireland fizzed brightly for a few minutes down the right before fading. Taking Elano’s pass, his challenge led to Vassell’s effort being blocked by the impressive Arbeloa. City took the game to the visitors early on and Dunne was wide with a header. Thereafter, it was a real struggle for City to create anything with Carragher shackling Elano, and Mascherano plugging any gaps when City tried to penetrate with searching passes. Hamann did an equally effective job against his old club in this game, breaking up attacks with clever interceptions, blocks and tackles and then distributing the ball accurately with intelligence: time after time. Corluka slotted in smoothly alongside him with some intelligent link up play with Petrov. Sven’s intelligent strategy to nullify the threat of Gerrard by having him closely watched, forced the Liverpool skipper into a deep rôle in front of his back four.

The spirit of the largely good-natured holiday crowd 47,321 was wonderful: there was plenty of good, healthy banter that you’d expect from a City-Liverpool game. Every year, the visitors need educating that, indeed, ‘Oh, Manchester is wonderful…’, but they always seem to forget this fact.

The City defence rose to the challenge as the visitors started to impose their class on the game. Dunne was a colossus up against the tricky Torres and Richards was forced into two superb blocks in close succession from Kuyt. Then the dangerous Fabio Aurelio broke from left back on the overlap and had a couple of efforts, one of which was tipped over coolly by Hart. City found it hard to penetrate Liverpool: Petrov broke down the left at pace but his raking cross was well intercepted by the excellent Carragher. Arbeloa alongside him also read the game well and made a couple of good interceptions to snuff out our raids. At the other end Benayoun had a couple of efforts and Liverpool ended the first half pushing us back without finding a way through a thick Blue wall.

At half time we were treated to Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to be Wild’ and Wah’s ‘Story of the Blues’. Perhaps the latter tune was more apt as instead of firing all of our guns at once and exploding into space, we started the second half on the back foot, with Stephen Ireland not fully switched on. His naïve pass across the middle was easily read by Liverpool. Aurelio played in Torres and his shot was well saved by Hart. The talented young Irishman was quick to acknowledge his mistake, and one hopes that he will learn from it. Torres went close again when fed by the industrious Kuyt, with Dunne and Richards both on hand to shepherd the ball out. Liverpool attacked for most of the half with City making sorties down the flanks, only to be thwarted by good full back play from Finnan and Fabio Aurelio. Vassell who worked very hard, went on a mazy run past 2 defenders into the Liverpool box, only to be thwarted before he could shoot. As the game wore on, Liverpool cranked up the pressure, but were guilty of inaccurate shooting: Gerrard, who was booed by sections of the crowd for his England failures, showed his Three Lions form here with some terrible shooting. His best attempt was a free kick that was a yard wide. Who isn’t to say that he would have been successful had he managed to hit the target, as Hart was in impressive form, and when the young shot-stopper wasn’t called upon, there was someone there to block. It is much to Sven’s and his team’s credit that Gerrard was reduced to long range shooting and that his team was so well-marhsalled.

Hart had to tip a powerful Benayoun shot over and Dunne, who was immense throughout, made a brilliant, match-saving, close range block from the Israeli. Torres got frustrated, earning himself a booking for leaving his studs in on Richards. City held on and deservedly so.

This was an absorbing chess-like game that had us kicking every ball in the stand. We had to defend for long periods in the second half and surrendered possession rather easily either due to our passing going astray or the ball failing to stick when played up front. If we’d had a top class forward who can hold the ball up better and run with it at pace then we might have posed a bigger threat to Liverpool than we did. “I think we defended very well,” said Sven afterwards, and he can take great credit for setting City up well. A rather deluded and disingenuous David Brent (a.k.a. Rafael Benitez), thought that his team deserved to win. Whilst he is by no means the worst offender, in common with the other managers of the so-called ‘Big Four’, giving credit to the opposition is anathema to him. Whilst Liverpool dominated the 2nd half, his strikers didn’t hit the target often enough and when they did shoot straight, they found a City player on hand to thwart them. The Spaniard, who continually handicaps his club with his ridiculous rotation policy, would do well to remember that scoring is an important part of the game, and Liverpool were not good enough to score – whenever Liverpool got a sniff of goal they were woeful in their finishing (Gerrard’s shooting was off on at least 3 occasions). Benitez would also do well to remember that defending is an equally important element, and his team were thwarted by great City defending and/or goalkeeping. City deserved the draw and the visitors deserved no more than that. End of.

Both teams wore black arm bands after the death of 35 year old Motherwell midfielder Phil O’Donnell on Saturday. To all accounts he was a great professional, an inspiration to all around him and a great bloke. It is very sad to hear of his passing and it puts everything into perspective really. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends on their loss.

Formwatch:

Hart: Missed one cross but good shot stopping throughout including a great stop from Torres early in the 2nd half. 7
Onuoha: Skinned a couple of times by the tricky Kewell early on but otherwise solid and covered his defence well. Got stronger as the game went on 6
Richards: Made two great blocks from Kuyt to demonstrate our resilience. Read the game well and battled well with the dangerous, physical, and mobile Liverpool strikeforce. 7
Dunne: A colossus again: the skipper is having another very good season. Brilliant from start to finish with several blocks, tackles, a match-saving block and superb reading of the game. The better the opponent, the better he gets: 9
Ball: Good things come to those who wait. Covered his defence well in another faultless performance where he read the game superbly. Has a great understanding with his ex-Everton team mate, Dunney: 8
Ireland: One or two decent balls early on but it wasn’t his day. Left Onuoha exposed a little to the twin threats of Kewell and Fabio Aurelio: 5
Hamann: Interceptions, blocks and tackles aplenty with classy distribution. Up there with the skipper and Elano in the running for player of the season. Cool and classy throughout and didn’t waste a ball. 9
Corluka: Has made a seamless transformation in a central midfield rôle recently, and competed well here. Even if all his clever passes didn’t quite come off, he has the vision to play this rôle. 7
Petrov: Kept Finnan occupied and was a threat with his pace, but flattered to deceive on this occasion: 6
Elano: Struggled physically and was tightly marked by the excellent Carragher, and consequently his best work was defensive on this occasion. Worked hard and showed good awareness when the opposition had the ball: 6
Vassell: Toiled manfully up front on his own, getting in the faces of the Liverpool defence. Earned a richly deserved standing ovation when substituted; 7
Subs:
Fernandes: Industrious as ever: 6
Bianchi: Rather shot shy when presented with an opportunity. 6
Geovanni: Didn’t quite come off for him in an attacking sense, but worked hard when called upon: 6

MATCHVIEW I: MCFC 0 LFC 0

Thanks to Richard Dunne and Joe Hart (not forgetting Micah Richards) we grabbed a point today, against a more determined and more dangerous Liverpool side. Richard was completely dominant in the heart of our defence and he should win an award for his display today.

Elano was non-existent and did not get on top of his game. Not sure what his problem is, but something is not right with him. Not too impressed with any of our subs who came on later in the game, either – we badly lost the midfield.

Lots of our players did themselves justice today but, ever again, we failed in the final third of the pitch. We’re not forceful enough, we’re not dangerous enough and, as a result, we’re not scoring enough goals.

It’s a pity our new Mexican signing is not able to join in the fun on the pitch right now. With him and Bojinov at least they should shake things up somewhat, and for the better.

Considering the battering we survived from Liverpool during their second-half onslaught against us, definitely one point gained today and not points lost, that’s for sure.

A very decent, competent and productive goalscorer in the side would definitely be worth his weight in gold. He would be the catalyst to transform this side even more.

We’re doing very well, but we’re also close to doing much better and, we have to be, if the club truly does wish to challenge with the very best. Sven must bring in new players next month if we are to progress.

MATCHVIEW II: MCFC 0 LFC 0

Just because there were no goals scored did not mean that this was not a good football game, it was a very good game.

Manchester City stood their ground against an experienced Liverpool side who have played far more games together than our squad. Liverpool also came to Eastlands with one of the best away records in the league.

The City defence on the day was superb, with Richard Dunne playing his best game of the season, and leading the way as a very good captain.

Micah kept Torres under control, and towards the end Torres got a yellow card for fouling Micah in his frustration of not being able to beat him.

Every member of the team stuck to Sven’s plan, but we just could not get that counter attack to score that winning goal.

In the last 15 minutes Liverpool put tremendous pressure on City, leaving Gerrard scratching his head on how to beat such a great defence.

Without question the side will be playing better after the squad has been improved up front, we have to be able to score more goals.

Come on you Blues!

OPINION: LIVERPOOL I

Great point won against Liverpool! Have to moan about their supporters though.

We complain about our own supporters chanting about Munich etc. but what about sick chanting from the Liverpool fans? For example: “Shipman was a scouser”

Not nice…

Great season so far and I’m still in shock about results and our league position. I am really looking forward to West Ham away in the FA Cup. A sell out apparently… great stuff.

OPINION: LIVERPOOL II

Spotted the following on Liverpool’s website poll.

Manchester City pose a serious threat to the dominance of the so-called big four, according to Liverpool fans who took part in our exclusive Internet vote.

A massive 59 per cent of supporters believe that, of all the contenders, Sunday’s opponents are most likely to break into the top four to claim a Champions’ League spot.

Of the other challengers, Kopites reckon Everton are more likely to join the big boys than Villa, Portsmouth, Blackburn and Spurs.

The Toffees took 29 per cent of the vote.

OPINION: RECENT PERFORMANCES

Thought I’d pen my thoughts – albeit a bit late.

Villa game – City were awesome for the first 12 minutes. Knocking the ball around, we looked like we were the most confident footballing team on the planet. As soon as Carew hit the back of the net, confidence seemed to dip and we were hanging on for 75+ mins. Thought Elano lacked match fitness on his return from injury and Petrov wasn’t the lightening, attacking player he is at Eastlands. Bianchi scored his goal, but for me, playing one up top, he hasn’t got the speed or stamina to put the defence under enough pressure to stop them picking their pass out. Dunne had a poor game by his lofty standards and was unusually turned for their goal (still don’t understand why Ball didn’t blast the ball into orbit as it ran near him). Onouha and Fernandes had quality games. Ball looked assured.

Blackburn – I wasn’t there but one thing strikes me immediately – no matter how good a performance it was/wasn’t, or what the difference really is between active/inactive – how can an official, who is paid to make snap decisions, change his mind as soon as he is surrounded by 4/5 “angry” players? I personally don’t care which way the decision went (I’m not in favour of TV replays being introduced at all) but I think that they should be enforced as given. Not as changed when spoken to. Or once they’ve had a chance to think about it – the linesman can hardly have said “guys, can we just have you back where you were, I just want another look”. I mean where’s it stop? A penalty given, then as the player runs up to take it, the ref goes “hang on, stop. I’ve changed my mind, goal kick”. He’d never ref again.

For the record I can’t see how Dunn, who was clearly in Joe Hart’s line of sight as the ball came in, was clearly ahead of the last defender, and clearly went to head the ball, can have been inactive. Simple. Offside.

Oh and saw Bianchi’s quotes today. I’d rather have Anelka back up front (even though he was rubbish at one on ones).

That should stimulate some debate.

OPINION: GREY AREA AND OLD MEN

I agree with SGE about Howard Webb’s decision at the Blackburn game. The decision to overrule the linesman was scandalous. It is incidents like this that could cost us a Champions’ League position. The Blackburn player attempted to head the ball and was therefore active; what is grey about that! I thought the referee had a poor game in general, the booking of Micah was another example of poor decision making. Elano was clattered 4 times before the referee decided to do anything about it! Consistency please… let’s hope that Mr Webb does not visit Eastlands very often in the future.

My second point concerns Martin Petrov, I am not prepared to agree with the opinions of others regarding his performance. I was stood in the East Stand (no one sits any more!) very close to the touchline, I have noticed that he consistently cuts inside close to his marker, it appears he does this for a breather. He looked like an old man after our second goal, puffing and panting. We should have put Blackburn to the sword in the last 15 minutes of the first half, they had no answer to the link up play on the left hand side and the forward runs of Petrov. Instead he switched off as if “job done”.

I thought the defence played well, recent criticism in MCIVTA about Dunne and the defence is just not accurate. Micah is awesome and Dunne is solid as a rock. I was happy to see Ball on the left, I think he is a class act; not just my opinion, check out the votes on M.E.N. man of the match poll after recent games. Corluka has also shown his versatility; he had a great game and I would be tempted to leave him in the middle. He has great vision and is a very good/clean tackler. I am afraid my only negative is about Bianchi. True enough the crowd backed him the other night, but for me he is not prepared to get stuck in up front. Far too easily dispossessed, I cannot imagine him putting the fear of god amongst many Premier League centre halves. From what I have read about Castillo, he appears far more physical and should be a handful. I think he will be a great signing. I hope we sign Bresciano in January along with a centre forward who is physical and creates problems and can score on a regular basis. I like the sound of Modric in midfield. I am sure Shinawtra will not want to let things slip after progressing so far. The Champions’ League places are within our grasp… we do not have European games as a distraction or any players leaving to play in the African Nations Cup. Come on City!

OPINION: RULE CHANGES

It appears that getting away with playing beyond the limits for his whole career, Mark Hughes’ understanding of footballing rules in management have followed a similar suit. According to his after match comments, the rule on offside deeming whether you are interfering with play now relies on whether you touch the ball or not. Further, he deigns to suggest that the liner made a brave decision in changing his mind when he realised Dunn had not touched the ball, although in an offside position. According to ThisIsLondon, Liner Darren Cann informed Howard Webb that ‘he had incorrectly anticipated Dunn getting a touch’ on the ball in raising his flag.

The two things that instantly strike me here are that firstly, if the liner has raised his flag in anticipation of a forward getting a touch, then might not a City player move accordingly to anticipate such a touch? If so, then how can the referee deem that player non-active? The referee had the additional benefit of the liner’s anticipation to confirm the active nature of the player. Whether the liner considered himself to be incorrect, after raising his flag, the referee now has sufficient evidence to suggest the player was clearly active. Given the failure of the referee to apply the same rules to Blackburn as he had with City throughout, it is hardly surprising he took the opportunity to award Blackburn an additional unfair advantage in this instance.

Secondly, last night’s events were a further move away from the sporting roots of ‘our’ game. The maxim that it is no use in complaining to officials as they do not change their minds has been thrown out of the window in a one-man show of dithering.

Around the time of England’s triumphant semi-final victory, with rugby in the ascendancy, Brian Barwick was reputably considering introducing a simple and effective rule change to English football. This would address the unsporting behaviour of players consistently and collectively abusing officials. The change would mirror rugby in respecting its officials, at a time when rugby’s popularity might have been seen as a real threat to football’s unopposed representation as the nation’s game. By addressing the referee only through the captain and by referring to him as ‘Sir’, football might easily spread a positive message throughout ‘our’ game and to the millions of kids (and adults) that follow it.

A simple and long overdue change would introduce a positive respect for authority in ‘our’ game and its over indulged players. I for one, hope this incident might be used as an example to again move the issue up the agenda and stop this intolerable behaviour. I fear however, it may have just been lip service to the national sporting majority when its attention might have been waning.

Whatever you do, stay Blue!

OPINION: TRANSFER DEALINGS

I see in the news that Dimitar Berbatov wants to leave Tottenham for a more successful club. To have him playing with his Bulgarian compatriot Petrov at City would surely solve our goal-scoring problems, but I doubt if City would be big enough for him and could we match the fee?

However, anyone who watched the ten-goal thriller between Spurs and Reading the other day should have noticed the excellent technique shown by Reading’s Kitson when scoring his two goals. Should an attempt be made by City to lure him away from there for a much smaller fee?

OPINION: BARTON

£5.5 million for Joey Barton. I just can’t stop laughing.

REQUEST: BLUES VIEWING IN VANCOUVER

There has to be a handful of Blues on Canada’s West Coast.

A good New Year’s resolution is to get Blues in the Vancouver area together on match days. I know games are early in the morning but we can sort something out.

Please email if interested.

REQUEST: REDDISH BLUES

Armani Sheku Kamara, founder and Chair of the Sierra Leone branch of the Manchester City Centenary Supporters’ Association and Manchester City FC (Sierra Leone version) will be at the next meeting of the Reddish branch on Wednesday 9th January.

The meeting starts at 8.00pm (doors 7.30pm) at The Ash Hotel, Manchester Road, Stockport and admission is free to CSA Members, £2 for mon-members adults and £1 for non-members juniors.

This may well be the last time Armani is over here for a while and if you’ve never met him then this will be great opportunity to see him and I can assure you once you’ve met him you’ll never forget him!

Whilst Armani is with us he will also be collecting items of kit etc. kindly donated by the Club and CSA branches to take back with him to Sierra Leone. So, if you’ve any spare kit that you no longer want then why not bring it with you and give it to Armani personally.

If there are any individuals or branches, whether or not members of the CSA, who might be interested in supporting Armani with his tremendous efforts in Sierra Leone then please come along to the meeting to find out more or contact Howard Burr or Alex Channon at the addresses below for more details.

REQUEST: A FOOTBALL HISTORY

Some time ago I said I’d provide details on the book I was writing on the history of football in Manchester. Well, after several discussions with publishers, I can now confirm that the book will be published in May and that a subscription version will be available at a discounted price (details below). At one point the book was to be published by Breedon Books; however, as I was determined to ensure the book was as detailed and extensive as possible, I have now switched publishers. Anyway, the correct details are:

MANCHESTER – A FOOTBALL HISTORY
By Gary James

ISBN: 978-0-9558127-0-5
To be published May 2008
Retail Price: £21.95 Special Subscriber Offer £20 (including UK p&p, non-UK add £10)

Ever wondered why football in Manchester developed the way it did? Ever wondered how the Manchester sides compare in terms of local support, trophy success, and so on? If you have you will be interested in Manchester – A Football History.

Following the success of his Channel M series on the same subject, writer and football historian Gary James’ latest book details the story of Mancunian football from the Middle Ages through to the modern day. It is available to pre-order for the discounted price of £20 (including UK p&p). For that subscribers will receive a personally signed copy of the book, despatched in May before the book appears in the shops, and will also have the opportunity to have their name, the name of their favourite Manchester region side and the name of their favourite player included in the special subscribers’ list.

The book reveals many new and interesting stories and also tries to spell out many significant events that have shaped the region’s football development. Manchester – A Football History focuses on the League/former League sides of City, United, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Stalybridge Celtic, and explains how City’s move to Maine Road prompted the creation of an alternative MCFC during the 1920s, and how City and United worked together to stop this side from joining the League. It also highlights information that may shock some readers such as the fact that City’s current average attendance is several thousand higher than United’s all time average League support, or that Bury had actually won the FA Cup twice before either City or United had reached a final.

Manchester – A Football History will contain over 200,000 words on more than 500 pages (size 248x174mm) with photographs throughout.

All subscriber editions must be ordered before 9th February 2008. To order please send a cheque for £20 made payable to James Ward and post, together with the information detailed below to the publishers: James Ward, PO Box 822, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 9FX.

Please include with every order: Your £20 (£30 non-UK) cheque made payable to James Ward; your full name and delivery address; the name to be included in the subscribers’ list (if different); the name of your favourite football team (for example Manchester City) and your favourite all-time player (for example Mike Summerbee).

RESULTS

2 January 2008

Newcastle United      0 - 2  Manchester City       50,956
Blackburn Rovers      1 - 0  Sunderland            23,212
Bolton Wanderers      1 - 0  Derby County          17,014
Liverpool             1 - 1  Wigan Athletic        42,308

1 January 2008

Arsenal               2 - 0  West Ham United       60,102
Aston Villa           2 - 1  Tottenham Hotspur     41,609
Fulham                1 - 2  Chelsea               25,357
Manchester United     1 - 0  Birmingham City       75,459
Middlesbrough         0 - 2  Everton               27,028
Reading               0 - 2  Portsmouth            24,084

30 December 2007

Derby County          1 - 2  Blackburn Rovers      30,048
Manchester City       0 - 0  Liverpool             47,321

29 December 2007

Birmingham City       1 - 1  Fulham                28,923
Chelsea               2 - 1  Newcastle United      41,751
Portsmouth            0 - 1  Middlesbrough         20,089
Sunderland            3 - 1  Bolton Wanderers      42,058
Tottenham Hotspur     6 - 4  Reading               36,178
West Ham United       2 - 1  Manchester United     34,966
Wigan Athletic        1 - 2  Aston Villa           18,806
Everton               1 - 4  Arsenal               39,443

League table to 02 January 2008 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD  Pts
 1 Arsenal         21 10  1  0 25  7  5  4  1 17  9 15  5  1  42  16  26  50
 2 Manchester Utd  21 10  1  0 23  3  5  2  3 15  8 15  3  3  38  11  27  48
 3 Chelsea         21  6  4  0 20  8  7  1  3 13  8 13  5  3  33  16  17  44
 4 Manchester City 21  9  2  0 19  7  2  4  4 10 15 11  6  4  29  22   7  39
 5 Liverpool       20  4  5  1 21  7  6  3  1 13  6 10  8  2  34  13  21  38
 6 Everton         21  6  1  3 22 11  5  2  4 15 11 11  3  7  37  22  15  36
 7 Aston Villa     21  6  1  4 16 14  4  5  1 21 13 10  6  5  37  27  10  36
 8 Portsmouth      21  2  6  2 11  8  7  1  3 20 12  9  7  5  31  20  11  34
 9 Blackburn R.    21  5  2  4 12 12  4  4  2 16 16  9  6  6  28  28   0  33
10 West Ham United 20  3  4  3 12 11  5  1  4 13  8  8  5  7  25  19   6  29
11 Newcastle Utd   21  5  3  3 16 17  2  2  6 11 16  7  5  9  27  33  -6  26
12 Tottenham H.    21  5  1  4 30 21  1  5  5 12 17  6  6  9  42  38   4  24
13 Reading         21  6  1  4 14 15  0  3  7 15 29  6  4 11  29  44 -15  22
14 Bolton Wndrs    21  5  3  3 16  9  0  2  8  7 23  5  5 11  23  32  -9  20
15 Middlesbrough   21  2  3  5 11 17  3  2  6  7 18  5  5 11  18  35 -17  20
16 Birmingham City 21  3  3  4 12 12  2  1  8 10 20  5  4 12  22  32 -10  19
17 Wigan Athletic  21  4  2  4 13 12  0  3  8  8 25  4  5 12  21  37 -16  17
18 Sunderland      21  4  3  3 11 13  0  2  9  9 27  4  5 12  20  40 -20  17
19 Fulham          21  2  5  4 16 18  0  4  6  6 19  2  9 10  22  37 -15  15
20 Derby County    21  1  2  7  7 19  0  2  9  3 27  1  4 16  10  46 -36   7

MCIVTA FAQ [v0708.01]

[1] 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

[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.mcfcosc.com/); the “Centenary Supporters’ Association” (http://www.reddishblues.com/CSAWebsite/CSA.htm) and “The International Supporters’ Club”.

[6] Where can I find out about Points of Blue (formerly the Fans’ Committee)?

The committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. Points of Blue appears on the club website as a minor entry under “Fans Zone”.

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

The Radio Manchester (née GMR) pre and post match phone-in is available on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/sport/manchester_city/index.shtml.

Live match commentaries and archives of games, reports and interviews can be found at http://mcfc.videoloungetv.com/do/preLogin?clubSiteCode=MCFC&CMP=AFC-003.

[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://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer, http://www.soccertv.com/, and http://www.livesoccertv.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] 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/.

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: