Newsletter #1549

News tonight on the latest transfer arrivals, pre-season games and swine flu hitting the Blues!

We have opinion on our transfer moves this summer, the squad building, and the hypocrisy of some clubs. There are also the usual requests.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

South African Adventure: The Blues’ pre-season continues following a training camp in Germany with a trip to South Africa. The Vodacom challenge awaits the Blues with fixtures against Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs on the agenda. The club entered the competition to raise their profile in Africa but now there is a belief that with the top names assigned, City could be victorious in the prestigious competition. The club has also revealed that they will participate in some warm weather training this winter in Abu Dhabi, the home of owner Sheikh Mansour with a fixture against the U.A.E. national team planned: “With a growing and enthusiastic fan base in the UAE, we look forward to a friendly in Abu Dhabi in November. The Club feels an obvious kinship with the city, and this game is another way for us to interact with the community at a grassroots level. This fixture will also be a focal point of our winter training visit to Abu Dhabi during the November international break in the league season.”

City are Back… Fact: Some sections of the media will tell you that it wasn’t brilliance on United’s part that won the Premier League last season but failed mind games by Rafa Benitez when he told the press that Liverpool were the best team in England… fact. Now Rafa has turned his attentions towards the Blue half of Manchester by criticizing the Blues’ transfer policy. The former Valencia manager, who splashed out £27 million for Torres, £20 million for Robbie Keane, £17 million for Mascherano, £11 million for Riera and more recently £18 million for Glenn Johnson, has warned Hughes that money won’t buy him success and has slammed the Citizens for attempting to do so: “We had to pay big money, the market is now crazy. It is all money, money, money now. Things have changed. You have to adapt to a situation. Manchester City and big clubs in Europe are spending big money, so the market has changed and we have to work harder. You have to do that to stay at the level we are at because of the big money being spent here and abroad. City have signed a lot of good players, but that is no guarantee they will win anything. But it will be interesting to see what happens next season. But whatever happens, experience is more important and we feel that we have that to be in the top positions. If you spend big it is always easier to perform well. But when you have a good understanding between players that is also important. If they are together, they work hard, that is just as important.”

Laying the Blame: The Spaniard isn’t the only manager to have voiced his opinion about transfer fees this week as Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson also had his say. Ferguson claimed that he had completed his spending this transfer window with Antonio Valencia, Michael Owen and Gabriel Obertan the newest to be handed the shirt of the Red Devils. But it is not through choice that United are now refusing to sign further players but in fact due to the over inflated fees. Ferguson stated, only a fortnight after selling Cristiano Ronaldo to big spenders Real Madrid for a fee of £80 million, that the spending of “stupid” and “unrealistic” money has priced most teams out of the market: “I said a year ago, when they [the Abu Dhabi United Group] took over at City, that this was possible. Some of the values across the world now are amazing; the numbers that get tossed about. The values of players have shot sky high. I don’t think any of the [big] transfers this summer are realistic but for some reason it has caught fire this summer. It’s an unusual summer and it’s very difficult to get value because of that.”

Squad News

Not So Dunne Deal: Though interest in the Irish defender has been rife with Sunderland, Spurs and Stoke all reportedly preparing bids of around £4 million, Mark Hughes has promised Richard Dunne that he will be captain again next season. City’s Mr Reliable suffered an inconsistent last term and large sections of the Blues’ support believed that with unlimited funds at his disposal, manager Mark Hughes may be tempted to sell the four times club player of the season. In order to dismiss any speculation, Hughes has put the record straight and revealed that Richard Dunne will be skipper once again next season.

Defending Against Illness: Micah Richards has become the first top flight footballer to be diagnosed with swine flu. Richards had been holidaying in Cyprus during his close season break whilst feeling “heavily ill”. The City defender was diagnosed with swine flu and has been quarantined in the Greek island until he makes a full recovery. Due to media reports, Richards tells of how he was truly worried for his health upon being diagnosed by the doctor: “At first I thought it was a really bad chest infection, or maybe alcohol poisoning. I felt so weak I couldn’t move or eat. When I was told I had swine flu all sorts of things started going through my mind. You see on the news people dying of it.”

And Let’s Not Forget Johnno: Ireland, Barry, de Jong, Kompany, Elano… the list goes on but it’s important not to forget the man who we branded “Colin Bell’s natural replacement” only eighteen months ago. Michael Johnson, who has spent ten months on the sidelines having injured his pelvis last September in the Carling Cup tie against Brighton and Hove Albion, is expected to be fighting fit for the start of the season and manager Mark Hughes believes that he will be a valuable addition to the side that has ambitions of qualifying for next year’s Champions’ League: “It has been a real frustration for Michael and for us, but he has worked hard through the summer and is in much better shape. The main thing is hopefully keeping him pain free, which was the concern last year when he was always getting niggles that held him back. He is very positive at the moment and hopefully he can have a good pre-season, clear of injury and he will be an option for us. We can see why the lofty labels were put on him because he has a lot of the attributes that would be really helpful to the team and he was a big loss last year. There were games in which he would have undoubtedly have had an impact. Hopefully we have now got to the bottom of the problem and he is more confident that his body will stand up to the rigours of Premier League football. Hopefully he is clear in his own mind that he is over the injuries.”

Toe-gh Times: Johnno’s return to the side may be aided by Vincent Kompany’s expected absence from the side for the start of the new campaign. The Belgian defensive player is due to have surgery on his persistent toe injury this summer and the former Hamburg man is now set to be unavailable for the first month of the season. Kompany suffered his injury around February last season but knowing how important it was for the club to push up the league and progress in Europe, the 23-year-old played in adapted boots and underwent painkilling injections in order to help the Blues achieve their ambitions. The biggest fear for City’s vice captain is that with all the competition in the current squad, should the club have a bright start to the season, Kompany could find himself out on the sidelines for a long period of time.

Transfer News and Rumours

Getting One Over: The Blues have a new cult hero and even better than that… we’ve nicked him from United. Carlos Tevez was greeted and mobbed by hundreds of fans when he arrived at CoMS on Tuesday before embracing with Executive Chairman Garry Cook whose relief at having signed one of the world’s best was clear to see. In Tevez, City have signed a world class forward, a first class battler and one of the most controversial figures in the modern day sport. Having ‘illegitimately’ signed for West Ham in 2006, a three year compensation battle ensued when the Argentinean striker saved the Hammers but ultimately relegated Sheffield United. Two subsequent years of being wholly unappreciated by United boss Alex Ferguson led to the former Corinthians hot shot making the move to Eastlands for a fee of £25.5 million, a sum of which not a penny goes to the Blues’ city rivals. More importantly, City now have sole rights over Tevez and Citizens throughout Manchester will be hoping that combining Robinho with Tevez will signal an era of quality for a club who only eight years ago spent a mere £500,000 in the summer transfer window. Hughes praised his new singing as the way forward: “It is terrific news. Carlos is one of the top strikers in world football and his capture is a fantastic thing for the club and for the fans. He plays with his heart and has great love of football that is there for all to see. I want options of flexibility in terms of both personnel and tactics. I want players who can produce moments of magic that can turn games. I now have those at the club and we will be working exceptionally hard to give City fans success. The player himself explained why he had rejected Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in order to join the Blue revolution: “The manager and the owners are very ambitious and that became clear to me the first time we spoke. This is the chance to be involved from the start, an opportunity to help build a special experience. I hope to win many more trophies with City. There is a great feeling of excitement around the club. Look at the quality of the players who have been signed and the prospect of other top-quality players coming too. Things are happening at this club. The owners made it clear to me that they will be doing everything in their power to make this an extraordinary club to play for. I look forward to being a part of that experience. Mark Hughes played in my position for some of the biggest clubs in the world and he understands the demands and pressure of playing as a striker. I look forward to learning from him. My record of success speaks for itself. From helping West Ham to avoid relegation to helping Manchester United to two Champions’ League finals in two seasons.”

Striking Gold: City’s summer spending is a long way from over and the next target is Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togalese international has been linked with Chelsea and AC Milan ever since reportedly falling out of love with Arsenal but it is rumored that the Blues are close to agreeing a £22 million deal with the London club. Though is has been confirmed that Adebayor has been granted a work permit by the Home Office, thus suggesting that a move is on the cards, Hughes was typically coy about any possible transfer: “There have been discussions between ourselves and Arsenal but it is not really the time and place to discuss it. There has been contact and there is a deal to be done but it has not been concluded as we speak.”

And a Terry on Top? Mark Hughes played alongside John Terry in the final years of his career at Chelsea and ever since then the City manager has had a great respect for the England skipper. Now, sources close to John Terry have claimed that the likelihood of Terry signing for the Manchester club is “possible”. Following two unsuccessful bids by the Blues for Mr Chelsea, Terry is yet to deny any interest in a move to the Blues and his advisors believe that the defender would be interested in a new project and the sums of money being talked about have been described as “eye watering”. Some newspapers have even reported that despite Carlo Ancelotti’s promise to keep Terry in London, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic has told the player that he would be happy to see Terry leave as it would provide him with the funds to buy Bayern Munich winger Frank Ribery or Valencia Striker David Villa. Hughes thinks that City would offer the centre back something different to re-ignite his career and has hinted that the sponsorship deal with Umbro may be key to any move: “We could offer John Terry a different challenge. From my own experience, when you have been with a club a long time, you maybe get to a point when you need a new challenge, when you think a change of scenery would just reignite certain things within you. It is not a question of money. It is about a different stage in his life and career, and maybe that is why there hasn’t been a response because John is thinking in those terms. I went through that process and I can understand if that is the way he is thinking. We made an offer to Chelsea and I’ve made known my feelings about John Terry: he’s an outstanding player and an outstanding person. If the opportunity presents itself to bring a player of his calibre to the club, we will do our utmost to bring that about. Obviously, we need conversations with Chelsea in that regard. We would like to speak to John Terry, but that opportunity hasn’t been forthcoming.”

Eto’over: With this transfer saga running on far too long for City’s liking, the Blues have pulled the plug on the proposed move for Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o. The Cameroonian has been stuck in talks with the Catalan club having demanding half the £25 million transfer fee as his signing on fee and though Josep Guardiola wants him out and Hughes was keen on bringing him to CoMS, City refused to be ‘strung along’ by a player as circumstances fell out of the Blues’ control: “Samuel Eto’o is undoubtedly a fine footballer but the circumstances surrounding him were such that the deal could not be completed. We now feel the time is right to pursue other avenues and we have a clear and strategic transfer plan, which we continue to follow.”

My My My Fernandes: Swiss midfielder and former U21 captain Gelson Fernandes is the latest casualty of the City riches as the club confirmed his move to St Etienne this week for an undisclosed fee. The holding midfielder was Sven’s second signing after he joined the club but the midifelder neverr established himself into the first eleven and ultimately became a target for some fans. The club has wished Fernandes well as he moves to the side managed by former Portsmouth manager Alain Perrin: “His command of several languages helped make Gelson a popular member of the squad, and he goes with the best wishes for the future of everyone connected to Manchester City.”

Hanging on to Brede: Fulham defender Brede Hangeland is another supposed target of City at the moment and competition from Arsenal and Liverpool could create a very interesting transfer battle. However, successful Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has told interested clubs that he intends to hang on to his key player and of how he believes it would take a huge offer for him to sell: “He’s a Fulham player, he’s got a two-year contract at Fulham. We don’t really intend to sell him, and he’s very happy at the club. We’ve even offered him a new contract, an improved contract, which I think he’s mulling over. Because he hasn’t immediately jumped at the chance of a new contract, people are suggesting that there will be some movement. But I will be surprised if he moved. Hangeland is a very loyal man, he’s very happy at Fulham, so it would take a lot to move him but I can’t give a stone-based guarantee that he won’t leave us at some stage.”

Tempting Torres: Rafa Benitez told the media this week that Liverpool players, including prize asset Fernando Torres, have been subject to bids this summer and went on to warn teams off his squad. Chelsea, United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and City have all been named as the club who made a “substantial offer” for Spanish star Torres but none are yet to signal their intent in signing the key to Liverpool’s title chances: “We have had some very big offers for some of our key players this summer – and that includes Fernando Torres. Clubs wanted Fernando and we were contacted by agents working for those clubs. But we always knew that when a bid came in that we would say no. The main thing was that Torres wanted to stay here. People knew the player wanted to stay, but it did not stop clubs trying.”

Post-Match Reaction

The Hills are Alive With the Sound of Speculation: Peace and tranquility was the objective of City’s trip to Bavaria last week as the squad’s pre-season training camp culminated in a 1-1 draw with 1860 Munich. A number of Academy players including Ben Mee, Kieran Trippier and Adam Clayton joined Stevie Ireland, Pablo Zabaleta and new signing Stuart Taylor as the Blues opened their pre-season with a tie. Hughes used the friendly as an opportunity for some of the club’s young guns to prove themselves and Valeri Bojinov’s goal earned the club a deserved draw: “It was a bit of a risk in taking such a game so early in our preparation – we’d only had seven days of training. But I think it was a risk worth taking and everybody came out with a lot of credit. I was very pleased. The young lads came in and did really well, which is particularly pleasing. We had something like nine Academy players on the pitch at the end of the game. Some had to play 90 minutes, which wasn’t my original plan but we had a few fallers during the week so some had to play longer than you would have liked, but it was a good performance and, all in all, a good exercise. We controlled the game for long periods, and we were calm and considered in possession. Towards the end we created a few good chances – it was a good finish by Boji and the goal will help him as well.”

Ex-Blues’ News

Stur-ring Up a Fuss: Danny Sturridge’s move to Chelsea has caused many fans to question why the Academy graduate chose the Russian owned side over the club that brought him through and the nineteen year old has told of his ambitions and hopes for the future that motivated his move the London: “My main motivation was to play in the Champions’ League. I am very ambitious and want to push myself to the highest level and play with the best in the world. I believe I can achieve big things at Chelsea. I am very young and I will be very patient because there are world-class players here. I am not going to get too upset if I am not playing because I know it is a long season and a lot of games. I want to win as many trophies as I can. I am not saying Man City have not got ambitions for the Champions’ League or for any competition but the main thing for me was to come to Chelsea to better me as a player. Manchester City are a completely different club to Chelsea. I have signed for Chelsea and City are in the past. Myself and Mark Hughes didn’t have any talks about me leaving City. Hopefully by coming here I can get an opportunity to get into the full England squad and push myself to be the best I can.”

Swede Dreams: Dr. Sulamain Al Fahim has stated his intention to bring former City boss Sven Goran Eriksson to Portsmouth when he takes over the South East club but Sven’s right hand man Tord Grip has asserted that the former Mexico boss has had no word from any club and still dreams of being his nations’ manager one day: “There will be nothing now, it would have been settled ages ago. They have not been that interesting so all we can do is wait. We can just wait. There are many managers waiting for a job. That’s the way it is in this profession. There is not much we can do about it. I have said before that Sven is interested in taking over the Swedish national team sometime. But he won’t as long as Lagerback is still in charge. There are no such thoughts. We will see what happens. I still believe that Sweden will win their first two qualifiers this summer.”

OPINION: HOW VERY DARE, WE!

It’s a very exciting week for City. A week in which our club has gone about its business efficiently, and with dignity. Garry Cook warmly welcomed Carlos Tevez with a great big bear hug as he walked through the door at Eastlands. We have good reason to be grateful to Sheikh Mansour for bringing us this opportunity to compete with the best. The culture of the way City does business comes from the top and it reflects well in its professional and dignified dealings. I expect that if we don’t manage to sign John Terry, we will quietly move on to the next target, just as we did with Samuel Eto’o.

In direct contrast, and in an act of arch-hypocrisy, Ferguson whined this week about ‘stupid’ prices for players and yet he referred to ‘that wonderful sum of money from Real Madrid’. That would be the ‘wonderful’, but not ‘stupid’ (oh, no, perish the thought) £80 million that Bacon Face’s club received for Fakeronaldo. That rather leaves him with egg all over his face and heading for a full English. Furthermore, if Bacon Face loses any more stars and United’s debt gets any bigger, they may well be toast!

Rio Ferdinand arrived at Old Trafford from Leeds in 2002 for £30 million, a record for a defender. Obviously not a ‘stupid’ signing fee in Ferguson’s eyes, because he made it! How about other signings that are so clearly not ‘stupid’, according to Bacon Face: Dimitar Berbatov (£30.75 million); Owen Hargreaves (£17 million); Shrek (£20 million); and the latest, Valencia £17 million. I wonder if Ferguson remembers what a ‘stupid’ signing Veron was for £28 million? It’s funny how there were no comments about ‘stupid’ fees when United had the most money to spend and they regularly broke transfer market records.

There has always been a distance between Mark Hughes and Ferguson, and this was illustrated perfectly this week. When asked this week if Ferguson’s comments about transfers were ‘hypocritical’, Hughes agreed, calmly saying “That’s a good word”: a good, brief, dignified response. Some City fans have accused Mark Hughes of being a ‘Rag’. Well, I think that’s very insulting. Of course, Hughes played for the Rags, and was a great irritant to say the least when he did, but he has never been part of Bacon Face’s little court of sycophants (Bruce, Redknapp, Allardyce). You can rely on at least one of Fergie’s little clique to pipe up when he needs them and Bruce didn’t disappoint, saying ‘When Sir Alex has something to say on transfers, people should take notice’. Oh really? Why would that be?

So why should anyone believe Bacon Face when he says he made Tevez an offer to stay at the Swamp? Who cares what offer he made to Tevez anyway? Tevez will play for City now, not United, and that is what matters, and very welcome he is too. He had a fantastic, warm welcome from City fans and staff at Eastlands, and thanked them accordingly. I just wish, though, that certain fans wouldn’t sing songs with references to Munich in. It shows no respect to those who sadly died in ’58, demeans us and our club, and gives ammunition to our critics, who report things with such relish. These songs come from a minority of our fans, who really should know better.

It’s great to hear Tevez stating that ‘the objective is to win the League’ here: something that has not been in my wildest dreams in all the years that I have followed City. I don’t believe that he has come ‘just for the money’ as some in the press are saying, as there is far more to him than that. The less intelligent members of the written and spoken media don’t give him credit for that.

Rags who implored Tevez to stay are now, predictably, changing their opinions very rapidly now: ‘he’s just a work horse’ and ‘he won’t score many goals’ being their latest mantra. Oh, come on! Any football fan with an ounce of football knowledge knows that the goal he scored against us in the last Swamp derby was a very well executed goal – the low backlift in his shot helped beat the excellent Given as much as anything else. If anyone saw his back-heeled goal at Wigan that earned the Rags a vital win knows he has great talent. He scored 14 goals in 34 league games: not a bad strike rate at all. I have to say that those sour grapes are rather distasteful.

The Rag-dominated media is predictably sniping at City, now that we are daring to spend money to build our squad. Why are so many of the press so seemingly keen to remain the status quo, where competition for major honours stagnates as it is with the top four scooping up the trophies almost always? Why aren’t they glad that there might be some genuine competition? Maybe it’s because they support teams in the top four. Or are they lazy and don’t want get off their behinds, follow up some new leads and write something new? Is that too much like hard work for some hacks, particularly those who are based in London? Perish the thought, they will have to get on a Pendolino train all the way past Watford Junction (nose bleed time) and onto Piccadilly (though I’m sure some will get on the Blue Underground line, ending up staring blankly at Eros). To this observer, it’s either their prejudices or laziness, or a combination of the two. With some notable exceptions (e.g. Sam Wallace in the Independent, Henry Winter in the Torygraph), the standard of football journalism is certainly not what it used to be.

Not all the media allow their bias to colour what they write. I have been very impressed by an unlikely source recently. Some people do tend to look down on Talksport, and sometimes with justification. Some of their phone-in programmes can be repetitive and tedious with a pretty low level of debate (if you can call it that) and I must say I have found some of their current affairs debates their rather unpleasant and right wing at times. However, I tuned into a couple of breakfast shows and phone-ins hosted by ex-Chelsea player Jason Cundy and ex-Lancs, Essex and England cricketer Ronnie Irani recently, and found them to be well argued and balanced presentations. Cundy has clearly wants Terry to stay at Chelsea but he has argued this with dignity, intelligence and without sniping at City: a subject where his Talksport colleague Andy Jacobs has failed miserably in this respect. The affable Irani has put aside his support for United to argue positively and with balance as to why players would sign for City (i.e. not necessarily moving for the money) and why City will have a chance of competing with the best. That is very much to Ronnie Irani’s credit. He always comes across well as a lad from the North West who enjoys a bit of good-natured, sporting banter with Blues. His attitude comes across as ‘bring on the competition’, which is healthy. Several journalists would do well to listen to how Jason Cundy and Ronnie Irani present their programme and take a few notes in objectivity. They might learn something.

OPINION: DUNNIE

I have been reading a lot on this forum about our Captain, and some of it not very complimentary, which given that, in a time where we see very little loyalty from some players in the Premier League and the fact that Dunnie in my opinion is Mr Loyalty, surprises me a bit.

I know I might be a little biased in that like Dunnie, I am a Dubliner but I am not the only Blue who voted him our player of the season for four seasons. I reckon he must have been doing something right to be so well thought of by us. I would be the first to admit that last season was not one of his best in a City shirt, but I reckon that he still has something to contribute. I would like to see him stay at least until he is entitled to a testimonial which he thoroughly deserves.

OPINION: ADEBAYOR

While many are mocking this move for Adebayor, this is from an Arsenal fan with some perspective. http://gunnerblog.com/?p=1848

I quite like that perspective.

OPINION: TEVEZ

So the Tevez deal is all but done (waiting on the medical at the time of writing).

I have been very critical of Mr Hughes in the past but even I have to say this is a truly superb signing! Tevez is exactly what we need: skilful, classy and oodles of energy. He really will raise the tempo and a make a difference. And the fact he was idolised at the Swamp makes it all that little bit sweeter! This time they have not moved a player out to us who is surplus to requirements, we have simply muscled in and taken him, a big difference. Other clubs will take note and start to be afraid, very afraid.

John Terry being the case. Whether JT (who I think would be a wonderful signing) joins us or not, it is clear the balance of power within football’s elite is not changing. It has changed and MCFC is the game changer.

Also, at long, long, last some (and I do emphasise the word ‘some’) of the media are realising that MCFC are going places quickly!

Please see the following link to the BBC sports website for a genuinely reasoned, balanced and honest article regarding the Tevez deal: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philmcnulty/2009/07/manchester_citys_prolonged_pur.html

I and many others have waited a long, long time for this. Our day will come. Soon. Very soon!

OPINION: TIMES A CHANGIN’

Since Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed took over Manchester City FC, we have during a short period of time seen many changes to MCFC, and I think that we all owe the new owners our thanks for what is happening.

The new MCFC website is great and has to be the best in football; it keeps everyone around the world informed as to what is happening at our beloved club with great ,clear videos, and the news constantly being updated – first class.

People led by Garry Cook have been busy off the pitch with new deals with Umbro and new major sponsors in Etihad airlines.

As Sparky has always pleaded for patience as regards to the team, during the last few weeks there has been some dramatic signings, with a strong possibility for more to come, talk of Adebayor from the Gooners whom are already talking about his replacement, and John Terry is very much in the media.

Today became one of the best days as a City fan as Carlos Tevez signed and arrived at his new home, the City of Manchester Stadium; turning his back on our rivals United made Tevez an instant hero.

Thank you, Sheikh Mansour, thank you Garry Cook, and thank you Sparky who I have always trusted as our manager, and everyone else connected with the club: you are doing a very good job.

Next season is going to be the most exciting that we have seen since the Joe Mercer/Malcolm Allison years.

Come on you Blues!

OPINION: SONG FOR TEVEZ

United never thought we’d sign
Tevez Tevez
He’s quick he’s strong he’s Argentine
Tevez Tevez
We always knew his blood was blue
He’s City’s number 32
Carlos Tevez City’s 32

OPINION: 50’s SONGS

Those fans with pretty long memories may remember a song from the 50`s which we sang at Maine Road to the tune of “Bless ’em All”. It went something like this…

Bless ’em all, bless ’em all, bless ’em all,
Bert Trautmann, Dave Ewing, Roy Paul,
Bless Roy Little who blocked out the wing,
Bless Jack Dyson the penalty king.

Bless ’em all, bless ’em all, bless ’em all,
Bobby Johnstone the prince of ’em all,
So cheer up the light blues,
Yes cheer up the sky blues,
Cheer up the lads bless ’em all.

OPINION: BLUE MOON

In resonse to David Buxton’s recent query, I believe Blue Moon became City’s song in 1990. My son was 21 that year and I seem to remember it being played at his party as “the new City anthem”.

Good luck to City next season and let’s hear a few positive views regarding the manager. We need to give him a season and with the signings we have so far I think we will do well. Top six (at least).

OPINION: COMING SEASON

Harry and Rafa are worried about our spending! It gets better, City finally made Radio Sport (24hour sports programme and talkback), and the TV news here in New Zealand about signing Carlos!

Yippeee, the rest of the world are running scared! It’s so great… only hope we’re up for it. Can’t wait, this season’s going to be a good one Ernie.

OPINION: THE GRAUNIAD

I was intrigued by the reference recently to Daniel Taylor of the Guardian not having a good word to say about City. I must say I had not noticed that, associating him with an excellent article a year ago about the obnoxiousness of Cristiano Ronaldo, a theme I can warm to. But this morning there was reference to the crowd at COMS welcoming Carlos Tevez. I was shocked by what I read and I quote: “he was given an immediate reminder of the tribalism that exists in Manchester when his 200-strong welcoming committee launched into the first rendition of the chant that has been reserved for him a pumped-up verse that culminates in the line “he hates ‘Munichs'”.

Now I am not naïve about some boorish City fans, I know they exist, such as the idiot who sat near me recently protesting at a Mark Hughes substitution: “You f- Munich c-“. But I cannot imagine a 200-strong crowd all chanting that. Did Taylor mistake 2 for 200? Was anyone there who could comment on this? Until I hear otherwise I will take Taylor’s comment as an anti-City slur. But I do hate the Munich chants; they shouldn’t be chanted even if Frank Swift had survived.

On a brighter note things are very good for City at the moment with the summer signings. Long may it continue, and thanks for a really good newsletter.

REQUEST: MCFCTV.COM

I understand that there will be free access to match day commentaries via the new mcfc.co.uk website, and that it has replaced the old mcfctv.com.

What I can’t get an answer to, is what happens to those of us that have subscribed to the old service using our credit cards on-line, where the subscription was a rolling service, automatically renewed each year? There was access via mcfctv.com to account details, where subscription could be changed or cancelled, but as that website as such no longer exists, there is no way to stop the rolling service. I don’t know if the providers of the match day commentary services for the Premier League, that provided the mcfctv.com service, will automatically continue to renew subscriptions, or automatically cancel membership as the service is no longer being used by mcfc.

I did write to <mcfc(at)mcfc.co.uk> but didn’t get a response!

Can anybody shed any light on this one?

REQUEST: CITY SONG

My name is Brian O’Hare and a city fan. A fried of mine, Paul Redmond, a professional singer/songwriter, has composed an anthem for Manchester City. It can be heard on http://www.AllCelticMusic.com/

I would appreciate it if you would give it a listen I have had numerous City fans listen to the demo copy and they love it and requested copies. It has only come on line today.

Perhaps after listening you would e-mail your opinion?

REQUEST: CITY FANS WANTED FOR TV CAMPAIGN

Hi there, I am a freelance TV producer currently working with ESPN, helping to produce their new Premier League idents ahead of the new season and I was wondering if you might be able to help me.

The idea of the channel’s new ad campaign is to use real fans in various different environments. Some would feature something as simple as a family of football fans sat on their sofa in their home shirts, while others would feature fans in locations related to the club (a Stoke fan making a Stanley Matthews jug in a local pottery; a West Ham fan on his grocery market stall etc.). Some would focus on an eleven year old who has the full Spurs bedroom thing going on (duvet, wallpaper, rug etc.), while others would feature a fan whose entire house is decked out in Aston Villa memorabilia. It could even be as simple as just getting a picture of a fan walking down a street, or standing at a bus stop.

As a Man City fan I was wondering if this might be something you’d be interested in taking part in, or whether you know the sort of fans that might be keen to take part? Do you know of anyone else who you think might be a good fan to follow, or a good location to film at? Do you know of any families that go en masse to the game every week and transcend the different generations? Do you know anyone that runs a stall selling Man City merchandise, or a local shop decked out in Man City memorabilia? Any kids that are Man City mad and have the bedroom to prove it? Or anyone whose whole house is a shrine to the club? The filming is due to take place in the next two weeks or so and you would not be required to speak think of it as a poster campaign where we just get shots of fans in certain locations, all with the aim of building up the new season in advance of its kick off.

It would be great to speak to you about this project and to get your thoughts my details are below, feel free to call me at anytime and I hope to hear from you soon.

MCIVTA FAQ [v0708.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Heidi Pickup)          : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org
News/rumour (Alex Rowen)         : news@mcivta.city-fan.org
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[2] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

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

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

http://www.mcivta.com/ 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.mancitycsa.com/) 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.mcivta.com/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: