Newsletter #1569

News tonight on off pitch activities and reaction to the derby. We also have continued opinion on derbies past and present and perceived favouritism of certain clubs by the authorities.

Next up: West Ham.

I’ll be taking a break for a couple of weeks and Peter Johnson has kindly agreed to step in as editor. Please keep your articles coming to the regular <editor(at)mcivta.city-fan.org> address.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

Take-Over Complete: The club announced yesterday that the remaining ten percent of shares owned by Worldwide Investments Limited have now been bought out by the Abu Dhabi United Group. Sheikh Mansour previously owned 90% of the club following his takeover in August 2008 but former owner Thaksin Shinawatra still owned the other 10%. Now the club has confirmed that a transaction has taken place to ensure that Sheikh Mansour is the sole owner of Manchester City Football Club.

The completion of this takeover may not make much of a difference to Hughes’ day to day running of the club but the manager has revealed that the day Shinawatra sold City to ADUG was the day that saved his job. Hughes told the Guardian this week that only a few weeks into the job, things weren’t as how he’d been led to believe they were and he did come close to resigning his post: “The reality wasn’t exactly what was described and sold to me. In fairness, we were able to go into the transfer market, but there seemed a focus that players had to be sold, and I realised that maybe the resources weren’t in place that I thought. If you are single-minded, you have to work purposefully and if you get to a point where it is untenable and not manageable, then you make the decision to walk away. I never got to that point – but I was close.”

No To UEFA Sheikh-Up: UEFA President Michel Platini has spent the month discussing salary caps, spending limits and spiralling debt and the Frenchman has allegedly criticized City’s transfer policy as irresponsible. However, City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarek disagrees strongly and has gone about explaining exactly why he believes City’s expenditure is much more sensible than their nearest rivals: “I could accept the argument if we were artificially building up the club through debt. That produces a destructive end result; we have seen that happen. But in our case, the club will be in the healthiest position because there is no debt. We have funded it through equity [permanent investment], including the signing of the players. I believe what we are doing is a fair way to inject competition into football, without debt.”

Winning Mentality: The 100% record may have disappeared following a controversial derby day last weekend, but assistant manager Mark Bowen has explained that as long as the Blues are winning, City’s stars will be happy to rotate when necessary. Hughes’s selection policy seems to have been a matter of picking his strongest XI and though fears have arisen amongst fans that the top names will become unsettled if they remain on the bench for long periods of time, Bowen claims that it is a winning mentality that keeps players happy: “As Mark has said, all the players have to get used to it. He will pick what he feels is the best team to go and win every game. He knows that when you get the result and win, maybe it’s easier for the players out of the team to understand that it’s all for the benefit of the Club. The players who are on the bench are fully behind the team – it’s handshakes all round, pats on the back and wishing the lads who are playing all the best in the game. That sort of spirit bodes well for us. There were a lot of questions being asked before the season started about how Mark was going to keep these players happy. People thought it would be difficult. Well yes, it is difficult, but top players have a tremendous amount of respect for other players.”

Squad News

‘Bellers’ Cleared: When he signed for City earlier in the year, many Blues questioned what Welsh striker Craig Bellamy would bring to the side. Granted, his goal scoring record was good and he’d played for one of the ‘Big Four’ but given his well renowned volatility, City fans were uneasy about the man who signed from West Ham in the winter transfer window. Last weekend though Bellamy combined his natural goal scoring flair with his ability to lose his rag and became a City hero in the process. ‘Bellers’, as he seems to have been affectionately nicknamed since derby day, may have scored two goals that ultimately counted for nothing but were undoubtedly sublime all the same and the former Newcastle man has now laid his claim to remain a constant fixture in City’s first eleven. Not only that, but when a United pitch invader chose to run on to the pitch and waste even more time on his side’s behalf, ‘Bellers’ made a point of walking over to him and giving a shove. The media instantly jumped upon it and Mark Hughes responded by comparing the instance with a time when Brian Clough gave a pitch invader a clip round the ear and was lauded as a national hero. Though Bellamy would be foolish to expect the same, his sheer passion and love for the game have earned him high praise this week from the Blue side of Manchester. City revealed later in the week that the FA will be taking no further action against Bellamy than simply warning him about his future conduct: “Manchester City can confirm that Craig Bellamy will not be charged by the Football Association following an incident with a Manchester United supporter at Sunday’s Premier League fixture. The FA today announced that referee Martin Atkinson confirmed that he would not have sent Bellamy off had he seen the incident with the fan at the time.”

Christmas Come Early: The country’s supermarkets may already be selling cards and decorations for the festive season, which is still three months off, but City may be soon be presented with an early Christmas gift as striker Roque Santa Cruz nears full fitness. The £18 million signing who joined from Blackburn Rovers in the summer is yet to play for his new club due to an ongoing knee injury but the club’s fitness team believe that the Paraguayan should be fit to play some part in next Monday’s home game against West Ham United. With so many injuries up front and now the suspension of Emanuel Adebayor, the return of Santa Cruz will be most welcome to manager Mark Hughes, who also revealed that Michael Johnson and Vincent Kompany may be back sooner than first thought, which will be a great help in terms of bolstering City’s trophy-chasing squad: “In the next 10 days we should get Roque Santa Cruz and Michael Johnson back, fit and well. Roque won’t be featuring against Fulham, but the likelihood is that he will play a part in the next game if we can get him involved. Michael Johnson is shaping up really well, and Vinnie Kompany is way ahead of his schedule so he is going to be an option for us very soon. We are getting players back at a good time. If we are going to be successful on all fronts then we have to have strength in depth, and the Carling Cup is a competition we feel we can do well in this year. Everybody would love to have the opportunity to get to a domestic final, and we are giving it our best shot. We’re one less in terms of competitions we are competing in this season, but that’s an advantage for us. If we can progress in the ones we are involved in this year that would be a sign of how we are doing. If we can do well in the Carling Cup that will help us in the second half of the season with our confidence for the FA Cup and the business end of the league season. Cup runs can help you in that respect.”

The Right Side of Manchester: Not many of the City faithful will be aware that last season’s Player of the Season Stevie Ireland was once a member of Manchester United’s academy. The Irish midfielder is now City’s ‘Superman’ but things could have turned out very different. That is, if Ireland had been made to feel at home on the Red half of the city but Stevie explains that this wasn’t the case: “I didn’t know where I stood at United – I was there when I was 15 but I just didn’t like it. Every day there I’d be training with a different bunch of kids. I didn’t know who I was meant to be impressing, who my coaches were and I just felt all over the place. I only met Fergie once. I said ‘hello’ to him one day and he knew straight away that I was Irish. He told me he already had enough Irish players with Roy Keane and Denis Irwin, so I guess that was another hint for me to hit the road! I grew up supporting United, so maybe my expectations were too high when I went there. But as soon as I came to City it felt right and I could see myself being where I am now.”

Post-Match Reaction

What a Clock-Up: Lauded as the best derby of all time, City’s fans were left feeling slightly hollow having seen their side sunk by a 96th minute winner. Despite fighting back to equalize on three separate occasions, Michael Owen struck to break Blue hearts after Craig Bellamy’s 90th minute equalizer had given them hope. Wayne Rooney’s goal caused shell shock only two minutes after kick off before Carlos Tevez’s ball chasing led to a goal for Gareth Barry. Darren Fletcher was allowed a free header to put United back in front before Bellamy’s spectacular strike hit the back of the net. Again Fletcher was allowed to head past Shay Given but Craig Bellamy’s excellent solo effort drew the Blues level from what seemed an impossible angle. Fourth Official Alan Wiley put four minutes of stoppage time on the board and when Owen scored after ninety five and a half minutes, Hughes claimed City had been “robbed”: “The additional time after the four minutes didn’t sit comfortably with me. We feel aggrieved. Everyone in the stadium knew the time allotted. I would like an explanation why more was added on but I rather doubt that I will get it. The fourth official said time was added because of our goal celebration but that lasted only forty-five seconds. We showed great quality at times, especially to come back three times in the manner that we did. I was disappointed with all the goals that we gave away and that we allowed ourselves to be penned back at times. We had to deal with too many balls into our box for my liking but Craig Bellamy scored two magnificent goals and we kept coming back at United. We dug deep and we were spurred on by our great backing and I am sorry for them that we didn’t take at least a point from the match. We have to be more bloody minded but more than anything I am disappointed that we haven’t got the reward that our efforts deserved.”

City skipper Kolo Toure chose to take the positives from the game and asserted that Shay Given could often be the difference between winning and losing this season, having started his City career in magnificent style: “When you look at the league table we are still in fourth place and it has been a really good start but with the team we have and with the spirit in the club we should not be surprised and we need to carry on making sure we are at the top every week. We just need to keep going. The fact that we have played Arsenal and United in successive games and scored seven goals is a good sign of the potential that we have to get into the top places. We know that we have great expectation on us and we are all striving to live up to that. Shay has been different class. I think he is the best goalkeeper in the Premier League. He was unbelievable at Old Trafford. What he brings, like several of the other signings this summer, is a maturity and an experience that we need to harness for the good of the team. When you want to be at the top and one of the best teams in the world there are mistakes that you have to avoid making and we didn’t do that on Sunday. We should have all been stuck in our box defending at the end. Lessons have to be learned because good players and good teams don’t make the same mistake twice.”

Though his manager was left reeling at the referee’s time keeping, £25 million signing Joleon Lescott claimed that the Blues had no-one to blame but themselves having allowed prolific goal scorer Michael Owen so much space in the penalty area with so little time remaining: “You’re disappointed to lose any game – Craig scored two wonder goals for us and we thought we’d done enough to get a point, but it wasn’t to be. There are no excuses. We are pros and we have to look at ourselves collectively and as individuals and realise that it just wasn’t good enough. We look at each other and we’ve made mistakes. We started the season with four clean sheets and now we’ve conceded goals. We have to correct that. Last-minute goals are hard to take. We are gutted to lose as we did. Maybe we showed a bit of naïveté towards the end. We’re not a side to sit back. We want to win every game but sometimes you have to realise you can’t. We believe in ourselves and we believe that we can push for honours this season. Arsenal came here and lost too. We still believe we can finish in the top four.”

Goal scorer Gareth Barry told of his disappointment but pointed out that scoring three goals at Old Trafford can only signal good things for the future of this team: “It’s always good to score somewhere like here in a derby, and in my first taste of a Manchester derby as well, but it all means nothing because we didn’t get the points. It always hurt to lose to a last-minute goal, especially after we looked like we would get a well-deserved point. Not many teams are going to come here and score three. We’ve made another statement by doing that. We deserve a lot of credit for that but at the same time we have to look at ourselves because we conceded four goals at the other end. We have to have a look at that, it’s obviously something we have to improve on. Carlos coming through was another positive for us, and he worked his socks off. It was a great atmosphere, very loud – the supporters made the game and it was a great spectacle, but sadly for our fans we got no reward.”

Four Steps from Glory: Zoltan Gera’s 30-yard screamer may have put fear into the weary Blue side only three days after the 4-3 derby loss but an excellent workmanlike fightback from Hughes’ men earned the Citizens a place in the Carling Cup fourth round. Gareth Barry’s second half strike led the game into extra time and a Kolo Toure winner left City only thee wins from Wembley and four from Carling Cup glory. City chief Mark Hughes praised his battling side but announced that there is still room for improvement: “It was a difficult night. Fulham scoring first was exactly what they wanted. They were very well organised, with plenty of players behind the ball and difficult to break down. We had to be patient, keep the ball moving and create things, because with Craig, Carlos and Shaun up front knocking high balls into their penalty box isn’t an option. But we stuck at it and we are in the next round, which was the object. There was a lot of physical and emotional effort at the weekend. At times we looked drained because of that, and we were up against a team with a lot of energy fielding players who didn’t play at the weekend. In the early part of last season we didn’t look a threat at set pieces, now we always look as if we can score at set plays. We try to get them to be a bit more dynamic in the box. If you get first contact, invariably something happens. But we needed to step it up in the second half and ask a few more questions. We had to be a bit more forceful in breaking their lines.”

The club’s official website also allayed fears about Stephen Ireland’s injury, which led him to be replaced in the 75th minute complaining of dizziness: “Tests were carried on the 23-year-old and he was given the all-clear. He is expected to rest today and resume training at the weekend for the visit of West Ham on Monday night.”

OPINION: TWENTY YEARS AGO

… The Best Derby Ever!

Twenty years ago on September 23rd 1989, Manchester City gave our neighbours from Stretford a momentous trouncing. It was a proper thrashing, and it was when we least expected it. United were an expensively assembled outfit, boasting £2.3 million Pallister, £2 million Ince, as well as other expensive signings such as Mike Phelan, Danny Wallace, Brian McClair. Even Mal Donaghy didn’t come cheap. Ferguson had also splashed out a small fortune to regain the services of one Mark Hughes in his side. The transfer fees seem tame by today’s prices, but it was money that we could only dream about at City at that time.

Under Mel Machin, our young side, which included home grown talents such as Andy Hinchcliffe, Steve Redmond, Ian Brightwell, David White and Paul Lake, was just finding its feet after promotion. Machin had signed Gary Fleming for £150,000, Ian Bishop for £700,000 and sharp shooter Clive Allen for £900,000 that summer to bolster the team, but the latter was injured, and midfield dynamo Neil McNab was out too. So, being rather depleted and facing such an expensively assembled side, we weren’t full of optimism that morning.

Ian Brightwell replaced McNab in midfield and Aussie David Oldfield lined up alongside Trevor Morley up front and the game kicked off in autumn sunshine, only to be halted when trouble flared up in the North Stand as United fans had got into the home end. Referee Neil Midgeley took the players off while the problem was sorted. United had dominated possession before the unscheduled break, but it was a different story afterwards, with Brightwell, Lake and Co. snapping into tackles and unsettling the much-vaunted United side.

Still it was tense, very tense. Derby matches always make me feel nervous. You kick every ball, strain every sinew, and that’s just watching! It goes without saying that there’s so much at stake when playing against your local rivals.

The feeling of ecstasy that I experienced when David Oldfield broke the deadlock is unforgettable. David White crossed from the right, Pallister missed it, and Oldfield’s looping shot swerved over and wide of Jim Leighton’s outstretched right hand and the net billowed ever so sweetly. Adrenalin coursed through our veins as we jigged in delight on the Kippax terrace at taking the lead. This joy was increased when Paul Lake, who was playing on the left side of midfield, jinked down the inside left position, Leighton parried his goal-bound shot and Trevor Morley stabbed home the second. We’d scored again. Our newly promoted, homespun team were 2-0 up on United. Ince, Pallister and Co. were trailing in our wake! Who could believe it?!

So, when David Oldfield tricked his way around the hapless Pallister and crossed for Ian Bishop to swallow dive and head in for 3-0 we were in dreamland. The skilful Bish was already becoming a bit of favourite, but his goal sealed that status. About half of the Red contingent left at half time, to the taunts of ‘Fergie out’ and ‘Easy’. The inescapable fact is that many, many United fans at the time actually believed he should go. How different might things have turned out had they got their wishes?

Not that we were without fear after being three up. Bearing in mind we’d chucked away a 3-0 lead at home Bournemouth (who had fielded Ian Bishop and Luther Blissett in that match) at the end of the previous season as City almost threw away promotion, 3-0 against United was not considered a safe lead to hold. Our neurosis grew at the start of the second half when United youngster Russell Beardsmore crossed from the right and Mark Hughes skilfully volleyed a scissor kick into the roof of our net. Bournemouth most definitely sprung to mind! Could we hold out for the rest of the half against a such a star-studded line up, even if it was without their captain Bryan Robson?

Nerves jangled aplenty so you can imagine or recall the relief when David Oldfield side-footed home Lakey’s cross to make it 4-1. Oh, how sweet was that!

The nerves a-calmed, the City team were not finished and neither were we in the stands. ‘Easy, easy’ went up the chant, and then came the coup de grace. Ian Bishop picked up the ball deep inside our half and threaded a long, trademark, visionary high ball from left to right into the path of the advancing David White who crossed first time into the path of the advancing Andy Hinchcliffe who bulleted a header high into the net for 5-1. How brilliant. We were in raptures as Hinchy raised five figures aloft as he wheeled past what was left of the United support to celebrate with his team mates and fans. I sprained my ankle landing on the Kippax steps as I landed from a another celebratory jig, but I didn’t feel the pain. Adrenalin is a wonderful thing… as is Manchester City 5 Manchester United 1.

With five fingers aloft we chanted “1,2… 1,2,3… 1,2,3,4… 5-1!” as United’s away support dwindled further. With a reference to the 10-1 caning of Huddersfield a couple of years earlier, we chanted “We want ten!” As it happened, we had to settle for five…

What a day, what a match, what a classic. Older Blues would of course remember when City ruled Manchester, regularly beating our lovable neighbours (including 5 successive league wins for City at Old Trafford between 1968 and 1972), but for me and many others, this was a first. If it wasn’t a first derby win for some, it was still the first in a long time (Feb ’81 to be exact). September 23rd 1989 was mine and many others’ best day in football, and the best derby ever for me.

Yet, I could so easily have missed this classic match, and would have done so if that was what my dad wanted. My dad was in hospital that day having a cataract operation. We were happy to stay with him all day, but not wanting any fuss, he insisted that my brother and I go to our respective matches, so my brother went to watch his team, Sheffield United, and I went to Maine Road, but I was glad that my dad’s op went well and that I’d made it to Maine Road for a most special derby.

Manchester City: Cooper; Fleming, Gayle, Redmond, Hinchcliffe; White, Brightwell, Bishop, Lake; Morley, Oldfield. Sub: Beckford (for Lake, 79)
Manchester United: Leighton; Anderson, Donaghy, Pallister, Duxbury; Beardsmore, Phelan, Ince, Wallace; McClair, Hughes. Sub: Sharpe (for Beardsmore 73)
Ref: Neil Midgely

OPINION: DERBY THOUGHTS I

Now the dust, and my anger, has settled, it is time to look at the game with a more balanced view. Yes, we lost and yes, we defended badly at times, but didn’t we give the Swamp-dwellers one hell of a fright?

After poorly conceding the early goal through rank careless defending we dug in and totally dominated the first half with excellent passing football and stout defending when needed (which wasn’t often truth be told in that first 45 minutes). Shame Tevez missed as we would have deserved a half-time advantage.

The second half was a different ball-game (sorry!) as old Bacon-face had obviously used the hair-dryer and it showed from the off with some relentless attacking. However, we just about deserved the point following Bellamy’s final equaliser and the extra time incident certainly didn’t do us any favours. However, we also had those extra minutes to try and get another but instead relied on hoofing the ball aimlessly out of defence and it was obviously going to come flying straight back in each time.

SAF’s celebration of the winning goal showed just how much this win meant to him despite his belittling of us during the previous week so he obviously sees us as a much bigger threat going forward than he admits to in the media.

I personally think this is now just an ordinary game within the season now that we have bigger fish to fry and have no doubt that we will be brandishing silverware within the next 2 to 3 years no matter what obstructions the FA throw at us. Offer me 12 out of 15 points at the start of the season and I would gladly have taken it. 12 out of the next 15 (achievable I think) will nicely set us up for the end of the year.

OPINION: DERBY THOUGHTS II

There has been some coverage in the media about the dubious time keeping where United are concerned, some of it biased towards United, with rather half-baked theories from some Rags in the media and others are equally less well-informed as to why the referee played excessive and unwarranted injury time. Unsurprisingly, there has still been no plausible explanation of why the referee played so much injury time last Sunday. One interesting statistic that has been revealed is that the average stoppage time played in league games at Old Trafford when United are winning since 2006/2007 is 191.35 seconds, whereas it is 257.17 seconds when they are not winning. These facts are undeniable. One would hope that the FA and therefore the referees do something about them to make it fair for all teams. I’m not holding my breath, though.

I’m not for fans crying about opposing players and managers celebrating at them. I think we should take it and get on with it. However, if they are charging Adebayor with ‘improper conduct’ then it’s important that we have a level playing field. I have to join with David Lyons in querying whether Alex Ferguson was celebrating provocatively at the City fans last Sunday. Indeed Bacon Face looked rather provocative on closer inspection. David is spot on in querying this and pondering if his celebrations were even more provocative than Adebayor’s. The way they were directed suggest that they should at least be interviewing him. Yet Ferguson is not being charged with ‘improper behaviour’. He is not even being asked for his comments about it by the FA. One rule for one…

And yes, shame on the Match of the Day team for not mentioning this. A very poor editorial decision, from those who are supposed to be neutral, and one would expect Lee Dixon to have something to say about that as a pundit, especially given his Blue connections. Very disappointing.

Should Gary Neville be charged by the FA for celebrating provocatively (allegedly mouthing obscenities), right in front of the City fans, and should Alex Ferguson also be charged for celebrating at the City fans? They have already charged Adebayor for a less provocative celebration so it follows that Bacon Face and the older Chuckle brother should also be charged.

Of course all the Rags in the media and their sycophants will dismiss this and the time keeping outrage with their usual fatuous ‘it’s only a conspiracy theory’ with regards United, Arsenal and Co. getting the better of decisions (or lack of them), when the evidence clearly suggests otherwise with regards time keeping and discipline. Van Persie was merely of ‘reminded of his responsibilities as a professional with regards to his future conduct’ with ‘No further action taken’, when his celebrations, which to all accounts included mouthing obscenities at City fans, were more provocative than Adebayor’s. In a fair system the FA should now take no further action against Adebayor other than a warning because his celebration was not as provocative as van Persie’s or Gary Neville’s, and they have escaped a charge.

The perception is that justice in English football is not administered even handedly. The Footballing Establishment of Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United get away with things that the rest of us don’t. Otherwise how do we explain why Mascherano was allowed to cuff a Leeds player on the back of the head on Tuesday night in full sight of the referee Alan Wiley and not receive a straight red card?

Chelsea have a very strong team of lawyers, which helps their cause, plus they are becoming part of the establishment even if they are not part of the powerful G14 group. Maybe City need to get tooled up in a legal sense, then we might get a fairer hearing. I really wish it didn’t come to that, but our FA leave a lot to be desired when it comes to justice. They could, of course, solve this by being even-handed, both on and off the field. After all, it is not a lot to ask for is it?

Anyway, if the FA not daring to charge Ferguson or Neville over their celebrations means that we don’t lose Bellers and Ade to a ban (and I expect City to challenge Ade’s charge on the basis of the leniency to Ferguson and Neville), we should all thank Gary Neville in particular for this. Altogether now, ‘Gary Neville is a Blue…’.

OPINION: LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

I think it is time an investigation was made. This would be understandable if it happened to all clubs. Unpredictability makes this game so beautiful. But the thing is there is only one club that is allowed to have endless injury time while pressing for a goal, there is only one club that doesn’t have a penalty spot in their own area in their own stadium (or shall I say, any), there’s only club whose goal line matches the back of the net. Hughes’ comments on finding these “little favours” meaningless while he was at United and now changing is view on that says a lot. Now he knows what it is like.

Well let me just tell you this, it’s a déjà-vu for me as I’m writing from Italy: For such things Juventus FC had two league titles taken away, got relegated and had 17 points deducted. Enough was enough for everybody to see. And the same is happening now in England.

OPINION: BITTER, US? I

Well there’s some bitter City fans out there aren’t there? It wasn’t the referee’s watch that beat us, but dreadful defending. What defender would be AWOL, six minutes into time added on, leaving one of the best finishers in the game, all alone eight yards out?

So stop blaming the ref, Sir Alex, the two linesmen, the fourth official, the tunnel official, the tea lady and God, and accept the fact we have a s**t defence. We were quick to get rid of Dunnie, but things haven’t changed really have they?

Let’s face it, if it wasn’t for the best ‘keeper in the league, and the fact we actually are scoring a few goals this season, that has helped us out so far. Instead of buying goalscorers, defence wins games, and we badly need two decent full backs, not ones who think they are closet forwards!

So stop blaming everyone but take a look at our team; we are simply not good enough yet.

On the game, Bellamy brilliant, two great goals and ran all day, Tevez workrate great, Given the best in the business, Barry all class, de Jong got through a heap of work, I’ll give Lescott and Toure more time as they are both decent players, Ireland and SWP, not as dominant as last year. Get the defence working as it should and we’ll have a decent side with Ade and Santa Cruz to come back.

OPINION: BITTER, US? II

Having listened to all the different views of how 6 minutes of time were added to the 90 for the derby game, one thing still baffles me. If the referee, as is reported, added 2 more minutes to the 4 minutes indicated mainly due to goal celebrations (City’s third), then how come the final whistle was blown only 16 seconds after the restart following United’s 4th goal (as timed by Sky Sports)?

OPINION: BITTER, US? III

At a training session at the Swamp on Monday 21st September, Giggs scores, and Ferguson declares that the result of the derby is United 5 City 3, and the match is now officially over.

RESULTS

League table to 23 September 2009 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Chelsea          6  3  0  0  8  1  3  0  0  7  2  6  0  0  15   3  12 18
 2 Manchester Utd   6  3  0  0  7  4  2  0  1  8  2  5  0  1  15   6   9 15
 3 Liverpool        6  2  0  1  9  3  2  0  1  7  6  4  0  2  16   9   7 12
 4 Manchester City  5  2  0  0  5  2  2  0  1  6  4  4  0  1  11   6   5 12
 5 Aston Villa      5  2  0  1  4  2  2  0  0  4  1  4  0  1   8   3   5 12
 6 Tottenham H.     6  2  0  1  5  5  2  0  1  7  5  4  0  2  12  10   2 12
 7 Arsenal          5  2  0  0  8  1  1  0  2  9  7  3  0  2  17   8   9  9
 8 Sunderland       6  2  0  1  7  5  1  0  2  2  4  3  0  3   9   9   0  9
 9 Burnley          6  3  0  0  5  1  0  0  3  0  9  3  0  3   5  10  -5  9
10 Stoke City       6  2  0  1  4  2  0  2  1  1  5  2  2  2   5   7  -2  8
11 Birmingham City  6  1  1  1  1  1  1  0  2  2  3  2  1  3   3   4  -1  7
12 Wolves           6  1  1  1  3  4  1  0  2  2  4  2  1  3   5   8  -3  7
13 Everton          5  2  0  1  6  7  0  0  2  1  3  2  0  3   7  10  -3  6
14 Fulham           5  1  0  1  2  3  1  0  2  2  4  2  0  3   4   7  -3  6
15 Wigan Athletic   6  1  0  2  1  6  1  0  2  3  6  2  0  4   4  12  -8  6
16 West Ham United  5  0  0  2  3  5  1  1  1  2  1  1  1  3   5   6  -1  4
17 Bolton Wndrs     5  0  1  2  3  5  1  0  1  3  3  1  1  3   6   8  -2  4
18 Blackburn R.     5  1  1  1  3  3  0  0  2  1  5  1  1  3   4   8  -4  4
19 Hull City        6  1  0  2  2  6  0  1  2  3  7  1  1  4   5  13  -8  4
20 Portsmouth       6  0  0  3  2  5  0  0  3  1  7  0  0  6   3  12  -9  0

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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 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. You can also follow on www.twitter.com/mcivta to get the latest updates.

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

The official club web site can be found at http://www.mcfc.co.uk/ and the official club Twitter page at www.twitter.com/mcfc. The club also has a facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/mcfcofficial

[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: