Newsletter #364

I started to write this editorial/intro on Saturday after the game but then I remembered it’s supposed to be balanced, impartial and objective; unfortunately, it didn’t quite seem to fit into any of those categories!

We have a few match reports from the brave faithful and news of more worrying contract developments – is there no end to it? There’s also a review of the lastest CITY magazine, a Tokyo mini-gathering, help for other clubs in even worse trouble than us, plenty of opinion (getting angrier) and a superb Why Blue.

This one goes out to 1,861.

MCIVTA – NEWS APPEAL

MCIVTA News used to be sent to me more or less on a piecemeal basis by whosoever felt like submitting it. Of late, Paul Howarth has been collating the news together between issues and has been sending it in as a summary just before publication. However, Paul does an awful lot to keep MCIVTA on the rails and he now feels that he would benefit from having fewer tasks to concentrate on.

In the first instance, we’d like to make an appeal for someone to act as news collator. This could be either someone who has access the ‘hot’ sources (GMR, MuEN, the Net etc.), i.e., someone in Manchester, or it could be someone else to whom others contribute raw news for collation; naturally, the latter could be further removed from the action. Failing this, we could always go back to the old system where news is sent directly to me. Personally I’d prefer someone else to collate, though it really has to be someone (maybe with a deputy) who can guarantee regular delivery.

If anyone fancies doing this, please let me know.

MATCH REPORT – ‘LIVE’

MANCHESTER CITY vs. SUNDERLAND, Saturday 17th January 1998

After almost 25 years exactly since my first and last visit (F.A. Cup 5th Round against Sunderland in 1973 :-)) I returned to Maine Road with the Beverley Blues (we had Pete, a Beverley-based Sunderland fan with us for a change as a late substitution on the tour party) more in hope than expectation. Parking up near the ground was a bit unnerving when I was asked by a young sprog if I’d like him to mind my car – as he looked fairly innocuous I took the risk of declining his services, half expecting to regret it later (I didn’t as it turned out).

Fish and chip lunch from the Clarendon Chippy, a tour of the City Store (what a nice change to go into a sports store and not see Rag shirts everywhere!) then off to the bar in the Kippax Upper Tier. Having passed the time before kick off supping and watching ‘Definitely Maybe the Greatest City Video Ever‘ on the monitors (so good I bought the video) we took our seats with hope of the current side recreating the exploits of teams gone by … and then reality kicked in.

Team selection was a puzzler. If Jim Whitley had been so good in his two games, why wasn’t he even on the subs’ bench? Ged Brannan listed as one of the subs! As for Sunderland, their line up was announced to derision for Buzzer and warm applause for Niall Quinn – no surprises there. The first half was a pretty scrappy affair, the highlight being Uwe(?) hitting the upright with a close range header but mostly we looked as though too many of the team were having an off day. We gave Sunderland too much space down our left flank (Russell and Shelia didn’t seem to knit very well) and it was largely down to Buzzer’s lethargy that we got away with it. Even Wiekens seemed to have caught the bug though this may have in part been down to playing out of position in midfield. Dickov and Brown as usual ran themselves ragged but otherwise an unmemorable half came and went, with neither ‘keeper having much to do.

The second half started with Gio off (tooth playing up?) and Conlon on and we started with a bit more determination, only for the stuffing to be knocked out of us by Phillips scoring in his 6th successive game (some around us had it as an own goal). Cue minor scuffles in the North Stand as a mindless minority of Blues attempted to get at the joyous Mackems, but the stewards quickly quelled the invasion.

Things fell apart further as Wiekens then Shelia were carried off (Brannan and van Blerk on respectively) in what was becoming an ill-tempered affair. A poor referee was booking people left, right and centre and giving bad decisions too often for the crowd’s liking. Edghill had a few good runs down the right and whipped in some fair crosses but to be honest nobody really looked like scoring. The disruption of the flow of play led the referee to add on about 10 minutes of injury time (Birmingham game again, this time it would work for us? nah!) by which time much of the ground was emptying fast. It wasn’t to be our day, and Sunderland didn’t really have to try very hard to walk off with the points.

There was much talk around us of tactical naïvety; bewilderment as to what Frank wanted the team to do; despair every time Brannan got the ball; anger at an inconsistent ref. I’d have liked to see a bit more positive support for the team but then I guess many of the people around me will be there week in, week out and I’m not really in a position to criticise them given my attendance record 🙂 Sadly as we headed back to the car, we witnessed some minor skirmishes around the Sunderland coaches. OK so a couple of their fans were daft enough to taunt a crowd of p****d-off Blues but surely we ought to be thick-skinned enough to be able to ignore that sort of thing by now and not resort to thumping other fans? To make matters worse, a Sunderland fan got onto David Mellor’s programme on Radio 5 and made observations about the threatening atmosphere in the Main Stand.

So it’s West Ham next week – the prospect of Hartson up against a defence possibly stripped of Wiekens and Shelia doesn’t bode well given our live TV track record. Then again it would be just like us to beat them.

MATCH REPORT – ‘LIVE’

MANCHESTER CITY vs. SUNDERLAND, Saturday 17th January 1998

I have not sent in any reports recently but after watching the performance against Sunderland I feel I have to vent my spleen. We really do have a problem at Maine Road. He is called Frank Clark. To his credit he has brought some good players to the club but seems intent on pushing the self-destruct button with some of his team selections.

Most City fans would have seen a draw today as a bonus, with the more optimistic ones expecting another Middlesbrough. It seemed from the Portsmouth reports that the team had started believing in themselves and may just be on a mini roll (City, not Cadbury’s). When the team was announced, most of us were surprised to see us line up with four defenders and Gerard Wiekens playing in a midfield rôle. Say what you like, I am one of Gerard Wiekens’ biggest fans, but his strength is in and around the defence. The substitutes beggered belief: Brannan, van Blerk (?) and Conlon (?!). Why no Jim Whitley? Do we operate a rota system for subs, or what? How a manager can justify changing a winning formula is crazy, and potentially suicidal, which is how it turned out. FC has a knack of turning a player’s confidence inside out. I suppose we should give credit to FC for giving players the chance to prove themselves but dropping a player out of the squad after impressive performances can only do damage to a player’s confidence and make them lose respect for their manager (the Whitleys, Morley, Scully and Margetson are names which spring immediately to mind). It must also make the rest of the squad feel unsettled. It would seem that no matter how well someone plays, their place in next week’s team is not guaranteed. One of the first rules in management is to praise good work and reward that person with a continued place until their performances for the team become unacceptable, and they need remotivating by being dropped.

As the teams were read out Quinny got a big cheer from us but Summerbee was left in no doubt as to his popularity, as he was loudly booed every time he touched the ball. It was noticable how well liked Craig Russell was/is by the Wearsiders, as their fans chanted “There’s only one Craig Russell… walking in a Russell wonderland” on a number of occasions.

It was quite obvious from the start that the City players were playing in an uncomfortable formation and they struggled to keep hold of the ball. There was simply no pattern. Wiekens was not match fit and was overrun in midfield (a bad injury later on may prove costly). Forget what Peter Reid may say about it being just another match, Sunderland were up for this one, and it showed as they chased and passed the ball around confidently, while City continually pumped the ball upfield, to be beaten every time in the air by the solid Sunderland defence. How FC can ignore Margetson is beyond me because Tommy Wright worries me. OK, he does make some good saves (that’s his job) but when the ball is played back to him, I worry. When he has the ball, I worry. When he doesn’t have the ball, I worry. At least his distribution is consistent. Consistently appalling, with a good percentage going out of play. How does Margetson feel when he sees this? City produced one or two chances, Perez tipping away one effort, but lacked any real invention. City were lucky to go in 0-0 at half time, as they were undoubtably second best.

Kinky failed to come out for the second half, being replaced by Barreee (fair swap?). The Sunderland fans cheered the change and Sunderland continued to dominate. After ten minutes the inevitable happened when a Summerbee corner (a good foot outside the corner mark) was cocked up by the defence allowing Kevin Phillips to score for the seventh game running. Yes, this is the same player we were chasing in the summer. Was it Russell and Phillips for a million quid? It has to be said that Ian Brightwell and Kit Symons played well, though I don’t feel both will be there much longer, when Tskhadadze is in the team. Wiekens and Shelia took bad knocks and were replaced by Brannan and van Blerk. By this time it was obvious we were more likely to concede another, rather than score. Thankfuly this did not happen, but the final scoreline of 0-1 was not a true indication of Sunderland’s dominance.

Ratings: Wright (6), Edghill (6), Brightwell (8), Symons (7), Shelia (6), Wiekens (6), Brown (8), Russell (7), Dickov (7), Kinkladze (6), Rösler (7), Conlon (6), Brannan (6), van Blerk (5).

Summerbee got a dig in afterwards, saying how Sunderland had a settled team and squad, which is the reason for their long unbeaten run. Surely City should look to have a 15-man squad and stick with it? Choose the best starting 11 and tell the players that if they play with skill and committment they will stay in the team. That way the team will develop an understanding and the results will improve consistently. If a player is out through injury or suspension, he knows he will only regain his place in the 15 on merit. Another player would be drafted into the 15. If a player is substituted or dropped for lack of effort, then he knows he has to battle to get another chance. If this system were put in place, at least everybody knows where they stand. No player should have a guaranteed place in the team. This is no revolutionary approach! It is how most other clubs in Britain operate, but not FC. The players don’t know from one game to the next if they will be involved. Mind you, I don’t think Frank Clark does either. Frank Clark’s tactics can be summed up in one word… Kamikaze. But there again, Kamikaze may be the name of the next Georgian we sign!

One last point about the standard of refereeing. As many of you know, I ref junior football around Manchester, and, like most refs, I tend to look at a game from the ref’s point of view, his positioning, how he works with his assistants. I have to say that the referee, M. D. Messias of York (why do they always tell us where they are from?), definitely lost the plot today. Players from both sides were booked for no reason, he slowed down play by insisting on kicks and throws being taken from the exact place, he allowed Summerbee to take at least three corners well outside the corner area (the referee being no more than 20 yards from Summerbee on each occasion), one of which led to a goal. His strangest decision of the afternoon was when the Sunderland ‘keeper went down awkwardly after a challenge. The ‘keeper had the ball. He called on the physio, play being stopped for a couple of minutes. When Perez was fit, the referee decided to restart play with a drop ball and dropped the ball at Perez’s feet, with no player within 30 yards. Wierd!

MATCH VIEW – SUNDERLAND DÉBÂCLE

Jimmy Wagg: “Did young Jim Whitley not even get a place on the bench then James?”
James H. Reeve: No Jim, the subs were Conlon, van Blerk and Brannan.”
J.W.: “It does seem rather strange after the lad produced two sensational performances against Bradford and Portsmouth, maybe he picked up a bit of a knock.”
J.H.R.: “Well Jim, we normally do get that kind of information up here in the press box, but nothing has been forthcoming in that respect regarding Jim Whitley.”
J.W.: “Well hopefully Andy Buckley, who is trying to get a word with Frank Clark at this moment will be able to clear it up for us. Alan Gowling at Newcastle, would you have given young Whitley a place on the bench?”
A.G.: “No Jim, from the reports I have heard, I would have had him on from the start. It does seem like a strange…”
J.W.: “Alan, I’ll have to stop you there as we can now hear Andy Buckley talking to Frank Clark.”
A.B.: “Well Frank how did you assess today’s disappointment following the two recent wins?”
F.C.: “Very disappointed Andy. We were poor and we just didn’t compete and didn’t deserve anything from the game.”
A.B.: “What was the reasoning behind leaving young Jim Whitley out?”
F.C.: “Well we felt with the quality of the opposition we needed to go for someone with more experience in midfield today.”
A.B.: “Not even a place on the bench though Frank?”
F.C.: “Well it was a difficult one, but Ged has shown he can play anywhere across the back as well as midfield so I thought this would give us more options.”
A.B.: “Thanks Frank.”
J.W.: “Well there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. Jim Whitley was dropped.”

Although the above passage is not verbatim, it is as close as I can remember from my journey home on Saturday. Does it convey the frustration that most City fans feel? I can’t bring myself to write about the match as it was pure madness tactically. From the moment a police horse threw up next to me (big time carrots) as I queued up for my West Ham tickets, the day got steadily worse. A midfield of Gio, Michael Brown and Wiekens (surely a defender) which already looked vulnerable, was reduced to farce after Gio’s retirement at half time when our pantomime striker Barry Conlon was brought on giving us 3 centre forwards (Dickov and Rösler being the others). City were so dire it made you want to have a go at managing the team yourself. There was a plus point in that we defended reasonably well but the distribution from the back was non-existent. You know the scenario, Tommy Wright has the ball, a couple of defenders give him a token glance to placate the fans before scuttling up to the safety of the half way line. Tommy hoofs it up into the grey January sky as he always wanted to anyway. Let’s face it none of our defenders have an ounce of skill and so don’t want the ball from the ‘keeper. We are most definitely not talking Frank Le Boeuf here chaps. Uwe, Dickov and Baree were all having off days together and the midfield consisted solely of Micheal Brown who again impressed. The only other player to come out with any credit was Russell, but is he really a left wing back?! Sorry there’s nothing positive to report and in the grand scheme of things I hope F.C will prove us all wrong but my grave doubts are becoming graver by the week.

MATCH VIEW

This will be short and sweet; if you need more detail, just read any of the myriad of match reports from the last 2 years where we’ve defended too deep, surrendered the midfield and ended up hoofing balls up to the two front men.

Watching the team run out, I was dismayed to see that Jim Whitley was not amongst them; furthermore, it transpired that he wasn’t even on the bench. He’d apparently made way for Wiekens, who – as a result of some arcane management decision – was given a midfield rôle! This naïve tactical move was to set the pattern for the first half and most of the second. Wiekens is an excellent central defender but is most definitely not a midfielder; when playing there, he merely sits just in front of the defence, giving the side a hopelessly defensive look.

Although we did create a couple of chances, including a header which hit the woodwork (Rösler), we conceded the midfield without a fight (Brown excepted) and spent almost the entire match defending 25 yards out. All the usual problems were there: Sunderland built up without a challenge from City and when the ball was played into our packed defence, it was usually headed out straight to a Sunderland player, inviting a shot on goal.

Gio didn’t appear in the second half and was replaced by Conlon; apparently he felt ill (tooth abcess; apparently FC was the only person in the ground who was unaware of this fact!). City looked brighter but gave away a really soft goal when a cross was curled in and Phillips nipped in to head home ahead of the lacklustre Brightwell, and past Wright, who I thought ought to have come for the cross.

We all knew that Wiekens was returning from injury, so anyone with half a brain could have guessed that a midfield rôle would be pushing it; Wiekens was duly stretchered off halfway through the second half in what looked like some pain. He was replaced by van Blerk. The injury list then grew longer, with Shelia hobbling off (replaced by Brannan). City did have a few good opportunities but failed to take them; Sunderland were deserved winners.

Ratings:
Wright (5): Atrocious kicking; his hesitancy contributed to the goal IMHO. Why is he preferred to Margetson who is a much superior goalie?
Edghill (6): Made some good runs but fails to capitalise by delivering a good ball into the centre.
Russell (8): Did an excellent job on Buzzer and looked up for it.
Symons (6): Capable performance.
Brightwell (5): At fault for the goal; why do we play him when we have Morley and Beesley (on loan I know) and Wiekens?
Shelia (8): Gets better all the time.
Wiekens (4): Out of position and definitely not match fit.
Gio (7): Made some good runs but looked bored.
Brown (9): Without Brownie we’d have been totally overrun, he made some good surging runs in the second half which should have brought us something.
Dickov (5): Worst game for ages, nothing worked for him, least of all the formation.
Rösler (5): Hardly won anything and hit the deck a lot!
Conlon (5): The service was too poor to show what he can do.
van Blerk (5): Hardly made an impression.
Brannan (2): If he were a horse, I’d shoot him!

Don’t kid yourselves, we are in terminal trouble, the Bradford result was very lucky and Portsmouth were apparently clueless. Here are some things to mull over:

• Why was a team which had won two games on the trot inexplicably changed?
• Why was the impressive Whitley dropped and not even given a place on the bench?
• Why was Wiekens given a midfield rôle; we lose an excellent defender and gain an average midfielder.
• Why give a midfield rôle to a defender returning from a hamstring injury? I fear Wiekens may now be out for several weeks.
• Why were we playing for a 0-0 draw at home? and what was the reason for such a fundamental tactical switch against the best team in the division?
• Why wasn’t Scully on the bench; guess who was though?
• Why wasn’t Wiekens given the captain’s armband back?

I have no answers I’m afraid, the only thing I’m sure of, is that barring a transformation of apocalyptic proportions, Sunday 3rd May will be a very sad day indeed!

NEWS – BLUES CLOSER TO GROUND MOVE

Manchester City have moved a step closer to leaving Maine Road and setting up home at the yet-to-be built Commonwealth Games stadium. The club have had “positive” talks with City Council officials at a board meeting earlier this week. City have been considering moving from Maine Road, their home for over 70 years, and becoming tenants at the new Eastlands site, three miles from their current Moss Side home.

The new stadium will be built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games with the aid of lottery money and private business help. The City Council want a big-name tenant for future use and City have been discussing a possible move now for several months. Club chief executive Mike Turner said: “We have not committed ourselves yet but we have moved closer to a positive decision after the Council gave a very exciting presentation to our board meeting this week. We don’t have to make a final decision yet but what we saw this week was very exciting. The discussions were very positive.” Turner dismissed speculation of friction between the club and the Council over Manchester City’s financial involvement. It is believed that it will cost £2 million to install executive boxes and catering facilities into the new stadium and the Council want the club to contribute to the cost. Turner said: “We accept that we would have to spend money to install what we would need at the stadium. We have given the Council a shopping list of what we feel we would need and they have come back to us in a very positive way.”

City are likely to rent out Maine Road, maybe in conjunction with the Council, and move to a stadium that would give them a probable 55,000 capacity. Any attempt to redevelop Maine Road and increase its current capacity of 32,000 would be difficult because of opposition from local residents.

NEWS – CONTRACT TALKS

City are currently having contract talks with five senior players. Ian Brightwell, Kit Symons, Martyn Margetson, Richard Edghill, and Uwe Rösler are all reported to be out of contract this summer, and can walk away from the club for nothing. Apparently Brightwell feels he deserves a better contract as a reward for the loyalty he has shown the club. I think we’d all agree that loyalty is a rare thing among 90’s footballers, but I can’t help thinking losing Bob to the Bosman ruling would be no great disaster (especially after his poor performance against Sunderland). In fact, would any other club want any of the above players? Uwe may get a call from some 2nd division German side but what about the others? These guys want to take a look at what Andy Dibble is doing now (or not doing, as the case may be). We could have 5 little Moonchesters swanning round the pitch this time next season.

NEWS – CONTRACT WRANGLES

By Paul Walker, PA Sport

Troubled Manchester City are locked in contract wrangles with five senior stars, including their longest serving player Ian Brightwell and club captain Kit Symons. Brightwell, Symons, Martyn Margetson, Richard Edghill and Uwe Rösler are all out of contract in the summer and will be able to leave for nothing on free transfers. All have rejected the club’s initial approaches after discussions with boss Frank Clark and are now awaiting a response from the board.

Brightwell officially launches his testimonial year on Tuesday, but he is not sure of his future with the club he joined as a 12 year-old, and during which time he has served under an amazing 19 managers. Brightwell’s testimonial year should have been 12 months ago, but he stepped aside to allow his friend and former team-mate Paul Lake – whose career was cruelly ended by injury – to have his own testimonial year instead, before embarking on a new career as a physiotherapist. A professional at City for 12 years, Brightwell has played in almost 400 games and finally captained the team for the first time in recent weeks. Brightwell was reluctant to discuss the situation, other than to say: “I am involved in talks about a new contract.” But it is understood that he feels hurt, and believes that his loyalty to the club should be rewarded.

Symons’ position in the side is clearly threatened by the arrival recently of two new Georgian defenders Murtaz Shelia and Kakhaber Tskhadadze. Symons was relieved of the team captaincy a month ago after abuse from fans and shaky form, but has battled back with some solid displays. His agent Philip Morrison said: “As of January 1, Kit was able to talk to foreign clubs. We have had no meaningful discussions about a new contract.” Defender Edghill and Welsh goalkeeper Margetson are in the same boat, now waiting for the club’s response. Rösler’s contract problems have been well-documented, and he has been the subject of plenty of transfer speculation involving Everton, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland. But with the transfer deadline now only two months away, the chances of City getting a fee for the German who can quit in the summer, is now very unlikely.

NEWS ROUND-UP

Today’s big story is that a significant number of the club’s senior professionals look set to let their contracts run out at the end of the season and move on cheaply (or even on free transfers). The players involved include Ian Brightwell, Kit Symons, Martyn Margetson and Richard Edghill, as well as strikers Uwe R