Newsletter #581

One of those surreal experiences on Friday, when someone somewhere was clearly smiling down on us to let us off the field after 45 minutes, only having conceded a single goal when around four would have been a fairer reflection of the play! Somehow we continue to play badly yet still come away with something. However, our failure to turn in anything approaching a half-way decent performance left the door open for Ipswich, who grabbed 3 points at Gresty Road with one minute to go and thus climbed above us into second place, albeit having played a game more. This issue has a couple of match reports, opinion on Dickov and Cooke and a Why Blue.

Lastly, Don Shore has asked whether it wouldn’t be better to put the contributor’s name and address at the beginning of the article rather than the end. This would save people having to scroll down to the end to see who has written it. Anyone have any feelings about this, as we’re always open to change [Ashley]?

NEWS SUMMARY

Goater Strike Earns Draw

City took a point from the televised clash at Huddersfield on Friday evening. The Blues produced a disappointing performance but Shaun Goater’s equaliser gave the Blues a share of the spoils. Goater’s strike, his fifteenth in sixteen games, came at the end of a first half in which Huddersfield’s dominance had been rewarded by Clyde Wijnhard’s opener. However, City’s biggest hero on the night was probably goalkeeper Nicky Weaver, who produced a string of fine saves to keep his side in the game.

Royle – We Were Second Best

Joe Royle was relieved to take a point at the McAlpine Stadium on Friday – even though the failure to notch a victory gave Ipswich a chance to overhaul the Blues. Royle felt that a draw was more than his side’s display on the night deserved. “It would have been a real Dick Turpin job had we won,” admitted the City boss. “There were no complaints. We were second best in all departments except the goalkeeper.”

City Lose Second Place

A last-minute winner enabled Ipswich to move into second place in Division One on Saturday. Jermaine Wright’s strike against his former club Crewe enabled the East Anglians to overtake Manchester City. The Suffolk club are now a point ahead of the Blues, but have played a game more. It’s the first time in four months that Joe Royle’s side have slipped from an automatic promotion place, but they could move back into second spot on Saturday – at least for 24 hours. Even a draw at home to struggling Walsall would see City overtake George Burley’s men, with Ipswich not in action at Birmingham until 24 hours later.

Pollock Turns Down Wigan Move

Wigan Athletic have called a press conference today to announce the signing of Jamie Pollock. But the Latics have been premature, with the player having rejected a move to the JJB Stadium. Despite being impressed with the set-up at Wigan, Pollock is reluctant to drop back down to the Second Division and has decided to stay at Maine Road and battle his way back into first-team contention. The breakdown of the transfer is a second disappointment for Wigan manager John Benson in a bid to sign a City player. The Latics recently had a £500,000 offer for Paul Dickov turned down, and claims that the Division Two promotion chasers may make a renewed bid for the Scot haven’t yet materialised.

Royle Still Looking for Two New Faces

Mancehster City could be set to bring in two new faces before next month’s transfer deadline. The club has confirmed that the abortive sale of Jamie Pollock to Wigan wasn’t needed to generate team-building funds. As has been clear for some time, the priority target is Leeds’ Alf-Inge Haaland. It’s believed that the Blues want to take the Norwegian on a three-month loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent if promotion is won. The Elland Road club, however, are said to favour a permanent deal. It’s thought that Royle also has another incoming deal in mind but the possible identity of the second man on the City manager’s hit-list isn’t yet clear.

Injury the Barrier to Cooke Loan Move

Terry Cooke may be set to leave Maine Road on loan – provided he shakes off his ankle injury. Wigan are keen to take the City winger to the JJB Stadium for the rest of the season. Latics’ boss John Benson has admitted he’d like to sign the player on a permanent basis, but concedes that Cooke would be reluctant to commit to a deal on these terms at present. No doubt Benson hopes that his side will go on to win promotion to help persuade the former Manchester United player to join the club. City boss Joe Royle admitted that he may be prepared to allow the player out on loan and confirmed that he’d “look at the situation” when the player recovers from his current injury problems.

Loan Star Vaughan Impresses Platt

Tony Vaughan again gave a good account of himself to boost his prospects of a permanent move to Nottingham Forest on Saturday. The on-loan City defender’s display impressed Forest boss David Platt. The Midlanders notched their second successive win and second successive clean sheet since Vaughan joined by beating Crystal Palace 2-0, and Platt admits he’s thinking in terms of keeping the former Ipswich player. “He has the incentive of knowing this could turn into a permanent move and he’s certainly done his chances no harm,” conceded the ex-England international.

Tiatto Called Up but Duo Miss Out

Manchester City will have three internationals on duty this week. Danny Tiatto will join up with the Australian party in Hungary but Jeff Whitley and Kevin Horlock have been withdrawn from the Northern Ireland squad. The City midfield pair were both hoping to impress new national boss Sammy McIlroy in the friendly in Luxembourg but each suffered an injury at Huddersfield on Friday, Whitley suffering a calf strain and Horlock damaging a thigh muscle. Mark Kennedy and Nicky Weaver complete the international trio, on duty for the Republic of Ireland and England under-21s respectively.

Weekend Fitness Worries for Royle

Joe Royle could be facing a selection crisis for Saturday’s game against Walsall. Several potential first-team squad members are receiving treatment are are doubtful for the match. Northern Ireland pair Jeff Whitley and Kevin Horlock have already been withdrawn from Sammy McIlroy’s squad this week, while Lee Peacock, Robert Taylor and Lee Crooks are all bidding to recover from injuries which have kept them sidelined recently. In addition, Andy Morrison isn’t yet near to a return while Danny Tiatto serves a one-match suspension.

Morrison to Step Up Comeback Bid

Andy Morrison will return to full training next week, though the City skipper isn’t setting a target date for his return to first-team action. A specialist has examined the defender’s injured knee and found no major problem. Manager Joe Royle is pleased with what he sees as a positive development, telling the club’s official website at http://www.mcfc.co.uk/, “He [the specialist] has recommended a week’s rest and then to slowly build up with Andy and let things settle down. We still feel that Andy has made good progress.” Morrison has been missing from the City line-up for almost four months and though the Blues have retained a challenging league position in his absence, the captain’s leadership qualities would offer the team an extra boost.

Bernstein Hints at Fresh Investment

David Bernstein has hinted that the club will raise further funds if the Blues are promoted. The City chairman admitted he’s aware of the need to give manager Joe Royle a substantial transfer war-chest if the club reaches the Premiership. Bernstein has already noted that City will be more attractive to major financial backers if the goal of top-flight football has already been achieved, and he reiterated his earlier comments this weekend, stating, “If we do get promoted then we will be looking for a considerable amount of money because the demands of the Premiership are so much greater.” Bernstein also emphasised that manager Joe Royle will be allowed to bring in new blood if he feels that to do so will help the Blues’ promotion bid.

Boy, Eight, Injured in Crowd Violence

An eight-year-old boy was injured on Friday night in clashes between Manchester City and Huddersfield Town fans. The trouble flared as the two teams met in the First Division promotion encounter. There were violent incidents in Huddersfield town centre between rival gangs both before and after the match at the McAlpine Stadium, leading to 34 arrests. One man was taken to hospital after being knocked unconscious, while in a particularly sickening incident, the eight-year-old was punched to the ground. All decent supporters will deplore the actions of the fans involved in the violence and will wish the boy concerned a speedy recovery.

MATCH REPORT – ‘LIVE’

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN vs. MANCHESTER CITY, Friday 18th February 2000

Whilst Yorkshire telly were busily hyping up the so-called ‘war of the roses’ of Leeds against some outfit from Salford, a genuine Lancashire-Yorkshire derby was hours away as we sat in the pub quaffing our pints. The opening of the match was exciting end to end stuff but Town slowly began to win an advantage, mainly due, I felt, to our inability to keep the ball and take some of the pace out of the game, a tempo which Town seemed quite comfortable with. Nevertheless, City’s organised defence and Weaver’s heorics kept the score line at 0-0. However, the inevitable happened, a mistake from Wiekens (I think – although I felt he played well for the rest of the game), led to the goal scoring oppurtuinty for Huddersfield and for once we didn’t cover it.

City refused to lie down though and got back into the game on the stroke of half time with a superb strike from the Goat. “Feed the Goat and he will score” rang out over the McNicelookingbutactuallyabitbobbins stadium. So when I finaly emerged on the concourse I was shocked to discover that the Yorkshire constabulary were doing their utmost to prevent us taking the lead. The police had formed a line in the middle of the concourse, which meant everyone had to jostle their way through them on the way to the toilet or snack bar. This caused some delay and meant that no Blues were able to purchase a quick pie and rush to the City dressing room at half time.

The second half began with the Goat looking decidedly peckish and hence unlikely to score, so City seemed to sit back and try to hang on for the draw. This wasn’t the best policy as again Huddersfield pressurised our goal, requiring more heroics from young Weaver. These tactics were soon changed and City absolutely dominated for the rest of the game, with a number of opportunities, notably with Dickov falling on his a*se as he ran solo in the box; perhaps he was demonstrating to the Yorkshire club the flaws in his game, so they won’t want to buy him, so he can stay with the Blues. Goater had a fine chance from about six yards out, blasted wide but it was a difficult chance. We also gave away an indirect free kick for handling a back pass but after a few panicky moments we had it covered (I now withdraw the statement I made recently about wanting SuperMarg back). Most of the half was with City though; Jim Whitley even joined the game as sub, so it loks like Pollock is on his way, what will his fan club do I wonder? On the whole I think the draw was a fair result as both sides had chances to win the game. There was some trouble after the game too; I managed to reach the railway station steps before turning to notice a bunch of people being chased. I only mention it as it was the first real bit of trouble I’ve witnessed on my travels.

MATCH VIEW – SKY LIVE

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN vs. MAN CITY, Friday, 18th February 2000

A shortened version of this report was posted on Blue View on late Friday night / early Saturday morning. Even this ain’t that long as you’ll see as it’s broken down into bite-sized chunks of player ratings. I just wanted to get my feelings on the individual performances off my chest so if you read the BV posting already and don’t want to read an extended/edited version of the same, then please skip to the next report by all means.

The minute this game ended I emptied my glass and left the bar. I wasn’t even close to well oiled, having only finished work twenty minutes before kick off and spending the majority of the first half biting my nails, my beer glass hardly getting a look in. At the time it didn’t seem like a night to go out on a proper tear anyway… something disappointing about the whole thing. That disappointment that you can’t quite shake off and which sits in your stomach like a bad kebab. With hindsight I should have been getting completely scuttered and enjoying the fact that we’d basically nicked a point without deserving it one jot, I’ll do my celebrating double style tomorrow when I get back home. I’m not in my usual surroundings tonight, so maybe that has something to do with my reluctance to go mad celebrating an undeserved draw. I watched the game in a Stuttgart hotel bar, having spent the latter half of this week at our office here and to be honest the atmosphere in the bar was about as far removed from what I’m used to when watching City on telly as it could have got. In one corner there was a bloke playing a piano endlessly, endlessly, endlessly. It was like watching the game in a stuck lift, with politeness and awkwardness whereever I cared to glance. Surreal.

I’m not surprised about JR’s comments after the game, where he stated he was delighted with the point. We should be. In the end we were away from home and when you sum things up we only played like half a team so the point has to be seen as one gained but not really deserved.

On the positive side, we could see this result and the one at Norwich as games we could easily have lost (not so much the Norwich one admittedly) but in the end we’ve taken points each time. Could these have been two straight defeats in a parallel life? Hopefully we’ve just seen the back end of another bad run of games, but a run where we have got away without doing any real damage to our ultimate objective other than to have somewhat lost touch with Charlton. JR may be very publicly blasé with his view on how catchable Charlton are, but he must feel disappointed that we are a full 6 points behind now.

Right, here’s the performances as I saw them.

Weaver: Superb saves again showing what quality he has. I thought when Gorre’s shot came back off the post and hit Nicky on the back that we’d see a repeat of Wolves’ first goal in the 4-1 and naturally a repeat of the result. Not much he could have done about the first goal, which was well taken, although the same can’t be said of the defence who did everything but actually point to the spot in the net that Wijnhard should have a pop at. I have to say though, that – MoM award or not – young Nicky certainly looked to be more distracted than usual and at one point was almost as fast asleep as Wiekens, who back passed to Nicky while he was busy examining the grass somewhere between the centre circle and the goal. Nicky admitted he didn’t even know who had passed the ball forward as he hadn’t been looking and that was why he dived on it, giving a indirect free in the box. Scary moments. He was though, at one point, the most effective defender we had as he herded a Hudd’ attacker around the perimeter of the box before deciding he should really get back to the rough vicinity of the onion bag again. I’d love to see a lot less of Nicky wandering around, but so long as he keeps getting in the way of the ball I’m happy to see him express himself from time to time, if that’s what he’s doing. Many of the saves were not only good but also extremely brave with three or more directly at feet of attackers. An eccentric showing. Deserved the shampoo but could do with a shorter leash. The new Grobbelaar? 8/10

Edghill: A poor performance from Reg. Nicky’s first really good save came in the first 5 minutes because Reg was left for dead by Jamie Vincent. At least he got himself in the way of Huddersfield’s second bite at the cherry from the half-cleared first effort. Why does Edghill continuously hold the ball in defence when there are passes on, choosing instead to wait ’til he gets closed down and then it’s 50/50 if he’ll win a throw as the best possible result? A bit lucky to have only been booked the once too. JR must notice that Reg hasn’t performed well since he was nearly topped by the arch-ex-Rag at Southampton. He certainly isn’t doing much by way of captaining! Gives away too many stupid free kicks in his right back position for my liking. If there’s more than one way to skin a cat, then Huddersfield demonstrated upwards of 10 ways to skin an Edghill on tonight’s show. Poor 3/10.

Wiekens: This man is a mere shadow of what he used to be. I don’t care to count the times he allows the ball to bounce in defence these days and tonight he often lost sight of the ball completely. REM had set in when he made his backpass “to” Nicky who was taking up something close to an attacking position at the time. Wiekens looked even slower than I’ve seen him in the past, which to be fair to him, I’d put down to the pitch partly as it was lashing down all day there. Never seemed to get any distance on his clearances unless he made the clearance on the volley. Again not good enough and certainly not as good as he can be but not as absent as Edgy. A somewhat begrudging 5/10 (but only because 4/10 would be a bit too harsh and I’m not doing ice skating score fractions).

Jobson: Of the defenders he played ok. Again he seemed to allow the ball to bounce a few times in defence (I think it was the fallout from Wiekens’ mistakes) but all in all had a fair to middling game without really being outstanding. I think I must have been at the bar anytime he did anything good so a short summary only. Sorry, buuurrrrrp. 6/10

Granville: Didn’t see anything from him in the first half really apart from some chasing back and more chasing back. He seemed to always be roaming forwards when the ball was coming back towards him. At the end of the first half and for spells in the second half he looked a bit better with more space being available on the left. When he came forward with the ball it seemed to wake Kennedy up a bit too, his having been fairly well silenced for much of the first half. All in all a fair to middling performance. 5/10

Jeff Whitley: Pretty quiet for the first twenty odd minutes, I hardly noticed him at all. Got more into the game (relatively speaking) as it went on. Showed our only real intention to tackle for the ball when he got going, and did what he usually does in annoying whoever had the ball for Hudd until they passed it to someone else. In short he didn’t give many Hudd players a whole lot of time on the ball but unfortunately there weren’t many among his teammates in a position to prevent the ball being passed on anyway, so his efforts were all but cancelled out. Took a nasty whack near the end but seemed to get over it ok. Simply because of loads of huff and puff but no real result 6/10.

Horlock: He didn’t look much like he wanted to get the ball very often. Shrugged himself up into a small thing going in for headers, half pulled out of tackles on the ground usually opting for the “fling yourself at the ball/man” and hope that the former pops out somewhere and that the latter doesn’t get thrown too far into the air. One shot on goal but got too much under it. Pretty ineffective on the whole. Headed the ball out off (from behind?) the line in the second half so thank God JR obviously saw reason to leave him on the pitch at the time. Changed for Tiatto around the 80th minute. 5/10

Bishop: Didn’t like the conditions on the pitch very much by the looks of it. So many under-hit passes sticking to the grass and slowing down to a near complete halt 10 to 15 yards away from the intended target. Hit a decent shot on target in the first half, getting well over a fairly high ball. Straight at the ‘keeper though and never causing that much trouble. Some passing was very good, just too much of it was poor. Taken off in the 90th minute to give Jim Whitley a run out. A bit disjointed so, 6/10

Kennedy: One of those days where he was well and truly boxed off for long periods. He didn’t have any joy for most of the first half and seemed not to be able to deal with the slippery ball a lot of the time. When Granville started to play he started to play too and got some lovely crosses in which were just begging for someone on the near post. Someone we didn’t have tonight unfortunately with the exception of two occasions when both Goater and then Dickov hit wide from close range, albeit with Goater’s being the “easier” of the two chances and Dickov’s having probably been the wrong choice when a dummy may have presented a better option for Goater lurking behind him. Again, I would question how much attention Kennedy was actually paying at times. Several times his first touch would be heavy handed, usually when he was near one of the touch lines thereby giving away throws and goal kicks where something more could have come of it for us. Still he go his crosses off after a while so, 6/10

Goater: Not his best game, although he scored again, very like the first vs. Forest in the way the ball presented itself to Shauny, where a crossed ball bounced over the defence, in particular Monkou, who’d lost his footing slightly. Shauny kept his eye on it well and put it away neatly enough. Very lucky to have Shaun’s prowess around when things are tough. A 22nd goal for Shaun even when he has an off(ish) night, so someone’s watching over us. He won pretty much nothing in the air tonight though and was looking a bit tired to me. I hope I’m wrong, but was he limping towards the end slightly? Nice to see him getting back into defending rôles when needed to, definitely one of the parts of his game I like. He always seems to get down to work wherever the work needs to be done. He spent portions of the first half hanging around behind the midfield on the right side, leaving Dickie on his own up front. If Shauny can see that we’re constantly getting overrun on the right of midfield and defence, then I just hope JR is watching as closely. Missed a couple in the second half, one from mid range and one from a near post cross from Kennedy, where his left foot would have been a better choice to glance it past Vaesen. Strange kind of performance to have to mark but his was a performance maybe dragged down in quality by the lack of support from midfield. I’ll give him 6/10 but it wasn’t really his fault.

Dickov: Very, very disappointing. I really hate to see the way Paul is picking up a worsening reputation with each game that passes, not for his moaning and tantrums as such, as they’re are all part of his make up. The problem is that these parts of his make up seem to be slowly taking over the majority share of what is undoubtedly a very useful player if he focusses on actually playing rather than play-acting. Now – and hopefully only as a one off – he’s added swinging his elbow around to all of that. He could easily have been sent off in the first half for lashing out at Monkou. Luckily the linesman will have seen Dickov’s arm tangled under Monkou’s body only seconds before and so could have been forgiven for thinking that Dickov just pulled his arm free if it came to making a decision about the matter. He didn’t just pull it free though and had Monkou’s head been up rather than down, Dickov could have brained him and been off. Didn’t really get himself into anything resembling a decent position often and missed a chance to have a first-go shot having been put well through in the second half. Instead he tryed to get the ball to his right foot. I felt he was unlucky to have had a free kick given against him for a handball in the same incident which I didn’t really see properly although the ball did seem to roll under his arm after he fell over it/ sat on it. He should try to remember the way he used put his effort into creating chances and getting in scoring positions, rather than whinging, moaning, fouling and throwing tantrums. Drop the Beckham antics Paul please. I think Allsopp on the bench may have been a better bet in the closing stages if only to get him a run out as Dickov wouldn’t have been missed that much. A lowly 4/10 and ’til he starts playing football again, that’s where my rating will remain for the time being.

Tiatto: Only played ten odd minutes but did ok, nothing to really talk about really. No rating.

Jim Whitley: Nice to have him back, but he only played about 2 minutes of injury time. I don’t think he touched the ball at all and if he did all I know is nothing came of it. No rating.

Sum of the ratings: 57/110 (I think, I only totted it up quickly). So like I said, we played with half a team but still picked up a point. I should be out celebrating, I think, but even now it still doesn’t feel right. Tomorrow morning will dictate the mood, I’ll see how I feel. Funnily enough alan brazil didn’t really say much to really get my back up tonight, which is one positive to take away I suppose.

I even think he suggested that “Goater or Wijnhard should have a crack at this one” (or words to that effect) when talking about the indirect free kick we gave away in the box (see Weaver/Wiekens above). Aye, go on then Goatman! Hammer it Brucewards and knock that permanent dopey look off his boat! First sensible suggestion ever to leave brazil’s mouth and even that was because he wouldn’t know who Goater played for without looking at the crib-notes. Someone must have had a word in his shell-like at Sly-TV, he was strangely full of praise for Weaver, Kennedy etc.

Hmmm, I feel like exploring now… let’s have another look at that mini-bar… well hello Mr. Daniels, how do you do?

MATCHVIEW – HUDDERSFIELD

After years of going to away games and having to pretend to be a home supporter, all of a sudden I go to two away games in a month “amongst friends”. A ‘late availability’ ticket offer and it was off to West Yorkshire on a filthy night for a football game along with Graham and Tony from our CSA branch. Traffic problems and a pick up of two of Tony’s mates at the railway station meant we got into the Gardner Merchant stand just as the teams kicked off. The same team that started against Norwich was on the back foot from the off. You’d expect Huddersfield to come out on the attack, but we seemed happy to stand off them and give them space to move around at will. We defended too deep and always seemed to be second to the ball. Edgy by name and by inclination on the ball, everybody’s favourite right back was having one of his less than reassuring games and there were many around me that we’re going to hold back from saying so. However, he wasn’t alone as Ged and Jobbo were being pulled around by a quick Hudd front line; only Ggggggranville was looking the part.

Our problems were compounded by the midfield being overrun once again. Kennedy’s OK going forward but he seems to want it on a plate and won’t go looking for it when the ball’s up for grabs. Bishop, Horlock and Whitley seem too lightweight for a midfield scrap like this; makes you wonder about the logic of selling Jamie who’s looked to me, in the admittedly limited number of games I’ve seen him play in this season, to be the bit of steel we need at times like this. I just hope JR knows what he’s doing – Alfie Haaland perhaps? Up front, as the crowd pointed out, “feed the Goat and he will score”; he was up against a big defence, his task made worse by the fact that they evidently felt they could ignore the diminutive Dicky. The latter got some flak after the Norwich game and he didn’t seem to have learned the lesson for this game, leaving the Goat with precious little support for much of the game. Shaun ran for everything, pressured their ‘keeper on backpasses and generally earned his corn. He’d have been far better off with one or other of our Taylor’s (preferably SBT who teamed up well with him at Forest).

It wasn’t all bad. JR would seem to have had a chat at half-time as we came out showing more resolve and ultimately finished the stronger side. We pushed up on them in defence and repeatedly caught Wijnhard offside. Kennedy made a few useful ‘run and cross’ forays but the ball always seemed to go to Dickov who got bundled over in the scrum all too easily. Whitley got through the middle only to lose his composure and fluff a clear sight of goal opportunity and ended up fouling a defender in the process of trying to get it back. Ti-a, Ti-a, Tiatto came on for not-so-Super Kev (tonight) in the closing stages and injected more life into things, but added to our left sided bias with nothing of note coming down the right. In the end, a draw was a fair result; the travelling Blues were certainly relieved to go in level after that first half. As an aside, anyone know what the reason for the tension with the police was at the back of the stand at half-time?

The atmosphere on the night was pretty electric, not as relaxed as when I was at Forest; we saw one scuffle on the way to the ground and the intermingling of the crowd after the game made a quick getaway a priority. The crowd were certainly in good voice – I understand we came through loud and clear on Sky – taunting the Hudd fans with references to 10-1, unnatural relationships with sheep, their inability to sell all their tickets and so on. I particularly liked the way that just after we’d gone behind, and we’re getting the ‘you’re not singing any more’ routine from the Hudd fans either side of us, there was what seemed like momentary pause for breath before we roared back at them and drowned them out. These two games certainly show the difference in atmosphere between Maine Road and the away matches, and reinforce the case for ‘singing sections’ at home games.

So we drop to third, but we’ve the chance to put the pressure back on Ipswich at the weekend with yet another ‘must win’ game. We must start performing better sooner or later and hope that one or other of the two above us cracks.

SAVED BY THE GOAT

H  ard
U  rned    (sorry!)
D  raw
D  ue to
E  xcellent
R  earguard.
S  haun
F  ired
I  n
E  qualiser
L  ike a
D  ream.

CSA WEBSITE LOOKING GOOD

The CSA’s web site at http://www.callnetuk.com/home/sef/ is currently under reconstruction and looking good for it. Would all CSA branches please access the site to see if your branch details are correct. Mail any changes/additions to Shaun Sefton at sef@callnetuk.com

BLUE MOON RINGTONE

Due to the large response from my post in the last edition of McVittee, here are the keypad codes for BlueMoon for the Siemens C25/S25.

G2(1/8) F2(1/8) G2(1/2) p(1/8)
F2(1/8) G2(1/8) A2(1/8) G2(1/8) G2(1/8) F2(1/8) G2(1/2) p(1/8)
E2(1/8) F2(1/8) G2(1/8) F2(1/8) F2(1/8) E2(1/8) F2(1/2) p(1/8)
D2(1/8) E2(1/8) F2(1/8) D2(1/8) D2(1/8) C2(1/8) D2(1/2) p(1/8)

Enjoy it.

WOULDN’T IT BE STRANGE IF…

• Alan Brazil praised Manchester City
• Leicester City won a match lasting 90 minutes
• Manchester United didn’t win the League
• Des Lynam was humble
• Gordon Strachan was calm
• Frank Skinner was funny
• David Beckham grew up
• Paul Scholes was handsome
• Roy Keane was placid
• Sky’s Rob McCaffrey had talent

ANTI RAG LIFESTYLES – AN ISSUE PREVIOUSLY RAISED BY JAMES NASH

On the subject of not buying ‘Rag Items’, has anyone else who reads MCIVTA got the same affliction as me, namely refusing to use things that are red? In my 24 years on this planet, a red toothbrush has never cleaned my teeth, I have never sipped from a red cup, nor worn a red tie or red boxer shorts. I also refused to go to my works Xmas ‘do’ (despite the probably attendance of many drunken females) because the bast*rds decided to book one of the many banqueting suites at O** T*******. I will never buy a Sharp product, nor a Vodafone. Other products on my hitlist include Pepsi, Sugar Puffs, Brylcreem and Snickers. They are taking over our world. Resistance is futile! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

PERSUASION

Today I managed to persuade a workmate, of no great footballing loyalties, that it was a really good idea to buy a mobile phone on the Orange network. This, despite the fact that a similar product on the Vodafone network was twenty quid cheaper.

Despite my mate being twenty quid out of pocket, I have not felt such satisfaction since sending back a Sharp calculator.

Anyone for a game of Tomb Raider?

P.S. I was not impressed by the new JJB adverts featuring Stuart Hall holding up a Rag shirt. Do I feel further boycotts coming on?

DOH!

In response to the article in MCIVTA 580 by Kevin Cummins:

Kevin, if you bothered to read the articles in MCIVTA then you’d know that most of the people moaning about Alan Brazil do go to the games and also video them to watch later (you do know how to use a video don’t you?).

Alan Brazil spoils the pleasure of re-watching a City victory (for example Fulham) with his biased comments.

Also if you go to the games as you say, you know that, with City, it’s never as easy as…

“Here’s a tip. Telephone the Maine Road ticket office on: 0161 227 9229. Give them your credit card number and they will sell you a ticket.”

If you go to that many games you should know that it’s more like… post off your tickets stubs and cheque etc etc. If you wait for the tickets to go on “open” sale then there won’t be any left. Unless you’re talking about home games in which case I assume you have a season ticket like the rest of us so you wouldn’t need to phone up?

MANCHESTER DIS-UNITED

Steve “Wadesworth” Wade, the Bard of Aston (with thanks to the Villa List)

In old England’s northern land there’s a place they weaved the cotton
It’s a smoky little industrial town who’s name is best forgotten

A dirty oil-black, man-made ship canal connects it to the sea
It’s a soot stained poxy hole, as the honest burghers will agree

When the smoke stacked mills were booming in the age of steam
The factory roughs escaped the grind at their local football team

A manly game for working men, is how the story all began
A pair of clogs and ratting-cap was the simple dress of every fan

Times did change and the middle-class now fill the Trafford stand
The worker’s birthright has been sold for cash throughout the land

When the Babes were sadly taken on that frosty German night
The Nation shared the tears and grief for their tragic plight

But now it’s all forgotten, and even Charlton, Best and Law
The club that Sir Matt dreamed of, has turned into a whore

When Old Trafford now echoes with the cries of “Goal” or “Foul”
The uplifted voices of the crowd form no single northern vowel

So the team they call United, so long has the tale been told
Now belongs to glory hunters, and so cheaply it was sold

And so now when local children play their football in the yard
They know to get a ticket for the match they’ll need a credit-card

Now when they kick the ball about the kids avoid the dirt
Because thirty quid’s a lot to pay for a lousy football shirt

But children don’t you worry if your shirt’s in a dreadful state
Because before it’s even paid for, you’ll find it’s out of date

So the Reds have won the League again, it must be very nice
But for those who were born Mancunian it has cost a dreadful price

Your club does not belong to you, it’s lost its northern root
You local fans have been displaced by fans who will commute

So those of you who waited long for the return of glory days
Will find your place has been reserved for he who merely pays

So if you are Mancunian and there’s a wish to prove it true
You’ll ignore the seduction of the Reds and support the team in blue.

TOO MUCH APPLICATION?

“What started as a calf strain last Friday is now a full blown injury to his calf” (Joe Royle re Bob Taylor)

What, did the physio massage too hard?

CLARIFICATION PLEASE

Why do we have to let Tiatto go to Australia for a friendly, when Taggart in Stretford can stop Yorke going to Trinidad for the Conacaf tournament, who said that Taggart bullied them?

One rule for City and another for the bast*rds. Can we ask for clarification?

KENNEDY SONG

There still doesn’t appear to be a Kennedy song as yet, but how about the following:

(To the tune of The Red flag, ironic I know)

Mark Kennedy Mark Kennedy
There’s only one Mark Kennedy

It can be embellished if required by repeating the words throughout the tune.

Or what about this one:

(You know the tune already from Mary Poppins and other football grounds…)

Chim Chiminy Chim Chiminy Chim Chim Cheree
There is no winger like Mark Kennedy…

Or to the tune of “Here we go…”)

Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy, Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy
Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy,
Kennedy, Kennedy

OPINION – HUDDERSFIELD MATTERS

I have just watched the Huddersfield game and cannot contain my feelings on one or two subjects that have been ‘brewing’ for some time. I won’t go into a match report but will pass judgement on individuals in the team! Firstly, it must have been obvious to all of us that we were played off the park in the first half and we had the Goat and Weavo to thank for going in on level terms at half time. Now I know this subject has been raised again and again but it was so embarrassing… Richard Edghill is not anywhere near good enough to warrant his place in the team, let alone captain it! He is absolutely hopeless! How many times did he give away possession? How many times was he caught out of position when Huddersfield came forward? How many times was he ball watching? I accept that he improved in the second half but even then he lost the plot somewhat and started kicking everyone in sight. I just fail to see how Joe Royle can keep including him in the team as he is such an obvious weak link. He loses possession when we are attacking nearly every time he gets the ball, and is a poor defender. The only quality I see in him is his undoubted love for City, but is that enough to make him team captain?

Sorry for bleating on, but tonight has just brought things to a head. Before I go on to player ratings it has to be said that if we can get a point from games/performances like that then we will be okay, and I do believe we will be back in the big time before too long!

Weaver: 9 Sheer class (again) but worrying in his self confidence in coming off the line, as he rode his luck on more than one occasion.
Edghill: 4 I’ve said enough (he tries hard!).
Wiekens: 8 Strong and confident, even though he was exposed by his team mates regularly.
Jobson: 6 Poor game. Far too loose in his marking, and as a result got caught out for the (very well taken) goal, and nearly a second (but Weavo saved Wijnhard’s header).
Granville: 7 Quality player with room for improvement defensively.
Jeff Whitley: 5 Again, not of the required standard. Being hard working, super fit and dedicated to City isn’t enough!
Bishop: 7 Class player but was outshone by the commitment of the Huddersfield midfield.
Horlock: 7 Ditto, but got stuck in defensively with a great clearance off the line.
Kennedy: 8 Had a great second half, causing all sorts of problems, and worked back surprisingly well in the first.
Goater: 8 Fantastic in his presence, work rate and performance. Although regularly beaten in the air, made up for it with great hold up play, non stop chasing and a well taken goal.
Dickov: 6 I’m not a fan, though I know we have him to thank for being in the First, but he posed no threat at all. Was lucky to stay on the pitch after his elbow on Monkou, and wasted a great scoring opportunity when he ended up on his backside (for a change).
Tiatto: sub 75 minutes: What a difference he made. Great performance defensively and as an attacking force.

That’s it. Come on you Blues, we can do this!

OPINION – HUDDERSFIELD GAME I

Not a match report as I wasn’t there. But I did watch on Sky with the aid of several (naigh Jack many) Carlsberg Specials. First off, overall I was happy with a point. Up to half time all our heroes were in defence. After half-time we could have won it but all in all a point was a good result. Briefly from memory. Early doors several great saves from Nick (man of the match according to Nationwide) and the Dutch guy Gorre(?) or Grosse(?) hits the post; he looked really useful first half. All Huddersfield, Jobson playing really well. Half hit shot from Shaun the Goat and a volley from The Bish but otherwise all defending. Now, by the way, I love Reg. I know I’m in the minority, but I think Reg is class, one of our few Premiership players. Tonight he had a nightmare not helped at all from mid-field (put right by Sir Joe at half-time), but all in all his worst game for the Blues. Second half we ‘nulled’ them. Sir Joe did the business at half-time and as I say a point was good for us in the end.

Ratings.

Weaver 8 (would have got 10 except he gets carried away at times).
Edghill 5 (see above).
Wiekens 8 Up against Wine-heart and did OK.
Jobson 9 Really good game.
Granville 7 Ok defensively but distribution lacked application.

Now for the hard part (midfield).

Whitley 2 first half 9 second half.
Bishop 7 each half.
Horlock 6 first half 9 second half.
Kennedy 8.5.
Goater either 1 or 10 dunno never involved but scores… for 89.5 minutes he’s in Monkey’s back-pocket but he comes up with the goods. On reflection 9 for Shaun the Goat.
Dickov 0, yes zero. I apologise to all the fans of Huddersfield for his elbow on the back of Ken Monkou’s head in the first half. Except for his commitment and his effort he wouldn’t even have got zero.

Man of the Match? Undoubtably Sir Joe for getting hold of the midfield at half-time. Dick-head-of-the-day Alan (this is bruising and physical… 2 minutes before half time when the foul count was us 2 them 2) Brazil. Referee: Don’t know his name but he had a great game, wouldn’t mind him in charge every week.

OPINION – HUDDERSFIELD GAME II

Whilst I agree with Kevin Cummins’ bit in the last MCIVTA, watching last Friday’s game on the box at least meant being able to see the Nicky Weaver interview. In particular, his version of the incident where he picked up the back pass giving away a free kick ten yards from goal. Apparently, he said, he’d been chatting to Danny Granville when he heard a load of noise from the crowd. So he looked up and saw that the ball was heading towards his goal. Consequently he chased after it and dived on it, like any good goalie would. I know that MCIVTA is not the place to praise opposition players but if someone had swung an elbow at Dickov like he did at Monkou, then I’m sure Dicky wouldn’t have just shaken his head in disbelief. In fact most people would have made sure that Dickov got sent off. Nice one Ken.

On the subject of Dickov. He looked way out of his depth on Friday. Forwardwise, he’s not alone. We’ve got stacks of forwards on the books, but apart from Bob Sicknote, none fit to partner Shaun. Needs sorting for the run in… Never mind more central midfielders, an injury to Goater and we’ve a problem. Oh and consider a centre half with a bit of pace, too, or at least one that keeps his eye on the oppo.

As for Terry Cooke. Once a Rag, always a Rag. We should have learned with Coppell. I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that he didn’t look the same player after we signed him permanently. He’s got bags of ability. He was really instrumental in our promotion but he needs to learn that you don’t play by divine right. Our midfield consists of three current internationals and Bish. They’re pretty good players, Terry. You need to prove you’re better than one of them. I wish he would. We need some width, somehow, on the right. Poor Edgy gets the ball and there’s never anyone in front of him to pass to. That’s why he sometimes gives it away! So, Joe. If he doesn’t want to stay, sell him. But replace him.

OPINION – SNOOKER AND TELEPHONES

Regarding James Nash’s vitriol and airborne sputum of MCIVTA 580.

It’s all very well to despise Rags in the context of football; indeed, it’s a pursuit which I myself derive great pleasure from.

However, when it begins to affect one’s senses in the manner displayed by Mr Nash, I really do take pity on him. To let football dictate the brand of electrical goods you purchase, irrespective of quality, is nothing short of crazy.

Football is football, not life.

I was also a trifle embarrassed to hear a fellow City fan slag off Ken Doherty’s trophy collection. One world title by one person over ten years is a slightly better haul than bugger all by dozens of city players since the dawn of time.

Ok, ok I’m just sticking up for a fellow paddy.

OPINION – MY TUPPENCE WORTH FOR MR. CUMMINS

I read your suggested solution to “bleating on about alan brazil” in the last MCIVTA with great interest but I’m not even going to go into the “alan brazil is a kn*b” mode I’ve happily joined in with in the past as it wasn’t the part of your article which interested me. I’ve already submitted a match /player review for the Huddersfield game and I’m assuming it’s somewhere in this issue. See my comments about alan brazil in there if you’re interested. I think they’re fair. What has me sat here writing this piece is the fact that although you claim not to care whether alan brazil likes us or not, you chose a strange way of suggesting a solution to something which, in your own words, didn’t really need solving as you never watch City on TV.

The most disappointing part of your article, for me, was the assessment of what it apparently takes to be a “True City Fan”, such as you yourself say you are in the same article.

How simple it appears to be. As simple as just phoning the ticket office, giving them your credit card number and saying “I’d like a ticket for such and such a match”. If only you’d told us earlier that there wasn’t anything more to it.

However, this suggests, well “suggests” is the wrong word, rather it labels those who chose to “sit on their a*ses at home” (I’m assuming pubs etc. are also included in the same category in your book) to watch televised games instead of attending are not worthy of the title of “True City Fan”. This is something to which I take some exception, in particular in a fanzine with a subscriber base, I’m assuming, made up of a major proportion of Blues in foreign countries as well as in many hundreds of areas in the UK which are not anywhere near Greater Manchester. As you say yourself it is more with the Blues in the UK (and not so much in foreign climes) that you most take issue, and for this reason I’m going to concentrate mainly on this group in this article. I see absolutely no need for “friendly fire” among the Blue brotherhood and I’d like to put the record straight from my own viewpoint, firing back in self defence if you like. I hope this article doesn’t come across as me trying to put another contributor “into his box” as that is the last thing I’m attempting here. I fully respect the right of everyone to air their views on here, but equally the right to reply.

To get the other matter behind me quickly, i.e. that it must be “quite difficult” to get to all matches from Fiji (or from anywhere else abroad for that matter). You underestimate the matter slightly I’m afraid, as “quite difficult” really doesn’t cut it. The fact that these Blues travel even if only to one game every three seasons or every fifteen years still astounds me. These people come on here with articles such as Patrik Scheele’s Top 50 Goals of the 90’s, such as all the Why Blues from all over the world such as the new series of “Being Blue” articles which I hope takes off too. These, for me are the articles which define the brilliance of Blue and not the number of ticket stubs we can all produce after having spent thousands of pounds to attend a game or to take part in the Tribal Gatherings from all over the globe. Ask Benny Blue in Tel-Aviv and Hong Kong Bluey how difficult getting to games is and I’m sure “quite difficult” is nowhere near the first term that springs to mind for any of them. They are however just as Blue as someone born in the shadow of the Kippax in my book.

Now to the matter of those people who live in the UK and who still chose to sit on your a*ses just so as they can bleat about alan brazil. I’m 99% certain that there was a large element of “tongue in cheek” in Kevin Cummins’ article, but all the same it’s the proverbial sack which will only stand up properly if there’s anything in it. Now let’s have a rummage around in the sack eh? Firstly this bleating about alan brazil has been mainly happening this season so let’s look at which games have been televised this season to give so many Blues the reason to sit watching TV instead of going to games.

Wolves (H), Southampton (A), Birmingham (A), Wolves (A), WBA (A), Leeds (H), Fulham (H) and now Huddersfield (A)… hmmm, quite a lot of A’s in the brackets eh? Now the choice for a True Blue without a ticket for one of those aways ties must be very difficult mustn’t it? Do I sit here in my cozy living room or drive down to Southampton to put my ear to the wall of the Dell on a cold, wet Tuesday night? Could it be that so many Blues have been watching City on TV this season because when we’ve been on it we’ve mostly been on our travels? Could it be that those people lucky enough to be Maine Road regulars suddenly lose their True City Fan status just because they opted to stay at home rather than travel ticketless?

To those Blues across the UK who rarely travel to Maine Road for whatever reason, reasons which I intend not to go into as they are too complex and too private to those individuals for me to start speculating as to why these people don’t “make the effort”. It should be enough to just consider the many normal reasons why people don’t allow themselves every luxury their heart desires. The Blues across the country who didn’t attend all the games on Sky this season are strapped students, unemployed, hard working men and women, men and women with families, men and women unable to travel distances, any combination of the aforementioned you care to conjure up and then some.

You’re very fortunate, Mr. Cummins, that you can get to the games as and when you please and I’m assuming you live in Manchester or somewhere within reasonable traveling distance. If you live further afield then I admire your determination to travel from Newcastle or Torquay or wherever it is you lay your hat and I’d ask Mr. Riley to give you a pat on the back next time you sit together at Maine Road, but to assume everyone should go to the same effort requiring round trips of 5, 6, 7 hours of a Saturday and spending 30, 40 quid on petrol or train fares to add to the cost of the ticket is a little unfair and in the majority of cases it isn’t just difficult, it just simply isn’t possible. These long distance Blues have families too and you can’t expect them to take a hundred quid out of the housekeeping just for one member of the family to take in a game on a Tuesday night in Southampton for example, when the kids in Cheshire get to torment the babysitting member of the family to death ’til the True City Fan gets back home sometime in the early hours (or after an additional hotel bill) the following day.

I hope this article isn’t seen as an attack, just as an attempt to stand up for mates I’ve yet to meet and if you like to say thank you to Ashley, who would have killed to have Sky as a link to seeing City when he first decided to start up MCIVTA all those years back. If it wasn’t for this, where would all us distant Blues get the chance to sit on our a*ses and fill our boots on all that is City with the TV switched off, but then I suppose that’s where that telephone number for the ticket office comes back into play though…

All this talking has spurred me into writing a “Being Blue” article myself now… but not today. I’ll make it an article that’ll talk to you properly… soon.

OPINION – PAUL DICKOV

I Have recently been looking at the contribution of Paul Dickov. Nobody can fault him on effort and commitment but there is no end product to his game. He doesn’t score goals and does not look like scoring goals and this is what a striker is measured on. He spends his ninety minutes falling over, feigning injury, looking for free kicks and squabbling with opponents and officials. In the recent match against Huddersfield he was lucky to stay on the pitch. He doesn’t give any support to his strike partner, whilst Fat Bob, despite not being fit, always gives Goater plenty of support. Whilst he has been an asset to the club it is time he moved on, both for his own benefit and that of the club.

OPINION – TERRY COOKE

A few comments on Richard Ellor’s views about Terry Cooke. I don’t blame Cooke for putting in a transfer request. From the reports of the reserve team outings which I’ve read on Teamtalk, Terry has been playing reasonably well – indeed after one game Joe Royle singled his performance out for favourable comment. It seems to me that whatever Terry does it will not be good enough. The same goes for Tony Vaughan, who although not brilliant, never let us down last year and seems to be playing reasonably well at Forest (I wish him good luck there). The irony about Richard’s comments come when he says TC should watch and emulate Jamie Pollock. Is this the same Jamie Pollock that JR is now quite happy to sell to Wigan after he galvanised us to beat Norwich (thank heavens he decided to stay put – what’s the bet he now stays in the reserves?)? Frankly, I find it strange that we can sell Brown and Pollock while we keep the likes of Jim Whitley (oops, forgot he’s an international) and Gary Mason. Surely the point is is that there are glaring inconsistencies? Some players seem to stay in the team however badly they play while others get shown the door. I’m sure Gareth Taylor has scored more goals than Dickov, yet JR is keen to get rid of Gareth. It reminds me of the way Peter Reid treated Clive Allen and Colin Hendry (preferred Redmond, anyone remember him?). A good man (person) manager tries to get the best out of people. Cooke has tremendous talent, what a pity to waste it. No wonder the scouts were out to watch the reserve game last week. I don’t think City will have any trouble selling him.

REQUEST – AMSTERDAM CSA?

Watch out everybody, I’m coming home for the Walsall game at the weekend. So you City-centre Blues get the beers lined up for Saturday dinner-time. Can anybody send me the phone number for the CSA Amsterdam Branch and do they have an e-mail address for them? Being an exiled Blue out in Zandvoort (just outside Amsterdam), the twice weekly newsletter keeps me in touch with home and “The Boys”, keep it going!

“H” Block Left Outer…

REQUEST – MOTD

Does anybody have the tune of Match of the Day programmed for a Nokia?

Honestly, it really is for a friend of mine!

RED HUMOUR

David Beckham walks up to a Coke machine in a casino, puts in a few coins, and out pops a Coke. He puts some more coins into the machine, and a can of Tango pops out. He keeps putting in coins, and cans keep coming out. A guy walks up behind him and says, “Can I please use the machine?” “Get Lost!” He says. “Can’t you see I’m winning?”

Beckham goes to see Andy Cole in hospital when he has an injury. Beckham says to Cole “What have they been doing to you?” Cole says “They gave me a Cortisone Injection” Beckham says “They didn’t give me a car when I was here!”

REQUEST NOKIA 3210

Has anyone out there doen the coding for Blue Moon for the above mobile?

If so, if you could pass it on it’d be most appreciated.

WHY BLUE?

So here I am, 45 years old, never ever worn anything red, driven a red car, bought anything made by Sharp and will never own a Vodaphone (not now anyway). So why?

Grew up in Oldham in the late 50’s, remember grandad going to watch ‘the clowns’ as Latics were affectionately known. We all know why. Attended a Catholic junior school (I won’t embarrass them by saying which one) oh go on then St Mary’s. The whole school talked about Rags, every bl**dy Monday, even the nuns were Rags. Now I never liked school and explaining this to my grandad, he told me he would take me to see a ‘real football team’.

My first visit to the Academy, don’t remember the game or score, just remember the atmosphere and the feeling that I belonged! School on Monday, declared myself a City fan! I would have had an easier time if I’d grown horns and a tail, the reaction was fantastic, the staff didn’t like it, I loved it.

A checkered life ensued; moving to Darlington aged 11, many arguments after hitch-hiking down the A1 and A62 to home games. Travelling to Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough every season, Leeds if I could, City were my life! Joined the Navy at 15, didn’t see a game for almost 15 months but read every report, listened to the radio, defended ‘My Team’ against all others. Went to every game when on leave, then got a draft to Brussels for 2 years, had to plan my leave round how many games I could get in. My best friend out there was a RWDM fan (Racing White Daring Mollenbeek) (honest!), they’re a Brussels club and think of Anderlect as we think of the Rags so we had plenty in common.

Came home to UK, got married, lived in Swindon (don’t even ask why) for 18 months, then home to Cheetham Hill and a season ticket. My wife took 10 years to realise that when I told her I was out on Saturdays I really meant it.

Then disaster; a good job in Nottingham but working one weekend in two, four kids needed the money, saw matches when I could but it was hard work sometimes, then a move to York (where I now live), and another season ticket. My kids, now 20-25 are all true Blues and attend games whenever they can. My youngest daughter burst into tears when PD scored at Wembley, her boyfriend (a rugby player) didn’t understand, we took him to the Grimsby game this season, now he understands and wants to go again.

My two sons came to Wembley with me that day and we all unashamedly cried, I still have the scars from the woman sat behind me (sorry I never did get your name) who tried to hug me to death. Listed to your video, the sound when PD scores is like no other sound you’ll ever hear, the outpouring of relief and joy after all the pain can be clearly heard.

Why have I got tears in my eyes typing that, because I’m Blue, always have been, always will be and really I’ve never worn anything red in my life.

Best moment: Paul Power’s goal from the free kick at Villa Park. I’m sure I banged my head on the Holte End roof as it went in, I jumped so high.
Best player: Colin Bell, an absolute football genius.
Worst moment: losing to the Rags anytime.
Worst player: Never seen one in a Blue shirt, loved them all, it’s the shirt I wear.

That’s my story, so what’s yours? See you at the McAlpine on Friday night.

RESULTS

Recent results to 20 February 2000 inclusive.

19 February 2000

Barnsley              1 - 1  Queens Park Rangers
Crewe Alexandra       1 - 2  Ipswich Town
Fulham                2 - 0  Walsall
Norwich City          3 - 0  Grimsby Town
Nottingham Forest     2 - 0  Crystal Palace
Sheffield United      6 - 0  West Bromwich Albion
Stockport County      0 - 1  Blackburn Rovers
Swindon Town          1 - 4  Birmingham City

18 February 2000

Huddersfield Town     1 - 1  Manchester City

League table to 20 February 2000 inclusive.

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  GD Pts
 1 Charlton Ath.   31 12  2  2 28 11  9  3  3 30 18 21  5  5 58 29  29  68
 2 Ipswich Town    32 12  2  2 32 14  6  7  3 22 17 18  9  5 54 31  23  63
 3 Manchester City 31 12  0  3 34 11  7  5  4 17 14 19  5  7 51 25  26  62
 4 Barnsley        32 11  2  3 37 17  6  4  6 25 30 17  6  9 62 47  15  57
 5 Birmingham City 32 11  3  2 29 13  4  5  7 20 23 15  8  9 49 36  13  53
 6 Huddersfield T. 32 11  3  2 35 14  4  4  8 14 21 15  7 10 49 35  14  52
 7 Wolves          32  9  4  3 29 16  4  6  6 15 20 13 10  9 44 36   8  49
 8 Fulham          32  8  5  3 15  8  4  7  5 14 18 12 12  8 29 26   3  48
 9 Blackburn R.    31  7  6  2 21 11  4  5  7 16 23 11 11  9 37 34   3  44
10 QPR             32  6  9  1 22 15  4  4  8 19 23 10 13  9 41 38   3  43
11 Stockport C.    32  7  6  3 25 21  4  4  8 11 22 11 10 11 36 43  -7  43
12 Bolton Wndrs    30  7  5  3 26 18  4  4  7 14 16 11  9 10 40 34   6  42
13 Sheff. United   32  9  3  4 29 15  2  6  8 17 31 11  9 12 46 46   0  42
14 Norwich City    31  9  3  4 21 16  2  6  7 11 18 11  9 11 32 34  -2  42
15 Grimsby Town    32  8  5  3 23 21  3  2 11 13 31 11  7 14 36 52 -16  40
16 Tranmere Rovers 31  7  5  3 25 17  3  2 11 15 30 10  7 14 40 47  -7  37
17 Crystal Palace  32  6  7  3 26 17  3  3 10 18 35  9 10 13 44 52  -8  37
18 Nottm Forest    32  7  6  3 21 13  2  3 11 14 27  9  9 14 35 40  -5  36
19 West Brom A.    32  3  9  4 14 16  3  6  7 12 24  6 15 11 26 40 -14  33
20 Portsmouth      31  5  5  6 22 17  2  4  9 13 29  7  9 15 35 46 -11  30
21 Walsall         32  4  5  7 15 20  3  4  9 18 31  7  9 16 33 51 -18  30
22 Crewe Alex.     32  5  5  6 17 18  2  3 11 14 26  7  8 17 31 44 -13  29
23 Port Vale       30  5  3  7 16 17  1  7  7 16 24  6 10 14 32 41  -9  28
24 Swindon Town    32  2  6  8 15 29  1  5 10  7 26  3 11 18 22 55 -33  20

WWW MANCHESTER CITY SUPPORTERS’ HOME PAGE:
http://www.uit.no/mancity/

MCIVTA ADDRESSES:
Contributions: Ashley – mcivta@tollbar.u-net.com
News & Rumours: Peter – brophy_peter@hotmail.com
Subscriptions: Steve – sbolton@buxtonrd.u-net.com
Technical Problems: Paul – paul@city-fan.org

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.

Ashley Birch, mcivta@tollbar.u-net.com

Editor: