Newsletter #622

After weeks of apparently baseless speculation, something concrete has finally come to pass on the transfer front; just how concrete however, remains to be seen. City have announced that the Nigerian striker and ex-Evertonian, Daniel Amokachi, will be joining the Blues for pre-season training, as soon as he has a visa from the British consulate that is. Somewhat disturbingly, several newspapers reported that Amokachi had already signed for the Greek side, Ionikos, though this has been strenuously denied by City.

Besides this news, this issue carries a detailed itinery for the upcoming Northern Ireland youth tournaments; a monologue on the ‘Battle of Blackburn’; an assessent of where we are likely to get points next season; as well as the usual opinion and a bit of humour.

Lastly, there’s a plea from Mark Wood in this issue that the ‘anti-MUFC’ be put to bed. I must say that I’m inclined to agree, as the focus of MCIVTA has shifted heavily in the direction of The Swamp over the last 6 issues or so. Therefore, unless you feel very strongly that your opinion on this subject should appear, please bite your lip and save it for another time!

This one reaches 3,317.

NEWS SUMMARY

Amokachi Set to Arrive Later This Week

Despite reports that he’s already agreed to join Greek club Ionikos, City say Daniel Amokachi is set to arrive in Manchester later this week. And the Nigerian international will join the Blues if he convinces Joe Royle that recent injury worries are behind him. Amokachi played under Royle at Everton – but was sold to Turkish club Besiktas in the summer of 1996. The 27-year-old is thought to be available on a ‘Bosman’ free transfer, although there’s some doubt over his precise contractual status. He had originally been expected to be training with the City squad on Monday, but talk that his failure to appear indicated a lack of commitment to the deal was dismissed by the club – apparently his passport is still being held by the British Consulate in Istanbul following a visa application. “Daniel will still be joining us for pre-season training,” Royle told the Manchester Evening News. “But it will take him a couple of days to get hold of his passport so he won’t be arriving in Manchester until later this week.”

Royle – Amokachi Can Bring Pace and Power

Joe Royle hopes to make Daniel Amokachi his second summer signing. And the City boss is in no doubt as to the qualities the Nigerian will bring if he does complete the transfer. Royle sold Amokachi when in charge at Everton, and on reflection, feels that the player may have deserved a better opportunity at Goodison. But now the one-time £3 million signing for the Toffees from Bruges will be given a chance to make an impact at Maine Road – as long as his fitness is up to scratch. “Daniel is very keen to come to Maine Road and I have definitely got a rôle in mind for him next season,” explained Royle. “He won’t be coming here on trial when he joins us for pre-season training. I already know from our Everton days that he’s a Premiership player. He is strong and can get behind defenders because of his pace.”

City Prepared to Look Abroad

Joe Royle has promised that he won’t be afraid of competing at the top end of the transfer market to keep Manchester City in the Premiership. And in the eyes of the Blues’ boss, that could mean abandoning the search for English-based talent in favour of stars from abroad. Royle admits to having enquired about at least two players who featured in the recent Euro 2000 tournament. And the City manager feels that, though the club can’t spend beyond its means, there’s a need to look to recruit the best, irrespective of nationality. “Big transfer fees and high wages are an evil we are going to have to accept but we will not be stretching ourselves beyond our means. At the moment our means are fine!” he explained. “I will not be worried by bringing in non-English speakers. We have seen the influence of foreign players at our neighbours over the road. Similarly, it would be hard to imagine Arsenal without their French and Dutch connections who have made a massive difference.”

Dickov to Bristol Rumour Persists

Speculation has already surfaced that Bristol City may be interested in signing Paul Dickov. And the rumour has been repeated in the Sunday press and by other sources. New Robins’ boss Danny Wilson is keen to bring in new faces in a bid to lift the club into the First Division and has targeted the Scot, who in the view of many is unlikely to command a regular place at Maine Road next term. However, with the Blues reportedly looking for a fee in excess of £1 million and the player supposedly keen to fight for a place in Joe Royle’s line-up, Wilson’s interest may come to nothing. Gareth Taylor and Lee Peacock have also been linked with moves to Ashton Gate this summer.

City Eyeing Ghanaian Star?

Manchester City are ready to look abroad in their search for talent to boost the Maine Road squad. And one name mentioned in connection with the Blues is Lens midfielder Alex Nyarko. The player is said to be keen to move to England, and coach Rolland Courbis recently admitted that the French outfit would be unable to keep the Ghanaian. Middlesbrough and Fulham have also been touted as possible destinations, but Aston Villa are reported to be in pole position to clinch a £4.5 million deal.

Liverpool Pair Linked Again

Manchester City have already been linked this summer with Liverpool’s Titi Camara and David Thompson. And the Blues have again been mentioned in connection with the pair. Camara is reported to be a £2.5 million target for Bradford, but reports note that the Yorkshire club may face a fight to sign the Frenchman – City are mentioned along with Leicester, Celtic, Middlesbrough and Blackburn as clubs who have reportedly expressed an interest in the player this summer. Meanwhile, right-sided midfielder Thompson is thought to be unhappy that the close-season arrivals of Bernard Diomede and Gary McAllister appear to have pushed him even further down the pecking order for a first-team place. The Manchester Evening News has previously said Joe Royle would prefer a signing with more experience than the England under-21 man has, but City are still being mentioned as a potential buyer even so.

Russell’s Contract Paid Up

Craig Russell has finally left Manchester City. The ex-Sunderland forward has reached a settlement with the club over the one year remaining on his contract. Russell was signed by former City manager Frank Clark in a November 1997 deal which saw Nicky Summerbee join the Wearsiders in a straight swap. But after being played out of position as a wing back soon after the start of his Maine Road career, the 26-year-old fell out of favour under new boss Joe Royle. The Jarrow-born striker managed only 21 league starts and nine substitute appearances for the Blues, his last outing being in the 0-0 draw at Blackpool in January 1999. Russell is reportedly set to sign on a permanent basis for St Johnstone, where he’s said to have impressed in pre-season training after a loan spell last term.

Piccadilly Lose City Commentary

City have concluded deals for live commentary on away games with two north west based radio stations. But Manchester commercial broadcaster Piccadilly isn’t among them. BBC GMR and Century FM were chosen ahead of Piccadilly Magic AM and another bidder, believed to be Talk Radio’s new local station Big AM. The Blues elected not to pursue a more lucrative, exclusive deal, and instead will pocket £500,000 over the next two years by limiting the commentary to two stations. “Now City are back in the Premiership, we consequently have even greater audience pulling power,” explained director Chris Bird. “We could have made more money with an exclusive deal, but the arrangements we have decided upon serves our local needs and a widening north west fan base.”

THE BATTLE OF BLACKBURN – A MONOLOGUE

(With apologies to Stanley Holloway)

You’ve ‘eard of the battles of ‘astings,
Trafalgar and Waterloo
Well this were the battle of Blackburn
A reet good scrap, I can tell you.

The heroes they were called City
They were clad in their lucky striped kit
And out of their sheep-sh*ggin cousins
They were going to knock nine kinds of sh*t

Blackburn were owned by Jack Walker
Who made crisps of different flavours
Or was he in steel? Doesn’t matter, the deal
Was that his lads owed City no favours

The Rovers were led by one Souness
A Scotsman who used to be Scouse
Till the locals gave him the kick-ar*e
For avin The Sun in is ouse

Ewood Park were awash wi blue banners
There were more on the hill at the back
Some fans even went incognito
And stood in thome stand for the crack

And when t’lads ran out to do battle
There arouse a tumultuous cry
And all of our fans, every woman and man
Yelled “We’re City Till We blo*dy Die!”

Mark and The Goat and Fat Bobby
Were giving as good as they got
But after the first twenty minutes
Our defence went and lost the plot

None-one was the score, it could have been more
As they hammered our crossbar and post
And if Alan Ball had still been in charge
We’d surely have give up the ghost

But Sir Joe swore there’d be “No surrender”
And the fans sang, screamed, shouted and roared
Inspiring the team, till Kev passed like a dream
And good old Goat nipped in and scored

After that, it were easy
We soon stuck three more goals in the bag
We took em apart and the Rovers lost heart
And went and raised the white flag

And after the skirmish were over
And we’d shouted and sung ourselves hoarse
We toasted the team in traditional style
(Fifteen pints and a curry, of course)

So here’s to Man City, likewise to McVittee
The finest fanzine on the net
And heres to the Battle of Blackburn
A day that well never forget

BELFAST AND NORTHERN IRELAND EVENTS

Linfield vs. Man City, 22nd July 2000

I am over for the above game and am the match ball sponsor. After the match myself and my 10 guests, who are all from Belfast, will be hitting the town. So, if there are any Blues over for the match and they are looking for a night out in Belfast in a vibrant and safe area of the City, please contact me on my works number, 0161 869 7055 for further details.

Northern Ireland Milk Cup 2000

The draw has been made for the above tournament which starts on Monday 24th July 2000. Man City under 16’s will be defending the trophy they won last year; also keep an eye on Cherry Orchard who have entered teams in the Under 16’s and Under 14’s, City have also entered a Under 16’s and Under 14’s team. The Under 16’s are in group 2 and play the following games:

Date and Time           Match                              Venue
Mon 24 July at 8.15pm   Man City vs. Co. Londonderry       Showgrounds, Limavady
Mon 24 July at 8.15pm   Sunderland vs. Cherry Orchard      University
Tue 25 July at 7.00pm   Man City vs. Brondby               Rugby Avenue, Coleraine
Tue 25 July at 7.00pm   Co. Fermanagh vs. Cherry Orchard   Rugby Avenue, Coleraine
Wed 26 July at 10.30am  Man City vs. FAI Select            Roemill, Limavady
Wed 26 July at 10.30am  Cherry Orchard vs. Wits Univ JFC   Portrush

If they are successful they will advance to the knock-out stages, to date times and venues have not yet been decided. Other teams who have entered in this years Under 16 tournament are, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, Kilmarnock, Turkey, Wales, Leeds Utd, Co. Down, Napoli, Co. Tyrone, Crewe Alex, Brondby, FAI Select, Malmo, Tottenham Hotspur, Co. Fermanagh, Wits University JFC, Sunderland, Cherry Orchard, Co. Armagh, Man U****d, Dundalk SL, Universidad Catolica and Co. Londonderry.

The under 14’s have been drawn in group 5 and their match details are:

Date and Time           Match				Venue
Mon 24 July at 4.00pm   Manortown U****d vs. Man City   Roemill, Limavady
Mon 24 July at 4.00pm   Hibernian vs. Cherry Orchard    Castlerock
Tue 25 July at 11.00am  Co.Fermanagh vs. Man City       Megaw Park, Ballymoney
Tue 25 July at 11.00am  Cherry Orchard vs. Swindon Town Cricket Park, Ballymoney
Wed 26 July at 3.00pm   Man City vs. Crewe Alex         Warren, Portstewart
Wed 26 July at 3.00pm   Cherry Orchard vs. Co. Tyrone   University

Again, same as the Under 16’s, times and venues of the knock out stages have yet to be decided. Teams entering in the Under 14 tournament this year are: Fulham, Co. Londonderry, Co. Down, Norwich City, Hearts, Brondby, Hibernian, Cherry Orchard, Co. Tyrone, Swindon Town, Middlesbrough, Charlton Athletic, Bohemians, Newcastle United, Co. Fermanagh, Crewe Alex, Manortown U****d, Co. Armagh, West Ham, Dundalk SL, Everton, Co. Antrim and Tiger Star.

Northern Ireland Foyle Cup 2000

Man City were the beaten finalists in the Foyle Cup which was played against Leeds United on Saturday 8th July. City lost the match 1-0 after having most of the possession. City won the trophy last year and were unable to defend their trophy this year.

GOAL OF THE SEASON

There has been much discussion recently about the subject of hating the swampdwellers, so I thought I would try to return to the subject of City for a bit. My wife and I sat and watched the end-of-season video on Friday night (yes we finally got the time to watch something for more than twenty minutes) and we got into a little discussion about which was the best goal of the season. After some debate I settled on the Ian Bishop goal in the FA Cup 5th round match with Leeds. From what looked to be becoming a bit of a hiding to nothing attack, he brilliantly trapped a mediocre pass and with a superb half volley crossed the goal area, completely defeating the goalkeeper. My wife’s favourite was the Kennedy goal in the 1-0 win over Bolton early on in the season. A brilliant individual effort from inside the City half, beating three defenders to rifle in under pressure from about 25 yards out. I was very nearly persuaded myself but still prefer the Bishop goal… Anyone else want to put forward a goal of the season and give me another excuse to go watch the video again (not that I need one)?

REDDISH BRANCH OF THE CSA

The Reddish Branch of the CSA are having a “Promotion Party” on Friday 28th July at The Ash Hotel, Manchester Road, Stockport from 7.30pm ’til late. Tickets are £5 (adults only) which includes; disco/karaoke, comedian, free raffle and late bar – bargain! Admission is by ticket only; for further details contact Howard Burr on 0161 292 2525 or e-mail reddishblues@btinternet.com

WINCHESTER (A34) BRANCH OF THE CSA – AGM

The AGM for our supporters club will be held at the Willow Tree in Winchester on Monday 10th July. New members are welcome, any Blues who just happen to be in the area on hols or whatever, and fancy a few beers are welcome to turn up.

SECOND TEAMS

As a change from the ‘Munich’ debate (sorry for the long article elsewhere), I thought that I’d get the ball rolling on another subject. It seems that whenever you mention that you’re a Blue, you seem to get a positive response. I don’t know how many people have told me that they always look out for City’s results either on a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday morning, and the number of people wishing us good luck for next season when I was walking through Heidelburg after the Blackburn game was unbelievable. This, together with recent discussions on being unfaithful, got me thinking about second teams. What other teams do people follow, not necessarily go to watch, just always look out for their results?

Personally myself, there’s always been a split loyalty between City and Rochdale (safe in the knowledge that the two teams would never meet). If people want to drop me a line, then I’ll try to put the results together and write again in a few weeks.

HOW POINTLESS IS IT?

I realise I’m going to get a hammering for this one but hey what the hell!

Looking at the Premier League table for the last few seasons, you can see that around 40 points are needed to avoid relegation. So I’ve had a look at the 19 teams we have to play next season and taken a stab at guessing how many points we’ll get (home and away) from each of them. Here’s my list with a couple of ‘reasons why’ shown:

Charlton        4       Draw 1st game
Sunderland      3       Summerbee will shine against us
Coventry        3       Win at home, lose away
Leeds           0       Let's be honest
Liverpool       0       Just too strong
Boro            1       The Robson curse
Spurs           1
Newcastle       1
Bradford        3       Win at home, lose away
Southampton     2       Rösler plays out of his skin
Arsenal         0       The Euro 2000 winners!
Leicester       2
West Ham        2
Man United      0       Forget rivalry, they'll be far too good
Ipswich         6       Straight back down for them?
Chelsea         0       Too good for us
Everton         3
Villa           1
Derby           1       Kinky - say no more

Total it up and you get 33 points i.e. not enough. Obviously I hope and pray I’m wrong. If I’m wrong and we can stay up then we will need at least 7 points more. So where are we going to get them from? Here are the possibles I think:

Southampton     +2
Villa           +1
United          +1      Could get something if we are inspired
Charlton        +2      If we win away on day 1

… and that still leaves us needing to find just 1 more point somewhere. If anything then I think we could sneak a ‘surprise’ point against one of the really big teams i.e. one of Arsenal, Liverpool, Leeds, Chelsea.

The other thing that comes out of this is – if results go as above, then that would mean us winning all our first 3 games. So we’d probably be top by September 1st! But the next games against Leeds and Liverpool would bring us down to earth.

REQUEST – PLEASE STOP!

Can we please stop writing articles concerning our hatred of trafford town? I, like many other readers, are sick of hearing about them on our fans’ forum, it is bad enough every time you pick a national paper or the MuEN. Can we get back to discussing Manchester City and the positive points of supporting our beloved club?

OPINION – WHY BLUE NOT RED, AND VARIOUS WAFFLE

With all the recent debate over accepting/loathing ManU and their fans, I thought that I’d give my contribution to the debate (particularly with Jeremy’s recent comments on Bristol rivalry). Basically, I’m confused. I’ve been brought up to hate ManU, even since before birth I was a Blue (I was born approximately 9 months after a ‘romantic’ trip to Vienna some 30 years ago, but that’s another story). My dad ensured that my faith never wavered, whilst my mum was blissfully unaware. One day when my mum arrived home with red and black tracksuits for me and my sister (an apparent bargain from the back of a lorry), she said that she could sew a City badge over the offending Rag one, but my dad was having none of it. Mine was returned, whilst my sister has never got over her embarrassment. This, together with pressure from friends and the rest of the family rubbed off.

Growing up in Rochdale, there were a few Reds in school, but I don’t remember being friends with any of them. I had mates who were Liverpool, Everton, Leeds, even Rochdale fans, but never a Red. It was never a conscious decision, but I suppose that I was an inadvertent ABU. On my occasional visits to Maine Road, when I could make it, I used to join in the Runway/Munich songs, not really thinking about what I was saying, more just trying to get across my antipathy towards the Rags, and basically, joining in with the rest of the crowd around me.

When I was 18, I went away to study in Bristol and seemed to spend half my time telling people that there was only one united and that’s a chocolate biscuit. My support for City was matched only by my loathing for all things Red, in fact I think that at times my ability to loathe Rags outweighed my support for City (I now realise how stupid this sounds now).

My flatmate a few years ago was an ardent Bristol City fan, and had just bought a season ticket. She persuaded me that I should go along and at least be able to shout ‘City’ at the top of my voice. So I was taken/dragged to Ashton Gate to watch the Bristol derby (one of Goater’s last games for Bristol City). Things were fine, shouts of ‘come on City’ felt natural and it was good to see a live game again, but (I’m sorry Jeremy) as soon as the chants of ‘come on you Reds’ started, it was over. I couldn’t cheer a team in red. I wanted (needed) Rovers to win, they were after all in Blue.

Then, two years ago I moved to Germany and spent all of my time explaining that there is more than one team from Manchester, the conversation generally going along the lines of:

‘…I come from Manchester’
‘Ah, Manchester United’
‘No, there are two teams in Manchester, like in Munich’ (1860 Munich also playing in blue and being overshadowed by their cross town rivals).

It was quite ironic (in an Alanis Morrissette kind if way, i.e. not at all), that I should choose comparisons with Munich, as it was around this time that ManU’s second fateful encounter with this city should occur. My friends here found it unbelievable that I should be supporting Bayern in the Champions’ League final, and then certainly couldn’t believe the words coming from my mouth when the Rags’ second goal was scored. How could I hate a team so much when they were from my own country? Deep down however, I think it was a vocal reaction to try to suppress what I was feeling. Try as I may, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the quality of their play. It still pains me to say it, but at the moment, ManU are the best team in England.

This is why I’m confused. I admire ManU for the quality of their players, and the fact that many of them are homegrown, but I still detest the club. There is an arrogance about the club which is loathsome. The attitude of Taggart, Edwards & Co. is despicable, their belief that they have a God given right to ride roughshod over everyone else, be it the quality of referees, participation in competitions, releasing players for international games, etc., but especially their contempt for their fans. They are no longer a football club, but a money-making machine. I know that this is the way that football is these days, but I personally don’t like it, and I believe that this is the reason why ManU are both worshipped and loathed, depending on your point of view. There will always be people who jump on the bandwagon and be sucked in by the corporate machine. But there are also those who aren’t lured by success, who want more than the automatic right to a trophy at the end of the season, who want to feel part of their club, who can identify with one another. Don’t hate fans just because they don’t think the same as you, but hate the image makers who have made the situation like it is. Incidentally, my cousin is from Leeds and spent all of his youth being a Rag. The last time I saw him at Christmas he tried telling me how he’d always been a Leeds Utd fan, so it seems to work both ways.

In short, I realise now that support of a club is just that, it isn’t about hating others, but wanting your team to do well. You can pity others and try to educate them, if you will, but at the end of the day they are human too. Also, like has been said already, Munich has two meaning to Rags now, one bringing back happy memories from a couple of years ago, and another, which I now realise, is no subject for humour.

Sorry to have gone on for a while, but it’s Friday afternoon, and I’m stuck in the office, bored, with nothing better to do.

OPINION – NEW SIGNINGS

I know I am away from the action here in Tasmania but when City are looking for new players, aren’t there any home grown English players who could fit the bill instead of buying European imports? An all British team would be something to be proud of (and be one over the red continental team from the other side of town).

OPINION – A RESPONSE TO SEETHING DAVE CASH

Just read some more tosh in MCIVTA 621. I really cannot believe that you can compare the events in the Balkans, Northern Ireland or right wing nazis to this! I mean David, did you actually read and comprehend what I had to say? I asked for some understanding of both our views, not patronising banter. The word overreaction springs to mind.

Seethe all you want Mr. Cash because your comments, some of which I found quite personal and insulting, only go to prove my point that some of you whingeing out there are actually just as arrogant as you say I am. I understand your views and distaste, however it’s a free country, allegedly, and not a right-wing state preventing freedom of speech. Put your handbag away and take your medication which, at your ripe old age, you probably need to take to relax. I’m sorry that you felt the need to get personal about this and, in fact, you have only made me even more passionate in my hatred towards those Munich scum.

My inbox was also awash with nothing but positive responses to what I had to say. How dare you suggest that i am a f..ing secret Munich! You know nothing about me, where I’m from, what I’ve experienced… nothing! I hate mufc and I’ll do and say anything to show my feelings. I am not a christian who subscribes to turning the other cheek, nor am I one who practices forgiveness. There are different views and feelings in each one of us based on our experiences and you have to understand that, otherwise every time you go to Maine Road your medication will have to be increased because we are not going to stop singing Munich songs, end of story. Accept that this is part of my culture as I have to accept the behaviour of other cultures and views. They are only words, not bullets! Not gas chambers, not sectarian assassinations not even ethnic cleansing.

I don’t let people nearly stab me to death and then say it’s ok. I was 15 years old and had never said a thing against man u or their supporters. I’ve had many battles with them since though, and never found a non-aggressive Munich yet. You’ll be surprised at how old I am and I’ve followed mcfc everywhere, defended and supported them with whatever it takes for 25 years. I’ve stood my ground on Warwick Road bridge and at White City. I only hate man united along with the vast majority of my fellow loyal, faithful, full time, week in week out, unique, passionate and wonderful fans of Manchester City Football Club. Don’t ever accuse me of being a Munich! Right! Blue army! Wars have been started for less reasons than that… which brings me on to the point of my so called indiscriminate retaliatory attitude. Well, unfortunately, in a war innocent people are always the victims as history and you so rightly point out. Just look at what happened to me in 1975. It must therefore be normal human behaviour to want revenge and to protect and to hate on that level because of our experiences. You also used the term sibling rivalry… excuse me but they are certainly not my siblings! It was their aggression towards me that fuelled my hate and I’m just glad that you haven’t experienced any of it and if you do, whilst with your children especially, I just hope there are people like me around to help defend you from the violence that you must know they perpetrate. Look at what happened in the North Stand in 1989.

How can I be accused of being blinkered? You are because you will not even try to understand this culture whether right or wrong. You will never stop something unless you get to its root causes. You are self righteous because you judge me without looking at my motivation or at the evidence I offer. I accept that I am extreme, but then I have been and always will be in everything I do, especially in my love for Man City which is still the only reason that I ever shed a tear. My support does not revolve around singing a Munich ditty every time I can, but it is about being there, enjoying my chosen passion and I will be here for a long time, I’m going nowhere, Munich songs or not! Maybe I will stop singing munich songs, but only because I never wanted to offend true blues just to get at those red ba..ards. Calling me names like in school will merely encourage me to be more extreme not less. I respond more to the type of language used at the end of your piece.

OPINION – ALAN KEEGAN’S DEPARTURE

Am I alone in not shedding too many tears over the departure of Alan Keegan as public address announcer at Maine Road? He said the same thing, over and over – ‘Come on Maine Road, let’s give a big hand to…’. ‘Maine Road, will you welcome….’. ‘Come on Maine Road….’. You get the picture. He also used to announce the team’s arrival onto the pitch as the dressing room door opened so that any enthusiastic applause and cheering had largely run its course before the lads emerged from the tunnel.

While I’m into whinge mode, we could do with some decent music as the teams come out. At Middlesbrough they play something which gets the whole ground clapping in time, must be really intimidating for the opposition – actually we’ll find out soon enough.

OPINION – FRANCIS LEE

So many City fans are against Francis Lee because we got demoted from the Premier League when he was the Chairman. Sure, no one can say a thing that we didn’t go down, but there was a lot more to it than the demotion that some City fans think. City had no control over the sales of their own merchandise – it was leased out for someone else to make the profits; Francis Lee changed that, City bought the rights back through Francis Lee, he knew it to be a profitable club and got back on track – major changes were needed.

Us City fans did not like going down but the truth is we needed it to get the club straight. Players had to be unloaded, the expense sheet was more than City was bringing in, we had to balance the books. The bottom line: Francis Lee started the change at Maine Road. The brilliance of David Bernstein, the great Manager Joe Royle, and the rest of the Maine Road team, Dennis Tueart, Chris Bird, and other great people completed the transition (not to forget the players). City do not look down at Francis Lee, he did a lot for our great club too, on and off the field.

Let’s go forward togther, a lot of people made it possible to be back in the Premier League and with a healthy bank balance.

OPINION – THE REASON BEHIND MUNICH SONGS

The reason people sing the Munich song is to upset Manchester United fans, and Reds would do the same to us. As much as it is refreshing to know that there are many people who object to this song being sung, it’s pretty depressing to know that one day soon (probably when we move to Eastlands) the crowd will be controlled to the point that they can’t sing offensive songs. Perhaps an alternative is to have a “toffs stand”. I’ll sit there myself because I am a bit cultured. The oiks could sing rude and offensive songs to their hearts’ content but the toffs stand would be soundproofed and all they would hear would be nice chants. Of course, the toffs wouldn’t know this, they would just see oiks with freshly scrubbed, cheery faces singing “City are super”.

Related to Munich songs but not to football are the jokes that do the round when someone famous dies. There were quite a few good ones when princess Diana died. I certainly didn’t feel guilty listening to them or passing them on, she and her lot are from a different planet to me. It’s the same with footballers these days, in the 50’s they might have lived on the same street and caught the bus to work but these days they are as remote as Royalty and their lives a soap opera.

OPINION – MUNICH

I totally agree with every word from David Cash.

Moreover, I’m frankly fed up with hearing about the other lot, could everyone please say “stand up if you love City” instead of chanting that other irritating club’s name in future? Shouting out the name of the other lot simply adds to their publicity machine – ignore them.

REQUEST – PREMIERSHIP MANAGER 98

Over the last year or two, I remember one of your contributors giving certain hints and tips as to how City can have a chance of doing well in this game. I remember him saying the odds were stacked against us (what’s new?) but he had various ploys and ideas. Anyway, my son, Michael would like him to correspond if possible. Our e-mail address is below.

HUMOUR – FOOTBALL VIRUS ALERT

We had this several months ago, but there have been several new additions since.

PC Virus Alert

Be careful – these viruses are following in the wake of the ‘I Love You’ virus and are potentially damaging:

The Manchester United virus: Your PC develops a disorder whereby the memory forgets everything before 1993.

The Man U virus v.2: Sends all your data to Surrey.

The Man U virus v.3: Reclaims data from Surrey, relocates to Devon, then makes you pay to enter the system.

The Man United shirt virus: This one is especially hard to detect as it changes its identity every three months.

The Peter Schmeichel virus: Your PC develops a hideous, large red dot in the middle of the screen, your monitor sprouts unsightly orange wires, and then starts loudly racially abusing you.

The David Beckham virus: The lights on your PC are all on but nothing works.

The Roy Keane virus: Throws you out of Windows.

The Alex Ferguson virus: Continuous whining until your PC explodes.

The Dwight Yorke virus: Everything in your computer goes goofy.

The Massimo Taibi virus: You just can’t save anything.

The Ryan Giggs virus: Makes your computer think its better than it actually is.

These are less virulent, but still wise to keep an eye on them:

The Ian Walker virus: Your PC will let you save once, but then the computer falls off the desk and onto your foot.

The Peter Beardsley virus: A particularly ugly virus.

The David Ginola virus: Computer pretends to go down, but then boots back up and is OK.

The George Graham virus: Falsely claims to have done nothing, but then you realise half of your data has gone. It then transfers itself to your worst enemy’s PC, then trashes it.

The Stan Collymore virus: Luckily, this one doesn’t actually work, but sometimes boots up some Swedish computers.

The Glenn Hoddle virus: Disables your PC, blames it all on its previous life as a calculator, and then takes the p**s out of it.

The Ron Atkinson Virus: Remains dormant for six months but then your computer goes down anyway.

The Tony Adams and Rio Ferdinand virus: All drive privileges lost.

And a special one, newly released in the last couple of weeks:

The Liverpool FC virus: Just as you think everything is OK, it all goes pear-shaped.

BLUE HUMOUR

There’s a Man City fan, a Man Utd fan and a beautiful woman quietly sitting next to each other on a train. Suddenly, the train is plunged into darkness as it goes into a tunnel.

Halfway through there is a loud kissing noise followed by a slapping noise.

When the train emerges from the tunnel, the woman and the Man Utd fan are sitting there perplexed. Of the two, the Man Utd fan is holding his face, which is bright red, presumably from the slap. “Ah, That bloody City fan must have leant across to kiss the woman, and she thought it was me, and slapped me by mistake?”

The woman is thinking. “Ah, That Man Utd Fan must have leaned over to kiss me, and kissed the City fan by mistake, which is why he got a good slap…”

The Man City fan is thinking…
“I can’t wait till this train goes into another tunnel…”
“I can make a kissing noise and slap that f***ing Red b**tard again!”

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

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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

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