Newsletter #731
This week sees the last of the pre-season friendlies with us at Huddersfield for John Dyson’s testimonial tomorrow (Tuesday) night. If anyone out there is mad enough to voluntarily attend any more pre-season action and would care to do a write up, the please do so. Unfortunately we have no report from Tranmere, but the news summary probably explains why.
This issue sees Peter’s news summary (Michael back in the hot seat from Thursday), a couple of excellent match reports (including a shocking confession re Scunthorpe!) reflecting the woes of pre-season tour, much more opinion, requests and the welcome return of Ken’s City Diaries.
Next game: Huddersfield Town away, Tuesday 31st July 2001 (7.30pm)NEWS SUMMARY
Part I – Tranmere Friendly: Result and Reaction
Barlow Strike Sinks City: Manchester City’s unconvincing pre-season form continued on Saturday. A Stuart Barlow goal early in the second half was enough to condemn the Blues to defeat in the pre-season friendly at Tranmere. Kevin Keegan again used the match to experiment with his line-up, making nine substitutions as only Steve Howey and Carlo Nash completed the ninety minutes. And though the Blues came close to taking the lead in the opening period when Howey headed against the post, overall it was another uninspired City display. Meanwhile, Tranmere’s new manager Dave Watson claimed his side were worthy victors. “It was a buzz to win my first home game as manager,” he reflected. “We battled hard and deserved to win.”
Howey Delivers Knock-Out Blow: Manchester City produced a forgettable performance in Saturday’s pre-season friendly at Tranmere. But the match was notable for one first-half incident as Steve Howey’s accidental clash with referee Mike Jones left the official unconscious. Howey had confronted Seyni N’Diaye after being fouled by the Tranmere forward. And the ex-Newcastle player inadvertently caught the 48-year-old, who was attempting to act as a peacemaker. As the incident was clearly unintentional, the central defender was not cautioned and will not face an FA charge although the experience was a painful one for the Chester-based Mr. Jones, who was taken to hospital after being out cold for three minutes. “I think I caught him in the eye with my finger, but just how hard is questionable,” said Howey after the match. “I didn’t even think I had connected. I thought he was joking when I saw him on the floor because he was shaking.”
Part II – Transfer News and Rumours
Olympiakos the Latest Wanchope Link: Paulo Wanchope’s Manchester City future is still the subject of speculation. And top Greek outfit Olympiakos are the latest continental club to be linked with a move for the Costa Rican star. Several Spanish teams, including Valencia and Alaves, have been rumoured to be keeping an eye on Wanchope this summer after the player was quoted as saying a move to La Liga would interest him. And Malaga have shown the most serious interest, although the contradictory statements about the ex-Derby player attributed to the club’s President mean that it is hard to assess the seriousness of his intentions. Now Olympiakos are said to be preparing a £4 million bid for the 25-year-old, and can offer him the prospect of UEFA Champions’ League football this season. However, chairman David Bernstein has insisted that the Blues have no intention of parting company with last season’s leading league goalscorer.
Goater to Wolves Rumour Rumbles On: Shaun Goater wants to stay at Manchester City. But the player continues to be linked with a move to Wolves despite having asserted his desire to remain with the Blues. Goater said last week that he’s met with Kevin Keegan and that the new City boss told him he still has a future with the club. But after Wolves claimed last week that they’ve agreed a fee for an unnamed striker and will complete the deal when the mystery man’s current club sign a replacement, some newspapers were moved to claim that the Bermudian was the man in question. There has never been any concrete evidence of this, and David Bernstein confirmed on Monday that the Blues intend to keep the 31-year-old at Maine Road.
Bernstein Moves to Quash Striker Speculation: Manchester City are determined to retain the services of all four of their front-line strikers. The Blues say they have no wish to sell Paulo Wanchope, Shaun Goater, Darren Huckerby or Paul Dickov. There has been much speculation during the close season surrounding the quartet, with Wanchope linked with clubs in Spain, Greece and Argentina, two bids received for Goater, Huckerby said to be a target for Coventry and claims that Dickov could also be sacrificed by the new manager. However, David Bernstein says that Kevin Keegan is happy with the front men at his disposal. “We believe that with four strikers, supported by other forward players, we are in a strong position for the First Division,” Bernstein told the Manchester Evening News. “Wanchope has been doing sensationally well for his country and although we have had offers from two clubs for Shaun we are keeping him. The club will not be forced by any financial considerations to do anything to weaken the squad.”
Ginola Link Surfaces Again: Media reports have continually linked Manchester City with David Ginola ever since Kevin Keegan was appointed manager. And a fresh story in the press this week once again claims that the Blues’ boss is trying to put together a deal for the Frenchman. Ginola moved to Aston Villa from Spurs last summer but has failed to settle in the Midlands and has frequently found himself at odds with Villa manager John Gregory. Having starred under Keegan at Newcastle, the 34-year-old is reported to be willing to work with the ex-England coach again, although it appears that he will have to take a substantial pay cut to stand any chance of making the move a reality. The former Paris Saint-Germain player earns around £45,000 per week at Villa and City are rumoured to be willing to offer only around half of that figure.
Whitley in Further Wrexham Talks: Jim Whitley is still hoping to resurrect his career at Wrexham. The midfielder has made only one senior appearance for Manchester City in more than two seasons. The elder Whitley brother’s contract at Maine Road has now expired, and after seeing a prospective move to Northampton collapse owing to the Cobblers’ current financial woes, the 26-year-old is expected to continue talks with the Welsh club this week. The Northern Ireland international made his City début in January 1998 and played a total of 38 league games for the club, eleven as a substitute. He also had loan spells at Blackpool, Norwich, Swindon and Northampton.
City Looking at Chester Youngster: Manchester City have given a trial to an 18-year-old from Conference outfit Chester. And the youngster has an impressive City pedigree. Chris Blackburn is the nephew of Alan Oakes, the holder of the Blues’ all-time appearance record. And despite reports that City had elected not to take their interest in Blackburn any further after his appearance for the reserves at Hyde last week, he again featured for the second string at Radcliffe on Friday. The level of the fee Chester would require should Kevin Keegan decide to prise the midfielder away from the Deva Stadium remains unclear.
Portuguese Trialist Bidding for a Contract: Manchester City gave a Portuguese trialist a chance to impress in Saturday’s friendly at Tranmere. And wing-back Toni will again feature as the Blues travel to Huddersfield this Tuesday. Toni, who plays for Farense, has represented his country at under-21 level and replaced Laurent Charvet for the second half of City’s Prenton Park defeat. Most reports seemed to take the view that the player didn’t particularly stand out in a disappointing overall display, but he has more time to persuade Kevin Keegan that he deserves a permanent contract. “Toni is here for a couple of weeks,” said assistant manager Willie Donachie, “so we can take a look at him and make a decision.”
Part III – Miscellaneous News and Views
Pompey Game Switched for TV: Six of Manchester City’s pre-Christmas fixtures had already been selected by satellite and regional television companies for live coverage. And now a seventh Division One game featuring the Blues has been switched for screening. City’s match at Portsmouth, which had been scheduled to take place on Saturday, 17 November, will now be played the day before. The kick-off time is yet to be confirmed, but is likely to be 7.45p.m. The game is to be shown as a pay-per-view match by digital satellite broadcaster ITV Digital, who have bought the rights to screen fifteen Nationwide League games on a similar basis this season. With industry insiders rating the Blues as the biggest TV draw in this season’s First Division, it seems unlikely that this will be the last City match chosen for the pay-per-view treatment.
Keegan Rages at City Flops: Kevin Keegan is unlikely to have been impressed by Manchester City’s display at Tranmere on Saturday. And a national newspaper has claimed that the Blues’ new manager also launched a furious tirade at his squad following last week’s draw at Scunthorpe. Keegan was said by an unnamed dressing-room insider to have been particularly angered by the performances of defender Simon Colosimo and striker Paul Dickov. However, the former England coach has said nothing publicly about his impressions of the playing staff or his plans for the new campaign. The 50-year-old will not be speaking to the media before the season kicks off, a decision attributed by some to resentment at his treatment by the press during his spell in charge of the national team.
Zebras Looking for City Link-Up: Australian junior club Brunswick Zebras are keen to explore the possibility of a link-up with Manchester City. The Blues already have two former Zebras on their books, a fact which has prompted the Melbourne outfit to consider a more formal arrangement. Danny Tiatto and new signing Simon Colosimo both started out at Brunswick, along with a further four Australian internationals. And the club is now hoping to find a partner to invest the cash necessary for the continued development of their youth programme. In an open letter to Kevin Keegan, published on the Tribal Football website at http://www.tribalfootball.com/, President John Lewis expresses the hope that the Blues could become that partner. “Brunswick Zebras have a great tradition – we’ve produced six internationals,” he writes. “We’re good at this and we need to be better. [But now] we need a partner to kick in a few pounds to make sure we keep pushing out great players. Let’s talk!”
Agent Roach Charged over Wanchope Transfer: Paulo Wanchope’s agent is facing five FA charges over alleged transfer irregularities. And three of the five counts relate to the Costa Rican’s move to Manchester City last summer. Joe Royle stated he would never deal with Dennis Roach again following the protracted saga of Wanchope’s transfer from West Ham. And Newcastle boss Bobby Robson was incensed at the rôle played by Roach as Duncan Ferguson left St James’s Park to return to Everton. The FA then received a letter of complaint from an unspecified source in September and have been investigating the matter since then. It was announced on Friday that charges would be brought, and Roach has fourteen days from that date to respond to the allegations. If he is found guilty, he could be fined and/or have his agent’s licence revoked.
Part IV – Reserve News
City Reserves Sink Radcliffe: Manchester City’s reserves won their third successive pre-season game on Friday evening. But after consecutive 5-0 wins against Ashton and Hyde, the Blues found Radcliffe Borough slightly tougher opposition. The City line-up against the Unibond League side included Terry Dunfield and Leon Mike, both of whom have featured in the seniors’ pre-season games, although Dickson Etuhu was rested to allow him to feature in the first-team squad at Tranmere the next day. And the Blues took an early lead through skipper Rhys Day, the scoring being completed by Andrew Tunnicliffe five minutes from the end of the second period. Trialist Chris Blackburn also featured for City.
Irish Youngsters Continue to Star: Two Manchester City juniors have been continuing to star on the international stage. Willo Flood and Paul Murphy have been playing a crucial rôle in the success of the Republic of Ireland under-16 team. Murphy last week notched a brace for the Irish against Croatia in the UEFA Youth Olympic tournament. And the Republic went on to clinch the title, beating hosts Spain 4-3 on penalties in Murcia after a 2-2 draw. The two goals in normal time came from the City pair, with Flood contributing a spectacular solo effort and Murphy forcing a shoot-out with a late penalty.
Part V – Huddersfield Friendly: Preview
City to Complete Build-Up Programme: Manchester City will round off their programme of pre-season friendlies on Tuesday. The Blues visit Huddersfield in a testimonial match for the home club’s defender Jon Dyson. City had originally been intending to announce an additional warm-up fixture to be played next Saturday, 4th August, but there has been no further news on this score, and given the proximity of the scheduled date, it now seems unlikely that another game will be arranged. Meanwhile, it is probable that the next close-season will see a break with the practice of playing exclusively domestic opposition during the pre-season campaign. Kevin Keegan indicated on his arrival at Maine Road that, while he would honour commitments the club had already made, his preference would have been to take the players abroad.
Berkovic Set to Make His Début: Manchester City have provided little for their fans to cheer in the three pre-season friendlies played so far. But there will be at least one point of interest for supporters following the Blues to Huddersfield, with the first appearance of new signing Eyal Berkovic. The Israeli put pen to paper on his four-year contract last week and is likely to play for at least half the game as he bids to attain full match fitness ahead of the start of the new campaign. It is unclear as to whether Paulo Wanchope will take part, the Costa Rican having now returned from international duty in the Copa America tournament. Meanwhile, reports that former City star Nicky Summerbee could feature against the Blues in this game seem to have been wide of the mark. It had been claimed that the Terriers would give a trial to the winger, who is currently a free agent, but this appears not to be the case.
Peter Brophy (pjbrophy@btinternet.com)MATCH REPORT: Scunthorpe United 2 Manchester City 2
Having watched the uneventful proceedings at the Shay on Saturday, I was in two minds about going to this one but the ticket had been bought, it wasn’t too far away, so it was a case of what the hell, it can’t be any worse.
In a nutshell, it wasn’t. It turned out to be a much better game than on Saturday. Maybe that’s the way of pre-season friendlies, with the tempo gradually increasing game by game. I’d been to Glanford Park once before several years ago to watch Bury (it’s a long story) with the Shakers winning 2-1 to increase their Third Division play-off chances, so I knew what to expect of the place. It must be one of the easiest grounds to reach from the main road network, clearly visible from the motorway and about 30 seconds drive from it, and it’s basically one of those little modern, same-kind-of-stand-on-all-four-sides “subbuteo” jobs. Inside it’s quite a neat, pleasant little ground, seating on three sides, including the City section behind the goal, with standing for the home fans behind the goal at the other end. There were probably about three times as many Scunthorpe fans as there were Halifax fans on Saturday, another excellent turnout from Blues, with both sets of fans making some noise at the start which made for an overall better atmosphere and as though we were at a football match, and not a mass gathering in Halifax to watch grass grow. Which was just as well, as there was no big, fat bloke to provide the entertainment this time.
City line up was: Nash, Charvet, Dunne, Howey, Pearce, Granville, Whitley, Wiekens, Tiatto, Huckerby, Dickov. Attacking the home end, City started off very brightly, so much so that they’d had a shot on target in the first 20 seconds, a cross from Granville deep on the left to the far post where it was either Huckerby or Dickov (I was still settling into my seat and wasn’t paying much attention) who volleyed on target but saved by the ‘keeper. It was apparent though that Scunthorpe were far more up for it than Halifax, and they began to string a few decent passes together and press forward, though the City defence looked comfortable. Until the 25th minute. Whitley, under pressure towards the right touchline, played a poor, square ball to Charvet who, instead of letting the ball go out for a harmless throw-in midway in the City half, impressively managed to stretch and keep the ball in, sending it skidding 30 yards down the wing for a corner to Scunthorpe. The corner came over, nobody got their head to it, and after getting stuck under several players’ feet, City were unable to clear with the ball ending up at the feet of a Scunthorpe forward who turned and placed the ball low past the defenders on the line with Nash stranded. 1-0, and a sloppy goal given away.
City pressed forward in search of the equaliser for the last 15 of the first half. About half a dozen corners were forced, with every one of them coming to nothing. Notable chances were: a good break away by Tiatto, feeding Huckerby free on the right, whose shot was well saved by the goalie, diving to his left and turning it round for a corner; another break by Dickov who was cynically tripped just outside the box, with Psycho’s free kick being deflected wide for another corner; and the miss of the night, a fierce cross-cum-shot from Pearce on the left and Whitley somehow contriving to steer the ball well over the bar from what looked like only a few yards out in the centre of the goal, much to the delight of the home fans behind the goal. To give Jeff the benefit of the doubt, this happened just before half-time when it was distinctly gloomy, the floodlights being kept turned off for as long as possible in order to save money, so a fierce low cross from Pearce at that stage was probably a bit like trying to keep your eye on a bouncer from Brett Lee. Or maybe it’s just because Whitley’s a poor finisher. Bizarrely, the floodlights came on for the half-time interval.
A similar policy to the game at Halifax in that 22 players were used in total, the new 11 for the second half being Weaver, Edghill, Ritchie, Colisimo (is that how you spell it?), Horlock, Grant, SWP, Cooke, Goater, the superbly-named Dickson Etuhu and, confusingly, “Mr. X”, a small SWP look-alike on the right wing with no name or number on his shirt. After he’d made an impressive run down the wing, with the City fans chanting “Who are yer? Who are yer?”, a process of elimination studying the squad in the match programme and common consensus after discussion subsequently led to him being identified as Tyrone Mears. Probably. Though Mears’ squad number in the Halifax programme from Saturday was 26. If anyone can confirm for definite who he was, and any information about him…!
Despite A.N. Other’s best endeavours, just five minutes into the second half it was 2-0. A corner on City’s left was whipped into the six yard box, all I saw was a few City players jump up, and the ball flash past Weaver into the far corner. I presumed it was an own goal at first (as was reported on GMR apparently), but a Scunthorpe head must have been in there somewhere as one of their players got the credit. Given City’s lack of success from corners so far, ironic that Scunthorpe should score from their first. Two sloppy goals to nil.
But within 5 minutes City had halved the deficit. A corner by Horlock (who wasn’t on the pitch to take them in the first half), a neat flick on at the near post and Etuhu getting his head to the ball first and into the net off the inside of the far post. The rest of the half was about 80% City possession, with the pick of the chances being a high, deep cross beyond the far post, a nice volley by Horlock back into the danger zone, met sweetly first time by the Goat but the goalie saved superbly point-blank with his legs. A good move also saw a rasping low drive by SWP turned round the post (their goalie was unsurprisingly announced by the PA as man of the match), and there were a couple of other long range efforts by Horlock and Cooke which didn’t really trouble the ‘keeper. Cooke was playing further infield to allow the mystery man the width on the right wing. There was also a loud appeal for a clear penalty when a Scunthorpe defender handled in the box, but interestingly the appeal was from the City fans behind the goal and not the players; maybe the players know that referees don’t apply the normal rules of the game in pre-season friendlies when it comes to awarding penalties.
Scunthorpe legs looked to be tiring in the latter stages, and City were finding spaces in midfield and on the left, with Goater and Horlock making runs through, but the killer defence-splitting ball just wasn’t there. Cooke had a great chance to beat the final defender and have a crack, but disappointingly he didn’t get past him, maybe he didn’t fancy it on his left peg? Time was running out though, and it looked as though City just wouldn’t be able to force the equaliser. However, just a few minutes to go, and a rare corner on the City left (Horlock seemed to have spent most of the second half taking corners from the right) swung over by Cooke and the Goat “leapt like a salmon” TM on the edge of the six yard box to plant a firm header into the corner. Cue chorus of “Feed the Goat and he will score”.
And only a minute later, City had a great chance to grab the winner, with SWP finding space down the right, cutting into the box and with City players streaming in waiting for the cutback, unfortunately SWP got into a tangle and the ball ended up bobbling into the ‘keeper’s hands. A shame, as otherwise he had a decent game.
To their credit, Scunthorpe kept going and play went up to the other end but they were brought to a halt by the City defence on the edge of the box. This was about as threatening as Scunthorpe got in the second half, the only shot they had was one which wouldn’t have gone in if there had been another set of goalposts stacked on top of the existing ones. Fair play to them though, at 2-1 they seemed to sit back and try to protect their lead but they also played some neat stuff at times. City also deserve credit for keeping the pressure on, showing some character and eventually getting their reward. In terms of chances and possession City walked it, but it’s the old story of getting the ball in the onion bag that counts, though the Scunthorpe ‘keeper did play a blinder. It was one of those rare occasions where the number of goals a team scored was the same (or more, if the second goal was an own goal) as the number of attempts they had on target. As far as I can recall, Scunthorpe’s goals were their only efforts on target all night, not a bad ratio.
Probably the highlights of the evening were the impressive Etuhu and The Man With No Name, two contrasting players. Etuhu a tall, gangling midfielder in the Wanchope/Goater mould, and he looked pretty good on the ball, demonstrated good awareness and passing, and the other guy is a small, nippy winger who certainly wasn’t afraid to run at defenders with the ball down City’s right wing and linked up well with his team mates. What I also liked about them both was that they constantly harried the opposition and if they lost the ball fought to get it back, taking a leaf out of SWP’s book. They both seemed to have the potential to become more than useful squad members, and in the future, who knows?
That’ll do for pre-season friendlies for me, bring on Watford!
Gary Dickson (garydickson@totalise.co.uk)MATCH VIEW: SCUNTHORPE
In reply to Geoff Donkin’s comment (MCIVTA 730) on naming Scunthorpe’s goalkeeper as man of the match in the recent friendly match against Man City.
I am the culprit, I hold my hands up! Sorry!
I sponsored the match and was informed it was up to me to name the man of the match. My nominations of Colosimo, Pearce and Goater were racing through my mind and that was before the match had kicked off! I had dreams of handing over a bottle of something to them on the pitch at full time, meeting one of my heroes and having my picture taken with the lucky player! However, to my horror, I was informed before the match I had to award the man of the match award to a Scunthorpe player and he had to be on the pitch for the full 90 minutes. Me and my group huddled together and noticed Peter Beagrie was listed as number 14 in the Scunthorpe programme. We all looked at each other and said in unison Peter Beagrie is man of the match and this was decided at quarter to seven, forty five minutes before kick off. Then the next set back was Beagrie, master of the backward flip, wasn’t playing – horror. A member of my party said “Dunc, number 4 for Scunthorpe is Carl Bradshaw, remember him playing for City?” I did, and it was duly decided Carl Bradshaw would be man of the match and this was decided at around ten past seven.
Anyway to cut a long story short the match kicked off, for most of the first half nobody shone from the Scunthorpe team apart from the number 10 who scored. So at half time with Carl Bradshaw having kicked a few of my heroes, I decided the number 10 was edging it at half time. Second half started and again nobody stood out, that was until their number 6, a big lanky centre-half, put them 2-0 up with an header, which I am certain it was a Colosimo own goal! So I had 2 candidates, numbers 6 and 10. The goalkeeper had made a few decent saves and kept them in the game but he was third on my list. Then the inevitable happened: numbers 6 & 10 were substituted so my two main contenders for man of the match were off the pitch; that automatically put the goalkeeper in pole position. Ten minutes from the end of the match – yes, ten minutes – they came for my nomination and I duly obliged and said proudly “I think your ‘keeper deserves it because he’s had a decent game and has kept you in it”. Immediately having nominated him he made a good save then a few minutes later it was announced over the tannoy system that Scunthorpe’s number one (what ever his name was) was man of the match. Then the home crowd started singing England’s number one, then again the inevitable happened as Geoff described.
Anyway, at the end of the match I went onto the pitch to award him with his man of the match award and while I was shaking his hand having my photo taken this guy was really shaking and I thought that should be me shaking while I am shaking one of my heroes’ hands. I said to the ‘keeper “did you enjoy yourself out there?” and he replied “should have beat them”. I exited stage left, being far too polite to reply to his comment!
During the first half Terry Cooke was warming up on the touchline and I shouted for Terry to stand still while I took his picture. A mancunian accent behind me shouted “wait till he is on the pitch then you can catch him standing still”, which was met with a loud cry of laughter from the Scunthorpe supporters sat around us.
So there you are Geoff blame me, but there were reasons for it! Honest.
Duncan Madden-Ross (duncan.madden-ross@royalmail.co.uk)CITY DIARY: August 1st-5th
August 1st:
City were on an overseas tour in 1985, beating an Isle of Man XI 6-1.
August 2nd:
Wyn Davies was signed from Newcastle for £50,000 in 1971 – bad news for Neil Young who’d get only a handful of games now, but Francis Lee would score a lot of goals off the big front man that season. In 1969 Colin Bell scored in the Charity Shield match but City lost 2-1 to Leeds at Elland Road, still in the days before the match was staged at Wembley.
August 3rd:
In 1968 City beat West Brom 6-1 to win the Charity Shield. So as reigning league champions, when City beat Leicester to win the F.A. Cup the following April they briefly held three domestic trophies and Tony Book was able to pose for a famous photograph with the three of them on the Maine Road grass. In 1976 it was City 4 Partick Thistle 1 in the third place play-off of the Tennent-Caledonian Cup.
August 4th:
A friendly with Celtic in 1970 ended in a 0-0 draw.
August 5th:
A friendly with PSV Eindhoven in 1987, City won 3-1. In 1972 Francis Lee’s goal won City the Charity Shield, Aston Villa 0 City 1.
OPINION: SHAUN GOATER
Dave Cash’s piece on Shaun Goater on MCIVTA 730 was interesting, especially as it ended with the line ‘makes you wonder how many more of his [John McFarlane] facts are similarly suspect.’
Sadly, Dave’s key point is not so much suspect as incorrect, which weakens his argument a little. Goater did not come on as a sub in the Bradford match on Saturday 14 October. He was on the bench, and stayed there for 90 minutes, alongside George Weah. The Goat’s first Premiership appearance was off the bench at Southampton on Monday 23 October, replacing Paulo Wanchope on 67 minutes.
As for the merits of Goater against Wanchope, you only have to compare their goals-to-games ratio. Goater scored seven goals in 20 Premiership starts (plus six appearances off the bench). Wanchope scored nine goals in 25 Premiership starts (plus two appearances off the bench). Add the Goat’s F.A. Cup and Worthington Cup goals to the argument, not to mention Wanchope’s inability to stay out of the referee’s notebook, and you have your answer.
I hope that settles the argument once and for all!
Mike Barnett (mike.barnett@timewarp.co.uk)OPINION: SALE RUMOURS
I wonder if other City fans are as concerned as I am about the constant rumours that Keegan is going to sell the Goat and Wanchope. This is beginning to sound like the Alan Ball era when many of our better players were released.
Shaun Goater has shown he can score goals in the First Division and I think Wanchope would be devastating in that league – if Keegan could get him to play. Further, with Berkovic able to put the ball through the Goat and 1chop should get loads of goals.
On the positive side I’m pleased to see that Terry Cooke has been reinstated into the first team squad – but to have Huckerby and Dickov as the main strikers is ridiculous. Even sillier is the item on Teamtalk stating that City are interested in a centre back from Boro – for heaven’s sake how many more centre backs do we need?
Ian Burgess (i.burgess@virgin.net)OPINION: PRE SEASON
This pre-season is different from others, we have a new manager Kevin Keegan who wants to see all the players that he has at Maine Road; some will no doubt disappoint him.
The pre-season results do not bother me; as much as I like to see a win, I would like to see KK let some players go, not for me to mention names, but it is obvious all players now at Maine Road will not fit in to Kevin Keegan’s plans if we are to be the best in the division.
Our first game of the season versus Watford will be the real test of how good we are, not pre-season games.
City have got some good talent, enough to win the Division but it’s not going to be a cakewalk.
Ernie Barrow (BarrowLoyalBlue@aol.com)OPINION: KK/NEW PLAYERS
Found this on TribalFootball.com over the weekend…
An Open Letter to Kevin Keegan:
Kevin, far be it from me to suggest you’re managing a zoo at Manchester City, but did you know you’ve got a Zebra on the right and a Zebra on the left, and here in Melbourne, we’ve got a whole pen of Zebras, raring to go?
Tiatto on the left. He’s a Zebra.
Colosimo on the right. He’s a Zebra.
Kevin, talk to us! Here at the Brunswick Zebras in Melbourne, we’ve got a lot more where they came from! What are the odds that two Manchester City players learnt the game at the same little junior club on the banks of the Merri Creek in Melbourne? Bloody good odds!
The Brunswick Zebras has a great tradition. We’ve produced six internationals, six men who represented their country. We’re good at this and we mean to be better. We mean to be the best junior development club in Australia, if not the whole world, but we need a partner to kick in a few pounds to make sure we keep pushing out great players.
Let’s talk!
John Lewis, President
Brunswick Zebras Junior Soccer Club
NEWS: BISHOP & WEAH
Today’s New York Post has the story that after Miami Fusion (inc. Ian Bishop) play the New York Metrostars in Giants Stadium on August 4 there will be a friendly between Liberia (inc. George Weah) and Colombia; Weah’s team is receiving US$15,000 for this, which they will donate to a charity to get medical equipment to Liberia. Perhaps Ian and George will compare notes on MCFC?
Ken Corfield (kcorfield@berkeleycarroll.org)ITALIAN JIMMY GRIMBLE
I think that all City fans will be pleased to know that the film “There’s only one Jimmy Grimble” has been dubbed into Italian and will be screened across Italy from 10 August. It’s getting a good and big publicity both on television and in the national papers, so I expect many people to go and see it.
Vanes Marzaroli (vanesmarzaroli@hotmail.com)REQUEST: THAMES VALLEY OSC
Paul Lake will be visiting Thames Valley OSC on Sunday August 12th, between 2 and 6 pm. Any Southern based Blues who wish to attend are more than welcome. The venue is Didcot Conservative Club; there will be a quiz and one or two other things, as well as a buffet, cost £5. Anyone wishing to attend can find details of how to find the venue on our website at http://www.thamesmcfc.co.uk/; it would be appreciated if anyone wishing to attend would leave a message to that effect on our message board, or email me direct at the address below. Thanks.
Paul Stevenson (stevo@mancity.net)REQUEST: NEW YORK BLUES
I’m going to be in New York while we’re playing Watford and Norwich and was wondering if anyone knew of places that may be showing the Watford game? Would be great to watch the game with some fellow Blues!
Tom Willis (s.willis@virgin.net)REQUEST: NOKIA PHONE COVERS
Does anyone know where I can find MCFC Mobile Phone covers to go with the Blue Moon ring tones we all seem to have? I’ve got a Nokia 3210.
Thanks.
CTID and successfully indoctrinating my poor children, Paul Ruffley (Paul.Ruffley@fs-europe.com)REQUEST/OFFER: PROGRAMME SALES
I have the following programmes available for sale as I am trying to get rid of some of my collection.
Homes:
v Everton 1974-75 £1.50
v Everton 1975-76 £1.50
v Blackpool 1984-85 (League Cup) £1.50
v Liverpool 1987-88 (FA Cup) £2
v Chester 1991-92 (League Cup) £1
v Palace 1991-92 £1
v Spurs 1992-93 (League Cup) £2
v Leeds 1992-93 £1.50
v Chelsea (League Cup) £2
v Wimbledon 1993-94 £1.50
v Blackburn 1993-94 £1.50
v Swindon 1999-00 £2 (With Ticket Stub)
v Huddersfield 1999-00 £2 (With Ticket Stub)
v QPR 1999-00 £2
v Walsall 1999-00 £2
v Liverpool 1999-00 (Friendly) £1.50
v Grimsby 1999-00 (Last Home Game Of The Century) £3.50
Aways:
v Everton 1977-78 £2
v Liverpool 1981-82 £2
v Soton 1978-79 £2
v Everton 1985-86 £2
I am willing to sell all of the above for £40 (inc postage) or sell them individually on a first come first served basis.
I also have the following videos available for sale:
Lee, Bell and Summerbee
Match of the Day Manchester City
1991-92 Season Review
1998-99 Season Review (City are back)
1999-00 Season Review (Over the Blue Moon)
All are available for £7.50 each (inc postage)
Please e-mail for more details.
Chris Craddock (craddy_99@hotmail.com)MCIVTA FAQ
[0] MCIVTA Addresses
Articles (Heidi Pickup) : heidi@mcivta.freeserve.co.uk
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Comments concerning this FAQ should be sent to David Warburton using the address: mcivtafaq@warburton.org
[1] MCIVTA Deadlines
Deadlines for issues are nominally Monday and Thursday evenings.
[2] MCIVTA Back Issues and Manchester City Supporters’ home page
http://www.uit.no/mancity/ is the unofficial Manchester City Supporters’ home page. Created in 1994, it is the longest running of the Manchester City related web sites. Back issues of MCIVTA are also hosted on the site.
[3] Club Web Site
The official club web site can be found at http://www.mcfc.co.uk/
[4] Supporters’ Clubs
Manchester City FC recognises three supporters’ clubs: The “Official Supporters Club” (http://www.mancity.net/osc/index.html); the “Centenary Supporters’ Association” (http://www.callnetuk.com/home/sef/) and “The International Supporters’ Club” (http://www.mcfc.co.uk/extra/fanzone/isc.asp)
[5] Fans’ Committee
The Fans’ Committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. It has its own website, http://www.mcfc-fans.com/ containing info about forthcoming meetings as well as minutes from previous gatherings.
[6] City of Manchester Stadium Progress/Web Cam
The latest information regarding the progress of our new home can be found at http://www.commonwealthgames.com/
[7] Match Day Broadcasts
Live match commentaries and archives of games, reports and interviews can be found here: http://www.mcfc.co.uk/comment.asp. GMR Saturday Sport is also available live online between 1-3pm, and 4.45-6pm at http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/sport/index.shtml
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Heidi Pickup, heidi@mcivta.freeserve.co.uk
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The Editorial team of mcivta.com consist of several people. Typically news and information that is provided by a third part will be distributed by the "Editor". Phil Alcock is the current Editor in Chief of the MCIVTA newsletter.