Newsletter #754

Tuesday night’s drawn-out game saw us emerge once again with 1 point from a dire 0-0 game, a result many of us thought we would never see this season.

Tonight’s issue sees plenty of opinion from JR to Dunne via Tuesday night and back, confirmation at last on the two Mr Blacks, a few requests and finally a very nostalgic Why Blue. This is rather a long one, and will be serialised over the next couple of issues, but it is well worth the read for both the older Blues out there who remember and us younger ones to share.

OPINION: DIABOLICAL WARFARE

In a recent and very uneven sporting contest seen on TV, the commentator suggested that the only option for the outclassed player was to be an irritant to her opponent – Sheffield United exhibited this last Tuesday and showed themselves to be both classless and irritating.

Manchester City and Sheffield United, as one Kippaxer said at half time, are two teams going in the opposite direction.

Already this season, we’ve seen Norwich, WBA and now Anthrax United stop us from playing and you find yourself agreeing with the opening line of the appallingly ‘one eyed’ match report found in Wednesday’s Mirror, viz:

“The word is out in the First Division that you can stop Kevin Keegan’s cavaliers by messing them around and muscling them about.”

So, how do we combat this approach?

Well, you can give as good as you get viz Danny Tiatto, who, according to Neil Warnock, thumped both Ndluvo and Kozluk. Or there’s the more obvious Kevin Horlock approach, who, like his namesake in Coronation Street, just piles in and gives you one back without thinking through the consequences. But, despite the honesty of this last, the yellow cards eventually catch up with you and it would have been nice if he’d managed to stay on the pitch for that last frantic City onslaught.

We’ve used the muscling / spoiling approach ourselves in the past of course; I remember taking real pleasure in seeing experts like Keith Curle and Andy Morrison at work, winding up players like Stan Collymore to good effect.

We had to come to terms with it in the Division 2 campaign, so we should be able to understand the principles behind it, albeit that those experiences and tactics came under a previous management. And, it has to be said that, like Saturday’s game against Stockport, and, notwithstanding the fact that we were down to ten men, our football should have and would have, given the right amount of ‘injury’ time, resulted in a winner.

With the prospect of more opponents adopting this kind of approach, you have to hope that KK has got an answer because, although we’re now seeing the kind of football that City fans want and expect, it has to amount to something, namely an exit through the front door of this division – the back door is more a problem for Sheffield United and their ilk.

OPINION: JOE ROYLE

Having read the very eloquent arguments both for and against Joe Royle, I felt compelled to add a couple of comments:

We will never know the true facts surrounding Joe’s dismissal and can only speculate on the various media reportings. For example, if the directors were genuinely convinced that the backroom team was not up to scratch and if Joe had refused to allow them to be sacked, then he’d left the board with only one possible course of action. Alternatively, as others have suggested, this cul-de-sac may have been created by the board, who had one eye on Kevin Keegan, and it was Joe who was pushed into the impossible corner.

Anyone who draws any conclusions on the manner of Joe’s sacking does so with only press speculation and guesswork at their disposal.

A point that few would dispute however, is the fact that KK was lined up prior to JR’s dismissal. The board have been condemned for this in some quarters, but how often have City’s previous regimes been criticised for sacking a manager without having any idea of who would replace him? Although the board were clearly convinced that a change was needed, it makes pretty good sense to me to know who you’ll be changing to, before you release the current incumbent. Similarly, if you or I wanted to leave our jobs to further our careers, we might wish to find those better jobs prior to handing in our notices. There may be some ethical (or even legal) issues here, but I for one wouldn’t criticise the board for having a clear view of where Joe’s sacking would leave us. It seems fairly common practice at most other clubs.

Last season was poor and stability for stability’s sake is indeed as bad as the revolving managerial door to which we’ve become so accustomed. I, however, was gutted to hear of Joe’s sacking and was prepared to believe that he would right his wrongs, based on a number of factors:

• He had got us promoted before, so could probably do it again (from a stronger starting point, this time).
• He would have learned the lessons of our relegation and done a better job next time around.
• His contribution via the back-to-back promotions merited our backing when the going got tough.

Despite the fact that the board didn’t agree with this rationale and got rid of the big man, I am 100% behind Kevin Keegan and was very pleased by his appointment.

My outlook can be easily reconciled by separating the dismissal of Joe from the appointment of Kev. It’s perfectly legitimate to be disappointed with Joe’s sacking and subsequently delighted with Kev’s arrival, and I suspect that this is the moderate view held by many Blues.

The memory of Joe Royle’s tenure will, in my mind at least, be forever dominated by those amazing days at Wembley and Blackburn. Two seasons and two special days that will not be easily forgotten.

Here’s hoping there are many memorable days ahead with Kevin. That said, Trevor Francis is available of course…

OPINION: SIR JOE AND OTHER RAMBLING THOUGHTS

Or rather Lord Loser as he has turned out to be.

I don’t have any legal training but I do work very closely with lawyers at work and as such I asked them how they would react to Mr Royle’s submission for unfair dismissal and insufficient compensation on being fired by MCFC for relegation and with a pay off.

Amazing and insane delusion were the initial reactions.

The defence (City) would only have to show the panel (or jury) the league table last season as to where City were positioned when Mr Royle was relieved of his duty. Unfair? I don’t think so. A little harsh? Perhaps. Understandable? Yes. Show the panel some videos of the 12 games (or so) where City held the lead or scored first, only to lose or draw the game; this shows lack of fitness over 90 minutes for the team. It’s a direct reflection on the coach for the team to tire so easily in so many games (i.e. 25% of the season) – 12 games is enough to show a definite pattern to point the finger at deficiencies in training and fitness methods employed by the coach. Show the invoices for (was it) £17 million on players totally inept for the job and the contribution (lack of) made to team success. Inability to maintain discipline e.g. Kennedy and his habits; we now know why he was fired from Liverpool – not only did we give him a chance after the Dublin episode but only last month he was caught drunk driving in Wilmslow and then refused to give a sample. Good riddance, well done Kev, a brave call.

Inability to properly coach and nurture a young goalkeeper with England potential (don’t laugh – he was once very good and he once was very fit). However, during the Royle regime he was allowed to balloon up to Liz Taylor proportions and became a total Salad Dodger. In fact while training the 1st team squad it was rumoured that the element most hated was when Donachie said “right let’s all do one lap around Nicky to finish off”. Then as you all know “the best form of defence is attack” (ahem, Kev knows this one).

Once you have defended your position on why City fired him, you then in open court announce that you will file a motion to counter sue Mr Royle for £13 million pounds (or whatever is reasonable) in lost revenues (TV money, gates, season tickets, sponsorships etc.) and other losses incurred due to his ineptitude as a manager and relegation from the EPL.

You announce that this motion will be filed as soon as the verdict of the panel is given on this present case; basically this allows Royle the chance to withdraw his summons so a verdict is not reached and we all go home without a penny passing hands.

This is where it gets fun then because Royle then is faced with defending himself against a City law suit, again using all the points City used to defend their position that they now use directly to sue him. Royle would then be wise to drop the charges.

In all probability he will have hired an ambulance chaser lawyer on a ‘no win – no fee’ basis. Which is great if he gets another £500,000 from City to which Royle then gives 30% to 50% to the shark lawyer.

But the shark lawyers who do took his “no win no fee” case to sue MCFC will not be in a good position to defend him (if City counter sue). If Royle stands a chance of losing when he is the defendant, they will run a mile from defending him for nothing as there is nothing in it for them.

Either way it’s not good news for City or Royle and it leaves a foul taste in the mouth for old jovial Joe and city fans alike. Royle is in damage limitation if he loses since City (Bernstein) had complete justification in sacking him and should go for the jugular as a professional to keep MCFC name intact.

In any case Royle looks certain to be finished in football management. We will probably see contracts for football managers with a “no sue” clause. It’s getting more and more like that in every aspect of employment law since my contract, which runs for two years, has a clause stating that I withdraw all rights to redundancy claims if my contract is not renewed. In addition, those of you who send or receive the odd inflammatory email or off colour picture will probably not hear anything from your IS/IT or HR manager but it could be logged for use against you at a later date.

I know of a friend of mine who knew 12 people in a law firm in London, who were laid off as the business was losing money; they asked for compensation and then the company pulled out a catalogue of emails and pictures sent from their accounts that were for non company purposes and could be used for discipline – if they tried to sue for compensation all these pictures (some dirty, some off colour) would be brought to open court for their embarrassment and we would then dismiss them for sending profane material on company equipment and it could all get very messy. Basically it’s insurance for the company to use against you. So best advice is read it and delete it, don’t forward it on, you never know who is reading your email if sent from your desk. Companies are looking to lose headcount and it’s a lot easier to fire someone for sending an email relating to ‘favourite positions’ as opposed to laying someone off with 3 months pay.

OPINION: TUESDAY’S ‘GAME’

I don’t write in very often, but felt compelled to after the shambles of Tuesday night. The referee, Gordon Bennett (or whatever his bloody name was!) was an absolute disgrace – where on God’s holy planet do they unearth these cretins from? I won’t dwell too much on his performance(?!) only to say that I hope I never live to see him referee another football match (City or anyone else). The tattooed one and I walked home in silence, afraid to speak in case we said something which would make one of us turn into a raving loony (you know that kind of silence guys!)! Anyway, glad I’ve got that off my (little!) chest.

Finally, a message to Christine Lennon (nee Riley); Christine if you (or anyone who knows Christine) still read the superb “McVittee”, can you please get in touch? Thanks.

OPINION: ANDY BLACK

Andy Black joined City from Hearts in June 1946 and scored 13 goals in 34 appearances during the Division Two championship season of 1946-7. He went on to make 146 League and Cup appearances and scored 52 goals. He joined Stockport in August 1950.

Frank Swift’s autobiography Football From The Goalmouth includes a photo of Swift carrying Black off the pitch injured during an England-Scotland match at Wembley, while Bert Trautmann’s autobiography mentions him as one of the players who helped him settle at Maine Road.

Black was an inside-forward, and during the war he guested for Chester and Portsmouth. He even played for Portsmouth in a London War Cup Final, and once scored 8 in a game against Clapton Orient.

I do mention Black in Manchester: The Greatest City, but he doesn’t get much focus in the book. David Buxton was right with the info he quoted, although I’d like to say I too was caught out with the Canon League Football Players’ Records 1946-84. Throughout the Greatest City I foolishly went against my better judgement by relying on a date of birth given in that book. As a result I corrected all my records to show that Frank Swift was actually a year older than he really was!

OPINION: ALAN BLACK

I hope this resolves the ‘who was it’ questions being discussed.

One of my father’s school friends was Alan Black. As they grew older they played football for Didsbury United and Athletic. Alan used to play ‘Left Half’ or ‘Inside Left’. Alan was a City fan although in the 50’s they tended to go to both City and U****d home matches. They also played in the Gorton Silver Band (I remember spending Sunday mornings at their practice sessions when I was 5-8 years old). Alan did also play for Burnage Silver Band when he was younger. Many years ago he emigrated to Toronto, Canada and set up a Foreign Coin business which he ran until his retirement. In Canada he played football, until the aging process won, for the local ex-pat team and also played in local brass and silver bands. He travels to the US every year to take part in the competition and a few years ago my parents went with them during a visit.

I mentioned the ‘sighting’ to my father who rang Alan last week and has since received a letter. He confirms that it was him and remembers the encounter, as does his wife.

As for the occupation of ‘professional footballer’ then he always was a bit of a dreamer and playing for City was his ultimate dream.

OPINION: RICHARD DUNNE

Just wanted to respond to Dorien James’ review of the Stockport game re: Richard Dunne’s skills as a winger as I thought the assessment was a bit harsh: “Particularly alarming was the way that Dunne was starting to play like an out-and-out winger, except that he didn’t have the speed, ball control or crossing ability.”

Granted, he’d be outrun by a sloth with rickets and I’d rather see Cooke playing there. However, at the last 2 games I’ve been to (Sheffield Wednesday and Stockport), I thought that both his crossing ability and ball control have been surprisingly impressive. Perhaps you missed the back heel to Benarbia in the 1st half on Saturday? In my opinion, his crossing was consistently better than that of Granville or Edghill when he was playing.

OPINION: CURRENT SQUAD

Here’s the list:

Nick Weaver
Brian Murphy
Carlo Nash
Gerard Wiekens
Richard Edghill
Rhys Day
Danny Granville
Danny Tiatto
Andy Morrison
Steve Howey
Steven Jordan
Paul Ritchie
Laurent Charvet
Richard Dunne
Stuart Pearce
Simon Colosimo
Tyrone Mears
Steven Paisley
Paddy McCarthy
Lucien Mettomo
Joe Barton
Kevin Horlock
Terry Dunfield
Christopher Shuker
Terry Cooke
Jeff Whitley
Alfie Haaland
Dixon Etuhu
Eyal Berkovic
Ali Benarbia
Glenn Whelan
Paul Dickov
Shaun Goater
Shaun Wright-Philips
Leon Mike
Christopher Killen
Paulo Wanchope
Darren Huckerby
Alioune Toure
Gary Browne

OPINION: PARLANT FRANÇAIS

If Ali B is a “larron”, could Fat Lad Dunne be considered a “lardon”?

REQUEST: SOUTH COAST BLUES

I am an exiled Blue originally from Disley but now in Bournemouth. I have a couple of queries for MCIVTA.

1. Is there a local supporters’ branch in Bournemouth (I have met severalBlues over the 11 years since relocation)?
2. Is there a pub where Blues congregate to watch televised games?I am having difficulty coercing friends to travel with me to City games,particularly after our last jolly (the Hawthorns), so if anyone out thereis able to advise great, otherwise I may need to uproot and move back (whichmeans divorce / wife gets custody etc.).

REQUEST: REFEREE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

After the recent incompetent (to put it mildly) performances by the last two sets of officials, does anyone know what the complaints procedure is for referees? Will we, the fans, get to find out what (if any) action is taken against the referees for their incompetent displays?

REQUEST: REPUBLIC VIEWING OF MATCHES

I have asked this before but I am if anything persistent. Where in Limerick can City games or highlights be seen (or am I missing them on Sky due to my strange viewing times)? It is driving me crazy as the only source I have of info is this fabulous newsletter and the various web sites.

BLUE HUMOUR

Yokohama, June 30, 2002

England overcame an uncharacteristically disappointing performance from captain David Beckham to lift the World Cup here today by beating Argentina 4-1.

The Manchester United midfielder could manage only a hat-trick, direct from free kicks of 25, 35 and 75 yards, and blamed tiredness after late-night sessions in his successful attempt to broker the so-called ‘Becksaa Valley Peace Agreement’ between Israeli premier Ariel Sharon and PLO leader Yasser Arafat.

But many pundits put the blame on England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson’s controversial decision to field an experimental 3-3-1 formation, which saw Beckham lining up at centre back, on the left wing and up front as well as in his normal right-sided rôle. “I got the idea from watching videos of our 2-2 draw against Greece in October last year,” explained the chastened Swede afterwards.

How ironic that Eriksson should have mentioned that unforgettable fixture, since it proved a turning point in his skipper’s career. Just days after being hailed for his heroics at Old Trafford which saw England through to the finals in Japan and Korea, Beckham’s United career appeared over when he clashed for the second time with Sir Alex Ferguson after failing to turn up for training.

However, Ferguson swiftly took the Leytonstone-born ace off the transfer list after his absence was explained by video footage of Beckham rotating the world backwards on its axis, thus turning back the hands of time and saving top US journalist Lois Lane from certain death in an earthquake.

One week later, the star was parachuted into Kabul and helped the allies’ missiles to better find their targets when he lit up the night sky above the city by unknown means.

“It was as if a huge power source of solar proportions was emanating from out of his arse,” said stunned White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

The hastily-knighted footballer had a relatively quiet winter, averaging just two goals per game for United as the strain of his new rôle as Railtrack chief executive began to show. Yet, fresh from clinical trials which proved that his faecal matter didn’t stink, Beckham bounced back this spring to lead his side to an unprecedented quadruple, stopping only to rout the relatively unpopular Rudy Giuliani and become Mayor of New York.

Now, after becoming the first England captain to lift the World Cup since the late Bobby Moore, there remains only one disappointment for the shaven-haired hero of his wife.

Despite her husband writing all the songs and playing all the instruments, Victoria Beckham’s new album Not Such A Talented Girl only entered the UK charts at number 84 on Sunday.

“That woman’s voice could ruin everything,” said a tearful music business insider last night.

WHY BLUE? PART I

In less than six months, I’ll have been a City supporter for 55 years, and I am, I suppose, among the oldest to submit a Why Blue? and to post on City sites. That’s a long time, with many memories, and because I’m interested in discovering more about why I em Blue, this will be quite long. I hope you’ll bear with me – in any case, if you’re like me, you hate seeing those results and tables coming up at the end of MCIVTA (why are they needed?) because it usually means it’s the end of an interesting read. I feel, too, that a bit of context, both personal and social, is needed to explain more fully how things were with City, with Manchester, and with me, in a time before many of you reading this were born.

In every human life most days are forgotten, some partly remembered, some recalled as a longer block of time (like a summer, or year). I would suggest that we all, at least by my age, have perhaps only 15 or 20 days which are of such significance to us that they change our lives, remain totally clear in their details, which we return to frequently in memory, and the deep emotions of which never fade. These are usually to do with our reactions to people close to us – deaths in the family, births, marriages, divorce, new job, big success or failure, moving to a new home, being humiliated or acclaimed, losing our virginty, etc. Some are more closely connected to outside events like war experiences, disasters, assassinations, accidents. Looking back, these very significant days are always there, available to us, sharp with detail and feeling, often intruding into our present thoughts and emotions, wonderful and golden, or dark and dismaying.

They are days which have made us who we are and which become touchstones of extreme intensity against which we measure the ordinariness of most of our lives. Why Blue? Mainly, in this wider context, because, of the, say, 25 most unforgettable and important days of my now longish life, City have given me two (and two “halves”), and that a team of professional sportsmen, playing a basically simple game, could be included in a list containing the birth of my children, deaths of parents and relatives, etc. is to me an amazing thing which requires notice, explanation and commemoration.

My family had been evacuated from Hull, where I was born, at the start of the second War, up the coast to Scarborough, where my mother, younger brother and I survived – my dad away in the RAF – some pretty close calls from bombs, cannon-fire and the general anxieties of war. When my father was finally demobbed in the autumn of 1946, he got a job in Manchester and we moved there in November of that year. I was just 10. After the Yorkshire seacoast, the city was a huge shock, and not the place many of you know today. Just briefly – grey air, smoky from coal fires in every house, steam trains, gaping bomb-sites all over the city with purple willow-herb growing in them, grey people, dressed in drab raincoats and jackets and grey trousers, always wearing a tie (or, for women, old dresses and out-of-style fashions), black shoes with leather or metal-studded soles making a clatter on the pavements, everyone in hats – men in cloth-cap or trilby, women in all sorts – nearly everyone smoking cigarettes at home, in buses, shops, the street, the cinema, shop windows with very little in them, rationing only slowly disappearing, queues at many places. Above all, I remember the lack of colour, the conformity, the dingy dull drabness of it all, relieved only by the wonderful bright red and cream of the Corporation buses (so much better than the ghastly hotch-podge of colours and companies you see in Manchester now), and the fact that many people whistled and even sang as they walked or biked around outside, far more than do so today (something to do with the pop music then being common to all ages and having a tune?). The streets were quiet, as ordinary working families could never afford a car. Trams were still rattling around on main roads, but were being phased out, as were, slowly, the cobbled streets. Hardly anybody went out for a meal, except to the local chippie; few had phones (we actually did – number was Rusholme 3801). What few cars there were mostly black pre-war models. People smelled of acrid underarm sweat and the Brylcreem or brilliantine on their hair – bath-night and hair-wash was, for many, once a week. Most men had only 2 or 3 shirts. But the war was over and things were slowly being rebuilt. Radio shows were funny or exciting, giving us all our catch-phrases, the cinemas were open and cheap, dance-halls flourished, and life, though limited and narrow in many ways, wasn’t bad. I was beginning to settle in at school, after the trauma of being admitted well after the other boys; my father was slowly getting the house furnished and establishing himself at work; the war slowly receded and we started to feel part of the Manchester suburbs, grey and boring though they certainly could be. Then came the first of the two significant days I talked about.

One Saturday, out of the blue, for it had never been discussed during the settling-in process, my father said to me: “Get your coat on, son – we’re going to a football match,” and at just after one o’clock, that March Saturday in 1947, we set off, walked the 5 minutes to West Point, where, to my surprise, four or five Crossley double-deckers were lined up, indicators saying simply “Football Match”, got on with all the other men, and 15 minutes later were standing in front of the vast red brick face of the main stand at Maine Road. I’d never seen so many people together in my life, milling around, queuing at different turnstiles, a policeman on a horse directing people and the few cars, kids waving big rattles, some crudely painted sky blue, and shouting, in little groups, their “2-4-6-8” and “When We Yell We Yell” chants, a man shouting “Programme, Programme of the Match, Programme”, a smart coach which someone near us said was the Birmingham City coach. It was electric to me, there in my dark blue mac, school socks round my ankles, eyes, I’m sure, wide as saucers. We queued up and got in the half-crown turnstile after a long wait – my father had chronic health problems on discharge from the RAF and couldn’t easily stand for a match – then started the climb up the steps to the very top of that great stand, and finding room on the brown benches for ourselves. I remember looking down and being totally amazed by the size of it all, the brilliant green grass (with muddy parts) and white markings, the enormous sweep of the open terracing, the number of people already there, with more visible from our high vantage point, hurrying on foot or bike down the streets leading to the ground, the dark blue and red metal signs over the two tunnels in the “popular side” reading “Always See Your Pictures At An HDM Theatre.” A small band, in dull, serge, Sally Ann-type uniforms, mostly men but at least one young girl with thin bare legs, playing, “Colonel Bogey”, “Nights of Gladness”, and other military marches just below us, standing on duckboards (I got to know their individual faces very well over the years, joined in the applause, the laughter and cheers as they marched round the pitch at half-time and the “conductor” threw his long silver staff in the air and sometimes dropped it. The Beswick Prize Band, God love ’em). An hour at least of waiting, my father telling me what to expect (I hadn’t known much about football during the war in Scarborough, and he had, coming from the North East, once watched the great Charlie Buchan at Roker Park), and the ground filling. 59,000, I’m told, that day, and this was in the old Second Division, which City were favoured to win, though Brum were dangerously close and our main rivals. We did win it that season.

Finally, gentle at first, growing in intensity, a roar opposite us and then all round the ground, and there were the pale sky-blue shirts, red numbers on their backs, the players running towards the Platt Lane goal, kicking three or four brown footballs. A huge man with black Brylcreemed hair, wearing a green roll-neck jersey and a grin you could see from where we were, waving to the crowd as they applauded him behind the goal. The other team greeted with quiet applause, but mainly silence. The only announcement all afternoon from the tannoy: “Ladies and Gentlemen, there are no team changes.” The kick-around the way it remained at least until Denis Law was signed – the 5 forwards, numbers 7-11, taking turns to shoot at the goal, the half-backs passing a ball around the three of them, and the two full backs doing the same. It’s hard, now, to explain the excitement of all this for a 10-year-old, there in this magic stadium with all the colour and noise, with the father he’d missed so much in the war. I shall never forget it. The match was great – City winning by the only goal – and I was astonished at the speed and skill of the players. I thought the roof would come down when they (or “we” by then) scored. There were only 8 policemen, 2 in their little dug-outs at each corner, and I remember seeing them standing and applauding, too. Occasionally there was a whistling from some section, and a waving of white handkerchiefs, and St. John’s amulancemen raced over to the spot with a stretcher, and someone was passed down over the heads of the crowd, or they went over the wall. Usually, in those still deprived days, it was cases of fainting after long standing and not too much food. Sometimes it was drink. Occasionally a minor scuffle. I was disappointed when the match was over and we went home, though my mother told me often afterwards that I came in with the biggest grin I’ve ever grinned that day…

RESULTS

Recent results from 15 October 2001 to 17 October 2001 inclusive.

17 October 2001

Nottingham Forest     0 - 0  Birmingham City       18,210
Rotherham United      0 - 0  Coventry City          6,582

16 October 2001

Crystal Palace        2 - 0  Bradford City         15,721
Manchester City       0 - 0  Sheffield United      32,454
Sheffield Wednesday   1 - 2  Preston North End     15,592
Stockport County      1 - 2  West Bromwich Albion   6,052
Wolverhampton Wndrs   0 - 1  Crewe Alexandra       22,569

League table to 17 October 2001 inclusive.

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  GD Pts
 1 Wolves          12  2  2  1  6  5  6  1  0 17  5  8  3  1 23 10  13  27
 2 Crystal Palace  11  6  0  1 21  5  2  0  2 10 11  8  0  3 31 16  15  24
 3 Burnley         12  3  1  1 16 11  4  0  3 11  8  7  1  4 27 19   8  22
 4 West Brom A.    12  4  0  3  8  4  3  1  1  8  6  7  1  4 16 10   6  22
 5 Norwich City    12  5  0  0 10  2  2  1  4  5 13  7  1  4 15 15   0  22
 6 Coventry City   12  2  1  2  6  5  4  2  1  8  4  6  3  3 14  9   5  21
 7 Manchester City 12  4  2  1 16  8  2  0  3 13 14  6  2  4 29 22   7  20
 8 Nottm Forest    12  5  2  0 11  4  0  2  3  1  4  5  4  3 12  8   4  19
 9 Portsmouth      12  3  0  2 11  8  2  3  2 11 10  5  3  4 22 18   4  18
10 Birmingham City 12  3  0  2 10  5  2  3  2  9 11  5  3  4 19 16   3  18
11 Millwall        11  3  0  1  9  3  2  2  3  7  9  5  2  4 16 12   4  17
12 Bradford City   12  4  0  3 18 14  1  2  2  4  6  5  2  5 22 20   2  17
13 Crewe Alex.     12  4  1  2  6  8  1  1  3  6 11  5  2  5 12 19  -7  17
14 Wimbledon       12  1  3  1  9  8  3  1  3 12 11  4  4  4 21 19   2  16
15 Sheff. United   13  2  3  2 10 10  1  4  1  4  5  3  7  3 14 15  -1  16
16 Preston N.E.    12  2  2  1  8  4  2  2  3  7 13  4  4  4 15 17  -2  16
17 Grimsby Town    13  2  2  2  5  6  2  1  4 10 18  4  3  6 15 24  -9  15
18 Watford         11  4  2  1 16 10  0  0  4  1  8  4  2  5 17 18  -1  14
19 Gillingham      11  3  0  3 13  8  1  1  3  4  9  4  1  6 17 17   0  13
20 Rotherham Utd.  13  1  4  2  7 10  1  1  4  6 11  2  5  6 13 21  -8  11
21 Walsall         12  2  2  3  5  7  0  1  4  5 13  2  3  7 10 20 -10   9
22 Barnsley        12  2  3  2 10 12  0  0  5  1 12  2  3  7 11 24 -13   9
23 Sheff. Wed.     13  0  3  3  5 12  1  2  4  6 13  1  5  7 11 25 -14   8
24 Stockport C.    12  0  1  4  5 10  1  3  3 13 16  1  4  7 18 26  -8   7

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[0] MCIVTA Addresses

 Articles (Heidi Pickup)        : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org

 News/rumour (Michael Leafield) : mplctid@aol.com

 Subscriptions (Geoff Donkin)   : subscriptions@mcivta.city-fan.org

 Technical problems (Paul)      : paul@city-fan.org

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. An alternate live commentary service, hosted by Yahoo, is located at: http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/foot/audio/live/schedule/index.html. 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

[8] 01/02 Season Match Day Theme Tune

The music the teams run out to at Maine Road this season is “Nightmare”, by Brainbug, and is available on the Positiva label.

[9] Acknowledgements

Thanks go to John Arnold for providing the information regarding match day music and to Ian Bell for pointing out the alternate live match commentary service.

DISCLAIMER
The views expressed in MCIVTA are entirely those of the subscribersand there is no intention to represent these opinions as being thoseof Manchester City Football Club, nor of any of the companies anduniversities by whom the subscribers are employed. It is not inany way whatsoever connected to the club or any other relatedorganisation and is simply a group of supporters using this mediumas a means of disseminating news and exchanging opinions.

Heidi Pickup, heidi@mcivta.freeserve.co.uk

Editor: