Newsletter #772

Message resent, including news summary; we have been experiencing some severe technical problems.

Apologies for the delay.

Next games: Crewe Alexandra, away, 3pm Saturday 22 December 2001
West Bromwich Albion, home, 3pm Wednesday 26 December 2001

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NEWS SUMMARY

General News

Premiership Two Plans Dealt Fatal Blow: A second tier for the Premiership seems increasingly unlikely following the Premiership clubs’ emphatic rejection of the “Phoenix League” proposals. At a meeting last week, the Premiership’s 20 chairmen last night rejected the proposal by 19 votes to one, while they also expressed a wish to cut the number of clubs in the Premiership to 18. Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said that there was already a way for a club to get in and out of the top division, and that was through the “three up, three down” system. He was also dismissive of the need to bring Scottish giants Rangers and Celtic into English football.

Young Blues Stars on England Duty: Both Lee Croft and Dorryl Proffitt played for England’s Under-17 side in Lisbon last week, helping the side to a 1-1 draw with Portugal. Croft earned favourable mentions in reports for his long, mazy dribble past a number of opponents, getting to the byline and crossing for England’s equaliser.

Youth Cup Data Confirmed: The City youngsters’ FA Youth Cup fourth round clash with Gillingham will take place at Hyde United’s Ewen Fields on Wednesday, January 16. The young Blues beat Burnley 3-0 in their third round tie at Maine Road earlier this month.

Reserves Action: The 1-0 defeat by Newcastle’s Reserves last Thursday meant that the Blues lost second place in the FA Premier Reserve League to Newcastle. Paulo Wanchope and Alfie Haaland each completed 45 minutes at Ewen Fields, with Richard Edghill and Paul Dickov also named in the team. The team returned to winning ways a few days later however in the Manchester Senior Cup. Following their wins against Bury and the Rags earlier in the competition, City triumphed on Wednesday night, winning 4-2 at Oldham’s Boundary Park. The scorers were Leon Mike, Chris Shuker and Chris Killen (2).

Paulo Collects World Award! David Beckham may have failed to pick up the “World Player of the Year” award this week, but one City Boy was triumphant. Paulo Wanchope was in Zürich to pick up the award for his national team, as Costa Rica were named as the ‘Most Improved Team’. During the secondary phase of the World cup qualifiers, Costa Rica played 10 games, winning seven, drawing two and losing only one. They qualified for the finals ahead of such nations as Mexico and the USA.

Second Team Fixture Changes: Two reserve fixtures have had their dates re-arranged. The Blues’ second string will now meet Bolton at Ewen Fields on Monday, January 14, twenty four hours earlier than planned. Meanwhile, the reserves’ game at home to Leeds has been put back 48 hours to Thursday, January 24 from its original date of Tuesday, January 22.

Transfer News and Gossip

May Interests City? Press speculation would have us believe that a replacement for the Africa Nations Cup bound Lucien Mettomo may be available in the form of Rags’ Reserve David May. May has hardly featured in the first team this season, and almost joined Southampton for £500,000 earlier this season. This may be a fanciful link because City should have plenty of defensive cover by Mettomo’s absence in January. City have Paul Ritchie and Alfie Haaland back on the road to recovery, Stuart Pearce may well be fit by then, and Steve Howie is already fully recovered.

Slovenian Set for Blackburn: City face competition from Blackburn Rovers for the signature of Slovenian Striker Milan Osterc. Osterc’s agent confirmed that both City and Rovers had made initial enquiries for the £1 million-rated Slovenian, but neither club have pursued their interest. She also talked up the possibility of a loan deal with the Ewood Park club, saying “I would be surprised if Hapoel were not open to the possibility of releasing the player for a trial spell because his contract is due to expire at the end of the season and he would then be available on a free transfer.”

Who Wants to Buy a Genius? According to one report this week, Georgian genius Georgi Kinkladze is being chased by Valencia and (wait for it) City. Kinkladze is quoted as saying “My agent informed me about Valencia’s interest in me. I was told about City’s interest in bringing me to Manchester where I spent the best years of my career. I am not very attracted by the idea of playing in the English First Division. But I hope that City will move up to the Premier league soon.” No sooner were these quotes posted on the ‘net than Kinky’s lawyer was hotly denying them. Quite how much truth there is in this story remains to be seen, as Kevin Keegan already has two midfield playmakers in Eyal and Ali, players who work well within the team structure.

Ex-Blues’ News

Sir Joe on City’s Prospects: Since entering legal dispute with his former employers, Joe Royle has been quiet on his old club’s promotion prospects. That silence was broken last week during his work as a TV pundit for ITV Granada. Big Joe stated “It looks as if they’re the strongest side in the division, along with Burnley. I think it’s down to five or six teams for the top two places, but I would expect City to be among them. Certainly they’re going to score enough goals.” Royle was also quick to praise the progress made by Shaun Wright-Phillips. “When Shaun first came into the team he did exceptionally well and I think he’s getting some of that back now. He’s not afraid to shoot and now that he’s got his first goal, there could be more to follow.”

Greenacre in Demand: City’s former reserve team striker Chris Greenacre is currently a man in demand. Greenacre, who has scored twenty goals this season for Mansfield, is said to be the subject of interest from Millwall. Mansfield have rejected bids so far from Stockport and Wigan for the 23 year-old.

Reactions and Comments

Home Form Vital – Keegan: Kevin Keegan is pleased with the form his side have shown so far, and believes City’s home form as the important factor. “I see more confidence about the place now. You have to remember they were a side relegated from the Premiership and one that had conceded a lot of goals. There is more confidence this season playing at Maine Road and I think our home record will be the key this time. It has been good so far, and what we have done at home this season is promotion form. We have got to make Maine Road a fortress.”

Horlock on a High: Two goals in as many games, have propelled Kevin Horlock back into the first team spotlight. The other Super Kev at Maine Road, the boss, revealed “He came to see me about a month ago and said he needed to be playing at his age. I told him I thought he had an important rôle to play. I didn’t realise how important until the last two or three weeks. He’s been excellent.” Horlock said: “I am enjoying my football. It has gone well for me in recent games. I have been a regular, which obviously helps and I am doing okay. We have been having a good run and fingers crossed we’ll be up there in the top two at the end of the season.”

Bradford Reaction: KK’s thoughts on the performance against Bradford: “We didn’t start well, in fact, Bradford started very well and we were on the back foot and found ourselves a goal down to a set-piece which was a wake-up call. I think we deserved to win because we created so many chances although we missed a lot. If you create that many you have got it half right and the lads who missed them today don’t normally do that. The front two didn’t look like scoring today and missed a few, but it shows we are not one dimensional and we are finding others to hit the net.” KK was pleased that substitute Paulo Wanchope made it through the last 15 minutes of the game. “I was a little bit concerned about having Paulo on the bench because I was wondering what would happen if one of the forwards pulled a muscle after 5 minutes. I didn’t know whether Paulo had 90 minutes in him and the answer was probably no but he had a good last 15 minutes and he even managed to kick one off the line with a bit of juggling.” On City’s longer term prospects, Keegan was upbeat. “We could be top in the New Year, but I would prefer to be there in April – that’s the aim. With the character we’ve shown in the past week we will have a say in the championship and the top two places.”

Luci Leaves Soon: Cameroon defender Lucien Mettomo leaves soon for the African Nations’ Cup in January, but he hopes he’s made a good impression here by the time he goes. Scoring his first ever goal for the club against Bradford must help that aim. “This is a big club and in a big club you have to be a winner. If you are not a winner then you will not get your place in the side,” remarked Mettomo. “My goal was a good thing for me and for the team. I like to score but I know I need to defend well first. I know I have to try my best as we aim for promotion. We are in second spot, but we want to be in first place.” said the defender. “The problem is that I am going away for a month and I know that other players will be chasing my place. I am very settled here now and just want to give my best for the club. I hope now that we can get to the top in the next few weeks and feel that we can get promotion. We are the best team in this division so we have to get promotion.”

Squad News

Psycho to Return Soon: Stuart Pearce is convinced that he will be back playing shortly, but is adamant that this will be the last season he plays. “The physio, Rob Harris, quickly diagnosed the injury as a five to six week hamstring strain and at the moment I have had no setbacks,” Pearce said, putting him on course for a return against Swindon in the FA Cup on January 5. “The fact that I am probably in the last few months of my career makes it even more important that I get back to playing as quickly as possible,” he continued. “As far as I can see if the club get up, I would think, looking at it as coldly as I can, we would need a better player than myself.”

Weaver Back in Favour: Having publicly reproached Nicky Weaver and dropped him from the Wolves squad, Kevin Keegan clearly felt the point had been made. Weaver was back on the bench for the Bradford game. Sunday’s game with Bradford also saw welcome comebacks for three long term injury casualties. Boss Kev used the 3-1 win to give run outs in the latter stages to Paulo Wanchope, Alfie Haaland and Paul Ritchie. The trio’s return to first team action could not come at a better time, as Keegan will need all the fit personnel he can get as City enter the busy Christmas period.

Eyal Be Back! It seems that news of Mr Berkovic’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Having limped off eight minutes from time against Wolves, there were fears that Eyal had pulled his hamstring and would not play again this year. Physio Rob Harris then stated that the injury was not as serious as first thought, and that Eyal might play against Bradford. This proved a tad optimistic, but Berkovic could be ready to play next week.

Edghill’s Tribute to Fans: Richard Edghill produced a storming performance against Bradford as an attcking right wing-back – he even carved out a great chance to score in the first half. Edgy was quick to praise the fans, “I think the reception I received from the fans was brilliant,” he told the official site. “This season especially I sense a change. They have been great to me. I have had some bad times in the past and some rubbish thrown at me, but I feel they are right behind me now and I appreciate that. It is also good for team spirit.”

Drinking Culture? What Drinking Culture? Part I: Hot on the heels of Nicky Weaver’s travails comes news of another City player in trouble with the management. Jeff Whitley has, according to “The People” newspaper, been told to stay away from the club for a fortnight for an alleged breach of club discipline. It’s alleged that Jeff turned up at Carrington with alcohol on his breath. Whitley is unable to play at the moment, as he is recovering from a broken ankle. The crackdown continued after the Bradford match, where it’s alleged that Kevin Keegan stopped Richard Dunne receiving his Man-of-the-Match award of a bottle of champagne.

Alfie’s Injury: One of the few highlights of last season may have been Roy Keane’s sending off in the derby match, but his challenge on Alfie Haaland left the Norwegian international with the worst injury of his career. Alfie hasn’t figured in the Blues’ starting eleven since last April. The cartilage damage he suffered has taken longer to heal than first anticipated. “It’s been a long time,” Haaland said. “I’ve never really missed any real amount of games with injury before so this has been a new and unpleasant experience.” After undergoing surgery during the summer, Haaland assumed he was back on the road to full fitness after playing 45 minutes against the Reserves in the beginning of October. The injury, though, flared up after that game and he was forced under the knife once again to see what the root of the problem was. Hopefully the worst is over for Alfie, following his short appearance against Bradford at the weekend.

Team News for Crewe Match: Richard Dunne’s fifth booking of the season at Millwall means the Irishman is unavailable for the trip to Gresty Road to face Crewe. Kevin Keegan has to choose between Alfie Haaland, Paul Ritchie and Steve Howie to fill Dunne’s central defensive berth. Stuart Pearce is definitely out, while Danny Tiatto, Eyal Berkovic and Danny Granville are doubtful. Christian Negouai has served his one match ban and is available for selection. Darren Huckerby is just one booking away from a suspension, so it remains to be seen if KK starts with Paulo Wanchope as the Goat’s partner.

Drinking Culture? What Drinking Culture? Part II: Today’s reports now have Steve Howey implicated along with Jeff Whitley in alleged drinking misdemeanours. It’s reported that Kevin Keegan caught the pair drinking in a Manchester pub at 4.00pm, breaking club rules. As mentioned above, Whitley received a fortnight’s suspension from the club, while Howie has been fined two weeks’ wages. Howie’s punishment was less severe as it is a “first offence”.

Don Barrie (djb1305@yahoo.co.uk)

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MATCH REPORT: MCFC 3 BRADFORD CITY 1

I was convinced before this game that we’d already played Bradford at their place earlier in the season and beaten them (2-0 I thought, at least one goal from Goater) so therefore this game was going to be a walkover. I’m not sure which season I’m living in at the moment, but I was wrong on both accounts. Is that because Bradford were better than I thought or because City were having one of their oh-so-often bad hair days? Well… City lined up with Nash in goal, Edghill, Mettomo, Dunne, Wiekens, Horlock, Etuhu, SWP, Benarbia, Goater and Huckerby. All sorts of people we haven’t seen for a while were on the bench – as well as Weaver there was Wanchope, Ritchie, Haaland and some bloke we’d never heard of called Glen Whelan. Who?

City started pretty badly, and it wasn’t long before Bradford had the ball in the net. The ball came across from the right hand side and a Bradford player rose unmarked to knock the ball in the net. Luckily for all involved (on the City side anyway), the linesman had seen the foul on Nash as the ball was crossed and so was vigorously waving his flag by the time the ball crossed the line. Especially luckily as the ref (despite being a damn sight closer than the linesman) hadn’t seen a thing. Bradford weren’t too happy, but tough. Unfortunately this didn’t serve to give City the wake up call they needed. We were pretty poor in the first 20 minutes – constantly giving the ball away in midfield (Ali B in particular) and looking incapable of knocking more than two or three passes together. It wasn’t helped by the fact that Keegan had moved players into completely different positions to those they’d been playing in in recent weeks – SWP was playing on the left, as was Etuhu, Dunne had gone back to centre back as Edghill was back, Ali B looked as if he wanted to be sitting on a beach somewhere… So, as usual when watching City, it wasn’t too much of a surprise when Bradford took the lead for real this time. Sharpe took a free kick, which he placed into the box, Ward leapt for it along with Dunne and the ball went in the net. The announcer gave the goal to Ward but it looked to us as if it came off Dunne’s head – unlucky for the lad if that were the case.

Would City now wake up? Erm – well sort of. They did start to play a bit better, and to get the ball at least into the Bradford half. The main architect of the improvement was – wait for it – you aren’t going to believe this – none other that Richard Dunne. Now Dunne’s had a bit of unfair stick dished out to him over recent weeks while he’s been playing at full back. It seems sometimes that people look at the size of him and assume he’s gong to be slow, and he isn’t. It wasn’t his speed that was the best bit of his game on Sunday though, it was his passing. He was praying balls all over the pitch, especially for Edghill and Huckerby to run on to, the quality of which someone like Figo would be more than happy with. Amazing. Who taught him to pass? Why can’t they teach Horlock?

Edghill was having a fine game – whoever’s been working on Dunne’s passing with him has obviously been working on Edgy’s close control. There aren’t many players in our team who can receive a 50 yard pass without it pinging off their foot in some random direction (see Shaun Goater and his amazing 50p feet for details) but Edgy was managing it on Sunday. His crossing was better too, it was just a shame Huckerby and Goater were having the sort of games they were on Sunday. The equaliser, when it finally did come, was probably deserved. Ali B took a free kick from the left hand side just in front of the North Stand, which he hit hard and high into the box for Mettomo to leap salmon-like (damn big salmon, must have been imbibing some pollution from the North Sea) and head it into the net. Apparently he was completely unmarked in the six yard box (I can’t see that far so can’t confirm) so it’s nice to know we aren’t the only team capable of defending like a Sunday pub team!

So half time 1-1, dodgy performance, was the emergency hairdresser going to be called into the dressing room to fix the pervading coiffure problems? Well luckily yes. As we’ve seen so many times before, in the second half City looked like a football team. How does Kevin do this? Do they put something in the tea at half time to make people play better? If so why can’t they give it to them before the game? It was all City at the start of the second half as they piled forward looking for a goal. When it came, it was again made by Ali B. He took a corner from the left in front of the Gene Kelly Mark 2 stand, which fell to Horlock on the edge of the area. Time stopped. Kev leant to his right and lifted his left foot off the ground. Everyone in Platt Lane ran for cover. “KEEEEEP IT DOOOOOOWN” was the cry from the Kippax. Kev swivelled to his right, left foot still suspended in the air. There was a resounding thud as Kev’s size 10s met the airborne sack of leather. Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Goal! We laughed at the time as we thought he’d completely miskicked it – I’m still not convinced that he didn’t (and nor are the people in Platt Lane who get bruised by Super Kev’s shots on a regular basis) but it didn’t half look good on telly later. I especially liked the way it went through the defender’s legs on the line.

Bradford did come back almost straight away – Sharpe was let loose by a quality pass that was almost worthy of Richard Dunne, but completely spannered it when he had the chance to score. Does he still do that stupid dance with the corner flag? Will we ever know?! It wasn’t too surprising when City scored their third, although the source may have been a little unusual. This time is was Little Shaun who got the ball on the edge of the area – not too far from where Kev had scored his from. At the time we thought he’d just (“just” ha ha) volleyed it into the net, but this was a goal of sheer brilliance. He received it with one foot, flicked it forward, headed it gently towards his other foot while skipping past the despairing defender, and then volleyed it into the net. It did take a deflection from another Bradford defender, but I doubt Davison would have been able to save it. It truly was a goal his dad would have been proud of. Keegan referred to him as a “prolific goal scorer” after the game; if he carries on like this he’s capable of scoring, ooh let me think, at least 3 by the end of the season!

That was it for the goals. There could have been more – Ali B showed why he doesn’t play up front when he didn’t throw himself at a ball right in front of goal, Goater missed one golden chance, Huckerby got caught offside at least a dozen times. Wanchope came on for Goater (who had not been having a good game), Ritchie and Haaland for Etuhu and SWP so it was good to see those three back. Wanchope got back and defended well late on in the game, which isn’t something he’s particularly renowned for doing! The ref went through the whole game without booking anyone, which was nice to see, and unusual. A good win – we needed the points as Wolves had also won earlier in the day. And once again we came from behind to win a game. This wasn’t a great performance by any standards but do you care? I certainly don’t. Merry Christmas all.

Sharon Hargreaves

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OPINION: BENT SPOONS’N’RESULTS

Thought all MCIVTA subscribers might like to know that in the crucial period coming up where a series of good results might help us on our way to the Premiership, my mate Darrell is coming up from London, and is coming to Burnley and West Brom. He doesn’t get to matches very often, but when he does it is usually a fine day for the opposition. I last saw him on a sunny day in Manchester when the Wombles came to town; anybody remember the score? He then graced the team with his presence at Crystal Palace, another fine result. Last season he managed Chelsea, Arsenal, Charlton and Leeds, all at home. He claims not to have seen them win for over three years, in fact so long that he can’t remember the team or the occasion!

I am going to go the whole hog and will be wearing the lucky combination of 60’s home shirt, new home shirt and ’94 hooded top that has worked so well in recent matches; we’ve won every time I wear it. Was just wondering if anyone else out there was as sad as myself and feels the need to wear lucky shirts, trousers, y-fronts etc., and do they feel able to share with us all their secrets. Was also wondering if we all wear our lucky clothes etc. whether it would be sufficient to defeat Maine Road’s equivalent to the Toon’s London hoodoo? [But apparently Mr Geller helped them out of that! – Ed]

Richard Lord (richard_lord@talk21.com)

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MATCH VIEWS: MCFC vs. BRADFORD CITY & MCFC vs. CRYSTAL PALACE

After 30 years of supporting City from South Africa, I never believed I would ever see City play live due to a very weak SA rand vs. the pound, flight difficulties and the task of getting tickets, but thanks to Adrian and Andrew from the London supporters’ club the latter was made possible. Once the tickets were secured we soon overcame the other two problems.

My son and I arrived in London the Wednesday after the Millwall game only to read the first newspaper headline “… no City fans allowed to attend Millwall game”. It all sounded and looked very positive! The next issue we had to resolve was trying to explain to the customs official that we had come to England to see Manchester City play; she replied “Nobody would come all this way to see Man. City play.”

Match day 8.12.2001 arrived, and, like lost and confused tourists, we set off early to find Selhurst Park. At Euston station we saw a group of City fans, introduced ourselves and tagged onto them. By 11am we were in a pub full of City and Palace fans exchanging football stories, out singing the Palace fans (not that I knew the words too well) and drinking lots of lager. One thing I learned very quickly, City might be in the 1st Division but their fans drink in the Premier League; however, some of our boys need to sharpen up on their geography – one bloke kept asking me where in Australia is South Africa?

Kick off was delayed 15 minutes due to the large crowd, which the City fans repeatedly told the Palace fans by singing to them “You’re only here because of City”. When the players ran out onto the pitch the first player that struck me was Dunne; he looked more like a rugby union forward than a footballer, but he soon showed me what a good, solid footballer he is.

When the game started I was freezing; where I live the temperature never goes below 15 degrees centigrade. I thought I have travelled all this way only to die of frostbite in the stands. The stadium is an all seater, so why did we all stand? Anyway, it was not long into the game and the cold became a thing of the past as we verbally abused the referee, the linesman and most of all the Palace supporters.

Huckerby looked exciting at times but his final ball was always a bit misdirected. Wiekens I thought was very cultured on the ball but seemed to go AWOL when defending at a set piece. Wright-Phillips got caught in possession a few times in the first half but had a very good second half.

Spirits were low at half time, two very soft goals. The second half was all City. I dont recall Nash having anything to do but try as City did, with every Palace player behind the ball no gaps could be found to penetrate the defence; the ball went square, square and square again. Goater did pull one back but that second goal would just not come in spite of all the vocal support from the away fans.

Back at our hotel pub we were having a quiet drink when four gents arrived for a pint; they were the boxer Ricky Hatton’s promoter and back up team. I thought this is crazy, there are only 6 people in this pub and all 6 are City fans, so once again there was much discussion about City, can KK take us back to the Premier League, who should be in goal, Nash or Weaver etc.

Bradford at Maine Road 16.12.2001

Life’s ambition finally achieved. Our tickets were in the North stand row 15 with a good view of the ground and near the action. The atmosphere was everything I had ever imagined and more.

When Dunne put one into our own net I thought all this way and no City win. Thankfully fortunes changed and the rest is history.

Ali Benarbia is something special, again Wiekens impressed (although I was told by the guy next to me he is not some of the City fans’ favourite son). Kevin Horlock’s goal is one I will remember for a long time. Richard Edghill played well and Paulo Wanchope looked good even after a long layoff.

With an exchange rate of 18 to 1, I am not sure if I will ever see City play live again but this trip is one I will treasure for the next 30 years.

Justin Arthur (jarthur@mweb.co.za)

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OPINION: BLACK AND RED SHIRTS

In response to Lance Thomson’s comments on the return of the red and black away shirts, I don’t think he nor the website http://www.fromtheterrace.co.uk/mancity/ need waste their time trying to force the issue by campaigning for the return of this shirt next season. It won’t happen! How do I know, you may well be wondering? I broached this very subject from the same angle as Lance only this afternoon with someone who knows a thing or two about these things and I have been led to believe that whilst it is highly unlikely to be next season’s new away kit, we can look forward to seeing its return when the time is right. I get the impression that for sourcing and manufacturing purposes these things are planned well in advance (unless, of course you’re Kappa!).

Draw your own conclusions from that, but for what it’s worth I myself would welcome a return to this kit as a) it’s recognised by many City fans as the away kit, b) it’s been successful and c) it would rule out the need for a third kit or any other third rate purple/maroon/yellow/silver abomination or combination thereof!

Noel Bayley (noelbayley@iname.com)

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OPINION: STATS

According to traditional City form this game has to be a banker defeat for the Blues…

Great wins against rivals (Wolves & Bradford in this case) are traditionally followed by steps onto banana skins. For example: Palace vs. City – City with 2 away league victories on the trot and Palace on a roll of 5 games without a win could only have one result.

I wonder if Kev can ever stop us from regularly indulging in this form of slip up?

Yours, Anorak – Richard Mottershead (richardjohnm@hotmail.com)

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OPINION: CITY ON SKY

With regards to Francis Long’s piece in MCIVTA 771, the link he gave was for the frequency to get Granada on Sky, not ITV Sport. The Bradford game was broadcast on Granada.

ITV Sport is not available on the Sky platform as yet, though rumour has it that it will be shortly.

Madeleine Hawkins (Madeleine.Hawkins@btinternet.com)

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REQUEST: DIRECTIONS?

I used to go to a site that had directions for travel to all the grounds in the UK, but for some reason (maybe it’s been discontinued) I can’t locate it now. Does anyone have the web address of this, or a similar site? Failing that can someone please send me directions from the M1 to Sheff. Utd’s ground?

CTID, Mick (Koolfurmick@aol.com)

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MCIVTA FAQ [v1.6]

[0] MCIVTA Addresses

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

 News/rumour (Don Barrie)       : djb1305@yahoo.co.uk

 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] Goals on the Net

http://citygoals.topcities.com/ has available for download, usually within 24-48 hours of a game being played, all the goals from City’s matches.

[9] 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.

[10] 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.

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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.

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

Editor: