Newsletter #816

Tonight sees Don’s news round-up, opinion on season review, signings, plenty of info on the Hamburg friendly and a few requests.

Please note that I will be taking a break next week and Paul Howarth is kindly stepping forward for issues 817 and 818, so contributions direct to him on the editor@mcivta.city-fan.org address please.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

Pearce Rôle Highlighted: Chairman David Bernstein has been talking this week about Stuart Pearce’s new duties at the club, as well as paying tribute to the recently retired skipper. The Chairman foresees an increasing range of duties for Psycho as he settles in to his new position. “Stuart will work closely with Derek Fazackerley, as he is the head coach and will have a key rôle,” said Bernstein. “It might be too that he will spend a certain amount of time working on liaison matters with the Academy, though I am not quite sure about that yet. That will be a very important rôle, as we are keen to see the Academy as close as it can be to the first team. Stuart may spend some time there but at the start it will mainly be a coaching rôle.” DB can see a bright future for Pearce, “If he wants to become a manager in the future, I am sure he will,” said the Blues supremo. “Stuart has got tremendous experience and a great personality to go with it. In my dealings with him, I have been very impressed. He has got strength of character. I think he will have great opportunities to go down the management road. But the most important thing for us was to secure Stuart’s future here and now. He is delighted, we are delighted and it is great plus for the club that he has decided to stay. I think having someone of his ability and experience on board has so many advantages, whether it is directly coaching or the general influence he brings to bear.”

Further Friendlies Announced: City’s pre-season fixtures officially kick off in July in Denmark, giving Peter Schmeichel, Nilcas Jensen, Kevin Stuhr Ellegard and Mikkel Bischoff a nice trip home into the bargain. The mini tour begins on Wednesday 24 July in the FC Aarhus Stadium with a three-team tournament between City, Aarhus and Silkeborg. The teams play against each other in three 45-minute long games. City then play HFK Sonderjylland on Friday 26 July before returning to England. The re-arranged schedule is as follows:

Date         Opposition         Venue              K.O.
Wed 24th Jul FC Aarhus          Silkeborg Aarhus   7.00pm
Fri 26th Jul HFK Sonderjylland  Haderslev Stadium  6.30pm
Tue 30th Jul Preston North End  Deepdale           7.45pm
Wed 31st Jul Bury               Gigg Lane          7.45pm
Sat  3rd Aug Hamburg            AOL Arena          6.00pm
Mon  5th Aug Rochdale           Spotland           7.45pm
Tue  6th Aug Tranmere Rovers    Prenton Park       7.45pm

Oldham Dispute: Oldham Athletic are none too chuffed with City this week, after the Blues signed two boys, aged nine and thirteen, who were registered with the Latics. Oldham would like suitable compensation from the Blues for losing Ryan Hanson and Micah Richards. Oldham Chief Executive Alan Hardy said: “It is disappointing to lose two players who were both exciting prospects in this way. The settlement that we are looking for from Manchester City is not excessive, but we believe that we should be compensated for the loss of these players. If we cannot come to a satisfactory agreement with Manchester City, we may need to involve the Football League.”

At the Ambassador’s Residence… Mrs. Goater is hopefully stocking up on the Ferrer Rocher chocolates, because our own Shaun has been appointed Bermudian attach