Newsletter #820

As you can see, the fixtures for 2002/03 season have just been announced and are listed here to whet the appetite. Unsurprisingly our last game of the season is at home, against far-flung Southampton, ensuring maximum attendance by Blues! Cue ticket requests.

Tonight sees plenty of opinion, requests and an offer of some tickets(!) and Don is back with his weekly news round-up.

Danish bacon sandwiches at the ready on Saturday then, folks.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

Fixtures Out: The Premiership fixtures appeared this week, and it was good to see the proof of our return to the top division. The full fixture list is printed at the end of this summary. Highlights include an opening game at Leeds United and a final game at home to Southampton. The derby games with the Reds take place at Maine Road on November 9 and at O.T. on February 8.

Eastlands Preview: Mancunian-based Blues might be interested to know that you can get a sneaky-peaky at the new mega stadium over the weekend of June 15 and 16. The Commonwealth Games trials will take place at the City of Manchester Stadium on Saturday and Sunday, and in the advert I read, you are entitled to a 20% discount if you utter the immortal words “I am a Manchester City fan”. The booking line number is 0870 4444440.

Bury Fixture: City have confirmed that they will send a team to face Bury at Gigg Lane on Wednesday July 31. The Shakers have suffered severe financial hardship in the last few months, having teetered on the brink of extinction. The friendly is aimed at raising funds for the Division Two club.

Transfer News and Gossip

Foe Woe as Deal Goes Slow: In three days we had three different reports on the progress in signing Marc-Vivien Foe from Olympique Lyon. On Friday, the French club announced that the Cameroon international was about to join the Blues in a year long loan deal. A statement from the French club read “Foe should sign a contract in the next few days which would take him to Manchester City for a year in the Premiership. There will be the option of purchasing the player after a year since Marc is still under contract with Olympique Lyonnais for two years. An agreement between the two clubs was found and the Cameroon player should make the decision soon.” Saturday brought a swift denial from City, which appeared on the club website: “City have dampened the speculation by confirming that no deal has been done with the player, currently at the World Cup, or his club. Foe has been one of a number of players linked with a move to Maine Road, and although the player has made favourable noises towards returning to the Premiership, City stress no deal has yet been reached.” The Sunday press then suggested a permanent deal was about to be sealed for the midfielder. Lyon had agreed a “pay as you play” deal, with the fee eventually reaching £5 million, once personal terms are agreed. Cameroon’s early exit from the World Cup on Tuesday has led to speculation that a deal for Foe will be worked out shortly.

What a Difference a Goal Makes: The other defensive midfielder in City’s sights seems to have been priced out of our reach. Before the World Cup, Ipswich’s Mattie Holland was attracting bids of between £3.5 and £5 million. Since scoring an excellent goal for Ireland against Cameroon, Holland’s value has shot up to £10 million, a figure that might put the Blues off making a bid. Ipswich chairman David Sheepshanks would dearly love to hang on to his star, but the financial realities of life back in the Nationwide League may force a different outcome. “He is our captain, an excellent player, and we don’t want to lose him,” commented Sheepshanks. “We have had no bids or enquiries from City or anyone else yet. We are, however, assessing our situation after relegation from the Premiership. We are under no pressure to sell, but if a substantial bid was made for any of our players, then it would have to be considered. But I hope I’m never in a position to consider an offer for Matt.” Other interested parties are said to be Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Charlton Athletic and Serie A club Torino.

Stand by Your Goat: The Sunday tabloids report that Wolves have been given permission to speak to Shaun Goater, but both clubs have distanced themselves from such talk. Wolves’ Chief Executive Jez Moxey insists that they have not even discussed moving in again for Goater. He said: “We have made no bid for the player. Even if he is available I would not want people to assume we were going to buy him just because we tried to get him last summer.” Boss Man Kev meanwhile says he wants to keep the Bermudian hero. “Shaun Goater deserves the chance to prove he can score goals in the Premiership again”.

Ritchie a Wanted Man: Paul Ritchie may well be leaving Maine Road soon, but the chances are he’ll be plying his trade nearby. Lancashire based rivals Preston and Burnley are reportedly chasing the signature of the Scottish defender. Ritchie’s former international coach Craig Brown is now in charge at Preston, and are favourites for Paul’s signature. Local rivals Burnley are now being mentioned as a possible destination, with the Turf Moor club commenting that “Stan Ternent is a fan of Ritchie and may look to add him to his squad this summer.”

Keown a Target: Here’s a new name for us to ponder – following the retirement of Stuart Pearce, KK is reported to be considering a bid for Arsenal’s Martin Keown, a mere youngster at 35 years old. Keown, currently in Japan with the England squad, has reportedly turned down a one year contract at Highbury, and a two year deal with Newcastle United. The defender was a frequent member of the Boss Man’s England teams, so the press think that City will make a move to sign the player on a Bosman free transfer.

Bits & Pieces: Ipswich Town Boss George Burley has revealed that Kevin Keegan made an offer last season for defender Titus Bramble, which was rejected by the Suffolk club. Alleged City target Clint Mathis scored for the USA against South Korea in the World Cup on Monday, but could not have impressed Mr. Keegan, the originator of the bubbly perm, with his ridiculous “Mohawk” hairstyle. Sunderland have beaten City and Aston Villa to secure the services of York City teenager Lee Grant. Leicester City’s Muzzy Izzet has been mentioned as a candidate for “Kev’s one last signing” of the pre-season period.

Reactions and Comments

Dynamic Duo: Kevin Keegan was back from his holidays this week, and was back in fine verbal fettle. He began with his thoughts on the new strike partnership of Nicolas Anelka and Vicente Vuoso. Keegan said: “Whatever you say about Nicolas Anelka, his goalscoring record was tremendous at Arsenal. He’s still only 23 and he’s got a lot to offer us. I don’t think you’ll find too many people at Arsenal saying he did a bad job for them. Real Madrid didn’t work out for him, but he still scored goals at PSG and I know people are amazed that Liverpool didn’t grab him when they could. We just jumped in straight away and we were very keen to have him. There’s a risk in signing any player, but what we try and do is minimise those risks. I look at his goals record and his pace. Pace and goals are what forward players are all about in the Premiership.” On Vuoso, KK said, “Vuoso is a lot different to the other strikers we’ve got here, he’ll come and link up the play and come off the front two as well,” said Kevin. “We had a tape sent to us then sent someone over there to watch him in two games, and he did very well in a struggling side. Then we got more tapes to find out what he’s really about before we put together the bones of the deal. I think we’re buying potential here, he’s a future Argentine international, he’s at under-21 level at the moment and they generally always make the step up. If he does well here he’ll enhance his own credentials. He’s a very exciting acquisition for us.”

Forward Planning: Keegan has made it clear that he would like to make one more pre-season signing. This has increased speculation that a defensive midfielder is top of KK’s shopping list. He is also well pleased with the six first team strikers he has at his disposal. “I’m very happy with the way things have gone and I expect to make one more signing before the start of the season. I think our fans will see Anelka’s signing as a real big step in the right direction. We have now got six forwards that could be the envy of any club in the world. The best thing about the six strikers is they’re all different. The challenge is there now for all the players at this club. I wouldn’t want to say that someone would play very well with so and so, it’s up to them now. I have my ideas, but it could be Macken, Vuoso, Wanchope etc. up there (with Anelka). We may play 4-3-3 next season, we’ll have a look at all that in the close season. Shaun Goater deserves the chance to prove he can score goals in the Premiership again, Huckerby’s done it before with Coventry in the Premiership, Jon Macken is unproven in the Premiership but he’s only 24 and he’s scored goals at every other level, so it’s a challenge now for him.”

It’s Official – Keegan Excited: And finally, in his State of the Nation address, Our Kev reckoned that the early finish of the League programme for the World Cup had refreshed both himself and his squad ahead of the fun in the Premiership. “The only good thing about being in the First Division is that it finished early this year.” said Keegan. “So whilst everyone else was playing in the Cup final, the Premiership or in the play-offs we were able to just watch, which was quite nice. I think we earned that right to relax by the way we played and the goals we scored – especially the way we finished the season. I’m really looking forward to the start of the season, it promises to be very exciting!”

Squad News

Reg Talks to 2 Clubs: Richard Edghill has made a low-key departure from Maine Road this week, after KK revealed that he would not be offering a new contract to the 27-year-old. The boss offered Edgy the chance to say his own farewell to the fans with a chance to play the last few minutes of the Portsmouth game, but Edghill declined the suggestion. Reports suggest that Edghill is having talks with both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic. Wolves’ boss David Jones tried to sign the player on transfer deadline day, and is thought to be favourite to land the Oldham born player. I’m grateful to teamtalk.com for the following nugget – Edghill is the last City player to score a goal at Wembley, as he scored our final penalty in the 1999 Play Off Final, before Nicky Weaver’s save won the day. Good luck Reg, let’s hope you find a decent club and enjoy the rest of your career.

World Cup Blues

Danes Top Their Group: The French may now be regretting the exclusion of Nicolas Anelka from their squad, as Denmark caused one of the sensations of the 2002 World Cup by beating France 2-0 in Group A. This put the reigning world champions out of the competition, and ensured Denmark secured top spot and a place in the second round on Saturday, where their opponents will be England. City boy Niclas Jensen played for the whole of the historic game, with Dennis Rommedahl and Jon Dahl Tomasson scoring for the Danes. Niclas played as a second half substitute in Denmark’s opening win over Uruguay but sat out his country’s 1-1 draw with Senegal.

Dunnie Flushed with Success: Richard Dunne has yet to make an appearance in the Finals, but the Republic of Ireland have marched through to the second round of the competition after their 3-0 victory over Saudi Arabia. Ireland now face Spain in the next round on Sunday. All this has been achieved without the presence of Mr Roy “You Can Stick That up Your B****cks” Keane. Sharp-eyed TV viewers may have spotted an orange-bibbed Dunnie stood behind ex-City man and Irish coach Mick McCarthy, as his boss went through the emotional wringer during the Saudi match. As Mick eloquently put it after the game, “It’s tough when your backside’s in the bacon slicer”.

Losers go Home: Bye Bye! Paulo Wanchope became the first City player to score a World Cup finals goal since Niall Quinn for the Republic of Ireland against Holland in 1990, as he finally netted in the competition against the mighty Brazil. The Ticos lost 5-2, and with Turkey beating China 3-0, Costa Rica were eliminated. Previously in the competition, Costa Rica have beaten China, and fought back from a goal down to draw with Turkey. It’s not been such a good World Cup for the other two of KK’s boys. Sun Jihai’s China and Lucien Mettomo’s Cameroon both failed to make it to the second round. Sun was injured in the 2-0 defeat to Costa Rica, which eliminated China and meant Sun missed their final game with Turkey. Cameroon had a poor tournament, managing only a single goal win against Saudi Arabia, along with a draw with Ireland and a defeat to Germany.

2002/03 FIXTURES

Aug 17 (A) Leeds Utd
Aug 24 (H) Newcastle Utd
Aug 28 (A) Aston Villa
Aug 31 (H) Everton
Sep 10 (A) Arsenal
Sep 14 (H) Blackburn Rovers
Sep 21 (A) West Ham Utd
Sep 28 (H) Liverpool
Oct  5 (A) Southampton
Oct 19 (H) Chelsea
Oct 26 (A) Birmingham City
Nov  2 (A) West Bromwich Albion
Nov  9 (H) Manchester Utd
Nov 16 (H) Charlton Athletic
Nov 23 (A) Middlesbrough
Nov 30 (H) Bolton Wanderers
Dec  7 (A) Sunderland
Dec 14 (A) Charlton
Dec 21 (H) Tottenham Hotspur
Dec 26 (H) Aston Villa
Dec 28 (A) Fulham
Jan  1 (A) Everton
Jan 11 (H) Leeds Utd
Jan 18 (A) Newcastle Utd
Jan 29 (H) Fulham
Feb  1 (H) West Bromwich Albion
Feb  8 (A) Manchester Utd
Feb 22 (H) Arsenal
Mar  1 (A) Blackburn Rovers
Mar 15 (H) Birmingham City
Mar 22 (A) Chelsea
Apr  5 (A) Bolton Wanderers
Apr 12 (H) Middlesbrough
Apr 19 (A) Tottenham Hotspur
Apr 21 (H) Sunderland
Apr 26 (H) West Ham Utd
May  3 (A) Liverpool
May 11 (H) Southampton

OPINION: DENMARK TOURNAMENT

For information on City’s round-robin tournament in Aarhus, Denmark on 24 July you can visit the website http://www.billetmaskinen.dk, where tickets are available.

If anyone required any further information, they are welcome to contact me directly.

OPINION: CLUB vs. COUNTRY

At a party recently, I was pulled into an argument between a guest (Birmingham) and the host (Scum).

‘Mark’ said the Brummie… ‘Your choice: England win the World Cup or City win the Prem. It’s no contest is it?’

I scanned his face for clues (didn’t want to agree with the Rag). Nothing.

I replied honestly. ‘No contest… of course, City every time.’

The Rag was jubilant… ‘told you’. The Brummie (who departed for Japan the next day) shook his head.

Not the response I hoped for, but I stand my view, and here’s why. I can get as engaged, as wrapped up in an England game as I can City, but when we lose I can switch off, walk away, distance myself in a way I never can with City. It’s personal. Whoever it was on McV who said Psycho missing that pen spoilt the party, I’m there too mate, even now it still niggles and gnaws away. If it was England I’d have been over it by the next morning. That’s the difference for me. Where do other Blues stand?

OPINION: FEE FIE FOE FUN

Interesting couple of days as the rumors surrounding Mr. Foe heat up culminating in Lyon saying that they had agreed to loan Foe to City for the year and City quickly denying that it was a done deal.

Here’s what I think is going on. I think, purely supposition, that Foe is plan B. Follow the logic chain. It is reasonable to assume that a strong defensive minded midfielder is on Keegan’s shopping list. He seems to have got just about everything else that he needs although I’d still like to see an experienced Premiership defender added to the mix. I also note that the rumoured hold up over Anelka signing was that City wanted to make payments to PSG (and throw in a player to reduce the outlay) rather than a lump sum. That implies that a further purchase is on the cards. Keegan himself has said he is looking at one more signing and one more thing. Keegan said at one point that the signings he was contemplating would surprise folks, that they would be top quality players. Now obviously Effenburg fit that category. Distin is awfully good but Anelka just fell into our laps. Even with the players we’ve signed I don’t think we’ve signed the player Keegan was alluding to.

Put that all together and I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that wor Kev is trying to pull off a fast one with a really high quality midfielder. Not Matt Holland but probably someone else playing at the World Cup. No, I don’t know who but what I think is going on is City is trying to make that happen but if they don’t they’ve already made the deal with Lyon to bring in Foe.

And remember, until they are signed don’t believe any rumour.

Post Script

Too funny! I write “He seems to have got just about everything else that he needs although I’d still like to see an experienced Premiership defender added to the mix,” and within 12 hours the press goes into high gear about Keown.

Paging Mr. Sterling, a Mr. Rod Sterling…

OFFER: FREE TICKETS FOR OLD TRAFFORD!

If anyone is interested I have 2 free tickets for the Test Match at Old Trafford for this Saturday (15th June). These tickets are courtesy of NPower (my employer) who are sponsoring the event.

Please email me before 12:30 on Friday 14th to ensure you get the tickets in Saturday’s post.

REQUEST: DVD INFO I

Paul Faulkner asked in MCIVTA 819 about whether DVDs were like video and whether a different version would be required for the USA.

The answer is that yes, indeed, DVDs come in two formats, PAL/SECAM and NTSC. PAL/SECAM is used in most European countries and NTSC is used in the States. The City End of Season DVD is in PAL/SECAM format.

Now, all PAL DVD players are capable of playing NTSC DVDs (although the TV used with the DVD player also needs to be able to handle the slightly higher frequency output from an NTSC disc). Unfortunately, the converse is not true, and very few NTSC DVD players are capable of playing PAL/SECAM disks.

So, if Paul has a standalone DVD player he’s unlikely to be able to view the End of Season disc. On the other hand, if he has a DVD-ROM drive on his computer and the software to view DVDs, it’ll probably work because most DVD PC software and hardware can play both NTSC and PAL video.

For more information on DVDs, region encoding, video formats etc, see http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

REQUEST: DVD INFO II

With reference to Paul Faulkner’s comments about DVD’s. No, DVD’s are not like videos.

DVD stands for Digital Video Disc and it is just like a CD-ROM except you have to have a DVD player which means you can play them on the T.V. or you have a DVD drive on your computer.

If you are over in the U.S.A. you have a different system. NTSC is for the states and PAL is for Europe. Unless your DVD player is able to play PAL. Just check with the company you bought it from, they will give you the correct information.

I am based in The Netherlands and really looking forward to more TV coverage of the Blues when they play in the Premiership.

I’ve got KK’s signed photo in a gold frame for luck!

Good luck to England on Wednesday. I was over in the U.K. last Friday and was lucky enough to enjoy the game in the local pub. The atmosphere was tops and the lager cold. I bought loads of English flags while I was over there so I could dress up my place of work in Holland while I am listening to the next game on the radio (sad eh!).

Also, my friends in the U.K. have Sky so we were also able to see the Tyson/Lennox Lewis fight, what a cracker. Tyson didn’t have a chance against the mighty Lennox, who looked superb and in top condition and totally focused. Luckily we were able to tape the whole fight so I will be able to watch it again and again and again… All the big names were in the audience, Puff Daddy, Kevin Bacon, Isaac Hayes, LL Cool J, Ian Wright and Chris Ewbank.

What a great sporting weekend I had.

REQUEST: DVD INFO III

Re Colorado Blue’s question on DVD for North America. It appears that the End of Season DVD will work in North America. I will have one in my possession this week I hope and will give you an update when I have played it.

REQUEST: DVD INFO IV

Hi there, was just wondering if you would know if the DVD was of the Zone 2 format i.e. for Europe? I live in Asia and that will not play here.

MCIVTA FAQ [v0203.02]

[0] How do I contact MCIVTA?

 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] What are MCIVTA’s publishing 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] What is the club’s official web site?

The official club web site can be found at http://www.mcfc.co.uk/

[4] What supporters’ clubs are there?

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] Where can I find out about the 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] Where can I find information about our new stadium?

The latest information regarding the progress of our new home can be found at http://www.commonwealthgames.com/

[7] What match day broadcasts are available on the web?

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] Are City’s goals available on the net?

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

[9] What’s the music the teams run out to?

The music we ran out to at Maine Road during the 01/02 season was “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.

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: