Newsletter #1127

A brief edition tonight, how about some more post/pre-season thoughts?

We’ve opinion from the US tonight, news on Barton in NZ, and ticket requests.

On the player front, Musampa has had his loan deal extended by another season and we are still waiting to hear about European places.

OPINION: END OF SEASON BLUES

Now we are in close season, just a few thoughts on our immediate future and opinions on recent points brought up by fellow Blue readers in MCIVTA.

New Away kit: In a word: Pants. I tried to hold off judgement for a while thinking it would grow on me as the 04/05 kit did, of which my wife and daughter fell in love with from the day it was released [so I guess you could say I got in touch with my feminine side] but my opinion has not changed since then. I would love it if we had an away kit of black and silver, similar to Chelsea, Liverpool and our own training tops. Dead sexy and dead sophisticated, just like the red and black. Yeah baby!

Club Badge: My personal preference is the old round badge but to be honest I would be more than happy with the current badge if they just changed one thing. That would be to replace the dodgy latin motto with “Manchester City FC”. This’d be a more honest reflection of the club and its supporters, no pretence, no nonsense and proud of who and what we are.

End of season and the UEFA spot: To be honest as cool as it would have been to get the 7th spot in the way we almost did, I feel if we had qualified for the UEFA next season it would have been a season to soon. I think our UEFA campaign in KK’s 3rd season did more damage than good in the 03/04 season. Let’s be honest, financial resources will be very limited for SP at least in the near future and with the squad at SP’s disposal for 05/06 we would be better served focusing our resources and efforts finishing higher up the PL and positioning the club for a Euro campaign in 06/07. Some people of course will disagree probably violently given some of the past entries, but that’s fine, it’s the close season and we’ve got b****r all else to talk about, so bring it on fellow MCIVTians [or should it be fellow MCIVTI?] what do you think? Would a UEFA spot in 05/06 have placed the club in a position to fell flat on its arse in true MCFC fashion or do you feel it would have propelled the club to greater glories and perhaps I’m just too much of a big yellow bellied cowardy custard!?

C ya and enjoy the summer.

OPINION: BARTON’S LIONS TOUR

Here in NZ, the following story was in the newspaper today. All the best to the coming new season for SP and City.

Manchester City soccer star Joey Barton is here to see the Lions, but his loyalty to football makes him a less ardent fan than many of his countrymen following the team on tour.

“I don’t really support rugby. I just like it,” said the 22-year-old midfielder as he enjoyed a pint of Guinness at Hennessy’s Irish Bar in Rotorua yesterday, ahead of the Lions’ game against Bay of Plenty tomorrow. Barton went straight to the pub after a 36-hour journey from Liverpool.

He and friends “Gus” and “Mash” shelled out £18,000 ($47,000) in total for a package tour with luxury accommodation and tickets to five Lions games, including the three tests against the All Blacks.

Barton, who had a soccer ball with him in the pub, said the rugby tour was a good excuse to come to New Zealand. “It kills two birds with one stone.” Barton appeared keen to keep a low profile yesterday. Said Gus: “We’re just here to chill.”

OPINION: MISSING MILLS

I was surprised at the chap who believed Danny Mills to have left the pitch immediately after the final whistle at Villa (A), quote “Not Mr Mills, straight down the tunnel, didn’t lift his head once”. I was sat behind the goal to James’ right and vividly recall that Danny was one of the last to leave the pitch and even lobbed a ball into the crowd (as well as his shirt) for some fan to keep.

REQUEST: U2 TICKETS

I have two tickets going spare for the U2 Vertigo tour that takes place on our hallowed ground next Tuesday. If you you’re interested you can call me on the mobile 07968 830 559 or email me.

REQUEST: SEASON TICKETS ADVICE / AVAILABLE

Unfortunately, due to impending changes of circumstances, I am going to have to relinquish two Seasoncards for next season, having paid for them in full. The circumstances themselves are great – we are going to have a child! But we live in York and the practicalities of the whole situation are too difficult, especially as the child will be born quite soon into the new season.

The cards are in the upper tier of the Colin Bell stand, looking down on the half-way line. The people around us are great and two of my friends sit alongside.

I am also going to contact the Club to see if we can simply return them, but not sure whether this is allowed.

All very unfortunate, as we truly love going to see City. But we feel this is for the best, and the money will come in handy too!

Any thoughts, from anyone, would be very gratefully received! If anyone knows if the Club allows returns that would help, as I have not yet heard back in response to my email to them.

Please call my mobile, 07739 355574, or email on the address below.

I shall of course read MCIVTA even more avidly until we can return!

BLUE HUMOUR

No doubt many have heard this, but for those of you who have not…

Bin Laden has been found hiding out in the Man. Utd. 2005 trophy room. He said it reminded him of the Afghan caves… cold, dark, empty and recently taken over by yanks.

MCIVTA FAQ [v0405.02]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Heidi Pickup)          : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org
News/rumour (Don Barrie)         : news@mcivta.city-fan.org
Subscriptions (Madeleine Hawkins): subscriptions@mcivta.city-fan.org
Technical problems (Paul)        : paul@city-fan.org
FAQ (David Warburton)            : faq@mcivta.city-fan.org

[2] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

Deadlines for issues are nominally 6pm, Monday and Thursday evenings bu email. Unfortunately we cannot accept email attachments.

[3] 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.

[4] What is the club’s official web site?

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

[5] What supporters’ clubs are there?

Manchester City FC recognises three supporters’ clubs: The “Official Supporters Club” (http://www.mancity.net/osc/); the “Centenary Supporters’ Association” (http://www.reddishblues.com/CSAWebsite/CSA.htm) and “The International Supporters’ Club” (http://www.mcfc.co.uk/article.asp?article=111845&Title=International+Supporters+Club&lid=Membership).

[6] Where can I find out about the fans’ committee?

The Fans’ Committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. The Fans’ Committee has been relaunched as “Points of Blue”. It has appeared on the club website as a minor entry under “Fans Zone”.

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

The GMR pre and post match phone-in is available on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/gmr/sport_intro.shtml.

Live match commentaries and archives of games, reports and interviews can be found at http://www.mcfctv.com/.

[8] Where can I find out if City are live on satellite TV?

http://www.satfootball.com/pl.html provides a listing of Premiership games being shown on UK domestic and foreign satellite channels. Useful sites for North American viewers are http://canadatvsoccer.tripod.com/Fixtures.htm, http://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/FSW/Index/Soccer, and http://www.soccertv.com/.

[9] Do we have a Usenet newsgroup?

Yes we do: uk.sport.football.clubs.man-city is our home on usenet. If you are not familiar with usenet, a basic explanation is available here: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci213262,00.html

[10] Do any squad members have their own web pages?

There are a number available and direct links can be found at http://www.uit.no/mancity/players/

[11] Can I buy shares in the club?

Yes you can: Shares in Manchester City PLC are traded on OFEX. The latest prices can be on found the OFEX web site http://www.ofex.com/ (registration required) or in the business section of the Manchester Evening News.

[12] Where can I find match statistics?

Statistics for the current season are available from the club site, but for a more in-depth analysis try http://www.mcfcstats.com/.

[13] Where can I find a list of City-related websites?

Try Wookie’s Lair: http://www.wookieslair.com/modules.php?name=Web_Links

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, editor@mcivta.city-fan.org

Editor: