Newsletter #1182

News on reactions to the game, looking ahead and transfer rumours from Don.

We have more Christmas Spirit, a look at the recent AGM and various opinions and requests.

Finally, on a personal note, I’m delighted to say we are handing over the money raised for the Foe Memorial Fund at Saturday’s game – this will really make a difference to a number of kids and projects in the Cameroon so thanks to everyone who donated.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

Everton the Model: Our revered Team Leader is refusing to give up on City’s European dream, despite seeing his team win only one of the last five games. And SP quoted last year’s surprise Premiership package Everton as the perfect inspiration for City. “Everton grabbed the opportunity of getting into the Champions’ League last year and here we are, at Christmas, and there is still the opportunity for nearly everyone to qualify for Europe,” mused Psycho. “We have got to strive for a better level of consistency across the board. But it is not just us. When you look at other teams like Blackburn and Newcastle, they are winning a couple, losing a couple and throwing in the odd draw. Bar Chelsea and Liverpool, everyone seems to be following a similar path. Even Arsenal are not putting it together every week. If we can go on a consistent run then it is all there for us.”

England Expects: Prior to the Wets Brom game, SP spent some time building up the egos of some of his English players, saying that some in the squad could force their way into Sven Goran Eriksson’s plans for next summer’s World Cup Finals. Darius Vassell was the first to get the managerial thumbs-up. “If he plays like he did at Charlton on Sunday and plays like he did against Aston Villa, I think it would be impossible to keep him out of the squad,” Pearce averred. “He has got to try and get to those standards and maintain them. If he did that over a consistent period it’d be good.” It looks like Sven will pick four strikers, so Pearce added: “I can’t see four people consistently offering more than what he’s given us over those two games, that’s for sure.” And if Trevor Sinclair maintains his progress after injury, SP reckons he too might be back in the England squad. “If you do well in the Premiership on a weekly basis and have an international pedigree like Trevor then the England manager must come and have a look at you. The same applies to David James and one or two others in the City squad. They are not a gamble and if their form is good then it’s difficult for the England manager to ignore them. Trevor has shown he can play on the left in a World Cup finals. I’d have no fears putting him anywhere in the front six positions for us.”

Debt Chipped Away: In one of the shortest AGM’s in the recent history of the club, City announced the current state of the club’s finances. I quote from the M.E.N.: “Pearce’s hope of making transfer-window purchases has been dented by the news that City are paying £100,000 a week in interest charges. The club announced yesterday they have managed to cut their total debt from £62.2 million to £57.7 million in the past year. But interest charges meant City were forced to pay out a staggering £5 million-plus to service that debt over the past year.” It was also reported that John Wardle again made it clear that, although Pearce won’t have the whole £21 million of SWP money to spend, there will be some funds around in the New Year. Wardle continued: “Whilst celebrating our successes, we will not be complacent,” said Wardle. “We have many tough fixtures ahead of us over the rest of the season and we are doing all we can to ensure we have a competitive advantage in an extremely tight Premier League. We have money to invest but we will not be making statements as to how much for fear of affecting our negotiating position, although we are not talking huge amounts.”

Turkey Sturr-Fried: Let’s hope Chelsea and Arsenal’s scouts have somehow missed this next story – Danny Sturridge scored the winner in England Under 17’s friendly against Turkey on Tuesday night. Manager John Peacock was clearly impressed. “With Daniel Sturridge, he gets one chance and finishes it,” Peacock said. “He’s definitely a goalscorer and has a good goals-to-games ratio. He demands high standards of himself and wants to do better, that’s a good thing.” Here’s a diary date for London-based Blues. City’s under-18’s will take on West Ham United in the Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup on Monday 19th December 2005 at Upton Park, kick-off 7.00pm.

Reserves Rumbled: City put out a young team on Tuesday night, as the Reserves travelled to the ground of the interestingly titled Billingham Synthonia FC, where Middlesbrough play their second string games, I’m reliably informed. It was to prove a fruitless journey for the lads, as goals in each half saw the home side prevail 2-0. The Boro goals came from Cattermole (I’m not making these names up folks, honest!) and Wheater. City: Schmeichel; Logan, Ward, Onuoha, Jordan (Obeng 87); Croft, Laird, Ireland; Miller (Grimes 85), Wright-Phillips (Johnson 71), Bermingham. Unused subs: Matthewson, Marshall.

Transfer News and Gossip

Haap Haap Hooray: The player gave the game away a couple of weeks ago, but City have officially announced that Finnish midfielder Tuomas Haapala joined the club. “He’s accepted that offer so he will be with us this week,” SP confirmed on Monday morning. “He impressed us in training, he’s got a lot of hard work to do to break into the side but has been offered a contract until the end of the season. In that time he does have the opportunity to impress within a small squad. If he takes that opportunity by the scruff of the neck and does well then we can get back and tell him that we want him to stay with us. He has a lot of hard work to do, but it is like with Yasser Hussein – Yasser had an opportunity to be with us, he did extremely well but wasn’t good enough to break through. We feel that we have lost nothing by giving him that opportunity, and the same can be said of Tuomas.” Haapala can begin training with the Blues immediately, but won’t be eligible to play until after January 1.

Keen on Dean: With Norwich City struggling in the Championship, the press pack believe the Canaries may well be tempted to cash in on Premiership interest in their striker Dean Ashton. And the Daily Mirror claims that City are now in pole position to land the former Crewe hitman when the transfer window opens in January. Norwich boss Nigel Worthington hardly put off potential suitors when he stated that “We will only lose Dean if the price is right for Norwich City. And everybody has a price. We had two very good offers in the summer, which Dean knows about. If there was any business to be done in January then those two offers would have to be well exceeded. Those offers were a lot more than we paid. We turned down a big price.” SP was rather coy when asked about the possibility of landing Ashton: “He’s a good player, we made a tentative enquiry last summer but that’s as far as it has gone,” he said. “It wouldn’t be prudent to say if I will make another offer.” Ashton was asked about this speculation, and replied: “I’m trying not to think about all the speculation. I am not making any secret of my ambition to be playing in the Premiership, although I am still doing my best for Norwich.” West Ham and Charlton are also thought to be watching the player.

Give Us a Kiess: SP will have to overcome a growing number of obstacles if he is to land South African striker Steven Pienaar. The Ajax frontman could be frozen out of the picture at the Amsterdam Arena as the Dutch club are looking to offload him in the January transfer window. However, the player has stated his desire to see out his contract and leave on a free in the summer. Ajax have progressed to the knockout stages of the Champions’ League and that has increased Pienaar’s wish to stay with his current club as he would not be eligible to turn out for another team in the competition. Other interested clubs: Celtic, Dortmund and Liverpool, who are all reported to be keeping tabs on the player. Meanwhile, Nurnberg chairman Michael Roth has admitted they could be set to sell star striker Stefan Kiessling, who has been linked with City. A German Under-21 international, Kiessling (who is attracting interest from Bayer Leverkusen), has grabbed six goals in 13 starts this season. Roth said: “If the offer is a good one, then we would have to consider it.”

Move Away is Distin-ct Possibility: It must be contract negotiation time for Sylvain Distin. First we heard a rumour in these parts that Liverpool were allegedly preparing a bid for Distin in the close season, rumoured to be in the £8 million region. Next came a report in the Daily Mail claiming that Sylvain is in no rush to sign a new deal with the Blues, a stance which would be of interest to Newcastle and (you’ve guessed it) Liverpool. Mr. Pearce is keen to keep his captain, though. “We want Sylvain here,” confirmed Pearce on Sky Sports News. “I think he wants to be at this football club, there’s no real rush on that but it would be right for Sylvain and the club. He’s a good individual and a good player and captain of the club.”

Ex-Blues’ News

Front Runner: For the second time in the space of two months, KK is the bookies’ favourite to replace Brian Kerr as Republic of Ireland manager. For those of you that understand these things, Keegan’s odds were slashed to 5/4 this week – clearly some punters think they know who’s in line for the job. Former Tranmere Rovers boss John Aldridge is second favourite on 3/1, with Martin O’Neill third-best on 6/1 and Terry Venables listed at 7/1.

Reactions and Comments

Just Lose It: In a game horribly reminiscent of last season’s mauling at the Hawthorns, City succumbed yet again to low-flying West Bromwich Albion. Diomansy Kamara raced through to put Albion ahead in the fifth minute. Albion continued to dominate, and substitute Kevin Campbell added the second after 61 minutes when he headed home Paul Robinson’s cross. An added extra to last season’s gloom saw Andy Cole being sent off late on after two fouls in quick succession on Martin Albrechtsen and goalscorer Kamara. After the match, West Brom’s Curtis Davies, a lifelong Red, accused his boyhood idol Cole of losing it. “I love Andy Cole as a player but during the game I did not like him at all,” he continued. “I suppose that is the way things go. He will always be a legend to me but what he did on the pitch was not really called for. It wasn’t anything towards me but he just lost it towards the end.” Things were fraught for the City players throughout the game, but Albion boss ‘Red’ Robbo thought that Ben Thatcher should have joined Cole for an early bath, after he thought the hard-but-fair left back was guilty of smacking Camara on the chin. “Other referees might have sent him off,” observed Robson. “It was a strong challenge and his elbow was raised with intent.” Pearce dealt with this claim with his usual humour – “I remember playing alongside Bryan for 10 years and he was always on at me to put the winger in the stand like Ben did,” smiled City’s Supremo. “It is interesting to see how his opinions have changed. I guess that kind of thing happens when you are in management.” Oh and just to round things off, both Cole and Richard Dunne will be suspended for the next game at home to Birmingham – Cole for the red card, and Dunnie for copping his fifth booking of the season.

Sorry for the Fans: The standard of football wasn’t that great either, from the City viewpoint. “We are very disappointed with the way we played,” said SP. “We gave ourselves a platform after Charlton and we didn’t deliver, and on the playing side and coaching side there will be some bitterly disappointed people. It’s down to me to lift the players this week, and we have a home match to do something about it. Last week’s a distant memory now to be quite honest. We weren’t good enough, too many players weren’t at the races today, both physically and wanting the ball. That’s what you get in the Premiership if you’re not. It’s disappointed me greatly and it’s disappointed the players greatly. We were not good enough and the better team won. We didn’t compete with them and got what we deserved. I felt sorry for our fans and we have to put it right. I felt there was something in this game if we played well enough, but we didn’t do that. We did things wrong here, but we’ve also done a lot right this season and I must keep a level head. But I don’t like losing and my players will have definitely got the vibes from me that I don’t like losing.” Skipper Sylvain Distin was wheeled out to face the press. “There are not a lot of good things to say, to be honest there are more bad things to say after that. I’m very disappointed, not too much by the result, but by how we lost the game,” he said. The French defender wasn’t overly concerned by West Brom, instead he chose to review his own side’s showing. “For me it’s only us, they weren’t exceptional, we played poorly and lost a lot of challenges. The most important thing is to try and forget about it and try to learn the lessons from this and show a good reaction in the next game.”

Squad News

On the Kasp of a Long Career: Kasper Schmeichel has signed a two-year contract extension. This deal ties the 19-year-old to City until 2008. Kasper said: “It starts from next summer and runs to 2008. I’m delighted and really pleased, the Manager said congratulations to me and I’ve just got to keep working hard now. Hopefully now I can get a few games out on-loan and a few first team games where there is real pressure on.” He also hinted that a loan move might be part of the future plans of Young Smikes. “The aim is to get into the first team here, but for the moment I just need to get some games. It’s all about development and I’m still young in ‘keepers’ terms so I need to keep developing in the immediate future.”

Andy Pins Hopes on His Pins: “Call Me Andrew” Cole has indicated that he’d like to stay a little bit longer with City, once his current deal runs out. Cole, 34, signed a one-year deal when he moved from Fulham in the summer and having scored seven goals in thirteen League starts, he’d love to stay with City for another couple of years. “I would love to talk about a deal before the summer but that will be down to my performances and, touch wood, staying free of injury,” Cole said. “I will play on for as long as the pins can carry me. I am settled at City and have been enjoying myself. Things have worked out for me. People who thought I was coming here to have a jolly-up were well wide of the mark.”

ANNOUNCEMENT: MARC-VIVIEN FOE MEMORIAL FUND

Following the sad death of Marc-Vivien Foe in June 2003, a number of City supporters set up the MVF Memorial Fund as a way for all fans to show their appreciation of the midfielder and the work he did with youngsters in his native Cameroon.

We are pleased to announce that both the funds raised (almost £10,000) and hundreds of pieces of donated kit will be officially handed over to our partners The British Council in Cameroon at the Manchester City vs. Birmingham City game on 17th December 2005.

After the initial fund raising and donation activity, time was spent drawing up the project plan for distribution and administration of the funds and activities in Cameroon, focusing on youth development and sport. The initial plan is for an 18-month period and it is hoped that contributions and awareness will continue to grow to ensure its ongoing success.

These activities align perfectly with the concept of the MVF Memorial Fund, which aims to provide development and sporting/football coaching to youngsters aged between 11 and 19 years.

The project includes:

• Leadership training
• Working with a minimum of 5,000 children to improve their sporting skills
• Development of a basic football infrastructure and specific provision ofkits and equipment in a number of communities
• 300 young leaders in five schools organising subsequent events
• Community activity covering HIV/AIDS awareness and income generatingactivities

For further details please contact Heidi Pickup or Howard Cohen at the address below.

OPINION: MCFC AGM

I bought shares in Manchester City this year and attended my first AGM on Friday December 10th. My impressions of it are as follows.

City has about 6,000 shareholders and about 300 or so turned up. The meeting started at 10am with the chairman, John Wardle, making a short and fairly bland statement. This added very little to the information in the accounts but he did say that Stuart Pearce would have money to spend “but not a huge amount”. He refused to elaborate, on the grounds that he didn’t want to give away any negotiating advantage but I suspect it was also a ruse to avoid any awkward questions on how we had used the proceeds from the SWP sale.

There was then a Q&A session with Stuart Pearce. The main questions were about potential transfer targets, playing prospects and Roy Keane. Main areas for strengthening were midfield and up-front, so no surprises there. He said he wanted to get the team to a state where they could play badly and win. After Saturday’s performance at West Brom, he seems to be half way there – the playing badly half! He also said he would have keen interested in Keane but only if he’d shown interest in coming to us. However, he did admit that he wouldn’t have done anything that would have upset 48,000 City fans.

The formal business of the AGM then followed. This was unexceptional except that one person voted against adopting the accounts but didn’t say why when he had the chance. The finances appear to be sound – costs are under control and we can generate a bit of cash. If we carry on finishing in the top eight and can get a good Cup run then we might actually have a decent transfer chest in a couple of years.

The final part of the meeting was a general Q&A. There were a number of questions about the financial situation but only the usual platitudes about the debt being manageable. I would have liked to ask a number of pertinent questions but the session was brought to an end after barely half an hour, with lots of hands still up. This was annoying, particularly as I’d given up 16 hours of my time to travel down to Charlton the Sunday before! We were back out of the meeting at 11 when I had expected to be there for a couple of hours.

Overall then, I was not impressed. I respect the job that the directors do and it’s nice to have stability for a change but I don’t think Mr Wardle would have got away with that in front of his JD Sports shareholders. I wrote to him to express my concerns about the conduct of the meeting and to ask the questions I would have asked if given the chance.

These were:

1. Our board is small with a Chairman, a Chief Exec and two non-executivedirectors. We should have a Finance director and possibly a Marketingdirector and could do with another non-executive, giving a six or seven manboard, which is not unwieldy.
2. There is a clear breach of the Corporate Governance Code as AlastairMackintosh is a member of the Audit Committee. This committee should act as acheck on the financial controls and statements of the club and should consistsolely of non-executive directors. Our situation means that the personresponsible for putting those controls in place and preparing the accounts iseffectively supervising himself.
3. Mr. Wardle put in another £7 million according to the accounts. Why was this doneand what has happened to that money since?
4. At the year end (31 May 2005) we had about £7.5 million in the bank but owednearly £21.5 million pounds in respect of short term loans (£14.7 million to JW,£4.5 million to Mr. Makin plus another £2.2 million loan outstanding that has since beenrepaid). How can this be described as “manageable”?
5. Since the year-end we received what was described as a “guaranteed” £21million for SWP. This would give us £29 million in cash with £21.5 million in short term debt. Howmuch of this has been repaid since the year end?
6. What is the Chairman’s view of our future financial prospects? If we haverepaid all the short term loans and can make a reasonable profit for thenext few years then at a market value of around £8 million, the club seems to be anexcellent prospect for an investor.
7. Although nearly 70% of the shares are held by four groups (John Wardle,the late Stephen Boler, Sky and Francis Lee), most of the rest are in thehands of 6,000 private individuals. Being able to group together 10-20% wouldgive those individuals a powerful voice. What would the club’s attitude be toa Supporters’ Trust?

I await his response with interest.

OPINION: CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

I don’t know if I suffer from the same condition as Steve Hayman and Ian Bell but I have been inspired to try something a little different whilst out shopping recently. Please believe me it’s great fun, not illegal, although perhaps a little inconvenient for underpaid shop assistants.

I’m a 56 year old granddad, absolute pillar of the community, hold a responsible job and I’m loved and respected by all who know me. However, Steve Haymen has released an unexpected desire and joy in my life.

I’m currently enjoying life by hiding Rag calendars wherever I see them in local stores. I recently completely rearranged the calendar shelf in my local Woolies whilst pretending to take an interest in what was on offer. My other half kept giving me that sideways, disapproving look but completely understanding where I was coming from. To be fair to Rag fans I hid their calendars amongst the Barbie calendars so they would have an equal chance of finding them.

If there are any McV readers out there who fancy giving this newly-discovered pastime a go, I can heartily recommend it. The experience is thrilling and perfectly harmless. I would welcome new and inventive ways of trying this experience so if you’ve given it a go, there’s no shame in coming out of the closet and sharing this fetish with like-minded Blues.

Her indoors has currently got me embroiled in the mindless pursuit of Christmas shopping; any relief would be more than welcome.

OPINION: TANGLED BLUES

Glad to see that Dave Griffiths (MCIVTA 1179) is an appreciative reader of King of the Kippax, and ‘Tangled up in Blue’ in particular. All I can say in response to his criticism of the City advent calendars is that he should have tried the Easter eggs! Or rather he shouldn’t.

A most recent example of our ‘beloved’ club’s lack of respect for ‘foot soldier fans’ occurred when they (whoever they are) decided to dispense with the services of the original Blue Santa at the Junior Blues’ party – a rôle performed happily and successfully for the best part of twenty years. Only problem was, they forgot to tell him.

Here at KOTK Towers we’d like to wish all readers of MCIVTA, and all who work so hard to produce it, a very happy and peaceful Christmas – wherever you are and whatever your faith. Most of all, we hope that John Bookbinder, son of David and brother of Susan, has the very best of times. Despite being desperately ill, John managed to make it to the Charlton game – thanks to the efforts of the doctors at University Hospital, the persuasiveness of his father, and the influence of Martin O’Neill. It was a tremendous achievement for all concerned, made sweeter by the result.

The latest issue of King of the Kippax will be on sale at Eastlands this Saturday, available at all sides of the ground – you can’t miss it. As it can no longer be bought from Sportspages, you certainly can’t miss it. And as recent issues have sold out, you really can’t miss it!

OPINION: CHANTS I

Couldn’t agree more with Andrew Goodman in last issue regarding the Andy Cole chant – it used to apall me when I first heard it sung about Terry Cooke and now here it is again. Apart from how obviously sickening it is in itself, I cannot imagine what it makes Andy Cole feel.

And as many have noted in debates in recent months on the subject, nothing whatever from the club condemning it.

Forget about claims that we have great fans as long as this kind of filthy bile continues to be spewed out by thousands of them.

OPINION: CHANTS

Just been on that football chants website – what a load of c**p that is!

Half the songs on it aren’t even City songs; for example “easy easy” after a goal, and “Invisible Man” isn’t even in our top ten.

There’s a lot of mickey taking from fans of “other” clubs, hence why United are top!

Agree that City fans need to work on our repertoire though – just not through that naff website that’s all!

OPINION: 30 YEARS OF HURT

In February 2006, only 30 years will have passed since Dennis Tueart (King of all Geordies) scored that spectacular overhead kick to help City secure the League Cup.

Sometimes I scratch my head when I’m about to pay over £500 for my next season ticket/card. Then I remind myself that this will be the year.

Am I a fool?

Merry Christmas to you all.

REQUEST: BIRMINGHAM TICKET AVAILABLE

I have a spare ticket for the Birmingham game sitting next to me in the South Stand for only £20.

I can be contacted on 07703301857 or by email.

REQUEST: CHELSEA TICKET AVAILABLE

I have 1 ticket available for the home game against Chelsea on 28th December at CoMS, top tier of East Stand. Call 07050 803045 or email.

REQUEST: SHIRTS

I am looking to buy foreign kits from teams with links to Man City (the DC United one is a good example, what with the supporters’ club).

Can anyone give me a few names so that I can look into getting these kits?

RESULTS

14 December 2005

Everton               1 - 2  West Ham United       35,704
Manchester United     4 - 0  Wigan Athletic        67,793

12 December 2005

Tottenham Hotspur     3 - 1  Portsmouth            36,141

League table to 14 December 2005 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Chelsea         16  9  0  0 23  4  5  1  1 12  3 14  1  1  35   7  28  43
 2 Manchester Utd  16  4  3  1 13  5  6  1  1 16  9 10  4  2  29  14  15  34
 3 Liverpool       15  6  1  1 13  4  3  3  1  7  4  9  4  2  20   8  12  31
 4 Tottenham H.    16  5  3  1 13  7  3  3  1  9  6  8  6  2  22  13   9  30
 5 Bolton Wndrs    15  5  2  1  9  2  3  1  3  9 12  8  3  4  18  14   4  27
 6 Arsenal         15  7  0  0 16  2  1  2  5  6 11  8  2  5  22  13   9  26
 7 West Ham United 16  4  1  2 12  6  3  3  3 11 12  7  4  5  23  18   5  25
 8 Wigan Athletic  16  4  1  3  9  8  4  0  4  7 10  8  1  7  16  18  -2  25
 9 Manchester City 16  4  2  2  9  5  3  1  4 11 11  7  3  6  20  16   4  24
10 Newcastle Utd   16  4  3  1  8  6  2  1  5  6  9  6  4  6  14  15  -1  22
11 Charlton Ath.   15  2  1  5  9 15  5  0  2 12  8  7  1  7  21  23  -2  22
12 Blackburn R.    16  5  1  2 13  9  1  2  5  5 13  6  3  7  18  22  -4  21
13 Middlesbrough   16  3  3  2 12 12  2  1  5  8 11  5  4  7  20  23  -3  19
14 Aston Villa     16  2  2  3  7 10  2  3  4  9 14  4  5  7  16  24  -8  17
15 Everton         16  2  1  4  4  7  3  1  5  5 12  5  2  9   9  19 -10  17
16 Fulham          16  4  1  2 10  7  0  3  6  6 14  4  4  8  16  21  -5  16
17 West Brom A.    16  4  1  4 14 12  0  3  4  3 12  4  4  8  17  24  -7  16
18 Birmingham City 15  1  1  6  5 12  2  2  3  5  7  3  3  9  10  19  -9  12
19 Portsmouth      16  0  3  4  3 10  2  1  6  9 16  2  4 10  12  26 -14  10
20 Sunderland      17  0  2  7  7 20  1  0  7  7 15  1  2 14  14  35 -21   5

MCIVTA FAQ [v0506.02]

[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.mcfcosc.com/); the “Centenary Supporters’ Association” (http://www.reddishblues.com/CSAWebsite/CSA.htm) and “The International Supporters’ Club”.

[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://mcfc.videoloungetv.com/do/preLogin?clubSiteCode=MCFC&CMP=AFC-003.

[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://www.foxsportsworld.com/named/FSW/Index/Soccer, http://www.soccertv.com/, and http://www.livesoccertv.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: