Newsletter #1189

News tonight from Don of numerous transfers involving former City players, whilst nothing more to report on the current City squad apart from injuries and potential departures.

There’s opinion on the current squad, the financial situation and a sideways look at stats together with a number of requests for Blues’ gathering points.

Ahead to the derby…

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

City Go Fourth: City’s reward for beating the Mighty Scunny in the FA Cup (of which more later) is a home tie in the Fourth Round. A potentially tricky tie awaits, as City play the winners of the replay between Wigan Athletic or Leeds United. The game at the COMS will take place on 28/29 January. The game offers a chance of revenge for the Blues, either against Wigan, for the Boxing Day Premiership defeat at the JJB, or against Leeds for, well, being Leeds…

It’s Miller Time: City gave Toumas Haapala his first outing in a City shirt, as the Reserves took on Birmingham’s second XI at Solihull. The City boys won 1-0, thanks to a long range strike from Ishmael Miller on 13 minutes. Coach Steve Wigley commented afterwards that: “I thought we finished the game strongly and worked very hard. We had a few chances in the first half that we didn’t take. Ishmael got himself a goal and then had another couple of good opportunities that Nico Vaesen saved. From a clean sheet mentality I was pleased and I think Kasper deserves to have a clean sheet along with the back four. The effort was there and I was pleased to get a clean sheet because sometimes you’ve got to learn how to win games. We’ve drawn games this season when we’ve been in the box seat through not being professional. It’s nice to start the New Year with a win.” Team: Schmeichel, Logan, Ward, Richards, Sommeil, Laird, Bermingham (Johnson 69), Haapala, Croft, Miller, Wright-Phillips (Sturridge 76). Unused sub: Matthewson.

Transfer News and Gossip

Dozen Midfielders Sought: The wheels of the rumour mill are grinding extra fast at the moment, as transfer season is upon us. Let’s try to sum up the midfielders City have been linked with this week, shall we? Not sure if there’s any logic behind this first tabloid tale, but it was in the Sun on Saturday, so it must be true. Despite City now having ample stock on the left side of midfield now Riera and Musampa are in the squad, the Sun reckons SP is hoping to lure young Kieran Richardson away from somewhere in Trafford with a £3 million bid – the lure of first team football will attract the England squad member, apparently. Having turned down a potential move to Portsmouth recently, Rangers’ winger Peter Lovenkrands has also been linked with a move to the COMS in a deal reported to be worth £400,000. We could have a team of wingers at this rate, although last week’s new name in the mix, Sheffield Wednesday wide-man Chris Brunt, has laughed off suggestions of a move to City as “just paper talk. Right now I am talking to the manager about my current contract that ends in 2007 and what the next move will be for me. We are talking with a view to extending my contract. I am happy at Sheffield Wednesday and I have a lot of friends here.” Charlton manager Alan Curbishley meanwhile is not happy with the transfer speculation surrounding reported City target Danny Murphy. “I have seen it again today, and spoke to Danny about it yesterday afternoon at great length and have put it to bed – there is nothing in anything. I think he is as miffed about things going in the paper, but we can’t stop that” the Charlton manager wailed. “Once the window closes, it all goes quiet again.” And Wigan’s midfield dynamo Jimmy Bullard has emerged as a target for City. The 26-year-old was linked with a £2.5 million move to Middlesbrough last week and reportedly has a clause in his contract allowing him to speak to other clubs if a certain amount is offered for him. SP was fulsome in his praise of Bullard ahead of the game with Wigan on Boxing Day and does want to strengthen his midfield during the transfer window. Oh, and the “Michael Brown will be back at City soon” rumour is still around.

New Mills Chased?

City are reported to be eyeing a transfer window swoop on Southampton fordefender Matthew Mills. The England Under-19 international is highly thoughtof at St Mary’s but Mills is in the final year of a contract that he has, sofar, been unwilling to extend. SP is now ready to make a move for a playerwho has made six appearances for The Saints this season, and is well known toreserve Coach Steve Wigley from his time as Saints supremo.

Weaver Won’t Waver: With City supposedly considering bolstering their ranks, SP may be tempted to lighten the wage bill by offloading players deemed surplus to requirements. One of those could be goalkeeper Nicky Weaver, who is currently on loan at Sheffield Wednesday; however, the 26-year-old is keen to stay with City. “I’d like to think I had a future at City because I’ve been there for nine years and thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Weaver. “But if Stuart Pearce feels that he doesn’t need me there, obviously I’ll have to look to move on.” Weaver is out of contract in the summer and is expected to meet with Pearce shortly to discuss his future.

Jansen Intercepted: Former Blackburn Rovers striker Matt Jansen is training with City to try to earn a permanent contract. Jansen, 28, asked to have his contract at Blackburn cancelled on Wednesday and Gaffer Stu wants to run the rule over him. “We have to be interested in any good player that becomes available and Matt will train with us,” said Pearce. “We will have a look at him and see what the situation is. At this stage it is impossible to say what will happen.” Everton, Wigan and Bolton are also thought to be interested in the former Crystal Palace forward. Jansen made just five appearances for Rovers this season. He has started only 13 Premiership matches since his recovery from a 2002 motorcycle accident.

Ex-Blues’ News

Kev and Joe to Part: The long association between Joe Royle and Kevin Horlock is to end soon. Having played for JR at both City and Ipswich, Horlock has been told he can leave the Suffolk club on a free transfer. The 33-year-old midfielder is out of contract in the summer and Royle said: “At the moment there are no plans to offer Kevin a new contract. I’ve spoken to him and said that we are well covered in the midfield department now and that if a club shows an interest in him, we won’t stand in his way. Making him available now just means he has more chance of getting fixed up with a new club now before the summer where there will be a whole number of players looking for jobs.” Oldham Athletic are said to be interested in City’s former number six.

“Chunky” Leon Turns Red: I have to report that a former City player has gone over to the dark side. Well, sort of… Leon Mike has signed for FC United, the lowly local league side formed by disgruntled Reds fans last summer when their beloved Trafford Swamp was taken over by the Glazers. A former England Youth international, Mike signed for UniBond League First Division side Mossley in August 2003 from Aberdeen where he was a regular first teamer. He had joined the Scottish club in February 2002 for £50,000 from City. Mike made his début for the mini-Reds against Winsford United on Saturday. Manager Karl Marginson said: “To be fair to Leon he hasn’t played for quite a while and he has always been a bit chunky – his stamina needs working at. But people also saw how quick he is over a short distance, how good his touch is and how aware he is. He and Adie Orr complement each other quite well because Leon brings other players into the game well and Adie plays on the shoulder of the last defender a bit more.”

Quick Flit to Sheffield: Sheffield United have signed Garry Flitcroft on a free transfer from Blackburn, reports BBC Radio Sheffield. Flitcroft has agreed an 18-month deal and goes straight into the squad to face Ipswich on Saturday. The 33-year-old, who joined Rovers from City in 1996, revealed that manager Neil Warnock was the reason he chose the Blades over moves to Bolton and Leeds. “Man management means everything these days. I met Neil and he seems my type of man,” he said. “He’s been chasing me for some time and I’d like to repay the faith he’s shown in me by helping him get promoted to the Premiership.”

Reactions and Comments

It’s a Robbie Dazzler! Robbie Fowler hit a hat-trick in his first start of the season to spare City’s blushes as they came from behind to beat Scunthorpe, who fielded former City winger Peter Beagrie (yes, he’s still playing!). Fowler drilled in from Lee Croft’s pass just after half-time and curled home another soon after, a left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area. He completed his treble from the spot after Michael Rose fouled Sun Jihai. Andy Keogh had given Scunthorpe a shock early lead, racing clear of the City defence and slotting past David James. “He didn’t do too badly did he?” said SP of Fowler. “Robbie has been a little bit disappointed and I can understand that, if I was in his position I would feel exactly the same. There are various reasons why he hasn’t been playing. He was injured for a while, then you have to look at the form of Andy and Darius, plus the emergence of Bradley and, to some extent, Antoine. It has been difficult for him to break through but I have told him to keep his head down, work hard in training and take his chance. He can’t do much more than scoring three. We will talk about Robbie’s future later in the season,” Pearce added. “But he needs to break back into the first team on a regular basis.” On a similar subject, the hat-trick hero said: “The future is not something I’m thinking about too much,” said Fowler, who has been plagued by a back problem for much of a campaign where he had previously been limited to just two substitute appearances. “I am more concerned about getting back on to the pitch and scoring goals. It has been a struggle for me this season so far but I’ve always had confidence in my own ability, so it’s good to get my first start and great to get my first hat-trick for City.”

Lawks A – Laws: Scunthorpe boss Brian Laws insisted striker Robbie Fowler was the difference between the sides after they lost 3-1 at Manchester City. “We were looking quite comfortable and handling Robbie pretty well, but he is such an intelligent player,” Laws said. “He kept dropping into areas where our centre-halves did not want to be, and we couldn’t cope. We are a League One side and his knowledge and experience is bound to catch you out in the end.”

Crafty Crofty: “I expected us to win the game but I expected it to be very difficult,” admitted Pearce. “The way we turned the game around in the second half was a bit easier than I thought we would do. I think over the 90 minutes overall we were reasonably comfortable victors, but once again we have given a sloppy goal away and maybe that’s down to the confidence in the players. I think a victory now will do the world of good.” The introduction of Lee Croft for the second half saw City’s performance improve dramatically. His cross from the left set Fowler up for his first, and the striker praised his team-mate’s contribution. “Crofty’s probably one of the more direct players we’ve got so he opened them up a little bit, and gave everyone else space. He did well when he came on.” Croft said later: “I just wanted to inject a bit of energy and my own game into the game to try to change things, because the first half was a bit sour. I was glad to get on, have a hand in the first goal and set things going. We need to get on the front foot early – once we play, we are a match for anyone, it’s just a matter of playing.”

Squad News

What’s Best for Beep? City’s senior striker and the Boss gave their opinions this week on what’s best for Bradley Wright-Phillips. Andy Cole thinks Beep should go out on loan to toughen himself up. “I work with Bradley a lot and he has a good future ahead of him,” said Cole. “He is sharp, has a great eye for goal and within 18 months to two years, when he has filled out a bit more, he will be a good player. I have told him if he gets a chance to go out on loan then he should grab it with both hands. He should go to one of the better Championship sides because it would be a great experience. If he gets goals in that league he will have done well because some of the defending in that division is brutal compared with the Premiership and it will toughen him up.” Psycho agrees with Cole, but feels that the lad may well stay at the COMS. “We are aware Bradley needs some first-team experience, and in an ideal world it would be nice for him to go out on loan,” said Pearce. “But the problem is he is very close to being in the first team, probably too close to consider loaning him out.”

Three’s the Limit for David: David Sommeil has been handed a three-game ban after losing his appeal against an FA charge of violent conduct. Sommeil was charged after a tackle on Tottenham’s Lee Young-Pyo in City’s 2-0. Spurs’ boss Martin Jolt branded Somali’s challenge as one of the “worst tackles ever” after Lee suffered a knee injury. He will miss Premiership games against the Reds, Bolton and the FA Cup tie with Wigan or Leeds. Referee Alan Wiley failed to spot the incident and this has allowed The FA to step in and they have opted to charge the defender. SP had defended his player, on the night of the game saying: “It looked to me like the Tottenham guy was trying to smash the ball at David,” said the City boss. “David has definitely caught the lad but whether he is trying to turn away to shield himself from the ball being kicked at him or whether he has intentionally kicked him I am not sure. But he is not a nasty person and his disciplinary record bears that out.”

He’s No Thug: Former England skipper Tony Adams has tipped Joey Barton to make a breakthrough into the England squad. Barton, 23, spent a week at Adams’ Sporting Chance clinic earlier in the season to be treated for anger and behavioural problems. Adams said: “It’s a question of when, rather than if, Joey receives international honours. If any player puts in the kind of performances he has, they put themselves in contention for England.” Adams, 39, added: “Realistically, the World Cup might be a bit soon for him. England have some outstanding midfielders and I think Sven already knows who he wants to take to Germany. But he’s making a strong claim and can’t be ignored.” Adams is so impressed with Joey that he had no hesitation in making him patron of the Tamsin Galvan Fund, set up to help young people pay for addiction treatment. Adams’ former Arsenal and England team-mate Lee Dixon also paid tribute to Barton. “I was probably like many others who judged Joey without knowing him – he seemed like an ignorant thug,” he said. “But when I first met him at a Sporting Chance fundraising day, I was surprised. He was a thoughtful and caring guy. I know he’s benefited from working closely with Sporting Chance, like many other people. Now he’s a great example to other young players and addressing his problems at such a young age has taken a lot of guts.” [Thanks the Tyneside Tarmac Tackler]

Musampa Must Remain: There has been speculation that Kiki Musampa, on loan from Athletico Madrid, would be offloaded this month, but SP is keen to keep hold of the 28-year-old until the summer, and hopefully beyond. “Kiki is still an important part of the squad and he will be with us until the summer at least. I know we have signed Riera now but I want a situation where players are vying for places in the team,” he explained. “To have just one player for each position is not good enough for a club of this size. The good thing about Kiki is he can play in a more central position as well, which is where he was when he got injured. He still has a future here that’s for sure.”

More Shin Digs for Danny: Danny Mills has been told he may have to put his comeback on hold for a further six weeks. The shaven-headed former England full back has missed the last eight games after discovering that he had been playing with a broken shin. “Danny will be a number of weeks yet,” said SP this week. “The scans show really clearly that there are two big indentations at the lower end of his shin. The frustrating thing for Danny is that he feels physically fine. He started running last week but the medical opinion is ‘if you push this too soon, it will break down on you’. He’ll have to run with the allotted time, which is a number of weeks, but from start to finish of the injury, we’re talking about three months.”

OPINION: ROLLERCOASTER BLUES

Well it seems that good old City chestnut of a rollercoaster ride has surfaced as we seem to have scaled a peak (end of last season, early this) and are now sliding down once more. Hopefully the brakes will be applied but at half-time on Saturday the talk was fearing what the Rags could do against us. We got the result against Scunny but as with Donny vs. Aston Villa (won’t mention our game!) the lower league side looked more like a Premiership side, at least for 45 minutes. The performance against Spurs was one of the worst I have seen from a City team, clueless, no spirit etc.

You can forgive mistakes, even as huge as the Distin first goal one vs. Spurs, which was just downright stupid. Dunney and Distin have looked leaden the last 3-4 games and as for Thatcher I would have thought having an ex-left back as Manager would have some effect. The guy is absolutely useless, Champioship standard at the very best! No positional sense and leaves huge gaps having lunged in and been mugged.

Where we do lack real quality is in the midfield. Barton has had a couple of bad games and needs to focus on his passing but at least the spirit is 100%. We need a playmaker to feed the front men, Sibbi sorry spends too much time giving fouls and falling over! Not sure who this new Spaniard is; given he cannot make it in to the Espanyol team, another Chris? We shall see, maybe wrong who knows! We will see what SP is made of and how he is able to coax more from what has been over-achievement with hopefully a few new sensible buys to shore things up.

City til I die, roll on derby day. I hope!

OPINION: THE PROBLEM WITH CITY IS…

Here are some of my observations of the past few matches and why we are struggling at the moment. It’s all so easy to see in my seat on level 2 of the Kippax stand. Debate and other thoughts welcomed.

1. Any high ball headed out of defence or midfield inevitably fall to anopponent, thus putting us back under pressure again. This happens too oftenwhen a player is not under pressure. We nearly always go for a clearanceheader rather than try to find our own players in space, unlike Spurs,Chelsea, Liverpool to name but a few of our more recent opponents.
2. Balls played into players who are heavily marked or being closed down needto be laid off/cushioned to another player in more space or a betterposition. Too often players try to get a ball under control when they aresurrounded by 2 or 3 opponents and are losing possession.
3. Speed of thought and awareness. This is closely linked to my secondproblem. We don’t seem to know where our players are or don’t register themquickly enough when attacking. The one touch football that we were playingearlier in the season, with players laying off a pass and going for thereturn, is no longer happening.
4. We all too frequently revert to a long ball hoofed up front, which veryrarely pays dividends and usually gives opponents possession, putting us backunder pressure. We never try to draw opponents out of position throughplaying the ball around or looking for a midfielder in space and keepingpossession.

I know we are not going to be world beaters for 90 minutes every game, but 20 years ago I was always taught to try to keep possession, as your opponents can’t cause you problems if they haven’t got the ball.

I’d better let SP know I’m available for that coaching rôle!

Look forward to hearing the replies.

OPINION: MONEY IN A MAD CITY WORLD I

Kevin Williamson is a bit bothered that we aren’t playing Fowler because we would have to pay Leeds (is it a half million? assume it is). I would agree, but not because I am sentimental about the way Reading treated Goater. Let’s say we pay Fowler £30,000 a week, which I think is about right if Leeds are still paying part of his salary (anyone know?). And let’s say there are 30 weeks before his contract is up (again, dunno for sure, but it doesn’t matter). If we let Fowler rot in the reserves for the next year we lose 30×30,000 = 900,000. If we play him we lose 900,000 plus 500,000 paid to Leeds and we gain the services of a fit Robbie Fowler. In order to be better off not paying than paying we would have to invest the 500,000 we save from not paying Leeds and get a striker who is just as good for 500,000 or less including wages. That would mean getting a player that we paid less than 10,000 a week for free, which I think is unlikely. I think it’s more probable that he is coming back from injury and we don’t want to play him too early and end up paying half a million pounds to Leeds for a player who ends up re-injuring himself for the rest of the season.

Respect to Mike Maddox’s theory of football. After sitting here flipping a coin for ten minutes, the penny finally dropped (sic). Print out a fixture list then sit there flipping a coin (heads is a City win). It really does feel like supporting City, especially when they beat Chelsea and then lose to West Brom. If you do it over and over, I bet we finish most seasons around 10th, get in a relegation struggle every now and again, and occasionally are fighting it out for a place in Europe.

OPINION: MONEY IN A MAD CITY WORLD II

In answer to Mike Maddox in MCIVTA 1188, some very relevant and well presented points when it comes to the law of averages. I have to agree that many of the games we watch in the Premiership are won literally by a mistake here or bit of luck there but don’t try to disguise the fact that we were bobbins against Spurs. I don’t know why this was but we have all noticed the drop in attendances at the CoMS; many more games like this and we’ll see an even bigger drop. It cost me a lot of hard-earned money to watch that game with my grandsons and believe me I resented it as I trudged back to my car with two very cold disillusioned little boys. I watched the highlights the next night and was stunned by the speed at which the stadium emptied at the end.

I used to really look forward to Spurs games, always a bit special, the ballet on ice and the 6-3 when they were the best team in the land and even the 4-3 cup game. Let’s be fair and say they weren’t too bad but we were the home team for goodness sake!

Good luck to the lads on Saturday and in the words of Mike Maddox, let’s hope the coin is weighted a little bit in our favour for a change or failing that, we play well and with the same commitment as Burton Albion, that should do the trick.

P.S. Well done Robbie.

OPINION: MONEY IN A MAD CITY WORLD III

With only five days to go to the derby it is barely credible that the club have to put announcements in the press that tickets are still for sale.

Most of us know fans who are not season ticket holders but want to go to the game but can’t as they are not Citycard holders. It is tottaly unreasonable to ask the casual fan to shell out £25 just for the privilege of being able to purchase a ticket. As I understand it, it does not matter if you haven’t been to a game all season but as long as you have coughed up your hard earned readies it is ok to go to the derby but someone who has been to 6 or 7 games using a match card can’t go, where is the logic in that?

It does not make any kind of sense to the ordinary fan and is just another example of why City fans are staying away in their thousands. I don’t recall anyone having to fork out £25 for a card when were playing York, Grimbsy etc. It is obvious it is a scheme that is not widely accepted otherwise the derby tickets would have been sold out weeks ago and we would have full houses every week.

When are the people who are supposed to run the club get in the real world and find out what the fans want, then instead of sitting on the fence do somthing about it? It is mind-boggling that we have a state of the art stadium but because of the way the fans are being treated it does not get filled. Sales of tickets are on a downward trend and the board seem incapable of addressing the fact. If they don’t get on our wavelength soon fans are going to be lost forever.

Regarding atmosphere I think most of the time it is poor again due to the fact that the board refuses to listen to the fans. Never mind, we were around long before they came on the scene and we will still be here long after they have gone with their golden handshakes. I have written to Alistar Mackintosh with most of these points and look forward to swift reply. From the club’s point of view I would appeal to them to work with the fans, not against them and rethink the absurd policy that stops players and officials attending supporters’ branches.

[As season ticket renewal time draws ever nearer, rumblings from a number of Blues seriously considering whether it’s worth handing over the money, given the non-sellouts and availability of picking and choosing your games – Ed]

OPINION: JAMO’S WORLD

So David James thinks we’re a better side than with Kevin Keegan. Wake up and smell the roses son, we’re no better off this time of the year as we were with Keegan last year. We still have under-achieving superstars earning more in a couple of months than my wife and I earn in a year.

2006 played 21 won 8 drawn 4 lost 9 27 for 24 against points 28 pos 9th
2005 played 22 won 7 drawn 7 lost 8 27 for 23 against points 28 pos 9th
(Figures from 365)

OPINION: TRUMANNS FOR STEEL

Questions invariably arise when supporters from all corners of the world, many (or most) of whom have never actually met, fork out for a banner reading simply, Trumanns For Steel.

Explaining Trumanns is, in football parlance, ‘a big ask’. Rather like trying to account for, say, inflatable bananas during the late 80s. How do you explain the unexplainable? How do you account for Trumanns’ fathomless complexities? What does it mean? Does anyone even understand it?

Readers already familiar with the Trumanns legend speak of its mythical powers. Others refer to it as the ‘Third Man’ in the Mercer-Allison dynasty. Some have even come to believe that success will continue to elude City until Trumanns returns. A sort of second-coming, if you like.

It’s a myth. A legend. Our 12th man.

And yet, surprisingly little is known about City’s shadowy talisman. Here then, is a brief history.

First, to the nitty gritty.

One-dimensionally speaking, Trumanns was nothing more than a big sign. An advertising hoarding, basically. Its message was clear enough. In yellow and red it screamed, “For all your steel requirements, think Trumanns”. Its meaning could scarcely be misunderstood. The possibility that the purchasing of steel and the watching of football did not go entirely hand in hand is not important in this story.

What is important is that, for many of us growing up watching City, Trumanns was a stable unswerving presence. A reassuring figure. Always there.

Like many of us, it moved around the ground. It was nomadic – almost as if it tired of watching the action from a certain part of the ground and put in a formal request to the club to be moved to another stand for the following season. Managers, players, kits – even Chairmen – came and went. But Trumanns was always there. A constant. You just never knew where it would pop up next. One season it’d be on the Main Stand. The next it’d be on the Kippax roof.

Metaphorically speaking, Trumanns represented City in so many ways. You were drawn to it. It was hypnotic. Magnetic, almost. You had no choice in the matter. Like City, it was always there. Also like City, it never bloody changed.

It represented a kind of escapism. During quiet moments of matches you’d find yourself ‘drifting off’ and settling on Trumanns instead of watching the game. One glance in its direction and before you knew it you’d missed a goal.

All very well. But why bring it back? Surely Trumanns lacks the immediate punch required for today’s harsh sound-bite culture. Some will sniff that it doesn’t chime with the ‘modern game’. Quite possibly, indeed probably, many will simply be at a loss to explain it. And I can’t even begin to imagine how visiting supporters will react when seeing it for the first time – to say nothing of the BBC cameras.

This is a good thing. I relish their lack of comprehension. It means they don’t ‘get it’. They lack finesse. Our gods are not their gods. We worship at a different altar.

Of course, to others, Trumanns is not meaningless. It drips with heavily ritualistic symbolism.

And, it’s certainly not just to conjure up pleasing images of old-fashioned promotional display boards that its presence is needed once more. Trumanns is symptomatic of our most success-littered period. Leaf through some old programmes. And there it is, hovering tantalizingly in the background. Keeping watch. It made its way into a disproportionate number of photos, to the extent that many came to think of it as a kind of Guardian Angel.

The reason for this is anyone’s guess. But, for a club that has made an art form of avoiding the chequered-flag-of-success over the years, we’re in no position to negotiate at length. To put it into perspective, we used to win things. And now we don’t.

Also, and this cannot be overstated, Trumanns Mk 2 is not a City flag. It’s a Bluemoon flag. As such it aspires to reflect the site as well as the club: contrary; different; subversive; provocative; stylish; absurd; and, typically City. Mystery, mystery, mystery.

About halfway through 24 Hour Party People (a film about another great Mancunian institution – Factory Records), Steve Coogan, playing Tony Wilson, quoting John Ford says, “When you have to choose between the truth and the legend – print the legend.”

Well, Bluemoon has printed the legend. And the legend is: ‘Trumanns For Steel’.

OPINION: ANOTHER POSSIBLE STAT ATTACK

Right. I have not submitted a statistics-based analysis of our predicted possible final league position so I thought I’d give it a crack.

Here is how I work out the league standings.

1. Last seasonss results (points) gained against the corresponding team = A
2. Pie sales for each home match, = B
3. Pie sales for away matches = C
4. Attendance for home matches = D
5. % of total attendance comprising of City fans at away matches = E
6. Last season’s demoted teams have been replaced by a tribe of savage monkeys
7. Ridiculous kick-off times imposed on us by Sky telly = F
8. Aliens take up residence in Gorton, buy the club using all their aliengold and buy Ronaldinio (also an alien) to play in our midfield alongsideMr Barton (to my knowledge although scouse, not an alien)

So: (A+B) x (F/D) F x C – E = total points

This done for all clubs gives the final league standings as follows.

POS PTS
1   60   Manchester City (this position is reliant on factor G.)
2   58   Chelsea
3   41   Liverpool
4   40   Totteningham
5   34   Wigan (their pie sales gives this unrealistic final standing)
6   34   Arsenal
7   32   Bolton
8   30   Blackburn
9   28   WHAM (A George Michael comeback increases album sales
              in the latter part of the season)
10  26   New'assle
11  26   Villa
12  25   Charlton
13  25   Fulham
14  23   Everton
15  23   Sunderland
16  19   Baggies
17  17   Birmingham
18  16   Middlesbrough (position due to factor H... I hate them)
19   6   Portsmouth (Forced to swap points with Sunderland for
         further ruining football, with Russian money)

This is not meant to offend all you stattos out there; just a bit of fun. I take my hat off to you for your prediction work, although I don’t see why you all bother as it is impossible to predict what our boys in blue will do in the next ten seconds let alone over a full season.

The future is bright… the Future is Blue.

OPINION: IT’S WRITTEN IN THE STARS

One point from four games, lucky in the Cup, dismal play, bad defending and, according to MCIVTA’s reports, no atmosphere, directors who don’t care, and caterers who can’t cook.

But there’s hope. Have just read James Hilton’s classic 1933 tale “Lost Horizon”, the story of the travellers who find Shangri-La in a hidden valley of the Himalayas. At one point in the story, in a speech plainly meant for City supporters, the head lama tells his visitors, “I believe that you will live through the long age of desolation, growing older and wiser and more patient. Beyond that, I see a new world stirring in the ruins, stirring clumsily but in hopefulness, seeking its lost and legendary treasures. And they will all be here, my son, hidden behind the mountains in the valley of Blue Moon …”

So, 4-0 on Saturday.

OPINION: STAND-IN ‘KEEPER

When asked before the Spurs game, SP said that Steven Jordan had put his hand up to volunteer.

REQUEST: BOLTON TICKETS AVAILABLE

I have 2 Bolton tickets for sale, at £39 each. Please call 07944 775022 or email.

REQUEST: SYDNEY BLUES

I am looking for a MCFC supporters’ club in Sydney, Australia. Does one exist in either Sydney or Australia at all, as I am moving out to Sydney in 3 weeks’ time and would like to meet up with Blues for the games.

REQUEST: LANCASTER BLUES VIEWING

Have just moved to Lancaster and wondered if anyone knows a good pub in which to watch the derby?

REQUEST: HONG KONG BLUES VIEWING

There are a couple of Blues meeting in Delany’s in Wan Chai to watch the derby. Saturday night 8pm onwards, match starts 8.45pm.

If anyone is interested see you there or email me for details.

REQUEST: SINGAPORE BLUES VIEWING

I will be in Singapore for the derby. Anyone have a suggestion as where there could be a get together?

REQUEST: AMSTERDAM BLUES VIEWING

Anybody else find themselves in Amsterdam for the derby? If so, where are you intending to watch it; would be better in a Blue crowd! Come on you Blues!

REQUEST: MANCHESTER vs. CANCER

Dear Blues,

This is just a gentle push to remind you of the concert in Manchester we at Great Northern are putting on. The aim is to raise £1 million for the development of Gene Therapy at Christies Hospital.

Taking place on the 28th of January at the M.E.N. arena, we’ve got a fantastic line-up already confirmed. New Order, Doves, Badly Worn Hat, Johnny Marr and The Healers, 808 State, Mr Scruff, Stephen Fretwell, Utah Saints, Mani + plus a couple of absolute top drawer surprises. Including ex-Smith and founder Andy Rourke and ex-Smith and top bloke(!) Johnny Marr playing together for the first time since ’87.

Please check our site http://www.manchestervcancer.co.uk/ to get your tickets. It really is going to be a great night – and as we’ve all been affected in one way or another – its benefits cannot be underestimated. Please take a look at the site for further details and line up updates, as I’m bound to have forgotten someone.

Thanks everyone, Happy New Year and hopefully see you on the 28th.

P.S. at least we got through the 3rd round.

RESULTS

League table to 11 January 2006 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Chelsea         21 11  0  0 28  6  8  1  1 18  4 19  1  1  46  10  36  58
 2 Manchester Utd  21  6  3  1 20  6  7  3  1 20 11 13  6  2  40  17  23  45
 3 Liverpool       19  8  1  1 16  4  4  4  1 12  7 12  5  2  28  11  17  41
 4 Tottenham H.    21  7  3  1 17  7  4  4  2 14 11 11  7  3  31  18  13  40
 5 Arsenal         20  8  1  1 20  4  2  3  5  7 11 10  4  6  27  15  12  34
 6 Wigan Athletic  21  6  1  4 16 14  5  0  5  9 12 11  1  9  25  26  -1  34
 7 Bolton Wndrs    19  5  3  1 11  4  4  2  4 14 16  9  5  5  25  20   5  32
 8 Blackburn R.    20  6  1  2 15 10  3  2  6 11 15  9  3  8  26  25   1  30
 9 Manchester City 21  5  2  4 13  9  3  2  5 14 15  8  4  9  27  24   3  28
10 West Ham United 21  4  1  5 15 15  3  4  4 12 15  7  5  9  27  30  -3  26
11 Newcastle Utd   20  4  4  1 10  8  3  1  7 10 15  7  5  8  20  23  -3  26
12 Aston Villa     21  3  3  4 11 12  3  4  4 14 18  6  7  8  25  30  -5  25
13 Charlton Ath.   19  3  1  6 11 16  5  0  4 13 14  8  1 10  24  30  -6  25
14 Fulham          21  6  2  2 17 12  0  3  8  8 18  6  5 10  25  30  -5  23
15 Everton         21  3  1  6  8 15  4  1  6  6 16  7  2 12  14  31 -17  23
16 Middlesbrough   20  3  5  3 15 17  2  2  5 10 13  5  7  8  25  30  -5  22
17 West Brom A.    21  5  1  5 17 14  0  3  7  3 17  5  4 12  20  31 -11  19
18 Portsmouth      21  2  4  4  6 11  2  1  8 10 22  4  5 12  16  33 -17  17
19 Birmingham City 20  2  2  6  9 14  2  2  6  6 15  4  4 12  15  29 -14  16
20 Sunderland      20  0  3  8  7 21  1  0  8  8 17  1  3 16  15  38 -23   6

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: