Newsletter #1209

News and reaction to the weekend’s games and latest injury crisis (Cole now out for the rest of the season – what odds can we get on City not scoring again until August?) thanks to Sarah.

We have match reports from Colin and Paul who bravely watched the game and managed to write about it! There’s plenty of excellent opinion on what went wrong, where to now, and the big summer clear-out.

Finally, City’s youth team put a smile on our faces for the first time in 3 games as they go through to the final of the FA Youth Cup after drawing with Newcastle 1-1 tonight, 4-3 on aggregate. Well done to all involved, who have shown tremendous commitment. We now face Liverpool over two legs to be played 13 and 21 April.

NEWS SUMMARY

For those people who have been on another planet (and thus able to avoid the wall-to-wall football this week), City lost in the league and lost in the cup and lost most of their players to injury as well: a bad week all round! Pearce was quoted recently as saying that he was on the lookout for new blood. If you’ve got the yellow kit and are free on Saturday, give Stuart a ring, you may well get a match vs. Chelsea!

Don’t blame me!
The Blues’ boss refused to blame his team selection for the home defeat against Wigan and conceded his under-strength side struggled to compete. Lee McCulloch’s header proved the difference after Pearce made eight changes to his line-up in anticipation of City’s FA Cup quarter-final on Monday. “The performance had a great deal to do with the defeat,” admitted Pearce. “With the changes we made, we brought our club captain back, we brought two international full backs back, there were one or two youngsters but in the main the performance was responsible for the result rather than the team selection.”

Pride in battle and proud despite defeat
Stuart Pearce has expressed his pride in his team in spite of his disappointment at their exit from the FA Cup after the 2-1 defeat to West Ham. “It’s very disappointing for me and the fans,” he said “they have been top notch tonight and they will be massively disappointed, but no more disappointed than us.” Pearce also admitted that his next job is “to pick the boys up and hopefully get some results between now and the end of the season.” City had the better of the opening 20 minutes or so, but once the free-flowing start to the game began to be broken up, the visitors got a foothold, and the Manager pinpointed the absence of Georgios Samaras among several injury absentees as crucial (what a shame he hadn’t foreseen this possibility before playing him on Saturday). The double blow of Ashton’s first goal and Sun Jihai’s sending off roused the City team, and Pearce was immensely proud of the sprit that saw his side desperately try to get back into the match. “We conceded a bad goal just before half-time, which cost us a bit, then Jihai getting sent off did not help at all. But when we went down to 10 men it was a colossal effort from the players, I don’t often give out compliments when my team gets beat but I thought they really stuck at it.”

Adding injury to insult
Now, just days before playing the league leaders, Manchester City are left counting the cost of their cup exit with an injury list that would have lesser managers positively squealing (Bruce and Souness for example). Striker Georgios Samaras is “likely to be out for a number of weeks” after damaging ankle ligaments against Wigan on Saturday. Moreover, it seems that Andy Cole will miss the rest of the season as he has had to have a second op to removing a floating body from his knee. Full back Stephen Jordan is awaiting scan results after hurting his left ankle in the FA Cup quarter-final defeat. Joey Barton was another casualty from the match, with the club waiting for scan results on a medial ligament strain on his left knee. Winger Albert Riera has a thigh strain, which is hoped will clear up soon, but Trevor Sinclair and Antoine Sibierski both face two weeks out with knee ligament trouble and a dead leg respectively. However, in spite of the current crisis, SP is still convinced that letting Robbie Fowler go was the right decision. He is not so happy though, with the delays in getting the physios on to treat injured players, claiming that the delay, waiting for the ref. to sanction their coming on to the pitch can actually make things worse.

Sun sees red
Sun Jihai will miss City’s next four games following his sending off against West Ham after he clashed with Matthew Etherington. A straight red card for violent conduct normally brings a ban of three games, but Jihai’s dismissal in a pre-season friendly against Stoke City last July has also been brought into the equation. FA rules stipulate that this game took place within the current season, so the ban will last for four matches. The suspension begins immediately, which means that the 28-year-old misses Saturday’s trip to Stamford Bridge. He will be eligible again for City’s home game against Arsenal on Easter Monday, April 17th.

Up for the Cup
This was going to be my piece about the FA Cup, but after Monday, I deleted all that, so now as our hopes of silverware rest with the youngsters. Stuart Pearce is calling on City fans to turn out in large numbers and support the Club’s youth team as they attempt to win through to the FA Youth Cup Final. The Under 18 side take a 3-2 lead into tonight’s game against Newcastle United, which kicks off at 7.30pm at the City of Manchester Stadium. City have not had a team make it through to the final of the Youth Cup since 1989, when David James was in goal for the Watford team that won the trophy at Maine Road. Academy chief Jim Cassell says that the Under 18s side is relaxed ahead of their Youth Cup semi-final second leg, so fingers crossed for one good result this week.

Boro’ game moves
The date of City’s home game with Middlesbrough has been changed due to the visitors’ UEFA Cup involvement. The game will now take place a day later than originally scheduled on Sunday April 2nd, kicking off at 3pm (let’s hope it goes the same way as the matches versus the other two North Eastern sides!). Meanwhile, the club has also given advance notice that the match vs. Arsenal on Easter Monday may be moved subject to Arsenal’s progress vs. Juventus (on April 5th).

Rugby at Eastlands?
The ERC have today announced that the City of Manchester Stadium could be set to host a Heineken Cup semi-final on the weekend of April 22/23, should Sale Sharks be successful in beating Biarritz in their quarter-final.

Transfer Speculation

Graveson’s future Really with Madrid
Thomas Gravesen has insisted he is happy at Real Madrid despite speculation linking him with a move back to England and to Manchester City.

Commit or quit
Joey Barton could be on his way if he doesn’t sign his contract soon. Recent press reports suggest that City could listen to offers for Barton if he fails to commit himself to the club in the next month. City also have the same issue with Distin, who has been linked with a move back to France (and who shares the same agent as Barton). Now Pearce’s frustration seems to be growing at the senior players who do not seem to share his passion and commitment for the club, and he has let it be known he is not impressed and would love to see clubs take a hard line against players and their agents. “It’s quite simple really”, he explains “if you don’t want to play for the club and give 110% and you’d rather be somewhere else, then move on quickly and we’ll get players who do.”

Pearce for England
No, due to internal FA politics, according to Terry Butcher, a former England team-mate (nothing to do with lack of experience and a not particularly impressive record then?).

Hapless Haapala
Finnish midfielder Tuomas Haapala has been allowed to turn out for Leicester City’s reserves on a trial basis. The 26-year-old, who was signed on a six-month contract in January, played for the Foxes’ second-string in their 2-0 defeat at home to Spurs’ reserves on Tuesday night. He hasn’t played for City except in the reserves and now looks unlikely to do so.

SWP to come good at Chelsea
Stuart Pearce has backed Shaun Wright-Phillips to come good at Chelsea despite a disappointing start to life at Stamford Bridge, ahead of Manchester City’s trip to the capital at the weekend. The City chief had Shaun Wright-Phillips briefly under his stewardship last season before he was sold last summer. Wright-Philips has struggled for playing time this season, has not played a full match and has not scored for Chelsea in his 23 appearances for the club. Pearce made an attempt to bring the player back to the Club he still appears to love on loan in January, but it was ‘no way’ from Jose!

MATCH REPORT: MCFC 1 WHUFC 2

Finally, it was here. After Saturday’s non-event, it was time for the main feature. The team news wasn’t good, with Samaras and Sinclair replaced by Wright-Phillips and Sun respectively. The folly of risking Samaras on Saturday was now laid bare but the folly of playing Sun instead of Croft was yet to be revealed.

Amazed to see from the seating arrangements that West Ham seemingly brought around 5,000 with them. Fantastic on a Monday night, despite the FA and TV’s best efforts. The rest of the ground seemed fairly full, from where I sat, except for the North Stand lower tier where there were large gaps. I have been critical of the whole pre-match atmosphere build-up in the past but, once the obligatory junior penalty shoot out had finished the DJ got it spot-on. He shut up and played some good Manchester music (Love Will Tear Us Apart – brilliant) and then the masterstroke. Before the teams came out they played tracks from the City CD. The crowd got into their seats early and were bellowing out the anthems: We’re Not Really Here, Blue Moon, etc. You wouldn’t have heard it if you were watching on TV (Eastenders was probably just finishing) but the teams weren’t even in the tunnel and the noise and atmosphere were absolutely fantastic, certainly the best I’ve experienced at CoMS. The decibel count went through the roof as the teams appeared; surely there was no way we could lose with backing like that?

The early exchanges showed that the team were as worked up as the crowd with eleven Stuart Pearces out there. Tackles were flying in, West Ham weren’t allowed any time on the ball and we had rediscovered the high-pace start that has served us so well at home. The early threat was all from City, with Musampa prominent, Hislop having to dive to turn his low shot away for a corner. He then advanced towards the Hammers’ goal as they all backed off but he seemed hesitant as the crowd screamed at him to shoot. Eventually he did but he was well off target. As far as goal threat was concerned, though, that was it for the rest of the half. City dominated but couldn’t break through. About halfway through the first half, Jordan went down awkwardly after a challenge. It looked odds on he would have to come off but the bench were very slow in getting Sommeil ready and he struggled on for a good few minutes with Riera covering for him. Despite one scare, he got through the next few minutes until the substitution could be made.

The first half was petering out, with the initial intensity fading and the crowd becoming quieter, and City fatally lost concentration. They had been winning 50/50 balls all night but suddenly the ball broke from midfield, a couple of tackles were missed and Ashton was one-on-one with Distin. There shouldn’t have been any great danger but he turned Distin inside out and scored with a fierce shot inside the near post. James looked a bit slow to get there but it would be harsh to lay the blame solely at his door. One attempt, one goal. What a familiar story.

The general consensus around me at half time was that Croft should replace Sun for the second half. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a bit of a Sun fan usually. He can be hit-and-miss but gives his all and is often very clever. He was keeping tabs on Etherington but we desperately needed some other options in attack. However, it was the same eleven that started the second half. We needed an early strike but it was West Ham who seemed the more composed and Etherington, Benayoun and Reo-Coker were running the show, the former putting in a long-range effort that hit the top of the crossbar. There was a chance for City as the ball came loose in the West Ham area and Sun put in an overhead kick but Konchesky had little difficulty clearing off the line.

Then Sun got involved in a tussle with Etherington as the ball was running out. It looked like nothing from where we sat but Howard Webb produced a straight red for the City man. The City players were furious and one or two must have come close to following him as they harangued the ref. Sun didn’t budge for a while but order was eventually restored. In some ways we weren’t too worried. It wouldn’t be the first time we had overturned a deficit with ten men and Sun had been one of our least effective performers on the night. The word went round that he’d swung an arm but it hadn’t been obvious from the stands.

City did actually up the ante and started to play with passion again. There were a few shots on target but all were straight at Hislop, who dealt with them easily. The crowd found their voices again but they were soon to be silenced. A West Ham player had gone down in the corner near the Colin Bell and South stands but City had the ball. The crowd screamed at them to play on but they probably weren’t aware of the situation anyway. Musampa got caught in possession but recovered to regain the ball halfway in his own half. Whether he was distracted by the still-prone West Ham player is unclear but he allowed himself to be robbed a second time. West Ham moved the ball into the City area quickly and again James seemed a bit slow to react. Consequently he was in no-man’s land as Dean Ashton was left with a simple tap-in to make it 2-0.

There was an odd substitution as Croft replaced Vassell, who’d had a busy and largely effective game, leaving only BWP up-front. He was then joined by Dunne. To me, the solution was to sacrifice a defender in order to keep a potentially dangerous forward on. Barton had been all over the pitch since Sun’s dismissal but really hadn’t been pivotal and he eventually went off injured, replaced by Ireland. Distin went up front as well. Then, with five minutes of normal time left, Croft crossed for Musampa who struck a superb volley into the back of the net. A frantic nine or ten minutes (there were four minutes added time) then followed but we were unable to get the equaliser. The whistle went and it was the Hammers’ fans that were in delirium. We had our chance and blew it spectacularly. There was little doubt that we’d been the major contributors to our own downfall but you couldn’t say that we ever gave the impression we were going to win it either.

My neighbour summed it up on the way home. Effort and endeavour can only count for so much and West Ham looked organised and didn’t lose their heads when they got the ball, moving it around well, while we were the opposite.

Final comment is about the crowd. 39,000 included 5,000 Hammers so we could only manage 34,000 for our first 6th round tie in 13 years. I could understand if people were put off by the problems in the ticket office but these were largely resolved by Sunday. However, it could be that if you were a Season Card holder and you couldn’t get through to get your own seat in time then you might not have bothered getting a ticket at all. I also understand that it can be difficult for some people mid-week, particularly young children (I was lucky to be in the area for the early part of the week). I hope the TV income made up for it and would be interested to hear why people who might normally have gone didn’t.

Marks:
James 5. Good on crosses; bad on distribution; positioning questionable for the goals.
Richards 8. Solid at the back and good going forward.
Dunne 7. Gave his all in a lung-busting performance.
Distin 6. Shaky on a number of occasions.
Jordan 6. Had done well until his injury.
Sun 5. A game to forget for him.
Barton 6. Occasion seemed to get the better of him.
Musampa 6. But for his moment of madness would have been 8.
Riera 6. Always busy and involved but no end product.
Wright-Phillips 4. Bit better than Saturday but not much. It might help if we played to his strengths.
Vassell 6. See comments on Riera.
Subs:
Sommeil 7. Didn’t put a foot wrong again.
Croft 7. Makes things happen. Should have been on for the second half.
Ireland 6. His neat, intelligent passing was wasted in a headless chicken finale.

MATCH VIEW: MCFC 1 WHUFC 2

Monday night was a night we had to put out a second-rate side and we didn’t deserve to win, so let’s get over it quickly and move on. Samaras and Cole being injured meant that we were always going to struggle, and so the fact people are now surprised and frustrated confuses me – what were you expecting when your senior/best players aren’t around?

That said, we conceded goals we shouldn’t have, and could have done more to make the most of our chances. BWP to me looked ridiculously nervous – it was almost as if this was his first match playing for the senior squad and he’d forgotten how to actually play. His substitution came way too late for my liking.

The Sun Jihai incident was a stupidly conceded red-card (looked like he was an 8-year old on the playground), and I’m growing tired of the lack of quality in him. A few minutes before he was sent off, he was down on the right wing near the opposition’s corner, defender on, and he wasted time dummying the ball and showboating whilst all our players in the box were waiting, and waiting, and getting marked. I was hoping SP would sub him as I thought he was quickly becoming a liability on the field. I should become a fortune-teller!

On the quality side, Dunne and Distin were being asked to play from some ridiculous positions and did surprisingly well considering, and I think John Nisbit in MCIVTA 1208 was a bit harsh on them. James was solid, and Musampa up-front was showing promise – just don’t expect any quality defensive play from him.

And before everybody starts railing on SP, it might be worth remembering that the Wigan game on Saturday was the first game we lost at home since Chelsea on the 28th December. And on a bad day, he’s still better than KK ever was at his best.

I’d have liked to see us at Wem ermm.. Cardiff, but I knew before the kick-off on Monday it was an outside chance given squad injuries. Let’s hope we get a first-rate squad back from injury soon, who can maybe help settle the nerves in a few players and knuckle down for a solid ending to the season. You can’t have a squad composed entirely of Samaras’, so calls for “more quality” need to be balanced with being grateful for what we do have, and I think it’s premature to start calling SP a fool for the first truly bad home game we’ve had in a long, long time…

OPINION: DO THEY CARE?

I had exactly the same experience as Colin Savage (MCIVTA 1208) when trying to book my tickets for the West Ham game; In fact I managed to get through on the Wednesday to hand over my details and then be told that my ticket couldn’t be confirmed and that the ticket office would ring me back to confirm the booking later that day.

After a two day wait without any confirmation I rang back and after several attempts I finally succeeded for a snotty girl to tell me that the ticket couldn’t be confirmed and the only way my ticket could be confirmed would be to ask my bank if they money had gone out! Customer service at its very best… not! Fortunately the purchase had been confirmed (by my bank!) but had it not I wouldn’t have bothered going through the débâcle and expense of ringing the ticket office (maybe that’s one of the reasons the attendance was pretty low). People would have simply given up. Just how difficult is it to sell 20,000 tickets!?

The game itself was a huge disappointment. I think the biggest mistake was Pearce risking Samaras on Saturday as most of our problems stemmed from the forwards being unable to win/hold the ball up. To me what was most frustrating was the club undermining the supporters by playing loud music through the PA rather than let us get the atmosphere going (much to our frustration in the East stand). We are not Bolton, we can sing to create at atmosphere.

Like recent posts I feel a number of fringe players have been seriously found out this last few weeks but I do have to disagree with the postings about Sommeil – I think he’s come in several times this season and done a sterling job.

Already looking forward to the season finishing so we can start again next year.

OPINION: MONDAY POST MORTEM I

Totally gutted, that’s how we all felt after Monday night’s game. In truth we played poorly. West Ham were not much better and had a bit of luck about them. But let’s look at some facts. I know it’s the same for both teams but to have to play 2 games within 48 hours in the quarter finals of the FA Cup is disgraceful. The FA should be shot for that decision. They effectively killed the game, for TV revenue. It could never be a classic.

Joey Barton was obviously not fully fit. Big Sam out. BWeep, Sun and Dunniemonster playing 2 games in 48 hours. Tricky Trev (one of our main threats this year) out. It was going to be tough even without this and now looking at the injury list today, it’s taken a heavy toll on the club.

Let’s get some things straight. SP took over a c**p squad going nowhere almost 12 months ago. He had Macpointalot, Bosvelt, Macken, Negouai and Fowler. All inherited from KK. The squad was woefully out of any balance, no 2 players fighting for 1 spot. We had 5 in one position and 1 in another. We had no money (it was all p**sed away by KK), the 6th highest wage bill in the Premiership, and young players were leaving to get a chance elsewhere.

Enter SP. He got rid of half the c**p and the rest (Thatcher, Mills and Bischoff) will be gone soon. There’s a few more he would like to get rid of but Rome wasn’t built in a day, and he has to have some stability. He has encouraged the kids and played them as much as possible… but there’s a limit to how many kids you can have at one time. You would want no more than two kids in at any one time, no matter how well they are playing, but SP hasn’t had that luxury. His hand has been forced by injuries and so you get performances like Monday night.

David Moyes has just had 4 years at Everton and he inherited not a bad squad. SP has had 1 year!

I know we’re all gutted now, but give SP the backing and the credit he deserves and let’s see where we are when he has 4 years in.

OPINION: MONDAY POST MORTEM II

My first signs of concern showed up when I saw the score from the Wigan game and the line up. “Mmmm,” I thought, “he’s going for the Cup as the way into Europe.” That’s ignoring our long and glorious history of looking gift horses in the mouth. And so it proved tonight. As much as it pains me to say it, I can’t see us getting this close to a Cup final again for a long time. Not that we deserved anything tonight. As poor a performance as all season. Yes, we had injuries (why risk Samaras on Saturday if tonight’s game was the one to win?) but, as others noted, does that excuse this display?

This is what I would take from the past few games.

1. Pearce is the right person for the job but he still has a long, long wayto go before he is the finished article. His decisions during the game seemto be increasingly odd – leaving it very late to bring on Croft and Irelandand to leave on Bradley who had a very poor game tonight.
2. That it should now be clear to even the most cash conscious board memberthat we have a squad that just does not have the quality needed for sustainedimprovement. I have a feeling we may lose Distin and Barton but if so getmoney for them because they can both be replaced; i.e. they are not thatoutstanding as players. Distin seems frustrated beyond words with the team’sslide.
3. We have a real challenge for the rest of the season – looking at thefixture list there is a chance we could go without another win; this is nothow I felt this time last year or at the beginning of the season.
4. There are some good, young players – but let’s be honest and not say we havea group of young world beaters. Richards and Ireland of tonight’s groupimpress me. Croft and Jordan are worth a squad place, Bradley I’m not sureabout. Samaras looks very promising. So we have a group of 6-7 so far who canbe further evaluated. And there may be others coming up from the youth team.But to put them into a team that is struggling is asking an awful lot.

This is really not that upbeat is it? But tonight was one of those occasions where you look at the play and wonder where the progress is and how they can improve as a team. Sun was sent off for the kind of tackling and holding he has done for ages and we once again witness an alarming number of passes given away. If the season’s success hinged on this game then the season has been a failure. It will be up to the manager now, with some senior players, to see what can be done with the remaining games.

Very, very disappointed indeed.

OPINION: MONDAY POST MORTEM III

Gutted is the only word I can describe about Monday’s match. In 25 years of following City I have left early fewer than 3 times. The second goal for West Ham though, epitomised for me what was a very poor performance. Where was the passion and desire?

West Ham, a goal up with a one man advantage, wanted the ball more than we did and I couldn’t take that and left with over 20 minutes to go. Furious wasn’t the word – why do they always let us down when it counts? Answers on a postcard please.

OPINION: MONDAY POST MORTEM IV

Two poor teams, neither deserving to win but nonetheless a game with excitement born out of tension. Still, it could be worse: we could be in Birmingham’s position.

I think SP should be given a copy of Machiavelli’s “The Prince” and reconsider his approach to referees (think penalties and hair driers at Old Trafford).

BWeeP should be taken on one side and have it explained to him that he is not so venerated or brilliant that he can choose which balls he will bother to run after and he should be told that if he is selected he is expected to run after anything where there is even the remotest chance of getting the ball.

Samaras is out for several weeks; others have commented on the lack of wisdom of playing him semi-fit against Wigan but I worry that he doesn’t get much protection from referees. Although it is an ankle injury that is causing the problems, I’m still surprised that the studs in the back attack hasn’t been investigated by the video panel – back to SP and his approach to referees.

Sun Jihai: in isolation the argument that he raised his arms is indisputable but Ashton’s forearm into Distin’s face caused more damage and having watched it a few times I would say it was equally deliberate. His left arm moves twice as far and as fast as his right which isn’t consistent with a simple use of the arms for balance. Whilst I’m ranting you can bet that a City player would have been booked for catching the ball near the side-line, rules is rules we would have been told and deliberate handball is a booking. Did you watch Reo-Coker’s face when he was finally booked for his third bookable offence? His smirk said it all.

Ah well, with any luck I won’t have to suffer too many more TV appearances by City this season.

OPINION: MONDAY POST MORTEM V

Where to begin? A lot of words ending in -less spring to mind. They seem to pop up a lot. Firstly, what was the point in sending long balls to the head of Vassell? After the first couple it was obvious that he would be out-jumped every time. BWP was (insert prefix here) -less. Off the pace, slow and not interested. Midfield, well Mr Barton was non-existent.

Wasn’t this an important game? Were we up for it? West Ham were bad but we were *less, but then why are we surprised? We are a mid-table team lacking in class and nothing in midfield. It was joy to watch the City midfield standing off West Ham players, giving them time to pick their passes. The second goal was a joke. The first was *less, beaten at the first post). However, were we always taught to play to the whistle? I learned that at Crab Lane County Primary. This season is over. Just like when we got gifted a chance into Europe under special K, we squandered it.

We have a gilt-edged chance to get something going and we prove to be (words fail me)-less. Today in the M.E.N. we read about Psycho saying “there should have been a camera in the dressing room; the players were gutted or something – you should have seen their faces.” Haven’t we heard that one before Psycho? I don’t want to hear about how we should feel sorry for them. They failed to perform and compete, it’s their problem and we pay. It’s -less. I live in America now and I’ve managed to educate people that there is more than one team from Manchester. My colleagues have started to show an interest in the real Manchester team. I’m going to keep my mouth shut in future. We are going nowhere (Richards, Dunne, and the subs did well, I also thought Riera did well. We’ll lose him to a class team where he’ll be able to play football).

That’s it. Gutted and couldn’t care less of California.

P.S. There’s still a 6 pack in the fridge that I couldn’t bring myself to drink if anyone wants it.

OPINION: MONDAY POST MORTEM VI

I am sure there are going to be loads of emails grumbling about last night and this is no different. However, I do not want to analyse the match or the players’ and manager’s performance too much but some things do need saying.

Last night we were under strength due to the absence of 3 key players, two of whom were injured on Saturday in a nothing game. Cole was out long term but versus Wigan Croft should have started instead of Sinclair and Samaras should not have been in the squad. It is plain for all to see that without him we are toothless up front.

When Jordan got injured last night, only 3 people thought he might carry on: Jordan, the physio (“2 minutes”?) and Pearce. The obvious substitution was Sun at full back and bring on Croft. Nope, stick with Sun in midfield supporting a kid with one full game under his belt and Vassell who, despite being an excellent player, his finishing is poor. Last night I do not think he had one shot. Given we were powder puff up front, we needed more ammunition in midfield and Sun was far from the answer.

Pearce needs to learn quickly – he is giving the same excuses every week now. Why are the press saying he is so good? Points wise we are no better off than last season under the much vilified KK. Are England really looking at him? His favourite phrase when we were beating Portsmouth, Sunderland, Birmingham, Charlton etc. was “if we play like that every week we will win more games than we lose.” Well check out the league table. We clearly are not playing like that every week and what are we doing to address it? We can barely buy a goal away from home at the moment, never mind a point. He is not playing full back for England anymore. He is an overrated, wet behind the ears manager. Don’t get me wrong, we could do a lot worse than him and he might prove to be a good manager long term. However, a teflon manager defending teflon players is not what this club needs. I have been desperate for Mel Machin, Peter Reid, Brian Horton, Alan Ball etc. all to succeed despite my worries about their ability, but what did they achieve? Why will Stuart Pearce be any different?

Distin and Barton should remember that despite what their agent thinks of them, the players they are up against show them for what they are worth. Nigel Reo Coker is the latest in a long list of bread and butter midfielders who have made Barton look very ordinary this season. If Barton can find a club who will pay him more than we have put on the table then I will drive him up there myself. I really wanted Barton to inspire us to the Cup final and Europe so he earned the contract he thinks he deserves. It was so apparent that we needed him at his best last night and he was not able to deliver. Against West Ham at home. Distin can leave as well. If we are not good enough for him why stand in his way? He is not good enough to defend against Jason Roberts so why would we want him? By the way I am only picking on these because they think they are better than City deserve. The rest of the squad know they are onto a good thing.

Let’s face it and let’s get real – with the debt we cannot invest in enough decent players. We have the nucleus of a good side that could be top 6 but it is not going to happen. A manager who can turn us into top 6 material would not dream of coming here. Why would he? If he was good enough to do that he would be managing someone in the current top six who have got a few bob to spend and Europe already a regular fixture.

Anyroad, given the way the current set up is inspiring me, the question my non-City mates are asking me today is “have you renewed your season ticket?” My response: “You bet I have! Come on City, get stuck into those Chelsea rent boys! Roll on next season, get in there boys!”

OPINION: MONDAY POST MORTEM VII

I completely understand John Nisbet’s frustration, we really weren’t in the game on Monday night, but Pearce clearly isn’t going to have bucket loads of dosh to spend this summer and we are kidding ourselves if we think otherwise.

Unfortunately we need a staring squad next season and if there is no money provided to spend you can’t just get rid of a load of players that won’t bring any money in (if we think they are c**p then so does everybody else). Somehow we desperately need to strengthen midfield and get some goals from that area.

Monday’s fiasco clearly wasn’t helped by the performances and attitudes of some players. Okay so Sun Jihai has apologised; in all honesty he shouldn’t have been there to do it as SP should have pulled him off at half-time when he had contributed nothing in the game. Up front we were clearly lightweight and midfield (of whom only 2 of the 4 actually looked like they were up for it, and one of them was culpable for the second goal) were second to nearly every ball.

The game plan appeared to be “hoof it over the top”, but that wasn’t going to work against West Ham and neither BWP nor Vassell are target men. I have never criticised SP before but I thought the team’s tactics, which are down to him, were naïve and lacking ideas.

We have not looked good away all season (except Charlton) and we now look like we are losing the little bit of form we had at home. How many more points do we think we will get from 5 away games and 3 at home (Boro, Arsenal, Fulham)? I think we will be lucky to get to 45! That will leave us well in the bottom half and therefore backwards from last season.

OPINION: MONDAY POST MORTEM VIII

Another season over with nothing to show for the early promise at the start of the campaign. How quickly two games can turn a season around and Stuart Pearce must have some hard thinking to do if we are ever to challenge for trophies again.

The decision to start the Wigan game with a ‘Kevin Keegan’ team in hindsight was a mistake, but this should not have been the case as the players brought in were mainly experienced professionals who should have been fighting to prove they are good enough for a place. This is plainly not the case, as the majority were a total disgrace and confirmed they are only interested in collecting large financial rewards for very little effort. Danny Mills, Thatcher, Reyna, Sun and Sibierski should be shown the door as quickly as possible; they continue to show a total lack of skill, commitment and are obviously no longer good enough to play Premiership football. Stuart Pearce could and should have expected more from the team against Wigan, he and the fans were let down badly by an appalling display.

West Ham was a total anticlimax; when the side was announced, I was concerned by where the goals would come from. The loss of Samaras and Sinclair was an almighty blow. Wright-Phillips is not good enough for the Premiership, he would be excellent in the lower leagues and I am afraid City fans see him through rose tinted glasses based on his brother’s reputation. Sun again was the wrong choice, what has Croft got to do to prove he is a better bet on the right side when Sinclair is unavailable? Any hope we had of getting a result was totally ruined by his deserved sending off, he over-reacted badly to nothing in particular and to raise his hands was totally unacceptable. He should be put on the slow boat to China without delay. West Ham were nothing in particular but in key areas wanted it more than we did.

Barton will now be on his way, the way he left the pitch before being substituted was unacceptable. Running down the tunnel leaving us with 9 men on the field when Ireland wasn’t ready to come on; compare this with Jordan who was clearly struggling with injury but manfully stayed on the pitch until his replacement was ready. Distin will also leave now as there is no hope of European football next season, so a major clear out / rebuilding exercise will need to be undertaken before the new season begins.

We do have some promise but this has to be harnessed with quality. Will that quality now sign for us when Europe will not be on offer? I am becoming very disillusioned that we will ever win a trophy again. I first went to Maine Road in 1955 and I am now 55. Will I see another trophy in my lifetime? My son, now 25, has been coming with me since he was 5 and has yet to see them win a trophy. I now have my first grandchild; how long will she have to wait before City are again parading a trophy around the city?

OPINION: MONDAY POST MORTEM IX

“If Numbers 8 and 17 ever wear a blue shirt again it will be too soon”

If ever a game was summed up in one sentence. How could Pearce say that he was proud of his players after last night? I am thoroughly ashamed.

OPINION: TIME FOR A CLEAROUT I

Well we have seen some dross this season but I now think a reality check is needed. Whilst we seemed to have advanced slightly, in the way the youngsters have come through, we have to accept that this season has been a backward step from last season. Before anyone starts their anti-Keegan articles, what I mean is that seasoned players have seen their form dip, whilst others who never had any form have shown what a waste of space they are, and yes Keegan did sign them.

So let’s look at who we should get rid of: Mills and Thatcher, liabilities that can’t pass a ball to a blue shirt. Mills seems unable to see Croft and Thatcher seems to be able to be outwitted by even the slowest of wide men. Sun and Sibierski, these two have always had the “Can play in a number of positions” tag, but this season the have proved they are c**p in them all. Musampa and Riera, thank God they are on loan and judging by their performances recently you can see why their clubs were glad to offload them, have proved to be inconsistent, wasteful and, in the case of Riera, invisible. I had forgot he was still on the pitch in the second half against West Ham.

Reyna, I think either he is the world’s unluckiest man or a raving hypochondriac. No-one can have a worse sick record than him, but I bet he’s fit for the World Cup. I will not bother with Bischoff and Haapala because they are not worth it, so that leaves everyone’s favourite idiot Joey Gerrard, sorry Barton. Can’t pass a ball three yards, his corners and free kicks either hit the first man or miss everyone. He can’t make his mind up whether he is a defensive or attacking midfielder and ends up being neither, as he does not have the speed or strength to get up and down the field. For proof of this ask Distin why he berated Joey when West Ham’s entire midfield were attacking our box whilst he was still trying to jog to the half way line. In short, Joey Barton is an average Championship player and people should wake up and realise this. Mind you I hope other teams don’t and we can sell this over paid halfwit at the end of the season.

Up front I am sorry but Bradley you are nowhere near good enough, you are supposedly a speed merchant but you do not seem to understand that you should be putting in runs along the opposition’s line of defence. When Trevor had his shot, at the end of the West Ham match, the ‘keeper spilt the ball, Sinclair falls over, gets up and tries to challenge for the ball, where were you? Answer: just entering the 18 yard box, not good enough. You have not shown a single facet of your game to show you can make it; I am sorry, time to move on.

So after that little lot, the squad seems pretty bare, but then we all realised that after the reserves didn’t bother turning up against Wigan. So what are we looking at?

Goalkeeping wise we seem alright, I still rate James even if he usually has a mad moment every game. In Richards, Onuoha, Jordan and hopefully Mat Mills we have the full backs sorted out, though an additional left back would be preferable. Centre halves Dunne and we must get Distin to stay, we need to keep our class players, if not we may have to look at Richards or Onouha or buying another class act.

Midfield is our really weak area, out of the midfielders we have now I would keep Sinclair, Croft and Ireland. Ireland and Sinclair are worth a place in the starting line-up; I felt Stevie was a bit too lightweight, at first, but we do not have a better passer of the ball and the lad has great vision. So we need to buy players of the likes of Gravesen and Malbranque or any of those that are a mile and a half ahead of Joey in the queue to get into the England squad, Nolan, Reo-Coker, Parker etc. We also need to buy a pacey forward to put the pressure on Vassell. Miller may also prove a great asset but that is a wait and see for the present.

So goalkeeping and defensive wise we should be alright, if a left back is added. Attacking we do not need major surgery, just another addition, but for God’s sake let it be someone with class and pace. Midfield is due for a trip to casualty to see if we can remove the dead tissue and transplant in some real class. Psycho needs to be brutal and get the best available players. By this I mean international class players who are prepared to work and support both defence and midfield, because if our midfield cannot do this then they will, again, struggle in the Premiership.

Come on Psycho, remove the dead meat and give us class.

OPINION: TIME FOR A CLEAROUT II

Well I throw my tuppence worth into the mix:

David James, while a brilliant shot stopper, leaves me nervous. Maybe Nicky Weaver should get a run?
Micah Richards is one for the future, keep.
Distin seems distracted and not the player he was last year, shaky at the back.
Richard Dunne not like last year, but gives everything, keep.
Stephen Jordan, progressing, deserves more time.
Sun Jihai, sorry not up to it.
Claudio Reyna, too many missed games, dunno.
Joey Barton. Filled with his own importance, Stephen Gerrard? Not fit to lace his boots.
Kiki Musumpa, like him, seems better in the centre.
Riera. Nah.
Trevor Sinclair, keep, keep, keep.
Bradley W-P starting to wonder if he’s up to it?
Samaras, could be a beauty.
Andy Cole, we look toothless without him.
Darius Vassell, at times looks completely disinterested. Maybe SP needs to get inside his head.
Manager. Seems a little naïve tactically, an absolute joy to watch, better than the team! If only they all had his passion.

Stay Blue, ’cause if we don’t support ’em, nobody will! Thank heavens we have those forty points.

OPINION: TIME FOR A CLEAROUT III

Oh dear. The display against Wigan was probably the worst City game I have seen for many years. Playing with the Cup in mind despite what SP claimed and look where we are now, out of the cup and not likely to finish top 10.

Have to agree with John Nisbet in MCIVTA 1208. We have too many journeymen who offer nothing other than making the numbers up:

Danny Mills – awful
Ben Thatcher – lunges in, drawn out of position and unaware of what goes on around him
Distin – not skipper material, no right foot and gets caught out too often
Dunne – too many fouls near to our penalty area and basic mistakes
Midfield – oh dear, no creativity and lightweight
Musampa – generally OK, was lazy on Monday, mistakes cost us and the misses, well…
Riera – where does he go for the last 70 minutes?
Barton – too many mistakes, missed passes, doesn’t learn
Reyna – slow and labouring
Sun Jihai – oh nice guy he may be etc. but lightweight and not a Premier League player

Samaras out for weeks means we will struggle. No firepower without Cole as Vassell tries to be too clever and ends up looking plan daft. BWP – needs to mature, too soon to tell.

I think SP needs to rethink his squad and get what he can for the above. Blood the youngsters and accept we may have 18 months of struggling but a brighter future perhaps? Othwerwise I cannot see SP getting funds to strengthen what is a wafer thin squad in terms of quality.

Hmmm, why did I renew? Perhaps it is because I’m City Til I Die (and everyone else has nicked this now too!).

OPINION: TIME FOR A CLEAROUT IV

I agree with all of his suggestions for the clearout, but would include David James (can’t stop a near post shot), Distin (body language says he is already somewhere else) and Bradley Wright-Phillips (can’t strike the ball hard enough) as well.

How long must we suffer under the delusions of Man City manager hype? The team seems to have no ambition or desire but is content with mid-table mediocrity and it is just not good enough at these prices and wages.

Unless the majority of John Nisbet’s recommendations are implemented, City will be struggling to avoid the bottom six next season. Mind, we will have to find some effective replacements. I expect a continuing run of poor results for the rest of this season and predict that Pearce will be the first Premiership managerial departure next term.

OPINION: BACK THEM

I find it amazing how negative everyone becomes when we are obviously fielding a weakened team due to injuries. If anyone else had fielded a team of brilliant hardworking youngsters that did half as well, we would have been praising them to the heavens. The only person who did not look like he was giving his all was Joey Barton. I suspect that he is carrying an injury. How quickly some of you lose faith in someone who works hard week in, week out. So we are out of the cup but we could still get in Europe; it will be difficult but it is still possible. Come on you Blues! Get behind them!

REQUEST: DERBY MEMORIES

Can anybody help me resolve something?

In the 60’s and 70’s, back in the Kippax, when we played ManU, (a) did they ever get half the Kippax and (b) were the two sets of fans separated by a rope? Those are the facts according to a ManU fan relating to a 0-0 night game circa 1973. That isn’t my recollection of derby games I attended back then.

True or false?

RESULTS

League table to 22 March 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         30 14  1  0 35  8 10  2  3 23 11 24  3  3  58  19  39  75
 2 Manchester Utd  29  9  3  1 27  8 10  3  3 31 21 19  6  4  58  29  29  63
 3 Liverpool       31 12  3  1 25  6  6  4  5 17 15 18  7  6  42  21  21  61
 4 Tottenham H.    30  9  5  1 25 12  5  5  5 18 16 14 10  6  43  28  15  52
 5 Arsenal         30 11  2  2 35  9  4  3  8 13 14 15  5 10  48  23  25  50
 6 Blackburn R.    30 11  2  2 27 15  4  2  9 14 21 15  4 11  41  36   5  49
 7 Bolton Wndrs    28  9  4  1 22  7  4  5  5 17 21 13  9  6  39  28  11  48
 8 Wigan Athletic  30  6  2  7 18 19  8  2  5 17 17 14  4 12  35  36  -1  46
 9 Everton         30  8  1  6 18 17  5  3  7 10 21 13  4 13  28  38 -10  43
10 West Ham United 29  7  2  6 26 22  5  4  5 18 22 12  6 11  44  44   0  42
11 Manchester City 30  9  2  5 24 14  3  2  9 15 21 12  4 14  39  35   4  40
12 Newcastle Utd   30  7  5  3 18 13  4  1 10 12 22 11  6 13  30  35  -5  39
13 Charlton Ath.   30  6  3  6 17 17  5  3  7 17 24 11  6 13  34  41  -7  39
14 Fulham          31 10  2  3 26 17  0  3 13 14 34 10  5 16  40  51 -11  35
15 Aston Villa     30  4  4  6 15 17  4  6  6 19 24  8 10 12  34  41  -7  34
16 Middlesbrough   29  5  5  5 21 24  4  2  8 18 25  9  7 13  39  49 -10  34
17 West Brom A.    30  6  1  9 21 21  1  5  8  6 24  7  6 17  27  45 -18  27
18 Birmingham City 29  4  3  8 16 19  2  3  9  7 22  6  6 17  23  41 -18  24
19 Portsmouth      30  3  5  6 10 17  3  1 12 14 34  6  6 18  24  51 -27  24
20 Sunderland      30  0  4 11  9 28  2  0 13 10 26  2  4 24  19  54 -35  10

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: