Newsletter #1228

Thanks to Mads and Svenn for standing in and ensuring continuity during my recent move and battle for Internet connection.

On reading some of the back issues, it seems mad season is well and truly upon us, and nothing that those of a negative persuasion love more than a club potentially in crisis. Pass the Prozac!

Tonight we have opinion on our rumoured next signing Dabo, a view on the return of Dickov, Wardle’s lack of ambition and the World Cup. Meanwhile, Danny “Hard Man Talking” Mills has been told he is free to leave by Pearce. Good move IMO.

OPINION: DABO

There are many rumors here in Rome about the transfer of Ousmane Dabo from Lazio to Manchester City. The French midfielder has ended his contract with Lazio so he is free to choose his new club and all newspapers here write that the transfer to MCFC will be official in the next few days.

He was born in Laval (France) on 08/02/1977 and he played in Italy for Vicenza, Parma, Atalanta, Inter Milan, and then Lazio. Here is his curriculum vitae with number of matches and goals:

Serie A 2005/2006 LAZIO    31 2
Serie A 2004/2005 LAZIO    29 1
Serie A 2003/2004 LAZIO    19 0
Serie A 2002/2003 ATALANTA 31 4
Serie A 2001/2002 ATALANTA 21 0
Ligue 1 2000/2001 MONACO   16 0
Serie A 2000/2001 VICENZA  17 1
Serie A 1999/2000 INTER     8 0
Serie A 1999/2000 PARMA    16 0
Serie A 1998/1999 INTER     5 0
Serie A 1998/1999 VICENZA  13 0
Ligue 1 1997/1998 RENNES   12 1
Ligue 1 1996/1997 RENNES   24 1
Ligue 1 1995/1996 RENNES    5 0

OPINION: DICKOV

Given the reception and parting reserved for Dickov at Blackburn only a few weeks ago, I am surprised at his comments about City fans loving him. Not me. Terrible, terrible buy.

Never a City player: tries hard, but not enough ability. The board really are taking the p***. Dickov for Anelka shows we are going backwards – irrespective of personalities.

How can we expect to hang on to talent such as Pearce, Barton (yes Joey, despite his gob), SWP and a myriad of youngsters with this demonstration of intent? The squad would look a lot better with Gravesen, Jarosik, Gera, SWP added.

I was so pleased when Dickov finally left. I threatened to send my season ticket back last month if we signed him back. It was no idle threat. I am now considering my position!

Whatever you do, stay Blue!

OPINION: LACK OF AMBITION

I wrote last year that the decision to sell SWP demonstrated a complete lack of ambition by City, to which I received many emails agreeing. It would appear now, in the close season, that nothing has changed: we are linked with Dickov, yesterday’s headless chicken, and Quinton Fortune, who was quoted as saying “Celtic are one of the greatest clubs in the world – the history and passion around the place is unbelievable”. i.e. I want money because I am c**p!

It’s a sure sign that the club has lost the plot! What the **** is going on? Is Wardle for real?

Have we sunk so low that all we can attract are rejects from the Rags and Scottish dwarves? Who, whilst he did score that goal, can never ever repeat it? I agree with a comment recently about when we were in the 2nd Division and they i.e. Goater, Weaver et al of course the last man we had playing for us Andy Morrison played for the club – apart from Pearce! It goes from bad to worse; maybe Wardle is a Red in disguise?

OPINION: NUMBER EIGHT RUMOURS

I read with interest this morning in the Sunday Mirror that Joey Barton is in trouble again.

Turning up late for a meeting with the manager then, because he was told he’d have to wait, b*ggered off to play golf.

But worse still, the Sunday Mirror reports that there have been no enquiries about him. Well then Joey, how good are you now?

But his attitude will be that he’s getting paid anyway, so he’ll just see out his contract, and wait for a club on a free next year.

You know, I just wish someone at the club (someone like Dunney) would take him into a quiet room with the doors locked for 5 minutes.

Barton, you are an *rseh%le. Sod off now!

REQUEST: WORLD CUP SPREADSHEET

If anyone is interested, there is a free Excel sheet at the link below for the World Cup.

I’ve had sheets like this before, which compile the group tables etc, but this is easily the best yet.

There are flags of each country and if you click on one, it plays the national anthem of that country.

If you click on a fixture, it highlights the stadium on a map to the right. And if you click on the stadium on the map, it shows you a picture of it briefly.

It covers every angle of eventuality including penalty shootouts and even drawing of lots at the group stages. Great fun. Enjoy.

http://www.parry.co.nz/downloads.html

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: