Newsletter #1317

Four points over the Easter weekend sees us achieve the 40 point target that should guarantee safety and nestle into 12th place. The Charlton game brought frustrations in our lack of finishing and set pieces, whereas Fulham saw us continue our away form of 2007 with another committed team performance and comfortable 3-1 victory.

Tonight we have Alex’s monthly round-up, opinion on expenditure, midfield and the usual requests.

MARCH MONTHLY ROUND-UP

Ambition; Talent; Passion, the traits of a brilliant footballer: The traits of Emile Mpenza.

March’s opening games saw the Citizens fall poorly to Wigan and fail for the second consecutive year to progress from the quarter finals of the FA Cup after a 2-0 loss against hosts Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. Tempers flared at Ewood Park as Blues fans questioned the heart and passion of Pearce’s men and a deadline was set by fans for a quick revival but with the visitors up and coming being the Champions, many firmly believed this would simply not be our month. However, the Blues battled against Chelsea and provided a great account of themselves, yet still were beaten (albeit to a dubious penalty decision).

As pressure mounted and fears of relegation maximised, City fans knew that their team needed two very rare wins away from home to soothe their Premier League problems, and soothe they did. A 2-0 victory at the Riverside against a supposedly weakened Middlesbrough side (although the hosts seemed to drop only two regulars and did use one as a substitute). Goals from Sylvain Distin and new boy Emile Mpenza secured three points for the relegation battlers. A second trip to the North East in as many weeks produced the Blues’ salvation as City overcame Newcastle United at St James’ Park with another late Emile Mpenza goal. The passion he portrayed for the badge of our much beloved club meant almost as much as the three points his goal provided to all fans who watched him. How ironic that our most effective signing of the season cost nothing and hopefully the Belgian striker will become the consistent strike force that the club has waited for all season.

With a goal tally that only betters Watford and yet a defensive record that equates to a top six position, there are no questions to which areas will have to up their game for the remainder of the season and those which Pearce must review when the summer transfer window opens. A mixed bag of fixtures remains in front of MCFC this season and hopefully my next monthly report will be full of praise for our startling consistent form in which we couldn’t stop scoring and the ball didn’t enter our goal. However, I am a City fan and where would be the fun in that?

OPINION: MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Memo to Stuart Pearce:

You said we need to spend to become a top 10 team. Der, wrong answer! We need players who will give 110% each week when they wear the blue shirt. Not players that go from club to club, collecting inflated salaries and doing beggar-all for the team cause.

Take Bolton for example. They have a bunch of ageing players who seem to want to walk over broken glass for their manager. They seem to have pride in what they do, and consequently Bolton have done remarkably well. And remember Stuart, your spending record isn’t the best, is it? Six million quid on a basically untried lad. Now I would really like Samaras to do well, but the pressure on a young kid must be immense. Some cope, others don’t handle it that well.

Like the look of Johnson. I know my eyes are suspect but side on, looks like a young Colin Bell. Gee, wouldn’t that be cool if he turned out half as good as the great man? Defensively we’re good, nearly a goal a game against and that’s European football competition, but where I do agree with Pearce is that we badly need a goalscorer, but then you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realise that.

Stay Blue, had a great Easter and it didn’t involve football of any description.

OPINION: MAN IN THE MIDDLE

Well I got up this morning at 4am to watch the Blues vs. Charlton. Not the best game but well worth the effort.

I watch a group of youngsters playing in the midfield who in my opinion can go all the way. Not once did they give up and, with Sun playing just behind them, can only grow to be some of the best in the league.

I hope we pick up the points vs. Fulham and SP plays the trio until the end of the season. Yes I’m talking about Johnson, Barton, and Ireland; what are their wages? Small change, about £45,000 per week. Laughing all the way to the bank!

REQUEST: ARSENAL TICKETS

I have two tickets going spare for the Arsenal fixture.

Face value, can meet in Manchester or at game. Contact me on: 07812 065005.

Whatever you do, stay Blue!

REQUEST: ARSENAL TICKETS & GENTS MORNING

Two Arsenal tickets going spare: contact Phil 07956459131.

Gentleman’s Morning: this event is so popular that by special demand we are now doing two a season. City fans really know how to enjoy themselves. The next one is before the Villa game at Heaton Park social club and tickets are only £7.50. Buy 10 get one free. It starts 10:30 am and finishes 2 pm; the venue is only 15 minutes from CoMS. For more info contact Don 01617989994.

RESULTS

7 April 2007

Arsenal               0 - 1  West Ham United       60,098
Blackburn Rovers      1 - 2  Aston Villa           24,211
Chelsea               1 - 0  Tottenham Hotspur     41,864
Middlesbrough         4 - 1  Watford               25,534
Portsmouth            2 - 1  Manchester United     20,223
Reading               1 - 2  Liverpool             24,121
Sheffield United      1 - 2  Newcastle United      32,572
Wigan Athletic        1 - 3  Bolton Wanderers      18,610

6 April 2007

Everton               4 - 1  Fulham                35,612
Manchester City       0 - 0  Charlton Athletic     41,424

League table to 07 April 2007 inclusive

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Manchester Utd  32 14  1  1 43 10 11  2  3 32 13 25  3  4  75  23  52  78
 2 Chelsea         32 12  4  0 34  8 11  2  3 22 11 23  6  3  56  19  37  75
 3 Liverpool       32 12  3  1 33  5  6  3  7 17 17 18  6  8  50  22  28  60
 4 Arsenal         31  9  5  1 34 12  7  2  7 18 17 16  7  8  52  29  23  55
 5 Bolton Wndrs    32  9  3  4 22 14  7  2  7 17 25 16  5 11  39  39   0  53
 6 Everton         32  9  4  3 26 12  4  7  5 17 16 13 11  8  43  28  15  50
 7 Tottenham H.    32 11  1  4 29 18  3  5  8 15 27 14  6 12  44  45  -1  48
 8 Portsmouth      32  9  4  3 24 13  3  6  7 15 20 12 10 10  39  33   6  46
 9 Reading         32  9  2  5 27 18  4  3  9 17 23 13  5 14  44  41   3  44
10 Newcastle Utd   32  7  5  4 23 18  4  2 10 13 23 11  7 14  36  41  -5  40
11 Blackburn R.    32  7  2  7 21 20  5  2  9 17 27 12  4 16  38  47  -9  40
12 Middlesbrough   32  9  3  4 25 17  1  6  9 11 22 10  9 13  36  39  -3  39
13 Aston Villa     32  6  6  4 16 13  2  8  6 16 24  8 14 10  32  37  -5  38
14 Manchester City 31  5  5  6 10 13  5  2  8 13 21 10  7 14  23  34 -11  37
15 Fulham          32  6  6  4 15 14  1  8  7 18 35  7 14 11  33  49 -16  35
16 Wigan Athletic  32  5  3  8 15 23  4  3  9 16 25  9  6 17  31  48 -17  33
17 Charlton Ath.   32  7  3  6 18 17  1  4 11 11 32  8  7 17  29  49 -20  31
18 Sheff. United   32  5  6  5 19 19  3  1 12  7 28  8  7 17  26  47 -21  31
19 West Ham United 32  6  2  8 19 21  2  3 11  7 30  8  5 19  26  51 -25  29
20 Watford         32  2  7  7 13 21  1  4 11  7 30  3 11 18  20  51 -31  20

MCIVTA FAQ [v0607.01]

[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 Radio Manchester (née GMR) pre and post match phone-in is available on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/sport/manchester_city/index.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://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer, 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 Plus Markets Group web site http://www.plusmarketsgroup.com/ 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] I hear there is a TV programme specifically about City?

InsideMCFC is broadcasted by ChannelM. It is available on the SkyDigital (ch.203) and NTL (ch.26) platforms as well as being transmittedtraditionally within the Manchester area (ch.39). In addition, theprogramme is available to watch via the web. More details and schedule:http://www.channelm.co.uk/features/city.html

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: