Newsletter #1443

Continuing opinion on the transfer sagas, City apparently causing problems in Switzerland with a pre-season friendly cancellation and the usual requests.

OPINION: RONALDINHO AND THE KIT

Re: Keith Sharp’s piece in the last issue. Whilst I totally agree that Ronadinho signing would have been an absolute joke (we do not need a ludicrously overpaid show pony here thanks) I have to vehemently disagree with the fact that City’s team has by and large consists of players who play solely for the shirt and ‘want to be here’. I don’t believe this is in the main the truth.

Football is a hugely overpaid luxurious job. Money has spoilt that loyalty and romanticism. Just look at Dunne and Hart. If the club didn’t bow to their wage demands they’d be off.

That is a sad part of football. You just have to hope that when they do get their huge salaries they are willing to put the effort in. As we have witnessed you can’t even guarantee that now. There is absolutely no loyalty, it’s a tired old 70’s mentality and we just have to keep up with the Portsmouths of this world.

However, I truly believe that this year is gonna be a goody. Well done Thaksin. However, when it comes to picking players’ butt out. That’s Hughes’ job and the R scenario made you look a fool.

P.S. the new kit is awful. Lazy, uninspired design, cheap looking and ill fitting, with shorts to match. City really need to start getting it right in these fashion-led times. Spurs always seem to have good clobber as do the European teams. We are mugged every time.

OPINION: PRE SEASON COCK-UPS

“Manchester City calls off participating in the Uhrencup”

Looks like our beloved City are once again treating fans and tournament organisers with little or no respect and are now being faced with legal action following their withdrawal.

I have 2 pairs of tickets, going cheap, only £107, could be collector’s items!

Below is a statement issued by Uhrencup organisers.

“Manchester City calls off participating in the 2008 Uhrencup tournament in Grenchen! The English Premier League club has just informed the organizers of the Uhrencup, less then three weeks before it is due to start, that they have, regretfully, had to call off their participation in the tournament, citing, as reason, a change of priorities by their new trainer Mark Hughes. Uhrencup reacted promptly, tried everything in its power to persuade them to honour their original commitment but failed. Manchester City could not be moved, finding it ratter more convenient to pay the contractual fine than participating.”

“The Uhrencup finds Manchester City’s action very disappointing and totally unacceptable. It shows, considering the shortness of the notice, a complete disrespect to the organizers, the other participants and the fans. Manchester City, in failing to honour a legal contract it signed with Uhrencup as it should, has now put the tournament into some financial difficulties. For this reason, Uhrencup has contacted the European football association and looking into a possible legal action against the club.”

“Meanwhile, a frantic effort is underway to find a replacement. A difficult task, considering the little time Uhrencup has to get a good, preferably another top club, to replace Manchester City.”

“Regardless of this setback, the tournament is going full steam ahead as scheduled, and will feature the traditional four teams led by world-class clubs Borussia Dortmund, the Swiss Champions FC Basel and FC Luzern. And the validity of the Uhrencup’s tickets remains unchanged.”

From a personal view I was looking forward to the trip, hotels and tickets have been booked. Luckily I have been able to cancel the hotels. However, the match tickets is another issue, the tournament organisers are insisting the tickets are valid and I have lost over £100. Roll on 2008/09, could be my last season, fast losing faith with City and our esteemed owner!

REQUEST: MILTON KEYNES BLUES

The AGM of the Official Manchester City Supporters’ Club of Milton Keynes will be held on Thursday 24 July at the Windmill Pub and Restaurant at Caldecotte, Milton Keynes. The meeting will commence at 7.30pm and it is open to all members and potential members.

We will be taking advantage of the pub’s reasonable food prices and having a meal whilst discussing all things City and the AGM.

Next season’s subscriptions will be due once the AGM has taken place.

If anyone would like to attend and would like directions to the Windmill pub, please contact me on the email address below. I may be offline for a short while in July whilst I move house, in which case please contact Steve Maclean on <fruitbog(at)gmail.com>.

REQUEST: GERMAN TRAINING

Due to the fact that I live in Southern Germany, I would be interested to find out exactly were Mark Hughes is taking the team for their pre-season boot camp.

Does anybody have any input for me?

REQUEST: HAMBURG BLUES VIEWING

Did any fellow MCIVTA’ers go to the last friendly in Hamburg a few years ago? I am after some info. Did anyone else go on the boat that was acquired by City fans? If so, can you remember who arranged it? I assume it was done by one of the fanzines and I was hoping it would be arranged again this year but I’m not sure who to contact.

Also, after the game thousands of Blues congregated in a square for a booze up and a sing song. Can anyone remember where that square was? I think it was somewhere near, or off The Reeperbahn.

Clearly it’s all a bit of a hazy blur from last time so any help will be much appreciated!

MCIVTA FAQ [v0708.01]

[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 Points of Blue (formerly the Fans’ Committee)?

The committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. Points of Blue appears 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] 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/.

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: