Newsletter #1524

Apologies for the delay – security software on the PC playing up, which meant no safe access to emails!

As this is going out post the disappointment of the Hamburg game and we bow out of Europe with only the league and finishing as high as possible there to concentrate on, all focus turns to Sunday’s home game.

Tonight we have match views and opinion, reaction to the last few games and the news round up with thanks to Sarah.

NEWS SUMMARY

Post-Match Reaction

The Manager: Mark Hughes was facing a rising tide of opposition from Manchester City supporters on Sunday after the club slumped to their fifth defeat in six matches. After lack of action, comes the reaction of the Manager: “I think people saw a lot of tired legs out there against Fulham,” was Hughes’ explanation after City’s pitiful performance against Fulham. “I made changes because I was trying to protect players. I thought at half-time when we were 1-0 up that we were reasonably comfortable but we conceded a poor first goal and then compounded that by giving away a poor second one. In the end we ran out of gas and were not able to get a presence in the game. The lads have put in a huge shift over the last month or so and maybe this was a game that was a little too much for us given our energy levels. It is a shame because we have had a decent record here. What we have to do now is recover as well as we can for Thursday and make sure we give it a real go.” Hughes will now keep his fingers crossed that some of the walking wounded are back for the visit of Hamburg. “There will be no Craig Bellamy on Thursday but we are very hopeful about Shaun Wright-Phillips making it, Vincent Kompany will be touch and go but Wayne Bridge is very doubtful,” he revealed.

The Fans: A chorus of boos rang out at the final whistle against Fulham, who came from behind at the City of Manchester Stadium for the second season running to win 3-1 and pile pressure on the City manager. Hughes elected to start the match with Robinho on the bench and was greeted with cries of “You don’t know what you’re doing” and “Hughesy, sort it out” from a section of City fans when he decided to bring on Ched Evans, rather than the mercurial Brazil forward, for Valeri Bojinov in the 55th minute. When finally introduced with 26 minutes remaining, however, Robinho’s contribution was negligible and it seems likely that the player, who has not scored in 15 matches, will be offloaded in the summer provided that City can find a buyer. Hughes attempted to play down the boos, but the patience of a section of supporters appears to be wearing thin.

The Players: Nigel de Jong hopes he and his team-mates can offer the long-suffering City fans something to cheer about before the end of the season. “We tried to do our best but in the second half it all went wrong,” de Jong told the club’s official website. “I’m gutted, two wins in a row and you can be seventh, so it’s tough when you lose that kind of game at home. That’s football, but it still hurts. You put every effort into the game, so of course it hurts. We don’t set out to lose on purpose, nobody does, and we need to repay the fans by showing our true quality now.”

Shay Pleads for Time: Given is keen to stress that the club have embarked on a long-term project. The Irishman said: “In years to come I think this will be a great club to be involved with. But Rome was not built in a day. People automatically feel we are a top-six team because we are one of the richest clubs in the world. They are comparing us to Chelsea when Roman Abramovich took over but they were already a top four side who just added more quality to make them champions. It is going to take us longer. Everybody is impatient and want us to be there yesterday but we have got to put the building blocks in place.”

Pre-Match Talk

SWP Looks Ahead: Shaun Wright-Phillips believes his dream of winning the UEFA Cup is far from over. City face an uphill task to overturn a 3-1 deficit against Hamburg in the quarter-final but Wright-Phillips, who faces a late fitness test on an ankle injury, is convinced they can get back to winning ways after five defeats in six matches in all competitions. “All I’ll say is that it’s not over until the fat lady sings, it’s not finished until the whole tie is done.” He added: “We are recognised as being very good at home, and if we play the way we usually do, we will make enough chances to win 2-0” (let’s just hope it’s Shaun-ie Right, Right, Right!).

Hughes Hopes for Faith: Hughes believes that home advantage will stand his side in good stead for their quest to pull their UEFA Cup campaign back from the brink, but the fact that Hamburg have won all five of their UEFA Cup games on the road this season hints that this may be a step too far for the English side. Meanwhile, Jol has been linked with a move to City (let’s just wait and see what happens tonight?).

I Wanna Be Like Roo: Striker Valeri Bojinov has targeted Wayne Rooney’s achievements at rivals Manchester United as the benchmark to which he has set his ambitions with Mark Hughes’s side. However, Bojinov’s impact at City since his arrival in the summer of 2007 has been severely limited with a series of serious injuries, which have sidelined him for much of his Eastlands career to date. He returned to action for City at the start of March with a substitute appearance against West Ham, and following two successive starts against Sunderland and Fulham the 23-year-old is now ready to show his club’s fans what he can do. “For me, one of the best strikers in The Premier League is Wayne Rooney,” said Bojinov. “He runs into space, supports the side and scores goals. That is my style of play, it is what I want to do for City. I want to score against Rooney and United in the derby at Old Trafford. That is a big ambition. A big dream.”

Off-Pitch News

Losses On and Off the Pitch: City recorded a loss of nearly £30 million in the 12 months to 31 May last year and still went on to spend £135 million in the next two transfer windows. The Club has already attracted criticism from managers worried by their intent to buy success and the new figures will fuel further anger. The £135 million spent on bringing players such as Robinho, Craig Bellamy, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Shay Given to Eastlands was only offset by the £16 million raised for selling Georgios Samaras, Vedran Corluka, Andreas Isaksson and Rolando Bianchi. The accounts detail the period when City was under the control of Thaksin Shinawatra, although it has since changed hands to the Abu Dhabi United Group. During the 11 months of his ownership documented in the accounts, City’s wage bill rose 50% to £54.2 million and it is certain to have leapt again following summer and January spending. Although revenues rose to £83 million due to the new Premier League television deal, the club still spent way beyond its means. ADUG claims it is going to be a long-term investor in City and it had better be because without its patronage it is impossible to see how the club could survive. Due to the constraints of the stadium-leasing arrangement with the city council, net gate receipts for the year were a little more than £11 million. Which only just covers Robinho’s reported wages!

Transfer News and Gossip

Adriano set to return to the game, but probably not with City. Portsmouth, Hull City and Manchester City transfer target Colin Kazim-Richards has denied he’s about to leave Fenerbahce for a Premier League club, but he’s flattered by potential interest. Ribery, Upson, Zarate all have been mentioned in the same sentence as City but with the transfer window still shut, City surely have more important things to think about!

OPINION: NOT GROUNDHOG DAY

Losing a lead pathetically to Fulham at home twice in two years… I overheard someone say “It’s like Groundhog Day.” I beg to differ.

The difference between this and last season’s Fulham games for me was that we were playing out a season with the only thing to play for being where in mid-table we were going to end up, we knew Sven was a dead man walking and Fulham were battling hard against relegation. I watched in horror as they came out and fought like dogs to turn the score around but given our experience of suffering the same on so many occasions, I looked at their away end and the only perverse pleasure I derived from that match was to understand exactly what the win meant to them. I could not deny a small corner of my mind actually being really happy for their fans as a flipside to how bad I felt for my fellow Blues. A friend of mine criticised me for being, er, well, a bit too buddhist about it and looking at a game in hindsight from almost a neutral perspective. He told me to go and watch cricket.

This season, we ostensibly have better players, and Fulham are playing somewhat more attractively and aren’t in trouble. The sort of team we should thrive against, winning in a manner pleasing to the eye. We have two chances at the same time albeit fairly slim ones of European qualification for being good (ha ha!) at football as opposed to basically being well behaved. And we get this.

We have players who are, in football terms, embryos, asking for an alleged £75,000 a week. I thought to myself that it was the very least the club could have done not to put up the prices this year, but I’m starting to think that the only true thank you would be to give us the next entire season for free after Sunday’s shocking collapse.

To paraphrase a tune title by Beck, MCFC make me want to smoke crack.

However, to turn the club’s name into an adjective, it would be so manchestercityish of City to tonk Hamburg this week, wouldn’t it?

OPINION: RECENT FORM

Some very good comments about games/defeats by Arsenal, Hamburg and Fulham in the last three issues.

No one though mentioned the fact that the worst characteristic of all these performances was the way we gave away possession. Not bad at winning it but awful at times when mis-placing passes. Bellamy for the second Arsenal goal right through to Dunne and Zab against Fulham with their first and last goals.

Lots one could say but I’m waiting till after Thursday’s 2nd leg against Hamburg (Al Mansour and Simon Pearce attending).

One thing to ponder on till then and again no one mentioning it either here or on manchesteronline site: the comment that MH was always pontificating about during early part of this season, but never mentions now. That is “With my training intensity methods, we will be so much stronger in the second half/latter stages of the season”.

Please, someone compare and do the stats between two parts of this season and also what happened under Sven.

Did anyone see Jo for Everton last Sunday at Villa? What a lovely performance. Reminded me of Summerbee holding up the play with back to goal in late 60’s. Playing in Franny/ Colin/ Young and Coleman. Just another demonstration of the difference of a good coach (Moyes) with MH and his boyo’s.

OPINION: THE ONE THAT THEY WANT?

Having watched most matches this year, I hope that I can give an objective view on the Hughes debate and City’s general state. Ultimately I’m not sure about the whole “in Sparky we trust” line. I absolutely agree that we will get nowhere without stability at the top; in the English game this seems to be a requirement, although elsewhere in Europe the big clubs change managers every couple of seasons.

The thing is that Hughes was brought in to build a side to challenge for the top 6, only for the Abu Dhabi guys to come in three months later and change the rules. Their stated aim is no longer top 6, but top 4 and then a realistic challenge on all fronts over the next 5-10 years. Since they arrived, we have spent circa £85 million, more than anyone else and yet we will end up with fewer points than last year and barring some heroics, out of European competition next season. In fact, over the last 4 transfer windows we have spent something like £150 million to creep into the top 10.

Now, if we want to be like Villa or Spurs and limit our ambitions to the top 6, then Hughes is probably safe for at least another 9 months. However, I don’t think that is what our owners want. We all know that they want substantial progress and none is being made, but even that is not the main issue. To achieve what they want, a significant shift is required. We are buying the players that would fit into a Villa or Spurs level outfit and as such they will get us to the top 6 in the next year or two. There will still be a huge gulf between the top 4 and us. I believe that there is only one way round this and that is to put someone at the top of the tree who will make players of “top 4” quality and consistency want to come to City. Much as I have always admired Hughes as a player and a manager, he is not that person.

Personally I think the Kaka deal was a bit bonkers as he’s possibly a bit over-rated but it serves as a good illustration. His and Milan’s body language seemed to be saying “who the hell are this lot?” we weren’t being treated seriously. However, if the man at the helm of the team making the approach was himself very high profile, I suspect things might have been very different. The point is that to attract the players who are of that top 4 calibre, we need a manager with a reputation and track record that people will take seriously. This is one position in which we cannot go with potential, we must have the very best we can get. My guess is that Hughes will go unless he wins the UEFA Cup and he will be replaced with that big name manager.

The bizarre thing is that our previous manager was probably better connected and I wonder if they regretted his departure around August last year?! Sven won’t be coming back of course, but expect a name that will turn heads as it is the only way to achieve the owners’ ambitions. Only then will the big name players look at City for any reason other than money and put the hard graft in. Many will say no until they are assured Champions’ League football but there is clear evidence around Europe that top players will take a year out of the top grade if they believe in the project: see Milan, Valencia, Juventus etc.

Our message needs to be compelling and they need to believe that they will only have 1 year away from the top table and then they will be returning as a powerful and very competitive force. It sounds fanciful, but if you think this through logically, given our spending power it is the only way, these players will not buy into a 5 year plan – their careers are too short for that! They’ll just say “see you in 5 years then”! However, a big manager with big time experience can pull it off.

To make the point, who thinks Ferguson would succeed in the position? Obviously that’s not going to happen, nor would any of us want him, but do you get my point?

So what about the playing staff? The simple test to apply is this: How many of our players are wanted by the top 4? We have a few top 4 cast offs, players who are stars in a side like City/Spurs/Villa but who couldn’t quite make it in the top 4. Of these I would make SWP exempt as he’s a better player in a light blue shirt than anywhere else except perhaps if he were in north London. I also think that Robinho is there if he wants to be, Given is world class and Ireland is getting there, but that’s it.

Like it or not, if City are serious in their stated intentions, then to get into the top 4 the average player value in the squad needs to be £15-20 million. That’s value, not necessarily what we will have to pay for them. To challenge for the title consistently, you’re looking at £20-30 million per player. This is reality: look at United or Chelsea’s sides. Even Liverpool and Arsenal have a high average values and they each depend on a few superstars Gerrard, Torres, Fabregas etc., all in the top dozen on the planet.

This is a bit sad from an academy point of view, but looking at it from the owners’ angle, the academy has to be producing top 4 quality talent and harsh, even heretical as it is to say this, we haven’t done it so far. The conveyor belt of very good players is enviable but we need to wake up and realise that the academy kids will not achieve the club’s new objectives. They will, however, generate some cash in transfers and maybe 1 or 2 squad players. Over time, the level will go up and we may unearth a star, but we need to get real and realise that the academy is not a blueprint for the top 4.

So the question is, what do the owners want to do? We can keep spending £50-100 million in each window, buying players who will get us into the top 6, but to really challenge for the big time, a change in image is needed and that starts at the very top. The top 4 is such a closed shop now, that the only way to break in is through a big project led by a big name and some very big deals. On his own, a Kaka type individual will not make much difference, even if he could be persuaded to come. The challenge is to get someone at the helm who will turn a few heads and the rest will steadily follow over 3 or 4 years. There are a few who fit the bill and I’m sure you can all think of options. The man at Inter Milan, whatever your views on him, being the obvious one. So this summer, rather than trying to sign big names and failing, I hope they start with the big name manager and then the fun can begin.

OPINION: STAND UP AND BE COUNTED

I’m sorry but after City’s dreadful 3-1 home capitulation to Fulham, I have come to the conclusion that I can’t watch this pathetic outfit play anymore. The moment Dempsey netted the first goal to cancel out Stevie Ireland’s promising early strike, I turned off the box, hoping that it is just me who continually jinxes them when I watch them on TV. But I did tape the game just in case. No such luck. We lost 3-1 to a Fulham oufit, the collective value of which is less than one Brazilian who spent most of the afternoon sitting on the bench, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else than at Eastlands.

But what really gets me his Sparky’s excuse that his team was just tired after the Hamburg outing. Excuse me but five of his starting lineup didn’t even play in Hamburg. And I thought the idea of the Fulham game was that it was a six-pointer and that we still had a chance of finishing seventh and qualifying for next year’s Euro League. Hughes has said all along that his team would be better in the second half of this season. Run that by me again.

At one point we were beating Portsmouth 6-0, Hull City 5-0, Arsenal 3-0. Now we can’t even beat Fulham at home and we needed a defender to score the only goal against 10-man Sunderland. How is this an improvement? Sorry Mark but if City don’t pull off a minor miracle and beat Hamburg on Thursday, you are done like dinner. Our Arab friends cannot possibly condone a multi-million dollar lineup that can’t beat mediocre opposition and can’t even get up for key games like Hamburg or Fulham.

Listening to North American sports media, City are talked about like one big, expensive joke… and it’s really hard to take.

A failure to qualify on Thursday means that this season is officially in the tank and Mr Cook and Co. are going to have to find someone who can assemble a semblance of a decent team.

But before I do end this rant, I do feel sorry for Steve Ireland, Richard Dunne, Nedum Ohuhu, Shay Given, SWP and a couple of players who do try week in, week out. This is by no means a lost cause. We just need someone like David Moyes who knows what selecting a real team is all about.

My pick for next year’s manager, on the bench on Thursday, Martin Jol!

OPINION: WOULD A CHANGE DO YOU GOOD?

Well here we are again, time to change managers because, as City fans know better than anyone, that always works! There’s nothing better than switching out the manager, enjoying that momentary spike in performances, then realizing that we’ve done it again! Another clueless manager. Let’s get rid of this one too.

Or… just maybe… there is something to be said for keeping your manager and letting him have an impact over the long term.

Great teams are made over time. You buy in good players, gradually ship out the ones that don’t fit with the overall plan. For each player that’s perfect for the team, you’ll buy two that, though good, don’t completely work and ultimately have to go, but over time you get to the position where you only have to tinker. That’s the way it works. It’s the way Ferguson does it, it’s the way Wenger does it. It’s why the little clubs that punch above their weight are always the ones who have stuck with their manager through thick and thin for umpteen years. We need to follow the example of Everton, who stuck with David Moyes when they were fighting relegation in 2005, out of all cups, in Moyes’s third season, looking like they were going backwards. They weren’t, but sometimes you have to undo a few things before you can put them together properly.

Or, because I like cake analogies, you can’t bake a cake in 5 minutes, no matter how good the ingredients bought by the sheikh.

I’m impressed with Hughes. Not based on this or that game, this or that team selection, this or that failure to make a good substitution, but based on the fact that he seems to make the big decisions well, i.e. buying players, and that will pay dividends over the long term.

OPINION: COMMUNICATION LETS US DOWN

For years, I’ve known people laugh at Rafa Benitez for patting his head and tickling his nads on the touchline but at least he’s got ideas and communicated them to the players. For 70 minutes Hughes sat on his arse watching his team struggle against Fulham. When he did stand up, all he did was shake his head or make absurd substitutions.

It was embarrassing to watch Ched Evans replace Bojinov, even more embarrassing to see Zabaleta force onto the wing and Ireland drop back into a holding position. But the most humiliating thing I have experienced in a long time (and I had to call the AA to change a tyre) was being oley’ed by Fulham fans. Fulham! If you can’t stop them passing, what are you doing on a pitch?

Have I missed a trick here where a straight swap striker for striker was a genius tactical move, especially when your chosen sub hasn’t proven himself a match winner in any shape, and when Hughes does put two forwards on, Ireland has to drop into a holding position? Why do we need two holding midfielders when we are pushing for a win?

Once again I’ve failed to see a single tactic come from this shambles of a manager, nor a decent substitution. The man is a joke and I fully agree with Ray Bardsley. It was beyond enough in December, now it’s just like having open heart surgery perform by a blind cat using salted glass and vinegar.

I hate the men up top for what they are doing to the club I love. Hate them and I have never hated anything at City and never thought I would. It is embarrassing, painful and just plain obnoxiousness towards life long supporters. Burn the Rag!

P.S. on a slightly different note, why are the renewals coming in May, when last year we had them in March with two reduced price periods before general price renewals came in at the end of May? I think this may be a sign of “no more cut price season cards for you people, we need to waste the money on wages.” So much for rewarding loyalty.

OPINION: THE MANAGER AND CERTAIN PLAYERS

I am writing this on Wednesday before the big game against Hamburg. If selected there are three players who need to looked at closely to see if they are giving a 100% effort for the cause. The players are Robinho, Elano and Micah Richards.

Sparky is almost in a can’t win situation: he drops Robinho to the bench in the last game – why? Because he has not been giving his best or shall I be kind and just say he is off form?

The trouble is that we all know Robinho is a class player, but look back, he has not scored home or away since December 28th 2008 versus Blackburn, hardly the player for what money he is getting?

Elano has not played in every game but he has only scored a penalty versus Villa March 4th 2009, his only goal since last October 2008.

Look at Micah’s defensive mistakes – they stand out, he has shown us all that he is a better player at least last season.

Just in case anyone thinks that I am still not behind Mark Hughes to be the manager next season, despite whatever happens in the rest of this season, I shall make it very clear, in Sparky I trust. I will be a critic of anything that I see, be it positive or negative. We need an honest team.

Nothing would please me more than to see every player who puts on a City shirt give his best, they owe it to the supporters and fans that help pay their large wages.

And I hope very much that the three players that I have mentioned play very well and help City to beat Hamburg.

Come on you Blues! I still trust in Sparky!

OPINION: HILLSBOROUGH

Whenever we need reminding that whatever our views on our beloved team are, they pale into insignificance when compared to the events of twenty years ago today. I still remember watching the scenes on television and, just like every time I’ve seen the footage ever since, I’ve tried to focus on individuals within the crowd, watching their movements, hoping that they weren’t going to end up as one of the 96 dead. As a City supporter who used to love standing on the Kippax, I can remember how the crowd moved when it was a full house and passions ran high. I was always grateful for the metal rails every so many steps that helped prevent us all from falling over at times. Although I remember being crushed against one of them in my first match on the Kippax, against Liverpool, at least I could move away as I didn’t have the whole weight of the crowd behind me pushing into me.

I followed City away to Hillsborough many times after what happened twenty years ago, but I have always avoided going down that tunnel to where the pens were, and have sat on the upper tier instead. I don’t know why they didn’t order the complete destruction of that stand after what happened, but it always gave me the creeps whenever I went there. Perhaps the answer is in how people in different areas of the country still ‘remember’ what happened that day. As an everyday supporter I knew that what the Sun printed, and others repeated, was rubbish. There have always been numpties in every club’s support but no right minded supporter ever believed the filth that the Sun printed. Nor did we believe the words of Graham Kelly, who had already shown himself to be an idiot many times before Hillsborough. No, anyone who has ever attended a large scale football match on a terrace knows that there was only ever one culprit. Even the Taylor report confirmed that it was failures in policing that were to blame, but instead the focus of the media and politicians was magically shifted towards the much easier target of making grounds all-seater, thereby gentrifying the football experience, but requiring the kind of money that brought the Premier League about.

So many times at Maine Road, and on away trips, there were examples of unbelievably bad policing. I remember being knocked down by a police horse, which as a big guy wasn’t so bad, but the same horse then knocked over a pregnant woman with no apology or attempt to help them and this was after a fairly uneventful match with no trouble. The way we used to be penned in when leaving the ground, especially round the narrow gaps behind the North Stand, and the ginnel down the other end behind the corner of the Platt Lane Stand and the Kippax, it was amazing that we never had any kind of major incident. Certainly one positive aspect of our new home is that access is much easier, so I don’t know if policing has actually improved or if there are just less chances of trouble occurring because of the ground layout. I don’t know if GMP are any better than South Yorkshire or West Midland’s police forces, but what I do know, and learned very quickly when I first started attending matches and because of Hillsborough, is that football supporters are seen as nothing more than the dregs of society by our boys in blue, and that when any decision is made about policing we are always the last people to be catered for.

I am glad we have slightly more customer friendly stadiums to visit these days (though I wish that would extend to the catering!), but I would love to be able to stand once more on a terrace supporting my team, knowing that it had been designed to prevent crushing, and trusting that the police knew what they were doing in terms of crowd control, but as it seems unlikely that the latter will ever happen then I doubt whether we will ever get terracing back. I do remember that day twenty years ago vividly though, and wish that we could have learnt the necessary lessons before 96 innocent football supporters lost their lives. RIP.

REQUEST: SEASONCARD AVAILABLE

I am unable to use it for the final three matches; if anybody wants to it for a vastly reduced cost from the normal ticket, please send me a contact number.

REQUEST: KING OF THE KIPPAX

King of the Kippax fanzine number 169 will be out tonight and on sale over the next few weeks. This issue includes a Mark Radcliffe interview, fans forum, pundit review, newcomers at coms, previews and reviews, UEFA, pundit poll, who goes, who stays, plus all the usual news, views, comment and opinion on all thing City. It’s £2.50 for 52 A4 pages. Good luck to the lads tonight, stick it up ’em. 2-0.

REQUEST: OLD BOYS DINNER

An Old Boys Dinner is being held at the Blue Seas Restaurant, Ashton-under-Lyne on Wednesday 22 April at 7-30pm.

Several Old Boys will be attending. The event is being compered by Jimmy Wagg, Peter Barnes and Tommy Booth will be doing a Question and Answer session. Entertainment is also provided.

Tickets are only £20 each and can be obtained by contacting Alan Grafton on 0161-223-0272.

RESULTS

League table to 15 April 2009 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  31 13  1  1 34 11  9  4  3 20 10 22  5  4  54  21  33 71
 2 Liverpool       32 10  6  0 31  8 10  4  2 28 13 20 10  2  59  21  38 70
 3 Chelsea         32  9  5  2 28 11 11  2  3 27  9 20  7  5  55  20  35 67
 4 Arsenal         32  9  5  2 24 11  8  5  3 30 17 17 10  5  54  28  26 61
 5 Aston Villa     32  5  8  3 24 20 10  0  6 24 22 15  8  9  48  42   6 53
 6 Everton         32  7  5  4 27 17  7  5  4 20 17 14 10  8  47  34  13 52
 7 West Ham United 32  8  2  6 21 17  4  6  6 16 19 12  8 12  37  36   1 44
 8 Fulham          32  9  3  4 24 13  2  7  7  9 15 11 10 11  33  28   5 43
 9 Tottenham H.    32  7  5  4 17  9  4  3  9 21 27 11  8 13  38  36   2 41
10 Wigan Athletic  32  7  4  5 15 16  4  4  8 16 20 11  8 13  31  36  -5 41
11 Manchester City 32 10  0  6 32 15  1  5 10 15 27 11  5 16  47  42   5 38
12 Bolton Wndrs    32  7  2  7 19 19  4  2 10 20 30 11  4 17  39  49 -10 37
13 Stoke City      32  8  5  3 19 14  1  4 11 13 34  9  9 14  32  48 -16 36
14 Portsmouth      31  6  3  7 22 25  2  7  6 12 23  8 10 13  34  48 -14 34
15 Hull City       32  3  5  8 16 30  5  5  6 20 25  8 10 14  36  55 -19 34
16 Blackburn R.    32  4  6  6 18 23  4  4  8 17 31  8 10 14  35  54 -19 34
17 Sunderland      32  5  3  8 18 20  3  5  8 12 23  8  8 16  30  43 -13 32
18 Newcastle Utd   32  4  6  6 21 27  2  6  8 16 25  6 12 14  37  52 -15 30
19 Middlesbrough   32  5  7  4 16 17  2  2 12  9 30  7  9 16  25  47 -22 30
20 West Brom A.    32  5  3  8 20 30  1  4 11  8 29  6  7 19  28  59 -31 25

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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.mcivta.com/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: