Newsletter #1538

A few collected thoughts tonight on transfers, the real meaning of “Etihad” and more thoughts on Hughes and his ability.

Finally, we have a couple of pleas for support with March4Justice and for referees at the Carl Ramsbottom Appeal 5-a-side matches.

TRANSFER RUMOURS

Rumours are that City are after Lescott or Toure as a central defender; if we get one of them then I don’t think that Dunne would be very happy being on the bench.

Stoke are waiting the outcome and look as if Pulis is ready to make a bid for Dunne.

Whatever happens, Dunne has been a very good player over the seasons, and has helped City in some important games. But this last season was of mixed form, and after four seasons of being voted Player of the Season, he was beaten by Ireland into first place.

We wait patiently for Tevez to return to Manchester after playing for his country; will he pick Blue or Red? Some reports are saying he has decided on City – fingers crossed that it is true.

Still waiting for a quality striker; City still trying to get Eto’o from Barça?

As always ,take all rumours with a pinch of salt, that is until MCFC say they have signed a player, but the players mentioned would be nice if we can get them.

Come on you Blues! In Sparky I trust!

HUGHES

Just want to add to the Mark Hughes debate and say two words to those among us who feel he isn’t qualified to move the club forward: Pep Guardiola. Having just completed ‘the treble’ in his first season here as a coach with no previous experience and no trophies (until this year of course) on his CV I think it is fair to say Hughes deserves his chance to prove his worth. If that’s good enough for a club like Barça then it’s certainly good enough for City, isn’t it?

Why is it in England there is this ethos amongst supporters and even within football clubs that managers need to have trophies on their CV in order to be considered worthy of a top job? This never used to be the case and surely with the resources that will be made available over the summer Hughes will be able to strengthen and balance his squad? Already he has brought in a quality player in Gareth Barry in addition to some of the excellent players he has brought in already.

Provided we can get the right blend and the top quality players we need I see no reason for not having a successful platform for next season.

HUGHES II

End of the year and the usual bleating and moaning. Fact: Hughes is here, Sven is gone. Ninth or tenth, what’s the difference? There is no need for bitterness towards Newcastle; winning the title in 1968 was one of the best nights of my life, made better by the Geordies that embraced us (although we stayed in Stockton) and all the Newcastle Brown Ale that was not universally available then. Nobody enjoys being relegated, we should know enough not to gloat. Look forward to next year: wishing failure on Hughes is wishing it on ourselves. He only worked at United (one of his many clubs). Now he works at City. It’s just a job, it was only ever a passion for Keegan and that was when he was at Newcastle and he quit that one twice!

CITY INSANITY?

In reply to the comments made by Mr Keller regarding my recent posting:

Yes I probably do need medical assistance. After supporting MCFC for 52 years through thin and thinner it must have had some effect – so I do agree with you on that one.

However… If we had taken 6 points off the Rags this season then Liverpool would be the Champions. Just another little reason to remember why beating them at any time is important.

If you don’t get a major buzz from City beating the Rags at anytime then are you really a true City fan? Or have you just gotten so used to being badly beaten by them season in and season out that it doesn’t really matter to you anymore? You can only ever remember the Rags winning all before them season in and season out whilst we simply accept that mediocrity is the norm. I can remember the times (just!) when it was the exact opposite and boy was that so good!

You also seem to have forgotten that Agent Clueless (Mr Hughes) continued to pick Dunny week in, week out after the “8-1” – not Sven (D’oh!).

Gareth Barry – great signing and a good piece of business. So all credit to Mr Hughes for that one – and hopefully, 3 or 4 more in the coming weeks.

Of course Sven has gone. Even I have noticed that one. But the ‘fact’ remains Mr Hughes spent in excess of £100 million and we went backwards. Mr Hughes inherited a far better team than Sven did, a far more stable set up and extremely wealthy owners and we still went backwards. It is simply my opinion (I am allowed one) that between the two of them SGE is a better football manager. However, please – can we now move on?

THOUGHTS

I can’t let Steve Burrows’ report in MCIVTA 1537 go without comment:

1. Don’t even mention what the new sponsor’s name means in Arabic; whocares if it means United? Leave it to the Scum to make of it what theywill. The more we go on about it the more they will enjoy makingsomething of it. Why is there an argument about what it means, get alife.
2. Pep Guardiola is a bad example to use. Of course his CV reads secondto none this season but a “history of winning”?! Also look at theplayers he has had at his disposal. There is little doubt that ifHughes had been in charge of Barça this season they would have walkedaway with the same prizes. The City manager has a totally different jobon his hands to build the side, make effective signings and competewith the top four in the Premier League – has Guardiola got experience inthis area? I think we all know the answer to that.
3. Andrew Keller was spot on when he said he could take losing to theRags twice every season if it meant we finished above them aschampions. This is surely stating the obvious and a scenario that everysingle City fan would agree with. I know we haven’t done that since89/90 but that wasn’t the point Andrew was making, he was talking aboutthe future. I was delighted with our 2 derby wins last season but whenthe Rags turn round and say “I don’t care, we won the League andEuropean Cup”, our 2 victories pale into insignificance – how thisscenario avenges a lot of hurt over the past 20 years I fail to see!

On a separate note – I’m delighted with the acquisition of Gareth Barry – a top top class Premier League player. I work in Brum and it is quite funny listening to the irate Villa fans! Look forward to more top class to come.

Exciting times ahead, let’s all enjoy it…

ETIHAD

As United in “United Arab Emirates” is Al-Muttahidah not Etihad, which is usually used to translate “union” (as in Union of Arab Football Associations), the blurb on that site might just be written by an English P.R. person, not necessarily an Arab specialist…

DOCTOR HUGHES?

I hope there is more to it but it was disconcerting to learn from the previous issue that the club doctor and physiotherapist were sacked after several “excellent years’ service” – “in order to allow Mark Hughes to appoint his own backroom staff.” Since when was he qualified to pick medical staff? It would be interesting to see just how many people have been sacked since the take-over and change of coach.

HILLSBOROUGH

I am writing on behalf of March 4 Justice, a group formed to bring football fans from all clubs together in telling the government that the continued injustice of Hillsborough has gone on too long.

As you are aware, Hillsborough is the single largest football disaster in the history of football in the UK. The families of the 96 football fans that died on the 15th April 1989 are still looking for answers over 20 years later.

March4Justice asks that football fans across this country, regardless of affiliation, put aside their on pitch rivalries for one day and stand united in delivering a petition asking that Hillsborough be re-investigated.

The group, petition and event have the full support of the Hillsborough Families Support Group and Hope for Hillsborough and has been covered extensively in the media.

At the 20th Anniversary Memorial service, the government promised to do all it can to help the families of the 96; to this date nothing has been done and it is with the blessing of the families that the march is taking place.

We would like to ask if you would be so kind as to feature the march and the petition on your website, or mail your supporters’ groups. We understand that many people will not be able to march but if everyone would fill in the online petition then maybe at last the families will have the peace that they have fought so hard for over the last 20 years.

The website for March4Justice has details of the march, links to the online No.10 Downing Street e-petition and printable petition sheets. The site also have an information page giving details of what happened at Hillsborough including the terrifying fact that before the tragedy of 1989 supporters of other football clubs were crushed (although not fatally) in the same stand at the same stadium.

This tragedy could have happened to any club’s supporters and any one of us that have families could have had to go through 20 years of hurt and frustration.

Website: http://www.m4j.co.uk/
Online petition: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/lfcdisaster/

Thank you for any help you can offer.

CARL RAMSBOTTOM

All 24 places at the 5-a-side competition to be held at the Platt Lane complex this coming Saturday have now been filled. Can I thank all for the interest shown. The 5-a-side has already raised a significant amount for the Carl Ramsbottom Appeal.

All supporters are welcome to come along on Saturday to show your support for Carl and his family, some of whom will be in attendance. The footy starts at 10-00am and ends about 1-30pm. Some City Old Boys will be playing at the back end of the competition.

I’m still desperately trying to get hold of some more referees to assist on the day. If there are any more refs out there reading this, please get in touch with me ASAP. If any McV subscribers know of any referees who maybe willing to offer their services free, please ask them to contact me on 0161 281 7517 (h) 07985 229313 (m) or by email.

MCIVTA FAQ [v0708.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Paul Robinson)         : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org
News/rumour (Alex Rowen)         : 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 by email. Unfortunately we cannot accept email attachments.

[3] MCIVTA Back Issues and Manchester City Supporters’ home page

http://www.mcivta.com/ 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.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.

Paul Robinson, editor@mcivta.city-fan.org

Editor: