Newsletter #1567

One main topic of news and opinion tonight and that’s AdeGate as the FA have handed out their punishment and the trial by media continues.

Meanwhile, business as usual and next up the derby.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

Mark My Words: When questioned about the club’s ambitions this season, City chief Mark Hughes told reporters that a top four finish is more than possible. Four wins from four and a home victory over Arsene Wenger’s Gunners have placed City in the limelight and expectations are high but the former Blackburn and Wales boss has warned the league’s ‘big four’ that they can’t afford to slip up this season: “We are talking about a short period of time, so we have done really well in changing people’s perceptions to the point where some see us as a real threat to the so-called big four clubs. We are comfortable with that but the top four have been playing high-profile games for years and years at a high level, week-in, week-out. Their expectations, and their ability to deal with them, is something they have experienced over a longer period than we have. That doesn’t mean that on any given day we can’t overcome those big four clubs, because in the past we have proved that we can.”

Hughes also pointed out that whilst pundits love the ‘Arsenal-style’ of football, it takes much more than fancy footwork to bring success. Hughes has his own plans for the Blues and those will include £25 million signing Emmanuel Adebayor whose move from Arsenal last summer came after months of uncomfortable exchanges between the player and his old club: “Arsene has a fantastic philosophy. Everybody in football appreciates it. We are trying to reach the heights he has reached. They have players who can win games with a flash of inspiration. I know we have the capability to play football as expansive and creative as Arsenal. But you can’t be successful if you just have that kind of player. Last season was an illustration. At times we played fantastic flowing, open football. But against certain other types of teams we could not compete. Emmanuel is playing with a smile on his face. That is evident to everybody. A lot of things were said about his demeanour in the last year but I have not seen anything like that. He is scoring goals as well. As a striker that is important when you move to a new club.”

Cook at Boiling Point: Executive Chairman Garry Cook has this week responded to criticisms made by Leeds boss Ken Bates over the recent claims of ‘player poaching’ by Premier League clubs. Following the FIFA imposed transfer ban on Chelsea over the signing of French youngster Gael Kakuta, every signing of an under 18 over the past couple of years seems to be under the microscope and Bates has his own axe to grind with the Citizens, believing that City’s capture of Leeds starlets George Swann and Louis Hutton were illegitimate transfers. But Cook has warned clubs not to become too emotive about the subject and allow the legal side of the game to deal with any impropriety: “Everything to do with this is under the microscope, call it child trafficking, baby farming, whatever you like, it has opened up a Pandora’s Box, with everyone looking into that box, and clubs like ours are being unfairly pinpointed for all sorts of reasons. We are going through the normal process, we have a dispute, and it will be judged by a tribunal. Isn’t that the appropriate course of action? I would question whether the right course of action is to air this in public, without the public knowing the full facts, which, in truth, should be confined to the tribunal. Good business principles would be to follow the process and rely upon it. Let’s gather all the facts and then come to a proper decision. At the moment it comes across as the small clubs getting small amounts of money from the big clubs, compared to the amount of money spent by Manchester City in the transfer market. But one thing has nothing to do with the other. I do object to some of the insinuations flying around without anyone having a grasp of the full facts.”

Rhyl-ly Good Opportunity: Former Wrexham striker Neil Roberts is the latest addition to City’s backroom staff as the 31-year-old takes up a coaching rôle. Roberts, who left Rhyl FC to take up the post, will head up a project coaching young talent from Abu Dhabi as the club continue to create links with the home of their owner. Roberts said that he simply couldn’t refuse such a great opportunity: “I’ll be working with a number of 15 and 16-year-olds, not just assisting with their football development but also their education and basically being their chaperone during their time over here. I’m very sorry to be leaving Rhyl, I’ve enjoyed every minute of my time at the club, but this was too good an opportunity to miss. Obviously I’d like to think that I’ll still have a good relationship with Rhyl FC and especially the fans who have been so good to me during my time at the club.”

Squad News

Derby Day Injury List: With Vincent Kompany, Michael Johnson and Roque Santa Cruz all yet to return from long term injuries, questions are still being asked of Carlos Tevez, Robinho and Stevie Ireland. The Brazil vs. Argentina game may have provided City fans with more disappointment than the spectacle they would have expected as Tevez’s knee injury seems sure to rule the former United forward out of a return to Old Trafford. Robinho’s groin injury was assessed this week and physio reports claimed that the Brazilian playmaker will be out for up to a month whilst Stevie Ireland has promised Blues’ fans that he will be fit for the most anticipated derby of recent times: “I can’t wait for the match and I am confident that I will be fine. The injury was painful on Saturday but the three points soon made that fade. There will be an extra edge to this game, there is no doubt about that. There is bound to be plenty of banter before the match and in the stands at Old Trafford, though I would like to think that there will be a definite line that will not be crossed. Derby games are great; the nerves beforehand, the build-up, the fans.”

E-Man U-Less Adebayor: City’s in-form striker has been the talk of the footballing world this week following two controversial incidents during last Saturday’s tie with Arsenal. The Togalese international was caught on camera warming up in the Arsenal half and went on to share a few ‘rough play’ moments with his former colleagues before kick off. The FA are now charging the African striker for violent conduct following an alleged stamp on Dutch forward Robin van Persie and also with a charge of improper conduct as he celebrated his headed goal by running one hundred yards down the pitch to celebrate in front of his former fans. The following statement was released by the FA: “Emmanuel Adebayor has been charged with violent conduct under the fast-track procedure for his challenge on Robin van Persie during Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Arsenal. Emmanuel Adebayor has also been charged with improper conduct for his goal celebration in the same fixture and has until September 30 to respond to that charge.”

Ade’s manager was quick to jump to his defence: “We have to cut Emmanuel a bit of slack. He is an emotional guy and was caught up in the moment. It was a fantastic goal and great finish. He has already apologised on camera and that is the right thing to do because obviously it can be provocative. We just have to understand that he is an emotional guy and he wanted to share the moment with the fans in the corner with whom he has a special affinity. It is the same area that the Arsenal fans were in so there is the potential for people to see it as the wrong thing to do. We recognise that and so does Ade.”

Despite believing that Adebayor had done no wrong, the club have not appealed against the FA’s charge and the striker is set for a three match ban, which will ensure he is not available for Sunday’s Manchester derby, though that is yet to be confirmed: “Manchester City announce that both the club and Emmanuel Adebayor have reluctantly accepted the violent conduct charge laid by the Football Association in the wake of the victory over Arsenal. The player strongly maintains that he did not intend to act in a violent manner. He apologised on the day to Robin van Persie personally and to the wider public for the outcome of the challenge. We await the findings of the FA’s Disciplinary Panel, which is due to meet tomorrow (Thursday).”

A Bit of Bite: Welsh striker Craig Bellamy, known for his passionate outbursts on the pitch as much as his goal scoring nous, has praised the Blues’ 100% start and aims to take full advantage of his first eleven opportunities. The former Blackburn striker, who opened his season’s goal scoring account at CoMS this weekend, was expected to be very much on the periphery of things following the mega money arrivals of Roque Santa Cruz, Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor but the Welshman has provided that extra edge that has added another dimension to Hughes’s side: “We are tougher and stronger. There is a big difference from when I walked through the door. We had an abundance of quality and could rip teams apart last season but were also capable of not tracking runners and not picking up the points we maybe should have done on occasions. The quality of player that has come in has improved the mentality, there is no doubt about that. I really am enjoying it, I feel as if I can do a job all over the pitch. I am enjoying playing in a team with real ambition.”

Assistant manager Mark Bowen has given Bellamy all the plaudits for his recent individual performances and believes it is the 30-year-old’s passionate work ethic that could set City aside from the rest this season: “Craig’s been fantastic for us. We knew when we brought him into the club what he would give the team and squad in general. On the pitch his work-rate is exceptional. His honesty, the way he approaches a game and works for his team-mates, has endeared him to the squad. He’s very demanding on the training ground and will always be that way because he wants the best from everybody around. He deserved his goal against Arsenal. He’s created one or two for other people as well, and for him to get on the end and finish the way he did will keep his confidence high. He understands that not everybody can start, but like all top players he still wants to play every game. He will still be knocking on the manager’s door when he’s not playing.”

Post-Match Reaction

Wenger’s Stars Gunned Down: The Gunners came to Eastlands last weekend and for the second time in two seasons they left empty handed. Arsene Wenger had hyped up the battle between his club and former stars Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure and it was the Arsenal old boys who led the way as City overcame the London side by four goals to two. Adebayor’s controversial incidents actually overshadowed a contest that John Motson described as the “best second half of a football I’ve ever seen in the Premier League”. Whilst Ade, SWP and Ireland led the way up front, newly installed Captain Kolo ensured that his backline held strong against Arsenal’s talented front line. Hughes wouldn’t comment on how important he thought this result would be in the grand scheme of things but was happy to boast about his side’s excellent performance: “We will only know how significant this result is at the end of the season. But it has done us no harm whatsoever. There were a lot of eyes and focus on us and we put down another marker. It was a test and a challenge for everyone and we have come through and there will be more of those as the season progresses. It was a big test against a side used to playing with high expectations and that is used to winning. I sensed as the guys arrived at lunchtime that there was a real sense of anticipation. It was about getting the job done and that it what we did. Both sides contributed to a high quality match. We showed great qualities especially after we conceded that first goal of the season. And remember we were without Robinho and Carlos Tevez. People also forget that we still have Roque Santa Cruz, Vincent Kompany and Michael Johnson to come back.”

City right back Micah Richards expressed his delight with the win and told of how much it had boosted the squad a week ahead of the Manchester derby: “Given who the opposition were today it had to rank as the best performance of the season but I am sure there is more to come. We went into the match with a lot of confidence and as I have said before we now have a great spirit and winning mentality. We are happy that we have shown what a good team we are. People will no doubt now be talking about the top four and all that stuff but we are not going to get carried away or too excited there is another big game next week!”

Richards was also keen to claim what officially went down as a Manuel Almunia own goal but praised the system that allowed him so much attacking freedom: “It is my goal, I am claiming it, definitely. It has hit the post and then the goalkeeper. A striker would claim it so I am going to claim it too! There was a bit of luck in the header because you can never plan for it going right in the corner. I just aimed it towards goal. I am loving the extra freedom of joining the attack whenever possible. Shaun (Wright-Phillips) helps me coming back and I like to do the same for him going forward. That attacking part of the game is something that I am trying to work on. People say that I am strong defensively but that I am perhaps not so strong in the other direction. I am still only young and I think I am starting to deliver in that department and feel my game is developing all the time.”

One man whose goal couldn’t be taken away from him was Shaun Wright-Phillips and he emphasised that the Arsenal result will sound a warning to clubs throughout the Premier League: “A few of us have been waiting for this moment for a long time. While I was on the international break a few friends had said to me that a team was going to come to us and concede a few goals, and it just happened to happen for us against Arsenal. This is something for people to sit up and take notice of, especially when teams come to play us at home. We’re creating chances even when we are under the cosh, everyone has the belief that they can score so we have to happy with it, but keep on improving. You can always expect to be under the cosh against Arsenal. We know how well they can keep the ball and how deadly they are. You have to be patient and pick your time when you press the ball, and we did that pretty well against them. We should be happy with our performance. It’s always nice to score, but Craig put me in loads of space and I just had to concentrate on working the ‘keeper. I put my head down, I kind of knew what I was going to do from the start and it rolled in. But all credit to Craig for creating the chance in the first place.”

Ex-Blues’ News

Huckerby Swirls Out of Town: Former Maine Road fan favourite Darren Huckerby seems set to retire from the professional game having expressed his frustration at failing to comeback from a persistent hip injury. The 2008 MLS newcomer of the year played alongside Shaun Goater, Ali Benarbia and Paulo Wanchope during his time at City and having joined US side San Jose Earthquakes following a spell at Norwich City, the 33-year-old seems likely to hang up his boots when his current deal expires at the end of the MLS season: “I’ve got to give it a chance to see how it is but I’m 99% sure that I am done. I have done everything I have wanted to.”

OPINION: HYPOCRISY

Hypocrisy and Football have been regular bedfellows for several years now, and never has the relationship between the two been so intimate since self-interest in football has reached such new unhealthy levels. In fact, they are it hammer and tongs.

Apparently Berlusconi (Milan) and Moratti (Inter) have had discussions about the high spending of clubs in football, yet it was ok when they had the most money. Recently we’ve had Abramovich having a whinge in Michel Platini’s ear about the amount of money that City have spent. I kid ye not! And there’s Monsieur Platini. He’s less keen to whinge about Real Madrid’s spending than he is about any English club, especially Monchesteur Citee. It was ok for Platini to go to Juventus in his time and enjoy the best wages and the best conditions at Italy’s richest club who could afford the best players. It was ok for Spanish or Italian clubs to be the top dogs and the richest but as soon as someone else especially the English enjoy a bit of success, they won’t have it. How can Platini be said to be even-handed?

Hypocrisy in English football is well documented: Bacon Face being the Arch Priest worshipping on the altar of the Goddess Hypocrisia: whingeing about the money City spent and yet his club have spent more than anyone in this country over time. Arsene Wenger is the man who has admitted to lying in saying he does not see his own players’ misdemeanours, yet he is normally very quick to condemn opponents. No sane person thought Martin Taylor of Brum was anything other than a clumsy oaf when his reckless tackle injured Eduardo – but at the time Wenger insisted that it was deliberate, calling for a lifetime ban for Taylor. Wenger has since retracted those comments, because he was so wrong.

And now with regards Adebayor’s boot catching van Persie, Wenger said: “Iwatched it when I got home and it looked very bad. You ask 100 people, 99 willsay it’s very bad and the hundredth will be Mark Hughes.”

Quintessentially one-eyed, hypocrisy from Wenger. No mention from Wenger of van Persie’s double footed tackle on Adebayor nor the obscenities that van Persie mouthed at City fans when celebrating his goal last saturday. No mention of Bendtner’s two dangerous tackles on Adebayor or Eboue’s either. If 99 people condemned van Persie, Bendtner and Eboue for their serious foul play, and in van Persie’s case vile behaviour, then Wenger is the 100th who would not.

Why should anyone take anything he says to have any value? There is no actual conclusive proof that Adebayor actually tried to stamp on van Persie’s head, and I don’t believe that he had such an intention. If he had done it deliberately then of course he should be punished but the evidence is flimsy, especially when the incident is viewed from all angles. As for Ade’s celebrations, whilst it was a silly thing to do, it was understandable in the circumstances and he did not mouth any obscenities, he did not hit anyone nor did he throw anything into the Arsenal crowd, whom were calling his mother a whore. Too many Arsenal fans could not take the fact that he celebrated in front of them, and they alone are responsible for their actions.

We have had a trial by media of Adebayor, yet so many of them have overlooked van Persie’s actions, not to mention Bendtner and Eboue. Many of the media have overlooked the fact that a significant proportion of Arsenal fans were singing vile songs about his family. Large sections of the media have overlooked their racist behaviour – yes, racist behaviour – of some Arsenal fans, as reported by Gunners with more than a shred of decency who were housed in the Upper Tier of the away end. The last time I checked, throwing bananas onto a pitch at an Afro-Carribean player was racist, and that hasn’t changed. One might presume that these are the same sort of Arsenal fans who have enjoyed watching the likes of Thierry Henry, Kolo Toure and Ian Wright yet would baulk at the prospect of a black or Asian person moving in next door to them. Yet they will hold up their hands and say ‘I’m not racist… we have black players in our team’. Another bunch of hypocrites. Interestingly, Wenger has not condemned the racist and sick comments.

Paying forty quid for a ticket doesn’t not give us the right to say or do what we want – there is a line to be drawn. For instance I cannot stand it when people sing paedophile songs about being Wenger or Coppell. It turns my stomach, as does racism.

Why are so many of the media so keen to maintain the top four as it is? Surely having other teams in the hunt for Champions’ League places such as City can only be good for competition? I don’t like Tottenham or Harry Redknapp, but I welcome their challenge at the top. Bring it on. Let’s shake up that closed, cosy cartel. It helps make the top of the Premier League interesting for once.

Why are the FA so keen to maintain the top four as it is? That is a valid question because they are incapable of meting out justice even handedly. They may be incapable of a lot of things, but now is the time to ask: are the FA biased? Why was van Persie not charged for “improper conduct” when he repeatedly mouthed obscenities at City fans when celebrating his goal last Saturday? Adebayor didn’t actually gesture or mouth any obscenities but he was charged with improper conduct. Why was Robin van Persie not charged with serious foul play or violent conduct for his two footed assault on Adebayor? The same applies to Bendtner who twice swiped at Adebayor with two footed tackles, not to mention Eboue. The Football Association: are they incapable or biased?

We had Ian Watmore, Chief Exec of the FA and Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the Premier League and supporter of the unwanted 39th game, weighing in even before Adebayor has had any kind of hearing, prejudicing the disciplinary with their condemnatory remarks. Scudamore said that ‘these incidents are beamed around the world and they don’t do the image of the league or football in general any good’. All this from the man who wants to introduce a 39th game for the Premier League – all in the name of greed – that would skew the competition. I’m not only one who believes that Scudamore is bad for the image of football, and bad for the game per se.

They are going to take our striker away for a few games but they cannot take away the fact that we convincingly beat Arsenal 4-2 and that we won the three previous games. Now let’s win the next one. Come on City.

OPINION: ADEBAYOR I

I’m afraid I have to say that Phil Banerjee’s excellent match report on the Arsenal game was somewhat marred by his somewhat blinkered view of the Adebayor kick out at van Persie (quote “If Adebayor did try to hurt Van Persie (and it is a big ‘if’)”).

The television replays show a instinctive (and for that all the more regrettable) petulant reaction at being on the end of an in itself a dangerous tackle. If he were to have connected then it would have been dangerous and violent conduct of the most serious order. As it was he was “lucky” to have dealt van Persie a glancing blow and his punishment may yet be less than the reaction really merits. Yes, City need players who show the “Sparky spirit” – but not players who may be a liability due to petulant reactions to what must happen every match they play in.

His run to the opposite end of the pitch later in the game simply emphasised what a handful he is going to be for the City staff, when he should really be concentrating on being a handful for opposition defences.

OPINION: ADEBAYOR II

There is no defence, it was wrong and he should just admit it. ‘Ere, ‘ang about a mo.

We employ the Stevie G defence, no not the flat back 4! The one where he says “Well I thought Robin was gonna get up and finish the job on me, so I did wot any red blooded footballer would do, I did it to him before he did it to me!”

No 6 match ban, no rap on the knuckles, just good old Blind British Justice!

OPINION: ADEBAYOR III

I don’t often make submissions to MCIVTA but having read the utterly biased blinkered pap in the last issue relating to Ade’s antics, I feel obliged to.

It should be pointed out that I didn’t actually see the game (not for want of trying, I’ve been to every Irish/British pub in Timishoara but I had to settle for Chelsea against Stoke live and regular Sky updates on my phone), but I’ve since seen all the key incidents on the tube of you.

I think it is Phil Banjeree who said there is a big ‘if’ about whether Adebayor intended to catch van Persie on purpose (apologies Phil if it was someone else) or not. Having watched the clip 10 times I don’t think it is ambiguous in the least. There is no other reason for him to push his foot down with the force he did, it’s a deliberate stamp and there is no if or but about it (though there is a why).

The celebration is much less of a misdemeanor but was still terribly ill judged. If the goal had been scored at the Arsenal end well then maybe the heat of the moment would have been an excuse but to run the full length of the pitch, that’s a lot of thinking time. He knew what he was doing and the likely consequences of it.

I’ll say now that I don’t like the man or the way he acts (just as I don’t like Drogba for the same reasons) but I do recognise him as one of the world’s most gifted strikers and as key to our title aspirations (and with the squad we have there’s no reason we shouldn’t have them) as Torres is to the Mickey Mousers.

I can understand Hughes publicly backing him (though I hope he got a rollicking behind closed doors), it’s exactly what Mr Wenger always does with his players. But some of the stuff I’ve just read on here is ridiculous. Yes, there were mitigating circumstances but Adebayor isn’t infallable just because he is in a blue shirt.

We are now very likely to lose one of our 3 most important players (the other 2 being Given and Barry) of the season so far for the crucial game on Sunday and however many games beyond that. Deservedly so I say too.

Santa Cruz is not match fit and even if he was, he’s not in the same class as Adebayor. Hughes is going to have to have to come up with some clever midfield tactical jiggery pokery for us to get the 3 points on Sunday now I reckon.

OPINION: ADEBAYOR IV

I see that the FA convinced Mark Clattenburg to change his mind and decide that despite standing three yards away from the incident, that he did not see Adebayor’s challenge on van Persie and that he would have sent him off had he `seen it properly’. It’s amazing what repeated slow motion views of an event can do for your perception.

Bottom line is that the mainly London press hung Ade out to dry. Not content to accept that their Gunners were muzzled, they had to have some outlet to vent their collective spleens. I have seen the incident a number of times and there is no way they could say there was intent. For the referee to make an about face is scandalous. He saw the event, he didn’t even consider a yellow card, but now his feet are being held to the fire, he does an about face! This is pure rubbish!

As for the celebration, he received a yellow! It was the Arsenal fans that caused the problem with the steward, but I am sure they will nail him for this as well.

The whole situation stinks. The reality is that City are scaring the pants off the Premier League. United doesn’t want to face Ade and all those supposed pundits are queuing up to kick City in the arse. They cannot accept City are for real and they will do anything to disrupt this team.

Now here is the chance for City to fight back. Let’s go to Old Trafford and stick it to not just United but the FA in general. I hope that City are well and truly cheezed off!

But I do hope that the FA remain consistent and nail anyone caught on video clipping someone else. Somehow I doubt it. It’s going to be a rough season but somehow City will rise above it all.

Open Letter to Garry Cook

Mr Cook,

Time to take some of that cash out of the till and use whatever legal means you have at your disposal to fight all charges laid by the FA against Adebayor.

It is time for Manchester City to stand up to the FA and show them they cannot push us around.

Mark Clattenburg already issued his report and claimed he did not see any malice in the incident. He is not allowed to have his decision changed by watching a slow motion replay of the event.

He should be challenged on why he did change his mind. This would also reflect on his competency as a referee.

As for the celebration, okay, a bit over the top, but Clattenburg already responded by issuing a yellow card. That should have been enough.

What also hasn’t been considered was van Persie’s reaction to the City crowd after his goal. Apparently a lot of you have filed protests with the FA about his language. Also a replay of van Persie’s original challenge on Ade should also be filed. If Clattenburg wants to review one incident, he had better be prepared to revisit several incidents.

Time for you Mr Cook to say enough is enough. This stinks of a London-based witchhunt with probably a little bit of interference from Bacon Face.

Our credibility depends on our response to these charges. Arsenal themselves proved that if you make a stink over the Eduardo dive that you can influence a change in the charges.

Please do this for all City fans who sense an injustice being perpetrated on our Club. Our honor demands it!

OPINION: ADEBAYOR V

I guess we’ll know soon whether its a 3, 4, 5 or 6 match ban but if the FA door opens and shuts only on Adebeyor and that’s it then it is very unfair and disingenuous of them. In point of fact I don’t really have a problem with 3 matches for the stamp and 1 for the celebration but if the FA blinker themselves just to that then it’s a poor show.

I don’t think it is possible to open a can of worms and let only 1 or 2 slither out. You need to examine everything that happened i.e. the whole can of worms. The FA need to look at everything re: 42Gate!

1. Ade was targeted by Arsenal players in a premeditated vendetta. Count the lunges at him.
2. After the RvP goal he was telling City fans to **** off during his celebration.
3. The Arsenal fans calling Ade’s mum a whore and his father an Africantribesman who washes elephants, I think this should at least be questioned aspotentially racist chanting and needs to be examined. At the very least ArsenalFC and the supporters club should be asked the question and we should be in aposition to scrutinise every syllable of their explanation as to why thischanting should go un-punished.
4. RvP leg breaking lunge which precipitated the boot / face incident in fullview of Mr Clattenburg, again to be examined.
5. Ade celebration is questionable and needs to be questioned but it needs tobe compared and contrasted with Gary Neville badge kissing, who didn’t even scoreso had no need to celebrate and received a £5,000 fine; again we need to examineprecedent.
6. The missile(s) thrown by the Arsenal fans.
7. The mazy run by Ade missing 3 leg breaking swipes at him.

The trial by media is hitting Zeitgeist proportions with pundits making column inches on the subject overshadowing Afghanistan by 10 rain forests to 1 ream of A4. I have seen more re-runs of the foot raking incident than I have of the grassy knoll incident in Dallas on JFK and Geoff Hurst’s goal (Russian Linesman incident) put together.

We need to bombard the police web site with complaints against RvP abuse to City fans; at least force the GMP to respond, bring him up north for questioning, at least disrupt his training, make it awkward for him, force him to make a cumbersome 400 mile round trip for a 2 hour meeting. If you want to play hard ball then fine but like the team on Saturday we don’t go down as easily as we used to and we can be awkward too.

Anyone got the link to make the complaint?

I’m afraid we will just need to take the punishment, lick our wounds, play a 4-5-1 (Bellamy) at Old Trafford, move on then drop the bombs with all the other contents of the worm can.

I am sure the FA will be very conscious of all the column inches and punditry on this; they need to be fair and not favour the Top 4. I mean how dare we not roll over for Arsenal, sorry lads we didn’t read the script, they shipped 4 goals and want retribution. The Gooners want Ade to take Al Megrahi’s place in prison, points deducted, lifetime ban yawn yawn. Arsene Wenger wants to re-open the Bastille for him; honestly Adebeyor is now Dr Shipman, Gary Glitter, Josef Fritzl all rolled into one.

I have to say RvP’s language on the website regarding the incident shows an excellent command of legal English and written very much like a junior solicitor, things that make you go Hmmmmmmm. We shall see…

A few match thoughts.

It was football pornography at Eastlands on Saturday.

Perhaps with the exception of the 4-1 derby (I can still see SWP running down the wing with the ball rolling on the touchline and crashing the ball in from the right and the ball bouncing 3/4 times) this was the best game I’ve seen so far. The counter attacking by City was sublime. However, at 1-1 I did think they were going to batter us but it was like waiting for the german troops to cross the channel in 1944, they never came. Why? They took the foot off the gas and possibly thought, “Oh well we’ve got the equalizer and we now have 20 minutes to pick them off and get a winner and close up shop”.

They should have seen us off, they didn’t and only once we got 4-1 did they begin to wake up with a good Rosicky goal, a shot on the post, a goal line clearance (by guess who) and shot across the goal, a few Given saves (worth 6 points so far).

Even United chipped in with “Ade must be banned for the derby”.

It’s getting to them all, we are getting under their skin, it is so amusing.

Let’s not get carried away, this is only the 1st marker we’ve put down.

We need to go far in the Carling Cup as well, we need to blow Fulham away; hopefully they are concentrating on League position and Europa so they won’t pose too much threat and we can exhaust one of Adebeyor’s banned games with an economic victory to the next round.

OPINION: ADEBAYOR VI

So Ade’s been hit with two charges, whoopee! Betcha if he was with United, Arsenal, or Liverpool it wouldn’t even have made the news.

Wenger needs to stop and look at his players before having a go at Ade, but the worse offender has been the media. What a bunch of w*****s, the rubbish printed makes Ade more of a mass murderer than a footballer.

The whole episode has been handled very badly. Surely people should be looking at the Arsenal fan who knocked a City official unconscious, to van Persie for his goal celebration in front of the City fans and his two footed tackle on Ade that started it all, and then maybe Ade.

Smacks of anti City; the big boys are worried about City, let’s knock ’em down any way possible. Oh! I love it, at last the City I have supported since the sixties is being taken seriously and people are running scared.

The FA have taken emotion out of football; ‘improper conduct’ sounds like Ade’s been caught with his pants down in a women’s loo, but it’s alright to hurl obscenities at City fans; that’s proper conduct?

The ‘stomp’, only Ade knows the truth; funny though all this happens before the derby! Mind you if we win on Sunday, we should have half the team suspended.

Stick it to then on Sunday.

OPINION: ADEBAYOR VII

What a fantastic victory against Arsenal. We really did Sheikh up the Gooners. But what a shame it has been over-shadowed by reporting that can only be described as totally unbalanced.

City have reluctantly accepted the FA charge for the stamp on van Persie, almost certainly the right decision in the circumstances. The situation that remains with the goal celebration is an altogether harder one to judge from the club’s perspective. Can City really expect a fair hearing at appeal in light of the totally unbalanced reporting in the press?

It’s a mystery why there has been so little coverage and comment of the behaviour of a small section of Arsenal fans at the front of the away end. Their reaction was of the kind I have never seen at a match in my life, with the exception of a fairly large riot at a derby match in Brazil. It was completely over-the-top and reflective of a culture among a minority at the club who believe that player hate campaigns are de rigeur.

No mention in the press reporting of van Persie’s celebration in front of the City fans when Arsenal equalised. Not one that I have noticed. City fans, impeccably behaved in recent history in my view, watched aghast at the reaction in the away end to Adebayor’s celebration. When van Persie trooped over to the home-end corner of the Colin Bell stand did you see objects and chairs flying towards the pitch? Not a bit of it. No crowd rush, barely even a reaction and yet this has been nowhere in the reporting of the Adebayor celebration. No mention either of Henry’s unpunished celebration in front of Spurs fans in 2002.

If any readers have in fact found a balanced report of this incident, please could they post a link as reporter involved deserves a congratulations!

I think most City fans are fair-minded supporters with a passion and love for the game. We’re light-hearted and full of good humour. We don’t believe in player hate campaigns. We don’t take life so damn seriously that we need to rush to the front of the away end and knock a steward out. Sure, Adebayor’s celebration was perhaps over-the-top and most City fans would probably accept that. What we don’t accept is the relentless attack against our football club. In this particular case, the unbalanced reporting of this incident has the real potential to make idiotic so-called fans of clubs everywhere to think that a reaction like that is completely acceptable. We should appeal to quality reporters everywhere to stop and think before getting caught up in the anti-City hysteria that their industry peers seem intent on whipping up. City’s time has come, let us enjoy it!

Come on City!

MCFCfans see poll on our home page: http://www.mcfcfans.co.uk/

MCIVTA QUIZ PART II

A quick round up of the first round of the MCIVTA 15th Anniversary Quiz.

Correct answers:

1. The founder of MCIVTA was of course Ashley Birch.
2. The current players with more than 100 league and cup games for City are: Sweep, Ireland, Richards and Onuoha.
3. Yes, we have scored 10 goals on two occasions (both in the FA Cup) since1900: 11 goals against Palace in 1926 (ended 11-4) and 10 against Swindon in1930 (ended 10-1).

Only two participants got all three answers correct: Paul Hughes and Steven Hunt. Those who didn’t get all the answers correct still have a chance to close the gap in the last round:

Now over to the last round of the Anniversary quiz:

Question 4: Can you name a former City goalkeeper that has been capped by Germany?
Question 5: Several former City players have managed the club, but can you find any former United players besides Mark Hughes?
Question 6: During the 1972-73 season Manchester City wore four different kits. It was the traditional sky blue with white shorts, the red and black shirts with black shorts, and the all white kit with a blue and red diagonal stripe over the chest. Now describe the fourth kit.

Answers can be submitted at: http://www.mcivta.com/quiz/ between Tuesday 15th, and Sunday 20th at 23:59.

REQUEST: BLUES VIEWING IN MOLDOVA

Does anyone know of a saloon or speakeasy likely to show the derby this Sunday in Chisinau, Moldova?

It would be unbearable to miss it.

THANKS

Just a quick note to thank you all for the effort put into the collection on Saturday; we don’t know yet how much we collected – a very rough estimate £3-4,000 will let you all know as soon as I do the money is in the Post Office for counting and changing in something less heavy (ask Tony).

All those who put money into the buckets a big, big thank you.

So if you carried a bucket, helped in the organising, ran around with T Shirts, stood next to a Police van for the duration, donated, sweat with the rest of us, work at the club and helped out thank you without any one of you it would not have been the success we think it is.

That was a good start; now can we get to £20,000.

RESULTS

                             HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                    P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F   A   GD Pts
 1 Chelsea          5  2  0  0  5  1  3  0  0  7  2  5  0  0  12   3   9 15
 2 Manchester Utd   5  2  0  0  3  1  2  0  1  8  2  4  0  1  11   3   8 12
 3 Manchester City  4  2  0  0  5  2  2  0  0  3  0  4  0  0   8   2   6 12
 4 Tottenham H.     5  2  0  1  5  5  2  0  0  7  2  4  0  1  12   7   5 12
 5 Liverpool        5  2  0  1  9  3  1  0  1  4  4  3  0  2  13   7   6  9
 6 Aston Villa      4  1  0  1  2  2  2  0  0  4  1  3  0  1   6   3   3  9
 7 Sunderland       5  2  0  1  7  5  1  0  1  1  1  3  0  2   8   6   2  9
 8 Stoke City       5  2  0  1  4  2  0  1  1  0  4  2  1  2   4   6  -2  7
 9 Arsenal          4  1  0  0  4  1  1  0  2  9  7  2  0  2  13   8   5  6
10 Fulham           4  1  0  1  2  3  1  0  1  1  2  2  0  2   3   5  -2  6
11 Wigan Athletic   5  1  0  2  1  6  1  0  1  3  2  2  0  3   4   8  -4  6
12 Burnley          5  2  0  0  2  0  0  0  3  0  9  2  0  3   2   9  -7  6
13 West Ham United  4  0  0  1  1  2  1  1  1  2  1  1  1  2   3   3   0  4
14 Blackburn R.     4  1  1  1  3  3  0  0  1  1  2  1  1  2   4   5  -1  4
15 Birmingham City  5  1  1  1  1  1  0  0  2  1  3  1  1  3   2   4  -2  4
16 Wolves           5  0  1  1  1  3  1  0  2  2  4  1  1  3   3   7  -4  4
17 Hull City        5  1  0  1  2  5  0  1  2  3  7  1  1  3   5  12  -7  4
18 Bolton Wndrs     4  0  0  2  2  4  1  0  1  3  3  1  0  3   5   7  -2  3
19 Everton          4  1  0  1  3  7  0  0  2  1  3  1  0  3   4  10  -6  3
20 Portsmouth       5  0  0  3  2  5  0  0  2  1  5  0  0  5   3  10  -7  0

MCIVTA FAQ [v0910.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Heidi Pickup)          : 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. You can also follow on www.twitter.com/mcivta to get the latest updates.

[4] What is the club’s official web site?

The official club web site can be found at http://www.mcfc.co.uk/ and the official club Twitter page at www.twitter.com/mcfc. The club also has a facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/mcfcofficial

[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.mancitycsa.com/) 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: