Newsletter #1633

News and reaction from Alex tonight on the season gone, Mancini’s plans, the likely transfer market ins and outs and World Cup Blues, and success for the second string.

We have plenty of opinion on the season just gone, and an update from PoB.

NEWS SUMMARY

General News

In Rob’ We Trust: Many sections of the press would have had you believe this week that Roberto Mancini would be on his way out of the club following his failure to qualify for the Champions’ League but club Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarek has other ideas. Mubarek gave the official club website an insightful interview the morning after the night before and pledged the club’s loyalty to a manager who they expected to do a job for ‘years to come’: “Roberto has done an excellent job. I am very happy and Sheikh Mansour is delighted with the way he has organized the team. With a good pre-season to prepare for next season he (Mancini) is going to do a wonderful job for us next season and for many years. I have the highest regard for him as a human being and as a person and believe he is definitely the right manager for this club for many years. Roberto is driven and committed. He has a winning mentality. He wants to achieve things and has the interests of the club at heart. What he needs this summer is time to prepare. We know the areas that need to be improved and the manager will be given all the tools he needs to be well prepared for next season.”

Mubarek also had a few words for the loyal fans: “We are going to get there. But we just cannot allow ourselves to sulk. Fifth is not where we would have liked to be but it’s a major achievement for this club. Many people want success today and that is natural. I would have loved us to win the league this year. But I don’t think you can win the league without building a winning mentality and that is happened this year. It’s been successful. We will come back stronger, determined to move forward.”

For the Record: In a season where the Blues achieved their highest ever position in the Premier League (5th) and qualified for the Europe off their own backs by way of league position for the first time since 1978, Mancini’s men have also been breaking other records left, right and centre. The win against Aston Villa two weeks back saw the Blues score their 41st home goal and total 40 points from CoMS this season. Previously the records stood at 39 points and 40 goals. But it’s not only at home where the Blues have had success. City have had their best season on the road since the inception of the Premier League whilst also suffering their least number of defeats on their travels (4). On an individual level, Carlos Tevez’s 23 Premier League goals have surpassed Niall Quinn’s nineteen year old record of goals in the country’s top division, which had stood at 21.

Lansdowne Road We Are Coming: City’s Europa League campaign will begin on August 19 next season. The Blues will first have to qualify through a play-off in order to take part in the group stages of the tournament and the second leg of the tie will be played one week later on the 26th, a day before the draw for the groups is made. In what is likely to be one of the most hotly contested Europa League (or UEFA Cup) ever, Liverpool, Porto, Stuttgart, PSV Eindhoven, Juventus and CSKA Moscow will all be battling with the Citizens for the trophy. Next season’s final will be played at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on May 18th 2011 though City fans are likely to refer to its old name, Lansdowne Road, in order to incorporate it into the famous ‘Istanbul’ chant of two years ago.

Senior Success: City’s reserve side are celebrating this week having beaten Bolton Wanderers in the Senior Cup final last Thursday. In a side that boasted Academy talent such as Dedryck Boyata, Greg Cunningham and Robbie Mak, it was Alex Tchuimeni-Nimely who stole the plaudits with the game’s only goal in the 17th minute of the game. The cup success again proves the strength in depth of City’s set-up, which has catapulted the likes of Nimely and Abdi Ibrahim onto the first team scene and is a great tribute to current reserve boss Andy Welsh who continues to provide Mancini with the tools to fall back on should his first team players struggle for any reason.

Squad News

Champions in Their Own Right: The club’s end of season awards ceremony took place last week with Sky Sports’ Georgie Thompson at the helm. Unsurprisingly, Carlos Tevez was the success of the night, winning both the Official Supporters’ Player of the Season award and also Players’ Player of the Year. Having scored twenty nine goals in thirty nine games this term, Tevez has undoubtedly been a major success at Eastlands following his move across the city and has quickly become a cult hero for the Blue faithful. Despite rumours that the Argentine striker may be on his way to Real Madrid this summer, Tevez has dedicated his future to the club and thanked his team-mates and supporters alike for their recognition: “I’m very, very happy to win these awards. I’m grateful to the club, the staff and the especially the fans for the support they have given me this season. To be recognised by your team-mates is very special for me, too. It’s one of the nicest things in the world to be acknowledged by the people you work and play alongside every day, so this is a very happy day for me. Winning the supporters’ award is extra special because they have been wonderful all season. It’s a great source of pride and motivation when I see so many supporters, especially young children, with my name on their back. I’ve really enjoyed my first season at the club, but this is only the beginning. My dream is to help this club become one of the biggest and most successful clubs in the world. We have the resources and belief that we can achieve our dreams. What we’ve got to do next is forget about finishing in the top four – that is now a thing of the past – we now need to think about winning the Premier League – that is the right thing for this club and should be our next aim. We need to go all out for the title and that’s the mindset we need to have from next season.”

Craig Bellamy ran out with the Performance of the Season award for his part in the enthralling away fixture against Manchester United last September, whilst Adam Johnson’s stunning strike against Sunderland has won the Goal of the Season award. Nineteen-year-old Dedryck Boyata was named the club’s Young Player of the Year. The Belgian impressed Mancini so much in the Italian’s first few weeks at the club that he was happy to throw Boyata into the deep end when he started against Manchester United in both legs of the Carling Cup semi-final. Shaun Wright Phillips’ work outside of the game has also been recognised as he was named Community Player of the Year.

In Ambitious Kompany: If top four was the aim at the start of this season then, if you believe Belgian centre-back Vincent Kompany, City will be challenging for the title next season. Like team-mate Carlos Tevez, Kompany believes this team will be too good to simply challenge for fourth next season and it is the rôle of both those on and off the pitch to ensure the club’s full ambitions are realised. The former Hamburg player recognizes that whilst the Blues may not have achieved their aim this season, their form has been good and if they can use this as a foundation, success will surely follow: “I don’t think we have lost two games in a row. We have had moments where we have had a little setback and only lost seven games. We are up there with the best when it comes to losing games, but the response we have always had – and I hope it will be the same on Sunday and I expect the same response – has always been that of a team that wants to achieve things. We have had many things happen that have stood in our way. People maybe won’t know the importance of the stuff happening off the pitch and I’m thinking, let us have a bit more of a quiet season and let everyone focus on the game and I would definitely not put my money against a good Manchester City next season. It’s the rôle of the manager or the owners to make the team look sexy towards the players they want to attract, but I’m here experiencing it from the inside. You see what’s happening on the pitch and I see what’s happening off the pitch and I can assure you that the standards that are being sought off the pitch are just as high as the ones we want to achieve on the pitch.”

The Rumour Mill

The Plan: The City chief has revealed that his transfer policy this season will be one of building for the future whilst also ensuring that the club is successful as soon as possible. When Chelsea entered the Roman Abramovic era, managers Ranieri and Mourinho bought players at the peak of their careers and some would argue that Chelsea will soon feel the effects of that ageing squad. Whilst Mancini hopes to bring silverware to the club as soon as next season, the former Inter Milan manager understands that there is a long term need as well as the short team desire for success: “I will be looking for young players with experience. We want players who will come here and play here for a long time so we can build an important team. I am looking forward to building my own team; that is important for a manager. Next season we will be playing four competitions and there will be games every three or four days so it is important that there is flexibility in the squad and important that players can perform in one or two positions.”

Of the chances of signing Liverpool’s Fernando Torres, Mancini asserted: “Can we attract the top, top players, like Torres? I don’t know, but I don’t think so. If we finished in the top four, it would be better and easier to attract them. In this situation it is different. There are probably some players who want to play in the Champions’ League and not in the Europa League. But there are a lot of players in Europe who will want to play for Manchester City next year.”

One such experienced, young player would seem to be Jerome Boateng. For months there have been rumours that City and Hamburg had reached an £11 million deal for the versatile defender but that the German side wanted to keep it quiet in order to ensure their Europa League campaign was not damaged. Now, Mancini has suggested that a deal is almost done and it seems likely that the German international may be on his way to Manchester: “We are quite close to signing him. Boateng is a good player, a young player and strong. He plays for the national team and there is a good chance to get him. He can play three different positions; central defence, right full-back or in midfield. If we find a player like that it is better for us.”

Despite speculation that Mancini’s next target would be Romanian Stefan Radu, a deal for the Lazio defender has been dismissed by his agent, for this season at least: “We don’t consider the rumours relative to Manchester City’s interest to have any truth to them. Radu is a Lazio player, and wishes to be in the future. The player has a contract that expires at the end of next season. We are currently not speaking about a renewal, but await that Lazio approach us first. The idea is that Radu wants to stay here in Rome, but everything will depend on Lotito. For the moment, we are here, but I repeat that his contract expires in a year’s time.”

A move for Inter Milan’s unsettled striker, Mario Balotelli, has also been undermined by his agent though rumour has it that Mancini has been offered the chance to sign Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic who played for the City boss when at Inter himself: “There has been no contact and Mario will not go to City. We will talk about his future only after the Champions’ League final. Balotelli must now be solely focused on Inter’s last two matches as Jose Mourinho has asked him to do.”

Stevie’s Solution: Stevie Ireland admitted this week that his future may lie elsewhere as his rôle in the squad seems more uncertain than ever. With a number of top players sure to join in the summer, last season’s Player of the Year admits that he is unsure as to whether he remains part of Mancini’s plans and has not ruled out a move to another club if the opportunity arose: “I don’t know what will happen. I am contracted to City and all I can do is carry on doing my job and performing well when I am called upon. If anything changes during the summer it will be down to the club, not me. It has been a difficult year because I care so much about my job. I care about my game and about the club but there is a lot of frustration bottled up because I have not played as much as I would have liked.”

Mancini has assured Ireland that he has a rôle to play but stated that there needs to be more talks between the player and his club: “I spoke to Stephen two weeks ago but we must speak again. I don’t know what he is thinking about his future but, for me, Stephen is a fantastic player and if he can change his head I think he can start to play like last season again.” The absence of Craig Bellamy from the team that faced West Ham at the weekend has also led to speculation that the Welsh international may be on his way to Spurs with a figure of £6 million being banded about.

Post-Match Reaction

Done for Another Year: In a typical end of the season encounter, City left Upton Park with a point having drawn 1-1 with The Hammers. Lui Boa Morte made his first appearance of the season following a cruciate ligament injury and scored his first goal for three years to put the home side ahead after quarter of an hour. Minutes later, Shaun Wright-Phillips was the most unlikely of scorers as he headed in the impressive Adam Johnson’s cross at the back post to equalize. It turns out that this game was to be the last of Gianfranco Zola’s two year tenure and in a touching moment after the game, Roberto Mancini gate-crashed Zola’s post-match interview to pay tribute to the way Zola had handled himself and express how much he felt for the man who once beat Mancini into the Italian World Cup squad. In his own interview, Mancini focused less on the game itself than on the season as a whole: “There is hard work ahead because I would like players in before the World Cup starts. I think that we will be able to attract top players to City in the summer, players that will improve the group. Fifth is a big improvement on last season. I have enjoyed my first half season at the club and I am now looking forward to working hard this summer to make sure we get better again. It was difficult coming in the middle of the season when I didn’t know the players but we have done well and Europa League football is a good thing. We have done well to finish above very good sides, top sides, like Liverpool, Everton and Villa but now we must improve again to challenge the top four. People have to remember that Spurs have been building their side for some years.”

International Blues

Chosen Ones: The provisional squads for this summer’s World Cup are slowly being revealed and it’s make or break time for many of City’s stars. On the England scene, Fabio Capello has named four of the club’s players in his provisional thirty man squad. Despite a sprained ankle, Gareth Barry has been considered so instrumental to Capello’s plans that he is happy to give him time to recover and prove his fitness. Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Hart were both included by the England boss following impressive runs of form this season whilst Adam Johnson was one of the shock call-ups. Though questions remain as to whether ‘Magic’ Johnson will make the final 23, having never appeared for his country before, the former Middlesbrough winger is just delighted to have been given the opportunity to impress: “Going to a World Cup would be a fantastic end to a brilliant season. I’ve come a long way – I was still playing in the Championship with Middlesbrough in January. I only found out an hour before the announcement, I got a call from The FA. I’m not sure if it was a surprise, to be honest. I thought I was in with a chance – there’s been a lot of talk so I was hopeful. I thought if I kept my head down and played well, maybe it would happen. My mum and dad and family are all delighted for me, and I’ve had so many texts from friends. We had a few drinks last night to celebrate, but not too many! I’ll be in good company when we go off to Austria next week. Apart from Shaunie and Gareth, Joe Hart is a good mate. We got our Under-21 call-up at the same time and roomed together. I’m just going to go and enjoy the two weeks and hope I get a few minutes against Mexico or Japan to show the manager what I can do. I’m just happy to be in with a shout. I didn’t want the season to end; I’ve been enjoying myself so much. If I do get into the 23 it would be the best moment of my career. And stranger things have happened.”

Former Blues’ boss Sven Goran Eriksson has included City skipper Kolo Toure in his first Ivory Coast squad whilst Robinho’s loan move to Brazilian side Santos has paid off as he was included by Dunga’s Brazil. Nigel de Jong is another Blue whose excellent form has been recognised by his country and he is likely to travel to South Africa with The Netherlands having been included in their provisional 30, which interestingly didn’t include former United striker Ruud van Nistlerooy.

For one player who has been included, the pressure of succeeding will most likely be more on him than any other. Vladimir Weiss will be a part of Slovakia’s provisional 30 but still has much to prove as it is his dad who will choose the final squad. The tricky winger made the move on loan to Bolton Wanderers in January in order to boost his chances of making the squad and following a number of impressive performances, Weiss Snr was left with no option but to choose his fledgling son. Weiss Jnr however has no plans to become complacent and completely understands what is expected of him now he has been given a chance: “It is always going to be tough for my dad for obvious reasons. Maybe I have to try that bit harder, but I’ll only be selected on merit, that’s a certainty. He’s been over a number of times to watch me, as he has all the players in the squad and though I didn’t play as much as I thought I would at Bolton, but I did start the last two games against Portsmouth and Tottenham. As a nation, obviously the Slovakian people are looking forward to the World Cup, but I thought they would be going a little crazier than they have been. Maybe things will pick up in the final few weeks before the tournament begins. All I can do now is work hard and hope that I get to go to South Africa. I’ve played a few times for my country now, but it would be incredible to go to the World Cup at such a young age.”

For others however, the dream seems to be over. Patrick Vieira admitted when he moved to City that he had on eye set on making the France squad for this summer’s tournament but the 33-year-old midfielder was left disappointed as Raymond Domenech overlooked him. Despite missing out on the World Cup, Vieira is keen to remain at City for at least another year: “I want to help the club continue to improve and get Champions’ League football. We need to talk and hopefully there might be something. I want to stay and the club wants me to stay, so that is a good start.”

Another disappointed Blue is Pablo Zabaleta who only last week revealed that he felt his opportunity to make the squad has gone. Subsequently, Zab’ missed out as Argentina boss Diego Maradona chose Newcastle’s Fabricio Collocini instead: “I think my last chance to force my way into Maradona’s thinking was when we had a couple of friendly matches a little while back. Obviously I would love to play for my country, but in truth I haven’t had any contact with Maradona over the past few months. It’s a shame but there isn’t much I can do except give my all for City and hope that, somewhere down the line, another opportunity arises. If and when it does, I’ll be ready.”

Ex-Blues’ News

Icing on the Chorley Cake: Former City midfielder Garry Flitcroft has been named manager of Chorley FC. Having failed to make the play-offs with Unibond North side Leigh Genesis, Flitcroft felt the need to move on and having resigned at Leigh, the ex-Blue has been unveiled as Steve Wyall’s successor at division rivals Chorley.

OPINION: THAT WAS THE SEASON THAT WAS

We can look back on a good season. Our 5th place was our indeed our best placing since Peter Reid’s tenure.

Of course it depends on your perspective as to how successful you think City were. Even with the £200 million plus investment, it was not realistic for us to expect Champions’ League qualification this year. Hope, yes, but expect, no. So from that perspective, whilst it is very disappointing to just miss out on a Champions’ League spot, having got so close, 5th place represents a successful season for City. It takes time to build a team and Tottenham have been building theirs for a few years now (it’s not that long ago that Martin Jol steered them to 5th place). Indeed their current manager has been in situ for 18 months, whilst in contrast, Roberto Mancini has had 5 months.

Wearing the best City kits in years (well done the MCFC and Umbro) we enjoyed a blinding start under Mark Hughes and the win over Arsenal was a memorable occasion. Forget the Arsenal fans and their inability to take Adebayor’s celebration after giving him appalling stick, it was a classic game of football. Unfortunately, in the autumn, we became mired with a succession of draws, and in particular, our failure to beat Burnley and Hull at Eastlands ultimately led to Hughes being under pressure, despite a thrilling 2-1 win over and reaching the League Cup Semi Final with a brilliant win over Arsenal.

Writing as someone who did not want Hughes sacked, December 19th, the date of the Sunderland home game was a very sad day. Many of us expected him to be given the whole season at least to prove that he could make a top six spot. Many other Blues took a different view and thought that Hughes should have been aiming higher and that he was not the man to lead City into the top 4 this season. Carlos Tevez had been pleading for the owners to give Hughes more time, but it wasn’t to be. Even though we won 4-3 that day, despite chaotic defending, and we were in 6th place, we were walking out of the game to widespread talk that Hughes had already been sacked and that Roberto Mancini was to come in until the end of the season. And so it proved to be and the club issued a statement to that Hughes had been sacked that evening. The press conference heralding the arrival of the Italian a couple of days later was a Public Relations disaster (though not Mancini’s fault), and hopefully the club (in particular Garry Cook) will learn from this. We will never know how well Mark Hughes would have done. Could he have delivered a first trophy to City after 35 years? Would he have maintained such a strong challenge for 4th place? It is all academic now.

Whatever our views on the Hughes sacking, the owners have put a lot of money into the club, so it is their choice as to how they spend their money. They want success like we do, so we move on. They have reinvigorated Manchester City to the point where it is now, i.e. on the threshold of challenging for future honours, and for that we are truly grateful. They have chosen well in Roberto Mancini who has done very well thus far in his time here. He has worked the players harder and whilst more work needs to be done to improve, he has tightened up the City defence. The silly goals are not being conceded, we defend better as a team, the central defence looks more solid and our full backs are much more alert to cover their centre backs. Vincent Kompany has been the mainstay of the rearguard in the second half of the season and hopefully he can form a successful partnership with Jerome Boateng or Joleon Lescott next term.

The players should not be complaining about double training sessions. They are well paid to do a job (a job that many of us would love to do) and they should be focusing on improving, and that goes for every City player, even the best. In any case Mancini has only had four of these in five months. His focus on tactics have paid dividends and City are harder to beat now than they were in the first half of the season.

Mancini kept the team in the hunt for 4th place until that fateful last home game with Tottenham and deserves much credit for that. We weren’t quite good enough to overhaul Tottenham at the end of the day, but that is no disgrace. We are definitely making significant progress.

We have some high class players at this club (Given, Hart, Kompany, de Jong, Barry, Tevez, Bellamy and Johnson), and several decent players to support them and we should be adding to this squad rather than making wholesale changes. If we can get another World Class player that would be great, though more difficult now that we are not in the Champions’ League. Any ‘marquee name’ would only help to keep Tevez from the clutches of Real Madrid, who will surely buy another big name, but any big name has to be hungry for success. We don’t need another Robinho. We must do all we reasonably can to keep Tevez and Bellamy and bring in a top class striker to support them, as well as another winger. If Adebayor is to stay, he needs top class competition to keep him sharp, as there were times when he just didn’t look interested. Ivica Olic would be a very good signing, given his intelligence, eye for a goal and workrate. Hopefully SWP’s contract issue will be resolved but he cannot expect the top wage here, given his inconsistency. He certainly has a big part to play, especially with what he hope will be a long, successful Europa league campaign and the fact that his presence provides competition for places. For a similar reason and also because of Shay Given’s bad injury to his shoulder, surely Joe Hart must return to City for next season when we will need two high quality ‘keepers. Indeed, our squad will be tested to the full but there already are good foundations in place. The attitude of players like Pablo Zabaleta is admirable and any successful club will be built on durable players like him. The weaker squad members (e.g. Santa Cruz, Garrido) and players who don’t have a winning mentality (i.e. Robinho, Petrov) should find new clubs, though that might be difficult given the wages that we pay and the transfer fees paid. It is better for the club not to have any disruptive influences.

I am really pleased that our chairman our chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has confirmed that Roberto Mancini will stay on as manager. It puts to bed any speculation about a new manager coming in, and allows the manager to prepare for next season. He can have a run at the transfer market, bring in his own players (it will be harder though) and use his time to work on tactics and fitness work with his players.

We have the continuity that the club needs. We need stability and to build on what we have. We have a good squad here, and we need to make it even better so that we can challenge for honours and get into the Champions’ League.

OPINION: MASTERS OF OUR OWN DOWNFALL?

Despite beating Chelsea twice, Arsenal once, and losing only 7 times all season, it turned out to be another season of disappointment, and ultimately misery for the City faithful. After failing to learn from their mistakes one too many times, we endured three late losses against our fierce rivals from over the road. A run of eight straight draws did nothing to help our push for a top 4 place. The misery was confirmed on the last Wednesday of the season, when Spurs came to Eastlands and did what they do best: beat City.

Our problems began in September, with an on fire Emmanuel Adebayor stupidly getting himself banned for a number of games after scoring four times in his first four games. A moment that was highly significant in our pursuit of 4th place, as one can only wonder how well Adebayor would have done in a blue shirt given a consistent run of games. However, up stepped Carlos Tevez in an attempt to show City why we invested £25 million on him in the first place, with a particularly impressive December for the small Argentine, bagging 8 goals in 7 games.

Slowly and steadily we grew into a team that genuinely looked capable of breaking the top 4 threshold; a convincing 3-0 win against Wolves was particularly impressive. But spineless performances against Everton at Goodison Park and Hull at the KC stadium meant it was another 6 points dropped in a season where every point would turn out to be vital.

However, come January we were still in a position where winning both domestic cups was possible, with the semi-final against United high on our list of priority. A less than convincing 2-1 win at Eastlands was enough to see us take an advantage to Old Trafford, but any City fan watching the game that night knew we suffered a beating in the latter stages of the second half and to take a lead to the second leg was fortunate to say the least. Still, in typical City fashion, we decided to give up our chances of a famous semi-final win in the last minute of the game, with Wayne Rooney scoring a painful goal for Blues all over to have to watch.

A disappointing loss to Stoke away in the FA Cup fifth round replay followed, with Adebayor getting sent off for a less than clever elbow, just after the Togolese striker had begun to re-create the form that saw him become an instant hit at City in the first four games of the campaign. Another mountain to climb for City, a mountain that we climbed fairly well, with an unbelievable win at Stamford Bridge following the FA cup exit. Unfortunately we didn’t follow the win at the would-be champions up with a great month after drawing to Sunderland and losing at home to Everton.

Crushing victories over Burnley and Birmingham followed in April, but our inability to accept a point in the fourth Manchester derby of the season meant another difficult pill to swallow.

Eventually, the same arrogance cost us any chance of a last-day battle off with Spurs for 4th place, a battle that we would have come out on top of, had we settled for a point in a game that we were clearly second best in. Despite an unusual amount of optimism surrounding the City of Manchester Stadium before the game, City failed to put in a performance, with several players fading despite being such a big part of the previous 36 games. As it was, Peter Crouch scored a scrappy goal that took our London rivals to the Champions’ League ahead of us; in true City fashion, we again waited until the last 10 minutes to scupper our chances of success.

Overall, due to our own over-estimation of our ability in too many games, it was disappointment for our beloved Blues and it meant another season without silverware. There were definitely positives though, with City breaking all sorts of records along the way. Given a little bit more consistency, fewer minutes added on in Manchester derbies, and fewer stamps to the faces of Dutch players, next season could prove to be the one where we crack the top 4 and maybe snatch a domestic cup along the way.

OPINION: THE SEASON

Just wanted to pick up on Chris Cobb’s comments about this season, which I feel are way off the mark.

For me this season has been an outstanding success and improvement in all areas on last season. How it can be considered to be anything else is beyond me. The fact is we finished 5th with around 17/18 more points than the previous season, reached a semi-final and collected more points home and away and scored more goals in the process.

Yes there have been disappointments such as the derbies, and manner of cup exits but overall we saw our team lose just 7 times (equal to United and one more than the champions Chelsea). We’ve stayed around the top four all season and only the top 3 was out of reach in the final months of the season. Our inability to win games that ended as draws was our Achilles heel all season but to complain that we’ve been inconsistent seems harsh. We all know that the team has to be strengthened to progress and for once we all know that it will. The money spent by Hughes while being high was born out of the fact that our prices to some clubs doubled in some cases. This by no means gave us the right to finish higher than 5th. We only narrowly missed out on 4th to a Spurs side equally talented and perhaps slightly better over the season than us; no disgrace. I felt we played well for much of the “crunch” game against a team that was equally up for the occasion.

Eastlands is slowly becoming our fortress. We have seen year on year improvement on and off the pitch so please get your glasses half full!

OPINION: STAT ATTACK

City average home attendance of 45,512 in 2009-10 was the highest ever for the club and the first time in my lifetime we got more through the turnstiles than Liverpool.

REQUEST: POINTS OF BLUE

Following last week’s PoB meeting, I have now submitted my notes to the club for their approval (which usually takes several days).

You may have seen that David Djordjevic, who organised the online petition http://www.petition.fm/petitions/northstandblues/ had a meeting last Wednesday with the club and, perhaps with a hand strengthened by the views expressed at PoB the night before, seems to have got the club to offer some flexibility in special cases (see below).

1. Special consideration for those moving who have special requirements dueto age / mobility / disability issues?
   The club will do its best to cater for these specific requirements and if youare in this position and have not already done so please contact supporterservices by e-mail at <supporterservices(at)mcfc.co.uk> as soon as possible withyour details and specific requirements. You can also phone them.
2. Special Consideration for Families with Children who don’t quite meet thecriteria
   Although the club will make no guarantees in this area they are potentiallywilling to show some flexibility e.g. if there is one child under 16 andanother over plus two adults then they may be able to accommodate them in theNorth Stand. Again if you are in this position where maybe there is a groupof 4 of you and because of the definition one person would have to relocatee.g. auntie / uncle son/daughter then please contact <supporterservices(at)mcfc.co.uk>
3. Priority for North Stand Refugees for Season Card Renewals
   Each year between 2,000 and 6,000 don’t renew. Others will relocate to thefamily stand (not sure how many this will be). Therefore after each stand’sfirst renewal window any seats not renewed will be released for sale. Thefirst day of each of these windows will be exclusively for North Stand Level1 refugees to relocate into those seats. Please check the renewal packs /webs for these dates. If you have already relocated but want to pick a betterseat if one becomes available then you can and the ticket office / supporterservices are aware of this.

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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: