Newsletter #1754

With kick-off looming we’ve a quick look at the Charity Shield game and tactics, Mario and a new FAQ for the new season thanks to David.

OPINION: CHARITY SHIELD

Obviously disappointed by our second-half let-down against the Rags but I would rather see Kompany mess up in this match than in a game that really counts.

Too bad Mancini hasn’t learned from last season that we can’t afford to sit on a lead. We did it so many times last season, go a goal up and park the bus or go for a safe one point against Arsenal and United. The TV pundit on Fox Sports Canada correctly pointed out that City’s main failing is settling for one point when they could go for three. This will be the defining point of how we progress this season.

Surely at 2-0 against United we should have gone all out against them in the second half and took the game to them. But no, Mancini plays it cautious, they score a goal and then it was let’s get conservative and try to hang on… and that thought lasted six minutes.

One positive thing I will say about United is that they certainly know how to play out the last five minutes of a game. Surely we must have known from previous games that they are going to come at us in injury time and yes they did it again!

I think we will do well this season but we just have to be more aggressive and learn to turn the knife when we have a team on the ropes. Otherwise we will eventually regret dropping points we should be collecting.

OPINION: SUPER MARIO

Mario Balotelli has to change his attitude for the sake of the club and football. Make no mistake, Mario can be a brilliant player, his goal versus Inter Milan was a bullet of a header.

How long can Roberto Mancini keep telling us that he is only a young player, whilst we see other young players in other clubs just play their best to compete for their place in teams?

Not all things off the field have been bad; Mario helped out a homeless man after his win in a casino. It is not his off the field performances that affect me so much, but those on the pitch.

Whilst playing versus United, Mario very much reminded me of Adebayor, just after Adebayor scored a great goal against his old club the Gooners. He then became lazy. Mario scores a great goal against his old club Inter, then became lazy versus United!

Mario produces when you don’t expect it; we see some genius, but he is not consistent! We know that Mario can be a great player; it is time to concentrate 100% on football and produce it on the pitch. Mario is lucky to have one of the best managers in football, and who speaks his language of Italian.

Come on Mario, do it so that we can all call you “Super Mario”.

Come on you Blues!

P.S. This is meant to be encouragement and not the opposite, for we all want the best.

MCIVTA FAQ [v1112.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Heidi Pickup)          : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org
News/rumour                      : 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/Twitter

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?

The Official Supporters’ Club and the Centenary Supporters’ Association have merged to become the Manchester City Supporters’ Club (http://www.mcfcsupportersclub.com/). The club also recognise the Manchester City Disabled Supporters’ Association (http://www.mcdsa.co.uk/).

[6] Where can I find out about Points of Blue?

The committee operates as an interface between supporters and the club. Points of Blue appears on the club website under the “Fans” heading (http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Fans).

[7] What match day broadcasts are available on the web?

Live match commentary can be found on the club website. The Radio Manchester pre- and post-match phone-in is available on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/england/manchester/.

[8] Where can I find out if City are live on satellite TV?

http://www.satfootball.com/ provides a listing of Premier League games being shown on UK domestic and foreign satellite channels. A useful site for North American viewers is http://msn.foxsports.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://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/Usenet

[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] Do any squad members have their own Twitter accounts?

A list of genuine player accounts is maintained at http://twitter.com/#!/MCFC/players

[12] Where can I find match statistics?

Statistics for the current season are available from the club site, but for a more in-depth historical 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: