Newsletter #1766

In what looked like a reserve team outing, City returned to winning ways on Wednesday night beating Cup holders Birmingham 2-0, seeing goals by City new boy Hargreaves and Balotelli. Oh to have strength in the depth of squad.

We’ve a match report tonight, a bit more on the glass half full scenario and a request for Munich tickets.

MATCH REPORT: MCFC 2 BCFC 0

Owen Hargreaves crowned a fine début with a stunning strike after just 17 minutes of action to send City on the way to the fourth round of the League Cup. It was a very comfortable victory for a City side that had 11 changes from the side that started at Fulham.

Hargreaves was quickly into his stride and was at the centre of City’s neat passing game, which retained possession for long periods of the first half, when we built up a two goal lead with a minimum of fuss. He also showed his tenacity and no ill effects (neither mental or physical) in the manner that he threw himself into tackles, which was good news. His goal was a sublime, dipping 25-yarder into the top left hand corner that left the Birmingham ‘keeper Doyle with absolutely no chance. This was the cue for a bit of “Fergie, Fergie, sign him up!” It was a fine 57 minutes from the England midfielder and his ovation on being subbed was well merited. Indeed, if Hargreaves can keep injury free, then he will be a very useful addition to the squad, particularly during the African Nations’ Cup next year.

Kolo Touré, who was afforded a warm welcome on his return, cleared a goal-bound shot off the line.

Our second goal came when Balotelli coolly steered in Kolarov’s cross, and there was no real way back for Birmingham, even if Pantilimon, deputising for Joe Hart, made two sharp saves in a disappointing 2nd half that saw City never really get out of 2nd gear.

Tévez should have scored after he showed great strength to roll a Birmingham defender on the halfway line and run powerfully towards goal but his shot was saved by Doyle. Tévez played fairly well in this game, giving his all as ever, though he almost tried to do too much.

All in all, this was a match where City were very comfortable winners against a Birmingham side that also had several changes. A few more goals would have made it more entertaining, but it is good to win and see one or two youngsters get an outing, Dutch teenager Karim Rekik and Italian Luca Scapuzzi getting a few minutes at the end whilst Razak did well in central midfield.

Att: 25,070
Pantilimon: Flapped at one cross but showed good reflexes to make two sharp saves in the 2nd half: 7
Onuoha: Given a warm reception, and as always didn’t let anyone down: 6
Savic: Dived in on one occasion only to show his pace in recovery. Generally solid: 6
Touré: A rock solid return, it was like he’d never been away: 7
Bridge: A decent showing. Good on the ball: 7
Zabaleta: Out of position on the right of midfield but steady as ever: 7
Razak: Neat, tidy and hard working, he can be pleased with this. In time he will need to develop a forward gear and learn to turn on the ball: 7
Hargreaves: Tenacious, energetic high class play in centre of midfield: 8 (Man of the Match)
Kolarov: Good delivery for the second goal: 7
Tévez: He had a tendency to come a little too deep to get the ball at times, but he needs a goal, badly: 6
Balotelli: Took his goal well. Doesn’t seem to link up otherwise: 6
Subs: Milner (for Hargreaves 57). Good to see him back: 7
Rekik (for Bridge 78): n/a
Scapuzzi (for Razak 86): n/a
Refwatch: Kevin Friend: Low profile, in control, but not tested: 7
Best Oppo: N’Daw: worked hard in midfield, and showed great sportsmanship to help Razak when he was suffering from cramp: 7

OPINION: GLASS MORE THAN HALF FULL

First of all, thanks for the kind words to Ernie, and Dave and Sue at King of the Kippax. It is much appreciated. I always enjoy reading both King of the Kippax and Ernie’s writing in MCIVTA.

With City being 2-0 up early in the 2nd half, yesterday’s 2-2 draw at Fulham feels like a defeat. Micah should have got much closer to Bobby Zamora for their opener and Edin Dzeko was definitely fouled before their second (can you imagine Clattenburg allowing that to go unpunished against the Rags?). We have to learn that we cannot take our foot off the gas, though. We did it too many times in the previous two seasons (e.g. Everton away lasts season where victory soon became an infuriating defeat). We must concentrate for 90 minutes.

Yes, we had a gruelling high-quality game against Napoli last Wednesday, but this should not be used as an excuse for anything. Any claims about tiredness hold no water as these are fit young men at the start of the season. City had 3 full days to recover from our Champions’ League début and if they can’t be fresh now, when can they be? In any case Fulham played on Thursday, one day after City played. The message has to be: stop moaning and get on with the game!

Let’s stop talking about being tired as the players will start believing it (if they aren’t already) too. Let’s not give anyone an excuse to under-perform.

Yes, the fixture list, which gives us an away game and the Rags a home game after each Chimps’ League game, is probably a fix, but Roberto shouldn’t keep harping on about it. Leave that to City’s board and let’s get on with the job in hand.

I don’t think Roberto Mancini can complain too much about a lack of options either (he was alluding to the centre of midfield after the Fulham game). It is unfortunate that we have both Nigel de Jong and James Milner injured at the moment but if Roberto wanted to rest one of Yaya or Barry then he could have played Zaba in central midfield. He’s never let us down when he has played there (he had a very good game in a big UEFA Cup tie against Hamburg you may recall). I didn’t agree with Mancini taking off our best player, Silva, but overall I’d back his judgement – as Ernie says: in Roberto we trust!

But we shouldn’t get too disappointed. It’s been a great start to the season, with those four straight wins. We have made a good start, and sit proudly in 2nd place. It just so happens the Rags have started even better, but there is a long way to go. There is plenty to cheer. Hopefully a few fringe players (Kolo, Costel Pantilimon, Hargreaves, Savic etc.) will help put Birmingham to the sword on Wednesday in what is an unofficial ‘English Super Cup’ and that we can give bogey team Everton a good hiding next Saturday. It’s about time that we beat those pesky Toffees!

REQUEST: MUNICH TICKETS

Just a quick, desperate, plea to any fans who might have 2 spare tickets for the Munich game. Have bought the flights and hotel but City are not selling tickets to anyone but Platinum and Gold members and have told me there are only 40 tickets left.

I know it’s a long shot but if you don’t ask!

RESULTS AND TABLE

League table to 21 September 2011 inclusive

                           HOME          AWAY        OVERALL
                   P  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  W  D  L  F  A  GD Pts
 1 Manchester Utd  5  3  0  0 14  3  2  0  0  7  1  5  0  0 21  4  17  15
 2 Manchester City 5  2  0  0  7  0  2  1  0 10  5  4  1  0 17  5  12  13
 3 Chelsea         5  2  0  0  5  2  1  1  1  3  4  3  1  1  8  6   2  10
 4 Newcastle Utd   5  1  1  0  2  1  1  2  0  2  1  2  3  0  4  2   2   9
 5 Stoke City      5  1  1  0  1  0  1  1  1  2  5  2  2  1  3  5  -2   8
 6 Aston Villa     5  1  2  0  4  2  0  2  0  2  2  1  4  0  6  4   2   7
 7 Everton         4  1  1  1  5  4  1  0  0  1  0  2  1  1  6  4   2   7
 8 Liverpool       5  1  1  0  4  2  1  0  2  2  5  2  1  2  6  7  -1   7
 9 QPR             5  0  1  1  0  4  2  0  1  4  2  2  1  2  4  6  -2   7
10 Wolves          5  1  0  2  2  5  1  1  0  2  1  2  1  2  4  6  -2   7
11 Tottenham H.    4  1  0  1  5  5  1  0  1  2  3  2  0  2  7  8  -1   6
12 Sunderland      5  1  0  2  5  3  0  2  0  1  1  1  2  2  6  4   2   5
13 Norwich City    5  0  1  1  1  2  1  1  1  4  5  1  2  2  5  7  -2   5
14 Swansea City    5  1  2  0  3  0  0  0  2  0  5  1  2  2  3  5  -2   5
15 Wigan Athletic  5  1  1  0  3  1  0  1  2  1  6  1  2  2  4  7  -3   5
16 Blackburn R.    5  1  0  2  5  6  0  1  1  2  4  1  1  3  7 10  -3   4
17 Arsenal         5  1  0  1  1  2  0  1  2  5 12  1  1  3  6 14  -8   4
18 Fulham          5  0  3  0  3  3  0  0  2  1  4  0  3  2  4  7  -3   3
19 Bolton Wndrs    5  0  0  3  3 10  1  0  1  5  3  1  0  4  8 13  -5   3
20 West Brom A.    5  0  0  2  1  3  1  0  2  2  5  1  0  4  3  8  -5   3

MCIVTA FAQ [v1112.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

Articles (Heidi Pickup)          : editor@mcivta.city-fan.org
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[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: