Newsletter #1931

Right, what is going on this season? I simply cannot fathom Sunderland with what we witnessed on Sunday. We have all seen City swing between ups and downs but I really cannot recall such dramatic week-on-week changes like this.

As much as I was on the floor after Blunderland, I cannot believe some of the football I witnessed on Sunday. Quite simply some of the best I have seen.

This is messing with my mind!

Seems I am not the only one judging by this issue.

Lively stuff, so read on my friends…

CITY 6 SPURS 0

What can be said about this 6-0 win over Spurs, other than “brilliant attacking football”?

To start the goal scoring, Navas with his speed and accuracy broke our Premier League record for the fastest goal in just thirteen seconds. The partnership of the Beauty (Agüero) and the Beast (Negredo) is like magic, as they both scored goals!

Nasri had a great game and was unlucky not to score when he hit the crossbar. Milner came on as a substitute, and what a fantastic pass to Navas to finish the scoring.

The City defence held firm, with Costel, in goal, keeping a clean sheet. It is difficult for Pellegrini to put Hart back in goal when Costel has not made a mistake. However, Hart will get a game in the European game versus Plzen, as players rotate. A nice thing for Pellegrini to have two very good ‘keepers competing.

A total team display led by captain Yaya, who charged through and gave Agüero a pass to score.

This win was against a team Spurs considered as a title contender.

I will not give a detailed account of the game, for there are others who do a very good job. What made this day even better was the Rags being held to a draw at Cardiff 2-2. Giggs sure got a welcome by the Cardiff fans, as they all booed him on to the pitch as a sub.

We have seen some brilliant football and results at the Etihad. Now City have got to start winning away from home… then it will be looking more like a Pellegrini side to win the title back.

In Pellegrini I trust (getting more convincing)! I love his style of attacking football.

ANOTHER DOMINANT HOME SHOWING

All well and good but we could score twenty and it would still count for next to nothing if we don’t pick our socks up on our travels.

With all our defensive wobbles and woes this season, I hope that that Joleon Lescott’s performance was not overlooked by Pellegrini.

Considering how little he’s played this year, added to his having to get immediately into stride after the interval, I thought he was nothing short of excellent. I can’t recall him having made a single mistake, in fact.

REMEMBER WHEN?

Hi McVittee Men (and Ladies),

There have been many City vs. Spurs encounters; I was there at the ’81 replay and witnessed the most brilliant goal ever scored in a Cup Final – by Steve McKenzie.

Anyway! A question from the annals of MR.

Can anyone remember when it was when we played Spurs at Maine Road (in the 80s) on a day that was bathed in sunshine and I mean we were squinting in the sunshine.

City arrived on the pitch (2:55pm), in our regulation sky blue and white shorts. Then (this was before the days of the ridiculous happy handshake) Spurs filed on to the pitch separately in the yellowest, palest of pale, all yellow kit (Leeds-esque).

Nothing wrong with that until just after kick-off and the players started to mingle. The sun just blanched both teams into a dazzling white, the ultimate colour clash. Passes went astray, players were mis-directing the ball, no one could distinguish the teams (except the goalies and referee). There was a lot of harrumphing and people were thinking “is it just me?” Then one bloke shouted “Oi ref we can’t f****g see”.

The linesman flagged the referee, who held his hands up in exasperation and that was it. The referee went over to the benches and signalled to bring both teams off the pitch. A chorus of boos but clearly the game could not continue. Five minutes later Spurs arrived back on the pitch unchanged. Then, a few minutes later, City emerged in the traditional black/red away kit (but with white shorts). Some booing but nothing outrageous.

It was explained afterwards on MOTD (or maybe it was the Kick Off Match with Gerald Thermostat) by the then manager (again the Manager escapes me)…

“The ref wanted to make Spurs play in City’s away kit initially and we said, really that’s not fair on Spurs as this was no one’s fault and only City should play in our colours.”

What was the year, the manager and result…? A curly wurly for the winner!

MANUEL PELLEGRINI

Things are looking good at Manchester City:

• Still in the hunt for the Premier League title
• Still in the Capital One Cup
• Still in the last sixteen of the Champions’ League
• The FA Cup to be played for

Of course the main issue as we the supporters see is winning away from home; this will be a big concern in every competition, but with the squad that City have it should be overcome, and soon.

It has been a tough job for Pellegrini to take over from a successful manager such as Roberto Mancini, but I do think that he has proven to be a great manager. From the start I liked his approach to attacking football, but got hesitant when the teams that are low in the league beat us away from home. I do feel that Pellegrini will only get better as he finds out more about the Premier League; we must not forget it was all new to him, despite his knowledge of the game.

I would love it if Pellegrini pulls it off, winning all the trophies, not just because I’m a big City supporter, but for the manager to do it – good luck sir!

In Pellegrini I trust (he has earned my trust)!

BARMY CITY FANS

I had a flying visit to Manchester in September to visit a great City fan, Allan Morris from Middleton, who is quite sick. Allan and his friends gave me a super time, including getting me a ticket for the fantastic derby game, where the sky was as blue as Joe Mercer Way and the City shirts. I should come over to England more often in the football season, as the last derby game I attended was the 5-1 win over the Rags in 1989.

A couple of the guys who took me to the Etihad for the derby are travelling to Australia with the Barmy Army for the Ashes. Can anyone tell me where they will be able to see City games when they are in Melbourne, remembering that the games will be on in the early hours of the morning here? They could have come to our place, but, for some strange reason, my wife does not fancy the Barmy Army invading the house at 2.00 am.

NOT THE PELE I WANTED

To replace Mancini with someone of lesser quality is one thing but what is most worrying is that our Pelle is the custodian of our club, a duty he seems incapable of fulfilling. He is there not only to bring success today but he is the guardian of the future too.

He needs to balance the need for trophies whilst developing a group of players who can continue to bring success to Manchester City for many years to come. Despite this, he is looking to decimate a team with great qualities because he cannot get the right balance and win the games that count.

To look to replace Hart with another ‘keeper shows not only a lack of vision but a lack of foresight. Hart is our future; look at his great days at Shrewsbury, at Birmingham, his return to City and managing to get in front of Given, a world class and experienced ‘keeper. We can allow Joe a bad game, a bad patch and even a bad season. He is still not at his peak, he will continue to develop and set-backs for players of great quality simply help them fight back and become better for the experience.

Joe has an affinity with our club, with the fans, he is the national ‘keeper, had trophies behind him and will only become a better ‘keeper. If we sell him, all of the top Premier League clubs will fight for his services and we will replace him with a transient player who will come for the riches and slip away after a year or two.

As custodian of the club, the manager should not let Hart move on but stick with him; the facts are that a poor defence have not helped Hart and as a team they have not performed.

The papers this Sunday talk of a Pellegrini clear-out but now more than ever we need a guardian behind the manager. Someone to guarantee the long term future of the club, someone who can buy and retain the best players and not let a fickle manager desperate for success erode our future whilst letting the manager use the players at his disposal. The great Niall Quinn would be a perfect fit, as would Uwe, who is currently carving out success at Brentford. Let’s get someone with City in his heart behind us and have a real guardian for our future. They can work with the manager to ensure today’s success does not come at too high a price for the future.

My dad first took me to City in 1973 aged six. I have enjoyed highs, lows, desperate days and days of wonder (never thought I would see us win the league) but what I love about our club, our fans, about MCFC is that the trophies are nice but it was never about that; if it was we would all be living down south supporting the Rags.

Being a Blue is about loving your club on the bad days, even more than on the good days. A manager is a short term guardian of the club but it is the fans who invest a lifetime.

Final note: great interview with Uwe on BBC yesterday and should you pop down to Brentford on a Saturday there are always a few of us Blues there watching his team if City have our usual Sunday KO.

WATCHING THE BLUES IN FLORIDA

Hi everyone,

It looks like I will be lucky enough to be spending December and January in the Sarasota (Florida) area. Does anybody have any advice on where I could watch the games whilst I am there? Is there by any chance a local group that meets to watch anywhere in the area?

If so please drop an email to me at the address below.

MUSIC AT CITY SQUARE – CITY vs. SWANSEA

Just to give you a heads up: the new anthemic Manchester band KASSOMA are playing in City Square on 1st December just after their gigs at the Notting Hill Arts Club on 20th November and at the Ruby Lounge on 22nd November but before going to Liverpool to The Lomax 5th December and they are in talks to tour Texas.

They are planning to record a new version of Blue Moon for an upcoming video on the Youth Cup Winning Team in the mid-1980s, which was the subject of a book release last week.

Check them out on the downloadable preview from their new EP “Arrows” http://soundcloud.com/kassoma/arrows-1 and if you like them follow them on Twitter to get the latest on the Blue Moon cover.

AND FINALLY… MISSING PERSON

No words of wisdom, or considered controversy, from Phil Banerjee since signing off MCIVTA 1927 with the words “at a difficult time for me”.

Hope things improve Phil. I’m sure other readers join me in wishing you well.

ED – Phil informs me whilst he is not 100% he is ok but will be offline for a little while. All the best Phil B and get well soon. Phil A.

MCIVTA FAQ [v1112.01]

[1] MCIVTA Addresses

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[2] What are MCIVTA’s publishing deadlines?

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

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[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?

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[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?

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[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/.

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Editor: