MAN CITY INFO VIA THE ALPS "McVittee!" #265

DATE Monday 20th January 1997

Hopefully this issue will reach you by Monday evening / Tuesday morning! Yet again my telephone line is acting up, such that I'd given up, but decided to make one last effort at 10:30pm. Lo and behold I managed to download 22 messages, all of which needed processing and, as it was, I was knackered! Now I just have to hope it hasn't all been in vain and I will actually be able to upload this issue.

There's plenty to read; two match reports of Saturday's game, which mean we have now established a record of two games unbeaten - on the trot; plenty of opinion; more on the Prestwich and Whitefield Supporters' Club and news of the Pink Final on the Internet.

This one reachs 1,264.

Please be patient if you can't reach me over the next few days, I'll be having a friendly word with British Telecom!

MATCH REPORT 'LIVE'

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN vs. MANCHESTER CITY, Saturday 18th January 1997

Attendance: about 18,000

This is all written from memory - forgive me any mistakes!

The match day started well enough with a decent pub lunch and a pint in the Parish Pump pub almost within sight of the ground. The atmosphere was good with a mix of both sets of supporters, the noisier of which were the City fans, one of whom was singing with a plastic bag on his head! It seemed a pretty stupid thing to do which it turns out was not his last of the day. The word in the pub was that it was a sell-out, so there were hopes that the atmosphere would be good in the ground too. After lunch we made our way to the ground and were seated on the third row - being the optimist I figured that this would give us an excellent chance to see City put a few in. As it turned out both goals were scored at the other end. As rumoured, it was virtually full and the City end was by far the more vocal and in good song from the start, with plenty of renditions of Blue Moon, Remember Ten, and a catchy welcome for Tommy Wright Wright Wright.

The line up seemed to be:-

            Wright
McGoldrick  Lomas       Symons     Ingram
Summerbee   Brightwell  Crooks     Heaney
            Kinkladze
            Rösler

Subs: Whitley, Creaney, Kavelashvili

To begin with City looked like a side that had never met each other before, let alone played football together but gradually got a few things together. Huddersfield seemed to be making a few more chances and were regularly causing problems for our defence with some simple through balls, though for the remainder of the first half it was anybody's game. Eventually one of our attacks resulted in a free kick that had Kinky written all over it but Buzzer wasted it by blasting it low into the wall. City were getting more confident and even passing it around a bit towards the end of the first half. Eventually another City free kick just before half time resulted in the City goal, after being recovered by Rösler who put the ball back in the box for Lomas to finish.

After half time City had a good spell and looked comfortable passing the ball around and looked pretty much in control for a good 10 minutes! But this soon deteriorated and after about sixty minutes Huddersfield were coming back into it and they scored from a corner after about 70-75 minutes. From then it was the by now usual City nail biting ending with a few scrambles and most of the play coming from the opposition. There was a bit of a scuffle in the stands mid-way through the second half with a few City fans that had managed to get tickets in amongst the Huddersfield supporters. At this point our hero, who was singing with the bag on his head earlier, promptly jumped over the barrier into the arms of a waiting copper who obligingly cuffed him and escorted him away - clever bloke. At least he gave us something to laugh about!

Players summary:- Tommy Wright had a pretty good début, McGoldrick was eager throughout, Lomas seemed to drift in and out of the game a little, Symons was solid, Buzzer was crap except for a run right at the end - the brightest thing about his game was the orange flash on his boots - he even got booked unnecessarily for tapping the ball in after being flagged offside. Kinky was trying to impress too much and would have had several half chances had he not had a dozen too many touches trying to tee it up for his left. Rösler was repeatedly caught offside (though some of these decisions looked very close - but the vantage point I had was not the best for spotting offsides) and when he wasn't too far ahead of the ball he really seemed half a yard behind the game. Whitley came on for Crooks after 80 minutes and looked keen, to the extent that he put in a few rash challenges. To top it all off the referee was a complete knob - goading the City fans with a thumbs up after he gave a decision the other way - not in the refereeing handbook I suspect. Players can be disciplined for this sort of thing - what about refs?

All in all, I was happy that we managed to come away with a draw.

MATCH REPORT 'LIVE'

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN vs. MANCHESTER CITY, Saturday 18th January 1997

"Where were you when we scored ten?"

Huddersfield's two-year-old Alfred McAlpine Stadium may only be a couple of hundred yards away from the site of the old Leeds Road ground but as a sports venue, it might as well be from another planet. The sweeping curves of the three stands (work on the fourth side has now started) give it a distinctive appearance and offer excellent views of the pitch. Well worth a visit for anyone who hasn't yet been. City sold out the end reserved for away fans (4,000 seats); part of the stand to our left was also set aside for City fans, who could pay on the day in this section. What's the point of telling people not to travel without tickets if clubs persistently have cash turnstiles available like this? Needless to say, the attendance of 18,358 was the highest of the season so far, by a margin of around 4,000.

Tommy Wright made his début in goal as City lined up with five in midfield and just Rösler up front:

                 Wright
McGoldrick  Brightwell  Symons  Ingram
          Crooks         Lomas
Summerbee       Kinkladze       Heaney
                 Rösler

The home side hardly managed to get into our half in the first ten minutes apart from one occasion in which their man was given offside but carried on to try to beat Wright. He failed, and injured himself in the process. This must have won him some sympathy from the referee because when Nicky Summerbee did the same thing in the second half (well, nearly the same thing - Summerbee put the ball in the net), he was booked for his trouble.

The home side gradually came more into the game and were the better side throughout the rest of the half, though Wright was rarely needed to intervene. Lomas and Crooks protected the defence well and we looked quite solid at the back, with Ingram in particular impressing at left back. Summerbee had another decent game and came close to giving City the lead but his shot was blocked at the near post. The deadlock was broken just before the break and it started with a set piece: Summerbee made a horrible mess of a free kick about 25 yards out and Rob Edwards collected the loose ball. As everybody streamed towards the City end ready for a counter-attack, Rösler harried Edwards into giving the ball away and was able to square it across the penalty area for Lomas (on his 23rd birthday) to bundle the ball home. It was against the run of play but who cares?

City went in to cheers from the visiting fans, who had been quite quiet throughout most of the first half. During the break a couple of songs specially for Huddersfield were aired, both alluding to the famous 10-1 win in November 1987.

In contrast to the first half, City seemed well in control for the first 30 minutes after the restart. The home side appeared to have run out of ideas and City came close to extending the lead on a few occasions. Heaney saw one effort scrambled clear at the near post and another fly across the goalmouth, Kinkladze had one run on a break when he managed to elude his marker Jon Dyson but he tried to take too many men on when he reached the penalty area instead of passing or shooting, both of which looked better options.

Brian Horton made a few changes, bringing on youngsters Paul Dalton and Ian Lawson and this seemed to give the home side more impetus. They put us under a bit of pressure, with Wright (Wright Wright...) making a couple of good saves before the inevitable happened and we conceded a goal from a set piece. Dalton floated in a corner, for once Wright was unable to intervene and Lawson headed home. This really roused the home fans and they made a lot of noise for the rest of the match. If only we could do that at Maine Road. As usual, City looked ready to concede another goal as the final whistle approached but in the end we hung on to create a record two-game unbeaten run for the season. I'd have settled for a draw beforehand but I still left feeling disappointed that we'd thrown a lead away again.

Good points: the performances of Wright (he's big, confident and able, and he can kick too) and Ingram, who looks more assured with every game. Rösler worked hard and his persistence won us our goal.

Bad points: our inability to defend a lead and especially set pieces showed up once again. Gio had very little influence on the game and must find a way of playing effectively when he is man-marked, though he did show more of a willingness to close down opponents than usual.

What I'd really like to see is some sharpness on the counter-attack. City always hold the ball up and allow defenders to get back when we break forward. Under Frank Clark, Forest were an effective counter-attacking team and if he can get us to be able to do that, we'll start winning a few matches.

Clark's comments after the game suggest he's seen enough now to start making changes: "We are not good enough. We cannot get where we want to go with the current squad. There's work to be done on the training ground and in the transfer market," he said.

NEWS - IMMEL AND DALGLISH

According to GMR, Eike Immel is returning to Germany for more treatment on his troublesome hip.

Something to ponder: apparently Kenny Dalglish was sat right behind Dave Bassett at Maine Road last week. I wonder who he was watching?

NEWS - GARY SMITH

According to tonight's (Friday) local evening newspaper in Aberdeen, Gary Smith is set to join City on loan for the rest of the season. Frank Clark admitted that he is trying to persuade Rennes to let Smith go on loan. This would avoid any payments to Aberdeen, whom Smith left for free in the summer under the Bosman ruling.

"City have no plans to speak to Aberdeen about the matter but the Dons today insisted they would demand some payment, if City try to play Smith in any capacity."

This would be a test case between league bosses in England and Scotland.

Smith would be an excellent acquisition for City if they get him for nothing. I saw him play a lot last season and he did impress me. Aberdeen are just pi**ed off they never got anything for him last year; he was on the transfer list for 5 months valued at £1 million - a wee bit pricey. Aberdeen are currently going through a pure evil patch and the board are saying no money for new players, so if they get the smell of a few quid drifting over the border then they will be after it.

NEWS - CITY RESERVES

City's reserves are through to the next stage of the Pontin's League Cup after a 1-0 win at Stoke on Sunday. Michael Brown scored the winner just after the break when he intercepted a weak back pass and slotted the ball past Carl Muggleton. Although the home side had the edge in terms of possession, City's defence, led by Alan Kernaghan, never really looked like buckling apart from a long-range shot which struck the post near the end.

NEWS - PREMIER LEAGUE CHANGES?

It has been reported today (Monday) that the Premier League want to change the rules on promotion and relegation between itself and the First Division so that there are only two clubs promoted and relegated at the end of each season instead of the current three. The proposal is "up for discussion" at the moment and no timetable has been suggested but it's not good news for us, is it?

Another report of interest over the weekend was that the Labour Party would consider allowing the re-introduction of "safe standing areas" if (when?) they are elected later this year and that is what is wanted by "football". Whether clubs who have already completed conversions to all-seaters would go for this is another matter, though the Football Supporters' Association have been campaigning for it for some time.

VIRGINIA CAR LICENSE PLATES?

My name is Gordon Adams and I live in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. When I applied for my car licence plates from the State I requested MAN CITY which happen to have been the plates I had while living in Chicago for the last 17 years. I was told by the folks in charge that MAN CITY was already taken! I couldn't believe it! Another City fan in Virginia. I hadn't met a single City fan all the time I lived in Chicago! I had to settle for MAN CTY (without the all-important I). So the question is, who in Virginia has MAN CITY riding around on their car? Can you please help me find him/her? By the way a pal of mine in Chicago has MAN UTD as his licence plate.

FIFTIES MEMORIES

Replying to Harry Cooper's request for memories of the 50's cup team, I lived in Victoria Park then and remember the local bakery on Wilmslow Road near Maine Road having a large iced cake decorated with a football field and the names of the players in the icing on top. Bobby Johnstone was a great Scottish inside forward and Roy Paul seemed to make a lot of foul throws.

FITNESS LEVELS

Regarding what Frank Clark said about fitness levels, he is absolutely right.

As a youngster I used to go to Tuesday evening training at Platt Lane, and then later on my Sunday League team trained there. On meeting Ralph (one of the blokes who used to train us at Platt Lane) on the bus on the way to the Port Vale game, who goes to watch City train regularly, he also said that the players weren't fit enough, and that on a then recently taken bleep test (the higher the number the fitter you are) that the average score for a professional footballer is 17.

He then went on to say that two of the City players had managed to get 14 and the rest only a measly 11. As two of my flatmates can get 16 on bleep tests, and one of them does not do any active sport, I think this is pathetic and it is about time that the problem was addressed.

Ralph also said that when Phil Neal took the first training session when Coppell took over as manager, Brightwell got told to play on the left wing, as he was told to take a corner, which he did with his right foot, promptly knocking the ball into the air landing somewhere between the edge of the box and the halfway line. When told to take the corner again, he did so with the same result. Phil Neal then told him to take it with his left foot to which he replied that he couldn't and got told to play on the left wing at this point.

TOFFS & THE CHARLTON GAME

I tried the Web page for TOFFS but it didn't work... did I copy it down wrong? Could someone post it again please.

It looks like I will be in London early April and will probably be there when City play Charlton on the 5th (I think I have that right). Be pleased to meet up with some MCIVTAs. Who do you think will be manager by then!

I noticed the comment about Newcastle's attendances during their lean spell and I think it points out just what a large core group of supporters there are at City. It is not too difficult to imagine crowds in the high 30,000s should there be any sort of resurgence. Of course whether you go in hopes of a win or for just the sheer perversity of it is another question.

The Umbro split is sad. I can't imagine that City have got a better deal from another supplier have they? Even Brazil have moved from Umbro to Nike but they get $200 million for doing so over the next so many years!

PRESTWICH AND WHITEFIELD SUPPORTERS' CLUB MEETING

There was another meeting of the Prestwich and Whitefield MCFC Supporters' Club on Monday night and, for those of you who are interested, here's my account of what happened.

It was another very impressive turnout: Alex Williams, Chris Greenacre, Michael Brown, John Foster and Alan Kernaghan from the club, and Bryan Brett from the Manchester Evening News. I hope you all appreciate the fact that I decided to stay on lemonade so I could take notes and remember the evening better for you (rather than my usual alcohol-blurred memories!). Are you sitting comfortably? Here we go.

There were, of course, lots of questions about our position in the league and whether we could reach the play-offs and even get promotion. The general consensus of opinion from the panel was that promotion isn't realistic this year but everyone expects to get promoted next year. The general feeling was that it's too late to expect promotion this year. AK thought we stood a better chance now Frank Clark had arrived but he thought it would be next year too. Interestingly, no questions were asked about relegation, nor was it mentioned by the panel. They must be more confident than we are! Everyone agreed that Bolton would win the League and seemed impressed by the way they've played and maintained their performances.

As everyone had different things to contribute, I'm going to write about people individually:

Chris Greenacre: didn't really have much to say. Most of the questions were fielded by Alan Kernaghan and Bryan Brett, and no one could really think of much to ask the poor lad. He accepts that Frank Clark has told the young players he's going with experience at the moment (maybe now he's seen them play he'll start giving the youngsters a chance! We live in hope).

Alan Kernaghan: Talk about Mr Controversy! The mild-mannered man we've all nearly forgotten about answered back to his critics. He doesn't like the way that fans get on individual players' backs, e.g. Summerbee, Clough... and himself, I suppose. He said it's hard to take and infuriating when you're doing your best and all the fans do is slag you off. He also said that the team doesn't get much support at home (!!! to the amazement of everyone in the room!). Someone stood up and said, "What do you call 27,000 people on Saturday? That was your support." I don't mind telling you there was uproar! AK then said he meant that the fans aren't very vocal and you can always hear the away fans more. Loads of people were frothing at the mouth and we pointed out that the away fans are always louder and anyway, what have we had to shout about, etc. He said he did understand the frustration of the fans but tried to point out it was difficult for the team too. Hmmm, tact isn't exactly your strong point eh, Al? To be fair, he did make some valid points during the night and I think he genuinely feels he has been treated badly by the fans. My mate nearly offered him outside in the car park!

Alex Williams: What a thoroughly nice chap! He was the most diplomatic person there and wouldn't answer the question, "What do you think of the standard of goalkeeping at the club?" He did say, and I quote, "In time Martyn will become a good goalkeeper." He did actually say he would sit on the fence for that question! Another good question was, did he feel bitter that he was never given a testimonial? Surprisingly, he said, "Yes, I do feel bitter." He said that in light of the amount of players who get testimonials and then go on to play successfully for other clubs, he did feel let down. He was talking about his job at the moment, saying it was difficult because they visit schools in the Manchester area and hardly any kids are interested in MCFC; no prizes for guessing who they all support.

Bryan Brett: I want to invite this man out for a drink! God, he knows so much inside information. He didn't sit on the fence at all and said he didn't think the goalkeepers are good enough. He also slagged off the club's PR - he is the reporter who covers MCFC, and he didn't even know there had been a friendly match that morning (which we lost 6-1, apparently!). He thinks Tony Book was treated appallingly by the club and thinks they should have handled it far better. TB was told by Bernard Halford that he was out on his ear. Apparently, the club are going to pay him until he's at retirement age (isn't he already?!). BB was in the army with TB and had nothing but praise for him.

Someone asked him if he's ever felt intimidated by the Club, e.g. if he's ever been severely critical. BB said he hasn't felt intimidated; he has been quite critical in the past but wants to be supportive. He said the club had been fine with him, no problems, unlike Trafford Rovers: apparently, when the Rags got stuffed during one recent European game, the headline in the MEN was something like, "Skill beats Desire" and Taggart was on the phone to complain! I got the impression he doesn't like them too much...

He also seemed to know all about how much we were paying / had paid ex-managers. He said Alan Ball didn't resign, he was shown the door and was fully paid-up (but he didn't know / wouldn't say how much). We are no longer paying Peter Reid. Phil Neal got 6 months' pay and he seemed quite happy with that, as he didn't have a contract.

Someone asked if we really need so many backroom staff. He thinks things will stay the same staff-wise until the end of the season and then there will be a clear out. Alan Hill: what the hell is he doing? Do we need him? BB certainly believes so. Alan Hill will go scouting for new players and watch the competition before we play them (incidentally, he was the spy at Barnsley and said "the crowd was magic, the team wasn't!").

And one little hot-off-the-press snippet: the chairman of the club, Don Price, was thanking the panel for turning up. He said it was fantastic that so many had bothered: he's written to Colin Barlow about 7 times, and each time he's come up with different excuses. Bryan Brett grabbed the mike off Don and said, "If you're going to invite him, get your invitation in quickly!" Is the end finally in sight for Mr B?

Michael Brown: he sounded as though he was pretty p***ed off with the way he's been treated by the club, too. Remember reading that he hasn't signed a contract? Well, the club haven't spoken to him about it since 8 July last year and he hasn't got a clue what his future is. He was told he would be travelling down to Brentford on the Monday, so he turned up ready to travel and was then told he wouldn't be going! So he came to our club instead, good on him.

It has to be said that both MB and John Foster didn't have much time for Alan Ball - that's putting it mildly. Apparently, AB told MB in Ireland that he'd never be as good a player as he was, and he'd never play for him again! (MB confessed this after someone prompted him - they'd overheard it in Ireland). He said Kit Symons made him go to bed as AB had had a few to drink and was winding him up. MB said, "the place (i.e. Maine Road) was ruined in 15 months, so it's hardly likely it'll be put right in one week." Someone asked who ruined it, and AK replied, "Who do you think? He's got ginger hair."

JF and MB told a few tales about life under the squeaky one. They said he constantly harped on about being a World Cup medal winner. Someone asked if he ever got the medal out, and JF came out with this gem: "We were at a staff party and his wife was there, saying how wonderful a footballer her husband was. She said, "my husband won a World Cup medal, do you want to see?" - and everyone just f****n' blanked her!" He said AB constantly gave talks about being a winner and, "He thought we'd get promoted straight away; shows how much that **** knows!" Cue hilarious laughter for about 10 minutes - good job no management was there or he'd probably be in the s**t for saying things like that. I'm only telling you lot because I'd want to know if I were you!

By the way, John Foster supports the Rags. Alex Williams and Bryan Brett are Blue through and through, CG used to support Leeds but now, obviously, is a Blue.

So yet another excellent meeting. The tone was definitely more upbeat now FC's here. I was a little disappointed no one actually held the belief we could make the play-offs but I suppose they were just being realistic.

No report from me next month as the club is going to see Bernard Manning, and he's more than I can take. Apparently, he was invited to come down but asked £1,500 for 50 minutes, so the club thought they'd go to him!

Finally, for those of you who are still reading this epic, I'd just like to say how annoyed I was that the Brentford game was called off like that. I didn't even go (shades of Lincoln away, shudder) and I was fuming, so God knows how the people who did go down feel. Couldn't get a ticket for tomorrow (Hudds) either, so it's Sheff. Utd. next for me. Let's hope we've got a victory in the bag by then!

BRENTFORD GAME AND MCIVTA MEET-UPS!

If anyone is going to the Brentford game on Saturday and fancies meeting up before the game, let me know as I am certainly up for meeting the faces at the end of the typing!

I may also have a spare ticket as my girlie is not going now; it will be a tenner (cost price) and is in the standing section. It is on a first reserve at the moment with somebody else but if that person can't take it, e-mail me and I'll let you know.

A lot of people seemed to be meeting in the New Inn last time, so if that's the place let me know and how I'll be able to identify. Shane are you going?

Things are looking better up North! (IMO)

PINK INTERNET?

I was having a bit of a tidying-up session at home this weekend (it's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it) when I came across this snippet in the Autumn 1996 edition of "Mainstream" magazine from UMIST:

"UMIST is to work with the Manchester Evening News in developing the sports newspaper, The Pink, on the Internet..."

The article goes on a bit about how this came about and what UMIST's involvement will be, none of which will be particularly interesting to MCIVTA-ers but if and when the project goes "live", that will certainly be of interest. I haven't heard anything else about this from any source - has anyone else?

Finally, a quote from Peter Reid in the current edition of "When Saturday Comes": following Sunderland's 5-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United, Reid is quoted as saying "I don't think I've ever suffered a 5-0 defeat before, not even when I was at Manchester City." Git.

FOOTBALL IN ASIA

Continuing my rôle as roving reporter of the state of football in the world, I can now give first hand report of how the game is viewed in Taiwan and South Korea.

Firstly Taiwan; not much interest in football was spotted initially from the people there - although one guy got very excited when he found out I was from Manchester, then started telling me how he was a life-long fan of the Rags. He got confused when I tried to explain to him that there was no such thing. I don't think he had a clue who Man. City were and after a bit of an interrogation he could only name 4 Premier League sides (Celtic and Rangers were 2 of them - OK, I didn't specify which Premier League). Typical! What I did like about Taiwan was that there was a whole s**tload of footy on TV. The Asia Cup was just starting, plus we had live games from Italy and England (with Chinese commentators) and the weekly highlight shows from the UK, Italy and Spain. Not bad.

On to Seoul, South Korea, where I have been for a month already. A very passionate footballing city as witnessed after the national team got knocked out of the Asia Cup by the Iranians (up 2-1 at half time, lost 6-2). A very depressed bunch of local colleagues in the office the next day - not many people wanted to talk about it, but I learned a few local expletives followed by the word "manager". I tried to explain to them that things could be worse, they could be City fans! Blank looks. Doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in English football, or foreign football in general. Get the odd foreign highlight package on satellite TV but that's about it. The up side to this is that I haven't seen a Rag shirt in a month, or have had to endure some die-hard Rag fan who couldn't pick Manchester out on a map of England spouting the usual garbage.

South Korea is already building up for the 2002 World Cup. You see the advertising everywhere, it's in the papers most days and the T-Shirts are already selling (anyone want a T-Shirt?).

Anyway, enough for now... I'm off to join the strikers and chuck a few rocks at the police, suck a bit of tear gas, etc. ... usual daily routine over here at the mo.

MORE BASEBALL GROUND MEMORIES...

I was at the now-famous game against Derby County when the penalty-spot disappeared into the sand. As I recall it was Joe Corrigan who paced the spot out because when the Rams player "spotted" the ball, Joe thought it was too close to the goal and he complained to the referee who, as usual in our games, ignored his protests. To prove his point and much to the pleasure of the huge band of travelling Blues (as usual again), he held play up as he strode out from his goal. If memory serves me rightly, the penalty was converted and we went on to lose 4-0. There was even a pitch invasion towards the end of the game as the City fans realised that their heroes were up against 14 men (as usual yet again). In those days, I used to travel to quite a few away games but this particular game sticks in my memory because of Big Joe's actions and because the pitch at the Baseball Ground was the worst I have ever seen.

ANOTHER DISALLOWED GOAL

The disallowed goal that really sticks in my throat is Kevin Reeves' against Liverpool in the League Cup semi-final first leg in 80/81. I can't remember who the ref was, probably Courtney or Trelford Mills.

OPINION - DOES FOOTBALL REALLY MEAN SO MUCH

The feeling of depression I had throughout December seems to be lifting but can it only be down to the fact that City have not had any real chances for humiliation for a couple of weeks? Christmas seemed so much less festive due to the embarrassments against Port Vale and at Barnsley.

But I think it's all summed up by Tim Edmondson's 'Why Blue'...

It seems I'm not the only one to make or break a relationship due to an unsympathetic lass. I remember the very same game in which City threw away a 2-goal lead to the Rags - listening to the radio while visiting an ex, I was inconsolable by the final whistle. Her comments of "don't be such a baby", "It's only a game", "It must have been quite exciting" (!!) were the beginning of the end. I suppose the final straw came after a visit to Wembley to see Stockport County take on the might of David *!?$*!* Ellery and his Burnley side in the 2nd Division play-offs, in which he all but gave the game to Burnley by systematically removing County's players from the pitch until there were few enough for Burnley to be able to cope with. A distressed fan phones his girlfriend for some comforting words only to be told how pathetic it is to get so down about a game of football. There was only one outcome really...!

Anyway, I'm only just back on-line since Xmas, so I thought I'd add my feelings on the happenings of the last month or so.

The one encouraging thing is to know that what is written in MCIVTA is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth! I'd not been to any matches until Port Vale and then Barnsley - and I couldn't really believe that the stuff I had read about my beloved Blues was true (perhaps some bizarre Rag plot to bring down the Blues by lowering morale). But thank you all for your honesty - City really are that s**t! In both the games I saw, there did not seem to be a single player on the pitch who gave a toss. The first (second, third, fourth, fifth etc.) touches were terrible, there was no fighting spirit, none of the players seemed able to cope with defences that tackled hard and fought for the ball, and nobody on the field seemed to know how to organise any sort of move whatsoever. I didn't actually think that Vale or Barnsley were any good either, in skill terms - they just seemed to want to win. The thing is, to me it seems the whole club doesn't care. The chairman goes on holiday during the crisis, the managers come and go so often they can't possibly develop any loyalty to the club and the players only seem to want to receive their pay-cheques. Even such simple things as the club shop seem badly organised and chaotic (I was going to buy some merchandise on the day of the Port Vale game but didn't want to have to look after it during the game. I was assured twice by the people working in the shop that it would be open for a short while after the game, so came back later only to find the shutters down and nobody in sight. Can the club not even be arsed to sell stuff properly?!)

Anyway, a new manager, a(nother) new feeling of optimism. Things can only get better (if only that were true).

Well, that's got a few things off my chest. Keep up the brilliant work on MCIVTA...

OPINION - KITS

Having been a City fan for over twenty five years now and also being one of the sad people who buy the new kit every year allowing Umbro to get richer while taking the p**s out of every City fan everywhere (but not for much longer), sorry getting off the subject there a little. I now have a number of old City shirts lying at the bottom of my drawer not doing much. I currently work from home and so to decorate my office I wanted to hang up my old shirts, sort of a museum if you like. Does anybody know where I can get info about which shirt City wore in which season? You see I have the shirts, well most of them, but I can't remember the order they came in and I'd like to get the ones I am missing. The history of the shirt does not have to be that old, about 15 to 20 years back but it would come in handy and I would be the envy of all my friends! After completing my recent history of City fashion I could then start going backwards to cup finals and other great sporting events. I would also like to get a team photo of each year so that I can hang it above the relevant shirt but that's a future project.

Sounds sad doesn't it but it could be worse, I could be a Rag doing this and then I'd have no room for my office.

If ever any of you are in Philadelphia, USA call round. The museum is free to all MCIVTAers.

OPINION - CITY

On visiting the Folks in Cheshire for Christmas I managed to see two games at the Pleasure Dome, one on Boxing day and the game against Palace last week. After the Boxing Day débâcle, I said I would never go again; my Brother and Father (who are both Wrexham fans) agreed.

At the two games I noticed the following things;

Pre-Clark:

1. Kinkladze has totally lost interest in playing for City and spent the entire game avoiding injury.
2. The worst performance by a pro footballer ever, it seemed that Mr Summerbee was surprised at every bounce the ball made, reminiscent of a toddler's first encounters with, God's sphere of fun! (a football).
3. Only showed passion when there was a little 'handbags at 5 paces' fighting.

To prove how bad it was (even in City's highly maintained standards), someone was singing "we're s**t and we know we are" down dogsh*t alley on my way home!

Clark's arrival meant that my Man City gene mutated and told me to go to Maine Road yet again (and take my brother). First game was a great improvement and I noticed the following:

1. Proper warm ups!
2. Summerbee looked a decent player for once!
3. Whitley is class.
4. Kinkladze needs some protecting by refs (but has been told that 50-50 balls can be won).
5. We need some new players fast:
   1. A new striker (although Rösler showed signs of improvement).
   2. A new centre half to play alongside Kernaghan Mk II (that's who he looked like from the Main Stand).
   3. A new 'keeper (Margetson looked good but was not tested). I can remember the change Coton gave City when we bought him.

Is it just the games I have been to this season (only four due to moving to Munich) but City are now a crap team and do not deserve to be anywhere but their current position; have they played well once this season?

REQUEST - BRENTFORD TICKET?

I like many other Blues took Tuesday afternoon off work and travelled to Brentford to see City progress in the F.A. Cup. Due to working in Paris I had to take Wednesday morning off as well. When I arrived in London at 4:00pm I rang Brentford and was told the game was still on. Great, to the pub I travelled in great haste. On arriving at Brentford at 7:00pm, the worst scenario situation had unfolded. The game was off. Knowing that these games are near enough always played on a weekday and knowing that my boss would not take too kindly to another Tuesday/Wednesday off. I decided to give my ticket away to a needy Blue. This leads me to my point, the game is now on a Saturday and I intend to travel to Brentford again, but this time, due to my generosity, I will now be ticketless. Could anybody help with a ticket? I would be very grateful indeed.

REQUEST - ENGLAND TOURNAMENT

I know this is not exactly relevant to MCFC and apologise up-front if the enquiry should be made elsewhere.

Someone who is a member of the England Travel/Supporters' Club had a question about sharing travel to England vs. Italy in the last MCIVTA. In haste I deleted the email (together with several others!), so I don't know who it was.

Unfortunately, I can't help with that person's request about travel from Manchester to Wembley, since I live in Belgium!

I have a question though. I heard that in June England, France, Brazil and Italy will play a mini-tournament in France, at some of the World Cup venues of next year. Does anyone have any information about tickets for England's games? Will they be available on sale on the days of the games or, if not, are they only available to Travel Club members?

Any information is welcome.

Maybe there are other City fans who live my way interested in going to some of the games. I am not definitely sure I will go (it's much too early for me to plan summer things in January!) but if anyone is interested give me a shout, we can at least discuss possibilities.

BLUE HUMOUR

The last time Man City were in Europe their ship was attacked by pirates.

A Man City fan was discontented with their performance so he nailed his season ticket to the gates; when he came back in the morning the nails had been nicked.

RESULTS

Full-time score and scorers for Sunday, January 19 1997

PORT VALE               4-4    QUEENS PARK RANGERS        5,736
Glover (24)                    Holwyn (og 66)
Mills (35)                     Impey (85)
Jansson (41)                   Murray (88)
Brazier (og 45)                Spencer (90)

Full-time scores for Saturday, January 18 1997

BARNSLEY                1-2    IPSWICH TOWN               9,872
Liddell (82)                   Mason (54), Cundy (67)

BIRMINGHAM CITY         4-1    READING                   15,363
Furlong (33)                   Holsgrove (51)
Devlin (pen 56, 75)
Gilkes (og 89)

BOLTON WANDERERS        3-0    WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS   18,980
McGinlay (21)
Curle (og 58)
Blake (62)

CHARLTON ATHLETIC       1-2    STOKE CITY                 9,901
Barness (49)                   Sheron (42, 43)

CRYSTAL PALACE          1-2    PORTSMOUTH                15,498
Quinn (30)                     Bradbury (55)
                               Thomson (62)

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN       1-1    MANCHESTER CITY           18,358
Lawson (78)                    Lomas (43)

NORWICH CITY            2-1    GRIMSBY TOWN              16,687
Polston (27)                   Lester (20)
Sutch (45)

OXFORD UNITED           2-1    TRANMERE ROVERS            7,072
M Aldridge (8)                 J Aldridge (4)
Jemson (pen 35)

SHEFFIELD UNITED        3-0    SOUTHEND UNITED           15,049
Katchouro (15)
White (50)
Taylor (61)

SWINDON TOWN            1-1    BRADFORD CITY              7,851
Horlock (47)                   Jacobs (15)

WEST BROMWICH ALBION    1-1    OLDHAM ATHLETIC           12,103
Taylor (45)                    Barlow (66)

Up to and including Sunday, January 19 1997

Team                  Played   Won Drawn Lost  For  Against   Points
Bolton Wanderers        29     16   10    3     61    37        58
Sheffield United        27     14    7    6     47    28        49
Barnsley                27     13    8    6     46    32        47
Wolverhampton Wanderers 27     12    7    8     36    26        43
Stoke City              26     12    7    7     35    34        43
Norwich City            27     12    6    9     37    37        42
Queens Park Rangers     28     11    8    9     42    40        41
Crystal Palace          27     10   10    7     51    30        40
Oxford United           28     11    7   10     39    32        40
Port Vale               28      9   12    7     34    31        39
Tranmere Rovers         28     11    6   11     37    36        39
Ipswich Town            28      9   10    9     36    39        37
Huddersfield Town       28      9    9   10     33    36        36
Portsmouth              29     10    6   13     32    36        36
Birmingham City         25      9    9    7     28    24        36
Charlton Athletic       28     10    5   13     30    38        35
West Bromwich Albion    28      7   13    8     44    45        34
Swindon Town            27     10    4   13     37    35        34
Reading                 28      7    9   12     31    43        30
Oldham Athletic         26      6   10   10     29    32        28
MANCHESTER CITY         27      8    4   15     29    42        28
Bradford City           29      6    9   14     27    45        27
Southend United         27      5   10   12     25    49        25
Grimsby Town            26      5    8   13     28    47        23