MAN CITY INFO VIA THE ALPS "McVittee!" #355

DATE Monday 15th December 1997

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse... I thought I'd built up some sort of immunity over the past 3 months, but it was all a mirage as City contrived to raise me up then totally deflate me on Saturday afternoon, all within the short space of 10 minutes. Paul has sent in his usual away match report, surely he's taking some kind of medication by now - Prozac is it?

We have news, including a boardroom shake-up which sees another Kippax hero (Tueart) make the transition from the pitch, McGoldrick making the transition onto the transfer list, and another bad injury for a Blues reservist. There's also much opinion, and some ideas for names for the new (potential) stadium. Anyone care to send in a Why Blue?

This one reaches 1,782.

MATCH REPORT - 'LIVE'

BIRMINGHAM CITY vs. MANCHESTER CITY, Saturday 13th December 1997

Not a game I'll forget in a hurry. In fact, it's not a game I'm ever likely to forget, apart from maybe the first 90 minutes...

There were a few team changes, with Murtaz Shelia making his City début and Uwe Rösler returning up front, Tony Vaughan and Jeff Whitley being the players to miss out. Gio Kinkladze's ankle knock in training prevented him from returning to the side, which lined up like this:

             Margetson
    Symons    Wiekens    Shelia
Edghill                     van Blerk
             Brown  Brannan
       Russell
            Dickov    Rösler

On the bench were Bob Brightwell, Jeff Whitley and Tony Scully. Birmingham were without Tony Cottee and Paul Furlong, though the lanky Kevin Francis would make an impression after coming off their sub's bench.

The team came out in the bumblebee strip, and were cheered by a rather disappointing turnout of around 2,100 City fans behind the goal in the Railway End shed. As the game developed, it looked like we were after a 0-0 draw despite playing with what looked to be three up front. The formation seemed OK at first as Birmingham's offside trap looked dodgy but Bruce and Ablett were solid at the back for Birmingham, and Bennett in goal had a safe pair of hands when the all-too-rare crosses came in. He also saved well when a 25-yard effort from Russell was deflected and significantly changed direction.

There were lots of fouls conceded by both sides and referee D'Urso quickly had his notebook out, booking Symons for a foul on Ndlovu. However, both referee and linesman missed what seemed like a blatant off-the-ball elbow by Bruce on Dickov which left the little Scot poleaxed on the ground. Another poor decision over a throw-in led to van Blerk's name being taken after he threw the ball down in disgust. Edghill was also booked after an over-enthusiastic lunge at Hughes, and so was Shelia, rather unluckily, as Ndlovu literally bounced off the Georgian when challenged from behind. City's big, new defender was making an impressive start to his City career, looking dominant in the air, skilful on the deck and generally very powerful. He packs a powerful shot too, trying his luck from a free kick fully 40 yards out at one point, though his effort sailed well over the bar. There were a couple of half-chances for each side in a rather dull first half of 50 minutes, but we looked quite comfortable at the back and looked good for at least a point.

The second half kicked off at 4:07pm and within a couple of minutes Mr. D'Urso had added Bruce's name to those in the book after a show of dissent not unlike van Blerk's in the first half. Brown and Brannan worked hard in the centre of midfield but with no real width up front and with neither Edghill nor van Blerk keen to progress down the flanks, City's attacking options were very limited. The home side had a good spell of pressure, winning several corners in quick succession, so it was no surprise when the 6'7" Kevin Francis was brought on. As it happened, this seemed to ease the pressure as Shelia won virtually everything in the air against Francis and the Birmingham striker was easily caught offside. McCarthy should have done better with a header in a late attack for the Brummies but it flew just wide of the far post. Shelia capped a fine display by showing McCarthy how it was done when, from Brannan's short corner, Russell crossed from the bye-line for the début boy to head powerfully home with just 4 minutes of normal time remaining.

Brightwell came on in place of the weary Brown who had been subjected to some rather vicious tackling (he gives as good as he gets though) and as the clock ticked over to 90 minutes, some people who obviously haven't been supporting City very long started the Jingle Bells chant. Well that really was asking for it. Birmingham piled forward in search of the equaliser and City completely lost any semblance of organisation, just kicking the ball as far away as possible rather than making a decent attempt at keeping the ball. If we (and Birmingham for that matter) had played like this for the first 90 minutes, we'd have been thrashed. Two minutes into injury time, the inevitable happened. Margetson was only able to parry Bruce's header and as the ball bounced up in front of City's goal, Forster was first to react and he headed home the equaliser. It was all too much for the guy behind me, who, thinking that the second half had kicked off at 4:00pm, was incensed that the "cheating b*****d referee" had added on 9 minutes of injury time. It was to get worse. Neither side changed their pattern of play and the referee kept on playing. And kept on playing. With seven minutes of injury time on the clock, Forster got on the end of a flick by Francis and headed for goal with City's defence AWOL. Shelia made a desperate lunge to try to stop him and committed himself out of the game. It was one on one with Margetson, who raced out of the penalty area to make a tackle on Forster, but the loose ball fell kindly to O'Connor, who placed the ball carefully wide of the retreating defenders and into the net to claim all three points for the home side. I still can't believe it. City restarted and the referee then decided enough was enough and blew for full time. It was 5:00pm.

Quite where all that injury time came from I don't know but you really have to lay the blame with the team as much as the referee. If we'd carried on after we scored as we'd been playing beforehand, we would certainly have won the game as Birmingham were not really troubling us. However, it seemed like we had come for a draw and the chance of an unexpected win bonus came as such a surprise that the players didn't know how to react. Gutted.

NEWS - DOHERTY BREAKS LEG

City's outstanding young striker George Doherty broke his leg in City's F.A. Youth Cup tie at West Brom last Wednesday. The Baggies' Justin Richards was sent off for the tackle that caused it. Jason Kneen came on in place of Doherty and gave City the lead four minutes later though Mark Riggs equalised for West Brom and Leon Mike subsequently missed a penalty for City. The replay will be at Maine Road this Tuesday, 16th December.

George Doherty returned home from Birmingham on Friday and is now set for a lengthy period of rest and recuperation. Hopefully it will not be as serious an injury as that sustained by Ged Tarpey in an F.A. Youth Cup tie against Manchester United a couple of seasons ago; a victim of a dreadful tackle from United's David Johnson (who scored against City for Bury this season and is currently getting rave reviews for his performances for Ipswich Town), Tarpey was unable to recover from his injury and had to retire from the game before his career had really got started.

NEWS - TUEART JOINS BOARD

From the Press Association again.

Dennis Tueart made the dramatic switch from soccer legend to the boardroom with a vow to "rattle a few cages" at troubled Manchester City. The 48-year-old Tueart was part of a shock Maine Road boardroom shake up. Out went directors Colin Barlow and John Dunkerley, both part of the pact that took Francis Lee to power almost four years ago, along with the Isle of Man based director David Holt. Financial director David Bernstein moves up to Deputy Chairman and a new financial chief will be appointed soon.

The changes come after weeks of speculation about the control of City, with Sheffield United chairman Mike McDonald admitting he had been approached to form a consortium to buy out Lee and chief shareholder Stephen Boler.

Boler returned to Manchester from his South Africa home a fortnight ago and it is clear that these major changes in the running of the club have been instigated by him to streamline his control of Maine Road. Barlow was Lee's right hand man in the acrimonious battle with former chairman, the late Peter Swales, while Spain-based Dunkerley was also part of that victorious consortium. All three departing directors will be made presidents of the club and retain their shareholding. But the arrival of Tueart, as the nominee on the board of JD Sports owners and senior shareholders John Wardle and Dave Makin, give City a charismatic former terrace hero with new ideas.

Tueart, a millionaire who lives in the Cheshire stockbroker belt, has made a huge success of a promotions company. He said: "I have met John and David on several occasions through my own business. We normally spend 10 minutes talking about business and three hours about City because they are big fans. I also met David Bernstein the same way. I was handling a promotion for Umbro. I didn't really know who he was but we got talking about football and City."

"I hadn't even considered this a few weeks ago, but John asked me whether I was interested in representing him and David on the board. I finally said I would. I know there is immense pressure on directors, particularly at City. But try being an ex-player walking around Manchester. You get stopped by people all the time who want to talk about the club and its problems. I have always tried to support the club, I don't hide that. I have spoken from the heart, I desperately want to get things right."

Tueart added: "I am here to try to do something for the good of the club and its future. I will be delving into the club to try to find out the real guts of the place. I want to know the heart and how it ticks, to make suggestions and, if that means rattling a few cages, so be it. I will sit down with the people who run things, find out what aspects of the club I can aid and try to make sure that the work that has been going on since Francis Lee took over continues. An awful lot has happened to streamline this place that people don't realise. That progress needs to continue and that will then help the playing side. This is a big club waiting to take off and I have always loved the place and want to see it back where it belongs."

On a personal note can I just say, troubled blah blah big club blah blah where we belong in the Premiership blah blah...

NEWS - LEAGUE CHANGES DEBATED

Last week saw the chairmen of all of the Football League clubs debating major changes which would "reinvigorate and relaunch" the oldest football competition in the world. The changes were needed, it was said, to avoid being left behind by the Premiership. On the agenda were five options for changing the format, style and number of divisions, including the possible formation of a 12-club Super League. Also being considered were such features as awarding bonus points to teams leading at half-time, bonus points for winning margins and penalty shoot-outs after drawn games.

The majority of the 72 clubs made an operational loss last year and the League hope that by increasing the number of promotion and relegation places at stake, the number of "meaningless matches" can be minimised and interest increased. David Sheepshanks, chairman of the Football League, said: "I think it is essential that we address change. Of the 72 clubs, 58 made an operational loss last year. The average share of TV revenue in the Premiership is £8 million; in the League it is £800,000." With such vast differences in income, it might not be too long before the Premiership is so far ahead that the only option for the remaining clubs would be to act as "feeder" clubs for the elite. "We are acting to prevent that happening. We are masters of our own destiny," said Sheepshanks. "We may not all be able to aspire as high as the Premiership. They have done fantastically well and set a standard. But we believe we can do better with our product and the professional game is about much more than 20 clubs in the Premiership. Football League clubs have suffered from the trickle-down effect from the Premier League in terms of escalating players' wages. It's against that background that we felt it was necessary to look at alternative structures."

He added that if the clubs were not happy with any one of the five options they could take ideas from the different proposals to come up with another option. The proposals will be whittled down before being debated again in January, with a final vote and decision due at an Emergency General Meeting in February.

Here is a summary of the five current proposals, which are named after planets:

1. Option Earth represents the current structure of three divisions of 24 clubs with 10 promotion places up for grabs.
2. Option Mars proposes a first division of 20 clubs, two divisions of 26 teams and with five clubs swapping places between division two and three, 11 promotion places available.
3. Option Jupiter would have four divisions of either 18 or 20 clubs. The first option will have 12 places, the second will have 14 and will need eight clubs to be co-opted from the Vauxhall Conference to make up the numbers.
4. Option Saturn proposes six divisions of 12 clubs each with 18 promotion places. This option also includes the possibility of relegation play-offs meaning that in the six divisions, only one out of the 72 clubs would not be involved in either promotion or relegation issues at the end of the season.
5. Option Pluto would have a 12-club Super League, plus two divisions of 24 clubs and a further division with 12 members, giving 13 promotion places.

Four other issues are to be put to clubs for discussion:

1. The concept of regionalisation - the main attraction being the increase of local derbies and reduction in travelling costs for smaller clubs.
2. Alternative concepts for the play-offs - the possibility of relegation play-offs and the mixture of promotion and relegation play-offs; i.e. clubs fighting to avoid relegation from Division One could play teams in play-off positions in Division Two.
3. Extra bonus points to be made available:
   1. Points awarded for leading at the end of the first half.
   2. Points awarded for winning margins.
   3. Points awarded for score draws.
   4. Penalty shoot-outs after drawn matches.
4. Double-header weekends. Teams to play twice on a weekend, probably on Friday and Sunday with one home game and one away. This is intended to reduce the number of midweek fixtures for which attendances are dwindling.

NEWS - TUEART JOINS CITY BOARD

There was a reshuffle in City's boardroom on Friday, with Dennis Tueart coming in as the representative of John Wardle and David Makin, the founders of JD Sports and co-sponsors of the £11 million rights issue last February. Three directors leave the board, namely Colin Barlow, John Dunkerley and David Holt; Financial Director David Bernstein moves up to Deputy Chairman, with a new Financial Director to be appointed in the near future.

City's official press release was as follows:

Manchester City is pleased to announce that Mr Dennis Tueart has been appointed a director of the company with immediate effect. Dennis has, of course, a long association with this club and it is anticipated that he will play an active role in developing and implementing Club policy.

The Board also intend to appoint a full time financial director and active steps are being taken to make this appointment. Also Mr David Bernstein has agreed to become Deputy Chairman which will be ratified at the next Board meeting.

Mr Colin Barlow, Mr John Dunkerley and Mr David Holt have confirmed their intention to resign as directors and these resignations will be effective from 12th December 1997. The Club is grateful to them for their excellent and loyal service and is pleased to confirm that all the retiring directors have agreed to become Honorary Presidents of the Club.

These changes to the Manchester City board under the Chairmanship of Francis Lee, have the full support of the principle shareholders of Manchester City and are designed to both to provide an increased executive focus to the Board to meet the demands now facing football clubs and to enable the Board to operate more efficiently as a smaller unit.

Tueart, 48, played for City from 1974 until 1982, either side of a spell with New York Cosmos and is best remembered by most City fans for scoring an acrobatic winner in the 1976 League Cup final against Newcastle United at Wembley, City's last major honour. In 258 games for City, he scored 108 goals. He is now a millionaire who lives in the Cheshire stockbroker belt, having made a big success of a promotions and corporate hospitality company. The high regard Tueart has for his old team has now persuaded him to add a directorship to his already heavy burden of work, though he did recently find time to help organise the testimonial game against Manchester United for Paul Lake.

He said: "I have met John and David on several occasions through my own business. We normally spend 10 minutes talking about business and three hours about City because they are big fans. I also met David Bernstein the same way. I was handling a promotion for Umbro. I didn't really know who he was but we got talking about football and City. I hadn't even considered this a few weeks ago, but John asked me whether I was interested in representing him and David on the board. I finally said I would. I know there is immense pressure on directors, particularly at City. But try being an ex-player walking around Manchester. You get stopped all the time by people who want to talk about the club and its problems. I have always tried to support the club, I don't hide that. I have spoken from the heart, I desperately want to help them get things right. I am here with a brief and I am going to try to do something for the good of the club and its future. I will be delving into the club to try to find out the real guts of the place. I want to know the heart and how it ticks, to make suggestions and, if that means rattling a few cages, so be it. I will sit down with the people who run things, find out what aspects of the club I can aid and try to make sure that the work that has been going on since Francis Lee took over continues. An awful lot has happened to streamline the place that people don't realise. That progress needs to continue and that will then help the playing side. I played for three clubs in the main but City has always been number one. I think I can relate to the supporters and won't be afraid to put my head out of the trenches. I have a unique feeling for the club and have an association with it across a range of areas. This is a big club waiting to take off and I have always loved the place and want to see it back where it belongs."

Chief shareholder Stephen Boler is believed to be behind the changes, which are aimed at giving the board a more hands-on approach towards the running of the club. Colin Barlow, Francis Lee's right-hand man in the take-over battle with the late Peter Swales, has been spending much of his time in Italy since stepping down as Chief Executive in March; John Dunkerley, also part of that victorious consortium, lives in Spain and David Holt is based on the Isle of Man. All three departing directors retain their shareholding though.

NEWS SUMMARY

Eddie McGoldrick, dropped after the recent defeat at Stockport County, has now been transfer-listed following a discussion with Frank Clark last week in which the Manager made it clear that there was no future for the 32-year-old former Republic of Ireland midfielder at Maine Road. McGoldrick, who cost City £300,000 when he signed from Arsenal fifteen months ago, has been told he is free to leave, providing the transfer fee is right. He is in the reserve team squad for this evening's visit to Durham for a game against Sunderland. Also in the squad is Tony Vaughan, who lost his first team place to Murtaz Shelia last weekend.

Shelia's impressive scoring debut on Saturday did not exempt him from criticism from a fuming Frank Clark after the game: "He's paid to stop goals not score them. He got the goal, but he should have done better to stop their second goal. That is what he is paid for. This is a cruel game sometimes. Unless you concentrate to the end, it can kick you in the teeth. I think we got too excited when we went in front. We lost some discipline and we did not keep the ball enough. We gave away needless free kicks and corners and when they have a bloke the size of Kevin Francis in their team it's the last thing you want to do." Commenting on the excessive amount of injury time played by referee Andy D'Urso, he added: "With referees like this the game can last 102 minutes, so you have to concentrate to the final whistle. I don't know where he can get that time from but he is the only judge. It was an excellent performance by us for 80 minutes." He asked the referee why he played seven minutes over and was told it was because of cautions and injuries.

22-year-old Jim Whitley, elder brother of Jeff, has signed a three year contract at Maine Road. It marks an end to a three year nightmare after he was jailed for 18 months in 1995 for his part in an armed robbery. Since his release he's figured regularly in the reserves, as either right back or in midfield. "Now it just remains for me to break into the first team. The chairman has been marvellous throughout, he stuck by me," he said. He plays for the reserves against Sunderland tonight and is likely to be loaned out in order to gain first team experience in the not too distant future.

Nigel Clough has been told he can leave City if a management or coaching opportunity comes up for him. He recently took charge of City's A-team when George Smith was forced to miss out. Frank Clark said: "George Smith, who is in charge of the A team, had a family problem so I asked Nigel if he'd step in. He wasn't in the first-team squad that Saturday and - knowing his ambitions - I had no hesitation in approaching him. It was strictly a one-off situation, but I gather Nigel handled it well. We will let Nigel go if he gets the chance of a management or coaching position. I know he's looking to get involved on that side of the game at some level. It could be that he'll be seen as a player-manager or player-coach somewhere. If that opportunity comes along, we wouldn't stand in his way. I'll give him every encouragement to move into coaching and management. Nigel is an excellent human being. He's got a good idea of what is required and I'm sure he'll have a good crack at it if he gets the chance."

Comparing Clough with his famous father, Clark added: "The only thing they've got in common is that they both played centre forward - but they even did that differently. Brian was a typically selfish number nine and, because of that, a prolific scorer. Nigel played in a different style. He's what I call a thinking footballer, although to be fair, Brian later proved that he was thinking deeply about the game, too. Nigel is his own man and totally different to his dad. Brian was never an F.A. man, but I'll encourage Nigel to go on as many F.A. courses as he can. In the future, anyone wanting to be a Premier League manager is going to need a qualification to do it. It's scandalous that someone can finish playing one day and take over a Premier League club the next with no training for the job. I am 100 per cent behind Howard Wilkinson, the Football Association's Technical Director, on this. If we're going to respond to foreign coaches coming into the game, we've got to stop burying our heads in the sand and prepare our own people for coaching and management jobs. It happens in other industries and should apply in ours too. You are still going to get someone at the top of the table at the end of the season - and someone at the bottom. But at least we'll raise the standards of coaching in this country and make sure people get the right preparation for the job. That's why I'll encourage people like Nigel to go down this path. Brian is bound to have influenced Nigel. He influenced me, and I played for him for only four years. Nigel's lived with his dad for most of his life." Clough, 31, still has 18 months of his playing contract at City left.

Francis Lee flew out to Barbados at the weekend to start his annual three week holiday in the Caribbean. The Blues' chairman will keep in touch with events back at Maine Road via telephone, and he was keen to appoint Dennis Tueart to the board before he left. It remains to be seen if his absence will be as controversial as it was last season.

And finally, it seems someone at the Maine Road ticket office has a sense of humour. As a member of the club's direct debit scheme for home cup match tickets, my ticket for the Bradford game arrived on Saturday morning along with a letter which said: "I would like to take this opportunity to confirm that the Home Cup-tie scheme will include any possible home tie in the Football League play-off semi-finals. If you do not wish to receive a play-off ticket, please let me know in writing by the 28th February 1998." I think I might highlight the relevant passage and forward the letter to Santa Claus. You never know...

DOSLA REFEREEING QUESTION

Division One Statistics and Leagues for Anoraks (DOSLA). Compiled by Steve "Statto" Kay. Update No 19. Up to and including 14th December 1997.

Last week's question:

What is the minimum distance from goal that the following free kicks can be taken for the following offences committed inside the penalty area?

1. Indirect free kick
2. Direct free kick

Answer:

1. 6yds. An indirect free kick in the six yard box must be taken on the six yard line parallel to the point where the offence occured.
2. 12 yards. A direct free kick in the penalty area is a penalty!

This week's question:

A City player runs in to take a penalty but stops his kicking action, which makes the 'keeper dive one way. The player then kicks the ball into the opposite side of the goal. What are your actions?

ARE CITY GOING TO MOVE TO A NEW STADIUM?

I guess there are (as always almost in life) two points of view:

1. All over Europe the need for new stadiums is obvious. In Munich (40 miles from my home town) the discussion is almost the same: Bayern München (the reds, you know...) are urging to build a new one, the reasons are reasonable and you all know them from your own discussion: parking space, more friendly atmosphere, facilities and so on.
2. On the other hand: My favourite club (besides City, of course ;)), 1860 München (blue underdogs) have moved to the Olympic stadium a few years ago (the stadium Bayern wants to leave). I have grown up with 1860 in a small, old stadium, without parking space, situated in a living area (Munich-Giesing), with traffic jam after the matches etc. (sounds somewhat familiar to you, doesn't it?). The point is: 1860 has lost quite a number of matches, which (I and many other fans are sure about this) would have been won in the old "Grünwalder Stadion", a narrow and "threatening", as you call it, location.

On the other hand: A sold-out Olympic Stadium is 1 million German Marks in earnings, a sold-out Grünwalder Stadion was roughly 200,000 Marks. So, as I mentioned, the discussion is almost the same all over Europe. Seems like: Like it or not, we have to move. I accept this, but I certainly don't like it.

By the way: The atmosphere I found at my visits at Maine Road wasn't that "threatening". It was, of course, a bit **cked-up (sorry), but it was on the other hand what I like about British football: Very old, traditional, it had some kind of style - you get what I mean. When I was visiting Maine Road during Euro '96 (I had to work as a journalist in Old Trafford, so I needed some kinda vacation during my day-off ;)) there were a lot of security people around to keep an eye on the stadium (guess anyone thought it was to be stolen...). But these people turned out to be very friendly, opened a few gates for German and Dutch fans strolling around, told us some anecdotes about Ardwick, the honourable Roy Clarke was there and led us around the stadium, told us about his first match with Bert Trautmann in this arena, the "ghost" who lives there and is the reason why City is relegated that often and so on. It was an impression I will never forget, I breathed the whole history of British football on this very day. I'm not quite sure it would be the same in a new, clean, friendly and wide stadium any more. I'm glad that I had the chance to visit the old City stadium (ok, I admit: "Windy Corner" isn't that great).

So, to put it in a nutshell: Moving to a new stadium would mean the loss of another traditional stadium in Europe. For money is what counts these days, there aren't many old stadiums left (look at Chelsea - I was sitting on wood there. And this was not 1945, it was 1985! And what has become of the arena now...). This is a romantic point of view, I know. But isn't football the big romance for us all?

P.S. I admit the following: Yes, I know, I don't care much about the traffic jam, because I'm living over here in Germany and don't have to wait an hour every two weeks to get out of it. And I left my car open during one of my visits to City ground in this area where (as I was told) you can't even be sure that your car is there when you return. It was there, my photo camera was there, my laptop computer was there and even my money was there (lucky, was I?). So my opinion about Moss Side is presumably not quite objective...

But I still love this stadium. Oh, by the way: If someone is going to visit Munich, I will be glad to show him the old 1860-arena!

Sorry for the poor English I'm writing. I can't do better.

NAMES FOR NEW STADIUM

How about;

• El Stado Mancunia
• Le Shed Des Cobblers
• Nightmare Park
• The Joe Mercer Stadium
• Knottferry Athletic Stadium
• The Blue Rooms

Or, given thay we're no longer on the Maine Road to success, perhaps we should call it The Cul-de-sac?

BRAVE (BLUE) NEW WORLD

It's only the fact that I have a helluva virtual thirst tonight that leads me to respond to Rich Furniss's appeal for alternative new stadium names with a offering of "Blue Heaven" (TM), (if only as a favour to all you headline writers out there).

OPINION - SAME OLD CITY!

As a die-hard Blue exiled in the Red infested countryside of Sussex times are really becoming desperate. The continual dismal form of City has lead me wide open to so much ridicule that if I can't laugh at how crap we are I will have a breakdown. So here is a joke that sums City up pretty well.

The Sultan of Brunai is having breakfast on Christmas Day with his three sons. He turns to the eldest and asks him to name any present in the world that he would like. His son replies "A model airplane please dad." The sultan replies "British Airways is yours son, have as many planes as you want."

He turns to the next oldest and asks what he would like for Xmas. The boy replies "I would like some toy cars please dad." The Sultan clicks his fingers and orders his servants to go out and buy Ford for his son.

The Sultan then turns to the youngets boy and asks him what he would like as a special Xmas gift. The boy replies "I would like a Mickey Mouse outfit."

So the Sultan clicks his fingers and orders his servants to go and buy Manchester City!

Ho Hum!

On a more serious note, have City ever turned round a game with two minutes to go? I don't think so. It is amazing what a bit of passion and commitment can do for a team. You make your own luck in this game that so regularly p****s me off!

OPINION - DENNIS TUEART

Congratulations to Dennis Tueart; I feel sure being on the board of directors can only help the club.

The last time I saw Dennis play was here in the States playing for the N.Y. Cosmos (who were a team full of stars in their day); I had a feeling he was not too happy playing in the league they had over here at that time, the League was put together in a hurry to bring soccer to the States. The present league is being built from the ground up and should have more success for the future with all the youngsters playing and getting the right coaching at the lower levels.

I have been over here since 1976 (been back to see City a few times when I can). When I first arrived there was no football (soccer) here, I listened to the BBC sports on my shortwave radio, as I still do today. and had Match magazines, and newspapers sent to me.

Because of the lack of seeing soccer I started to watch American Football (my wife being American is a Washington Redskin fan - right away I would have nothing to do with anything with the dreaded word "red" - so I follow the Miami Dolphins over here. They lost yesterday 41-0, but still have a chance to make the play-offs next Monday. Think positive, the Dolphins are still in the Super Bowl race and Man. City are still in the F.A. Cup.

A merry Christmas to all Manchester City fans and a happy and Blue new year!

OPINION - CRUEL TO BE KIND

Anyone who listened to GMR Radio before the Stockport game will have heard me vent my frustration on the Greater Manchester public with regard to all things Blue at Maine Road. Yes, I was the chap who wanted Frankie out and Frannie in! Paul Hince described me as "crackers" and said we should build on our "two match run" - however, after the performance at Stockport etc. I think it's now debatable which one of us is actually crackers. Here's my side of the story, and in particular why I actually will prefer City to continue to lose the next few matches:

1. Forward play and Gio Kinkladze - Gio's previous absence sparked a worrying trend from some City fans with regard to his contribution - "we play more like a unit" was the typical comment I heard. Well I prefer to watch the most creative footballer on the planet, not some dull functionless "unit" that cannot score more than one goal a game if we're lucky and in the 90 minutes normally allocated to the match. Plus no truly gifted player can be expected to break legs week in week out - yet there is nothing more Gio can do to show his commitment to the club which he hasn't done already. Unlike say Rösler who has found out what some of us know already - that he is worth next to nothing (hence his new found desire to stay). Bill Shankly once said "the longer a player is out, the better he was." And this according to recent MCIVTAs is where Rösler plus the dreadfully missed Barndoor are now at - even Frank Clark said we missed them up front. Yeah right - what a great start to the season we made, I must have forgotten.
2. Frank Clark. Just what has FC done to justify keeping his job at the club? The much maligned Alan Ball fell on his sword for a lot less than what we've had to suffer this season, so can anyone tell me why he is still there? Here's why I think he should go:
   1. He has bought duck eggs in the transfer market (e.g. Barndoor, Tony Yawn) and then persisted with them regardless.
   2. He plays good players out of position (e.g. Horlock, Brannan - a good player when used to effect) plus too many other players to mention who have popped in and out of the side to no known logical plan.
   3. He likes to play seven (count them) defensive players at Maine Road, including three centre halves - this is unforgiveable in my book. I don't want to see it, besides which, City have never ever been about defending. Here's a great idea, why not try to score a few more goals than the opposition for a change; instead, FC seems to prefer to see if we can 'out defend' them for 90 minutes and rip off a goal in the 93rd. I'm sick of it.
3. What does FC know? He doesn't fancy playing with wingers - so bye bye Beagrie and Buster - without so much as a 12 match Barndoor style "show us your worst" run-about. Scully could be brilliant or crap but we are not likely to find out any time in the future. FC thinks thinks van Bloke is actually a footballer, and plays him week in week out - what do you reckon? Ditto Edgy, he is a good full-back but not a wing-back - so don't slag off his distribution. In a sensible back four he will do okay, but like so many others, he doesn't really know where he is supposed to be playing. Finally, I have to say I am absolutely disgusted at FC's treatment of Symons. Read through the back issues of MCIVTA and you will read what we've known all season, that Symons (who I actually like) is struggling, dropping a real clanger every match and desperately needing a break from the firing line. Did FC make the decision? Oh no - the dirty work had to be left to the City fans at Stockport, where enough was truly enough. And guess who is blamed for it all? Yes the City fans.
4. E for B it's Frannie for Me. I am sick to death of hearing City fans slag off Frannie Lee. If he interferes in the team - he is Mr Interfering Sod 1994-1997. If he stands back, he is "couldn't care less Lee." A classic no win situation - literally. Just what do you want the chairman to do - intefere or not? If he had blocked Ball's move for Creaney or Clark's move for Barndoor would that have been right? As far as I'm concerned, Frannie has as much right to be a great manager as say Kevin Keegan or George Graham - we just don't know, and, in the position he is in he might as well take over and give it a go for 18 months ("hung for a sheep as a lamb" is the expression I believe).

So here it is, the bottom line. We have a manager who has demonstrated less than nothing about his ability to lead us out of this mediocrity. We have a chairman who has been emasculated by his own supporters (ditto Swales' eventual sacking of Reid). Nothing will change until the results get beyond either Frannie or Frank to just ignore and "work harder" for. Hence, to be cruel to be kind, I would rather have someone else in charge for the new year. Sorry, that's the way it is. Look at the results this season (home, away, cup, goals for etc.) and tell me I'm wrong. Look at the unattractive way we are playing for heaven's sake!

Believe it or not I am a truly loyal Blue, but I cannot see another way out - we cannot support them any better than we have already done so already, and anyway it's making no difference.

Regards, and sorry for my bluntness - please comment via MCIVTA - am I crackers?

OPINION - HOUSE MOVE SAVES THE DAY!

Had a ticket for Birmingham but had to let it go on the last minute due to schedule overrun on my house move. Really miffed all day until...

1-0 up all the way through the game and then lost 2-1! Unbelievable. I was sitting in the chippy eating plaice and chips at the time and nearly choked on a piece of batter when I heard the scoreline on the radio!

So glad I didn't go now. Too many return mini-bus journeys recently spent wallowing in hazy half-drunk misery, trying to wear the colours with pride and half-heartedly singing "CTID", spending about £50 and regretting it afterwards.

Good news re the Board changes (I think), although effect on team if any, remains to be seen.

Main moan - why couldn't someone have taken a look at the fixtures and seen that with a bit of jiggling around, we could have played Crewe at Maine Road on Boxing Day? 30,000 faithful Blues can't go to the traditional game because there is no room. A mid-season away at Crewe wouldn't have mattered so much. A bit more thought next time? Mind you, if we bucked up a bit, we wouldn't have to worry because we'd be playing at larger Premiership grounds next season wouldn't we?

OPINION - WE WUZ ROBBED!

Before anyone accuses me of undue bias, I'd like to start this by saying that I support Liverpool. I was at the match on Saturday with my City supporting boyfriend.

If you read any of the "official" match reports, it appears that the goals were scored in the 88th, 89th and 90th minutes. If those goals were all 1 minute apart, then I'm an Evertonian!

I know there was quite a lot of stoppage time during the game - but was there really 15 minutes worth? Towards the very bitter end, it was beginning to look like the match would continue until Birmingham won. At one stage, the ref. actually kicked the ball. A comment made in the stand was "well, he is playing for them, so he may as well get to kick the ball" just about sums up people's feelings.

Frank says that the ref. claims he added on 7 minutes. I'd just like to know what chronology system he was using, because it wasn't GMT. Did anyone actually time the match - and can anyone tell me exactly how much extra time was played? And what minutes the goals were actually scored? Apart from 20 minutes late in the second half, when everything seemed to go pear shaped, City definitely had the better of the match.

I think the phrase "we was robbed" sums up the whole afternoon.

RESULTS

Full-time score and scorers for Sunday, December 14 1997

Wolverhampton Wanderers  2 - 1 Nottingham Forest
Freedman (20)                  Johnson (84)
Robinson (66)

Full-time scores and scorers for Saturday, December 13 1997

Birmingham City          2 - 1 Manchester City
Forster (90)                   Shelia (88)
O'Connor (90)

Bradford City            1 - 0 Bury
McGinlay (25)

Charlton Athletic        1 - 0 Port Vale

Huddersfield Town        1 - 3 Norwich City
Stewart (58)                   Forbes (3)
                               Bellemy (40)
                               Grant (90)
Ipswich Town             2 - 0 Portsmouth
Cundy (30)
Johnson (68)

Middlesbrough            4 - 0 Reading
Hignett (77, 90)
Beck (79, 84)

Sheffield United         2 - 1 Swindon Town
Holdsworth (45)                Finney (24)
Saunders (81)

Stockport County         3 - 1 Tranmere Rovers
Byrne (45)                     Aldridge (33)
Cooper (47)
Angell (90)

Stoke City               0 - 2 Crewe Alexandra
                               Smith (11)
                               Little (75)

Sunderland               2 - 0 West Bromwich Albion
Phillips (40)
Johnston (52)

Full-time score and scorers for Friday, December 12 1997

OXFORD UNITED           3-1    QUEENS PARK RANGERS        6,664
Jemson (3)                     Peacock (19)
Beauchamp (36, 49)

Full-time scores and scorers for Tuesday, December 9 1997

CHARLTON ATHLETIC       2-1    SHEFFIELD UNITED           9,868
Mendonca (pen 44, 75)          Marker (90)

PORTSMOUTH              3-2    WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS    8,042
Durnin (14, 47)                Westwood (76)
Hillier (74)                   Froggatt (87)

Up to and including Sunday, December 14 1997

Team                  Played   Won Drawn Lost  For  Against   Points
Middlesbrough           22     13    6    3     39    17        45
Nottingham Forest       22     12    6    4     35    20        42
Sheffield United        22     11    8    3     33    21        41
West Bromwich Albion    22     12    4    6     25    19        40
Charlton Athletic       22     11    5    6     41    29        38
Swindon Town            22     11    4    7     31    30        37
Sunderland              21     10    6    5     32    21        36
Stockport County        22     10    5    7     38    30        35
Wolverhampton Wanderers 22     10    5    7     29    26        35
Bradford City           22      8    9    5     22    21        33
Birmingham City         22      8    7    7     23    18        31
Norwich City            22      8    5    9     23    32        29
Queens Park Rangers     22      7    6    9     27    36        27
Port Vale               22      7    5   10     25    27        26
Stoke City              22      7    5   10     24    30        26
Ipswich Town            21      5    9    7     24    24        24
Reading                 22      6    6   10     21    35        24
Oxford United           22      6    5   11     27    33        23
Tranmere Rovers         21      6    4   11     28    32        22
Crewe Alexandra         22      6    3   13     26    36        21
MANCHESTER CITY         22      5    6   11     24    27        21
Bury                    22      4    9    9     21    31        21
Portsmouth              21      5    5   11     26    34        20
Huddersfield Town       22      5    5   12     22    37        20

Ashley Birch, mcivta@tollbar.u-net.com