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A fascinating development, Man City becoming the new money kings of English (and perhaps World) football. Although money can’t buy success, bloody great oodles of money ought to. This could well mean that one of the current cosy top 4 of Premiership football clubs may well get muscled out.
Which one?
This is a good thing for the Premiership. The new owners love football and have chosen to invest in the game over here; they didn’t have to. ( Just as Sheikh Mohammed didn’t have to centre his racing operation over here.)
Although they’ll be the moaners slating the inevitable price spiral for top players that this will bring, I for one think it’s a sign that the English Premiership is THE world’s top league. From a product point of view, the Premiership is a success that other nations can only envy.
The time to moan is when the big bucks spurn England for Spain or Italy or Germany or France etc. We’ve got a product that the wealthiest want to invest in. How can that be bad?
(Also, how long before Platini and UEFA start whining about the effect of the Premiership monopoly on big money buys and start pushing for even more restrictions on signings?)My heart wishes that it will be Man Utd who get muscled out of the top 4 but that is very unlikely to happen. I think that Liverpool are the team that will struggle the most to stay in the top 4. They prioritise the Champions league and the rotation policy does not seem to work well enough.
I have just heard that Man City’s new owner wants to break the present transfer record in January – possibly by offering £135 million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Man Utd…..how long until Fergie complains about that comment
I’m looking forward to seeing Robinho playing as I think he is one of the most exciting players in world football.
Pete
Yes, I bet he cannot believe his luck to be with such talent like Shaun Wright Phillips,Richard Dunne and Darius Vassel.
Also did you see those pathetic City fans wearing their mums tea towels on their heads when news got through, And this in an area of Manchester which just up the road has a fairly big Muslim community.
I cannot wait to see what will happen though to the City fans as regarding things such as ticket prices and with an owner who is friends with people like Leo di Caprio and Demi Moore will he want a load of Mancs in the way when he can bring his famous friends over who will spend plenty of Money themselves.
Be Interesting to see if he gets to meet Ricky Hatton,Bruce Jones a.k.a. Les Battersby and Liam and Noel at the Eastlands.
Also did you see those pathetic City fans wearing their mums tea towels on their heads when news got through, And this in an area of Manchester which just up the road has a fairly big Muslim community.
Absolutely – not the most conspicuous display of intelligence ever seen, was it. The describing of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan by them as "Some Arab" rather than even just "Sheikh Mansour" (not exactly hard to pronounce) wrankled a little as well.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Who is leading this conglomerate? Is it Sheikh Mansour or the wealthy philanthropist dubbed the "Donald Trump of Abu Dhabi"?
Also – how long before they edge their way into a European superpower? Having the money and a football-mad owner who is chequebook happy (makes Roman look like a Moscow street tramp) is advantageous but you need the culture to change and team ethic to improve at a rate, which does not shoot rapidly to premature levels of arrogance, instead slowly materialises into the status that is expected and wanted by this conglomerate.
I’m not quite so sure it’s a good thing for the Premiership Insomniac. If the Abu Dhabi United Group stick around then it won’t be a case of who breaks into the big four, it will be a simple case of a big five being created (of course, one will miss out on the Champions League every season).
It will effectively mean that 15 Premiership clubs are scrapping for 6th place in the league – one European qualifying slot perhaps.
My only concern for football and Man City is will this group stick around? Yes the same concerns were aimed at Chelsea when Roman took over, but you can see that he is a football nut and is passionate about it. How much does the Abu Dhabi Group know about football, how passionate are they, what is their real agenda etc?
Man City have now got money and good luck to them, but I’m already fearing for their long term future. Last weekend, Man City had four academy products in their team in the win against Sunderland (Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Johnson & Richards) but it has already been said by staff at Eastlands that some very promising youth players may never make the step up to the first team now.
How on earth can a promising 18-year-old striker get a chance when Robinho and his £50m strike partner (whoever it may be) are in the team?
If these new investors stick around then Man City will be fine but fewer kids will get a chance. If the new investors leave after a few years then City will be in a right mess (and could end up like Leeds). I’m not sure I like the thought of either scenario.
Mike
Premiership
Money does not equal success
However success does require money
The more money you have the better chance of success.If the present owners stay Man City will be top three next season. If Liverpool dopn’t sort out their new stadium they will drop out of that elite tier.
You say: "Money does not equal success."
Roman says: "Back-to-back League Championships and runners-up on the three other occasions under my power, FA Cup and two League Cups plus a first UEFA Champions League final say otherwise."
And for the record, Sulaiman al-Fahim is a football nut. Hydra Properties (of which he is CEO) sponsors a Costa Rican club team and the Bundesliga, and is building a football academy in Abu Dhabi linked to Internazionale.
The new face of English football? You bloody bet.
What City will do with the younger players is farm them out to Oldham and probably Rochdale as they have decent fan bases their.
Still good to see though a City shirt which had United on the back of it.
MD – There are plenty wealthy clubs who are unsuccessful and I also said the more money you have (a la Abramovic) the more likely that it will buy the success.
Money does not automatically mean success but success does require loads of money (in Premiership footie at least).
What City will do with the younger players is farm them out to Oldham
Wahey! Are we going to get Micah Richards on loan any time soon, then?
(Probably not. Meh.)
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
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