Man city the new Chelsea

[tommythejambo]

Hope they don't become a new Chelsea. It would be a shame to see a likeable club (Man City) be held in the same regard as the anti-football's themselves that are Chelsea.

[topcat]

Im not i am only pointing out when the last team who were set to dominate the English game because of money the dominance never lasted. As for Chelsea and the money well i think people forget they had a great manager there as well.Do City have the manager in place to win them titles ?

 

The dominance didn't last because United started spending even more money than they were before,

 

The idea that Manchester United's success in the last couple of seasons represents the triumph of sound management and limited resources over Chelsea's simple financial brute force is at best misguided and at worst a downright lie.

 

It's a blatant attempt to make Manchester United seem likable and that simply can't be allowed to go unchallenged. Just because everyone, rightly, hates Chelsea doesn't mean that having any sympathy for Manchester United is suddenly OK

 

The last reported full set of Wage bills I could find were for 2006/07

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7424134.stm

Chelsea 133m: Manchester United 92.3m. This put United about level with Arsenal, at an advantage over Liverpool and with clear water between them and the non champions league sides.

 

But since then Old Trafford has opened the financial throttle to pay 107m: (43.6% or ?245m)

http://www.footballeconomy.com/archive/archive_2008_jan_06.htm

 

Chelsea had opened a gap but Manchester United have closed it quite significantly . For every ?5 Chelsea are spending on wages, Uniited are spending over ?4 themselves. This hardly represents financial dominance of one over the other.

 

And that's just wages, Both clubs seem to have been equally ready to throw big Transfer Fees about in recent years

This chart is admittedly out of date but illustrates the point well

http://www.footballeconomy.com/stats/stats_turnover_07.htm

 

Abrahmovitch's millions haven't produced financial dominance so much as parity with Manchester United and the result has been a roughly even split of domestic honours and the two teams being so evenly matched that the Champions League Final could literaly not have been any closer.

[VeraNT]

Can't think of a single Brazilian that was a success in the Premier League, let alone the north of England. That guy will be depressed already with the weather and culture. One of the reasons Ronaldo wants away to Madrid is because its a place to live and work, not just work.

 

I can see Man City pouring a lot of dosh down the drain in their attempt to get it right.

[Charlie-Brown]

The dominance didn't last because United started spending even more money than they were before,

 

The idea that Manchester United's success in the last couple of seasons represents the triumph of sound management and limited resources over Chelsea's simple financial brute force is at best misguided and at worst a downright lie.

 

It's a blatant attempt to make Manchester United seem likable and that simply can't be allowed to go unchallenged. Just because everyone, rightly, hates Chelsea doesn't mean that having any sympathy for Manchester United is suddenly OK

 

The last reported full set of Wage bills I could find were for 2006/07

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7424134.stm

Chelsea 133m: Manchester United 92.3m. This put United about level with Arsenal, at an advantage over Liverpool and with clear water between them and the non champions league sides.

 

But since then Old Trafford has opened the financial throttle to pay 107m: (43.6% or ?245m)

http://www.footballeconomy.com/archive/archive_2008_jan_06.htm

 

Chelsea had opened a gap but Manchester United have closed it quite significantly . For every ?5 Chelsea are spending on wages, Uniited are spending over ?4 themselves. This hardly represents financial dominance of one over the other.

 

And that's just wages, Both clubs seem to have been equally ready to throw big Transfer Fees about in recent years

This chart is admittedly out of date but illustrates the point well

http://www.footballeconomy.com/stats/stats_turnover_07.htm

 

Abrahmovitch's millions haven't produced financial dominance so much as parity with Manchester United and the result has been a roughly even split of domestic honours and the two teams being so evenly matched that the Champions League Final could literaly not have been any closer.

 

Very good post TC and some good stats / facts to back up your arguments.

 

What we have also seen is Liverpool significantly increase their spending to try to land the title whilst more recently Spurs and now Man City it appears are going to spend very big to try to break into a) The Champions League places and possibly win some silverware.

 

It seems to me that only Arsenal and Aston Villa at the top end of the Premiership are run to any sort of sensible & coherent financial and player purchasing / squad building plan.

[VeraNT]

Very good post TC and some good stats / facts to back up your arguments.

 

What we have also seen is Liverpool significantly increase their spending to try to land the title whilst more recently Spurs and now Man City it appears are going to spend very big to try to break into a) The Champions League places and possibly win some silverware.

 

It seems to me that only Arsenal and Aston Villa at the top end of the Premiership are run to any sort of sensible & coherent financial and player purchasing / squad building plan.

 

Charles and TC - a few points. I believe its difficult to isolate how a club is managed in a coherent financial way these days. Most clubs are part of a basket of businesses run by the owners. They all have a knock over, flow through impact on their little business empires. Just look at our own little midden.

I do respect Arsenal for relative success, bringing through (mostly purchased) young talent and keeping their house in order (literally speaking, with that spanking new 60k stadium). Arsene Wenger ( a good Alsacien, like myself in some ways :-) ) seems to be bought into the Arsenal business model and doesn't do the prima-dona gueling of Benitez or Jose (before he threw in the towel). Wenger and Lord Alex seem to have a mature and focused approach to the medium term success. So with that, I have the deepest respect for Lord Alex and the results he has delivered withing the framework of serious club traditions.

 

 

As for the north of England - when Fabien Bartez joined Man U from Monaco he was asked by one of the L'Equipe journalists how he (and his girlfriend at the time, Linda Evangelista) would enjoy living in Manchester. Bartez replied something like "il y a plus dans la vie que le soleil sur mon dos". ~there is more to life than the sun on my back~. He was right of course.

[Castle Magyar]

On another note, this size of cash injection into football will ultimately offer even more player power; never really a good thing and more likely to casue even more financial pressures on every othr club as they try to 'compete' salary wise.

 

Additionally, how many players will have a 1 season wonder and move to Man City, then sit for 75% of their contract having made a small fortune before returning to their original club.

 

And the eventual side effect; if you're a supporter outwith say the Top 5 in England, less likley to want to follow ALL matches when you know you've no chance to win the league - for sure you'll want to see the Top 5 at home = big scramble for (over priced) tickets, but who wants to go watch the Bottom 10, by comparison dross.

 

Time will tell, but ?32M for Robinho sounds similar to ?325,000 for Petric

[portobellojambo1]

Im not i am only pointing out when the last team who were set to dominate the English game because of money the dominance never lasted.As for Chelsea and the money well i think people forget they had a great manager there as well.Do City have the manager in place to win them titles ?

 

If the quotes are right, and they are talking about possibly spending ?300 million to purchase Cristiano Ronaldo, Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres I don't see it being a problem for them to attract a manager, assuming they do not think Mark Hughes is a suitable manager.

 

I knew these guys had money, but I didn't realise how much, one of them has a family fortune (known as pocket money to you and I) of around ?560 billion.

[Castle Magyar]

If that was Hearts who'd just been bought by an investmetn team with pulling power of ?600 billion, how would we refer to the wee team then?

[dougal]

Have to say that I agree with the poster who said that Robinho will not turn Man City into world beaters. I have seen him a few times and while he is a good player, I don't think he is the sort of player who can drive his team mates forward and make the whole team tick (ie Gerrard, Fabregas etc) I still think that the same top four as last year will make up the top four this year. Liverpool and Man U attract big name players because they can pay good wages but also because of their history and success. Most players would probably prefer to live in London and hence the reason that Chelsea, Arsenal and to a lesser extent Spurs are able to attract such big name players. Most really good players won't go to Man City because they don't have the same tradition and haven't had the same level of success that United and Liverpool have. And the fact that Manchester isn't a desirable location to stay. Yeah they can offer big wages but not all players are wanting money, some are hoping for success. As has already been said, Fergie leaving will be more of a bonus to not only City but all Premiership teams than the vast amount of money that will be available to spend.

[VeraNT]

If that was Hearts who'd just been bought by an investmetn team with pulling power of ?600 billion, how would we refer to the wee team then?

 

 

The NANO team.

Next question caller.

[the voice from above]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article4663849.ece

 

football gone mad!!!

[Guest Roop]

SSN reporting city made a ?50m deadline day bid for Torres. I wonder how many of these inflated bids Hughes knew about?

[jambo_74]

It sounds like Man City are trying to become footballs equivalent of the Harlem Globe Trotters. Going by press reports early indications are that the new owners want all the best players in the world to fill the City ranks, which would essentially have them on show via television to a worldwide audience. At the moment these players are split across different teams and different domestic leagues. How long before they start doing exhibition matches around the world...

 

Man City Globe Trotters XI

 

Buffon

Daniel Alves

William Gallas

Rio Ferdinand

Philipp Lahm

Esteban Cambiasso

Kaka

Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo

Fernado Torres

Zlatan Ibrahimovich

[badly drawn boy]

It sounds like Man City are trying to become footballs equivalent of the Harlem Globe Trotters. Going by press reports early indications are that the new owners want all the best players in the world to fill the City ranks, which would essentially have them on show via television to a worldwide audience. At the moment these players are split across different teams and different domestic leagues. How long before they start doing exhibition matches around the world...

 

Man City Globe Trotters XI

 

Buffon

Daniel Alves

William Gallas

Rio Ferdinand

Philipp Lahm

Esteban Cambiasso

Kaka

Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo

Fernado Torres

Zlatan Ibrahimovich

 

 

No room for Miko then ?

[badly drawn boy]

Have to say that I agree with the poster who said that Robinho will not turn Man City into world beaters. I have seen him a few times and while he is a good player, I don't think he is the sort of player who can drive his team mates forward and make the whole team tick (ie Gerrard, Fabregas etc) I still think that the same top four as last year will make up the top four this year. Liverpool and Man U attract big name players because they can pay good wages but also because of their history and success. Most players would probably prefer to live in London and hence the reason that Chelsea, Arsenal and to a lesser extent Spurs are able to attract such big name players. Most really good players won't go to Man City because they don't have the same tradition and haven't had the same level of success that United and Liverpool have. And the fact that Manchester isn't a desirable location to stay. Yeah they can offer big wages but not all players are wanting money, some are hoping for success. As has already been said, Fergie leaving will be more of a bonus to not only City but all Premiership teams than the vast amount of money that will be available to spend.

 

 

Dougal

 

Money talks , is Robinho not a really top player ?

 

Did Chelsea have the tradition and success before Abramovich , has it stopped them signing top players

 

Liverpool with all the historic success -are they competing with Manyoo , Chels , Barca etc for the really top players -no

 

I think your football player is a little more fickle than you give them credit for

[Seymour M Hersh]

The real sphincters that are getting twitchy at this news are the scousers. Suddenly, guaranteed Champions League football isn't on the cards anymore.

 

I suspect Arsenal's will be twitching at least as much.

 

Also possibly to your chagrin it could work to Liverpool's benefit as the DIC chaps are very much in competition with the AD chaps and it may well speed up their bid to oust the yanks.

[Denny Crane]

Er, United's last sojourn into the lower division saw them STILL have the biggest crowds in England (1974-75 season).

 

I'm actually quite pleased Citeh are among the nouveau riche. The real sphincters that are getting twitchy at this news are the scousers. Suddenly, guaranteed Champions League football isn't on the cards anymore.

 

It only twitches a few hours after eating a bowl of bran flakes!

 

 

Seriously, I hope City's good fortune will be the kick up the arse those two ***** Gillette & Hicks need to either make a proper attempt at running a football club or sell out to someone who can. That lot from Dubai still appear to be keen.

[Pete Seeger]

What a lot of single fish , City dont have the fan base of Chelsea

 

What a load of single fish. Before Abramovic City probaly had a bigger fan base or on a par at least. In fact I bet City's average gate when they were in the second division was higher than Chelsea's in the premiership.

[spacerjoe]

Can't think of a single Brazilian that was a success in the Premier League, let alone the north of England.

 

Off the top of my head:

 

Juninho

Silvinho

Gilberto Silva

 

Anderson and Elano (although only based on one season)

[badly drawn boy]

What a load of single fish. Before Abramovic City probaly had a bigger fan base or on a par at least. In fact I bet City's average gate when they were in the second division was higher than Chelsea's in the premiership.

 

 

Ukol read my posts on this thread again for the umpteenth time -thats the point im making , though clearly didnt phrase it very well

[Therapist]

The new owners of Man city make Ibramovich look working class

 

:mad:

 

There's only one Chelsea FC. Having money and spending it wisely/successfully are completely different things as the Mancs will soon discover.

 

I've worked with Arab clients for 20 years. Their mindset is not the same as ours - they want the biggest best and most expensive of everything and care little about whether it will all fit together into an aesthetically pleasing and/or effective/efficient/successful package. The Burj Al Arab hotel is a classic example of this. The purchase of Robinho shows they are taking the same approach to football.

 

This will end in tears - mark my words.

[Pete Seeger]

Ukol read my posts on this thread again for the umpteenth time -thats the point im making , though clearly didnt phrase it very well

 

I realised that after posting. Apologies.

[Charlie-Brown]

I suspect Arsenal's will be twitching at least as much.

 

Also possibly to your chagrin it could work to Liverpool's benefit as the DIC chaps are very much in competition with the AD chaps and it may well speed up their bid to oust the yanks.

 

Arsenal spent less money than Liverpool in recent seasons without competing any less effectively than them, whether you agree with their methods or not both Arsene Wenger and Martin O'Neill at Aston Villa take a medium-long term view when buying players & building their squads and don't over-pay 'crazy' money for players like Liverpool, Spurs and now Man City who are trying to simply buy their way into the top spots.

[badly drawn boy]

I realised that after posting. Apologies.

 

No worries mate

[dougal]

Dougal

 

Money talks , is Robinho not a really top player ?

 

Did Chelsea have the tradition and success before Abramovich , has it stopped them signing top players

 

Liverpool with all the historic success -are they competing with Manyoo , Chels , Barca etc for the really top players -no

 

I think your football player is a little more fickle than you give them credit for

 

I am not saying that Robinho isn't a good player, but he is not the set the world on fire superstar that some people believe he is.

 

My point about Chelsea was that - yes the money is very tempting, but would Chelsea attract top players if they still had that money but weren't based in London? Maybe, maybe not!

 

As for Liverpool, I would say that they are able to attract the top players just look at Torres. Is he not the best striker in the world right now, and if he isn't he must surely be in the top three. Torres didn't just go to Liverpool because of the money - their history and previous success would also have helped him make his decision. He could just have easily gone to any of the top teams in Spain, Italy or England, but he chose Liverpool and not because it's such a nice place to live. I feel that if Liverpool's owners could get themselves sorted then Liverpool would have made more of an impact during the transfer window than we have seen.

 

I agree that footballers are fickle and there will definitely be those players who want to move for the money, but when several teams can pay large wages then it comes down to where do I want to stay, who's the manager and how much success can I have at this particular club.

[badly drawn boy]

I am not saying that Robinho isn't a good player, but he is not the set the world on fire superstar that some people believe he is.

 

My point about Chelsea was that - yes the money is very tempting, but would Chelsea attract top players if they still had that money but weren't based in London? Maybe, maybe not!

 

As for Liverpool, I would say that they are able to attract the top players just look at Torres. Is he not the best striker in the world right now, and if he isn't he must surely be in the top three. Torres didn't just go to Liverpool because of the money - their history and previous success would also have helped him make his decision. He could just have easily gone to any of the top teams in Spain, Italy or England, but he chose Liverpool and not because it's such a nice place to live. I feel that if Liverpool's owners could get themselves sorted then Liverpool would have made more of an impact during the transfer window than we have seen.

 

I agree that footballers are fickle and there will definitely be those players who want to move for the money, but when several teams can pay large wages then it comes down to where do I want to stay, who's the manager and how much success can I have at this particular club.

 

Some valid points Dougal but i think the finance that City will have to spend ( if the noises being made from the new owners is correct ) will be different from anything ever seen , there will not be several teams that can pay the equivalent

[dougal]

Some valid points Dougal but i think the finance that City will have to spend ( if the noises being made from the new owners is correct ) will be different from anything ever seen , there will not be several teams that can pay the equivalent

 

Don't get me wrong...If a team offers a contract to a player for 100,000 per week and then city come in and offer 200,000 or something just as stupid (though not if it's you who is being offered it) then yes more players will sign for them, however I do believe that having the best 11 players in the world doesn't make you the best team. So I will wait and see how City do before making a full judgement. Will just be good to make the Premiership more exciting.

[tommythejambo]

Man City have not got the fan base of any of the top 4 so they will never be as big.

 

Don't be daft. Chelsea don't have a top 10 fan base. Yet they have no problems.

[stirlo]

City fans deserve some success - they've shown great loyalty to their team through some very tough times. City are a genuine sleeping giant - unlike a number of clubs in the Premiership who think of themselves that way.

[Charlie-Brown]

Simply having 11 or 18 great players doesn't instantly make a great team they also have to be the right blend of players and complement each other - also having too many prima donna's in the one dressing room can be a problem if too many of them want to be THE main player and the dominant personality / superstar.

 

There is a relatively limited supply of players at the very top and then another group of players in their peak years or peak form who sell for the biggest fee's when they move clubs.....Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs & now it seems Man City all want to pay top dollar or above to try to become the dominant or top team.....obviously they can't and won't all succeed.....other clubs like Aston Villa and Arsenal are trying to buy those players who will soon become in time or are capable of becoming top players given the right platform and worth the sort of money that other clubs will pay the highest prices for.....relatively speaking they aren't competing to a lesser standard or less effectively.

[badly drawn boy]

Don't get me wrong...If a team offers a contract to a player for 100,000 per week and then city come in and offer 200,000 or something just as stupid (though not if it's you who is being offered it) then yes more players will sign for them, however I do believe that having the best 11 players in the world doesn't make you the best team. So I will wait and see how City do before making a full judgement. Will just be good to make the Premiership more exciting.

 

Agree not just a simple case of signing the supposed best 18 players in the world , a football club needs a lot more

 

I just wonder if you are able financially to sign the very best all the time from wherever you want , what then happens

 

 

There are a number of teams from around europe , Barc/Real and in the uk manyoo , chelsea etc that can financially compete for the very best but the guys buying City are on an entirely different level -where does that take modern play football

[Charlie-Brown]

Agree not just a simple case of signing the supposed best 18 players in the world , a football club needs a lot more

 

I just wonder if you are able financially to sign the very best all the time from wherever you want , what then happens

 

 

There are a number of teams from around europe , Barc/Real and in the uk manyoo , chelsea etc that can financially compete for the very best but the guys buying City are on an entirely different level -where does that take modern play football

 

It doesn't take modern football anywhere - all it might mean is that Man City could in theory end up with a 'Harlem Globetrotters' first eleven IF they can persuade some of the really huge stars of world football to go to a Premiership team without the same pedigree in English or European terms as Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal or even Spurs.

 

It will also fuel further inflation in the price of wages and transfer fees for top level players.....it's simple economics price = demand / supply ... the amount of money available in the market will increase but the supply of quality players remains the same therefore prices will rise as increased demand chases a relatively limited supply and competition for the best players increases.

[Seymour M Hersh]

Arsenal spent less money than Liverpool in recent seasons without competing any less effectively than them, whether you agree with their methods or not both Arsene Wenger and Martin O'Neill at Aston Villa take a medium-long term view when buying players & building their squads and don't over-pay 'crazy' money for players like Liverpool, Spurs and now Man City who are trying to simply buy their way into the top spots.

 

Not the point I was making NMH. Arsenals place must be under as much threat as Liverpools. No matter the way they go about building a team. Oh and have you had a look at all the young (16-19yrs old) talent Benitez has brought into Liverpool? Arsene would be proud. Oh and lets, in future, avoid giving that little dancing paddy any praise whatsoever!

[Charlie-Brown]

Not the point I was making NMH. Arsenals place must be under as much threat as Liverpools. No matter the way they go about building a team. Oh and have you had a look at all the young (16-19yrs old) talent Benitez has brought into Liverpool? Arsene would be proud. Oh and lets, in future, avoid giving that little dancing paddy any praise whatsoever!

 

There was a debate on Talksport on this very subject of the OP and part of the debate focused on Liverpool, several knowledgeable Scousers phoned in to complain about Benitez lack of coherent direction and specific complaints they made were

a) The relationship between the academy and Benitez has completely broken down, the Academy Director and RB are at loggerheads over youth signing policy and very highly rated youth coach Steve Heighway left last year as a result of this.

The key gripe of the Academy is that all or most of their local home-produced talent is being frozen out at age 16-20 by foreign kids (spanish, portuguese, dutch, italian etc) that Benitez has signed who dominate the reserve team. Very few of these kids have been given a look in at first team level but those who do have been Benitez foreign kids despite the argument being that they are no better or worse than the local talent, most of the foreign kids leave after a year or two having failed to settle or having virtually no prospect of first team football and the local academy kids leave for this reason as well.

c) Kids at Liverpool currently have little or no prospect of breaking through and Benitez first team squad is overloaded with expensive ready-made players that Benitez has spent hundreds of millions on bringing to the club yet 3 of Liverpools best and most consistent performers in Benitez time at the club have been the home-produced local lads Gerrard, Carragher and Finnan.

[Seymour M Hersh]

There was a debate on Talksport on this very subject of the OP and part of the debate focused on Liverpool, several knowledgeable Scousers phoned in to complain about Benitez lack of coherent direction and specific complaints they made were

a) The relationship between the academy and Benitez has completely broken down, the Academy Director and RB are at loggerheads over youth signing policy and very highly rated youth coach Steve Heighway left last year as a result of this.

The key gripe of the Academy is that all or most of their local home-produced talent is being frozen out at age 16-20 by foreign kids (spanish, portuguese, dutch, italian etc) that Benitez has signed who dominate the reserve team. Very few of these kids have been given a look in at first team level but those who do have been Benitez foreign kids despite the argument being that they are no better or worse than the local talent, most of the foreign kids leave after a year or two having failed to settle or having virtually no prospect of first team football and the local academy kids leave for this reason as well.

c) Kids at Liverpool currently have little or no prospect of breaking through and Benitez first team squad is overloaded with expensive ready-made players that Benitez has spent hundreds of millions on bringing to the club yet 3 of Liverpools best and most consistent performers in Benitez time at the club have been the home-produced local lads Gerrard, Carragher and Finnan.

 

Yet you praise Whinger for doing the same? Curious.

[Denny Crane]

There was a debate on Talksport on this very subject of the OP and part of the debate focused on Liverpool, several knowledgeable Scousers phoned in to complain about Benitez lack of coherent direction and specific complaints they made were

a) The relationship between the academy and Benitez has completely broken down, the Academy Director and RB are at loggerheads over youth signing policy and very highly rated youth coach Steve Heighway left last year as a result of this.

The key gripe of the Academy is that all or most of their local home-produced talent is being frozen out at age 16-20 by foreign kids (spanish, portuguese, dutch, italian etc) that Benitez has signed who dominate the reserve team. Very few of these kids have been given a look in at first team level but those who do have been Benitez foreign kids despite the argument being that they are no better or worse than the local talent, most of the foreign kids leave after a year or two having failed to settle or having virtually no prospect of first team football and the local academy kids leave for this reason as well.

c) Kids at Liverpool currently have little or no prospect of breaking through and Benitez first team squad is overloaded with expensive ready-made players that Benitez has spent hundreds of millions on bringing to the club yet 3 of Liverpools best and most consistent performers in Benitez time at the club have been the home-produced local lads Gerrard, Carragher and Finnan.

 

There is also the argument that Rafa was unhappy with what he perceived as an alarming lack of home-grown Merseyside talent coming through the ranks and being worthy of a first team squad number. Hence the bust up with Steve Highway leading to Rafa recently taking a stronger control on youth affairs. Time will tell if he will be vindicated.

 

Incidentally, Steve Finnan was not a local lad. He was born in Limerick, raised in Chelmsford and arrived to Liverpool via Fulham.

[Charlie-Brown]

Yet you praise Whinger for doing the same? Curious.

 

I wasn't criticising Liverpool SMH those were the actual comments of real Liverpool fans on talksport's debate - not only were their own local academy kids being squeezed out but the foreign kids that Rafa brought in were also being given virtually no chances either and most were leaving at the end of their contracts or earlier as first team opportunities are unlikely with a bulging squad of expensively bought talent....their concern is that there is no future Gerards or Carraghers coming throught the ranks because they simply aren't being given the chance and neither are the foreign kids except when they have to meet quota's in European matches.

 

The point was that Liverpool have no meaningful or coherent youth policy as Liverpool aren't giving opportunities to young players or youth development according to some Liverpool supporters.

[jambo-rocker]

There was a debate on Talksport on this very subject of the OP and part of the debate focused on Liverpool, several knowledgeable Scousers phoned in to complain about Benitez lack of coherent direction and specific complaints they made were

a) The relationship between the academy and Benitez has completely broken down, the Academy Director and RB are at loggerheads over youth signing policy and very highly rated youth coach Steve Heighway left last year as a result of this.

The key gripe of the Academy is that all or most of their local home-produced talent is being frozen out at age 16-20 by foreign kids (spanish, portuguese, dutch, italian etc) that Benitez has signed who dominate the reserve team. Very few of these kids have been given a look in at first team level but those who do have been Benitez foreign kids despite the argument being that they are no better or worse than the local talent, most of the foreign kids leave after a year or two having failed to settle or having virtually no prospect of first team football and the local academy kids leave for this reason as well.

c) Kids at Liverpool currently have little or no prospect of breaking through and Benitez first team squad is overloaded with expensive ready-made players that Benitez has spent hundreds of millions on bringing to the club yet 3 of Liverpools best and most consistent performers in Benitez time at the club have been the home-produced local lads Gerrard, Carragher and Finnan.

 

[Charlie-Brown]

 

I was quoting a Scouser from Talksport phone in - he seemed to regard Finnan as a 'local' player although I a now realise Liverpool didn't bring him through the ranks same as Gerard or Carragher.

[Seymour M Hersh]

I was quoting a Scouser from Talksport phone in - he seemed to regard Finnan as a 'local' player although I a now realise Liverpool didn't bring him through the ranks same as Gerard or Carragher.

 

I think the fact that you seem to be taking as read what serial callers to a car crash radio show say as read weakens your argument. I don't hear such moaning from mates of 30 years who are season ticket holders.

[HMFCjamieHMFC]

Can't think of a single Brazilian that was a success in the Premier League, let alone the north of England. That guy will be depressed already with the weather and culture. One of the reasons Ronaldo wants away to Madrid is because its a place to live and work, not just work.

 

I can see Man City pouring a lot of dosh down the drain in their attempt to get it right.

 

Juninho, Elano, Anderson, Gilberto Silva and Edu have all been pretty successful

[Seymour M Hersh]

Can't think of a single Brazilian that was a success in the Premier League, let alone the north of England. That guy will be depressed already with the weather and culture. One of the reasons Ronaldo wants away to Madrid is because its a place to live and work, not just work.

 

I can see Man City pouring a lot of dosh down the drain in their attempt to get it right.

 

They may well do that but I'm not sure it will bother the AD guys as they were apparently surprised when they heard Chelsea had only spent ?500m getting themselves 2 league titles. Scary when they think that much is just loose change!!!

[Jammy T]

It will also fuel further inflation in the price of wages and transfer fees for top level players.....it's simple economics price = demand / supply ... the amount of money available in the market will increase but the supply of quality players remains the same therefore prices will rise as increased demand chases a relatively limited supply and competition for the best players increases.

 

I wonder

 

The best tactic for the remaining non Man City clubs in world football PROBABLY would be to screw as much money as possible for this dream 11, or dream 14 or 15 squad, and then focus upon the other world class / international footballers out there.

 

I would agree that a harlem globetrotter team will probably not perform to the sum of it's parts, whereas a properly constructed and managed team (still expensive of course) will more often than not perform to the sum of its parts, if not above.

 

There are only so many players that Man City can buy. There will be plenty others they wont. It will be pointless to compete with them other than to ensure they pay over full whack

 

If, as SMH says, other multi-billion aires come in with an ego, then it will become interesting.

 

If Man U received a bid of ?120m for Ronaldo they should just drive him there and drop him off.

[Charlie-Brown]

I wonder

 

The best tactic for the remaining non Man City clubs in world football PROBABLY would be to screw as much money as possible for this dream 11, or dream 14 or 15 squad, and then focus upon the other world class / international footballers out there.

 

I would agree that a harlem globetrotter team will probably not perform to the sum of it's parts, whereas a properly constructed and managed team (still expensive of course) will more often than not perform to the sum of its parts, if not above.

 

There are only so many players that Man City can buy. There will be plenty others they wont. It will be pointless to compete with them other than to ensure they pay over full whack

 

If, as SMH says, other multi-billion aires come in with an ego, then it will become interesting.

 

If Man U received a bid of ?120m for Ronaldo they should just drive him there and drop him off.

 

The only people who stand to benefit are players & their agents (& possibly/maybe Man City fans) ..... it would be marginally interesting to see if there was a shake up of the big four in England but pretty soon thereafter a new pattern would settle down and 1 big-spending club might have been replaced by another even bigger spending club but there still remains only 4 Champions League places up for grabs.....nothing would really have exchanged except wages & transfer fees could have leapt further into the realms of insanity and sky blue shirts might replace a red or blue shirt in the top 4.