Sense from the Mirror??
Why Manchester City pursuit of John Terry is just what Chelsea deserve - shame about the rest of us
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/john-cross/2009/07/09/why-manchester-city-pursuit-of-john-terry-is-just-what-chelsea-deserve-shame-about-the-rest-of-us-115875-21507064/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnist ... -21507064/</a>
The irony appears to have been lost on far too many people so far. So, please let me use this opportunity to spell it out....
Chelsea have had the tables well and truly turned on them by Manchester City and it's the most amusing thing to have happened to English football since Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle appeared on Top of the Pops.
City's wealthy Arab owners are determined to chuck millions at turning Eastlands into the football capital of the world.
Their latest audacious transfer target is Chelsea captain John Terry who they are ready to pay £280,000-a-week and will not be deterred even after having a £30m bid turned down.
City's very public pursuit of the England captain has annoyed and divided Chelsea which is why this great irony is so funny.
Cast your mind back to the summer of 2005 when Shaun Wright-Phillips was Manchester City's biggest star and Chelsea snatched him away for a staggering £21m.
It became an ugly saga with Wright-Phillips having to go public on his desire to leave to enable Chelsea to complete a deal for a player destined to become the most expensive bench-warmer in Premier League history.
City were not happy, City's fans were not happy and, in turn, Chelsea annoyed everyone else in the Premier League by paying over the odds for a player who was arguably not worth half that amount.
So please spare me the whingeing and bleating from Stamford Bridge when it comes to City's attempts to lure John Terry to Eastlands.
If Terry's head was turned by City's money, who could blame him?
He earns great money at Chelsea with a cool £140,000-a-week salary. But anyone would be tempted if they were given the chance to double their money.
That's what Chelsea and Roman Abramovich used to do to get their man and it's now what Sheikh Mansour can do for City.
They've tried it with Kaka, Samuel Eto'o and now Terry. They've already captured Robinho, Roque Santa Cruz, Gareth Barry and there are more big-name signings to come with Joleon Lescott and Carlos Tevez up next.
City can blow everyone else out of the water in the way that Chelsea used to when they signed Andriy Shevchenko (money can't buy you everything), Michael Ballack, Petr Cech, Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole et al.
I remember Arsenal's former vice-chairman David Dein once accusing Abramovich of "parking tanks on our lawn and firing banknotes at us" as they once tried to sign Thierry Henry.
Now, Sheikh Mansour can set up his rigs and shower everyone in oil until he gets his man. Forget Champions League football, the money on offer at City more than makes up for a rainy night at Wycombe in the Coca Cola Cup.
Last season City became a bit of a laughing stock as they lurched from one demoralising defeat to another and Mark Hughes faced almost constant pressure about his job.
But after making their mark with some impressive purchases - England midfielder Barry being the pick so far this summer - City look well equipped to challenge for the top four.
Sadly, the problem is that City and Real Madrid have destabilised the market by paying ridiculous fees. Real Madrid have paid £80m for Cristiano Ronaldo, £60m for Brazilian midfielder Kaka and £30m for Karim Benzema.
City are hell-bent on spending £35m-plus to bring John Terry to Eastlands and it leaves the rest of the Premier League with very little hope of doing sensible transfer business this summer.
Manchester United appear to be being priced out of every player they go for. To such an extent that their big summer signing is Michael Owen on a free transfer.
Chelsea are struggling to convince Franck Ribery to come to Stamford Bridge and Bayern Munich want Kaka-style money for their French winger.
City's incredible spending has been bad news for Chelsea who are desperate to make a marquee signing for new manager Carlo Ancelotti.
But in the same way that Chelsea destabilised the market when Abramovich arrived, City are doing exactly the same under Sheikh Mansour.
It's even worse news for everyone else. Arsenal can't compete on the same level. Even Tottenham, normally the biggest spenders of the transfer window, are having to balance the books this summer.
Liverpool had to pay £18m for Glen Johnson which is just madness for a right back. And that was because City were interested.
Make no mistake. This will have a knock-on effect right through the divisions, from the Premier League to League Two. If the market is destabilised it upsets everyone.
Abramovich is ready to spend big. You only need to look at £18m Russian midfielder Yuri Zhirkov to realise that. But City's wealth and Real Madrid's new breed of Galacticos mean that Chelsea no longer have it their own way.
It's bad news for football all round. But you have to admit it is rather funny.
