Brucie Bonus
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Manchester United know something is stirring at City
Oliver Kay, July 21, 2009
“All talk†was how Sir Alex Ferguson referred to the statements of intent from Manchester City’s new owners last September, going on to say that they would find it extremely difficult when it came to the business of trying to attract top-class players.
Well, ten months on, City may have failed with bids to sign Kaka and David Villa and Samuel Eto’o and Yaya Toure and countless others, including, if rumours are to be believed, Fernando Torres. And they may be forced to concede that their ambitious pursuit of John Terry, whose head has certainly been turned, ends with the England captain committing the rest of his playing career to Chelsea. But, by signing Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, the club's Arab owners have certainly put their money where their mouth is.
City dominated the agenda when Ferguson staged his annual pre-season sit-down interview with newspaper journalists in Kuala Lumpur and, while it should be pointed out that that agenda is set by the reporters rather than the interviewee, it is fair to say that the United manager was rather talkative about a club he has traditionally regarded with a combination of bemusement, pity and contempt.
From questioning the transfer policy that has left them with ten strikers (as if Felipe Caicedo, Benjani Mwaruwari and Ched Evans will still be around when the transfer window closes), to the pressure on Mark Hughes to keep his players happy, to his view that “I didn't think Carlos Tevez was worth £25 million†and the difficulty City face in trying to break into the top four, he has had plenty to say.
Ferguson is right, of course, that even after an extravagant outlay on Barry, Santa Cruz, Adebayor and Tevez – as well as the continuing pursuit of Joleon Lescott and, less hopefully, Terry – it will be difficult for City to break into the top four. He points out that, unlike Chelsea in the early days of the Roman Abramovich era, City have not had the nucleus of a strong team to build on.
Experience tells you that teams need to develop organically, not overnight, and that buying success will be extremely difficult for City. But nobody, not even Ferguson, can say for sure what kind of team City will be. What seems certain is that the gap between them and United, which stood at 40 points last season, will be considerably smaller this time. And the 22-point advantage that Arsenal held over them last season will be shrink and perhaps even disappear as City look to push for Champions League football in 2010-11.
Was Tevez worth £25.5m? Possibly not to United, where his final season was a story of discontent, frequent outbursts in the media, fruitless negotiations and, as his confidence fell, erratic finishing that could no longer be entirely glossed over by his unstinting work rate.
But, for all that, take a look at the statement United released on June 20 as they sought to seize the news agenda after finally accepting that Tevez was leaving Old Trafford. “The club agreed to pay the option price of £25.5m and offered Carlos a five-year contract which would have made him one of its highest paid players. Disappointingly, however, his advisors informed the club that, despite the success he has enjoyed during one of the club’s most successful periods, he does not wish to continue playing for Manchester United.â€
So maybe Tevez is worth the money after all, eh? And maybe the subsequent barbs are an attempt by Ferguson to convince himself and the supporters that Tevez is no great loss. And maybe, in the grand scheme of things, Ferguson will be right, although it will take a big improvement from Dimitar Berbatov this season if the debate is to go away.
But Tevez is certainly worth £25.5m to City. Hughes is right when he says that the economics of City’s situation are different. A player of his quality has a great value to a club who are trying to break into the top four. And then there is the added value to be gained from ruffling the feathers of their rivals. However much United and their supporters may continue to look down their noses at City, they cannot escape the feeling that something is stirring on the blue side of the city. All talk? We shall see.
Manchester United know something is stirring at City
Oliver Kay, July 21, 2009
“All talk†was how Sir Alex Ferguson referred to the statements of intent from Manchester City’s new owners last September, going on to say that they would find it extremely difficult when it came to the business of trying to attract top-class players.
Well, ten months on, City may have failed with bids to sign Kaka and David Villa and Samuel Eto’o and Yaya Toure and countless others, including, if rumours are to be believed, Fernando Torres. And they may be forced to concede that their ambitious pursuit of John Terry, whose head has certainly been turned, ends with the England captain committing the rest of his playing career to Chelsea. But, by signing Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, the club's Arab owners have certainly put their money where their mouth is.
City dominated the agenda when Ferguson staged his annual pre-season sit-down interview with newspaper journalists in Kuala Lumpur and, while it should be pointed out that that agenda is set by the reporters rather than the interviewee, it is fair to say that the United manager was rather talkative about a club he has traditionally regarded with a combination of bemusement, pity and contempt.
From questioning the transfer policy that has left them with ten strikers (as if Felipe Caicedo, Benjani Mwaruwari and Ched Evans will still be around when the transfer window closes), to the pressure on Mark Hughes to keep his players happy, to his view that “I didn't think Carlos Tevez was worth £25 million†and the difficulty City face in trying to break into the top four, he has had plenty to say.
Ferguson is right, of course, that even after an extravagant outlay on Barry, Santa Cruz, Adebayor and Tevez – as well as the continuing pursuit of Joleon Lescott and, less hopefully, Terry – it will be difficult for City to break into the top four. He points out that, unlike Chelsea in the early days of the Roman Abramovich era, City have not had the nucleus of a strong team to build on.
Experience tells you that teams need to develop organically, not overnight, and that buying success will be extremely difficult for City. But nobody, not even Ferguson, can say for sure what kind of team City will be. What seems certain is that the gap between them and United, which stood at 40 points last season, will be considerably smaller this time. And the 22-point advantage that Arsenal held over them last season will be shrink and perhaps even disappear as City look to push for Champions League football in 2010-11.
Was Tevez worth £25.5m? Possibly not to United, where his final season was a story of discontent, frequent outbursts in the media, fruitless negotiations and, as his confidence fell, erratic finishing that could no longer be entirely glossed over by his unstinting work rate.
But, for all that, take a look at the statement United released on June 20 as they sought to seize the news agenda after finally accepting that Tevez was leaving Old Trafford. “The club agreed to pay the option price of £25.5m and offered Carlos a five-year contract which would have made him one of its highest paid players. Disappointingly, however, his advisors informed the club that, despite the success he has enjoyed during one of the club’s most successful periods, he does not wish to continue playing for Manchester United.â€
So maybe Tevez is worth the money after all, eh? And maybe the subsequent barbs are an attempt by Ferguson to convince himself and the supporters that Tevez is no great loss. And maybe, in the grand scheme of things, Ferguson will be right, although it will take a big improvement from Dimitar Berbatov this season if the debate is to go away.
But Tevez is certainly worth £25.5m to City. Hughes is right when he says that the economics of City’s situation are different. A player of his quality has a great value to a club who are trying to break into the top four. And then there is the added value to be gained from ruffling the feathers of their rivals. However much United and their supporters may continue to look down their noses at City, they cannot escape the feeling that something is stirring on the blue side of the city. All talk? We shall see.
