Man City: First Robinho, next Ronaldo
Posted by DavidM in Man City | 2 September 2008
It's been an exciting 24 hours in the blue half of Manchester.
First the club is sold by the asset-frozen Thaksin to the even richer Abu Dhabi United Group. Then an audacious last-minute swoop to steal Robinho from under Chelsea's noses and now reports that the new owner would pay £135m to take Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United.
Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim's next act may be to apply medical care to shell-shocked blue fans who were probably looking forward to another upper-mid table position. Now Mark Hughes hears the management want to be in the Champions League next season - meaning they have to displace one of the big four.
There are some fascinating aspects to this.
First, I'm enjoying Chelsea being outspent. How long will it be before Scolari is complaining about Manchester City distorting the transfer market with their big spending (memories of Ferguson when Chelsea started).
Robinho is a great signing but no one player makes a team. It's amazing he made a last minute change to City without more top-level support being brought in. Wright-Phillips was a good signing but I'm sure there will be many more to come.
Given that, is it realistic to challenge for a top four spot this year to reach the Champions League? Can Wright-Phillips and Robinho lift them from 9th last year (21 points behind 4th place) to above Liverpool or Arsenal? I doubt it, and that could cast Mark Hughes' long-term future in doubt if the new onwers aren't patient.
With Ronaldo, would Manchester United sell him to the blue half of the city? I think they'd rather keep him out of the Premiership. Same goes for the Torres and Fabregas. City would have to offer very silly money to land those players. Nice show-boating though and shows the new owners are happy to wind up ferguson from the start.
Finally, is this good news for Manchester City fans? They'll certainly see better football and more success over time. With the owners talking about bringing 18 new players in they may not recognise the team though. On balance, I'm sure they'll relish being recognised as the biggest club in the world. However, it takes more than money to get and stay the best, let's hope for their sake the owners understand that.
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