Topic: 4th place just became a lot more difficult

[abhred]

Why talk about this now? Window is about to close, and they can't make any drastic change now.

[Neil D]

Why talk about this now? Window is about to close, and they can't make any drastic change now.

I think that is a fair point, but let's be honest, this seems to have come out of the blue (no pun intended) and the ramifications could be massive. It's only natural that we are concerned and want to discuss a story as huge as this. We already know we are on the back foot with these two c*nts in charge, and now there is the possibility we could fall even further behind in our search for number 19.

[Noli]

Should football team be owned by foreign investors? Should a club be owned by a man who knows nothing about a club? The football business/sport line is now so smudged who knows where it lies?

[R1col]

Alot of doom and gloom in here.
Try wandering over to the off the pitch forum, might be some better news and a bit of hope in there 

[abhred]

I think that is a fair point, but let's be honest, this seems to have come out of the blue (no pun intended) and the ramifications could be massive. It's only natural that we are concerned and want to discuss a story as huge as this. We already know we are on the back foot with these two c*nts in charge, and now there is the possibility we could fall even further behind in our search for number 19.

Personally, I can't see anything drastic happen. At least, with Chelsea, they were in the semi's of the CL, and were mostly, top 4 in the league. Can't see City attracting those sort of players. Ronaldinho rings a bell?

First it was Spurs, now City. I'm genuinely not worried, as I truly do think we're a league above these teams (players and the manager).

[Neil D]

In other major news, Kevin Bond sacked at Bournemouth. When will this lunacy end?

[west_london_red]

Dont know if anyones mentioned this already, but i dont think were the only ones looking over our shoulders. Arsenal are far from safe, so it could be 2 from us, Arsenal or Man City

[CHOPPER]

In other major news, Kevin Bond sacked at Bournemouth. When will this lunacy end?

get the fuck outa here!, this needs it's own thread.

and for the record, a c*nt of a thread title.

[Strawberry Fields]

Rafa has a new excuse lined up for him.

[The Manhattan Project]

Wasn't the same said when that Ashley bloke took over at Newcastle?

A total twat.

Saw him on TV during the Arsenal game guzzling beer.

[Neil D]

Personally, I can't see anything drastic happen. At least, with Chelsea, they were in the semi's of the CL, and were mostly, top 4 in the league. Can't see City attracting those sort of players. Ronaldinho rings a bell?

First it was Spurs, now City. I'm genuinely not worried, as I truly do think we're a league above these teams (players and the manager).

Were Chelsea in the semi's of the CL when Abramovic took over? I thought that was the year after? In fact I'm pretty sure they qualified at our expense at the end of 2002-03, having not been in it that season, and then the money came in with them reaching the semi's in 2003-04.

If City start slowly attracting top quality players then they become a more viable option to 'superstars'. If they start pushing for the CL I don't see why they can't start attracting major talent - Ronaldinho was hardly going to join City when he had the option of AC Milan anyway given both club's current standing. When City expressed an interest in Ronaldinho they had no manager and Sinatra in charge, now they have a good manager and billions of pounds behind them.

Spurs have not had anything like these resources behind them. The only precedent for this is Chelsea, and these Arabs are even richer than the Russian. And we all know what happened to Chelsea when Roman took over. Personally I can't see how anybody could not be worried.

[cormorant]

A total twat.

Saw him on TV during the Arsenal game guzzling beer.

Non-alcoholic was the official line

[Fordy]

Were Chelsea in the semi's of the CL when Abramovic took over? I thought that was the year after? In fact I'm pretty sure they qualified at our expense at the end of 2002-03, having not been in it that season, and then the money came in with them reaching the semi's in 2003-04.

If City start slowly attracting top quality players then they become a more viable option to 'superstars'. If they start pushing for the CL I don't see why they can't start attracting major talent - Ronaldinho was hardly going to join City when he had the option of AC Milan anyway given both club's current standing. When City expressed an interest in Ronaldinho they had no manager and Sinatra in charge, now they have a good manager and billions of pounds behind them.

Spurs have not had anything like these resources behind them. The only precedent for this is Chelsea, and these Arabs are even richer than the Russian. And we all know what happened to Chelsea when Roman took over. Personally I can't see how anybody could not be worried.

Totally agree with you mate and I am totally worried for sure.

[ben]

we have this every year. west ham, villa, city last year, newcastle blah blah blah.

liverpool will be there or there abouts for the time being. if the yanks continue to drag us down i'll worry, but until then, we're relatively safe for a while.

[Rhino]

In a few years when every club is owned by a billionaire we'll be back to square one

[gb1]

Incase anyone is interested

Dubai Office

Dubai International Capital LLC
P.O. Box 72888
The Gate, East Wing
13th Floor
Dubai International Financial Centre
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Telephone: +971 4 362 1888
Email:info@dubaiic.com

London Office

Dubai International Capital (Europe) Ltd.
9th Floor
21 Palmer Street
London SW1H 0AD
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 808 1700

[lincolnred-dad]

ok just to clarify for those who don't know (as it's not been mentioned in full)

the new owners of city are a business which is the business arm of the abu derby royal family. this is very similar to how DIC operate with the royal family using a business for a way to use there mass wealth.

this means that there is theoretically no limit to how much they spend as they have no shareholders to answer to other than themselves. i think they have clearly made their intentions clear with the bids today, and even if none of them come off they can still point to the fact that they can make 100mil plus worth of bids in one day.

[game well and truly over]

FUCK OFF PARRY, YOU FUCKIN BUFOON

[The Grim Reaper]

If this guy at Manchester City does come in and chuck money at it, we should seriously be worried, not only for ourselves but for the league itself.

If they do a Chelsea and come from knowhere, we could end up with the same situation as Scotland where two teams compete and everyone else is just connon fodder for them. That to me is the most worrying thing. I could not imagine starting a season where your plan is just to survive. 

I can see Roman at Chelsea turning it into a pissing contest with Manchester City. Who spends the most money.

[Noli]

Incase anyone is interested

Dubai Office

Dubai International Capital LLC
P.O. Box 72888
The Gate, East Wing
13th Floor
Dubai International Financial Centre
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Telephone: +971 4 362 1888
Email:info@dubaiic.com

London Office

Dubai International Capital (Europe) Ltd.
9th Floor
21 Palmer Street
London SW1H 0AD
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 808 1700

We should bombard them with emails telling them to come save us

[Baraka]

hmmm idea for Utd game: make a big protest to them, going from centenary to the Kop, in big words so its easy for them to read: FUCK  OFF  YANKS if we could get that organised lol would be ace....

[Shanks1965]

In a few years when every club is owned by a billionaire we'll be back to square one

Mate if that happens and Dumb and Dumber are still in charge we'll be back in LEAGUE one.

[gb1]

A

We should bombard them with emails telling them to come save us

Already on with that.

[Neil D]

we have this every year. west ham, villa, city last year, newcastle blah blah blah.

liverpool will be there or there abouts for the time being. if the yanks continue to drag us down i'll worry, but until then, we're relatively safe for a while.

Really? Have West Ham, Villa, City or Newcastle ever been bought by Arabs worth around 600 to 800 billion pounds before?

Not being funny mate, but didn't think so.

[donniebrasco]

Sorry guys but this thread is getting ridiculously over the top..Why don't we all just give up and slash our wrists as clearly now City will wipe the floor with us and everyone else blah blah blah..

We're getting a little ahead of ourselves with all of this..Who have they signed??We have no idea what will happen so let's just see how things pan out..

BTW Veloso going to Arsenal apparently..more cause for woe then..

[tomtom]

ok just to clarify for those who don't know (as it's not been mentioned in full)

the new owners of city are a business which is the business arm of the abu derby royal family. this is very similar to how DIC operate with the royal family using a business for a way to use there mass wealth.

this means that there is theoretically no limit to how much they spend as they have no shareholders to answer to other than themselves. i think they have clearly made their intentions clear with the bids today, and even if none of them come off they can still point to the fact that they can make 100mil plus worth of bids in one day.

So they arn't in it for profit?

I have been wondering about this all day, city ground is 47,000, so they arn't going to make a profit using the clubs current infrastructure.

If they are in it for the same reason as Roman then I despair. Having one team in the game who are owned by someone who is here to flex his financial muscle is bad enough. Its sad to see football going this way.

[NornIron!!]

were getting left behind in so many departments, starting to worry

[hoonin]

Really? Have West Ham, Villa, City or Newcastle ever been bought by Arabs worth around 600 to 800 billion pounds before?

Not being funny mate, but didn't think so.

That may be their wealth, but it isn't what will be available to Hughes for players. Just like West Ham, Villa or us in the hands of someone like DIC, they will be run as a business with the intention of turning a profit.

After all the false words and slick PR shenanigans of our own owners I'd have thought people would be wary of what could happen at City. As someone said, id it's done right there then they could be a threat, but its anyones guess how these complete unknowns will operate.

[GinKop]

Premier League is becoming farcial now. It's a playground for the ultra wealthy and we won't be able to compete until we are bought by a similar consortium. As others have mentioned Man City already have a lot of the infrastructure in place.

[bigbear]

I'm glad 4th has become  more difficult. We might try and win it now

[redprodigal]

In a few years when every club is owned by a billionaire we'll be back to square one

Not far wrong mate. You can only put 11 players on the pitch and there are a lot of very good players around. Some players will want to move to the likes of  City and anyone else who has the financial backing, sure, but if we can bid for some of these players then many of them would choose us first. That is, of course, if we have the financial muscle, which we don't at the moment but we would if the likes of Dubai took us over.

[And Could He Play]

4th place more difficult, Arsenal must be panicking.

[Neil D]

That may be their wealth, but it isn't what will be available to Hughes for players. Just like West Ham, Villa or us in the hands of someone like DIC, they will be run as a business with the intention of turning a profit.

After all the false words and slick PR shenanigans of our own owners I'd have thought people would be wary of what could happen at City. As someone said, id it's done right there then they could be a threat, but its anyones guess how these complete unknowns will operate.

Well they are already talking about £400m to £500m, so I'm not so sure. It doesn't sound to me like they want to turn a profit. And they are certainly a lot wealthier than the Yanks. But we shall see.

[kingjari]

In best Corporal Jones voice :   "DON'T PANIC!"

[Degs]

It didn't really.

They've lost a very good player today and not signed anybody.

The race for 4th next year will be hard, but I hope to god we have Shiek Mo by then.

[Alan_X]

I don't think it's a matter of being a "GOOD" investment - it's a matter of having a "MOTIVATED" seller.....makes all the differnce !

I have know doubt the "Americans" will be "MOTIVATED SELLERS" in December 2008 !


Buying the club on the "CHEAP" with a MOTIVATED SELLER is just GOOD BUSINESS! 

Why the bold and the capitals. Are you too thick to construct a coherent sentence? Banned and binned...

[Shanks1965]

Why the bold and the capitals. Are you too thick to construct a coherent sentence? Banned and binned...

Firm but fair.....

[hoonin]

Firm but fair.....

Careful he doesn't invite you to his dungeon. Rumour has it Alan likes them fair haired and firm.

[tazman74]

On Sly Sports transfer update now...

18.23 According to Radio Marca in Spain, Manchester City have now made a bid for Real Madrid striker Robinho, who has asked to be allowed to join Chelsea. Reports also suggest Real will make one last bid to sign David Villa, who is also wanted by City, from Valencia. If Real sign Villa, then Robinho could be allowed to leave.

They're certainly revealing their intentions...

BTW remember Arsenal have a bloke called Alisher Usmanov, another Russian billionaire, openly attempting to buy overall control. If they don't qualify for the CL then he'll swiftly assume control.

[litmanen37]

the thing is, it is not just the players that produce a "top 4" team.

the whole mentality of the club must be right. chelsea didn't just buy top players, they also brought in one of the top managers in the world in (Mourinho) along with his coaching staff, as well as poaching Peter Kenyon from arguably the biggest club in the world to run the ship.

the fans also play a part in terms of the mentality of a club.


Man City's players may well be capable of a top 4 finish, but as a club i think it will take time. the premiership is a tough, tough league, and as this shows, it is getting tougher.

but, until Man City's mentality (as a whole club) changes, then they will not be top 4 contenders in my opinion.

at the moment they are taking the piss playing fantasy football throwing big money at top players, but until the mentality of the club changes, these players simply will not join them - and unlike chelsea they do not have the lure of london - manchester just doesn't have the same pull for a foreign player does it! - and any player signing for Man City will be in no doubt that they will still be signing for the 2nd biggest club in the city behind Utd.


the big money will not be enough alone to turn City into a top 4 team. im not saying that it cant be done, but it is not as simple as a takeover and a shit load of cash.