Robinho boosts Man City

London: Life is rarely dull at Premier League club Manchester City and Monday's proposed takeover of the club by Abu Dhabi United Group marks the latest chapter in the life of one of English football's most colourful clubs.

Just hours after confirming a likely change of ownership City stunned the Premier League's big guns by beating the British transfer deadline to sign Brazilian Robinho from Real Madrid for a fee reported to be 40 million euros.

Since winning the English title in 1968 the club has lived in the shadow of Manchester United and has specialised in false dawns. Not for no reason do the fans serenade their team with the sentimental ballad "Blue Moon".

In the 22 years that Alex Ferguson has spent gathering 10 Premier League titles, two European Cups and a sackful of domestic trophies, City have been mired in self-inflicted mediocrity and broken dreams.

Rightful place

The low point came in 1999 when they were relegated to the third tier of English football. Since then they have regained their rightful place in the top flight without ever threatening to challenge for silverware.

Eleven managers have tried, and failed, to restore City's fading glamour during Ferguson's glittering reign.

The job proved too much for Kevin Keegan and Sven-Goran Eriksson, another former England manager, who joined the City scrapheap in June after just a season in charge.

Not even a rare league double over United and a back-door entry into the Uefa Cup could save Eriksson whose last game in charge was an 8-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.

Mark Hughes, once a favourite at Old Trafford, is the latest occupant of the hot seat and after two wins from three games hope is high in the blue half of the city that the club can start to punch its weight.

"For me it's not about the money. We need somebody giving us stability. In the past 30 years we haven't had any success and we're desperate to win a trophy," Kevin Parker, secretary of the club's official supporters club, said on Monday.

This time last year former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was hailed as an unlikely saviour when he bought the club for 81 million pounds ($146.3 million).

The fact that a chunk of his fortune was frozen in Thailand after he was removed in a 2006 coup and he faced corruption charges did not prevent him recruiting Swede Eriksson and splashing the cash on a rash of signings.

Manager Hughes said: "I am absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with such an incredible talent like Robinho.

One of the best

"I have said that in order to compete with the best teams in the Premier League we have to be in the market for players of this calibre, and Robinho is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world."

Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon, after the deal, told Spanish news radio Cadena Ser: "My feeling has always been that if a player is not happy he should not remain at the club."

Calderon said it was the fourth-biggest transfer in football history after the deals that saw Portugal's Luis Figo and France's Zinedine Zidane join Real and the one that saw Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko join Chelsea.

Are football players overpaid? Do you think the overall cost of the team is affected when one player receives a grand pay? Is the cap on the number of international players acceptable?Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form bellow to send your comments.

So by throwing money you can win titles, is it?? these are world class players and clubs you are challenging.I can bet Manchester city will never make it to the top four of EPL!! Buzz off!!
Mohamed
Singapore,Sinagapore
Posted: September 03, 2008, 11:01

Everything is business these days whether its EPL or IPL these days. Thats why people like Wenger should be encouraged more to develope talent rather than quick fix solutions of buying players to build a 'galacticos'
shakil
brisbane,australia
Posted: September 03, 2008, 08:18

Of course footballers are overpaid. So are film stars - its part of the entertainment industry. While the world's attention has been on the record breaking Robinho purchase, very few international articles have mentioned the fact that City's team regularly features four or five players produced by the club's own Football Academy. These include Shaun Wright Phillips and Micah Richards - two of the hottest properties in English football.I wouldn't mind a cap on foreign players. City would have been challenging for honours for the last ten years if there had been one.
Wigan
Wigan, Manchester,England
Posted: September 03, 2008, 01:05