AntM

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gambled on a man who won the league title with Derby County and took Derby to the semi final of the European cup thrashing Real Madrid 4-1 at the Baseball Ground?

correct. they had a CL semi final under ranieri didn't they...

4 competitions? Can we dispense with the Carling Cup and make it 3... we seem to meet them regularly in the semi-final of the CL (and have a better record), we got knocked out of the FA Cup by Barnsley who went on to knock out....I'll let you fill that one in! And year-on-year we are chipping away at them in the league... I don't think that is a "long" way behind them. Don't underestimate Rafa's wheeling and dealing!

That would actually make things better! It's the obvious inequality in the division now which is f***ing things up...

which is it? players sign for the money or because they want to win something? make your mind up! I reckon players get paid so much money nowadays that it is immaterial to them whether they play for us, Chelsea or Arsenal... it is all about winning something*. *Apart from Robinho, naturally, who's a money-grabbing t***.

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Yes and no... I'm not so daft that I can't see what the potential is at City and if there is as much loose change floating about as is suggested then any and every player is a target... (I don't see them getting Torres and Ronaldo either, they're just flexing their muscles a bit with that statement.) As for Chelsea, I never dismissed them when Abramovitch came on board. The main reason being that Chelsea were already a top 4 side (they pipped us the the CL spot, remember) before Abramovitch came and so they were already an attractive proposition to any decent footballer. City neither have CL football nor the proven manager in Hughes that Mourinho was. What happens if City don't qualify for CL football this season? I agree with the last statement though, it's not so much what they can spend on players that differentiates Chelsea (and possibly City) it's the fact that they can write it off. I disagree that we are a long way behind Chelsea though...

My point is that I'm not going to go into meltdown about this as there is nothing to go on yet. They've got loads of cash but unless they spend it wisely it will mean nothing. There's not going to be much evidence of what vision they have until the January transfer window.

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That's all it is though... there's no evidence that it is part of an overall plan or strategy - what you have is a bunch of new, admittedly rich, owners who are making all kinds of statements about qualifying for the Champions League within their first year... and if they don't? then what? Does Hughes get the boot? Do the Abu Dhabi bunch get pissed off and leave? And to those who say that football has become a plaything... it was ever thus. Clubs used to be owned by rich butchers and hauliers etc so what's changed other than it costs more now to buy one? Gack's right, I WANT MY BILLIONAIRE!!!

What have City's new owners done other than pay over the odds for a mercenary player?

I don't know what to make of it, Wayne. He's an ok player but not for THAT much.... he's f***ing up the Gerrard-Torres axis... and what I've seen of him at White Hart Lane (not often, I'll admit) and from what Spurs supporting friends say he can be incredibly frustrating... I just hope he gsts his first goal soon and settles so we can all see how this should work cos I'm scratching my head at the moment...

Keane will drop as deep as our own penalty area if he's not seeing the ball. He'll do a lot of arm-waving as well. The good news is that the harder he tries, the worse he gets....

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That is a fantastically attractive scenario

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He's got anny road's missus up the duff but they're cool about it cos they're meeting up for a pint before the Boro game...

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After 78 pages? I'm shocked.....