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Manchester City gets its sugar daddy
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Take this seemingly complex, overwhelming shift in English Premier League power, and simplify it down a little bit. That’s the best way to attack the chaos that ensued yesterday.
Fact: Manchester City was just sold by Thaksin Shinawatra to the Adu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment for a reported 210 million pounds. The Guardian
Fact: This new group, led by Sulaiman al-Fahim, now plans on making City the largest club in the Premiership. This Guardian article says al-Fahim’s wealth is supposed to be 10 times more than Chelsea benefactor Roman Abramovich, and money should be flowing into the club. The article also says that al-Fahim is claiming to be simply a “figurehead for members of the (United Arab Emirates)’s royal family, whose riches are even greater, and that the aim was to establish City among the world’s elite clubs.”
Fact: According to this ESPN Soccernet article, these new owners made last-minute bids on Dimitar Berbatov (who went to Old Trafford as expected), David Villa, Mario Gomez, and finally stole Real Madrid’s Robinho from right under the nose of Chelsea as they look to become a consistent force under Mark Hughes. Not a shabby day of bidding.
Fact: Chelsea might not be the financial powerhouse anymore, and the dynamic of the EPL has suddenly been thrown out of wack.
It’s not necessarily that the events which transpired yesterday were so complicated, but more the shock of so many drastic moves in such a short time span. Suddenly City has been changed into a certified megaclub with owners who seem ready to inject extensive amounts of money.
The first thought is that such a change based solely on financial power is unattractive and artificial. But in reality, money is the main force behind the other big clubs, and we are simply adding another to the fold. Money doesn’t necessarily mean success (Abramovich has been trying to buy a Champions League title for years now at Stamford Bridge), but in this day and age it’s nearly impossible to have success without the money.
It will take a while to see how 1) this big move works out for Manchester City in the short run, a.k.a. is it enough for a Top-4 finish?, and 2) if their free-spending ways will continue and bring the type of success that these new owners are looking for.
And while the shock has yet to wear off, it’s hard to see how this is a terrible thing for the EPL. The lack of variety in the Top-4 was talked about in this post, and shouldn’t the addition another club with similar resources into the mix help the league as a whole?
On the other hand, how much pressure is now on Mark Hughes to produce as City’s manager?
Check out the poll below.
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