MariamFANTASY FOOTBALL DOESNT WORK IN REALITY
Manchester City’s abortive attempts to sign Kaká might prove to be a blessing in disguise for the Eastlands outfit. The 2007 World Player of the Year would strengthen any team, but his presence at City would have been unsettling. Mark Hughes and the clubs owners need to set their sights lower.
The August purchase of Robinho raised eyebrows, as it proved City could attract star names and outmanoeuvre Chelsea through financial strength, despite their inferior trophy-winning credentials. However, Robinho’s current unrest suggests no player is happy being a big fish in a small pond, whatever the monetary rewards.
City have made some significant, if less headline-grabbing, signings. Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge and Craig Bellamy are the sort of established Premier League internationals who are good enough to improve the team without upsetting wage structures and balance of the squad.
Similarly, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong, whilst not being the superstar overseas acquisitions that are now expected of City, are of the right stature to help the club develop at the right pace. The club’s target of becoming the best in the world cannot happen over night; it is a gradual process.
The owners do seem to realise this. With money no object, it would have been easy to dismiss Mark Hughes when the team were in the relegation zone and knocked out of the FA Cup, but a new big name manager would want his own players and the rebuilding job would have to start all over again.
If Khaldoon Al Mubarak is genuinely happy with his manager, then he needs to be given time and the ability to build the squad as he sees fit. City’s defence is still their major problem and it says everything about their current plight that the arrival of goalkeeper Shay Given would have more impact than that of Kaká or another similar big name.
Written by Philip Oliver, a professional sports writer who blogs about football betting at Betfair
The August purchase of Robinho raised eyebrows, as it proved City could attract star names and outmanoeuvre Chelsea through financial strength, despite their inferior trophy-winning credentials. However, Robinho’s current unrest suggests no player is happy being a big fish in a small pond, whatever the monetary rewards.
City have made some significant, if less headline-grabbing, signings. Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge and Craig Bellamy are the sort of established Premier League internationals who are good enough to improve the team without upsetting wage structures and balance of the squad.
Similarly, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong, whilst not being the superstar overseas acquisitions that are now expected of City, are of the right stature to help the club develop at the right pace. The club’s target of becoming the best in the world cannot happen over night; it is a gradual process.
The owners do seem to realise this. With money no object, it would have been easy to dismiss Mark Hughes when the team were in the relegation zone and knocked out of the FA Cup, but a new big name manager would want his own players and the rebuilding job would have to start all over again.
If Khaldoon Al Mubarak is genuinely happy with his manager, then he needs to be given time and the ability to build the squad as he sees fit. City’s defence is still their major problem and it says everything about their current plight that the arrival of goalkeeper Shay Given would have more impact than that of Kaká or another similar big name.
Written by Philip Oliver, a professional sports writer who blogs about football betting at Betfair
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