It
is all but certain that Manchester City have won the 2011-12 Premier League
title, and it has certainly been a rollercoaster of a ride. The English top
flight will culminate this Sunday after another memorable campaign and has seen
the City of Manchester become the centre of the English football universe in an
almighty struggle between the Reds and the Blues.
Barring
an unlikely regression to the ‘Typical City’ of yesteryear, the Citizens should
seal the title at the weekend with a victory over relegation strugglers Queens
Park Rangers. With all due respect to the present situation of the R’s, they
are in my opinion extremely unlikely to get anything at the Etihad stadium, a
fortress where City have dropped only two points all season, scored 52 goals in
front of their home support, and last lost there in the Premier League way back
in December 2010.
In
light of this impending crowning, my Twitter feed has been clogged up with many
fans who, rather than congratulate City on their marvellous achievement of all
but winning their first title in 44 long years, have demonised them for it. It
seems some people have sought only to devalue this immense achievement as the
only reason they have triumphed is down to the ‘oil-money’ that has flowed into
Manchester City ever since the Abu Dhabi based takeover was led by Sheikh
Mansour in September 2008. Effectively, they are claiming that City have bought
the Premier League title, rather than earning it by playing the best football
and being the best team in England.
In
my opinion, any allegations along these lines simply come across as bitter and
sour grapes because, in the entire history of the Premier League, who hasn’t
spent big money in order to win it, as I shall now prove.
Firstly,
it must indeed be said that Manchester City have indeed spent a ridiculous
amount of money on both wages and transfer fees since September 2008. They have
broken the British record transfer fee once - signing Robinho in 2008 for £32.5
million - and would have broken it again in August 2011 with the signing of
Sergio Aguero for £38.5 million from Atletico Madrid, were it not for a certain
Fernando Torres moving from Merseyside to west London for £50 million that
January.
The
money spent on acquiring the brilliant Aguero is but the tip of an iceberg, and
the fact that all the following signings have come in the past three years is
telling of the immense investment this team has received and why so many
feathers have been ruffled among the traditional football elite. Carlos Tevez
was purchased for around £25.5 million – although rumours continually circulate
stating the actual fee is approaching double this – whilst the erratic Mario
Balotelli and Edin Dzeko were purchased for £24.5 million and £27 million
respectively.
In
midfield, strength in depth has been purchased with the brilliant Yaya Toure –
the man who scored the goal that won City the FA Cup and may have scored the
two goals that win them the Premier League title – costing £24 million and
Spanish World Cup and European Championship winner David Silva came from
Valencia for an identical amount. James Milner eventually moved from the West
Midlands to the North West for £26 million, Samir Nasri turned down contract
offers from both Arsenal and United to sign for City last summer for a reported
£22 million, and midfield enforcers Nigel De Jong and Gareth Barry weren’t
exactly cheap either, costing a combined fee of approaching £30 million.
Whilst
it is said that strikers win you games, defenders win you championships, and
City have certainly not shied away from spending money in this vital area of
the pitch. Joleon Lescott eventually completed a protracted transfer from
Everton in 2009 for around £22 million, and Aleksander Kolarov moved to City a
year later for £17 million.
In
total, since Shiekh Mansour arrived in east Manchester, City have spent over
£480 million on transfer fees in little over four years, and I haven’t even
mentioned players like Craig Bellamy, Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz, Jo
and Wayne Bridge, players who came for sizable fees but were ultimately
considered surplus to requirements by Roberto Mancini as he tailored the City
squad to his specifications.
Whilst
it is clear Manchester City have spent an unprecedented amount in a relatively
short space of time, are they really any different than those who have gone
before them in the past 20 years of the Premier League’s existence?
At
present, four teams have won the Premier League in its two decades of drama and
excitement: Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal and Chelsea. If these
four clubs are looked at in the context of how they won their respective
Premier League titles, the notion of ‘buying’ the title, as City have been
accused of doing, is really not that different and can be equally applied to
each of these protagonists.
Manchester United:
1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2002-03,
2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11
If
we look at City’s fierce local rivals, Manchester United, the idea that the Red
Devils have not spent large sums of money to acquire players is simply
ludicrous. If we look at the United line-up for the last Manchester derby, we
see a team that is not exactly built on poverty or austerity. David De Gea, the
most expensive goalkeeper in British transfer history at £17 million, started
inbetween the sticks, just behind Rio Ferdinand, the most expensive ever
English centre-half at £29.1 million. Up front, the most expensive teenager in
history in the form of £27 million Wayne Rooney played as a lone striker whilst
Dimitar Berbatov, the most expensive player Sir Alex Ferguson has ever signed
at £30.75 million, was an unused substitute and will most likely depart Old
Trafford this summer for a fraction of the fee he was purchased for. In fact,
if the cost of the two starting-11 line-ups from last Monday are worked out, it
is United’s that actually comes out as being the marginally more expensive. So
much for City buying the league then.
Indeed,
United have consistently spent the big bucks throughout the entire history of
the Premier League over the past 20 years and before. They have broken the
British record transfer fee on three occasions in the past 20 years, spending
£7 million on Andy Cole in 1995, £28.1 million on Juan Sebastian Veron in 2001
and £29.1 million on Ferdinand in 2002. The bedrock of United’s first Premier
League success was built on spending big, having spent a combined fee of £6.75
million on Danny Wallace, Gary Pallister, Paul Ince, Mike Phelan and Neil Webb,
with a £1.5 million captain in Bryan Robson at the helm of the first Manchester
United title winning side for 26 years. Perhaps these aren’t fees which are
that high nowadays, but in the early to mid nineties, this represented serious
money.
Fast
forward to the present day, and although City have invested hugely in their
squad recently, United have done precisely the same over the past decade. Of
those who are no longer there who were bought for substantial fees – besides
Veron, Cole, Dwight Yorke, Fabian Barthez, and Henning Berg - £19 million was
spent on Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy, £13 million on French forward Louis
Saha and £17 million on injury plagued central midfielder Owen Hargreaves. In
the present day squad, there are plenty of acquisitions in and around the £15
million - £20 million price range, including Michael Carrick, Nani, Phil Jones,
Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Anderson amongst others.
Of
course, it must be said that United has a proud history of producing its own
players from the youth system. From the Cliff, Fergie’s Fledgling’s – or the
class of ’92, as some call them – truly memorable players were produced and
nurtured, including Gary Neville, Philip Neville, Nicky Butt, David Beckham,
Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, the latter duo of which are still on the books at
United. After that came players like Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher,
and Jonny Evans, whilst just this season has seen Tom Cleverley and the
promising Danny Welbeck make the step-up to the senior United squad. Whilst it
must be said that United have used their youth set-up to great effect, they
have still spent money in the transfer window when needed to, and have
certainly not been afraid to part with large sums of money to get the players
they have wanted. They may not have spent the same amount of money City have in
the past few seasons, but United have certainly spent not inconsiderable sums
on players over the past 20 years.
As
far as Blackburn Rovers are concerned, they have only won the Premier League
once, by a point from United in 1994-95 season under Kenny Dalglish, financed
by the millions of Jack Warner and his family. The summer of 1992 saw the start
of the revolution under Warner that culminated in Rovers winning their first
league title in 80 years.
As
magnificent an achievement as this was, it was not exactly done on a shoestring
budget, and many of the players Warner bought for Blackburn went on to have
highly distinguished careers for many years in the Premier League. Players who
came into the Lancashire club in the inaugural season of the Premier League
include Kevin Gallacher for £1.5 million, winger Stuart Ripley for £1.3 million
– who was briefly their record signing – and of course, the man who would go
onto to become the all-time record goal scorer in the Premier League, Alan
Shearer. At £3.5 million – in 1992 – he became Blackburn’s record signing and
was indeed a record for a transfer deal between English clubs at the time.
The
following season saw further investment in players that became the spine of the
Premier League Blackburn winning side. It included £2.4 million goalkeeper Tim
Flowers, £2.75 million David Batty in midfield, Paul Warhurst endured an
injury-hit time in Lancashire but still cost £2.7 million, and the club
transfer record was broken once more with Chris Sutton costing £5 million from
Norwich City, forming a brilliant strike partnership with Alan Shearer, one
that was fundamental to the league triumph in the 1994-95 season.
Blackburn
were recently relegated from the Premier League amid a tirade of fury from
their supporters over the controversial Venky’s ownership of the club they hold
so dearly in their hearts and minds, but nearly two decades ago, they were at
the summit of the English top flight, thanks to the money of Jack Warner and
his family.
Moving
down south, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has often been lauded during his 15
year tenure in the English game for his ability to produce fantastic football
on a budget and, until seven long years ago, his relatively modest ventures
into the transfer market were enough to win trophies at Arsenal.
But
people forget that upon arriving at Highbury in 1996, Wenger spent almost £20
million on Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira, a budget that I’m
sure many clubs in the Premier League would relish nowadays. Imagine what David
Moyes could do with Everton if Bill Kenwright offered him a £20 million
transfer kitty this summer?
Whilst
Wenger has done extremely well given what he has spent during his time at
Arsenal – he is comfortably the best manager they have ever had – he has spent
money when needed to and the names he has brought in have not exactly been for
a shoestring. The great Thierry Henry initially looked to be a ropey buy at
£11.5 million, before becoming the greatest foreign centre-forward the English
game has ever seen. Besides this, Arsenal have spent money on what have
eventually turned out to be flops in the form of Sylvain Wiltord and Jose
Antonio Reyes at £13 million each, whilst Arsenal’s record signing, Andrei
Arshavin, whose career at the North London club now looks to be over after a
series of exasperating performances this season and is currently on loan at
Zenit St Petersburg, came for a hefty £15 million.
Moreover,
a man who indeed left Arsenal for the riches at Manchester City, Samir Nasri,
initially went to the Emirates in a deal worth almost £16 million, a few
summers after Aleksander Hleb joined the North London club for nearly £12
million. In recent times too, the Gunners have indeed spent money that many
clubs in the Premier League can but look on in envy at, including £12 million a
piece for English duo Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. They have also
spent £10 million a piece for the following players; Per Mertesacker, Laurent
Koscielny, Thomas Vermaelen, Mikel Arteta and Gervinho. In addition to this, it
is expected that Wenger will once again strengthen his squad this summer and
names such as Rennes defensive midfielder Yann M’Vila is rumoured to be on the
Arsenal radar, costing £17.7 million and would become Arsenal’s record signing
if it occurs.
As
much as the latter named players have not won the Premier League – not even
close to it – the above evidence dispels the myth that Arsenal have not spent
money in their quest for glory. Wenger has previously spent big money in the
transfer market, perhaps not on the scale of either the Manchester clubs or
London rivals Chelsea, but they have nonetheless spent money that would indeed
be the envy of many clubs in the Premier League nowadays.
Finally,
we come to Chelsea, indeed the club that started the modern trend of rich
owners coming into the English game and splashing the cash at a particular
club. Roman Abramovich has been merciless and unwavering in his egotistical
quest for glory with the west London club, clamouring for nearly a decade to
win the Champions League, and this is reflected in the vast amounts of money he
has spent in bringing some of the best players in the world to Stamford
Bridge.
Upon
buying Chelsea in 2003, Abramovich embarked on a Real Madrid galactico-esque
spending policy which had never been seen before in the English game. That very
summer, Chelsea spent nearly £100 million on player transfers, including £16.8
million for Adrian Mutu, £15 million on Manchester United flop Juan Sebastian
Veron, £16.8 million on Argentine striker Hernan Crespo, £16.6 million on
defensive midfielder Claude Makelele and £17 million on winger Damien Duff,
amongst others.
The
following summer, when Jose Mourinho replaced Claudio Ranieri as manager, the
Portuguese accepted Abramovich’s riches with great relish as he won Chelsea’s
first league title for 50 years. In Mourinho’s first season, he raided former
club FC Porto for the services of Portuguese pair Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo
Carvalho for over £30 million, spent £12 million on young Dutch winger Arjen
Robben, £10 million on Scott Parker and £24 million on Ivory Coast
centre-forward, Didier Drogba. The following summer, Mourinho continued with
his project backed with the finances of Abramovich by spending £21 million on
winger Shaun Wright-Phillips and £24 million on Ghana midfielder Michael
Essien. It has been under Abramovich that Chelsea have twice broken the British
transfer record, first by spending £30 million on Ukrainian striker Andrey
Shevchenko in 2006, and then secondly by spending £50 million on Fernando
Torres. Neither have proven to be great hits in west London.
Besides
all these exorbitant sums, I could mention many others who Roman has got his
chequebook out for in recent years. Jose Bosingwa cost nearly £17 million in
2008, Russian Yuri Zhirkov cost £18 million in 2009, Ramires cost an identical
amount in 2010, whilst the much criticised David Luiz was overshadowed by the
arrival of Torres in January 2011, but he still cost nearly £25 million. Last
summer, new boss Andre Villas-Boas began his doomed reign as Chelsea boss by
signing, amongst others, Juan Mata for £24 million and young Belgian Romelu
Lukaku for nearly £20 million.
Therefore
as can clearly be seen in this extensive piece, every club that has won the
Premier League has done so by spending money. Some clubs have taken it to the
extreme (in the form of Chelsea and, potentially, Manchester City), some have
always splashed the cash (Manchester United), some have done so intermittently
(Arsenal) and others have seized their moment when it afforded itself to them
(Blackburn Rovers). Make no mistake about it, every club that has won the
Premier League has spent money to varying degrees and, in this respect,
Manchester City are no different than those clubs that have preceded them. Fans
of those clubs who have won England’s top prize in its most recent guise may
wish to look at their own teams financial outlay when they have previously
triumphed before criticising the men at the Etihad stadium too much.
By John McDougall
Story: http://goo.gl/0k2ho
