Manchester City News 24/7Writer: Johnny Baguette 
Date:Saturday July 4 2009
Time: 10:01PM
UK time is: 05:09:40
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Harry Concedes To The City Contenders
Bob Cass at The Mail has given us another reminder of the shockwaves MCFC are sending through football right now as Harry Redknapp declares The Blues have blown Spurs out of the water...
It's not the first time that Redknapp has bemoaned City's impact this year as Mark Hughes steadily strengthens his squad.
'I'm looking to strengthen the squad and we've made inquiries for some good players. But it's very difficult. City have blown us out of the water.'
Redknapp confirmed that Spurs were in for Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry but could not compete with City across the board.
To hear Harry concede to City's superiority in the transfer market over the likes of Spurs only adds to the utterly surreal experience of being a Manchester City supporter this past ten months.
Go back only two years, nevermind ten years to the days when City's rearguard actions led by Richard Dunne and Sylvain Distin repeatedly repelled waves of attacks that threatened to see The Blues relegated, and you have to pinch yourself to accept what is going on.
Right now, City's stealth bomber approach in the transfer market continues, the cover only having been blown by Silvio Berlusconi, Joan Laporta and Peter Kenyon to date as The Blues hierarchy almost mischeviously declare their intent to rock the G14 elite club's yacht.
They don't like it up 'em.
We expected surprises this summer and there may very well be more to come but already few would disagree that a far stronger City side to the one that faired so erratically last season will be taking the field at Ewood Park next month.
Many Blues feel City's UEFA bonus that turned into a gruelling league form destabiliser this year came a season too soon so an upcoming campaign focused entirely on domestic competition clearly makes City very real contenders.
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Your Comments
Sniff, sniff ...can somebody pass the hanky please .....
Doody
Its a Good, Good Club!!!
mcfcthriller
Yes its a funny old game.... Seeing you guys march to the top will be surreal, see you on the otherside i suppose lol. Our time will come again but we will need our 60,000 seat bad boy to compete. Surely you boys are gonna come top 4 this year?
HuddersfieldYiddo
There's gonna be a lot of disappointed people if we don't, Yiddo...
BlueWolfie
Only top 4 if we complete the tevez and eto'o deals with the addition of a couple of defenders. We shall see how it pans out over the coming weeks but we are expecting big things.
eighthsin
I posted this on the Daily Mail as a reaction to the Redknapp article, no doubt it will get blocked lol:
Redknapp, what a jealous hypocrite! When he managed Portsmouth (a backwater club with less than 20,000 fans when our gates were 45,000) they were constantly poaching our players offering impossibly high salaries (that we now see their owner could not afford). City had too much class to whine about that in the press. Our owner can afford whatever we pay; we now represent the pride and prestige of Abu Dhabi and the City of Manchester. We pay all transfers upfront without debt money.
As for Tottenham, they have spent more money than Arsenal never mind City over the years, with the aid of their billionaire owner Joe Lewis. Salaries aside, as if Barry or Santa Cruz would even consider Spurs as an option against the ambitious plans of Sheikh Mansour. He will be saying Spurs were in for Tevez and Eto'o next.
You should all be grateful; City is the only club attempting to bring in world class talent to the EPL. Without stars, do you really think the tv deal will be as generous next time?
City Girl
This hang-dog cock sucker always has something uninteresting to say. Usually to throw off the scent of another upcoming whiff of scandal.
RobsonGreensleeves
Hey! How did c**k get through the filter? Has it been downgraded?!
RobsonGreensleeves
You had better hope like ***** that your manager gets it right or you will be looking for a new one pretty soon and all these big ticket players will be asking themselves what the ***** have I done.
TeddyLyon
You have supported City for 30 years. You have bought a ticket for every game, home and away. You travel by train to every gasme, up and down the country at considerable expense. Or you drive and buy petrol. You've bought hundreds of programmes, replica kits, scarves... countless pre-match meals and beers, maybe you've even paid for kids to come to many of the games.
Thousands of pounds. But you know what? ALL OF IT does not even pay ONE DAY of the salary City plans to pay John Terry. That's right, your entire life supporting City and every hard-earned penny you've spent on the Blues does not equal one day of Terry's projected 300,000 weekly salary. Fact.
When you watch him play, just remember how long and hard you've had to support the club to see 90 minutes of his play. Then tell us if it was worth it. Sad.
Sir Cecil
Steady maths there, Sir Cecil of Chelsea and that'll be the £300 grand The Sun have reported, right? So. £300 times 52 = £15,600,000. Divided by 365 = £42, 739. You're spot on. Long serving Blues like myself are in surreal territory here. I can flashback to standing one night at Stamford Bridge seeing us beat Chelsea 4-2 in the early 90's. City and Chelsea would have been on roughly level ground back then. But I don't get "this tell us if it was worth it" or how "sad" it is when I consider the tidal wave of money Chelsea have paid out in wages since. What's to moralise over?
Johnny Baguette
Well, if people can derive pleasure out of watching someone play football for for around 300,000 per game, that's their business. I consider the 135,000 or whatever Chelsea pays Terry to be ludicrous, but 300,000 is in obscene territory.
This isn't a Kaka or even a Robinho. It's an injury-ravaged, slowing stopper we're talking about. Manchester City could buy any number of young, quality centre backs for a quarter of that, but the owners simply seek publicity. They want headlines. Whether or not Kaka or Terry join the club, our arab friends will feel they've got the media spotlight they crave. I hope all this cash is a gift to City, and not a loan!
And as for comparisons with Chelsea, there is none. When Abramovich bought Chelsea, he had a 500m budget. He could have spent it6 all on a "ready made" team. Or, he could spend half that and use the other half for player acquisitions. He chose the latter. Since that initial outlay was used up, Chelsea has spent far less than Man U, Spurs, Liverpool and others. That's a fact. Last season, even West Brom spent a net amount more than Chelsea. Abramovich isn't crazy and at least has some discipline.
City's case is different. Their approach is no different to a sheik building a new palace for every one of his wives. Only difference is a football team can have more players than a sheik has wives. It's not just indulgence. It's horrible and nauseating.
Sir Cecil
Sir Cecil, I got up to "even a Robinho" then lost the will to live. Hope you're not this boring "at home". Windbag.
RobsonGreensleeves
Well with the rags, the "brilliant" Ronaldo transformed into "never liked diver" over night. Now we have "Mr. Chelsea" referred to as "an injury-ravaged, slowing stopper" and he hasn't even left the oligarch's club. Come off it, mate. Trying to portray what has happened at an already top four established Chelsea before the Russian millions came in as in some way morally superior to Sheikh Mansour's takeover of City is ridiculous. You've bought right into the Sun hacks £300 grand as easily as all the saps who bought into that Berlsuconi announced £100 million fee. liddle ciddy are in the exact same "horrible, nauseating" and "obscene territory" Chelsea have been operating in for years. What City are doing right now is taking the p and the big four don't like it.
Johnny Baguette
So is not obscene paying an unproven injury plagued striker called Danny 60+ k a week? I really don't understand how Chelsea can have a go at us because of the money.... you spent over £300 million in just over 2 seasons. That was worth more than it is now too with the prices and exchange rates what they are.
MCFC_Goatboy
City Girl,City have money,that's it for the moment.You have achieved nothing yet,don't get ahead of yourself.
CoxintheBox
Sir Cecil: you are too bogged down with the price of things rather than the value. Let me give you an analogy. If a women pays £500 for a pair of sexy Jimmy Choo shoes, does she show them her partner in the box with the reciept or does she show them when she's wearing them in the boudoir where the price will not be debated? Such is life. In the unlikely event Terry signs and helps brings success to our club, we will not give a moments thought to his salary. I only know my season ticket is virtually the same price to watch Benjani and Dunne as it will be to watch Robinho, Tevez and possibly, Eto'o and Terry. Now that is value for money and not in the least nauseating!
City Girl
City Girl - Fancy a job at Vital Man City? I love your comments (quick look - nope the wife's not looking) and I think i'm falling in love with......
Tudor
Tudor, you are funny lol.
City Girl
Sir Cecil. You don't like it do you. Although your description of Shevchenko was pretty good, but he is a forward not a stopper.
Amazing how Barry has become a slow, fat, greedy, overrated midfielder, Terry a slow, injury ravaged, greedy, overrated defender, Tevez an all-action-but-no-end-product, greedy, overrated forward, Lescott another slow, injury ravaged, greedy, overrated defender and Santa Cruz, another can-only-head-the-ball, slow, injury ravaged centre forward. Yet it is our fans who are described as deluded. Nothing like a football fan scorned.
EddieBell
Hey! How did c**k get through the filter? Has it been downgraded?!
RobsonGreensleeves
The filter is a truth filter. It therefore sailed through the test in the original post.
EddieBell
Great arti9cle and right on the button. Equally Harry is right on the button and whatever you say about him he is no fool ... look what money Pompey have been able to cash in on since he left. We have every chance to do well next year and have to stay behind the team and say positive and want/expect a top 4 finish. Why not we have the buying power and that is a pre-requisite for having a chance of suscess ... no it doesn't guarentee success but it isn't half helpful!!
Wswilly3
What surprises me about Harry is that he is going in for Dunney rather than go for Distin, who he stole off us while he was with pompey. Does he rate Dunney higher than Distin?
Buzz Lightyear
Tudor its just the thought of Citygirl wearing the Jimmy Choo shoes in the bedroom. admit it.
Buzz Lightyear
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