The prodigal son returns

The season is barely two weeks old, yet already City are being subjected to an inordinate amount of media coverage. If you were to believe everything you read in the press then City would be facing financial meltdown, our entire first team squad would be available for transfer, and our new manager would be on the verge of walking away from the club after less than three months in charge. And you'd be an idiot. Because they're just making this shit up as they go along. They know no more than me or you. Depressingly, the broadsheets are as guilty as the tabloids.

Some City fans are convinced that every faction of the media have a conspiracy against the club, to the extent that if we don't feature first on Match of the Day then the BBC have an agenda against us. I don't buy into such paranoid nonsense. Although they are all out to get us, obviously.

It'd be naive not to think that something is amiss at City. Our chairman is a bona fide international fugitive, after all. And the Vedran Corluka and Stephen Ireland sagas, where it appeared that both players were close to being sold without the manager's consent, hardly inspire confidence. Yet at the same time we've been more active in the transfer market than most this season. Do we have any money or not?! It's hard to know what to believe any more. The lines between reality and fiction are becoming increasingly blurred.

Incidentally, the proposed sales of Corluka and 'Mad Dog' Ireland, and Hughes' subsequent vetoing of the deals, has earned the manager much praise amongst City fans and has seen his stock rise considerably. To the extent that I now refer to him by his preferred name, rather than making juvenile jokes about his real name. I still refuse to call him Sparky though, on principle.

Garry Cook, meanwhile, seems to be a one man walking good cop/bad cop show. On the one hand he talks jovially about going for a beer with Hughes to discuss strategy, whilst at the same time conducting a series of interviews seemingly intent on undermining his manager. I'm not quite sure what to make of Cook. He's an enigma. It's hard not to be taken in by his infectious enthusiasm and grand designs, but his vision of a 14 club Premiership with no relegation or promotion, along with his desire for an overpaid, overweight big name signing, have left many fans perplexed. For someone who is supposedly a PR guru, he's doing a pretty good job of alienating his core target audience at times.

To his credit, he has delivered on the transfer front. The signing of the excellent Vincent Kompany represented a major coup for City, as he was highly sought after and is one of the brightest young talents in the game. According to Championship Manager, anyway, and that'll do for me. In addition, we've signed an £18m Brazilian forward (although rumours suggest we got him on 'tick'), whilst Tal Ben Haim and Shaun Wright-Phillips have arrived from our feeder club Chelsea.

The arrival of the latter, in particular, has generated much excitement amongst City fans. The prodigal son has returned to his spiritual home. Cook and Shinawatra seem obsessed with the idea of making a big name signing in order to fill the stadium, making "come and get me" eyes at Ronaldinho and Ronaldo (the real one) when the answer lay closer to home. And counting in at a whopping 19 letters, he certainly fulfills the criteria of a big name signing.

Symbolically, this is a hugely significant deal for City fans. His sale in 2005 represented the demise of the club (although paradoxically it saved us financially), whilst this represents the rebirth of the club, of sorts. The old football adage states that you should never go back, but re-signing a 26 year old England international for £13m less than we sold him for is good business. I like to think he was deliberately rubbish at Chelsea for three years, in order to lower his value sufficiently for us to bring him back. He knew what he was doing.

Some cynics suggest that the signing, coming as it does on the 28th day of the eighth month of the eighth year of the new millenium, for eight million pounds in a deal worth eighty thousand pounds a week, was a marketing ploy to convince the lucrative Chinese market that we're a lucky team. Little do they know, but now that Sun Jihai's gone we had to do something.

It hasn't all gone to plan in the transfer market, of course. We missed out on Mikael Silvestre after all, much to the consternation of, um, no City fans whatsoever. You'd think Silvestre himself would be happy at securing a move to Arsenal, so why the long face Mikael? Arf.

It would appear that the spending spree isn't over yet either, as the press continue to link us to the South American trio of Diego Milito, Pablo Zabaleta and Thiago Neves. No doubt I'll wear my index finger down to a tiny stump as I frantically hit the F5 refresh key between now and September 1st, like some Pavlovian idiot. If I do it enough, something will happen, right? As mentioned in a previous column, I'm a transfer gossip junkie but I'm not sure why I bother. Everything is the press is fabricated nonsense, after all.

Ric Turner
www.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk

Comments

[Sam]

Well even though im sure you didnt mean it that way, im going to go ahead and demean you anyway.
Your 'feeder club' thrashed you last year by a margain of 6, now whats really going on is that you and the rest of the league are taking Chelsea's unwanted left overs. Even though CFC's left overs might have more talent than your whole squad that doesnt really take the stigma of not being good enough does it?
To be hoenst they were both bad deals, and if city keep buying the kinds of players they are im pretty sure big T is going to get fed up, sell up to americans who would make the city of manchester stadium a dog park. Not saying that theyre not already playing like ones to be hoenst

[Aaron Greaves]

Great post, finally someone can joke about city in a way which suits hardcore supporters. quick question, the number 10 shirt, saving for a striker? saving for the real Ronny? Just because Rolo's gone?

[Chapman]

Excellent article and one which makes you know why you are a blue.Even better news to come I suspect when the real Le Sulk - step forward bertatov signs for manutd.If ever there was a match made in heaven this is it.In fact he will make Camel Gob,Scholes,Neville etc look like Alan Carr on speed.Come on you Blues!!

[Phil]

Nice one Ric - it's been a while since i read anything positive/humorous about Man City whilst containing a good deal of common sense.
Looking forward to a good season

[Chris Thorpe]

I really enjoyed this article Ric Turner - great style. Let's hope Phillips can play the same dribbling, long distance shooting game that was absolutely outstanding some seasons back.

[Chris Thorpe]

I really enjoyed this article Ric Turner - great style. Let's hope Phillips can play the same dribbling, long distance shooting game that was absolutely outstanding some seasons back.

[sev]

i think this season is shaping up extraordinarily well for all the negative publicity. hughes has been able to shore up a solid defense, midfield and what should be a very formidable front line when ben returns or when jo and sturridge find a way to co-exist... last year i dreaded every week that someone would take a bad step and be out for a month, but so far with the starting midfield's form and the excess of good defenders for the first time in years, i can truly say i think we stand a chance of cracking the top 5.

[ragsarerealbitters]

every thing in the garden looks rosy- the nations media will have to pick on migrant workers again instead of comparing thaksin to hitler or stalin until at least sunday , oh dear ;- perhaps they will look into the man united fixed draw conspiracy from today instead (i was half expecting droylsden to be in their group )