Will Man City continue their spending?

July 31, 2009

How long is the spending spree at Manchester City going to last and what implications will it have, asks Phakamisa Ndzamela.

City’s new owner Sheikh Mansour stands among men with the biggest war chests in England.

They have spent millions signing players like Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz, Gareth Barry, Kolo Toure. The list goes on and the spending does not stop.

In a clear sign that purse strings are still loose, Everton rejected an improved 18 million pounds offer from City for defender Joleon Lescott, having turned down a 15 million bid two weeks ago.

For now the only thing that can stop the spending is when the transfer window closes next month.

Then what? Can the flurry of signings yield immediate results or will manager Mark Hughes be looking over his shoulder again after a lacklustre season?

PHOTO: Manchester City’s new signing Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz (L) shakes hands after a news conference at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi July 16, 2009. REUTERS/Mosab Omar

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Tags: abu dhabi, carlos tevez, CITY, emirates palace hotel, emirates palace hotel in abu dhabi, emmanuel adebayor, England, everton, Gareth Barry, kolo toure, man city, manchester city, Mark Hughes, news conference, Omar, purse strings, reuters, roque santa cruz, santa cruz, season photo, spending spree, war chests

Playoffs are the answer to spice up boring leagues

June 4, 2009

Forget about the 39th game. What about English Premier League playoffs to spice up the world’s most popular league and stop it becoming a boring four-horse race?

After watching the recent playoffs in the English lower leagues and witnessing the excitement surrounding the recent two-legged title decider in Belgium where I ply my trade, I reckon playoffs are the way forward for the top leagues, if not now, then possibly in the future.

Everybody loves the cup tie atmosphere, a nail-biting finale and a do or die decider.

But with the growth of the Premier League and top divisions in other countries, such as Spain and Italy, along with the popularity of the UEFA Champions League, the exhilaration of soccer seems to be dwindling.

Soccer’s governing bodies have admitted there is a real threat that the beautiful game is becoming boring.

My solution for the Premier League would be to have a four-team playoff for the title similar to that used in the Netherlands which proved successful.

This would prevent boredom should Manchester United run away with the title with a few games still to go. At the same time finishing fourth would have an added incentive for those teams battling to break into that coveted Champions League spot.

Breaking into the top four is hard enough for the likes of Everton or Aston Villa, but what about getting there and having a real chance of winning the title?

The ecstasy and heartbreak of Newcastle, Middlesborough, Sunderland and Hull on the final day shows a playoff at the bottom similar to those in the lower divisions is also more exciting than watching a club limp out of the top division weeks before the end of the season.

PHOTO: Burnley players celebrate after their English Championship playoff final victory over Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium in London May 25, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

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Tags: added incentive, aston villa, beautiful game, burnley, cup tie, decider, English Premier League, exhilaration, final victory, governing bodies, heartbreak, horse race, Italy, league playoffs, london, Manchester, manchester united, middlesborough, NEWCASTLE, Nigel Roddis, season photo, sheffield united, Spain, Sunderland, the Netherlands, UEFA Champions League, wembley stadium, winning the title

Real’s Ramos unlikely to stay despite successful spell

March 18, 2009

Quite a few sceptical eyebrows were raised when Real Madrid gave Bernd Schuster the boot back in December and brought in Juande Ramos.

After an impressive spell at Sevilla, Ramos had faltered badly at Tottenham and it seemed the Real board were taking a big gamble in bringing him back to Spain with a contract until the end of the season.

When the affable La Manchan took charge, 100 days ago today, the champions had lost two on the trot and were down in fifth place, nine points behind leaders Barcelona.

Although his first league match ended in a 2-0 defeat at the Nou Camp, Real subsequently went on a 10-match winning run that ended on March 7 with the 1-1 home draw to city rivals Atletico.

Barca’s recent wobble has seen their lead cut from 12 points to six and Real fans are not giving up hope of a third consecutive Primera Liga title.

So has Ramos done enough to convince the men in suits that he should stay on next season?

Domestic success is all very well but what the club really craves is another Champions League triumph after a barren period stretching back to 2002.

The drubbing Real received at the hands of Liverpool will not have done his chances of remaining much good.

It also looks more and more likely that Florentino Perez will mount a successful comeback as club president. The architect of Real’s “Galacticos” policy has been linked in the media with coaches including Arsene Wenger of Arsenal and AC Milan’s Carlo Ancelotti.

Ramos has done a lot of good at Real, particularly tightening up the defence and getting the best out of the increasingly impressive Lassana Diarra, but he’ll probably be plying his trade elsewhere come next season.

PHOTO: Real Madrid coach Juande Ramos attends a news conference before a training session at Anfield in Liverpool March 9, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

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