Will City’s splurge mend their woes?
Have we reached the peak of madness?
You’d think it would be pointless to further deride a period traditionally dubbed “silly season” but, oh boy, there are some out there determined to add psychological superlatives to the transfer window.
We relish this time, the ridiculous gossip and unfathomable rumours included. Don’t lie: yes, you do!
And there has been no shortage of morsels to feast on. But, like any feast, there comes a point when you realise that you can’t stomach any more in good conscience. Steady satisfaction prevails, overpowering the urge to be gluttonous. We are on the verge of that point now.
Much of the blame for our indulgence must fall squarely on the shoulders of Manchester City. Doing their nouveau riche image no favours, the club has splashed out more cash than Richie Rich would in a gentlemen’s club on his 18th birthday.
The club has spent more than £200-million (R3.4-trillion) so far on new acquisitions — in and of itself an amount that would surprise no one.
However, this becomes positively scary when we consider few factors. First of all, they’re far from finished. You don’t need to be Gary Neville to identify that they were severely lacking in various quarters last time around, chief among those being a rather porous defence.
Which brings us to the next factor: City have overcompensated rather hard on this flaccid backline.
The football world has watched, jaws agape, as the Sky Blues have brought in wingbacks Kyle Walker for £50-million, Benjamin Mendy for £52-million and Danilo as cover for £26-million. Add in goalkeeper Ederson and it becomes apparent that the club has spent more on defence than a small country does. Obscene is the word that comes to mind.
The lavish prices are all of their own making, too. Pablo Zabaleta, Gaël Clichy and Bacary Sagna have clearly been on their way down from top-level football for a while, but the Citizens stubbornly decided to ignore it. Now, they are literally paying the price.
In the eyes of Monaco and Tottenham Hotspurs, City were so desperate to plug
their weaknesses that cost was obliterated as an obstacle. They could now extort their customers in broad daylight.
Such has been the spending that the Fifa Fair Play regulations have begun to seem as useful as ornaments hanging on a Christmas tree. City have identified a problem and will throw money at it to solve it. End of story. But that’s not to say that this gold-brick road will not lead to glory. We may scoff at the price tags being thrown around, but in the end Pep Guardiola will likely have the best squad west of the English Channel.
Even before we begin to contemplate what superstars could be next on the hit list, City’s signings, although not shrewd, are potentially potent. The cash splurged on the wingbacks in particular highlights one of the more interesting positional developments in the Premier League.
It’s hard to believe that, pre-Ashley Cole, the defenders to the left and right of the centrebacks were primarily there to supplement the centrebacks, with forays past the halfway line a rarity.
Fast forward to today, and the increasingly popular wingback has arguably the most responsibility on the pitch. Expected to support the forwards in any given attack and to stretch the opposition across the pitch, they’re still relied on to drop back when the team is under the cosh.
Last term, Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso formed integral cogs in Chelsea’s march to the title. Forcing the opposition out wide while simultaneously providing security at the back allowed Eden Hazard and company the freedom to dazzle up front and impose their mercurial ability.
Likewise, in Walker and Mendy, City potentially have the missing jigsaw piece to remedy the uninspired run-outs that have been too prevalent in their recent game. The former has become one of the best rightbacks in the game and will make an asset of himself right away. Like any new arrival, Mendy faces the added challenge of having to adapt to the pace of the Prem but given his immense talent, there’s little reason to believe he won’t excel.
City stand on the precipice of domination. Brimming with talent, the mega-rich club still has a mighty war chest to plug any remaining holes as they become apparent.
How Guardiola ties the whole system together will be the determining factor in whether this has been money well spent. One thing is clear, though: a new era of spending is on us. And that’s saying something in a league that’s already been dominated by oligarchs.