Ok look, I know I keep having digs at City and I’m in danger of bordering on the obsessive but if they’re going to make it so bloody easy then I’m not going to make any apologies for it.
We know City have spent £130million this summer and Sir Alex Ferguson has labeled it “kamikaze” spending. Now before you all start jumping up and down with indignance and pointing the finger, I’m not about to have a go just because City have spent money – god knows Chelsea spent plenty when Roman arrived – no, what stood out for me was Brian Marwood’s defence of that spending.
Firstly, City’s football administrator says “There are a lot of things that people are misinformed about without knowing the true facts. We try to educate people about what is happening here, but it’s become laughable some of the comments that have been made about the club. People working here know what is going on, they know the direction we are heading and I’m confident we will reach those goals. The manager is consulted on every step and he wants to take us to the next level. We have fast-tracked the investment. Maybe what would normally take five or ten years we have done much sooner.”
And he’s not kidding there, because Roman Abramovich has been at Chelsea 7 years now and although his initial spending was pretty ridiculous, I was reading a comparison of us and City through the Premier League years the other day and even I was surprised to read that thanks to the Sheikhs, should City dip into the January window as well, they’re pretty likely to surpass Chelsea’s spending.
Anyway, like I said, I’m not about to start throwing stones from a greenhouse here and that wasn’t what stood out from Marwood’s interview anyway because he goes on “Nobody has ever condemned Manchester United or Chelsea when they’ve spent money in the past, because they have brought in quality. We think we’ve brought in quality to take us to the next level. We’re extremely fortunate that we have the owners to invest their time and money into the club. We’ve done it to make it sustainable now and for the future.”
And that’s the bit that had me sit reading not knowing whether to piss myself laughing or put the cat out with the rubbish. I mean, is this bloke sure? We’ve never been condemned for spending money? Has he been living in a cave for the past seven years or what?
And this is the bit City need to get their heads around and get used to because from the minute Roman Abramovich arrived at Chelsea, irrespective of what we’ve won, we’ve been begrudged it because of what we’ve spent. In fact, whether it’s been successive Premier League titles under Mourinho, Fa Cup’s or even last season’s double, to most outside of Chelsea, we haven’t had the credibility to actually deserve any of it.
Our players are mercenaries just there for the pay, no matter how many years they’ve been around. We’re rent boys and our supporters are all glory hunters, repeatedly told we weren’t there when Chelsea were shit. And whether Roman spends or not now, we remain on the defensive trying to convince everyone else we’re not buying silverware anymore, we’re earning it.
So Mr Marwood needs to wake up to the world City are living in now because whilst money can go a long way when it comes to success, being happy about everything that goes with it isn’t guaranteed.
Blue is the colour
