Manchester City Too Early For Top Four Ambitions

The arrival of oil money has brought about a sea change at Eastlands or rather Middle-East lands. On Saturday, Manchester City fans turned out in record numbers, most were decked in Robinho T-shirts and Arab head-dresses in anticipation of a rollicking time against Chelsea.

There were barely whimpers of protest that a traditional English club fell into the hands of oil sheiks; in fact, most fans were smitten by the wealth of Abu Dhabi royal family… their finest hour of football success is nigh.

Roman Abramovich is also coming to grips with the fact that his money is no longer the decisive factor in luring football superstars. For years, Abramovich reveled in the fantasy football game by making record signings with an unlimited transfer budget but now, he has to contend with participants who are even more liberal with their money.

Despite courting Robinho aggressively, the Brazilian snubbed Chelsea and Abramovich when the Arabs dangled a fatter carrot in front of him. Nevertheless, when the bruised ego is cast aside, at least Abramovich is enjoying the last laugh… for now.

After viewing the mind-boggling zeros in the check and trading hyperboles, it was the same old Manchester City when the battle lines were drawn. Chelsea emerged victorious by hammering 3 goals past City defenses and it was a convincing display despite falling behind to an early goal.

As if the gulf in footballing standards needs to be emphasized, Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari took time out to impress on his Premier League rivals that his team is just warming up. Certain key players (Michael Essien and Michael Ballack) were missing in action and he has yet to pick a settled first XI.

This is indeed a fearful prospect that Chelsea, sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table (six points ahead of reigning champions Manchester United who lost 2-1 to bitter rivals Liverpool) can play much better once they adapted to Scolari’s football philosophy and have a fully fit squad.

In this match, I was particularly interested in Robinho. Was he worth the whopping 32.5 million pounds of transfer fees and the preferential treatment of a private jet? And how long should Mark Hughes indulge this over-hyped Brazilian before showing his disciplinarian side?

To his credit, the fleet-footed Brazilian took only 13 minutes to impress all and sundry as he whipped a free-kick over the Chelsea wall and past Petr Cech. The stadium erupted in wild celebration and City looked to be on their way.

However, City’s happiness was short-lived. In the space of three minutes, the lead was erased when John Terry’s header deflected to Carvalho who thundered home with aplomb. City may have lost part of their English identity but they retain their joker character by throwing away advantages with slack defending. This led Mark Hughes to lament: “If we could have stayed in front for just 10 or 15 minutes it would have helped…”

The scoreline could have been more embarrassing if not for Chelsea’s profligate finishing. Florent Malouda headed against the bar when unchallenged in front of goal and put a second opportunity just wide. In the dying seconds of the first half, City were again spared the blushes when Nicolas Anelka missed from an open goal.

Chelsea hardly looked flustered as they knew it was just a matter of tightening the noose on their captive. Manchester City, for all their ambitions, were given a harsh football lesson by a relentless Chelsea.

Frank Lampard put the Blues ahead on 53 minutes with a fine strike after an incisive pass from Malouda. The game was over when Anelka scored the third goal and Terry’s dismissal for a professional professional foul on Jo proved immaterial.

Besides the first goal, there is nothing lyrical to wax about Robinho. His passes went astray and he added to City’s woes by losing possession easily with flamboyant dribbling. The greatest joke was when Robinho completed four step-overs and then passed straight to Ashley Cole.

To seek positives in Robinho’s abysmal control of the ball, I can only say that he met his team mates on Friday and he is tired from playing for Brazil on Thursday morning. After assimilating into the City setup, we should expect more of the Brazilian.

Mark Hughes was clearly resigned to this defeat, saying: “People have got a little ahead of themselves but we know the level we are at. We are still a very young team and it is not going to happen overnight. You saw a team in Chelsea who know exactly what they are trying to do and that is a consequence of playing and winning together consistently for the last five years.”

Hughes is right that Manchester City have got ahead of themselves and should temper their ambitions. Money alone cannot buy titles, you need a fair element of luck and managerial abilities.

Throughout the week, we heard about City’s plans to become a dominant force in European and domestic football. And to do so, they will spare no expenses to assemble a star-studded championship team which includes Cristiano Ronaldo. No wonder Sir Alex Ferguson was pissed off and dismissed them as nothing but hot air.

However, Mark Hughes is wrong if he thinks he is going to get five years in office. Looking at the case of Chelsea, the manner in which Roman Abramovich splurged his money shows a certain method to his madness.

In less than two years, the backwater Chelsea was established as one of the major title contenders in the Premier League and Champions League. Abramovich was quick to dismiss Claudio Ranieri and appoint Jose Mourinho who had just completed a prestigious Treble with Porto.

Ranieri set the framework for success by buying several exciting players – Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Peter Cech, Joe Cole, Damien Duff, Arjen Robben, Glen Johnson, Wayne Bridge, Geremi, Hernan Crespo, Eidur Gudjohnsen and William Gallas. But it is Jose Mourinho who gets the acclaim for winning the trophies.

Of course, the latter did his fair share of rebuilding by purchasing a mixed bag of flops and winners such as Paulo Fereira, Ricardo Carvalho, Assier Del Horno, Tiago, Michael Essien, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Didier Drogba and Mateja Kezman.

Too often, Ranieri’s role at Chelsea has been belittled unfairly. His last season was trying, and that is an understatement. He added to the sense of dread by proclaiming himself as a “dead man walking” as the club made it clear they would be getting a new coach at the end of the season, without actually sacking him.

Under such circumstances, the Italian turned in a credible report card by leading Chelsea to second in the Premier League and the semi-finals of the Champions League before Mourinho came in to finish the job. And just to complete the story, Jose Mourinho’s fantastic achievements cannot even guarantee his own survival as he was eventually removed under a combination of player politics and stepping on the toes of Abramovich.

Can Mark Hughes outdo Claudio Ranieri? It is a stretch to think he can squeeze into the top four, not to mention a second spot. Yet, Ranieri has no place at Chelsea, so if the ruthlessness of Abramovich is replicated by the Abu Dhabi clan, the situation for Hughes is nothing short of a pressure cooker.

Though I respect Mark Hughes’s management skills and feel that he has a bright future, he is, after all, a dispensable candidate for those with money to burn. It does not bode well that his credentials are bereft of major titles as patience may run out very quickly. In fact, I seriously doubt if Mark Hughes can last an entire season if Manchester City continue to flounder in mediocrity – the club had already lost two of their first four games.

Manchester City’s new bosses will prefer to appoint a world-class manager with a track record of winning titles in his place to go along with their expensively assembled superstars.

While Robinho can bring some glamor and quality into Manchester City, the same cannot be said for other players which Mark Hughes had signed in the close season. Shaun Wright-Phillips, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta and Tal Ben-Haim are not exactly the kind of elites the Arabs have in mind.

Gelling the team and tightening defenses are currently Mark Hughes’s top priorities, rather than to secure any Champions League football. Unfortunately, Chelsea had raised the bar and the new oil money cannot be seen to be doing less. It will require a miracle for Manchester City to displace Liverpool and Arsenal and the huge gulf with Chelsea is already apparent on the basis of this match.

So, after Kevin Keegan’s acrimonious parting of ways with Newcastle last week, the odds are high that Mark Hughes could be the next dead man walking.

As for Chelsea, they have built up strong and enduring qualities as a championship team over the last 5 years and while clubs like Manchester City will try to chip away at their advantage, Stamford Bridge will not fall overnight. In fact, the Chelsea empire will be setting their sights on conquering Europe this season.