uh oh.............

[Parm]

We're always a couple of players behind...

I must admit, yesterdays events have worried me. Is this beginning of the end for the EPL?

well maybe, if UEFA decide that this is an issue and look to limit this sort of investment/debts on clubs, will the super rich Arab/russian/Yank playboys (oh and GG and TH) look to create some super world league outside of the remit of UEFA?

[tsb]

The erosion of the game by money is slowly eroding my interest in it.

[ForeverRed]

well maybe, if UEFA decide that this is an issue and look to limit this sort of investment/debts on clubs, will the super rich Arab/russian/Yank playboys (oh and GG and TH) look to create some super world league outside of the remit of UEFA?

The dreaded European Super League....

I was fairly dissappointed when investment kept coming in, however, it appears now...clubs are being turned into rich men's play things....this isn't on...

[FatTony]

This has always been a problem though? OK the differences are now perhaps greater, but I think we're still the 3rd or 4th highest spenders in the EPL so is it just the fact there are now a couple more teams that can spend more than us?

Sour grapes?

Now that it looks as though a top 4 finish is going to be even tougher for us to achieve it becomes a problem? Thats what it all seems like.

Who could realistically compete with us through the 80's and 90's? We had Littlewoods money financing us and success on the pitch to attract the best players.

We had it good then, but now its not fair? Granted, we never went out and spent fortunes on one player, but we spent more than 90% of the other teams.

Good luck to Citeh, they'll probably be in a better position to knock Fergie off his perch than us in a couple of years. Just as long as some ****er does.

[redlancer]

Well this is a very unsatisfactory state of affairs !.

You know , I read a lot of stuff about how much we spend but yesterday blow that rubbish out the water. 30 odd mill on berbatov , 32 on robbie boy.

basic fact is we cant spend that much money on one player , or if you look at chelsea , scum etc how many 25-30 mill players have they bought ?

top draw purchases , or lets say very little risk purchases.

(well , most of em )

I dont even want to think of city in a year or two.....

while we scramble about haggling our rivals drop 30 million bids like they are pocket change.

we are buying ford focus types and our friends are buying 6.0 liter supercharged GTO's with borla catback exhausts and kooks headers....0 to 60 4.2 seconds , nigh on 600 ponys and probably hit 200 mph quite easily.........sorry , i digress.


Anyhoo , am i the only one slightly worried by this turn of events ?

but put the focus in the right hands an he'll get more out of it.
put me in an rs4 and the late great McRae in a smart car and i bet he'd beat me.

it seems the owners are the ones buying the players not the managers in a more and more cases.

a team can only field 11 players and no team can have a reserve team with international players in it.
Man City might well join Chav's as the financial super powers with scum close behind.
But we can provide an 11 to compete with any team on our day.

We just have to become more consistent. Plus Scum, Chav's Arse and now City will take points off each other.

Arsenal have shown that with little money you can still compete

[dom9]

It's funny that Shaun Wright-Phillips has just transferred from the 'old' Chelsea to the 'new' Chelsea. I wonder if he'll find himself on the bench again in 6 months time?

[RedSam]

If we don't get the Yanks/Parry out now, we'll fall further behind and soon be scrapping to get in the top 6.

[dom9]

If we don't get the Yanks/Parry out now, we'll fall further behind and soon be scrapping to get in the top 6.

So what do you propose to do about it?

[Shanks]

It's 11 v 11 and the manager will dictate who plays and what position they play in.

So who gives a **** about Robinho, Berbatov etc.

It's about who wants it the most when that whistle blows.

[El Jefecito]

I reckon we might have been able to compete if Rafa thought he had identified the right player (and the board agreed, unlike the Barry saga). By my reckoning, we had £18m to spend on Barry, but decided not to. Subtract the £8m for Riera, add on the £2m for Finnan and we've probably still got £12m or so in the kitty.

Pennant had a move agreed for £4m yesterday but couldn't agree personal terms, and we rejected a £14m bid from Arsenal for Alonso, holding out for £16m.

If Pennant had gone, and Arsenal had upped their bid for Alonso, we probably would have had £32m in the kitty to spend. Maybe that is what the rumours were of a late bid for a player if everything fell into place at 11pm last night?

I know it's all ifs and buts, but we should still have a decent kitty still left over from this window. If the right players are available then I'd expect us to be busy in January.

Sounds more like an interest payment to me and I bet anything that doesn't get spent is not carried over to next year.

We may be busy in Jan, but I bet it's disappointing it's rare decent players move then.

[El Jefecito]

This has always been a problem though? OK the differences are now perhaps greater, but I think we're still the 3rd or 4th highest spenders in the EPL so is it just the fact there are now a couple more teams that can spend more than us?

Sour grapes?

Now that it looks as though a top 4 finish is going to be even tougher for us to achieve it becomes a problem? Thats what it all seems like.

Who could realistically compete with us through the 80's and 90's? We had Littlewoods money financing us and success on the pitch to attract the best players.

We had it good then, but now its not fair? Granted, we never went out and spent fortunes on one player, but we spent more than 90% of the other teams.

Good luck to Citeh, they'll probably be in a better position to knock Fergie off his perch than us in a couple of years. Just as long as some ****er does.

Our net spend was <20m there is no way in hell we were 3rd or 4th highest spenders.

[Shaggy]

It's funny that Shaun Wright-Phillips has just transferred from the 'old' Chelsea to the 'new' Chelsea. I wonder if he'll find himself on the bench again in 6 months time?

Absolutely no danger. This time next year he'll be a squaddie. He'll be dead miffed.

[El Jefecito]

but put the focus in the right hands an he'll get more out of it.
put me in an rs4 and the late great McRae in a smart car and i bet he'd beat me.

it seems the owners are the ones buying the players not the managers in a more and more cases.

a team can only field 11 players and no team can have a reserve team with international players in it.
Man City might well join Chav's as the financial super powers with scum close behind.
But we can provide an 11 to compete with any team on our day.

We just have to become more consistent. Plus Scum, Chav's Arse and now City will take points off each other.

Arsenal have shown that with little money you can still compete

For 3rd/4th place.

[FatTony]

Our net spend was <20m there is no way in hell we were 3rd or 4th highest spenders.

I'm talking about the history of the EPL not this transfer window

[El Jefecito]

I'm talking about the history of the EPL not this transfer window

Aaaahhhh

I suspect this transfer window will end up becoming our history though