The much talked about takeover of Manchester City by Sheik Mansour is a great example of how to successfully buy into an English Premier League club.
Many other clubs have had others’ try to do the same, but have ultimately faltered, or left the club in a worse position when they arrived. But the Dubai ruler has shown how to create a successful atmosphere.
There has been continual promises by many clubs that when they get bought out by a rich billionaire, UEFA Champions League football is coming to the club. There are grand footballing plans of greatness, and fans get excited.
The club then buys a few star players, and the new owner expects instant success.
If results don’t at first come, then, typically a manager gets sacked, a new one is brought in, and even more uncertainty divides the playing group. Then, ultimately, the owner gets bored of his latest play-toy, and sells the club, for a profit, or to stave off a loss.
Nowhere else was this seen clearer than at West Ham United.
Eggert Magnusson took over the club in 2007 with the promise of his Icelandic biscuit billions to surge us to Champions League football by 2010. But it all faltered at the first hurdle.
Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were brought in on dodgy contracts by the previous owner, and the unbelievable transfer deadline double swoop ended up causing mass pain for all involved.
Mascherano rarely played and was shipped off in January because of a guaranteed buyout clause if he played a minimum number of games, and whilst Tevez came good at the end of the season, he needed a good 29 games to get into the swing of things.
Freddie Ljungberg, Lucas Neill, and Luis Boa Morte headed the January spending to attempt to get the club to survive, and along with the recruitment of Alan Curbishley, the final goal was achieved, even if we did get lucky with the FA not slapping a deserved points penalty for fielding ineligible players.
Then the global financial crisis hit.
The Icelandic biscuit billions turned out to be only $1.03 billion, and almost useless when all the major banks in Iceland went broke. Players were sold or paid off (in the case of Freddie Ljungberg) and the club is still reeling from this.
Where Sheik Mansour has got it right at Manchester City is by taking the fans along with the ride. At a time when tickets to the English Premier League are getting ludicrously expensive, the Sheik cut 2009-10 season tickets by an average of seven percent, whilst other clubs were raising prices in these tough times.
It was reported that over two million pounds was spent renovating the club’s website, which, for the average football fan, is an absolute joy to browse.
There are plans to expand the stadium, and the “Welcome to Manchester” poster of Carlos Tevez are all little things that add to attraction of Man City. The development of youth players such as Steven Ireland, who have managed to stave off the imports and demand first team football, are great success stories for the individuals.
It’s a real shame that Daniel Sturridge couldn’t see beyond the money in being a part of something special.
Mansour has repeatedly stated during last season that manager Mark Hughes has the board’s “100 percent backing,” which in a Premier League first, actually meant something, and that he didn’t get the sack after two more losses.
Whether Hughes will remain there during this season if things start to go pear-shaped is unknown, but it was important for the club to survive in their transitional season
Whilst they do have the billions getting in the likes of Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Robinho, Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Kolo Toure, and now Jolean Lescott, it has been the little things that has ensured the club has an identity that resembles the fans, and not the owner.
It is a lesson that should have been learned by Sulaiman Al Fahim, whose supposed takeover of Portsmouth has seen them sell players in order to stave off administration.
With only a week left in the transfer market and still no signs of anything concrete happening, the future looks bleak for the 2008 FA Cup winners.
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