So there I was on a melancholy post Premiership Monday, contemplating my next bold move in the Soccerclips.net Fantasy Premier League after a disgraceful 21 point week. Should I make the often scoffed multiple transfers to breathe some fresh life into the squad? Was buying Robbie Keane the biggest waste of money so far? Should I sell one of my 3 Chelsea players to accommodate the inevitable arrival of Robinho?

Granted, I have these internal discussions every day (which is to say nothing of my sanity) but on this day, it had particular resonance. This Monday, September 1, 2008 was the last day of the summer transfer window and, as is common knowledge, many a last-minute transfer has transpired on such days. I watched intently, therefore, for anything that would have implications for my fantasy team...umm, I mean for purely football and journalistic purposes.

The last day of the summer transfer window is also renowned for its penchant to be rather strange, chaotic, unpredictable and frenzied. I’m sure we all remember the “Cashley Cole” Tapping up/transfer saga of last year. Having already lamented on Manchester United’s bumbling stumbling attempt to acquire Dimitar Berbatov, I along with the entire football world stood with anxious intent for whatever revelations and surprises were in store. How unprepared we all were for the utter confusion and mayhem that was to ensue.

I think by far that the last day of this transfer window was the strangest, most entertaining and simultaneously heart stopping confluence of events in a long time. The major protagonist in this dramatic evening was.....Manchester City??? Indeed, of all the clubs to steal the spotlight, of all the clubs from Manchester no less, the blue half suddenly let loose a flurry of aggressive, bold and even downright astonishing bids and inquisitions; putting up Abramovich-esque money no less.

New Manchester City Owners, Abu Dhabi United Group

Of course the shock of these events was preceded, and made more palatable, by the news that City had been bought out from Thaksin Sinawatra, the clubs oft scandalized owner, by the Arabian multibillionaires of Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG). The group immediately signalled its intent, promising to make City “bigger than both Real Madrid and Manchester United” and backing up this bold statement with their actions, or more specifically, their wallets.

The club let out a flurry of bids. At one point, this writer let out a sarcastic laugh when it was reported Tottenham had “accepted a bid of £31 million” for Dimitar Berbatov, despite the highly publicized and protracted negotiations with the Red Devils. It also came in the face of reports that Berbatov was “on his way to Carrington for a medical”??? Suffice it to say by this all of England was confused, not to mention both halves of Manchester.

This confusion, the drama, the utter mayhem, was not finalized until a full 40 minutes after midnight when it was announced that United had secured the Bulgarian's signature. At this point millions of United fans around the world gave their fingernails a deserved respite from incessant gnawing. Despite Tottenham’s “acceptance” of the City bid, Berbatov controlled his own destiny and expressed his intent to play for Manchester United, and no place else.

Sir Alex Ferguson Finally gets the stiker he's been chasing

Even more surprising still and quite laughable if one is to really admit it, was the confirmed report that City had also bid for and managed to sign Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.75 million, an English transfer record. The Brazilian maestro had for days been thought to be on his way to Stamford Bridge after publicly expressing his discontent in being used as a pawn to lure Ronaldo to the Bernabeu. Conventional wisdom said given that Chelsea’s new boss is former Brazil coach Luis Felipe Scolari, it was a foregone conclusion that Robinho would wear Chelsea blue. But like a thief in the night (at least that’s how Roman Abramovich must have felt) the newly rich City swooped down to snatch the player, wrapping him in a lighter shade of blue.

It says something when Roman Abramovich loses in a bidding war for a player. This is the same man and club that spent £21 million on Shaun Wright-Phillips only to sell him back to his previous employers for £8 million after 3 years of, well, I don’t know what. This is also the club that bought an aged Andriy Shevchenko past his prime, or so it now seems, for £30 million only to sell him 2 years later, back to his former employers, for an undisclosed fee that is most assuredly nowhere near that amount. This is an owner that clearly isn’t afraid to just throw money away, apparently.

But it would seem Mr. Abramovich has met his match, or possibly his successors. The main man behind ADUG is Sheik Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, of the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi. Sheik Mansour is part of a family that includes the Crown Prince of The Emirates and maintains a family fortune estimated at US$ 1 Trillion, that’s Trillion with a “T”. As a close friend and fellow Soccerclips.net contributor quipped recently, these guys are a rich man’s Roman Abramovich. Make that a very rich man.

Manchester City appeared to have snagged Robinho from Chelsea

This continues the growing trend of English clubs being overtaken by super-rich private owners, the views on which are mixed. Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Aston Villa and now Manchester City (twice) have all experienced the sweeping changes and freshness that comes from new ownership in recent years. Many feel it is bad for English football as it further widens the disparity between the very best and the mediocre, eliminating parity and making the league too predictable.

In my view, there is nothing inherently negative about this trend. The Premier League has never had parity, as evidenced by the fact that only 4 clubs (Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Blackburn) have ever won the premiership, United doing so 10 out of 16 times. So the idea that suddenly an influx of foreign ownership has caused an imbalance or a widening of the gap is absurd. Additionally, it is quite evident that popularity of the league has increased exponentially and this “lack of parity” is not affecting viewership. Quite possibly, this is the reason for so much new investment. Besides, let’s be honest, does anyone really want to see West Ham or Middlesbrough or Fulham in the Champion’s League?

Many compare English football to La Liga, where the consensus is that there is more parity. However I don’t see this as evidence that the super-rich clubs in England are eroding parity, after all Real and Barcelona are similar to their English counterparts. I see it as evidence that Spanish players are just that much better than English players (a fact borne out by the Spanish triumph and English absence at the recent Euro Championships) In both leagues smaller clubs with less money rely more heavily on home grown talent. That is the real reason La Liga has more depth. I say, bring on more foreign investors to the Premier league, they make for great transfer drama.

It will be interesting indeed to see whether there is a shift in the balance of power in the Premier League resulting from City's newly acquired resources. We've seen too many "promising" clubs that threaten to infiltrate the infamous Big Four who always seem to fall by the wayside, Tottenham being the most tragic example. It is a testament to the importance of coaching and having players who fit a system. However it is also indicative of how entrenched the Big Four really are. Will city make headway with Robinho and the Prodigal Shaun Wright-Phillips? Hopefully the season will prove as exciting as the last day of the transfer market.

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