In the final part of a two-part series (Part One is at this link) of articles reflecting on the Kaka transfer saga, MCFCfans looks forward to the ultimate remedy: let it all out on the terrace. Fans are ready to put the papers in the bin and make some noise on Wednesday night.

Journalists whizz down to the lowest common denominator

City may well have been running before they could walk, as Mark Hughes suggested to Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail on Friday.  Interestingly, Hughes also chose this interview to pick out Sulaiman al-Fahim, ADUG's first spokesperson, as being the root cause of City’s uphill PR battle.  He’s probably not far wrong.  Talk of signing Cristiano Ronaldo was naive, and not just because it wasn’t what City fans wanted to hear. 

Hughes went on to comment, “A lot of people at this club are new to the football business and maybe we need greater knowledge of what makes deals happen.”  Are these comments part of a positive group hug-like learning experience for club management?  or is it really the beginning of a power play of different agendas between Hughes and Cook, as suggested by this week’s Guardian Sport Blog post by Paul Wilson?  Lets hope the former.  Just going back to the Guardian blog post, did I really just read, “City were right to go for Kaka?!.”

Most wouldn’t disagree with City's need to sharpen up their deal-making and PR efforts.  But the article by Michael Henderson in The Telegraph entitled, “Send in the clowns – it’s another episode in the sad saga of Manchester City,” tested City fans’ patience to the limit.  Marina Hyde in The Guardian was yet another example of how journalists, faced with the need to stand out when a big story breaks, jump on to the slide in the reporter’s playground and race down to the lowest common denominator. These folks have already moved on to their next 'holier-than-thou' feeding frenzy, happily passing on the opportunity for intelligent and reflective debate.

We don’t have space here to discuss all of the debatable points that reporters had an opportunity to discuss.  However, the most obvious discussion on the table is the one concerning salary and transfer caps.  One that has been quietly mentioned by the odd random football club chairman, but one that in reality the Champions League cartel would rather not discuss. 

The Champions League has arguably done more damage to domestic football competitions in Europe than the arrival of wealthy foreign owners.  The clubs at the top of the EPL have moved in line with the increased number of places in the Champions League.   The approach taken by Aston Villa and Manchester City to mount a challenge seems quite different.  But both clubs are backed by significant wealth, and both clubs intend to gatecrash the ‘big four’ party. 

What will this mean for such money-spinners as ‘Grand Slam Sunday’ on Sky Sports?  Is the football fan not much better off with six, or eight,  or ten competitive teams versus the original boring and dominant one?  In fact the EPL has advanced to a point where the gulf between the clubs is smaller, and competitiveness has greatly increased.  But how long will it be before the European G16 (or whatever number it is!) decide that the little Ciddies and Villas of this world are becoming too big for their boots, and begin proposing European or Global leagues?  Again, none of this broader debate about the systemic issues in football was apparent in the recent reporting on Manchester City.

‘You can’t spend £100m on one player’ – yes you can

It is totally understandable that all football fans should look at the £100m sum and immediately consider what this same sum of money could do to solve some of the world’s real problems.  However, it is of no immediate benefit to do so.  Manchester City should not be made to suffer for participating fairly, and within the rules, in what is a transfer fee-based system.  

Before the advent of satellite television, the top division of English football had an audience mainly limited to within its’ own borders.  Record British transfer fees were still four or more times the value of buying a house, but the exponential growth potential was constrained by the size of the television audience.

The English Premiership now has one of the largest global sporting audiences of any other sporting league.  This audience carries a market value, just as royalties are received by music artists according to how many people listen to their music.  The sudden and dramatic increase in the global audience is the reason for the sudden and dramatic increase in transfer fees and wages. 

If football decides to constrain fees and wages, then all it does is transfer the audience income from the performers (players) and the producers (clubs) into the hands of broadcasters, football authorities, and other vested interests (well back to the fans would be nice too but what chance!).  Why should the players not be remunerated according to their global appeal, skill level, and huge audience?  Why should clubs not be compensated for releasing a player, who they have discovered and nutured, from their contract?  The revenue stream has to find a home somewhere.  It would be far more productive, and morally appropriate, to have a debate on securing a larger contribution from the top clubs to develop football at grass-roots level, at home and abroad. 

The attraction of the EPL throughout the world is the quality of the players and the football on show.  In remote parts of Africa huge crowds of hundreds gather around the smallest of televisions desperate to get a glimpse of a big EPL game.  Is there a sudden consensus that we don’t want to see the likes of Kaka play in the EPL?  No, there is a view that Manchester City doesn’t deserve such players in a blue shirt.

Daring to dream

In spite of Harry Redknapp’s free spending, the huge debts of many football clubs, the renewal by RBS of their Six Nations sponsorship, some balance in the reporting of Manchester City was in short supply last week.  When it finally arrived it did so from an unlikely source, The Daily Mirror.  Oliver Holt’s subtle prose in his article, “Don’t gloat over Manchester City Kaka-ing things up...all they’ve done is dare to dream,” hit the nail on the head.  “They [Manchester City] were the devils sitting on Kaka’s right shoulder, whispering temptations into his ear, while the angels [AC Milan] on his left shoulder told him to follow his heart,” Holt wrote.

In the meantime, Mark Hughes and City fans can look forward to the contribution that three new signings will make on the pitch.  Wayne Bridge, Nigel de Jong and Craig Bellamy are all good signings who will make an impact.  Shay Given is looking increasingly likely to follow, there may well be another striker in the mix before the window is out, and we shouldn’t miss out on Miguel Veloso.  He's a hot prospect.

Mark Hughes reports that the recent press barrage has brought the team closer together.   If you believe McGarry from The Sun then you’d think the dressing room is an anarchic free-for-all.  What nonsense.  You can put money on there being a collage of press articles on the dressing room wall on Wednesday night.

Of one thing there is no doubt, the press bruising has left City fans in defiant mood ahead of the Newcastle encounter.  Mark Hughes has seen a huge surge of support in our “Should he stay or go” fans poll on our home page, which is due to close at the end of the transfer window.

What better way to put the deafening roar of ‘ignorant and predictable pap’ to bed than to raise the roof on Wednesday night.

MCFCfans