Thursday transfer round up - all about Kaka

Step by step, it does appear that we are getting closer to actually being able to land Kaka and the media have been all over this story today in a big way.

There were plenty of reports going back and forth (covered here) but what we do know is that Milan have released a statement saying they are 'considering' the offer that has been put to them. There was even a mock up of Kaka in a City shirt on the Mediaset website:


Late this evening it is now being widely reported that Kaka has been given permission to speak to us, with the suggestion being it is more likely than not that he will end at the club:

Kaká has been given permission by AC Milan to talk to Manchester City as the prospect of the Brazil forward arriving at the Barclays Premier League club moved closer to reality last night.

It is still far from being a done deal of course, and it will take one hell of charm offensive to secure the move. Kaka's team mates Clarence Seedorf and Gianluca Zambrotta have urged him to resist any overtures and they no doubt will not be the last to do so.

Press wise, there has not been too much written actually praising our attempt to sign Kaka, but this piece by Martin Samuel sums the situation up perfectly for me:

So, Kaka to Manchester City. What's not to like?But, ye gods, there are some miserable people out there. The death of football, one bloke called it. An impossibly rich man attempts to spend £100million of his personal fortune to bring a truly great footballer into our game in a way that opens up the domestic competition, and this is a bad thing?

Definite reading for the 25% who voted no to the signing of Kaka on the MEN website.

The Guardian are suggesting the total fee could rise as high as €150m (£135m), breaking down as:

• €120m as a fee for Kaka
• €20m in agents' fees
• €10m for Kaka's father

They have also put together a neat graphic within the piece to illustrate how he would fit into a new 4-1-4-1 formation that Hughes has drawn.

An interesting angle in the Mail, where Ian Ladyman has been dispatched out to Milan to gage the mood, and unsurprisingly it seems the mood is one of fear:

To understand just what selling their Brazilian prince would mean to the Rossoneri you have to do more than listen to Sandra, the charming assistant. 'If Kaka leaves then I will die,' she wails, in classic, over-the-top, Italian style. 'He just cannot leave us. He just cannot.'

Having been to The San Siro on occasion to see Milan, it is evident just how much in the hearts of the fans Kaka is - and the feeling is no doubt reciprocated, so as well as trying to convince him we are a viable option for him, he also faces the prospect of walking away from Milan - a place where is held in the highest esteem.

Gabriele Marcotti has some good analysis in The Times, profiling how he feels Kaka would adapt to the Premier League:

At 6ft 1in and weighing nearly 12½st, he is big and solid, the kind of player who rarely gets outmuscled. He is also extremely durable. He has not suffered a significant injury since he was 16 and has featured in more than 90 per cent of Milan’s Serie A and Champions League matches in his 5½ years at the club. Many of the games he missed were the result of being rested.

Marcotti also feels that with a couple of real quality additions - namely a true goalscorer and dominant defensive midfielder to allow Vincent Kompany to move into defence, we would also not be far short of achieving Kaka's requirement of a top four finish next season.

A busy day all in all, but the tide appears to be in our favour at present. Hurdles have been navigated and soon (perhaps as early as next week) the ball will be very much in Kaka's court for him to decide whether to make the move or not.

Milan and Kaka hit back

There was an interesting piece in The Independent, which lifts a lid a little on some of the complexities behind the deal, and perhaps (from our standpoint at least) why the deal failed:

Cook's six-man delegation, including lawyers with expertise in intellectual property rights, had headed to Italy with high hopes. They knew they needed to sell their image rights ideas to Leite before they would manage to meet and convince Kaka himself. But that seemed unlikely from the moment they sat down. Attempting to establish whether Kaka's current deal with Adidas left any room for City to tie up image rights deals of their own and earn a return on their £91m investment, the club met a wall of resistance from Leite.

City told Leite of their ideas for a Kaka Foundation, through which his image would make money for a "humanitarian" cause. There was talk of lucrative digital TV and internet image rights deals. Privately, City were astonished that Kaka's current entire image rights income is believed to be €8m (£7.4m). In Cook's previous role with Nike, he was responsible for the international image rights of the basketball player Michael Jordan. They earn him $12m (£8.6m) a year for his signature alone. Football clubs have not touched the surface of such commercial opportunities.

But Leite would only talk about the player's personal terms. "They didn't want to get to the complexities and the sophistication," Cook said. "They just wanted an offer in cash terms." A brooding presence as the talks foundered was Galliani, in a side room nearby.

Getting nowhere as Monday night drew on, City suggested a period of reflection and shook on a plan to meet again in Milan today. Leite's desperation for a quick deal then led City to agree to bring that date forward 24 hours. A new day, they seem to have figured, offered hope of a change of heart. But after Cook and his delegation had left, the Italians decided they could not wait – and run the risk of City embarrassing them by unilaterally calling talks off. Cook was in the departure lounge of Milan's Linate Airport At 11.03pm, Italian time, when he received a phone call from Alberto Zilani, Leite's translator. "We want a cash offer now," Zilani said. Resigned to the fact that the deal was going nowhere, Cook called it off and both clubs formally announced the fact.

However, not so clear cut according to reports in the Italian press today, via this piece from The Mail:

'The truth is that in six hours of talks with Manchester City they only asked questions and didn't make an offer for Kaka.

'How on earth did they think they were going to buy him? It's one thing buying a property or a company but completely another when you are trying to charm one of the best players in the world.'

Gazzetta revealed that the negotiations had taken place in the law offices of Milan firm Izzi-Tognazzi and were stop start as City were constantly ''asking for time outs.''

Gazzetta said that Kaka's agent Bosco was getting fed up at the fact that City's Gary Cook and Simon Pierce were just asking questions primarily on the player's image rights.

Gazzetta also claimed that at 10pm on Monday night City, after ''consulting with the shaikh said they would make an offer via email the following day.''

Gazette wrote: ''At that point Bosco and AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani looked at each other and asked to call off the talks. Cook tried to change direction but it was too late as Galliani had already called Silvio Berlusconi.'

The one worry I had with the fall out from the aborted deal, was how this would affect our ability to sign players of a similar standing to Kaka in the future.

The worry is that Cook's stinging remarks yesterday could turn out to be ill advised, given that surely Milan and Kaka's words are likely to hold more weight in the footballing world than Cook's argument that Milan were 'bottlers'.

Perhaps it would have been far wiser to have bitten his tongue and simply thanked Milan and Kaka for their interest and time during the negotiations, rather than to come across as a slightly inexperienced and naive negotiator with little idea of how to conclude a high profile transfer?

Kaka - the fall out

The recriminations and mud slinging have begun today amidst the aftermath of end of negotiations to bring to Kaka to the club.

Perhaps borne out of frustration, or simply to get make a pre-emptive strike before the inevitable criticism, Garry Cook laid heavily into both Milan and representatives of Kaka (though not Kaka himself it has to be said) with some stinging comments:

“It’s a mixture of disappointment and some frustration too. I think the intention from AC Milan was clearly to sell their player and Manchester City’s intention was clearly to bring him to the football club.

“I think there was some political pressure and definitely media space that they engaged in. To be honest, I think they bottled it, simple as that.”

“It would have been great to have had Kaka at this football club, the Premier League would have benefitted, football would have benefitted and we were willing to make that investment on rational terms. Unfortunately, the behaviour that they showed was not what we had expected nor had we anticipated.”

“We’ve been to Milan four times and the delegation yesterday involved three lawyers that represent the legal counsel for Manchester City football club.

“It also involved a board member who had flown half way around the world from Abu Dhabi, myself and one other senior executive.

“We were confined to a room, with no food or drink, and we asked some questions of the football club and more importantly we asked some questions of the representatives of the player and they simple could not answer the questions.

“What they wanted to talk about was; ‘how much are you going to pay him?’We chose not to get into that and we didn’t make an offer to the player.

“Is he a great footballer? Yes. Does he represent all the values you would want to have as an ambassador of the sport global and were we looking for the opportunity to joint venture in areas that would take this club on to a different platform? Yes, but unfortunately the landscape changed and his representatives wanted to talk about how much we were going to pay him.

“Money was certainly the motive yesterday.”

A widely reported comment from Cook was that Milan 'bottled it', and whilst it made for a great byline, there is a definite truth within this as the fan reaction - whilst not a surprise - was quite vitriolic towards Adriano Galliani and Silvio Berlusconi, and whilst the reputed transfer figure of £100 million was needed by Milan, to effectively force a fan idol out of the club in return for the filthy lucre would have been a disastrous PR move and one that the Milan hierarchy, however costly, could not follow through with.

Kaka himself though believes it was more to do with divine intervention than anything else that led him to remaining in Milan:

'I believe I have made the right choice. To have gone to Manchester City could have been a great project but in the past few days I have prayed a lot to understand what the right team would be and in the end I have decided to remain here.

'I don't want anything else, I just want to be well and be happy in the place where people love me.

'From this story I have understood how people love me at Milan, the fans and my team-mates have helped me make this choice.'

None of us know quite how near or far from signing Kaka may have been, but given representatives of the club (let alone the manager) did not meet him - allied with Cook's comments - suggests it was not as close as we were led to believe by the media as a whole.

One theme that has been raised is the knock on effect this could have in our pursuit of other 'world stars', in that this could damage our aspirations of adding the very top players to the club. I don't necessarily subscribe to that view and would like to think Kaka's decision is very much a one off, in that it was solely motivated by the depth of his feeling for both Milan the football club and Milan the city, and however 'interesting' our 'project' was, a move to ourselves or any other club for that matter was not something he could contemplate at this stage of his life.

The whole issue does not reflect too well on ourselves, something evidenced given the level of feeling we have seen over the past week or so, and it has proved how difficult it is for us to conduct transfer business given the spotlight that has now very much fallen upon us.

Kaka deal off, or is it?

From arabianbusinessnews.com:

Manchester City has withdrawn its world record $150 million bid to sign Brazilian superstar Kaka, according to a senior source close to the club’s owners.

The Abu Dhabi-owned club tabled the bid earlier this week, with Kaka, currently playing for AC Milan, saying he wanted to stay at the Italian club until he retired from the game.

It had been expected that further talks with his representatives would take place on Thursday.

But the well-placed source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Arabian Business: “The deal is off, and the offer is no longer on the table. The club is now pursuing another striker which it is very close to signing. Manchester City is about to unveil a new striker, but he is not called Kaka.”

But from the MEN:

Hughes dismissed the reports from the UAE, saying: “I've seen these reports but you have to bear in mind that the people who are being given a platform to speak do not represent the owner (Sheikh Mansour) or (chairman) Khaldoon (Al Mubarak).

“In my opinion they should not be given a platform to say what they have because in this instance it is completely untrue because negotiations are still taking place.”

He added: “It would be naive to think I have not been involved in discussions over this transfer. I have had meetings about it and have had an input.

“It is impossible to say whether it will go through or not but we will let everyone know when there is something to say.”

“It has been well documented that we have expressed an interest in signing him. Garry Cook and a number of other people went to Milan earlier in the week to get an understanding of the situation. To add any more at this stage would be wrong.”

No doubt more on this will unfold over the course of the day.

UPDATE 19:36 - It appears - according to Sky Sports News, via Milan's own TV station - that Milan are 'considering' an offer from ourselves, believed to be in the region of £107 million.

From reuters:

"There's an offer for Kaka from Manchester City and it is being considered by Milan," channel director Mauro Suma said.

"Considered does not mean decided or accepted. We are not faced with a decision made or a done deed. There are still hours and days ahead."

A Milan spokesman said Suma's comments were not an official statement by the Serie A club.

All now being widely reported of course.

UPDATE 20:44 - The BBC are reporting we have been given permission to discuss a move with Kaka and his representatives, quoting directly from his agent Diogo Kotscho.

The days best City links 01/19/2009

• The aftermath of the blitz for Kaka: Football Italiano - Italian football - Serie A - Stadiums - Club Profiles - Tickets

  tags: City

• James Lawton: True wealth defined by wisdom of football men not City's black gold - News & Comment, Football - The Independent

  tags: City

• The Last Word: Numbers game doesn't add up. It's just wrong - News & Comment, Football - The Independent

  tags: City

• How Manchester City can make Kaka deal pay for itself - mirror.co.uk

  tags: City

• £15m Nigel de Jong is geared up for Eastlands experience | Mail Online

  tags: City

• Kaká: A footballer of faith and fable | Football | The Observer

  tags: City

• City owners say Kaka is 'just the first signing' with Messi, Lampard and Gerrard in sight | Mail Online

  tags: City

• It may be silly money, but Kaka is a worthwhile target - Telegraph

  tags: City

• Kaka's Manchester City deal to spark AC Milan raid on Premier League - Telegraph

  tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Kaka transfer round up

As we all know, Kaka was in Milan's line up last night for their 1-0 victory over Fiorentina, playing the full game.

At the end of the game, there were embraces for team mates amidst scenes of unrest in the crowd, with the Milan fans venting their anger of Adriano Galliani and Silvio Berlusconi:





It is hard to read too much into last nights events, as if he was pulled out of the line-up it would have been apparant a deal was almost concluded. His appearance last night - whilst emotional - could not be totally construed as a tearful farewell.

Mark Hughes's post match comments following the Wigan game poured a little cold water on the progress, describing the move as 'complex':

"But it is not a simple transfer. It is not just a case of talking to the club and talking to the boy and getting the deal done within 24-48 hours. The deal, if it is to be concluded, is very complex as there are so many elements to it.

"It is not going to be an easy process and won't be concluded quickly. I am sure we will give it the amount of time it deserves. We find ourselves in a special situation. We are interested in one of the top players in the world."

The Daily Mail suggests Kaka is in 'turmoil' over whether to agree to the move:

Kaka, the 26-year-old, God-fearing superstar at the centre of what would be the biggest football transfer in history, has been reduced to tears as the enormity of the £100million deal that will see him exchange Milan's world-famous San Siro for the rather more prosaic City of Manchester Stadium sinks in.

Whilst it is also suggested that Real Madrid could be set to match any offer, although given their off field instability with Ramon Calderon resigning this week this is highly unlikely.

Perhaps most of interest today is a piece in The Observer:

The adviser to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, City's billionaire owner, told Observer Sport from Abu Dhabi last night that media coverage of City's offer for the Milan player, plus reported £500,000-a-week wages, was wildly unrealistic – giving credence to growing rumours in Italy that the story has been hyped up by Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi, in an attempt to earn good publicity when no move materialises and Kaká stays at the San Siro. First reports of the "£100m" bid appeared on a website owned by Berlusconi.

An interesting suggestion and one which flies in the face of everything that has been reported both here in the UK and Italy this week. I'd be amazed if the whole of the press (and rest of the country) had in fact been hoodwinked.

Far more likely is that Hughes's comments in relation to the complexity of the deal is more accurate, and this is backed up to a degree by comments from Kaka's agent. Diog Kotschco:

"We have to see a good project, a winning project, for any club to be eligible to have a player like Kaká. We have to be convinced that Manchester City can turn themselves – in the short term – into one of the best eight teams in the world."

It doesn't appear likely that any deal will likely be concluded by early part of this week, but expect this story to continue to dominate the headlines.

The days best City links 01/15/2009

• Manchester City still hope after Kaka drops hint - Telegraph

  tags: City

• City may need to adapt more than the magical Brazilian | Manchester City - Times Online

  tags: City

• Media call Kaka bid ‘madness’ and ‘unrefusable’ | Manchester City - Times Online

  tags: City

• Manchester City FC - Latest News Story

  FA Youth Cup - Portsmouth 0 City 1

  tags: City

• Kaka's potential move to Manchester City: The key negotiatiors - Telegraph

  tags: City

• Reports of Kaka's possible move to Manchester City have been met with scepticism in his native Brazil | Football | guardian.co.uk

  tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

More on the Kaka bid

After I initially posted that the news had not got a great deal of attention, the story blew up everywhere today with a mass of news, quotes and reports across both the press and TV.

What is clear is that there was a meeting that took place, with The Guardian suggesting a combined bid of £91 million was put to Milan to acquire not only Kaka, but Rino Gattuso and Dida as well.

Some cold water has now been poured on the possibility of a move with it being reported that Kaka is happy to remain at The San Siro but his agent has hinted that if the offer is right then he would consider it.

This morning - perhaps carried along with the press - it certainly looked as if there was a good chance of the move occurring, with it even being suggested that a deal could be agreed before the end of the January window but matters do look less clear now and it will be an interesting few days to see if any progress is made.

What seems to to be the concensus view by those 'in the know' is that Kaka needs to be convinced that we are heading in the right direction in order to match his ambition. Clearly, on the pitch we are not yet able to do that which lends even more weight to the importance of the second half of the season.

Further anlaysis:

• Owen Wilson
• Paul Wilson
• Henry Winter
• Gabriele Marcotti
• Italian press round-up

Kaka open to a possible move

Contrary to the indications given yesterday, when he talked of his ambition to “grow old with Milan”, Kaká has told his agent, Diogo Kotscho, and Galliani that he may well accept City’s offer if the conditions are right. These apply not only to his wages, which would be worth £13.6 million a year after tax, but also to Milan’s acquiescence and the legitimacy of City’s plans and ambitions.

>>times online.

Following reports late this afternoon, in which Kaka appeared to reject any potential move, Oliver Kay in The Times suggests that this may not be the case with one of his advisors, Diogo Kotscho making positive noises:

“If Milan let us talk, then we will see what City have to offer. It was a great proposal but it’s not about only money. We have to see if Manchester City have a project to become a Champions League team and become one of the top teams in the world and to stay there long term.”

The report does suggest one condition that could be placed in any agreement would be a get out clause which would allow Kaka to move for a minimum fee should Champions League football not be attained by the end of the 2009/10 season.

It isn't the last we are likely to hear about Kaka over the next week or so, and you do get the impression that there will be plenty going back and forth before things fall in to place one way or the other.

Kaka meeting?

Manchester City have opened talks with AC Milan over the possibility of bringing Kaka to the Premier League, Sky Sports News understands.

Sky Sports News chief news reporter Bryan Swanson has learned that City chief executive Garry Cook travelled to Italy to begin preliminary discussions with officials from the Italian outfit.

The potential blockbuster transfer remains at a very early stage and no bid has been lodged, with Cook keen to test Milan's resolve to retain the services of the talented playmaker.

>>Sky Sports.

I'm really not sure what to make of this.

There were some more rumours around this morning linking Kaka with a move to the club, with figures being quoted in the region of £100 million.

What is interesting though about this report is that club officials (namely Garry Cook) travelled to Italy to meet with their counterparts from Milan, suggesting it has to be a possibility and not solely a rumour put out to the press to fill column inches.

Cook is also not likely to travel out to Milan without at least some encouragement that it is a move worth pursuing and I'm surprised this story hasn't garnered more attention thus far, although it could be based entirely on incorrect information I suppose.

Kaka isn't going anywhere this January, yet has in the past been open about a move to the Premier League, but could this move really happen?

Kaka move called off

Manchester City has terminated its discussions with AC Milan over the possible transfer of the player Kaka.

Following a meeting in Milan today, the Club felt that it was unlikely that the two parties could reach common ground for an agreement.

The discussions reached only a preliminary stage and the player was not involved at any time. No commercial terms were framed.

Commenting on the situation, Garry Cook stated: "Whilst Manchester City Football Club has an obvious interest in world class players of the quality of Kaka, we owe it to our fans that such a transfer must work on every level; commercially, financially, in terms of results on the field and within Manchester City's broader community."

>>mcfc.co.uk

Breaking news of sorts as although talks were being held in Milan, there was no further announcement expected during the early part of this week.

It is a strange statement from the club, not giving much away in terms of why the pursuit has been terminated, and not much from Milan either, with the exception of Silvio Berlusconi himself commenting:

"It was my intervention but also his," Berlusconi said. "When I heard he preferred to stay, that he hadn't thought about losing a chance for a higher salary and that he put the values of the club, friendship and fans affection above all else, I said, 'Come on,' and we hugged."

Perhaps last weekends piece in The Observer wasn't so far fetched after all.

I'm sure there will be much more to come from this story over the next twenty four hours or so.

All eyes on the San Siro

On Saturday night at the San Siro, where he will start for Ancelotti alongside David Beckham against Fiorentina, support for the Rossoneri’s golden child will be tangible and premeditated.

Protests at his proposed sale are planned and some are predicting violence.

>>The Mail

It is set to be a lively weekend in Milan where the Rossoneri faithful will no doubt be out to try and convince Kaka his future lies at the San Siro.

There was some thought that Kaka may not be in the line up for tomorrow's game when Milan host Fiorentina in a crucial clash in Serie A, but all indications are that he will start as negotiations are not as advanced as some in the press are leading us to believe.

Kaka's depth of feeling for Milan should not be underestimated as we all consider whether he is likely to indicate he will join us or not, but the piece in The Mail does suggest that he is said to be deeply disappointed that the club have signalled their intent to accept the bid and 'push him into a corner' as he contemplates his future.

I guess we'll just have to sit tight.

The days best City links 01/23/2009

• Premier League: Robinho attracts record fine from Manchester City but no public criticism from his manager, Mark Hughes | Football | guardian.co.uk

  tags: City

• West Ham boss Zola fires broadside at 'fortune seeking' Bellamy | Mail Online

  tags: City

• Manchester City can do little to stop Brazil striker Robinho from partying | Sport | The Guardian

  tags: City

• Football: Daniel Taylor on Manchester City's bids for David Villa, Gianluigi Buffon and David Silva | Sport | guardian.co.uk

  tags: City

• He's not Kaka, but new recruit De Jong can be Manchester City’s driving force | Mail Online

  tags: City

• Hughes hits back over Kaka - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

  tags: City

• Premier League: Marina Hyde: Manchester City's executive chairman Garry Cook's charmless attack on Milan over the Kaka affair was a new low | Sport | The Guardian

  tags: City, Football

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The days best City links 01/25/2009

• Manchester City's vision has life after Kaka - Telegraph

  tags: City

• MARK HUGHES TALKS TO MARTIN SAMUEL: Manchester City's manager on trying to buy Kaka, being City boss and just what the club needs | Mail Online

  tags: City

• Edghill's haunted by ghost of Bellamy - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

  tags: City

• Comment: Just fine for Robinho - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

  tags: City

• Jose Mourinho: I have not been approached about Manchester City job - Telegraph

  tags: City

• Good Evans! Samaras urges Celtic to take a punt on City kid Ched | Mail Online

  tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The days best City links 01/14/2009

• Toure set for City switch | The Sun |Sport|Football

  tags: City

• Comment: Blues needs guts before glory - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

  tags: City

• Hamann blow for City - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

  tags: City

• Manchester City's Kaka hopes put on hold - Telegraph

  Manchester City are likely to have to wait until the summer before finally landing their top transfer target, the Brazilian international Kaka.

  tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Thursday transfer round up - who we didn't get

Pretty much identical pieces in both The Guardian and Independent today, stating that prior to our failed bid for Kaka we went after several high profile players, including Thierry Henry, Gigi Buffon, David Villa and David Silva.

The constant theme with all of our interest appears to be the potential selling clubs hiking up the asking price knowing the limitless funds at our disposal.

From The Guardian:

Backed by their billionaire owners in Abu Dhabi, a delegation from Eastlands went to Valencia in December to make it known they wanted to sign Villa and his Spain team-mate David Silva from the La Liga club. City were willing to pay around £100m but pulled out, as a point of principle, when Valencia asked for £135m. "They wanted us to bankroll their club for the next four seasons," said one of the men involved in the deal.

A City delegation also travelled to Turin to open talks with Juvenus for Buffon, the Italy goalkeeper. Juventus wanted a figure close to £100m and, again, City withdrew from the negotiations, suspecting the Italian club were trying to take advantage of what has become known in football circles as "the Manchester City effect".

And The Independent:

The inflated financial demands that Manchester City have faced in their pursuit of players in this transfer window have forced them to walk away from three deals, with hopes of signing the Valencia duo David Villa and David Silva dashed, along with the pursuit of Lassana Diarra, who left Portsmouth for Real Madrid for £20m.

Regardless of whether we decided 'not to be anybody's fool' as Garry Cook put it, as shown with Kaka, I'm not convinced that we are quite able to pull off player recruitment of this calibre at this stage of our progress. Still, I don't think we deserve the criticism or derision that has come our way for these pursuits, and as Mark Hughes said, we should actually be applauded for aiming high.

Elsewhere, Robinho's recent escapade has brought rumours of his departure back to the forefront, with speculation that we could attempt to move for Didier Drogba (and others) in return. This has been dismissed already by Hughes, and I think this is a non-starter and more likely than not a piece of mischief making.

An interesting rumour that was in todays Mail linked Felipe Caicedo. Not a great amount of detail around the story but interesting that it is something we would consider given he moved up in the pecking order with a recent impressive spell in the line-up. Perhaps though, Hughes thinks he may be dispensable given the other options available to him and could get a decent return.

January window recap

A relief in some respects now that the January window has been and gone.

During the month (and leading up to it I guess) we were very much the hot topic in the media, with plenty of negativity (jealousy?) surrounding us and our attempts at reinforcing the side. So much has been written and speculated that trying to keep up with everything going on was a tough task.

We arrived at the opening of the window in a state of flux, criticism of Hughes from fans and media alike growing and were soon dumped out of the FA Cup with a dismal performance at home to Nottingham Forest.

Despite some bumps along the way, what is clear is that we are in a far stronger position as bid adieu to January than we were at the beginning of 2009. The quartet who have been signed are of a similar disposition - solid internationals, experience at the top level but still with good years ahead of them.

In addition to the new arrivals, we also have three of our long term injured players in Michael Johnson, Valeri Bojinov and Martin Petrov on the way back, players we have clearly missed over the first half of the season and should provide a real strength in depth to the squad.

Who arrived?

Wayne Bridge, Nigel de Jong, Craig Bellamy and Shay Given arrived during January, and all four strengthen not only the squad, but the first choice eleven. Bridge, although culpable for two goals so far, is a better option than Javier Garrido, and most definitely an upgrade on Michael Ball. Nigel de Jong's impact will be two fold. Both as an impressive holding/defensive midfielder in his own right, but also in allowing Vincent Kompany to drop back and improve the central defensive area.

I wasn't overly enthused with the prospect of Bellamy the footballer arriving (let alone Bellamy the person), wondering how he would fit into the line-up, but having seen him in two games so far he does offer something different than the other forwards we have on the books. My misgivings about Shay Given have been well documented, but he is a good goalkeeper. Quite how good he is, and how much of an upgrade over Joe Hart he will be is something I will be keen to see, but if Hughes was intent on bringing in a 'keeper then unless we were going to splash £100 million on Gigi Buffon then Given is clearly the best option that we had.

Who didn't arrive?

Two big names - Kaka and Roque Santa Cruz, both of which ended frustratingly. The pursuit of Kaka was well documented with some of what was written about our attempt to sign him bordered on the disgraceful.

Perhaps we did make our approach for him too early in our 'project', but when you have an opportunity to sign arguably the best player in the world you cannot pass that up. Yes, it was always going to be a long shot, but one that was surely worth exploring.

Today's Roque Santa Cruz news was a microcosm of the whole pursuit of the player. The signing being off, then on, before falling through at the last. The reported fee of £25 million was way in excess of what his value is, but we are not operating in a normal market. We do need the player, and without an alternative being brought in run the risk of lacking the presence Hughes so desperately wants over the course of the season.

Seeing some of the deals that have been concluded, you do wonder though why both ourselves and Santa Cruz (given his desire to sign for us) weren't more forceful in pushing the signing through.

If Hughes is still keen on landing Santa Cruz in the summer though, Sam Allardyce and Blackburn could rue turning down the reported £20 million as I don't see them getting an offer anywhere near that figure in the future.

Without question though, this is now very much Hughes's side. The team is now made up of players he has either brought to the club or his type of player. His future is still unsettled though as the season so far has been a disappointment overall.

Heading into February, we are sat in mid-table and despite the talk of relegation for me that is not an issue. Looking up, we are five points off 7th position at present with FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Cup in a couple of weeks time.

The owners have shown a patient approach so far since taking over the club, and the January signings do point to being Hughes's ones as opposed to the marquee signings believed to be favoured by ownership.

Clearly questions remain at this point, and Hughes has a job on his hands to win over the many doubters amongst the fan base, and with no off-field distraction now the window has closed, focus will firmly be on what happens on the pitch.

Putting a positive spin on our current position though we do have an opportunity to ensure that the 2008/09 season ends up being a relatively succesful one.

For Hughes's long term future prospects, it may need to be.

The days best City links 01/21/2009

• Robinho could face fine - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

  tags: City

• Gary Cook resumes search for tasty ingredients | Manchester City - Times Online

  tags: City

• Comment: City victims of prejudice - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

  tags: City

• Simon Hattenstone: Kaka has made a stand against the grotesque wealth that could destroy football | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

  tags: City

• Video: Steve Daley on why his record Manchester City move went wrong | Football | guardian.co.uk

  tags: City

• Premier League: David Conn on why Kaka's snub of Manchester City means the owners must re-evalute their priorities for the club | Sport | guardian.co.uk

  tags: City

• Sky Sports | Football | Premier League | News | Cook offers Hughes backing

  tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The days best City links 01/20/2009

• What's the story? Gallagher takes aim at Sir Alex and Arsene over Kaka criticism | Mail Online

  tags: City

• MARTIN SAMUEL: McCartney will earn more than Kaka, but we'll still listen to The Beatles | Mail Online

  tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The days best City links 01/18/2009

• Kaka and Manchester City – it's all about the money - Telegraph

  tags: City

• José Mourinho is top of Manchester City’s wish list if Mark Hughes fails | Manchester City - Times Online

  tags: City

• Premier League: Why Kaka will be worth every penny to Manchester City | Sport | guardian.co.uk

  tags: City

• Premier League: Manchester City are primed for a nightmare in their land of make-believe, says David Lacey | Sport | guardian.co.uk

  tags: City

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.