Champions League, You're Having A Laugh

So there’s another season of nothingness for Manchester City, with Tottenham Hotspur claiming the final Champions League spot for next season this evening.

Despite repeated talk of “the power shift in Manchester” it’s hard to see the evidence for this. Yes, City have got a lot more money than us and yes, City spent £47m for a player who scored 5 goals for United last season, but I don’t see how the power is shifting.

In fact, City have done worse against United than in seasons before Mancini’s scarf and before the £180k a week salaries. When City finished two places after the relegation zone six seasons ago, they beat us 4-1 at their place. The season before, when they collected eight points more than teams that were relegated, they beat us 3-1.

So, where is the power shift? United already have one trophy to their name this season, whilst City have gone longer than 34 years without silverware. As well as beating them home and away in the league, we also knocked them out of the League Cup semi-final, their first semi in any competition for over two decades.

City spent an incredible £125m on players this year, £128m on players the season before, but what do they have to show for it? Emmanuel Adebayor is the 6th highest paid player in world football, with there being less than £4m a year difference in his wages compared with Cristiano Ronaldo’s, and less than £2m a year difference with Lionel Messi. Carlos Tevez is the 8th best paid player in world football and earns more than Rooney and Xavi, whilst Gareth Barry earns more than Iniesta and Ribery, and Wayne Bridge earns more than Evra, Arshavin and Anelka. How does it go? If you pay peanuts you get monkeys, so if you’re paying the best salaries in the world… shouldn’t you be getting the best players in the world, not a sorry bunch of mercenaries who have won less than half their league games this season?

This is how it feels to be City.