Chelsea are a relatively small club historically and­ have managed a few trophies - similar in stature to­ West Ham, not as big as Spurs or Arsenal. This has­ laregly been achieved due to money, although credit­ Gullit, Vialli and the Tinkerman for laying the­ foundations.

John W
As i said on the rumor thead I did not think­ Barry would go, as it was widely publisised that he was­ only leaving the Villa to gain championsleague football­ and to test himself against the best players.

I put­ some blame on MON for being smug he thought Barry would­ not be seduced by a dream and 120K PW
I had myself­ hoped wengwer might buy barry as i did think he might­ be the perfect foil for Fabregas but no way would he­ have got a 5 yr contract and he would not have got 120K­ PW either but he would have got CL football.

I also­ Feel that Villa needed Players in Jan the squad was­ getting tired after all they started playing early due­ to entry intyo the intertoto cup (my outlaws are Villa)­ they were disgusted when all that came in was Heskey­ and i think that lack of ambition shown then as well as­ MON deciding that ok we need to finnish 4th more than­ we need to win the competition you gave up your summer­ rest for so i shall play the babies!!! 3 days after­ being booted out of the FA cup by Everton.

Ok they­ will agree that money does not always get sucess as you­ have to mold the buys into a team but I reckon give it­ 2 years and City will be banging on the door.
They say­ the MON honeymoon period is well and truly over and­ they are worried as they cannot see or hear the right­ vibes comming out of villa pk right now learner is­ saying he has not got much money due to the credit­ crunch and portsmouth now also have rich arab­ backers.
time will tell but they fear that Man city and­ Villa will be swoping places next yr but instist that­ the large wage on offer was enough to turn anyones head­ no matter how level headed a person

Russell L, firstly the premier league get billions from­ tv rights - then why not distribute this money to the­ fans? In terms of reduced ticket pricing, or affordable­ merchandsing etc., instead of the pockets of the­ players and their agents?

Secondly, these expensive­ and popular world class players joined Man U only AFTER­ Man U has proven itself with a years worth of­ Silverware, that and a stable talented manager in SAF.­ So its not a matter of $$$ buying success, it's the­ talents of the manager that brings in the silverware -­ something Hughes has NOT done ever since he became a­ manager. Man C has got one of the most talented teams­ in the world, but still end up mid-table... MEDIOCRE is­ all it will ever be... where's your premiership­ title or even a top 4 finish that the owners and­ managers of Man C promised and bragged about??? NOT­ even the 1st runner up in the FA Cup or League Cup for­ that matter. Goes to prove that Man C will and can­ never be a club as big as the top 4. So far, only­ Everton under Moyes and Villa under MON are the only­ teams outside the usual 4 to have reach and challenge­ the top 4 monopoly. Even Kaka would rather go elsewhere­ then join the mediocre revolution...

Man C?? Whos­ that???

the thing about footbal is that it all comes down to 11­ players against 11 players and if you buy the best your­ in with a chance of winning something. no team is­ guaranteed a top 4 place and last season is over.i­ think a few people are getting worried about the city­ revolution. well done gareth barry for joining it .who­ s next....... tevez....eto o.....henry..... messi,,,,,­ its looking good..

john k...

i met this player with feet as sweet as honey- ill want­ to play for you- but first lets see the money- no- i­ want SOME MORE dosh-tosh [ preferably tax free-why­ should i pay like the rest of the scum who pay to see­ me every week- when i am not INJURED ]

John, you're right. And City won't win anything­ any time soon however many high profile players he buys­ because you can't buy loyalty. Just look at what­ Moyes has achieved at Everton on a relative shoestring.

Why does a man 'Barry' leave a club that is in­ Europe for a club that is not? Will Man City's­ billions buy success? ask Real Madrid, Leeds United,­ Chelsea ( I know they have had some success, but for­ the money spent, is it success?) and some years ago Man­ City themselves under Alison spent millions. You may­ buy 'star players' but will they perform as a­ team. It has been shown that with little money but with­ team spirit success can be achieved. The bubble will­ burst soon, football can not sustain the money being­ spent, the fans will one day say enough is enough are­ these 'prima donnas' really worth the money­ they receive? All they do is moan 'we play to many­ games, to much pressure' going to work for 12 hour­ shifts, with a mortgage and children to bring up, is­ pressure, not playing football 3 times a week. We also­ get the excuse the pitch was sub standard, where did­ they learn to play football, Wembley? We have had­ enough excuses from these people, plus, 'the worst­ thing in football' 'Agents?????' can these­ players not consult solicitors or barristers to review­ contracts . Agents are only interested in­ "MONEY" and should be banned from sport­ altogether. Please sensible replies, not the normal­ garbage placed here, by morons.

i note a bit of jealousy coming out there gather ur a­ top four club fan. unfortunetly u are going to have to­ realise that city will break the top four sooneer or­ later wether u like it or not so put that in ur pipe­ and smoke it C.T,I.D

not a big enough club money wont win man city anything

Collect as many muppets as they want, they still wont­ win anything,