Why Manchester City are still not amongst Europe's elite

Tuesday's result in the Champions League was of no surprise. The scoreline that day read Bayern Munich 2 Manchester City 0. This was not a surprising result as even after the billion pound investment by City's wealthy owners, City are still not one of Europe's best. I feel that one of the reasons for this is their manner of recruitment. The fact that they  hand out 190,000 pounds a week salary to just about anyone is actually affecting them negatively. This mega salary is starting to make a few players egoistic and that is a quality which is not seen in any top side. The most recent example of this was the Tevez case where he refused to take to the pitch and help City salvage something from the game. This was a disgrace not only to the club but also to football as a whole. Players no longer play for passion but rather for money, Etoo being the best example for this case. This mercenary attitude is what is restraining City from becoming a top side and its not like only a few players are exhibiting this as players like Dzeko and Balotelli are now getting into the act. In a game overshadowed  by the Tevez controversy, even a player like Dzeko was seen arguing with Mancini over his decision for the former to be withdrawn.
The astronomical wages also affect City in the transfer market. Players who they want to get rid off can't be cleared because no club is willing to pay their wages. This creates a situation where City either have to fund some of the wages or they have to deal with a million pound ego. If City really want to achieve as a club on Europe's biggest stage, they have change their mindset that everything can be bought, including silverware. 

Same old Arsenal?

Same old Arsenal. That was the phrase on everyone's lips after the Blackburn game, but even though Arsenal have been known to give away leads, this is becoming ridiculous. I feel 'same old Arsenal' is the wrong phrase to use as I would prefer the Arsenal of last season well over the present one. Certainly at the moment, Arsenal are playing their worst football in their prestigious 125 year history. Conceding 14 goals in the opening 5 games is no joke and at the moment they are sitting at 16th on the table. But the problem is not with the quality of players but the spirit of the team. Eventhough Wenger switched from buying embros to fully developed players, what is actually needed at the moment is that enthusiasm and spirit on the pitch which is lacking. But inspite of this humiliating defeat, one thing that angers me more is that Wenger is saying that Arsenal are at the start of a new cycle. The reason why this angers me is that this was the exact same statement he made in 2006 and in 2010 he said that the cycle was complete and Arsenal were ready to challenge for honours. That cycle produced zero results and the fact that he is saying that Arsenal are starting a new cycle means that it may be awhile before the gunners lift that elusive trophy.
At the moment the only thing that Gooners can do is hope and pray that Arsenal's fortunes will turn but if things remain as they are, Arsenal is in for a rough season.

The Wenger U Turn

28th August 2011. A day that every Arsenal supporter wants to erase from his or her memory. It was one of the darkest days in Arsenal history; the result of the game held on that day was Manchester United 8 Arsenal 2. The glaring scoreboard at Old Trafford was the final straw for many Arsenal supporters who demanded an immediate change in management. There was no doubt that they would have lost the game and even die hard gooners felt that however spirited their team was, 7 teenagers were not going to beat United at Old Trafford. The press berated Wenger, called him inveterate and stuck in his old ways. With all this tension engulfing the Emirates and with deadline day approaching, Wenger made an astounding decision. During the last two days of the trasfer window, 5 new players were brought in and surprisingly all above the age of 26. The surprise doesn't end there. A shocking statistic reveals that before 2011, Wenger had purchased only two players from the Premier League. This number became 4 on August 31st 2011. This leaves me wondering whether Arsene Wenger calls all the shots now since two days is quite a short time for such a massive change in mindset. My feeling is that the owner Stan Kroenke intervened in the decision making and forced certain transfers through. Now whether or not Wenger was completely or partially involved, its a very positive change from him and at last gooners can look forward to the new season with the hope of silverware.