In a column in British tabloid The Sun, former Barcelona Terry Venables advises Manchester City to try signing Barcelona player Carles Puyol.
Manchester City are trying to build a palace on quicksand. But without the right foundations, the whole thing will come crashing down.
I hear the club’s billionaire owners are still hell-bent on making a mega-signing before the close of the transfer window despite being so publicly rejected by Kaka. But it is time to stop playing Dream Team. Forget Kaka, Robinho, Drogba and Veloso. What they desperately need right now is spirit, fight, leadership and backbone.
If they really must buy superstars then the men they should be looking at are Spanish internationals Marcos Senna and Carles Puyol. These are top-drawer players who will bring the qualities City need — leadership, strength, guts, never-say-die.
Senna and Puyol might not be the names to set Arabian blood pulsing, but what a difference they could make to a team leaking goals. Senna was Spain’s best player in last year’s European Championship triumph. Puyol is brilliant at right-back or centre-half, two areas where City are in desperate need of strengthening. It would take a fortune to sign him from Barcelona but money is no object for City, as we found out with their proposals to sign Kaka.
The problem is Puyol is captain of arguably the best team in Europe. Why would he want to swap that for a side who might not even be in the Premier League next season? Huge wages are not enough to sign players of this stature. They demand money ànd success. Until City are a top-four team, world stars will always turn their noses up at them. But the Arab owners want to make a huge impact nòw.
That is the dilemma facing Mark Hughes. He’s a level-headed guy and I’m sure he knows what needs to be done. But how can he say ‘no’ when he’s asked if he would like to sign Kaka?
Read the full column here
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Sunday 25 January 2009
Venables advises Manchester City to buy Puyol
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5 comments:
Uhm, isnt veloso a defensive mid just like senna? Added to which what is the point of this article if he admits that puyol will most likely turn them down?
If i were man city, i would go to lyon and say "here take 100 million euros. nobody else is going to give you that for benzema" Then go to benzema and offer him the 250000 pounds a week they were about to offer kaka and say "you will have a buyout clause in 2 years time if we dont make the Champions league for 40 million euros" I would go after players such as lahm for the left back position and david villa up front along with robinho and benzema to make a breathtaking attack. In midfield i'd look go after a moutinho and a veloso to partner SWP. And in defence i'd look at a chiellini.
You have 100 million pounds and you buy bellamy and wayne bridge? And spend 17 million on de jong when you could have gotten him for 2.3 in 6 months time? i'd be going AWOL too if i were robinho
I didn´t even bother reading the content, just the topic was funny enough. If Kaka who isn´t even home grown at Milan refused to transfer to Man City, what makes them Puyol who is pure Catalan and been at our club his whole life will want to play for them ?
xavi was spains best player in the euro's not senna
Good point Anony
Venables was probably trying to say that Man City should be looking for players with fighting spirit and character rather than extravagant skills. I think it is a little typical that an English coach would place greater value on sheer doggedness than flair. Interestingly I think it is a quality Man City had something of before the money came in.
Of course they will never get close to Puyol, the very quality that makes him unique is tied to his devotion for Barca. Man City have been so foolish in the players they have attempted to get. They could have gone about it so much better. I kind of feel sorry for them.
Any top player who goes to Man City is going for a pay cheque. They are mediocre at best, have no history and if not for the Arabs wouldn't be able to afford Puyol's rist band. The fact Kaka rejected them when Milan considered their 'offer' tells you that even money can't persuade the world's best.
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