I think I might agree, perhaps it's best for all concerned if City are left in the knowledge that £25m is the price, and not a penny less. I think Bill should be the one to tell them, too.
I think both clubs are fed up now, so I can see City just caving in and going for it.
But what do I know, eh?
Could it be that their sugar daddy has spat his dummy out and decided not to fund any more players after seeing the quality of signings so far ?
They're more skint than we are now .
Could it be that their sugar daddy has spat his dummy out and decided not to fund any more players after seeing the quality of signings so far ?
They're more skint than we are now .
English Angle: Football's Food Chain - Are Everton Right To Deny Joleon Lescott His Manchester City Move?
Goal.com's Paul Macdonald considers whether or not it's time for the Toffees to allow Lescott to move to Eastlands...
18 Aug 2009 11:30:00
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England Press Conference: Joleon Lescott (PA)
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While this particular transfer saga has a considerable length to travel before it rivals that of one Cristiano Ronaldo, the protracted deal to take Joleon Lescott to Manchester City from Everton is swiftly establishing itself as the will he/won't he deal of the English Premier League close season.
Unless you've been hiding behind a huge billboard of Carlos Tevez, you won't have been able to avoid the remarkable transformation of the Citizens from cash-strapped side tormented by Red Devils to world superpower with infinite resources. It's testament to the capitalist nature of the modern game that a cash injection can mean attracting players who would previously have shown no interest in the light blue jersey. That fact isn't likely to change any time soon - and on that basis alone Manchester City have to be considered one of the biggest clubs around.
They have joined that elite group, that higher echelon of power brokers, peering down on the rest whilst flashing their wad. They have ambitions of grandeur and the means to transform their vision into reality. They can now at least bid for players of Kaka's quality and aim to conquer the world.
Moreover, Mark Hughes is building a team, strengthening shrewdly in key areas of the pitch; and he sees Joleon Lescott as the missing piece of his defensive puzzle. The England defender has begged Everton boss David Moyes to let him speak to City - a request which was succinctly rejected, and one which prompted Moyes to lambast City and Hughes for approaching one of his most treasured assets.
What the Scotsman would do well to heed, however, is that in the summer of 2006 he approached Wolverhampton Wanderers in a similar fashion. He dangled a carrot in front of the then Championship side, and in front of Lescott, who was desperate to take a step up football's food chain.
City's sudden jump in status means that, despite what league positions and heritage may have you believe, they are now a bigger club than Everton. The Toffees, then, may be acting in a hypocritical manner by not only accusing their rivals of a 'lack of respect', but by standing in the way of a player who has exhausted the benefits of playing at Goodison Park.
Lescott celebrates happier times at Goodison
Moyes, despite the Arsenal thrashing, has performed minor miracles on a modest budget on Merseyside, building a supremely organised outfit who are very difficult to beat, this establishing himself as a serious contender to replace Sir Alex Ferguson once his countryman's tenure at Manchester United comes to an end.
But there are no billionaire Sheikh's coffers to raid; there will be no £20 million striker arriving; there is unfortunately no other outcome than Everton finishing lower in the table this season.
Whether City's spending has the desired result of Champions League football next season is irrelevant; Lescott is only 26, and he has the opportunity to be a key component in a 'Chel-ski' like revolution which he would be foolish to ignore. The prospect of doubled wages would clearly sweeten the deal, and Everton need to realise that bank balances are crucial at this level.
Wolves didn't want to lose Lescott, who had just signed a new contract to remain at Molineux in 2006, but they were forced to bow to indefatigable player and financial pressures. Yes, there was a division between the two at the time: City will now consider finishing outside of the top six as abject failure, meaning they are attempting to directly displace the Merseyside club from their fifth-place perch. Still, Everton risk being lumbered with an unsettled defender when both his fans and his colleagues know he'd rather be elsewhere.
The 6-1 humbling at the hands of an Arsenal side still considered by many to be incapable of a title challenge hints that Everton are heading in the wrong direction. They defended woefully, while Lescott's mannerisms and demeanour were those of a man whose mind is elsewhere.
Everton must learn their place, and allow Lescott to blossom at a 'bigger' club, where the opportunities are as limitless as the zeroes on City's cheques.
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