All or nothing

Thats the way I'm starting to think about the takeover situation. If we don't get taken over then we are in deep deep trouble in my opinion and considering that just to ensure we don't lose money this year we'd have to sell Richards. Presumeably that doesn't mean we would get to use all of the sale money from Richards on new players and we will already be a man down and our defence will be unsettled as it is with Distin leaving on a free.

With Jordan, Beasley, Sinclair, Distin and Trabelsi all leaving and Barton most likely to follow it means that really we need:

- A new centreback
- A new rightback?
- A left-winger
- A right-winger
- Centre midfielder
- Creative midfielder?
- Two strikers

Rumours say that should we not get taken over, we will have £13m to spend plus money from sales. If Richards is sold I imagine some of that money would be used to break even the losses from the year and if Barton is sold also. Weaver and Ball haven't signed contracts yet so we could easily lose them, and they themselves might want to sort out their own futures quickly and opt to sign bosman deals elsewhere meaning we have even more areas to buy players for. So, we could expect £20-25m to spend? It will be very hard to find players to cover the positions I have mentioned above because inflation is bound to increase because of all of the TV money next season and teams will know that Premiership clubs have the money to spend. Prices are already over-inflated in this country but it will probably increase even more so chances are we might have to look overseas for cheaper players. If we did that then the players would need a settling in period, and Corradi is a perfect example that even though he has had a good record at other clubs it doesn't mean he will with us in a different, more competitive league. Attendances are down, there are less season tickets being ordered for next season and the article on Purely Man City summed up how much of a bad situation we are in if we don't get taken over and it doesn't bode well for the future - if we are losing £10m a season then does that mean we will have to sell off our best players all of the time?

One of the main reasons why we survived this season was because of our defence and because there were teams below us who were actually worse, and not because we were really any better. Potentially we could get ourselves into a situation where our defence start making defences. Distin has already left the solid back four we had this season and rumours circulating that Richards will be sold and Ball is a free agent should he not sign a new deal, the only real natural defenders we would have are Onouha and Dunne and we can't be relying on Onuoha constantly because he is only young and still learning and we have seen the bad injuries he is prone to getting. The teams below us this season will all improve their squads. West Ham will probably go above us next season because they already have guaranteed bucketloads of money to spend on new players and if we spend nothing and they spend a lot it doesn't take a genius to work out who will most likely finish above the other. Wigan and Fulham may not have much to spend and we have to hope that they spend less or at worst equal to the amount we spend and hope they buy bad players so we have a chance of staying above them IF we don't get investment. The promoted teams, Sunderland and Birmingham, all have young decent players and I can't imagine them making massive changes to their squad. In particular Sunderland, who are rumoured to have in the region of £30m to spend and already have a very capable team of staying in the Premiership. Without investment we'll certainly be a lot closer to the relegation zone.

If Shinawatra does take over then we can remain calm and happy and it could see the team dramatically rise up in the table. With reports of £50m to spend on new players, there shouldn't be a problem at all getting in players to cover the gaps and improve the quality in the side. With a class manager like Ranieri at the helm we don't have to worry. Attendances will go up, people will renew their season ticket and we should start to play good, flowing, attacking football more often than seen this season with quality players - which isn't hard to be honest. With a lot of money and a well-known manager in charge it shouldn't be hard to attract some big-name players, especially since the financial side would be very strong. The good times should roll and we will be in a great situation for the future where we should, in theory, be challenging for European places and domestic cups.

If we do get taken over, we can look up at the heavens of Europe but if we don't get taken over, we can expect to look down the barrel of relegation. Its going to be a nervous few weeks, or perhaps even months to find out if Shinawatra is going to launch a bid but one thing is for sure: at least it won't be a boring pre-season and it'll give people something to talk about whatever happens.

Thats what I think anyway

 

There is reason for concern at the minute to be honest considering we need all them players plus a manager! I was terrified at the thought of where we might be if Shinawatra doesn't make a bid but I've calmed down since and maybe we could just about survive. Heres the plan if we don't get taken over...

If rumours are true that if we don't get taken over then we will have £13m to spend plus any money from sales then we could do this. Sell Richards off for £15m at least - I know he is a fantastic player but he is hot property and if we aren't going to get investment then selling him will be the only way of generating enough funds to cover the positions mentioned! Or we'd have to rely on old has-beens. If we sold Richards for £15m say and that on top of the £13m will be £28m to spend. I'd buy Beasley because as the money situation might be a bit tighter I reckon he would be a steal for £2m. Buy Darijo Srna for in the region of £4m from Shatkahr for the right-wing. I'd sell Barton off for £4m and use that money to either get Appiah from Fenerbache or Benayoun from West Ham - we wouldn't be able to get either for just £4m I don't think so we'd have to add a couple of mill onto that. I'd see if Spurs were still up for having Corradi, who was linked as part of the deal along with £3m which would of seen Mido come to us but instead of Mido I would go for Defoe - Yes, I might be dreaming but he does want to leave apparently and if we actually TRY and show some ambition then you never know, although unlikely. Say a £10m plus Corradi bid for Defoe and with Mpenza already signed up our strikers are looking a whole lot better than before. Keep Vassell and Samaras for the bench and give a chance for Sturridge to come and play and see how he does. I'd definitely give Ball another contract along with Weaver who would be a fantastic backup keeper to Isaksson. In defence, obviously Distin has already gone and I would sell Richards to generate more funds. That would leave Onuoha, Dunne and Ball as our defence - looking a bit bare! Bring in an experienced central defender - Sol Campbell maybe? Rumours are he may leave Portsmouth and he would be a decent replacement for Distin. Juanito? Experienced again and wouldn't be a bad replacement, although neither are exactly young. Again being optimistic, we could try and get Campbell for £1-2m? Onuoha can play RB and Danny Mills can be cover. Then get someone who can play RB and CB on-loan from somewhere - theres got to be someone at a top European club allowed to go out on-loan. Leaving a team of:

-------------Isaksson------------------

Onouha-----Dunne----Campbell-----Ball

Srna---Ireland/Johnson--Appiah--Beasley

--------Defoe----Mpenza---------------

Sorted!