All the Money in the World...

Gareth Barry: 12 million pounds
Roque Santa Cruz: 18 million pounds
Carlos Tevez: 25 million pounds
Emmanuel Adebayor: 25 million pounds
Kolo Touré: 16 million pounds
Craig Bellamy: 14 million pounds
Ridiculous Man City scarf: 20 pounds
Not Clinching a Champion's League spot: Priceless

     Roberto Mancini's job is in question even though he has helped his team reach one of their highest premier league finishes ever. As great as a job as Mancini has done, this is just another example that proves money cannot solve everything in the world of football. A lesson Real Madrid should have learned, but continue to splash their cash and not win trophies. Apparently Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has never heard of Real Madrid and has pumped tons of money into the team. Granted they will probably finish 5th this year instead of last years 10th, and they are going to be in the Europa League, this is doesn't necessarily mean that throwing money at a team is the answer. Manchester City have lacked consistency this year and have beaten a number of great teams while losing to teams at the bottom of the table. The team also strung together a number of wins which would then be followed by a losing streak. Manchester City was able to get a number of big name stars buy offering large salaries, but this is what separates them from the top 3 - Presence. Clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Liverpool all have a presence which is know world wide. Player's join these clubs to win trophies - players who join Manchester city are shunned by these clubs and decide they wouldn't mind a large salary and a fairly tiny shot at winning a piece of silverware (Insert here the name of any Chelsea, Man U, or Arsenal reject). Manchester City cannot buy this kind of presence - you can only achieve this by history. City have done great things this year, but can this sustain this? Will they be able to take 4th next year? Well, that really depends on how they are perceived by the rest of the world. Of course City can offer Torres, Silva, and any other player a huge salary, but what would make them join the team -- these players who are the best of the best and want to win - the perception that City is a place to do it. If the rest of the world begins to believe that City is a team that will be in the top 5 yearly and will no longer just be that other team in Manchester, then they have a shot at doing something great and this will be a situation in which throwing money at a team has fixed it. Granted in this situation the money has been aimed in the right direction by the Sheik when he hired Mancini.
     I am not yet convinced that City can keep a top 5 spot as I expected more out of Villa this term and teams like Everton and Fulham have that slight presence that City are still yet to establish, and will forever be chasing a spot in Europe. Furthermore, when Liverpool is able to get in order, they will be reclaiming their top 4 spot. The Premier League is becoming harder to predict each season and this is only a great thing for football on the whole.