Transfer deadline day not much of an anti-climax, then ...

By Luke Wilkins on Sep 2, 08 03:31 PM

One of my favourite days of the year has been and gone, the day that all the talk and hype ends, and where footy managers either put up or shut up.

But, let's be honest, most transfer day deadlines are the most boring, overhyped event ever, with only a handful of deals done and none really that will change the course of the season.

Well, that was before Manchester City became the richest club in the world.

Yes that's right. Forget Abramovich's Blues, forget the Galacticos at Real Madrid, because there is a big new player in football, and for once, it's the blue side of Manchester.

Not only did the ADUG group, who have taken over Man City, suddenly turn the day into a transfer frienzy but for the first time, someone nicked a player from right under Roman's nose.

There is a saying: you can never be the best forever, you can only be the best until someone better comes along.

And that's what happened. I bet it hurt the boardroom boys at Chelsea when they lost out on Robinho, let alone the manager and rest of the team.

There was an air of incredulity for most of yesterday, as once news spread that the Abu Dhabi United Group had got control of City, it became obvious they were trying to spend and spend big.

Suddenly, City were putting in audacious bids for Berbatov, Robinho and Villa to name but a few. At one point I thought they may have been getting Pele out of retirement to partner Maradona up front, but unfortunately those rumours didn't turn out to be true.

So for now, there is a new superpower in English and world football.

But with that comes extra pressure. Mark Hughes will have to deliver the goods, but I reckon he may get a helping hand during the next transfer window in January when he signs Kaka, Ronaldhino, Ronaldo and the Pope to bolster his squad.

I couldn't help chuckle at Chelsea's arrogance around the Robinho deal - Peter Kenyon's face, when it became clear they were not going to get their man, would have been worth the £32 million alone!

And look at Hughes' first team now. You have Dunne, and Richards at the back, Wright-Phillips and Petrov on the wings, Elano and Johnson in the middle of the park and Robinho and Jo up front.

And some bloke called Wright-Phillips ...

Not bad eh?

So apart from Man City, who to be fair, are taking a bit of a gamble on Robinho (he struggled to settle at Madrid for two seasons, before showing his class last term), who else made their moves in the mad scramble on Monday?

The red half of Manchester was shocked into action by the activity across the city, and finally put their hands in their pockets to sign Berbatov for £30 million, a piece of business they might have shied away from if it wasn't for Mark Hughes trying to hijack the deal at the last minute.

There is no doubt he is one of the best strikers around at the moment and his ability should help them stay ahead of City - for now!

Liverpool picked up the Spanish winger Riera, who will finally give them a decent option down the left.

Across the Mersey, Everton signed "Sicknote" Saha, a class player if you can keep him fit, and 20 year-old Belgian Fellaini, someone with a lot of promise, but I'm not sure it's the big name signing the fans wanted.

Kevin Keegan snapped up the striker Xisco from Deportivo, and also got Gonzales on loan, but you get the feeling that King Kev wanted more after his team was taken apart at the Emirates.

I doubt he is very happy with his board about now. Maybe it will even be enough for him to take his leave?

Spurs tried to fill the hole left by the departure of Defoe, Berbatov and Keane by buying Russian Pavyluchenko, and getting Frazier Campbell on loan from United - not exactly the same class coming in as going out. If Bent gets an injury this year, they could be in trouble.

There were rumours that Villa were after Dean Ashton, who would be the perfect signing for O'Neil, but the £15 million deal never emerged, much like Arsene Wenger, who has proved once more he is going to stick to his young guns this season, even though every season he has actually done that, they have come up short.

So, apart from a couple of other smaller singings, that was your lot on transfer deadline day, but I think we may have finally seen a shift in the powerhouses of football.

If nothing else, it will be interesting to see how the two teams in the Manchester derby shape against each other this year - and roll on the next transfer window in January!