Cunningham makes Republic squad

MCFC Academy graduate Greg Cunningham has been named in the Republic of Ireland squad for their friendly against Brazil next week. He joins MCFC goalkeeper Shay Given and MCFC legend Richard Dunne in the 23 man squad.

It shows how highly the young left back is rated. I don't know much about him, but he looked solid enough in his 45 minutes at Scunthorpe in the FA Cup fourth round. And he only turned 19 three weeks ago so he's certainly very young. It will be interesting to see if he replaces Ryan McGivern as our best young left back from the other side of the Irish Sea. (McGivern is from Newry, and represents Northern Ireland.)

City legends Robinho and Elano are in the Brazil squad for the game.

Dunne's departing shot

Dunne made some comments today in a press conference while on international duty for the Republic which left me feeling uneasy:

He said that it had not been his choice to leave and that he had been forced out:

"They signed the players and that was it. I wasn't given the opportunity to stay and fight for my place. That's what was annoying. I was told I had to go and that's the frustrating part about it.

"They told me they had accepted an offer so I said 'OK, but what if I want to stay and fight for my place?' They said 'it's funny, we need the money'."

These did not make particularly comfortable reading. As I wrote yesterday, Richard Dunne was MCFC's greatest servant of the modern era, a man who would run through fire for the club, who saved us from relegation under both Kevin Keegan and Stuart Pearce. Nine seasons, three as captain, over three hundred games, four Player of the Season trophies - it all adds up. So these accusations - that he was forced out against his will - were rather worrying. But they are nothing compared to what Dunne is quoted as saying in Friday's Daily Mail:

'The manager is very quiet, he does his own thing and I spoke with him a few times through the summer about what was going on. He was of the opinion that City needed two players for every position and that was the way the squad was going to work.

'The last time I spoke to him was in Africa after I had found out some other stuff. I said, "Where do I lie in the whole thing?" and he said they were trying to sign players and I would be part of his squad and I could fight for my place. He said I was still the captain and even last week he said to me he would rather I stayed but he was told we needed to get money in. I don't think it was his decision.

'They told me they have a certain amount of money they have to recoup each season to make things look better on the books. I could understand if I was being sold for £200m, it might make sense, but it was a bit strange really.

'It just needed people to be honest with me. I was getting phone calls from people saying Garry Cook was trying to sell me behind my back, two months after me going to him and saying if he has any problems to come and deal with me. I'm disappointed with people who say one thing and then do the other.'

There's quite a bit more than just this there - and there may be even more in other newspapers - so do read all of it. But these accusations, if true, are genuinely upsetting. Few City fans will quibble with Mark Hughes' footballing decision to replace Dunne with a quicker, classier, more astute alternative. I certainly do not. But to treat Dunne in such a way having made that decision; to deny him the right to fight for his place at City - and to do it all behind his back - is an insult to Dunne's service to Manchester City. Moreover, it is a failure of command from Cook, given how much emphasis the new regime places on acting with respect for the traditions of the football club.

Selling Richard Dunne was always going to be difficult. But it could have been done with dignity and grace. By this account, it was not. This leaves an unpleasant taste. And it betrays a quite unappealing side to our Chief Executive.

Dunne departs

This afternoon the club confirmed that Richard Dunne has left City, after nine years and 345 appearances, to sign for Aston Villa. Having recruited two new centre-backs for a combined price of almost £40million, Dunne's position in the first team was lost. And once Nedum Onuoha's future at the club was affirmed with a new five year contract, it was clearly untenable to have the club captain as fourth choice centre half.

And so the City career of our greatest servant since Ian Brightwell, if not of the whole modern era is over. A man brought to the club by Joe Royle who saw off not only Royle himself but also Kevin Keegan, Stuart Pearce and Sven-Göran Eriksson. He represented a rare pillar of stability in an unstable decade, forming a defensive partnership with his predecessor as captain Sylvain Distin which was the only thing which saved us from relegation under both Keegan and Pearce. Four consecutive Player of the Season awards - the last in 2007/08 - demonstrate that he was the one consistently good player in a period otherwise defined by mediocrity - after the fading of Ali Benarbia, before the arrival of Elano.

Stability, consistency, leadership, bloody-mindedness - the sense that, for once, the cliché about running through flames for the badge was true - these were Dunne's qualities. More than almost any other player to have made a significant contribution in recent times - Gerard Wiekens or Kevin Horlock excepted - he made the very most of his abilities. Had things been different he certainly could have played another four or five years for City and forced his way into the top ten all time most appearances.

But, as with everything else connected with City, this all change on 1 September 2008. From that point on Manchester City and Richard Dunne's paths started to diverge. For Sheikh Mansour merely staying up was not enough. Nor was making the most of one's talent. Once MCFC embarked on its new enterprise, it was clear that effort and experience were not enough. Necessary, of course, as they are to any successful football club. But nowhere near sufficient: what was now needed was excellence. And, as heroic as Dunne has been for City, real excellence always lay just beyond him. When Mark Hughes decided to bring in two new centre-halves this summer who combined Dunne's effort and experience with excellence of their own - in the £14m

Kolo Touré and the £22m Joleon Lescott - the ending was writen.

He is, then, the highest profile casualty of the new regime so far. Richard Dunne symbolised the MCFC of the 2000s like no-one else. Not just for his 300 appearances, his captaincy and his four Player of the Season trophies - but because he embodied the spirit and achievements of those years - passionate and determined but never excellent. But what are ADUG, Garry Cook and Mark Hughes trying to do to City if not to cast off and leave behind the mediocrity of those years? Dunne was no longer the one man stopping City from going down, but was one man slowing down our going up. And so, to move the club forward, to leave behind the unsuccessful past, to detach City from its past mediocrity, Richard Dunne - the greatest symbol of pre-ADUG MCFC - had to go. He now takes up his rightful place alongside Horlock, Shaun Goater and Uwe Rösler in the pantheon of departed heroes. The ADUG revolution rolls on regardless.

Bassong prefers Spurs

News on the 'potential alternatives to Lescott' front tonight, from the Mail:

Bassong, banned for the first two games of Newcastle's Championship campaign with a suspension carried over from last season, believes working for Redknapp would help his development.

City's financial muscle could yet come into play but there is a danger they could miss out on all their targets.

Everton are determined to make Joleon Lescott's departure difficult, Sylvain Distin would prefer to play regularly with Aston Villa while Bassong has put a switch to London ahead of Manchester at this stage.

I wonder whether potential difficulties with signing Bassong and Distin will induce us to increase our bid for Lescott.

I'm getting rather bored of this now.

Nedum stays, signs

I've spent a lot of the summer going on about how I hope we only sign one centre back, because then we can partner John Terry/Joleon Lescott/whoever with Nedum Onuoha and thus maintain the Academy element within the team. I worried that the arrival of two centre backs would limit Onuoha's chances so far that he would be forced out.

I am delighted to have been proven wrong today: rather than agitate for a transfer, to keep his World Cup dream alive, Nedum Onuoha has signed a new five year deal. This says an awful lot for the Onuoha's patience and commitment to the club. Both Joe Hart and Daniel Sturridge have left the club in pursuit of first team football this summer (it is increasingly apparent that Sturridge will start more games this season for Chelsea than he would have done had he stayed at City), and while Onuoha would have been justified in doing so, he has committed his future to MCFC.

It is also a clear statement from Hughes, Bowen et al that they see Onuoha as a key part in our long term plans. As Hughes said today:

“Nedum is a very important part of my future plans for the team, and I am very pleased he has decided to extend his contract with us. Despite his tender years he has already matured into a very good defender who has made a significant impact on the first team,” he stressed.

“Nedum has huge potential for the future and is another shining example of the kind of quality our academy can produce for Manchester City football club.”

This firmly suggests that Onuoha will have a real part to play this season. But, presuming we sign Lescott (or Upson), he will be at best third choice. Yes, Kolo will have African Cup of Nations duty which will give Onuoha a few games. But probably not as many as he played in 2008/09 - 27 starts in all competitions. Where, though, does all this leave Richard Dunne?

Tuesday transfer rumours

Nothing on Lúcio, but still one or two points of interest this morning.

The first concerns the player whom Lúcio would presumably replace - Richard Dunne. It's the same 'Sunderland £4m bid' story we've been hearing for weeks, but with a twist: a quote from Niall Quinn - Sunderland Chairman, City legend and Roque Santa Cruz of the 1990s. He said of his former Republic teammate:

'He is a player who is an excellent footballer but he is a Man City player until they say any different and we stand in a line but we are not the only admirers but if there is a chink of light we will get through it if we can. We probably need a few men and spirited people to lift what we have and of course Richard Dunne would fit the bill.'

It seems increasingly likely that Dunne will leave, which will be both a terrible shame and a necessary step in the right direction. But I'll have more to say when this goes through.

The other departure mentioned today will be less of a shame: widely reported news that Jô is to spend the 2009/10 season on loan at Everton. He's not the worst striker we've ever had at City, but he is the worst £19m one. It only took a few games and one mis-timed night out for Hughes to really turn against him, and from that point he didn't have a future at City. When it became clear that Hughes wouldn't be replaced by Frank Rijkaard - a man who did great things with lazy Brazilians - Jô's future was only ever going to be away from City.

Nothing really on John Terry. We all await his public statement.

Season ratings: Defenders

Michael Ball (13 starts, 0 goals)

One of the last relics of the Stuart Pearce era, he looked out of place in a side that is trying to leave the dismal memories of 2005-2007 behind. Spent the first few months of the season resurrecting last year's game of competing with Garrido for title of 'Premier League's slowest left-back.' His effort is there for all to see, and he was quite an effective performer when he was quicker, but he just doesn't have it anymore. One of four players to play their last game for the club in the cathartic nadir of the 3-0 FA Cup loss to Forest in January. C

Tal Ben Haim (14 starts, 0 goals)

Not Mark Hughes' best bit of business. I thought that he represented a good deal at £5m but his spell at the club represented a real failure. He forged an unconvincing partnership with Richards - whom he knocked out against West Ham. Individual errors cost goals against Aston Villa, Brighton and Hull. And to top it off he went to Garry Cook to complain about Mark Hughes. Will not be seen in a City shirt again, I imagine. D

Wayne Bridge (22 starts, 0 goals)

The first buy of the January window, and signalled Hughes' policy of pursuing experienced Premier League campaigners rather than any sort of galactico or wunderkind strategy. At first he did not look much an improvement on Ball and Garrido - making errors that led to goals against Newcastle, Stoke and Portsmouth. He settled into the team as time went on, cutting out most of the errors and showing a quality in attacking play that we haven't seen in a City left-back for some time. There were some fitness problems later on in the season which saw Zabaleta moved across to fill in a few times. A good pre-season, though, and he should be able to justify his fee next year. B-

Richard Dunne (47 starts, 1 goals)

The big question is whether it was an anomalous off-year, or the start of a decline. Because this was not the Richard Dunne we've known and loved for the past nine years. He was slower and clumsier than he's been before, and failed to produce for Hughes the reliability on which Eriksson, Pearce, Keegan and Royle all depended. The dismissal for kicking Amr Zaki was the low point, and he did improve after his four match ban, but there were too many errors to ignore. By the spring, he was consistently overshadowed by Nedum Onuoha, who finally blossomed into the defender some (not me, to my shame) said he would become. And with Hughes said to be on the lookout for a new centre half - and with a ready made captain's replacement in Barry - Dunne may well be at the end of his long journey with City. B-

Javi Garrido (17 starts, 1 goal)

Better than last season, but still not good enough. A clear beneficiary of the Hughes fitness regime, looking quicker and stronger than he did under Eriksson and putting in some pretty good performances in the autumn. Scored a brilliant freekick against Liverpool in October. But, like Joe Hart, he could not do enough to dissuade Hughes from buying a top of the range Premier League experienced model in January. And when Garrido came on away against Aalborg we were reminded exactly why we pay Bridge £90,000 per week. C+

Nedum Onuoha (27 starts, 2 goals)

One of the season's success stories. Finally fulfilled his potential and became a very good, very consistent centre half. Spent the first few months on the bench, filling in at right or centre back when required. But our defensive frailty in 2008 saw Hughes adopt a new approach for 2009: moving Zabaleta into midfield, Richards at right-back and Onuoha alongside Dunne or Kompany in front of Given. It was one of Hughes' best decisions this season, transforming our defence from one of the league's weakest to an acceptably solid one. And at the centre of it was a finally injury free Onuoha. He no longer looks like a promising athlete and occassional footballer but a genuinely composed and commanding defender, with credible international prospects, and was rewarded with the March and May Player of the Month awards. Like Stephen Ireland, he gave a lesson to some of his fellow Academy graduates as to how patience and commitment are the only real means to fulfilling potential. A-

Micah Richards (49 starts, 1 goal)

One of the season's disappointments. So much was expected after last season's heroics, but after a bad knee injury in the spring of 2008 he never seemed to recover his form or confidence. The early suspension to Richard Dunne forced Richards to form with Tal Ben Haim one of the worst centre-back pairings in recent memory. They were mauled by Gabriel Agbonlahor on opening day at Villa Park, and the next weekend they went for the same ball and Richards was knocked out. He struggled on at centre half until Christmas, when he was moved to his preferred right-back position. He was better there, able to impress with his galloping runs down the right, if not always with his defensive positioning. A good performance and his first goal for years against Sunderland in March was a certain highlight. But there was always a sense that when Zabaleta was no longer needed in midfield he would return, and a training-ground spat with Hughes rounded off a rather unsatisfactory year. If he wants to make the 2010 World Cup he needs a big improvement next season. B-

Pablo Zabaleta (39 starts, 1 goal)

I was distraught when we sold Corluka to Spurs, but I should have known not to doubt Hughes - because his replacement is even better. Given that he arrived from La Liga in the last week of August and was thrown straight in to a Premier League game with Chelsea, he settled in quickly and had a very good season, peaking with the December Player of the Month gong. Split his time between playing right back and holding midfield with equal competence and commitment and even did a job at left back when asked; and became a crowd favourite very quickly. For his work-rate, his versatility and 'robust' tackles, he's already immensely popular; he's like Danny Tiatto but he can play. Another good season next year and we may well see him lining up alongside Messi at next year's World Cup. A-

Let's not forget three other defenders: Corluka made six pretty impressive starts before Hughes replaced him with Zabaleta, making a profit in the process. Shaleum Logan filled in at Fratton Park in the absence of Micah Richards, reminding us all how quick he is, and of course the legendary Glauber Berti who got ten minutes against Bolton to rapturous applause.

A turning point?

There is a sense that two of our last three games - the 2-1 defeat of Hamburg and the 2-1 win at Everton (either side of a rather shaky 4-2 win over WBA) could represent a turning point in the Hughes era. Richard Dunne certainly seems to think so:

"Possibly it took the Hamburg game at home for us to realise that [we are a good side] because they are a really good side and we battered them on the night. Confidence has grown since then and when we compare ourselves with Everton, we are not too far short of a top six side.

"They have had the stability that we haven't had in terms of managers. David Moyes has had some stick at times and the odd bad season but they have stuck by him and progressed massively. For us to move forward we need that stability and time to build a squad with depth.

"The manager's signings in January all strengthened the side. He wants time and he deserves it. I am sure we will supplement the squad in the summer with more top players and become an even stronger squad. Hopefully we can do next season what Everton and Villa did this season and maybe even take it a bit further."

"Winning at Everton was the boost that everyone needed, we were determined not to just let the season peter out and have pointless games," he stressed. We want to claim the seventh place and get back into Europe and the win at Goodison put us closer to that. We were pleased to play well and get the three points but the best thing of all was that it was a real team performance. Everyone worked really hard. No-one has ever doubted our skill on the ball but once you put the work rate with it we are a really good side."

The baton passes

Richard Dunne, winner of the last four Player of the Season awards, seems resigned to losing the crown this year to another Irishman:

"Stevie has been outstanding all season and I don't think anyone can touch him for what he has done since August," said Dunne, the man who has won the Blues' player of the year honours a record four times.

"I think for his age he has been sensational and could possibly be the best midfielder in the country at the moment. I just wish he played for his country too.

"The key with Stevie is to just let him play and let him enjoy himself.

"We are not really surprised how he has come through the ranks because he has always had the talent.

"It is amazing to think that he wasn't in the side at the start of the season and might even have left the club at one stage but since he got into the team he has been man of the match on countless occasions. That shows his determination and how much he wants to be part of this club moving forward.

"He is priceless. We could probably afford to buy any player in the world at the moment but you cannot put a price on him. He is a great example to others coming through the system at City."

And so the baton passes from one generation to another. Who'd have thought that of the Richards, Johnson, Onuoha, Ireland and Hart (slightly cheating, I know) generation, that Ireland would be so comfortably the best at this point?

Sun: Dunne out in summer

One of the first pre-summer transfer rumours, in Wednesday's Sun:

RICHARD DUNNE will join Sunderland in the summer for around £4million.

The centre-half is on his way out after nine years at Manchester City as Eastlands manager Mark Hughes wants to shake up his squad for next’s season’s trophy hunt.

The question of our centre back pairing for 2009/10 is quite interesting. It could be anyone from Vincent Kompany, Dunne, Nedum Onuoha and either one or two summer buys. But we'll have to bring at least one in before we can start entertaining this sort of rumour.

Dunne supports Robinho

Official site:

Dunne said: "It was an awful thing to be accused of and it would affect any man in that situation. He's got a young family and they are his main concern so hopefully that has lifted a bit of weight off his shoulders and he can start playing with a smile on his face again and showing what he can do..."

Dunne added: " All the criticism doesn't help him. It's easy for people outside the club because nobody sems to want him to do well. So it's important for us here and the fans to be 100 per cent behind him.

"Every stadium we got to, people are expecting him to do amazing things. It's not going to happen all the time. He's probably feeling the pressure of having to keep proving himself. Once he relaxes he will be fine.

"The players see how good he is every day in training. We all firmly believe in him and that he will return to his earlier form. That will be a real boost for us."

Dunne on Given

From M.E.N.:

Dunne said: "He has done really well since he has come in. I don't think anyone has really been surprised - everyone knows how good he is.

"Obviously, he is a big loss for Newcastle - their fans and their players will know how good he was - and he has come in and just carried on.

"He is just doing the exact same things. Just the way he walks around and the confidence he gives off has been great for everyone."

The Dunne/Onuoha solution

Danny Pugsley does the math to demonstrate just how good the Dunne/Onuoha partnership has been, particularly relative to the Dunne/Richards one.

Dunne and Onuoha (11 games) average 1 goal conceded per game, better than Ben Haim/Dunne (8 games, 1.13 goals/game), Dunne/Richards (14 games, 1.21 goals/game) and much better than the disastrous Ben Haim/Richards pairing - 7 games, 1.86 goals/game.

And his analysis is spot on:

What I think is the key component in the Dunne/Onouha axis though is that in Nedum Onouha, we have a 'footballing defender' (something I've always felt he is more so than Richards is) alongside the more 'basic' elements of Richard Dunne. Although slightly skewed by the start of last seasons performances, in the end was the Dunne/Richards pairing undone by the fact that they are just too similar?

Now, and arguably for the first time since Sylvan Distin left for Portsmouth, we have a settled pairing that do complement each other. How fantastic is it to also see Nedum Onouha finally put a sustained run of fitness and form together to begin to show just exactly the type of player that most of us have thought since he first emerged.

I had thought that Vincent Kompany was the long term replacement for Sylvain Distin. But with his continuing to play in midfield, Onuoha may just be that man.

Defensive solidity

One of the more interesting things about the second half of the season has been our new found defensive solidity.

The coinciding of three trends - the arrival of Shay Given, the return of Richard Dunne from suspension, and the introduction of Nedum Onuoha at centre back have all contributed to a 2009 which is much stronger defensively than 2008.

The first of these - Onuoha at centre half - started in the 1-0 win against Wigan on January 17. Nedum has played the last twelve games since then (his longest run of first team starts for years). In those twelve games we've conceded ten goals - an average of 0.83 goals/game. Contrast this to our games this season up to that point: 30 games, 43 goals conceded and a 1.43 goal/game average.

The second, chronologically, was Shay Given's debut - in the 1-0 home defeat of Middlesboro on February 7. In the nine games since we've conceded eight goals - that's 0.89 goals/game. In the pre-Given era we conceded 45 from 33 - 1.36 goals/game. The third was the return of Richard Dunne from suspension at København on February 19. Since then he has played all seven games, in which we have conceded six goals (0.86 goals/game). Or, if we isolate the season before Dunne's return, we're left with 1.34 goals/game.

So there's a statistically clear defensive tightening after each of these three events. It is interesting that the one event which provides the clearest contrast between two halves of the season is the re-introduction of Onuoha rather than the introduction of Given or the return of Dunne. But the stats can only tell you so much. The point is that these three have provided a solid base at the back perhaps unlike anything we've had since the James - Distin - Dunne era.

More interesting is that the solution to our centre back dilemma (Richards and Ben Haim, anyone?) should have been the one of longest standing at the club. As we all know, Dunne is the four time Player of the Year, with 285 league appearances. He made his debut under Joe Royle in October 2000. Onuoha, though, is our second longest serving continuously serving player, having made his debut in October 2004. (Wright-Phillips also played under Royle, debuting before Dunne, although he did later spend three seasons at Chelsea). This suggests that there may well be something in Hughes' talk of having players 'with an empathy for the club.'

Dunne signs!

After months of speculation, Richard Dunne has signed a new four year deal. Just five weeks ago we were confronted with this BBC story, forecasting Dunne's inevitable departure. But now he's signed on until 2012, and is "delighted to be able to stay."

Naturally I'm pleased. To have won four consecutive Player of the Season awards is a fantastic achievement, as is making 257 league appearances (the most since Ian Brightwell?) and almost 300 in all competitions. I am not as much of a Dunne fan as some: I don't think he was our best player last season, or even our best defender. He has bad games (as many as Corluka, fewer than Richards) and when he does the whole team suffers. But that's not nearly the whole point. He's a great leader who has brought Richards on very far in only eighteen months of first team football. Moreover, he's a vital touchstone of stability, the final remaining link with the Keegan, and even Royle eras for a club which has is too often in a state of flux.

And so the signing of Dunne, significant as it is on its own terms, points to something more important. There was a real sense a few months ago that everything would collapse with the departure of Eriksson. He was so popular with the players that they would follow him out of the door, and in 2008/09 we would be relegated with a team made up of academy graduates and aging galacticos. But, just one month after Eriksson's depature, none of this has materialised. No players have left against our wishes, Dunne has signed a new deal, Hart seems likely to do the same - even transfer deals initiated under the old regime (am I right in thinking Jo was originally found by Tord Grip?) have been followed through. Although everything could have collapsed around the departing Eriksson, none of it has. For maintaining this stability, great credit must go to the very impressive Garry Cook. But, even more than that, it ought to go to the man who appointed him: the chairman.

Stuff

• Today was a bizarrely news-heavy day for the club. We seemed to fit a fortnight's worth of announcements (kit notwithstanding) into one afternoon. Had our Press Office just been closed for the last few days?

• Two players' departures from the club were announced. Sun Jihai has gone to Sheffield United and Andreas Isaksson to PSV Eindhoven. Neither player made a number of appearances in keeping with their respective abilities.

• We're going to be on TV. There has been a deal done with ITV to show our home UEFA Cup games, starting with the EB/Streymun game at Oakwell on 31st July. The Celtic friendly (Wednesday 6th August) will also be on Setanta Sports: they have a list of the pre-season friendlies they're showing here which includes this game but not the AC Milan one, unfortunately.
  

• Apparently the first day of training was today. From what I can glean from Hughes' interview on mcfctv.com Corluka and Fernandes weren't there because of the Euros and I think Caicedo may also have been given a pass. I'd love to know if Bozhinov was involved: anyone know? The biggest news to come out of it, though, is Stephen Ireland's new hair. It's all gone. See pics here.
  

• Slightly more serious: Hughes talked about three other players in the Jo press conference today. Apparently the Richard Dunne deal is 'as good as done' (if I see 'Dunne Deal' in the papers tomorrow I will literally cry), which is obviously a good thing. He may be our third best defender, but he's a great captain and has years of experience at the club. Given the instability at the club for the past twelve months we need people like him around. Joe Hart is not as close to finalisation, but Spurs' purchase of Gomes from PSV, and our allowing the Dutch champions to replace him with Isaksson suggests it's more likely than not. (Is the fact that Johnson is not being discussed in the same way a very good or a very bad thing?). Finally, Hughes dealt with the Ronaldinho issue. I was pleased to hear him talk of the potential deal so enthusiastically (I had feared it was being imposed on him by Thaksin), but I'm still sceptical he'll join us. But this guy knows more than I do about it.

• Hughes did say that the squad is unbalanced (it is) and needs balancing (it does). But when asked if there was more money to spend after Jo and potentially Ronaldinho, he was rather evasive. Taken together, does this mean that we're going to have to sell to buy? We do really need a right winger, an experienced holding midfielder and someone who can play left back and centre half. And maybe even another centre forward. £3m for Samaras, £2m for Isaksson and even £6m for Bianchi just won't do it.