Man. City's cash splash can silence critics

Manchester City have spent £219 million on transfers since being taken over by the Abu Dhabi Group last summer.

Last year, they splashed out £118 million and their endless spending spree is likely to continue until the close of the August transfer window.

For all their wealth, when City attempted to sign the real 'superstars', they failed to lure them to Eastlands. Players like Kaka, John Terry, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas and others rejected the chance to join Manchester City.

Although many of City's new signings have declared that they did not go there for the money, they must put their hands on their hearts before uttering these words.

Manager Mark Hughes has built a strong team to challenge for a place in the Premier League's top four and possibly for the honours. Yet, Hughes will be under intense pressure this season as great things are expected of him and his expensively-assembled team.

The man behind the revival at Manchester City is Sheikh Monsour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Abu Dhabi-based multi-millionaire.

Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has warned Hughes that some players can become unsettled at Eastlands due to the club's big squad and also because City are not in the Champions League. Calderon added that players are not driven only by money but also by a desire to win trophies with their clubs.

Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill was the latest manager to jump on the Hughes bandwagon by predicting that City must be regarded as contenders for the Premier League title.

"I am excited at events in Manchester and believe that Hughes' men should be placed alongside City rivals United, Liverpool and Chelsea as genuine title challengers," O'Neill was quoted as saying.

'I say that the top four has become a genuine top five.'

Cash from Europe

English clubs' income from European competitions last season:

Manchester United − £33.7m
Chelsea − £27.7m
Arsenal − £23.4m
Liverpool − £20.4m
Manchester City − £3.7m
Aston Villa − £0.4m
Tottenham − £0.4m

Club call

Arsenal
Manager: Arsene Wenger.
Ins: Thomas Vermaelen (Belgium), def from Ajax − £10m.

Aston Villa
Manager: Martin O'Neill.
Ins: Courtney Cameron, mf from Northampton − £750,000; Stewart Downing, fwd from Middlesbrough − £12m; Fabian Delph, mf from Leeds − £8m; Habib Beye, def from Newcastle − £3.5m.

Birmingham City
Manager: Alex McLeish.
Ins: Scott Dann, def from Coventry − £4.5m; Christian Benitez (Ecuador), fwd from Santos Laguna − £9m; Joe Hart, gk from Manchester City − loan; Giovanni Espinoza (Ecuador), def from Barcelona Sporting − £1m; Roger Johnson, def from Cardiff - £5m; Lee Bowyer, mf from West Ham − free; Barry Ferguson, mf from Rangers − £1.25m.

Blackburn Rovers
Manager: Sam Allardyce.
Ins: Elrio van Heerden (South Africa), mf from Club Brugge − free; Gael Givet, def from Marseille − £3.5m after loan; Lars Jacobsen, def from Everton − free; Steven N'Zonzi (France), mf from Amiens − £450,000; Franco di Santo, fwd from Chelsea − loan; Nikola Kalinic (Croatia), fwd from Hajduk Split − £12m; Nathan Ellington, fwd from Watford − free.

Bolton Wanderers
Manager: Gary Megson.
Ins: Sean Davis, mf from Portsmouth − free; Paul Robinson, def from West Brom − loan; Lee Chung-yong (South Korea), forward from FC Seoul − £2m; Zat Knight, def from Aston Villa - £3.5m; Sam Ricketts, def from Hull − £2.1m.

Burnley
Manager: Owen Coyle.
Ins: David Edgar, def from Newcastle − free; Steven Fletcher, fwd from Hibernian − £3m; Tyrone Mears, def from Derby − £500,000; Richard Eckersley, def from Manchester United − 'tribunal'; Brian Easton, def from Hamilton − £350,000; Fernando Guerrero (Ecuador), fwd from Independiente del Valle − loan.

Chelsea
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti.
Ins: Daniel Sturridge, fwd from Manchester City − 'tribunal'; Ross Turnbull, gk from Middlesbrough − free; Yuri Zhirkov (Russia), def from CSKA Moscow − £18m; Andriy Shevchenko, fwd from Milan − end of loan.

Everton
Manager: David Moyes.
Ins: Anton Peterlin (US), mf from Ventura County Fusion − free; Shkodran Mustafi (Germany), def from Hamburg − £550,000; Jo, fwd from Manchester City − loan.

Fulham
Manager: Roy Hodgson.
Ins: Stephen Kelly, def from Birmingham − free; Bjorn Helge Riise (Norway), mf from Lillestrom − £850,000.

Hull City
Manager: Phil Brown.
Ins: Steven Moyokolo (France), def from Boulogne − free; Jozy Altidore (US) fwd from Villarreal − £6m; Seyi Olifinjana, mf from Stoke − £3m.

Liverpool
Manager: Rafael Benitez.
Ins: Jesus Fernandez Saez (Spain), fwd from Cadiz − £1m; Glen Johnson, def from Portsmouth − £18m; Chris Mavinga (France), def from Paris St Germain − £550,000; Alberto Aquilani (Italy), mf from Roma − £20m.

Manchester City
Manager: Mark Hughes.
Ins: Roque Santa Cruz, from Blackburn − £18m; Gareth Barry, mf from Aston Villa − £12m; Stuart Taylor, gk from Aston Villa − £2.5m; Nils Zander (Germany), def from Schalke − £1m; Carlos Tevez, fwd, unattached − £25.5m; Emmanuel Adebayor, fwd from Arsenal − £25m; Kolo Toure, def from Arsenal − £16m; George Wood, gk from Cardiff − £1m.

Manchester United
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ins: Antonio Valencia, fwd from Wigan − £16m; Gabriel Obertan, fwd from Bordeaux − £3m; Michael Owen, fwd − free; Mame Biram Diouf (Senegal), fwd from Molde FK − £1m.

Portsmouth
Manager: Paul Hart.
Ins: Aaron Mokoena, mf from Blackburn − free; Steve Finnan, def from Espanyol − free; Frederic Piquionne (France), fwd from Lyon − loan; Antti Niemi, gk − unattached.

Stoke City
Manager: Tony Pulis.
Ins: Ben Marshall, str from Crewe − £650,000; Matthew Lund, mf from Crewe − £500,000; Dean Whitehead, mf from Sunderland − £3m.

Sunderland
Manager: Steve Bruce.
Ins: Frazier Campbell, fwd from Manchester United − £3.5m; Paulo da Silva (Paraguay), def from Toluca − £4m; Lorik Cana (Albania), mf from Marseille − £5m; Darren Bent, fwd from Tottenham − £10m.

Tottenham Hotspur
Manager: Harry Redknapp.
Ins: Kyle Naughton, def from Sheff. United − £5m; Kyle Walker, def from Sheff. United − loan; Peter Crouch, fwd from Portsmouth − £10m; Sebastien Bassong, def from Newcastle − £8m.

West Ham United
Manager: Gianfranco Zola.
Ins: Luis Jimenez (Chile), fwd from Inter − loan; Peter Kurucz (Hungary), gk from Ujpest − loan; Frank Nouble, fwd from Chelsea − free; Andrea Zola (Italy), mf − unattached; Fabio Daprela (Switzerland), def from Grasshoppers − £850,000.

Wigan Athletic
Manager: Roberto Martinez.
Ins: Jordi Gomez (Spain), mf from Espanyol − £1.7m; Hendry Thomas (Honduras), mf from Deportivo Olimpia − £3m; Jason Scotland, fwd from Swansea − £2m; James McCarthy, mf from Hamilton − £3m; Scott Sinclair, fwd from Chelsea − loan.

Wolves
Manager: Mick McCarthy.
Ins: Marcus Hahnemann, gk from Reading − free; Nenad Milijas (Serbia), fwd from Red Star − £2m; Andrew Surman, def from Southampton − £1.2m; Kevin Doyle, fwd from Reading − £6.5m; Greg Halford, def from Sunderland − £1.4m; Ronald Zubar, def from Marseille − £1.8m.

Note: Only loans for a period of one year or six months are included.