The Vultures Begin To Circle...

Prior to take over by the Abu Dhabi United Group the Summer transfer window was a time for City to shop for bargains, and where better to start than the relegated teams.  Things have slightly changed somewhat, we are now shopping in Waitrose as opposed to the Happy Shopper, but that doesn't mean there aren't some bargains to be found from those teams slipping out of the Premier League.


I thought it might be worth having a quick look over those relegated squads to see if there are any players lurking who could do a job at Eastlands.  Clearly any players that I do think are worth considering aren't being viewed as starters, just extra bodies in the squad to do a job.  


Lets kick off with West Ham:


When you look through the Hammers squad it becomes immediately obvious that their relegation is due to gross miss-management as opposed to any lack of quality, they have some really good players and should probably have finished a good 6 or 7 places off the bottom of the table.  Their prized asset is Scott Parker, someone we were desperate to sign at the same time as Bellers under Mark Hughes. In the end the deal never came off, and to be honest I don't feel we need him now.  Barry, Milner, De Jong, Toure, Vieira (should he stay for another year) all nicely fill that space in front of the defense and I am not sure a big money move for Parker would be overly useful.

Demba Ba, scored goals in a bad team.

There is however one player that I think would definitely be worth considering.  Demba Ba has played really well for West Ham this season, he has managed to score 7 goals in 12 games and that is playing for a team performing really badly.  City could do with another striker should the predicted exodus of forwards occur this Summer and I think Ba would welcome the chance to play for a top club.  His athleticism and aerial ability make him a real handful and I think he could be a real asset off the bench.


What of Blackpool?:


Lets be quite clear about this, Ian Holloway (as much as I can't bear him) did a pretty good job with this squad, I mean it is really average and I struggle to find more than one possibility.  Let's try to avoid the obvious for now however and consider Matt Gilks.  If Shay Given leaves as expected, City will be in real need of a decent back up goalkeeper and I think Gilks has shown signs this season that he could be really solid, the other positive is that I think he would accept the role of backup keeper at this point in his career, so it might be one worth considering.  

Wanted by many...i'm not sure why either.

Other than that it is pretty slim pickings,  David Vaughan has had a pretty solid season and I think he could find a place in the Premier League next time round should he chose to move on, but as we all know the star performer has been Charlie Adam.  The Scot has been the life blood of the Seasiders and he has actually looked a really good top flight footballer.  Whether I would want him at City I am not sure, he has been linked extensively to Spurs and Liverpool and rumours bounce about that the even the scum might move for the 25 year old this Summer.  I suppose he could offer a decent option as backup for Silva pulling the strings, but I can't help but feel there are similarities between Adam this year and Stevie Ireland's one great season.


The final team suffering relegation were Birmingham:


I have to admit, I am so glad to see the back of Brum, there is nothing to like about them in my eyes, McLeish annoys me, their fans grate on me, and they are so massively boring to watch.  Now that I look over their squad, I do find myself wondering how on earth they won the League Cup, there is really nothing there.  Ben Foster is a really good keeper and would theoretically be good cover for Joe Hart but there is no chance of him agreeing to be a back up keeper wherever he goes.  Their squad is very workmanlike and I suppose that is understandable considering their style of play, they are built on a solid defense, and they do have a couple of centre backs that City could possibly consider.

Johnson & Dann...not a glamorous pairing.

Roger Johnson and Scott Dann are probably better as a pair than they are individually, they seem to know each others game inside out and they are the rock that Birmingham tried to build their success upon.  Having said that I am really clutching at straws because I don't think either are good enough for City, but it wouldn't be right to just ignore the Midlands side!


Conclusions:


There is hardly a wealth of talent being relegated this Summer, but for me the person that could offer the most to City is Demba Ba.  Even if City keep Tevez, we will only have 3 forwards, the Argentine, Balotelli and Edin Dzeko, if John Guidetti does leave there could be space in the squad for another striker and I think Ba could provide a decent option.


Obviously this is on the assumption that Jo, Adebayor and Bellamy will leave, but they do say that to challenge for honours you need 4 strikers.  City won't be able to bring in a top player to sit on the bench and I suppose it would also remain to be seen whether Ba would fancy that prospect, but I think it might definitely be one worth pursuing this Summer.


Finally, I realise they didn't get relegated, but am I the only City fan that thinks we should offer Wigan some money for Charles N'Zogbia, I really think he could offer us something....