NEW DAWN FOR CITY

Monday, September 1, 2008, was as an astonishing day, even for football, and the main event was the takeover of Manchester City by a Middle East company.

Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) sealed the deal and promptly sent shock waves around the transfer market with some audacious bids for some of the best players in the world.

Whilst only one was successful, that for Robinho for £32.4 million from Real Madrid, bids for Berbatov and David Villa must have caused many a top club executive's heart to miss a beat.

As Peter Kenyon of Chelsea was realising he had lost out on his club's main transfer target, Sir Alex at United was hearing that Spurs had accepted a bid from City for the Bulgarian forward. Ultimately, Berbatov's desire to join the European champions saved their blushes but rather than beat their rivals back down they may have only postponed the inevitable.

ADUG front man Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim has already made his intentions very clear and, with the billions of pounds available to him, it is hard not to see more disruptions to the elite world that is the Premier League.

Rumours are rife of star targets from Ronaldo to Kaka and Torres to Gerrard. In fact, it would be a surprise if every player in the world had not been linked at some point with a move to Eastlands by January's transfer window.

Mark Hughes probably choked on his morning cup of tea when he was told not only of the takeover but that Robinho would be in his squad and, from a position of hopeful expectation, he now has no option but to deliver a top four place this season.

The main stumbling block for any potential target is that Champions League football is essential and no amount of money can make up for it as Kaka has already intimated.

Apart from a poor end to the season City were in contention to achieve this last year and the arrival of players such as Shaun Wright-Phillips, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta and Tal Ben Haim meant they had reason for optimism.

However, Robinho's signing has increased these chances further and if as expected the January transfer window sees more quality players coming on board then the dream of Champions League football may become a reality.

Hughes now knows there is no room for errors, as with all successful owners they do not believe in a steady improvement, they want instant success as many of the Stamford Bridge managers have found out already.

Whether all these foreign investors is good for English football is a much more complicated question and far more difficult to assess but no one could argue that the ADUG involvement is not preferable to Thaksin Shinawatra who astonishingly has made an estimated £80 million on his 14-month spell at the helm.

And, it is this that is the underlying concern. Premiership clubs are seen as an investment and if the main focus is on making money then sometimes the goals of managers, players and fans may come in a poor second. Just ask Alan Curbishley and Kevin Keegan and the fans of West Ham and Newcastle for proof of that.

The City takeover is not just about making the Sky Blues one of the biggest clubs in the world, it is also about making Abu Dhabi the sporting capital of the sporting world.

The acquisition of City will add to the golf that is hosted and the forthcoming Grand Prix and may spur on the Dubai interest in a Premiership club, possibly Liverpool.

This is a competitive world funded by oil profits and only the richest companies and men can join in. Even Roman Abramovich looks to be a shadow of his former influence since ADUG showed their hand.

One thing that must be sorted though for future seasons is that the transfer window must be completed before the season starts.

It is ridiculous that fans do not know who is going to be playing for their team when they have already played three games and the constant speculation takes preference over what is actually happening on the field.

I am not sure if any of this matters to City fans and why should it; they now have a club they can believe will actually make it to the top and better still topple their rivals off their perch.

No longer can they take humourless solace in their underachievement, they are now sitting at the top table and only the glory of success will satisfy their appetites.

As ever, it is interesting times at Manchester City and it is very unlikely that events will not continue to surprise and shock in equal measure.

Whatever the outcome it will be enjoyable to watch issues off the field as much as those on it and we will not be alone in that.

The likes of Madrid, Arsenal, United and Milan, amongst others, will all be sitting a little less comfortably since ADUG's arrival and they all know their prized assets are all potential targets for the new 'top dog' in Europe.