GRAEME SOUNESS: Manchester City have been caught asleep at the wheel – and the £130million spending spree shows a club in panic mode

The more I see of Manchester City, the more I am surprised their powers-that-be didn’t see this coming. They’ve been caught asleep at the wheel.

Spending over £130million in January, a record for City in a winter window, only underlines that a club that seems so well organised did not react quickly enough to their obvious shortcomings.

They were easily second-best to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek and to now be in a situation where they need to beat Club Bruges to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League, it highlights how several of their players are on a downward spiral.

They have been in the box seat for several years now, the perfect position to look ahead and implement careful planning but this splurge at this time is not one you would identify with a club that gets most things right.

Buying in January hints at panic because you always pay a premium. Even if City insist they were players identified for next summer and brought forward, that’s not the hallmarks of a club building dynasties.

That £130m is more than Manchester City’s spending in the eight previous January transfer windows put together, since Pep Guardiola arrived in 2016.

City’s weaknesses were badly exposed by PSG in midweek as they roared back to win 4-2

Omar Marmoush has been City’s big-ticket addition this month, for £59m from Frankfurt 

I find it very strange that a club so well run, and with such sound football knowledge, now presides over a squad that is facing a quick demise.

The key to dynasties, when you are successful, is identifying early on the problems you are going to encounter going forward and who you are going to unload.

Bill Shankly broke up his great Liverpool team of the 1960s after they lost an FA Cup quarter final to second division Watford in 1970. He vowed it would never happen again, allowing a team to stay together too long, and later said ‘I knew I had to do my job and change the team. It was my duty to the club.’ That was passed on to Bob Paisley.

When players like Terry McDermott and Ray Kennedy arrived, they were left on the sidelines, learning the Liverpool way before being integrated into the team. Careers either come to an abrupt end or, like a candle, burn out slowly.

Last summer City brought in Ilkay Gundogan, who is 34. Someone they knew to be a real solid type, good in the dressing room and high quality on the pitch but he along with Kevin De Bruyne is now in the twilight of his career.

Injuries dictated De Bruyne only started 15 league games last season, and the signs were there to be read. Kyle Walker is another whose best days are behind him. I think Pep has been very kind, allowing the club captain to go to AC Milan on his terms rather than say he is past his best too.

Those three are the easy ones to spot. But Pep will now be looking at others and thinking how much more life is in their legs.

When Pep was consistently using phrases like ‘we are tired’ a year ago, I think it gave some of their weaker personalities an excuse. The modern game is not more demanding than in the past, it is geared for players’ longevity. Better pitches, better diets, better facilities.

New signings Abdukodir Khusanov (left) and Vitor Reis have arrived to bolster the defence

Kyle Walker has been allowed to leave for AC Milan on his terms rather than the club’s

Erling Haaland’s new contract is one reason to still be excited about City’s future

Pep and his staff should have been ringing a bell from what they saw on the training ground a long time ago, well before this season started.

The one thing you would say is, it makes the sell to Erling Haaland all the more impressive. He is a young man at the peak of his powers who will want to be at the centre of a team winning things going forward.

To sign him to a nine-and-a-half-year contract would have taken some convincing and it won’t be just about the money. City must have a new plan and he has gone for it.

Why is it so difficult to get help for ailing former footballers?

Football needs to realise the enormous problem it is facing with neurodegenerative disease in players.

It’s so disappointing that the PFA and Premier League continue to ignore a problem that isn’t going away and is only going to get bigger.

I look at the evidence brought by the Football Families for Justice campaign that is lead by John Stiles, son of former World Cup winner Nobby Stiles, and it has gone beyond any argument that there is a correlation between footballers heading a ball every day in training as well as on matchday for over a decade eventually resulting in cognitive damage.

Ex-colleagues, greats of our game, household names, left on their own, it’s not nice to see.

1966 World Cup winner Nobby Stiles, who passed away in 2020, with his son John in 2012 

Ray Kennedy (with trophy), Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish lift the 1978 European Cup

I had my own experience of trying to get help from the PFA when I was at Newcastle United and was seeking help for Ray Kennedy, a true great, who was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.

After an initial ‘no’, I had to threaten them that I would go public and embarrass them and they eventually helped him but said they could only afford to do so for a year. And this from an organisation that had LS Lowry paintings hanging up in its offices. 

Nothing has changed. The PFA are there to look after players in their struggles. Surely, they should have next to nothing in their bank at any time because they should be spending it on players in need and not works of art.

We are the richest league in the world yet it’s still not an easy fight for people like John Stiles struggling to be heard despite knocking loudly at the PFA and Premier League’s office doors.

Maybe current players should look around their dressing room today. Look to the left, look to the right and consider how many of your teammates will be affected by this disease in years to come. Or maybe, it could be you.

It’s an uphill fight for support. But it shouldn’t be.

Christie is at the heart of Bournemouth’s impressive run

No one should be surprised anymore by Bournemouth’s results.

I went big last week on how impressive Newcastle’s midfield has been. But last Saturday, Bournemouth were even more aggressive and outworked them. They had done the same to Chelsea days before.

Antoine Semenyo gets praise, correctly, as does Dean Huijsen, Justin Kluivert and the left back Milos Kerkez, they have all been fabulous but I have to single out Ryan Christie.

Ryan Christie has been the heart of a Bournemouth team surpassing all expectations

The former Celtic midfielder has gone under the radar but is a key man for Andoni Iraola

He’s an ex-Celtic boy who came as a wide player but he is the heart of the team, setting their tempo. He’s aggressive, very athletic and he can pass.

They face Nottingham Forest and Liverpool next and they will not be intimidated by either. The danger for them is will they run out of players?

They have a small squad and big injuries but they are a proper team. Andoni Iraola deserves great credit but the big challenge will be keeping these players beyond the season.

Amorim must be careful with his comments to avoid headlines

I like Ruben Amorim but I was surprised by him saying his team may be the worst in Manchester United’s history.

He has gone way out on a limb with his players and I’m not sure how you can come back from calling them that. He says they need a bonding session but it’ll need more than that.

Ruben Amorim should be careful with his comments with TV companies chasing headlines

However, I would say they aren’t the worst United side in the club’s history…

TV companies are now trying to get manager’s comments at half-time. I get it and it would make great television but I wouldn’t advocate doing it as a manager.

They want a reaction, someone blowing his cool but it is only something a manager would regret. If I was still in their shoes I’d resist.