Will they rue the day they let him go to Tottenham?

It raised a couple of eyebrows at the time, but not too many. Emmanuel Adebayor was well into Phase B of his latest career move (the sulk) so was surplus to requirements, and Manchester City just wanted rid. Thus when Tottenham Hotspur offered the player a route out (with City predictably helping out with the wages), it seemed the best deal for all.

Or maybe not. Now, it’s all looking a bit awkward. Now, it seems that Manchester City have loaned a player to a club competing with them for the title – and I doubt this is how Roberto Mancini saw it panning out.

Ideally, Mancini and the board at City would have wanted rid of Adebayor permanently – a transfer fee in from another club, preferably abroad, to take him off their hands. The problem was, as is often the case with City’s deadwood from the past couple of seasons, his wages. A half-season loan at Real Madrid had gone fairly well, but they had little desire to sign him up permanently – it was more a case of bridging a gap for a while due to injuries, Higuain especially springing to mind. Adebayor made all the right noises publicly about wanting to remain in Madrid, at times almost begging for a move to go through, his commitment extending to even cutting his hair. The guy was serious.

But it wasn’t to be. Real Madrid had moved on to pastures new, and Adebayor needed to find somewhere else. If you’re one of the best players in the world, the huge wages that came with you would not be a problem, but he isn’t (good as he is), and this limited his options. Not surprisingly, enter Harry Redknapp, stage left. Harry thought Adebayor was a ‘triffic player, but the wages would never be met by his chairman, and as we all know, Harry doesn’t get involved in transfer deals.

City were faced with the prospect of another Tevez situation – an unwanted, big-name player hanging around the reserves sucking money out of the club, casting a bed smell over the training ground. After all, there was no way back to the first team for Adebayor – once Mancini falls out with a player, they are history. A year-long loan deal to Spurs wasn’t ideal, but at least it would take some of the wages off City’s hands, and would get him out of the club for the time being – but more importantly, did Mancini and the board think Spurs were not a threat?

This was the team that had finished 5th the previous season, thanks to a late-in-the-season win at Liverpool. Mancini probably thought, along with most people, that this season would be a case of them trying to get back that 4th place position whilst City went for the league – and maybe it still will end up that way, but for now they continue to progress, and the Premier League title is a three-horse race, with some pre-season favourites having already fallen.

This is slightly embarrassing for City of course – it was not in the script to help out a title rival, though it may all turn out swimmingly – Adebayor can’t play against City but for all we know might end up scoring the winner against Manchester United, helping to bring the title to the Etihad. Who knows? But in future, Mancini and the board may have to rethink their strategy on where players go – any moves have to be right for both parties. Alex Ferguson wouldn’t let a player go to a rival club – this is the man who refused to let Heinze go to Liverpool.

Either way, it does highlight a flaw in the loan system. Premier League teams should not be able to, and should not NEED to, loan players from other Premier League teams. Too often it is a system that is abused, and is more a case of who you know as a manager as much as what you know. Loans to me have always been about developing young talent, getting them playing time so that they can develop, but even this has led to some “Big Four” teams loaning out young players to smaller Premiership clubs, and this doesn’t seem entirely fair.

As for Adebayor, do not expect him to lower his wage demands in the summer. It is unlikely that his move to Spurs will become permanent, and there is no reason for City to bend over backwards for him anymore. But for one year, Spurs have got themselves a very good deal that perhaps should never have been offered. And as result, if Harry Redknapp wants to talk about Carlos Tevez and his life-long admiration of the diminutive Argentinean in numerous press conferences, then go for it – but you get the feeling that Mancini and co. have learnt their lesson, and Tevez won’t be going to White Hart Lane or anywhere in England anytime soon.

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