Pushing our luck over Terry?

The biggest transfer rumour of the summer, and one which sounds like it will run and run for some time yet, has been our pursuit of Chelsea and England captain John Terry. Despite us repeatedly expressing our interest and bidding at least twice so far, and Chelsea's perhaps naive insistence that the player is not for sale at any price, it seems we're no nearer to a decision either way than we were a week ago, or two, or three.

The player's continued silence on the matter would indicate his intention to pressure the Chelsea hierarchy in some way, be that for a transfer here or not isn't known, but it's certain that Terry could have put all tales to bed on a number of occasions, but has chosen to keep his lips well and truly sealed, to the point that we've now heard opinions on the matter from pretty much every current registered Chelsea professional, any former player with the vaguest link to the club, and a number of board-level suits, not least frequent denials from no-necked motormouth and gardening leave enthusiast Peter Kenyon.

Terry, it would seem, quite fancies the move, and a new improved bid should make its way to Stamford Bridge sooner rather than later. As a City fan, i want us to have the best side possible, we all do, it goes without saying, but i do feel a slight unease at what to me looks like a pretty blatant case of tapping up. It goes on, we'd be deluded to deny that much, it's always been a part of the game, even from the very early days, and i expect it's something that goes on in lots of walks of life, but that's not to say it should be encouraged.

With our new-found wealth and all that comes with it, we will inevitably earn our fair share of knockers. Fans of rival Premier League clubs have suddenly gone from 'having a soft spot for City', mainly because they were guaranteed four points from us a season, to pouring with jealousy at our ability to sign players who might not've considered coming here a year ago. You'll meet the odd one who puts forward a well-reasoned argument, and i'm sure that in our heart of hearts we can appreciate that were it not us, we might have objections ourselves, but generally it's just idiots so quickly keen to remind us that we're 'a small club', 'have no history', and 'will be goosed once the oilmen get bored and do one'.

The media, too, although they seem slowly to be turning round to goings-on, probably eager to get on the gravytrain, are quick to point out that heavy investment in players is 'obscene' or 'absurd', and that Hughes, despite constant backing from the board, is under unfathomable pressure. Cook, trying to be proactive, is 'naive', 'not a football man', 'another ego'. Basically, we're an easy headline, and everyone is waiting for us to fall flat on our faces in 'typical Citeh' fashion.

It's with this in mind then that i think we need to try and do things as by the book as possible, earning ourselves as little criticism as we can, and alienating as few along the way as we can manage. Hughes using the press to force a move for Terry, speaking of other club's players knowing full well that no bid's been accepted, didn't really sit well with me. I want Terry here, but i think we should adhere to ethics that we'd expect of others, and not sink to the levels of say, Harry Redknapp, the sour old fool over the road, or, funnily enough, Chelsea themselves.

Don't get me wrong, Chelsea deserve all they get. They've bullied their way through the transfer market for years, and it is funny that they should be getting a taste of their own medicine, but i'd like to think that a couple of years down the line, we won't be as universally loathed as they are. They have, of course, been quite successful, and teams who are tend to attract critics, but i'm not sure why the two must go hand in hand.

The signing of Terry would be hugely significant, you get the feeling that it's key if we want to make real progress. Firstly, he's a top defender, we've not got too many of those. He brings a wealth of experience, aswell, and leadership skills that we're severely lacking. Despite all this, i'd rather we did things as ethically as possible. If we repeatedly bid for the player and are told he's not for sale, be it Terry, Lescott, or anyone else, then we should turn our attentions elsewhere rather than bullishly pressing ahead anyway, the club almost certainly having been made aware that the players mentioned would like to see the figures on offer.

I guess football's just a case of big and little fish, a foodchain, but we should remember that until very recently it was us on the other end of things, vulnerable to our better players being fancied by the great and the not so good. If we must syphon other clubs best players, then i'd rather we did it with those days in mind, because people's lack of sympathy for Chelsea over this particular transfer is similar to sentiments we might meet at some point down the line.