Source: Daily_Mail
City don't have a blank chequebook, insists Hughes
Manchester City[LNB]manager Mark Hughes believes the club were right to set a limit on how much they would pay to secure the services of Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn. [LNB]City made a number of bids for the Paraguayan striker but all were rejected and he will remain at Ewood Park until the summer at least. [LNB] One who came: Manchester City manager Mark Hughes welcomes new signing goalkeeper Shay Given[LNB] Hughes has signed a load of flops: Bayern Munich chief Hoeness puts the boot in on City[LNB]All the big names will want to play for Manchester City one day, claims Robinho[LNB]MANCHESTER CITY FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB] [LNB]Despite the vast wealth of owners the Abu Dhabi United Group, Hughes insists they do not have a blank chequebook. [LNB]He said: 'The situation was that Blackburn were not prepared to sell their player. [LNB]'Their stance was that they did not have anybody to come in, they had apparently been trying to replace him but could not so there was no deal to be done. [LNB]'If we had offered more money to a certain level it would have been done, which would have negated their argument to a certain extent, but we were not going to do that. [LNB]'We said all along that we had values for players and we were not going above them. [LNB]'They retained their player and they were well within their rights to do that. [LNB]'We wanted to bring a good player to Manchester City, our motivation in trying to do the deal was that we thought he could help us. But it has not happened, so we move on.' [LNB] ... one that got away: Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz[LNB]Hughes, who also missed out on trying to bring former world player of the year Kaka to Eastlands, did succeed in recruiting four fresh faces. [LNB] Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy, Nigel de Jong and Shay Given were drafted in during the transfer window. [LNB] 'We have spent a significant amount of money,' Hughes told www.mcfc.co.uk. [LNB]'What we were able to do was address a number of the key areas that we felt needed to be strengthened and we have probably done better than we thought when the window opened.' [LNB]Meanwhile, Academy manager Jim Cassell admits the stakes have been raised at his level following the takeover in the summer. [LNB]Cassell feels they will have to extend their horizons even further because of the club's high profile. [LNB]'It looks as though we are going to have to produce world-class players, if you like,' he told BBC Radio Manchester. 'That is the challenge. [LNB]'It can be done but it might take longer and people might have to be more patient. [LNB]'We might have to up the quality and spread our net scouting wise to broaden the field a bit.'[LNB][LNB] [LNB] [LNB]
