Ron’s dismisses claims that Bernstein has been tight with the money:
From The Guardian:
‘Kevin Keegan's had £49.3m to spend, figures I could only dream of when I was managing - so to accuse Bernstein of being tight is barmy.
But there seems to be an element of the toy shop about City, a "buy buy buy" mentality which could catch up with them. A chairman's responsibilities in the modern game are tricky. He has to make sure the club are financially viable, avoiding the problems that have beset Leeds and forced them to sell off all their assets to ease the general malaise in the club. But he also has to match the ambitions of the manager and the supporters. The problem with City is that they're playing catch-up locally with United and that raises expectations. You wonder whether they're trying to go too far too fast.
If they blow millions chasing the dream but end up missing the boat, they're not even back at square one - they're right in it, with the future of the club up in the air. The Leeds scenario has frightened a lot of chairmen, making them realise that, though you have to invest to become one of the top clubs, if you don't get that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, namely Champions League football, you're in a right state. It can't all be about buying left, right and centre.’
‘..when I was at Manchester United, even though we were reported to be big spenders at the time. I spent about £7m over the six years I was there and put £6m back in. Whenever I went to the board for money to buy a player, they'd make sure to stress they wanted a certain amount coming back in by a set date in the future. That, to me, is the way management should work. Nowadays I appreciate there is a lot more money floating about, but it just strikes me as common sense that you need to balance things up somewhere along the line.’
‘Look at Arsenal, the epitome of a well-run club: you always get the impression that Arsène Wenger and David Dein are working very much in harmony. When the board said there wouldn't be funds available during the transfer window for Arsène, whose side could win another Double and the European Cup, the manager didn't blink. He understood. It's about good housekeeping. That's something City would be wise to take to heart.’
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