No player, no cry

So no, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.
I seh, O little - O little darlin', don't shed no tears;
No, woman, no cry, eh.

- Bob Marley, "No woman, no cry"

So we didn't get anyone on transfer eve. We were good boys and girls for all the transfer window, we left out cookies and milk, and still Wenger Claus didn't arrive. It makes you wonder whether we should believe in make-believe characters who slides down chimneys and spends mega-bucks on players.

Sadly, those characters do exist, but only in Russia and the Middle East.

Man City bought Robinho. Which is funny, more than anything. Man City are building a second Roman Empire up there in the north, and Robinho is the foundation stone. The new owners have already handed a shopping list to Mark Hughes. Already, they've been ordered to get a top 4 spot, and a Champions League title in the near future. Hughes must be a little bit perturbed. Shades of Ranieri are in in the offing, and I bet the new owners want to throw big wads of cash at unsuspecting world-class managers (i.e. Guus Hiddink).

Whatever the case, I've got a feeling that, despite our paucity in midfield, it's Liverpool that's going to have to look over their shoulder. We're not a bad side, despite the weakness in midfield. We really, really need someone to do the donkey work. But Cesc is fit enough that he won't miss that many games. We will drop embarassing games like Fulham, because we're too thin to be consistent. But we're okay. We're not going to win anything, but we're not going drop out of the top 4, either.

Moreover, I think talks of a European Superleague is premature. The way things are turning out, all the best players are going to get sucked into the Premier League, so that'll be a de facto Superleague. Which, according to my friend in London, is what's happening with everything else worthwhile as well. Most of everything is relocating to London. It's hip.

And the Arsenal are there. Everyone wants to be close to the Arsenal.

I'm in Cardiff now, in Wales. Spent the past couple of days in Bath - really pretty city. It's like a Georgian-period theme park. It's situated on a bend of the river Avon, and it's ringed by hills. The whole thing's made out of sandstone and set out in grand terraced streets. The Germans bombed the hell out of it in WW2, so only a third of the original city's left, but it's still grand.

I stayed in an Italianate mansion up on Bathwick Hill, and when I walked up it at night, you could see the whole city glittering below. Bath Abbey's half made up of glass, so it lights up like a lantern. Really, really pretty city. Can't emphasize that enough.

Cardiff looks pretty ugly in comparison. It's a seaport, and has a stack of dour-looking houses in the surburbs where I'm staying. It's a new capital (so to speak) and the city centre is a construction site at the moment. And it's raining, which doesn't help.I should've spent more time in Bath, but I've got itchy feet. Now I've got to figure out what to do for 4 days here.