Guest Post: Are Man City responsible for England’s Euro decline?

For the first time in seven years, there will be no English representation in the last four of the UEFA Champions League.

To say that an era has ended would be excessive, but it is certainly notable that none of the established ‘Big Four’ have reached their usual positioning amongst Europe’s elite.

You only need to look at each side’s individual demises to know that the margins are small in these knockout battles. United go out to on away goals to a wonder strike from Arjen Robben.

Chelsea were guilty of a slight lack of energy and guile in attempting to break down the brick wall that is the Inter defence whereas Arsenal were, wholly reasonably, outclassed by a player who operates on a different planet. Only Liverpool can be seen to have seriously regressed from past endeavours, having been eliminated at the group stages.

If we go looking for wider influences behind a poor year for the English sides, can one be found in the emergence of Manchester City as a spending powerhouse?

In the summer, they swooped to relieve Arsene Wenger of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor; they enticed long-term Liverpool target Gareth Barry to Eastlands; and perhaps most significantly of all, they convinced Carlos Tevez to move from the red to blue side of Manchester.

Most pundits point to Xavi Alonso’s departure as a key influence in Liverpool’s fall from grace. Would Barry have proved a more able replacement than the brittle and under-used Alberto Aquilani?

In the face of a central defensive crisis, Arsene Wenger could have done with Kolo Toure in the Nou Camp in place of the creaking Mikael Silvestre. And surely Adebayor would have proved a more dangerous threat to the Barcelona defence than Nicklas Bendtner?

Lastly, Sir Alex Ferguson took a chance last night on a clearly under-par Wayne Rooney, not least due to the lack of dynamism offered by £30m alternative Dimitar Berbatov. How he would love to have called upon an on-fire Tevez.

As I say, the margins are small. At the business end of a season, squad depth is vital. Thanks to Man City’s mega bucks, their Premier League rivals have been weakened and now exposed by Europe’s best.