Following moves for Vieira and Veron, Mancini completed the 90s theme with Jonatan Johansson and Paul Kitson...

Jamie Walker tries to get his head round the strange goings-on in England's top-flight...

Something odd is going on in Premiershipville. The transfer window has been open for a week now, and all of the nous and guile that had once been the mark of a Premier League manager has upped and outed. First case in point: Manchester City’s latest Thomas More impersonator, Roberto Mancini.

Put simply, what was signor Robbie thinking when he lodged a ￡7 million quid bid for Juan Veron? There is no doubting the man’s pedigree, as Mancini was surely aware of, having played with him over a decade ago, at Lazio and Sampdoria; both sides that went on to claim the Scudetto. He hasn’t lost much pace since then either; not having much of it to start with helping on that front. What he has now is the same thing he has always had; brilliant passing ability, vision to read the game in abundance, and an ability to dictate tempo. He had this in Italy, and is still showing it both at international level and for Estudiantes, Copa Libertadores incumbents.

But Veron has been tried in the Prem, twice, and been found wanting both times. Premier League defences are notoriously unforgiving and space is a premium. Even Titus Bramble has improved since Seba’s last tenure, leaving the possibility of finding the space his game so needs highly unlikely. The fee touted might be a snip on the ￡28.1 million city rivals United paid nearly a decade ago, but we’ve had the ‘Welcome to Manchester’ gimmick, and ￡7 mil for a repeat performance of a bad gag seems a hefty fee.

Twenty miles East of Eastlands is where the oddities really come in to play. Is Owen Coyle really hellbent on ruining what seems to be a blossoming managerial reputation? Having taken Burnley from being off the radar of every football fan Blighty-wide, to being everyone’s second favourite team (aww, look at little Burnley, taking his first baby steps), he seems ready to jack it all in, in favour of moving to a side whose nickname unceremoniously dictates their style of play. The Trotters are, and have been since records began, a shit team to watch. The difference between the tenures of Allardyce and Megson was that Allardyce’s side played effective shit football, helped by having stars such as Anelka, Okocha and Djorkaeff to call upon. Megson had Johan Elmander. Enough said.

Even their own fans aren’t too fussed; gate receipts at the Reebok have fallen year-on-year since 2004. So what Coyle sees in them is anyone’s guess. Bigger budgets? Scarcely. A better squad? Most definitely not. It is sadly more likely than not a bumper wage packet in the pocket of Mr. Coyle. Sadly in the sense that he could have done something worthwhile with his Burnley squad. He has even gone some way to explaining how David Nugent played for England once. If only he could meet future Owen, else come May, Burnley and Bolton go down, rejoining the world of footballing obscurity. Bogus.