Inflate, deflate

David Gill, Chief Executive of Manchester United, has been widely reported over the last two days as having said that United are unwilling to pay the transfer fees and player salaries that currently seem to be the norm in European football. Two weeks ago, the club announced that it wasn't going to sign any more players this summer. A week later, United signed Senegalese player Mame Biram Diouf from Molde in Norway. Does Gill mean what he says? Is the financing of the club such that United really are unwilling to pay fees that have been hyper-inflated by the actions of other clubs? Is he trying to dampen down the market with his comments before United makes another foray into the transfer market (after all, other clubs know the club has money to spend)? Thus, is the possible intention to dampen down the market a demonstration of collective responsibility on the part of United? Or is it entirely self-motivated? Perhaps this is United's riposte to Real Madrid's ostentatious transfer market activity? Real hyper-inflates, United dampen down? Could this be, therefore, the new power struggle in the second half of this summer's transfer window?