Manchester City have surprised us all with their current position in the league table. They have brought in quality signings, churning out the right results and are taking advantage of the dwindling form of Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa, which has made it easier for them to be chasing a Champions League place. They boast an exceptional squad and are now a worthy opponent to face in the Manchester derby. At this critical point of the season, it important to review I shall review how this club as progressed.
Goalkeepers: Mancini placed a lot of faith to replace the experienced Shay Given with the rising star that is Joe Hart, and it has paid off. Joe Hart has produced some excellent saves, shown great maturity and has a commanding presence. This is encouraging for all England fans as Joe Hart can become a great England goalkeeper such as Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton and David Seaman. The real test will come when (and if) he faces the European greats such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter and AC Milan, and will be dealing with different attacking threats like Messi, Villa, Benzema, Eto'o and Pato. As a result of his scintillating form, Shay Given will leave, whether it be in January or in the summer as he will not tolerate any longer in warming the bench.
Defenders: One of the marked differences in Manchester City has been their defence. It has been leaking less goals and the additions of Kolorov and Boateng have made a difference in solidifying their back four. Vincent Kompany's move to the back four has been vital in this sturdy defence. I have always rated him as one of the best defenders in the game and surprised that he was not picked up by one of the major clubs at an earlier age. One player which I hope will develop is Micah Richards. He was an exciting young prospect at the age of 18 with his power and pace on the right flank. Yet his lack of form and concentration has let him down, and he cannot hold a regular first-team place. City will endeavour to keep hold of him as he is a product of their academy and is needed to be part of their home-grown quota. However, his confidence will be undermined if Manchester City ends up buying Dani Alves to complete a world-class back four.
Midfielders: Again, Mancini has strengthened this area of the team in the summer, with the signings of David Silva, Yaya Toure and James Milner. My preferred midfield line-up would be Toure as a holding midfielder, James Milner in the centre of the park whilst having Silva and Johnson on the flanks. However, Mancini likes to have 3 defensive midfielders in Barry, De Jong and Toure which I believe makes them a negative side. The consequences are that Adam Johnson is kicking his heels on the bench too often than he should and the speculation has already started of him moving to another club to find regular first-team football. Although James Milner was an excellent acquisition, I believe that Manchester City can splash the cash and buy someone that extra bit special. My recommendation would be Diego of Wolfsburg. Like what Rafael Van der Vaart is doing at White Hart Lane, Diego can play as an attacking midfielder or in the hole to support the strikers and even score plenty for himself. He has not been able to showcase his full potential yet at club or international level. However, he is approaching his peak and if given the opportunity to be part of an ambitious and progressive team, I believe he can set the Premiership alight.
Strikers: With the recent acquisition of Edin Dzeko, the pressure to score from Tevez has been relieved. This attacking partnership is an exciting prospect and will help Manchester City to challenge Manchester United for the title, and it may even come down to the wire, if the pair are free-scoring. With the young Balotelli continually maturing and developing, Manchester City could do with having a fourth striker to provide strength in depth. Ideally, it would be best to have someone young and talented who has progressed from their Academy. However, Daniel Sturridge moved on to Stamford Bridge and there has not been anyone like him since. My recommendation would be to buy Connor Wickham of Ipswich Town. He is only 17 years old, but alerted many of the English top flight clubs when he scored England's winner in the Under 17 European Championships against Spain last May. He is tall, powerful and highly rated by Arsene Wenger. Under the right tutelage, he can become a rising star in English football.
The Manager: He has lasted longer than I expected as I thought the Man Ciy hierarchy would replace him with the likes of Frank Rikaard or Guus Hiddink. But Italian has been able to create a squad, instil his system of football and display his tactical nous. With early wins over Liverpool and Chelsea, he has shown that he can compete against the traditional top 4. His objective for this season is to gain a Champions League place, which he is on track for. But it could be next year where he will be expected to win the Premiership, and that will be a tough task considering that Manchester United will still be the team to beat, and Tottenham Hotspur will be another challenging team. Mancini will need to instil consistency into the team to be able to grind out wins on a regular basis, and ensure dressing room harmony in a club full of stars.
The Owners: The Abu-Dhabi United Group have not disappointed the fans and have invested beyond the dreams of those supporters who were at the terraces at Maine Road. They have signalled their intent for Manchester City to become a global club and want the club to progress at a rapid rate. Money is no object and the fans hope it stays that way. Also I would not be surprised if they were to build a super stadium, which would be a 100,000 capacity stadium that would eclipse the Nou Camp and Wembley. My recommendations for them would be to invest in their Academy and start producing talented youngsters again as they previously did with Daniel Sturridge, Michael Johnson and Stephen Ireland. This would help them to become a sustainably financial club, contribute to the British talent pool and create a legacy in which Barcelona and Manchester United are doing.
