England

Tom Oldfield

When AC Milan star Kaka snubbed a move to Manchester City in late January, despite the Premier League club putting an offer in excess of £100M on the table, many football fans around the world rejoiced at seeing that money had not taken total control of the game. The Brazilian had put loyalty and a desire for silverware above earning a fortune in Manchester.

However, there were plenty of grim faces at Eastlands, none more so than Robinho who promptly disappeared back to Brazil. Shrugging off the Kaka setback, City manager Mark Hughes focused on more realistic, less time-consuming targets and his efforts were met with vastly better results. Hughes completed four major deals that he hoped would turn his side’s below-par campaign around.

Craig Bellamy, who Hughes has worked with domestically at Blackburn and internationally with Wales, Wayne Bridge, Nigel De Jong and Shay Given all agreed moves to Manchester, though the high transfer fees reflected the notion that clubs were forcing money-bags City to pay over the odds.

But as Hughes and his bolstered squad enter the final three months of the season, are City really ready to climb the table? And are they actually on course to join the Premier League elite?

The signing of Given represents City’s shrewdest piece of business during the transfer window. The Republic of Ireland international had attracted interested from the big four for a number of seasons but no concrete offer came in and he remained loyal to Newcastle, where he performed heroics year after year in a distinctly average side. Despite being relatively small compared to his fellow goalkeepers, Given is a brilliant shot stopper, a commanding presence and a good team-mate. He is destined to save City a lot of points in the coming seasons. Spare a thought, though, for young Joe Hart whose promising displays have not been enough to hang onto the number 1 jersey.

Bridge will add pace to the back four and is an excellent outlet on the left. There are few full-backs in the Premier League capable of matching Bridge’s delivery from wide positions and he works tirelessly up and down the flank. His chances at Chelsea were limited by the consistency of Ashley Cole but he is still a very solid performer at this level and should return to the form that led to his meteoric rise from Southampton to Chelsea and England.

De Jong is more of an unknown quantity. The tough-tackling midfielder made a name for himself in the Bundesliga with Hamburg and coach Martin Jol was sad to see him go. Ever busy, the Dutchman would seem a perfect fit for the Premier League, though only time will tell.

Lastly, Bellamy will certainly have an impact at Eastlands. If he can stay out of trouble for long enough, the Wales striker will bring yet more pace and movement to a lively City attack and he has a keen eye for goal, even if he lacks the predatory instincts of the league’s best finishers. He has prospered under Hughes in the past and could well do so again.

So City must be on the rise again then, right? They can expect a great end to the season with a title challenge to come in the 2009/10 campaign, right? Not so fast.

Make no mistake about it – City are stronger as a result of the new signings. But there is a big difference between being an improved team and being a title-chasing team. While the arrivals are all talented players in their own right, there are a number of issues that still need to be addressed by Hughes. These centre around the team’s character and togetherness and the leadership within the dressing room – not to mention how the new boys fit into the team dynamic.

Does adding another small, quick striker to a squad that already includes Robinho, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Darius Vassell really help? Are City now tougher to keep out for opposition defences? Not really. Has Hughes added a new dimension to the team’s play? Is Bellamy the missing piece in the City jigsaw? The general consensus is “no” to each of these questions.

Similarly, will Bridge and Given make such a difference that City tighten up their defence? Are they going to transform the club into a top four team? No, again. What they will do is push City into a top half side, capable of attaining a UEFA Cup spot at best. They will be harder to beat in all likelihood but the Premier League powerhouses will still steamroller City. The table does not lie. Hughes has a lot of work ahead of him if he is to satisfy the club’s ambitious owners.

Above all, the team are crying out for a leader. While captain Richard Dunne is a crowd favourite, he is too error-prone to marshal a defence at the highest level and at times it cannot help to play alongside Micah Richards who is a shadow of the player who burst onto the scene so emphatically. Terry Venables pointed to the likes of Carlos Puyol and Marcos Senna as more worthwhile targets than Kaka and it is easy to see why. City do not need another flair player, they need a leader who can lift those around him and drag the team up the table.

Consistency is the key and City have wobbled in this regard. A fine win over Arsenal one week, a defeat at Wigan or Stoke the next. This is simply not good enough. Take their recent results as further proof. Bellamy and Given were in inspired form in a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough but City came crashing down to earth with a 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth. Given, Bridge, De Jong and Bellamy will make a difference but the club’s supporters should not be uncorking the champagne yet – there is a long, long way to go before City can dream about silverware.

Again though, what separates Manchester City from the other top teams most of all is the absence of a motivator who can get the best out of his team-mates whether they are playing Manchester United or Cambridge United. Hughes’ side will not threaten the league’s elite until he acquires a player in the mould of Patrick Vieira, Steven Gerrard or, at the risk of riling City supporters, former United skipper Roy Keane.

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