Tevez finally turns Blue

It was a poignant moment. Derby Day, the score 1-0 to United. Having just danced around Richard Dunne on the edge of the City penalty area, a pint sized, red-shirted Argentinean by the name of Carlos Tevez unleashed a shot that cracked the inside of the left post and rippled the back of City keeper Shay Given’s net.

The striker reeled away in celebration, but his focus was not wholly on the glory of scoring in a Manchester Derby. Instead, the Argentinean raced to the centre circle and, facing his manager, placed his hands behind his own ears to emphasise to Sir Alex Ferguson the roar of the Old Trafford faithful. The adoration for the red shirt of Tevez was unmistakable.

“I deserve to be signed up” was the perceived message at the time. But now we know the full meaning of the little Argentinean’s actions: “Look at how good I am, and look at what you will be missing”.

It is unclear at what point the normally sublime man-managing skills of Ferguson alienated the South American striker. But that mistake - and no matter what Ferguson may say it is a mistake – has now been capitalised upon by interlocutors of an Arabian hue.

£25.5m later, Carlos Tevez is a Manchester City player. How about that.

The impact for Manchester United
Let’s be straight about this. The loss of Tevez is not a disaster for United. In a tactical sense it is affordable. Ferguson obviously sees more bang for his buck in Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney. The fact that he had already forked out for the two of them probably had something to do with why Tevez remained in the shadows last season.

As much as City fans dislike Rooney, they all know about his unusual mix of power, skill and awareness. But the Bulgarian is a different story. Whilst definitely possessing the silky skills to oil the wheels of United’s slick attacking machine (he is probably a slight cut above Tevez in that regard), Berbatov is too sulky and inconsistent to be placed at the fulcrum of United’s attack for my liking. Relying on this offensive formation is a risk.

Then there is the more explicit loss of Tevez’ talents. He is one of a rare breed of footballer that is both technically gifted and prepared to run himself into the ground for the team. This is a valuable combination in the modern game, and especially so in the English game. Anyone who says Tevez will not be missed by United needs to reappraise the situation.

Finally, there is the loss of image and prestige that has been referred to previously on this blog. In Ronaldo and Tevez, United have lost two significant attacking talents, with the most likely immediate replacements seeming to be Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen. Irrespective of what Valencia and Owen achieve this season, there was a time when United did not let their top, top talent leave. It says something about the new realities of modern football that they have been unable to do this.

One new reality is in the realm of aspiration, the premise that it is now no longer good enough to win trophies at Manchester United. Cristiano Ronaldo illustrates this, with the petulant winger leaving because he had bigger Iberian dreams to pursue.

Then there is the new reality of finance. Carlos Tevez left because he did not feel wanted at the club. That alienation probably derived in part from United wrangling over his price tag. Ferguson did want Tevez to stay at the club – that much is clear – but he could not make a deal happen because the price was too steep. The price was too steep because United’s pockets have limits. Of course, the same does not now apply on the Eastern side of Manchester.

The impact for Manchester City
Things are rather more simple for City. For starters, there are no drawbacks attached to the move. Money is no object – ten more £25m signings could be made and it would not make a jot of difference to the club’s super financial state. How boastful this sounds, but it is simply the new reality of life as a City fan.

Tactically there appears to be no problems either. I would’ve thought that Tevez’s aggressive, direct style fits perfectly with both Mark Hughes’ training regime and the work ethic that the City manager is trying to encourage on the pitch. The tenacity of Tevez will also provide a much needed boost to our efforts on the road. Let’s face it, those efforts were on life support for the majority of last season. The Argentinean’s engine and work rate will hopefully set a shining example to the rest of the team as to how to play well and win away games in the Premier League.

Most obviously, the new acquisition bodes well for our attacking options. Tevez can be the foil for the big man that we already have (Roque Santa-Cruz) or the big man that may well come (Emmanuel Adebayor). I think he can also be employed in the formation we used last year, though I have more to say about tactics in upcoming posts. Of course, underlying all of this is Tevez’s goal scoring ability. The goal against City in last season’s encounter at Old Trafford says it all.

Another defining moment?
Part of me thinks that I shouldn’t be surprised with the signing of Carlos Tevez. We are, after all, a club with money, a club with a new vision, but to a certain extent I still can’t believe that he is sitting in a press conference with Mark Hughes. I guess that for a time, the vision of our new owners hasn’t quite felt as special as it was during September 2008, with the signing of Robinho. That we couldn’t attract the likes of Kaka and Eto’o I guess dented that vision for me.

I guess I was settling for a summer of good, solid acquisitions, players who knew the ropes of the Premier League and could get us into a position where we were able to knock on the door of the top four. To an extent we are still doing this – and I am completely fine with that because it is a realistic target. But the signing of Tevez feels different and it is a signing that I am very excited about.

At root, Tevez is just another reminder of the true intent of our owners. All the recent negatives: Kaka, Eto’o, finishing out of European qualifying in 10^th place – they do not matter like they would’ve done in the past. Why? Because the owners are still there, forcing the club over its setbacks, driving the club forward because that is the only way it is going to go.

That new culture can only be good for us. By the same token, it can only be worrying for our rivals.

Blue music

Anyone who has checked out the City Links section on the right hand side of this page will no doubt know about a certain four piece band that go by the name of 'The Tinkling Spoons'.

These four lads all hail from Greater Manchester and have been busy laying down some very original City songs that should not missed at any cost.

The lads describe themselves as a 'cyber band' (as they're not really here). Sporting tunes such as the classic ' Dunney's Gonna Get Ya' and 'The Istanbul Song', The Tinkling Spoons' music crosses the boundaries of blues, samba and afro-beat.

The band's official website is at Citymediauk.com, where their tunes are available to download for free. They also have a page on myspace.

There's new material in the pipeline too, including a Superman-themed Irish jig that has been inspired by City's player of the year Stephen Ireland.

Do not underestimate the determination of a gambling man

Michael Owen’s fall from grace resembles a slow and painful death, like a bullet in the stomach.

As his career has progressed and as he has tried to rekindle the glory of the Anfield years, the striker has only attracted more failure. And now the former European Footballer of the Year – still only 29 years old – has moved to Manchester United. It is a move that has generated much attention amongst City fans (we all want to see Owen flop) and much interest in the wider footballing world.

On the way up

Owen is the classic example of a sublime English talent that blossomed and then strangely withered away. He scored close to 120 goals in just over 200 appearances for the red side of Merseyside. He won the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup with Liverpool in 2001 and went on to receive the Ballon d’Or the very same year. Soon after Owen was rewarded with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, where he played alongside the likes of Raul and Ronaldo.

But all of these accolades cannot top Owen’s performance against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup. I will never forget the fear in the eyes of the Argentinean defenders as Owen picked up the ball in the halfway circle and then unleashed his pace, him driving forward, the Argentinean defence in disarray, drawing further and further back until it was too late. The ball was in the back of the net. Twenty seconds was all it took for Michael Owen to announce his arrival on the world stage.

Gravity

Earthly pressures apply to all men, but with Owen they seemed to be applied quicker and with more effect. The striker’s move to Newcastle United will probably turn out to be the biggest mistake of his career. With sleeping giants, there is always the danger of being lured into thinking that the club is about to wake up. Well, as City fans well know, some clubs can take time to come to their senses.

Indeed, some clubs never stir at all.

Soon after Owen’s move Newcastle began to enter the era of paralysis that saw them relegated last season. The fortunes of club and player seemed to mirror each other. As Newcastle lurched and stuttered from one failure to the next, Owen fought his own battles in the guise of groin, ankle, thigh, hernia, metatarsal and knee ligament injuries, the latter of which I remember seeing in slow motion against Sweden in the 2006 World Cup. It was agonising to watch.

Gambling men

And then there was the question of Owen’s mindset. Was he more interested in betting on horse racing than in winning football matches? Was he more interested in the big pay packet at Newcastle rather than the strict training regime of David Moyes’ Everton? I find it impossible to deny. For me, mental and physical fitness are tightly bound together. If your head is not in the game and if your heart is not in the training, then you will not be resilient enough when the hard challenges come. That can only equal injury and moreover, the inability to recover quickly from injury.

So has Michael Owen really lost the spark that we all saw ignite against Argentina in 1998? Possibly. With all those injuries, he has certainly lost his speed.

But speed does not count for everything. No matter how much of a crock Owen really is, he will never lose that instinct for the net. His bread and butter is scoring goals and for as long as he plays, at whatever level he plays, he will always threaten to poach.

What if Owen had chosen the Blue side of Manchester? Something tells me that I would not have been filled with confidence. I would be expecting another injury plagued season. Maybe he would’ve been expecting it himself. Let’s face it, it would certainly have fit with the ‘typical-City’ tag that Shaun Wright-Philips spoke of shedding recently.

No such tag has existed at United for the past twenty years, and that is probably the reason why we see pictures of Owen holding a red scarf above his head finding it impossible to contain his joy. Perhaps he senses that he has finally found the environment he has been seeking ever since he left Liverpool in 2004.

But nothing is certain. Ferguson and Owen are both known gamblers. And they have both thrown the dice again with this transfer. Ferguson apparently always saw Owen as the one talent that got away, and being the old footballing romantic that Ferguson is, it is no surprise that he has gambled – perhaps for the last time – on this move. BBC sports journalist Phil McNulty summed it up well when he asked the question: “Is this a sign of desperation creeping into United's transfer dealings or another piece of inspiration from the gambler Ferguson?”. I am sorry to be the pessimist, but I fear that Owen’s move may well be the latter.

We should not underestimate how much of a gamble this is for Michael Owen. This is most definitely his last throw of the dice. Perhaps this shows more than anything else that Owen’s spark and determination have returned? It is quite simply all or nothing. If Michael Owen fails at Old Trafford, his glory days will be well and truly behind him. But if he succeeds, come next May he will most likely be entertaining the thought of securing his first Premiership title. Who knows, a month later he could even be on that plane to South Africa.

Apologies all round for tainting this blog with the colour of the devil.

The politics of Robinho

After a flurry of rumours in mid-June, all now seems quiet on the Robinho transfer front. But in football, as in so many other things, there is no smoke without fire.

“So far, there have only been speculations,” Robinho supposedly told the Daily Mail a few weeks ago. “There is nothing concrete and I haven’t received any offers. The only thing I can say is that Barcelona are a great team and everybody would love to play for them.” Days later, another article appeared on the Spanish Sport.es website, quoting a Robinho adviser as saying that the little Brazilian is looking for another, bigger club.

It is not difficult to see the lure of a club like Barcelona for a player like Robinho. It is also not surprising that these rumours surfaced during the Confederations Cup, whilst Robinho was in the presence of his fellow Brazilian team mates. What goes through his mind when he hears Barcelona right-back Dani Alves speak of his team’s treble winning exploits last season? When the squad breaks up after winning the Confederations Cup, what does he think when he sees Kaka jetting off to Madrid to begin an exciting new galagticos era? I would forgive him for feeling a little envious.

A move is not out of the question. According to some sources, Barcelona believe that Robinho is ‘gettable’ due to a clause in his contract that makes the Brazilian available to offers due to City failing to secure European football next season.

But even if such a clause exists, I find it difficult to envisage Robinho leaving Manchester City in the immediate term because his position at the club is highly political. This was evidenced by the speed and manner in which City’s Chief Executive Garry Cook came out and quashed the stories, stating: “Robinho has always been a highly valued member of our team and that continues to be the case. Reports suggesting he will leave the club, either on loan or on a permanent deal, are absolutely untrue.”

If we cast our minds back to the heady days of September 2008, we can see why Robinho casts such a political figure. ADUG had unexpectedly emerged as the new owners of Manchester City, and big bids for the top players were flying about everywhere you looked. What now seems to be a very meagre £40m bid was slapped into Valencia’s lap for David Villa. Manchester United’s move for Dimitar Berbatov was supposedly on the brink of being hijacked. And then there was that other, more ridiculous rumour in the air: Manchester City were about rob Chelsea of their No.1 summer transfer target, a wonderfully gifted Brazilian named Robinho.

We know now that the speculative probing of Villa and Berbatov drew up blanks, but I remember feeling a growing sense of satisfaction at the time that we were actually tabling bids for these kinds of footballers. It was an amazing few days and the future could only be bright.

And then, at about 11:00pm on transfer deadline night, I watched as the famous black writing with yellow background Sky Sports news alert flashed along the bottom of the screen. City had just tabled a £32m bid for Robinho. Half an hour later I stared in utter disbelief when the very same news alert changed to read that we had actually secured the services of one of the most talented footballers in the world. And not a footballer who was on the downward slope of his career either. At 24 years old, here was someone with their best years ahead.

What I am getting at here is the sheer statement of intent by ADUG through the signing of Robinho. The message was loud and clear: we aim to be serious contenders, and soon.

The owners have been at the helm for just under a year now, but the fact is that Robinho remains the greatest statement of how successful they want City to be. Because of this I believe that Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Cook will do everything they can to stop a Robinho move. How pathetic would ADUG appear if their only marquee signing to date were to leave for more successful shores? It would do serious damage on the image, prestige and credibility fronts, serious damage to City's growing foothold in world football.

As for Robinho’s personal wishes, a good point is made on fellow City blog The Lonesome Death of Roy Carroll. Even if he were to secure a move to the European champions, Robinho would surely wilt under the weight of what Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola demands from his team every week. The Barca frontline of Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry all worked their socks off last season. For Guardiola’s Barcelona, the first line of defence was attack. Whenever Barca lost the ball, the front players were often in immediate pursuit. It turned about to be an effective tactic, and one that was very admirable to watch. Having seen Robinho play throughout an entire season, he simply wouldn’t fit with this work ethic.

I am willing to be realistic. Robinho was effective for City last season. Despite his price tag and likely very high wages, you have to recognise that scoring 15 goals is not a disaster for a player adapting to the style of the Premier League.

But I have never warmed to the little Brazilian. I look at him and I ask the question – is he committed? Does he play for the Blue shirt? The answer is never yes.

And in terms of credibility, that is dangerous ground for the likes of Al Mubarak and Cook. It is risky enough to stake the new statement of intent on one player. But it is almost foolhardy to place it on the slight shoulders of a player such as Robinho. They must know, as everybody else does, that he is far too inconsistent. He must pose a real problem for the likes of Mark Hughes and his team. Is he a player that can be dropped? The absence of Martin Petrov deflected that question for the majority of last season, but with the Bulgarian now fit, it is a question that will not stay deflected for very long. If Robinho does not perform and if, as we are led to believe, Hughes has complete control over team selection, how long will it be before the manager comes under fire - from within - for damaging the club’s global brand through the benching of Robinho?

These are nothing more than speculative scenarios, but they are also entirely possible. Al Mubarak and Cook must know that the only way to avoid such things, and to continue to strengthen the club's global brand, is to produce another marquee signing. And as we have already seen during this summer break, that is easier said than done.

And so it begins…

With the £12m acquisition of Gareth Barry, Manchester City’s summer of transfer activity has begun.

Since the last window closed in January, it’s been widely predicted that City’s dealings will be wide in scope and frenetic in pace. The £56m sale of AC Milan playmaker Kaka and £80m sale of Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid now makes those predictions seem all the more solid.

The millions laid out by the Spanish giants will likely be the straw the breaks the camels back, causing a transfer chain reaction that sees clubs being able to move for big money signings. Clubs flush with cash will now ride into the slipstream of Madrid’s pace-setting activity.

Hopefully City will be a major beneficiary of this recent cash-splashing. It will be a much needed tonic for what is an otherwise a frustrating reality for City fans: although we have unlimited funds at our disposal we cannot attract the top stars because we do not have the pull of a top-echelon club. The repercussions of the Kaka-Ronaldo transfers may well free up targets that, whilst not at the height of their game, could certainly do a job in the Premier League.

As big players move, clubs will be more likely to let their lesser talent leave. Lesser players could become restless by lack of playing opportunities, and because of the new fluid state of the market clubs may be more confident of landing the players they want and therefore more amenable to letting existing personnel leave. Of course, this kind of talk is dangerous and potentially stupid because it is highly speculative. But this is an area where City could snap up some good deals given the right conditions.

So what of City’s transfer activity to date? There’s already been success, but (spoken in true City style) failure could loom further down the road.

Barry buys into the dream…

So far that success has come in the form of signing the £12m man from Aston Villa. I was surprised with the speed at which Barry was acquired. I’m probably not alone in saying that I was not even aware he was a target until I saw the headline on the BBC website.

Signing the England international is an excellent move. Initially, I envision him in a defensive midfield pairing with Nigel De Jong, which would see Vincent Kompany move into the back four. Kompany, Dunne and Onuoha would then compete for the two centre back positions. For years competition has been lacking in this vital area of the team, but the knock-on effect of Barry’s signing changes the defensive landscape.

More advantages come in the form of Barry’s positional flexibilities and ball skills. He’s played in left back and left midfield capacities and I seem to recall he’s been asked to play at centre back when needed. In addition he’s a talent from dead ball situations. In a sense we already have that with Elano, but in a League where consistency is the order of the day, the Brazilian’s free kicks do not cut the mustard over the long term.

There’s a lot of talk flying around about why Barry chose City and not a top four club. There’s a few things that go into the mix here. Obviously he’s been given the ‘project’ spiel and is impressed with where City are attempting to go. Then there’s the likelihood that he’ll be on a lot more money than at Villa. At 28 he’s not getting any younger and in this game you have to earn while you can – if that be earning big then so be it.

He’ll also be one of the first names on Hughes’ team sheet – and that’s dead important in a World Cup year. In not joining a top four club, Barry has come under fire for lacking ambition. But as Graham Taylor has stated, if Barry headed to the top four he’d have much less of a playing guarantee than he now has at City. Being part of a top four club might’ve ended up denting his South Africa 2010 hopes.

And then of course there’s the issue of whether the top four even wanted Barry, or indeed whether they would’ve been able to afford him. In this sense the red half of Merseyside have been the keenest but Liverpool are not exactly flush with cash at the moment.

Irrespective of all these questions, Gareth Barry is the kind of signing we want at City. He comes with a lot of skill and a lot of Premier League experience, the latter of which will bring more consistency to a City midfield that (on paper at least) is shaping up to be quite formidable.

…whilst Sturridge flirts with an altogether different one

The behaviour of our 19 year old wonder kid Daniel Sturridge has been both frustrating and troubling. It was not so long ago when the young striker was receiving the plaudits of the great and the good. After setting up two of Robinho’s goals against Stoke earlier in the season, the £32.5m Brazilian proceeded to shine Sturridge’s boot in celebration.

But these highs have seldom been repeated throughout the longue duree of the season. The only other contribution that I can remember was Sturridge’s excellent goal and then exquisite diagonal pass – along the floor – to Robinho on the other side of the Blackburn penalty area. The Brazilian’s finish was equally exceptional as City came from 2-0 down to draw the game 2-2.

Clearly Sturridge has massive potential and is a player we should be looking to keep at the club rather than let go. Sadly, efforts at contract renewal seem to have hit the point of no return. The club reportedly offered somewhere in the region of £45,000 a week – a fair amount at this stage in Sturridge’s career - but the lad turned it down. According to some reports, Sturridge is now looking at joining Ancelotti’s Chelsea where he’ll pull in around £75,000 a week. Greed is a word that comes to the forefront of my mind.

“Hypocrisy!” You may well shout. And you may have a point. How can I say that paying £75,000 a week to one of our own Academy lads is outrageous when the club almost laid out £100m for Kaka earlier in the year? How morally repugnant is £100m for the services of one player?

My answer would be that Kaka has proved his mettle. Sturridge on the other hand still has quite a bit to prove.

The youngster is simply holding the club to ransom demanding that kind of money. Would he have done the same during John Wardle’s chairmanship? Highly unlikely because there was naff all money at the club. The bottom line is this: you look at what he has done for us this season – it ain’t much. You look at what we have done for him throughout his entire career and it’s a damn sight more.

Towards the end of the season the lad had lost his form. Against West Brom he was awful, never passing, always shooting wildly. Even when he scored, it was with a miss hit. The fans were on his back big time, and rightly so. That Sturridge has not even made Stuart Pearce’s England squad for the under-21 European Championships speaks volumes. He should be concentrating on getting that form back at Eastlands rather than dreaming about West London.

Whatever happens, Sturridge has now made his bed. If he goes to Chelsea it will be an acrimonious process, with City holding out for a special £10m development fee through an FA Tribunal. Things won’t be that much easier if his deal falls through. Returning to the Eastern turfs of Manchester, he will have to face up to the young, badly advised fool that he is.

Who knows what Tevez is dreaming of

Could a move be just around the corner? Is the pint-sized Argentinean for turning? These are burning questions to which every City (and United) fan yearns for an answer.

The latest is that negotiations are to be opened imminently, with City, United, Liverpool and Chelsea all interested along with an Italian and Spanish club. Tevez’s stated intentions have been written about previously on this blog. He’s looking for a club with a good ‘project’, in a country that is good for his family. These are things that are notoriously difficult to gage. As a City fan all one can do is hope that the signs are half encouraging. There’s rumours that Tevez likes living in Manchester – his family are settled here. There’s also rumours that City are about to offer him big money.

Tevez is supposed to love the United faithful, but with him being supposedly partial to another club in England, the United faithful are not going to love him back for very long. Going to Liverpool or Chelsea wouldn’t go down well at all at Old Trafford. In one sense going to City might not be as bad because we aren’t a top four rival. On the other hand we are a traditional rival – and the hatred from the Red side of Manchester will surely reach fever pitch once we begin to be successful again.

What surprises me most has been Ferguson’s handling of the affair. United can probably afford to let Tevez go in footballing terms but politically Ferguson’s credibility will take some damage now that Ronaldo also looks likely to leave. I would’ve thought Fergie would have had this nipped in the bud some time ago. Instead the saga has been allowed to drag on and Tevez has been alienated in the process.

Either way, acquiring the Argentinean would be a massive coup for Hughes, his team, and the whole Blue side of Manchester. In footballing terms, Tevez could be slipped in at any point across the front row, from a central or wide position. And his tenacity and aggressiveness fit perfectly with the style and ethic that Hughes is attempting to graft onto the club.

As the wheeling and dealing begins, the only certainty is that nothing, in actual fact, is certain in this window until pen is put to paper. Are City in for a summer of success? Or will our winter of discontent arrive early?

Superman

If there’s a revelation to be had from this tumultuous campaign, then it has to take the form of Stephen Ireland.

It has been a ground-breaking season for the Irishman. In April he was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award (eventually losing out to Aston Villa’s Ashley Young). This week he was named City’s own player of the year, ending Richard Dunne’s three year dominance.

Dark days
But things have not always been so rosy. In 2007, Ireland pulled out of the Republic of Ireland squad to face the Czech Republic citing the death of a grandparent. This later emerged as a lie, with the real reason for withdrawal being that Ireland’s girlfriend had suffered a miscarriage. This episode did him no favours, and after a round of apologies to his family, the Republic of Ireland set up, and Manchester City, Ireland has not played for his country since. Despite overtures from Giovanni Trapattoni and Liam Brady, Ireland has appeared to place himself in self-imposed exile.

Not long after this fiasco, Ireland came close to disciplinary action when – after scoring the winner in a 1-0 win over Sunderland – his dropped his shorts to reveal underpants bearing the Superman logo.

At the beginning of this season it appeared the midfielder was on his way out of the club to join Roy Keane’s Sunderland. Looking back, it was a time of great uncertainty at the club. Hughes had just come in and then cuddly businessman-turned super villain Dr Thaksin Shinawatra was still in ownership. We were in financial straits and transfer rumours were flying about left, right and centre. The story at the time was that Thaksin was about to sell Stephen Ireland to Sunderland under the nose of Hughes in order to recoup some of the money we had paid for Jo and Tal Ben Haim. Half an hour before the club’s first home friendly of the new season against A.C. Milan, Ireland was supposedly shopping in Manchester whilst Hughes had included him in the squad. The rumour was that Joe Hart got on the phone to Ireland to tell him of his inclusion in the squad and that Hughes wanted him over at Eastlands asap.

Whatever the real story of what happened that day, since then Ireland’s Manchester City career has gone from strength to strength. He has bulked up and has become battle-hardened, no longer the waif-like youngster of a couple of seasons ago. He has also done a lot of growing up mentally. His Superman pants days well and truly behind him, the midfielder now sounds like someone who is serious about his game. To hear him talk, you know that he wants to be the best he can be. He is a shining example of professionalism to the rest of the squad.

Talent and consistency
Undercutting all of these trials and tribulations has been Ireland’s raw talent. He has the vision for that incisive, defence-splitting pass, the anticipation to make that darting run, the technique to finish off difficult goal-scoring opportunities and the instinct to be there at the right time for that vital tap in that wins you the game. Of course, these things have not emerged overnight. What has changed this season is the midfield dynamo’s mental toughness and from that foundation he has found that vital ingredient that eludes so many of his peers - consistency. When talent is mixed with consistency, sooner or later good things will come.

Stephen Ireland fully deserves his City player of the year award, and perhaps more importantly for him, a new contract that will see his wages treble to approximately £80,000. On the pitch, the real measure of how far Ireland has come has been his link-up play with Robinho. Apart from his fellow countryman Elano, there is no other player in the squad that better understands the footballing mind of City’s £32.5m man.

The task for City’s midfield starlet is now to keep this inspirational form going. There will undoubtedly be some bigger names arriving at the club in years to come, and players may well be looking over their shoulders. But Ireland will remain living proof of a home grown talent that tried, competed against the best the club could bring in, and then raised his game.

Ten more Stephen Ireland’s certainly wouldn’t go amiss.

Morality emerges from the millions

The financial clout of Manchester City makes the coming months intriguing to say the least. As the season draws to a close the dreaded ‘S’ word has come to the fore: speculation. In particular, speculation with regard to City’s transfer activity. If I were a betting man, I’d bet my mortgage (if I had one to bet) that every transfer window for the next few years will be exactly the same.

We are at a very specific stage of City’s development, a very early stage, a stage where no-one – fans and players alike - knows the depth, longevity and intention of the owners’ reach. We are in the realm of the word, not the deed. We are dealing in the semantics of speculation.

The project
We are hearing a lot about the word ‘project’. Mark Hughes has used it from his first day in the job. Garry Cook has used it in explaining his (failed) attempt to bring a certain world-class player to the club last January. Recently, the camps of certain players across the world have been using the word too. In the words of his agent, Fabio Cannavaro, the Real Madrid and Italy centre-back “wants to aim for an important project as he nears the end of his career, one that I would call phenomenal.”

Reflecting on his own uncertain future, Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez mused: “It's not only Real Madrid and Inter who want me and I need to study the options now, not just from a money point of view, but also because I want to play for a team with a good project and in a country that is perfect for my family.”

The dangers of semantics
City fans and certain elements of the media may well have been too quick to link these uses of the word ‘project’, at risk of missing the real picture. There’s no doubt something big is going on at City, but we are not the only club in the world with big ambitions. The reality of our true shape is revealed by the fact that we cannot match the aspirations of the game’s big players.

Take Lionel Messi for starters. Back in March, City were linked with a £100m bid for Barcelona’s talisman. Let’s step into Argentinean’s mind for a minute. He’s at a great club with a rich tradition and a rich history. Alongside the likes of Samuel Eto’o, and Thierry Henry, he is playing the kind of football that most top players can only dream of. He has just had the privilege of playing a part in famously demolishing Real Madrid 6-2 at the Bernabeu. That’s a result that will go down in the history of the game. So why then, would he want to move to a club like Manchester City?

The same goes for other big names. Although Cannavaro dropped the word ‘project’ into his conversations with the media, he has turned down City because he wants to be considered for the Italy World Cup squad next summer, and to be a contender for a place, he needs to play at the highest level. French midfielder Franck Ribery, currently at Bayern Munich, has also stated that his decision to move to another club in the summer will be based upon whether that club is playing Champions League football next season.

Money talks, but only up to a point
For me it remains unclear whether the millions of City’s Sheikh, repugnant though they are to many in the game, will bring success to Manchester City. Of course, they will certainly make success more likely. It sounds rather dense and obvious, but in order to have success you have to be able to succeed. And that is a lot harder than it sounds. For the top, top players to come, City will have to prove their ability to succeed, because for the top, top players, no amount of money is worth more than playing at the height of the game against the best in the game.

And this leads to a refreshing conclusion for the footballing neutral. The fact that the top, top players aren’t yet coming to City proves that money isn’t the ultimate objective. For the Messi’s, Kaka’s, Cannavaro's and Ribery’s of this world, the romance of the game is still intact.