City boss Roberto Mancini has a pretty nice problem on his hands come the start of the Premier League season as he has arguably two of the league’s best keepers both vying for a starting position at Eastlands. Joe Hart and Shay Given, both full internationals and fit to start the season, aren’t used to bench work, have enjoyed top form in recent campaigns and will stand for nothing less than the #1 come the start of the season.

As Hart looks to be the England #1 for the next decade given David James’ age and step down to the Championship, Given, 11 years older at 34, realizes that he only has a limited number of years left and has recently expressed his desire to play week in, week out at City – neither top keeper looking to relent the starting spot to the other.

As much as Mancini will love the healthy competition between his two brilliant players, he’ll soon have to decide who his starter will be and risk alienating the other as they languish on the bench.

Hart thrived on loan last season at Birmingham City as did Given in Manchester before suffering a season ending shoulder injury in the Spring. Both are excellent shot stoppers with quick reactions while Given obviously has more experience at club and international level due to his age. Hart is the taller keeper by 4-5 in. and seems to possess the ability to control his box as good as or better than Given can.

If Mancini awards the starting spot to Given (which would be the obvious choice largely because he’s done nothing to loose it), one option for Hart would be to go back out on loan in order to stay playing first team football each week. As far as a potential suitor for Hart’s services, I’d imagine Premier League clubs would be queuing up to secure the England international even if it’s only for a short time.

If you’re a City supporter, who would you like to see starting for your club come the opening weekend clash v Tottenham?

Inter Milan skipper Jose Mourinho, expected by many to leave Serie A and head to Real Madrid this summer, has already started scouting some new team members. According to the Daily Mail, Mourinho is looking to woo Chelsea legend Frank Lampard on a £30 million deal.

Mourinho and Lampard spent three years together when the Portuguese managed Chelsea from 2004-2007. Current Real Madrid skipper Manuel Pellegrini is all but fired following a Round-Of-16 Champions League defeat to Lyon. Mourhino’s last game with Inter Milan will probably be, ironically, the Champions League Final against Bayern Munich at the Bernabéu (Real Madrid’s stadium).

“Mourhino has always loved Frank, who would have to think long and hard if he was asked to sign for him at Real Madrid,” a source The Daily Mail described as “close to the deal” said.

Lampard is on a scoring tear in the EPL this season with 21 goals. With Mourhino still at Inter Milan and Lampard becoming Mr. Chelsea for many supporters following John Terry’s fall from grace it’s difficult to see this materializing just yet.

Hodgson Denies Liverpool Link

Fulham’s dream run through the Europa League this year has raised the profile of manager Roy Hodgson. Liverpool, who are looking to move on now that Rafa Benitez is all but gone, have reportedly approached Hodgson as Benitez’s replacement.  But the English manager denies any interest in leaving Craven Cottage.

“I am happy here at Fulham,” he said. “I have got a contract here at Fulham. I am happy with the job I am doing.” Fulham are playing in their first cup final in a European tournament when they take on Athletico Madrid on May 12.

Given Hopes To Return By Next Season

Republic of Ireland keeper Shay Given has had succesful surgery on his dislocated surgery and hopes to be back for Manchester City before the start of next season. “I just have to get back fit again for the start of the season. I know it will be tight but I will do everything I can to get back in time and hopefully I will do it,” said Given.

The goalkeeper said that his arm remained out of socket for nearly an hour in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Given has been stellar for Manchester City this season and will also be anxious to return for Ireland’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign which kicks off September 7 against Andorra.

Sheffield Wednesday Relegated To First Division

Crystal Palace ensured their spot in the Championship next season while simultaneously sending Sheffield Wednesday down to League One with a 2-2 draw in front of a sold-out crowd Sunday afternoon.

The crucial point was a rare bright spot for a Palace club who is entering Administration and face serious doubts about their future. A testy moment came at the end of the game when several dozen supporters from opposing sides clashed on the field. No one was arrested and police quelled the situation quickly.

If someone was counting the number of times a stretcher has come on the pitch this Premier League season, I have a strong suspicion that this would be a record breaking season for all the wrong reasons.

Watching the very physical game between Everton and Fulham this past Sunday was like seeing a boxing match unfold before my eyes. Hefty collisions. Plenty of blood pouring from cuts and fouls galore. It reminded me how this season, particularly the last few months, have seen so many serious injuries on the pitch. In all my years of watching top flight English football, I’ve never seen so many stretchers on the pitch and so much oxygen administered to players.

Take this past weekend just as one example. It was like watching the film “Band Of Brother.” Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given dislocated his shoulder and is out for the rest of the season. Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen dislocated his elbow and may miss out on playing for Denmark in the World Cup.

Then there were the injuries from previous weeks. The nasty kick in the face by Tuncay on George Boateng which knocked him unconscious. Of course, we can’t forget the injury that happened to Aaron Ramsey after the foul by Ryan Shawcross. And there have been many more. It just seems that this season more than any other has resulted in so many serious injuries.

But why? Personally, I think it’s because the league is as competitive as it has ever has been and players, week-in week out, know what bonuses are available if they score goals or if their team finishes in a certain position in the league table. There’s more to play for, which means that players are more desperate to win.

It’s also the nature of the English football season for many clubs to “get stuck in” and to try the physical approach to win 50/50 balls and to stop the opposition from advancing. It also doesn’t help when referees are seemingly more lenient to allow certain things to happen without blowing the whistle. Maybe it’s me but it seems that the pushing, shoving and holding are getting worse in the penalty box when corners happen. At this rate, it’ll resemble a rugby scrum before you know it.

The sad result of all of these physical fouls and freak accidents is that the number of players who have been ruled out of this summer’s World Cup is growing. And those who are not injured must feel as if they’ve had chunks taken out of their bodies this season after a very grueling Premier League season. Yes, injuries happen. They always happen, but this season it seems they’ve been happening more frequently.

For me, there is only one English goalkeeper that can be England’s number one for South Africa next summer and that man is Paul Robinson. After being so badly treated at Tottenham under Juande Ramos and unfairly blamed for giving away a soft goal for England against Croatia, Robinson has finally got back to his best. He was hung out to dry by Steve Mclaren after Gary Neville’s wayward back pass bobbled over his foot.

Everyone conveniently forgot the string of saves Robinson had made to keep England in a game they were a poor second best in that night. Right now, he is playing better than any of his counterparts, with probably the exception of Steve Harper at Newcastle United and Joe Hart at Birmingham City. Forget the Robert Green argument, he’s nowhere near good enough.

Of the goalkeepers available to Capello, Robinson is head and shoulders above all others and has been for the best part of a year. David James is injured and playing for a team in free-fall, both on and off the pitch. Robert Green is bang out of form and consistently makes mistake after mistake. He also has a tendency to try and deliberately foul players whenever possible.For all his bravado and wearing “England’s number 6″ on his gloves, he’s not good enough. He’s always been poor coming off his line and his aerial ability is not the best.

Poor old Ben Foster has suffered from some rather unnecessary criticism but still can’t shift the dreadful Thomas Kuszczak from between the sticks at Old Trafford.There is no doubt that the lad can go a long way in the game, but he’s suffering from a crisis in confidence at the moment, but he’s still a better goalkeeper than Kuszczak.

Scott Carson still suffers from a lack of concentration at West Bromwich Albion and still seems to bear the scars from the defeat to Croatia in November 2007 at Wembley. For all his shot stopping ability, Carson can still make some all mighty howlers from out of nowhere and seems to have fallen away from anywhere near the England team.

Poor old Chris Kirkland simply can’t keep fit, whenever he gets on a great run of form, his long standing back injury seems to flare up and take out of the side. Despite the 9 goal mauling Wigan Athletic suffered at White Hart Lane, it’s no exaggeration to say it could have been twenty if it wasn’t for Kirkland. He showed such promise at Coventry but injuries blighted his time at Anfield and he’s never been able to shake the tag of being injury prone.

Other than Robinson and Hart, the other stand out candidate for the three places in South Africa for me is Steve Harper at Newcastle. He’s now getting the opportunity to show just how good a goalkeeper he actually is week in week out after Shay Given left last January for Manchester City. Whilst most people would have been itching for a move, Harper has shown incredible loyalty to Newcastle over the years.

After 16 years service, with 12 of those as Given’s back up, he’s incredibly only played 151 games for Newcastle, with 86 of those appearances coming in the last four seasons. He has constantly served the club with pride and is now in the form of his life. Whilst others may have viewed Given’s depature as a real blow, having a player of the ability of Harper would certainly soften the blow.

Whilst some people seem to point out that you need a great goalkeeper to win the World Cup, with the exception of Buffon in 2006, you have to go all the way back to 1982 to find a team with a world class goalkeeper that won the World Cup. Every other winner since then has had good, and in some cases distinctly average custodians between the sticks. Paul Robinson is far better than average and Capello would do well to welcome him back into the fold.  With Harper and Hart, that would be a dependable and quality set of goalkeepers to choose from.

So what makes a great goal? I know it seems a easy question but honestly, what makes a goal truly great? Is it the goal that keeps a side up or a lob from the half way line? The goal that drags a side back in to a game when they’re 2-0 or a last minute winner in injury time? Everyone has a different variation on what they judge to be a great goal or what the ingredients are that makes some goals stand out above all others.

Well, I’m going to give you my ten goals of the decade, which you may agree with, but probably won’t. Yet that’s one of the great things about football, we all have different opinions and views of the same incident. Hopefully you can view these goals without blinkers of your favourite team and simply judge them on the goal itself. OK, ready? Then we’ll begin.

Goal Number Ten: Thierry Henry v Spurs November 2002

Another North London derby, another Arsenal win but this for me is one of the best goals that this decade saw in the continuing battle between Arsenal and Tottenham. A wonderful solo run and finish saw Henry begin to show the form that was to torment defenders the length and breadth of Europe for the remainder of the decade. A truly great individual goal.

Goal Number Nine: Dietmar Hamann v Portsmouth March 2004

There looked nothing on when Michael Owen swung the ball back in from the left wing but Didi Hamann was running in to hit this strike beautifully from the edge of the box. One of those wonderful volleys that occur every now and again, I doubt Hamann has ever scored a goal better than this in his life.

Goal Number Eight: Shaun Bartlett v Leicester April 2001

What a strike this was for Charlton Athletic. A wonderful cross field pass from Graeme Stuart that the South African Shaun Bartlett hit first time to fire it past the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner. A fabulous hit, set up by a fantastic pass.

Goal Number Seven: Dennis Bergkamp v Newcastle March 2002

What a wonderful piece of skill this is. From Pires’ crossfield pass, Bergkamp flicks the ball one way and rolls around the defender the other and then slides it past Shay Given. A delightful bit of skill from the Dutch master.

Goal Number Six: Xabi Alonso v Newcastle November 2006

Alonso seemed to be one of those players that could try and score from inside his own half more than most. This strike against Newcastle left Steve Harper scrambling to get back, but to no avail. Perhaps more impressive than the similar goal he scored against Luton Town in the F.A. Cup, it will live long in the memory for its precision from distance.

Goal Number Five: David Bentley v Arsenal October 2008

Probably Bentley’s high point during his difficult spell at Tottenham, this wonderful hit saw him control the ball on his chest and volley the ball in to the Arsenal net from 50 yards out. A sublime strike that shows the quality he has, but he simply hasn’t delivered at White Hart Lane. The only benefit to Spurs would seem to be the consistent quality that Aaron Lennon now shows week in, week out since Bentley joined.

Goal Number Four: Wayne Rooney v Newcastle April 2005

Everyone knows the power of Wayne Rooney but this goal shows it for me like no other. Like something from a video game, Rooney spanked the ball in midair at what seems 100mph. The only thing that surprised me was that it didn’t burst the net. A wonder goal from a player that on his day is unplayable.

Goal Number Three: Glen Johnson v Hull City October 2008

Well, it is always special when a full back scores a screamer, Stuart Pearce built a career on smashing the ball in the back of the net, but this was a fantastic strike from Johnson. It impressed me, because he runs on to the ball, controls it with two defenders closing in and smashes it home with his left foot. An outstanding goal.

Goal Number Two: Paolo Di Canio v Wimbledon April 2000

Now this goal summed up the genius of Di Canio in one swift moment. A flying volley that saw him use his left leg to propel him upward for a smashing volley with the right foot past Neil Sullivan, it was a divine finish from one of the Premiership’s most enigmatic players. A truly great goal.

Goal Number One: Robin van Persie v Charlton September 2007

This for me, is one of the best goals I’ve ever seen. A simply breathtaking goal that showed fantastic technique, athleticism and an eye for goal that Marco Van Basten would have been proud of. Everyone knows the qualities that van Persie offers the Gunners, but niggly injuries have held him back from showing the Arsenal faithful his full potency.

So there you have it, my favourite ten goals from the last decade of Premiership football. Leave me some comments, or memories of your favourite goals over the last ten years.

So it’s official now, Manchester City’s owners have shown there true colours with yesterdays sacking of Mark Hughes and replacing him with Roberto Mancini. Rumours had been circling Hughes since Saturday morning, with several British papers stating that the game against Sunderland was to be his last. The board of Manchester City can no longer hide the delusion that powers the boardroom, a complete lack of the fundamental understanding of football and the team ethic.

Yes, they’ve spent massively over the last 18 months, but quite where this decision now sits with the empty promises over the summer that Mark Hughes was a long term investment is anyone’s guess. Here is a team that sits in 6th, with a game in hand, with a forthcoming League Cup semi-final next month against United to come. Apparently, this simply isn’t good enough.

Of course, only an idiot would think that you could create a title challenging side in 18months. Regardless of the investment or the monies spent, this is fantasy football based on the idea that if something costs a lot of money it must be good. Football doesn’t work like that. All the hoo haa about Robinho when he signed has been proved to be just that. He’s nowhere near as good as his marketing team tell us and it’s now apparent. Yet he cost £31 million and he’s Brazilian, so he must be brilliant it seems. All those people banging on about him being one of the best players in the world seem to be keeping their heads down these days.

City fans, some of footballs most hardy and loyal followers will be surprised by this but it’s not a situation they’re not accustomed to. During the tenure of Peter Swales, most fans needed an encyclopedia to keep up with the manager merry go round at Maine Road. It was no surprise that the side yo-yoed between the top two divisions for nearly two decades, with a season in the third tier for good measure. Of course, that situation will surely not repeat itself, but the boardroom now resembles that of a tantrum throwing teenager.

The statement issued by Manchester City yesterday speaks volumes about the little understanding of football they have.  “A return of two wins in 11 Premier League games is clearly not in line with the targets that were agreed and set, Sheikh Mansour and the board felt that there was no evidence that the situation would fundamentally change.”

I feel for Hughes, I don’t feel he’s been given enough time for the side to gel. Don’t let the outlay cloud the truth of what has gone on here. In fact, you have to question who was choosing their transfer targets. With the exception of Bellamy and Given, most of the big outlay players simply haven’t delivered consistently. No-one is questioning Wengers decision to sell Toure and Adebayor anymore are they? To create a side takes time, patience and knowledge.

Yet, the decision to install Mancini shows two things: The decision to install Hughes had already been taken and Mancini tapped up to replace him and by appointing Mancini, a complete lack of the understanding of football. The owners of Manchester City want to be the best side in the world, but they appoint someone who hasn’t managed since being sacked by Inter Milan in April 2008. Why no offer for Hiddink? Frank Rijkaard? even Jose Mourinho?

Mancini was sacked after his continual failure to trouble the further rounds of the Champions League but his tenure at Inter is rose tinted. With the exception of Roma, all of Inters major rivals were embroiled in the match fixing scandal of 2006. So Mancini’s first title was given to them after Juventus were stripped of it. The second title was won when all their rivals were deducted points, or in Juventus’ situation, relegated to Serie B and Roma couldn’t capitalise. They were also able to strip players from the other teams who were punished, so how great a manager was he really?

Mancini was sacked before the third title was assured. Yet Sheikh Mansour thinks he’s the man to make them a great side? Fantastic decision making there Sheikh Mansour, I don’t think Chelsea will be losing any sleep. Yet another Fantasy Football decision based of a complete lack of knowledge of the game. Manchester City fans deserve respect, not this ridiculous attempt to sign every person you’ve heard of. It was a dreadful decision to sack Hughes, but an even worse one to replace him with Mancini.

For as many times as Richard Dunne and Shay Given collided today, you might have guessed that they had never played together before in their lives.

Dunne’s defensive woes today nearly overshadowed the lightning-quick start to Manchester City’s season. In the third minute, Emmanuel Adebayor served up a through ball from the center circle that released Shawn Wright-Phillips far down the right wing. Wright-Phillips then served up the onrushing Adebayor, who finished spectacularly. At that moment, it seemed Man City would be worth every penny they spent.

It would be another 89 minutes before Man City would score again and clinch a 2-0 win. As you would expect, Blackburn Rovers refused to lie down on a soggy day at Ewood Park, but this game proved to be as much of an indictment of Blackburn’s finishing as Man City’s defensive issues.

The attacking pressure from Sam Allerdyce’s side often exposed the shakiness of Man City’s backline. Blackburn’s set pieces, including a number of long throws from Morten Gamst Pedersen, kept the black-shirted Citizens scrambling for clearances. Shay Given remained solid in goal, and Kolo Toure did fine work in one-on-one situations, but Dunne’s mistakes — including a very fortunate non-call for a handball in the box at the end of the first half — highlighted why Man City is pursuing Joleon Lescott so doggedly.

Blackburn controlled the tempo of the game for much of the first half. Mark Hughes’ side, however, looked stronger in the second half and showed glimpses of great attacking prowess, serving up classy through balls and attack runs that put players in great position to score. The pace of Craig Bellamy up front and Robinho and Wright-Phillips on the wings  put the screws to Blackburn all day, while Gareth Barry looked strong in a more defensive role, Carlos Tevez threatened to score just moments after he replaced Robinho in the 68th minute, and Stephen Ireland’s late game-clinching goal was top shelf stuff.

Hughes deployed a 4-4-2 for this match, rather than the 4-1-2-3 I had predicted he might use, but with attacking players moving off their lines to set up opportunities, it proved effective. Regardless, Hughes clearly has the personnel to be very flexible in his lineup decisions, so we’ll likely see him use different formations to exploit different oppositions’ weaknesses — and to satisfy all the talent on his bench.

After today, however, Hughes’ biggest concern might be getting Dunne and Given on the same page. You’d think two guys who had been playing together for the Republic of Ireland for the last decade or so would have done a whole lot better than this.

If I was an Arsenal fan, I’d be fed up already listening to people saying that Manchester City were obviously going to usurp them as one of the “Big Four” sides. It’s amazing what spending money does to peoples judgement when it comes to football and Manchester City have certainly caught more than their fair share of attention over the summer. To all intents and purposes, Manchester City will easily outstrip Arsenal on the pitch and leapfrog them in the Premiership.

So since last summer City have spent over £160 million pounds, but have they really bought the required players to turn them into a major force in the Premiership. In my honest opinion, no they haven’t. It’s easy to simply look at the figures they’ve spent and it all becomes an addiction to money rather than talent. For some, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson have suddenly lost the managerial skills they’ve earned over one summer due to players going to Manchester City.

How has Ferguson lost his abilities by not signing Carlos Tevez? Whilst the vocal United fans tried to convince Ferguson to sign him up, Ferguson would not be budged. He was quite right to question how a striker who only scored 5 goals in the Premiership was worth £25 million. He consistently failed to deliver in big games time and again, yet because he ran around like a dog chasing a rabbit, he was “world class”. It is such an over rated term, that is consistently trotted out all the time as to make it almost redundant. Would you honestly say he’s a better striker than Wayne Rooney? Really? Even the most blinkered City fan can surely see the stupidity of that comparison.

Not one of Manchester City’s new signings is World Class, that’s a fact. Not one of them. Honestly, seriously, none of them. With the exception of Gareth Barry, Shay Given and Wayne Bridge, there isn’t one player who would be at Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal or Chelsea. Adebayor, Toure and Tevez have all been let go because they aren’t good enough for a top 4 side. City had clean run at every one of the targets they’ve signed because the clubs that owned the players were happy to see them leave, Barry and Given apart.

Craig Bellamy, over rated, over paid and has never, ever delivered consistently. A temper that causes more problems than he’s worth, I witnessed one of his strops at Norwich. Refused a decision by the referee, little Craig stomped his feet and jumped up and down on the spot for almost a minute. Pathetic. I wonder how long it will be before he starts texting his team mates spiteful messages?

Roque Santa Cruz, so good that when he left Bayern Munich, he joined Blackburn, no offence Rovers fans. If every major club in Europe wasn’t interested, how has he become such a brilliant striker after one good season and then moping around for a year hoping for a move. In 8 years at Bayern, he scored 38 goals playing for one of the biggest sides in Europe and one that consistently challenged for trophies at home and in Europe. That’s a dreadful record for someone allegedly so good.

Robinho  joined Manchester City, then forgot who he’d signed for. Chelsea to be fair, wouldn’t pay over £27.5 million for him and by Christmas, they were probably glad they hadn’t. Another one touted as “world class”, laughably so if you’ve watched him regularly at Real Madrid. A good player, almost really good, but wildly inconsistent, prone to having hissy fits and a strike rate that doesn’t match the amount of chances he gets.

As for the two signings from Arsenal, Toure and Adebayor, Wenger must be laughing all the way the bank with his £40 million transfer kitty. He has, thanks to Manchester City, made a fortune from Arsenal’s two biggest troublemakers who were simply not at the races last season. If anything, Arsenal are stronger without spending a penny. The issues that those two caused in the dressing room and on the training ground had caused fractures through out  Wengers squad in the last two seasons. Arsenal are better without those two at the Emirates, no question.

Adebayor famously attacked a team mate during a match because he didn’t pass to him, Toure got his gang to ignore William Gallas because he couldn’t be captain. Once again, childish, immature and bringing tons of baggage with them.Good riddance, I don’t know one Arsenal fan who is sad to see them leave. Not one. That tells you everything you need to know about those two.

This rag tag bunch of egotistical, money driven mercenaries are now all nicely tied up on 4 and 5 year contracts, earning more money than they ever believed they possibly could. Do you really think they’ve come to win trophies or count their cash? All this talk of “ being excited by the project” makes me laugh, it’s jibberish. It’s all about the money, nothing more, nothing less.  Now somehow this team will be bonded and formed into one the best teams in England within weeks? It’s crazy to expect such results so soon.

How long before the cracks appear at Eastlands and the dressing room becomes a pit of ego clashes and cliques. If they’re not in the top 7 come Christmas, the pressure will be really on Mark Hughes. Rome was not built in a day and Manchester City could end up being more like Sodom and Gomorrah than the Eternal City next season. They will have all to do to keep up with Everton, Tottenham, Villa and Fulham, never mind crack the top 4 and worry Arsenal.

When Mark Hughes agreed to replace Sven Goran Eriksson last summer, no doubt he knew things would be interesting at Manchester City, it very rarely isn’t in the sky blue half of Manchester, but I doubt he’d have expected anything like the events that ultimately played out. What with the takeover and the crazy final day of the summer transfer window, with City making 10 bids of over £15 million for players, it was probably the maddest 24 hours the City faithful could remember in years.

After that, he’s coped remarkably well with the media speculation, both about transfer targets and his own future at the club, showing a calm and assured exterior throughout the season. Of course there have been hiccups along the way, the F.A. Cup defeat, losing 3-0 at home to Forest probably the lowest point along with the embarrassment of being kicked out of the League Cup at Brighton on penalties. Yet, this is a team still trying to find its feet and he has added some excellent signings along the way.

Shay Given is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, as hard as that signing was on the promising Joe Hart, Wayne Bridge a consistent and dependable left back. Vincent Kompany has long been touted as one of Europe’s most promising players as is Nigel De Jong and Stephen Ireland has been magnificent all season. Of course, question marks were raised over the signing of Craig Bellamy, but if anyone can get him playing to his full potential, it’s Hughes, their relationship built during his time as Wales and Blackburn manager.

Now the owner has laid down the aim for next season, a top 6 finish, which for a manager who took Blackburn to the UEFA Cup twice and had 3 top 10 finishes in a row, should be a piece of cake with the resources at his disposal. Mubarak’s statement released on Tuesday was a vindication for Hughes and the work in progress that Manchester City should be classed as. It seemed a reasoned and balanced indication of what the owner wants for Manchester City, regardless of the rubbish and speculation that you can read every day about them, such as this nonsense!

City have had some dreadful press this year, with so many lazy journalists writing rubbish about them because it fills space in empty papers. Here in the UK, we have a couple of papers who are renowned for being so far of the mark with transfer stories as to be laughable. Suffice to say, if you see a transfer story printed in either the Daily Express or the Daily Star, chances are it’ll never happen. Last season, they had a success rate of 8% for transfer stories, the lowest in England by some distance.

That’s not to say they’ve not been their own worst enemy at times, Chief Executive Gary Cook has said some eyebrow raising things during his time at Eastlands, the comments about Richard Dunne were especially unkind, “China and India are gagging for football content to watch and we’re going to tell them that City is their content. We need a superstar to get through that door. Richard Dunne doesn’t roll off the tongue in Beijing. Ronaldinho brings access to major sponsors and financial reward.”

Now that may be true but players like Richard Dunne win you titles by allowing the superstars to play and thankfully Cook has calmed his comments down over the last couple of months after the rather choice words used toward Kaka and A.C. Milan. He needs to deliver the players to move City up a level from where they’ve been the last couple of years. A consistent goal scorer is key, as is a fit and skilful left sided midfielder to add to four or five signings to strengthen the squad. Hughes will be looking to shift some dead wood out too as well as tie Stephen Ireland down to a new long term contract.

Hughes now knows his goals, no doubt his list of transfer targets already is on Gary Cooks desk and as soon as the season finishes on Sunday, City will begin the search to add some more quality to the potential they already have on their books. With Tottenham, Everton and Aston Villa all showing flashes this season, we could finally get a season to remember in 2009-2010 and not just the same 4 clubs sharing out the trophies once again.