Should Manchester City Be Taken Seriously Now?

They came, they saw, they splashed their money around and failed to conquer.

Abu Dhabi United Group’s buying of Premier League club Manchester City last summer was something that no one was really surprised at - after all, foreign ownership of English clubs has become as common as fake promises of players to stay at their respective clubs for their whole career- but what turned the world upside down was the signing of Robinho just hours before the summer transfer window slammed shut. Right under the nose of poor old Chelsea, who have since seen several of their potential targets move elsewhere.

Robinho's signing, as many thought, would be the commencement of a revolution in the blue half of Manchester. A one-time Galactico who at Santos had genuinely looked the New Pele, Robinho was a true star of football and at 24 was still developing and progressing. Gifted with the usual genius that virtually all Brazilians are born with, Robinho's time at Real Madrid had been good overall and his arrival at the City of Manchester Stadium was supposed to be the tip of the iceberg that would break the Titanic on which the Big Four of the Premier League were sailing nonchalantly.

Robinho's transfer was so dramatic and radical that even the player took time to absorb the move, making the blunder of saying in one press conference, "On the last day, Chelsea made a great proposal and I accepted."; he should have replaced Chelsea with Man City. Since then, though, it's been failure after failure after failure for the Arab owners whose revolution has been reduced to an evolution.

2008-2009

City's 2008-2009 season in the Premier League was always going to be a battle for a finish in a UEFA Europa League position and they eventually finished 10th in the table having been in danger of relegation at one point. Their football was pretty much average, Robinho wasn't great but still contributed and Mark Hughes did a decent job in the end. Yet the failures of Manchester City off the pitch were, and are, the talking points as virtually all their transfer targets snubbed them.

Iker Casillas, Gianluigi Buffon, John Terry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kaka all were linked with moves to the Eastlands. While Casillas would never leave the Bernabeu, Buffon is a wild shot in the dark, Terry is Chelsea through and through, Ronaldo is a Real Madrid man and Messi probably still doesn't know that there are more than one club in Manchester, Kaka never “thought about leaving the club (AC Milan) for even 30 seconds”. Of course, there were/are other players linked with Manchester City, such as Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, but honestly they wouldn't like to waste themselves at a club that cannot guarantee them Champions League football.

City, then, were/are just another club with bags full of cash but no history or prestige to attract the best players in the world. So much so that here on a Goal.com forum a Manchester United fan christened them as “that joke down the road, City.”

The Signings

But this summer, there's been something different about Manchester City, something more constructive, although that concreteness comes with a touch of absurdity. The tabloids and the buffoons have gone on linking City with mega moves to sign all the big players in Europe - or rather whatever big name players Real Madrid are sparing for the rest of the European clubs- but City and their owners probably on the advice of their manager have gone on making the signings. Quietly. Without much fuss.

First up was Gareth Barry, not a player whom Real Madrid president Florentino Perez would even like to keep on the bench at the Bernabeu, but is certainly a player who at 28 is at his peak and will do a brilliant job for City. An England international who can play as a left sided midfielder or in central midfield, Barry had been on Liverpool's radar for a number of years and the £12 million paid to Aston Villa for his services is a bargain indeed.

Then came Roque Santa Cruz. Now, Man City manager Mark Hughes has always lamented the lack of quality upfront in his team and although the Paraguayan is not world-class material, his experience in the Premier League and decent goalscoring record in England should be an asset. The £18 million paid to Blackburn Rovers is indeed an act, as a Goal.com editor remarked, akin to “winning the lottery and immediately buying a bright pink limousine and a hot tub with a flamingo motif around the side” but Santa Cruz himself was interested in joining the City revolution.

The Circumstances

Former Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez is almost ready to play for Manchester City and the second best striker in Europe Samuel Eto'o is one foot out of Barcelona and is reported to be heading towards Man City. Tevez's signing would be a real catch for Mark Hughes as they would eventually have proven world class quality upfront to compliment Robinho and Eto'o's arrival into the scene would make things run at Road Runner's pace.

Yet it would be interesting to note the circumstances under which the star signings have been made or would be made. Robinho was signed only because Madrid wanted to get rid of a player who smelt of booze at training sessions and decided to sell him to the highest bidder; United were not ready to splash the cash for Tevez and Barcelona do not want Eto'o anymore. No star footballer is willing to make Manchester City his first option- most big name players these days seem to prefer La Liga to the Premier League anyway.

Breaking Into The Top Four

Breaking into the top four in the Premier League would imply displacing one of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool. United are the kings of England, Liverpool have rediscovered their consistency and Chelsea are a major force in Europe. At the moment Arsenal appear the best bet but next season the Gunners are surely not going to lose players to injury and even with a relatively young squad still on the learning curve are contenders for the league title. Then of course there are the Aston Villas and the Evertons, forever in the hunt for the ever-elusive fourth spot.

Man City are still some distance away from becoming a major force in the Premier League. Admitted, with money comes great power and years of barrenness can be washed away by a single fountain of liquid asset and City do have a decent squad with Martin Petrov, Elano, Stephen Ireland, Shaun Wright-Philips, Micah Ricards, Wayne Bridge and of course Robinho all classy players, but cracking the Top Four jackpot does appear a little too far-fetched for Mark Hughes' side. At the moment.

Subhankar Mondal