One cannot expect to win the league title every season, nor should it be considered a travesty when your side is booted out of the Champions League knockout stages by the best team in the world, but poor football is always a cause for concern.
Poor football has been prevalent at the Etihad Stadium this season. Fortunately, the standard of the league has dropped significantly from last term and the table has become more forgiving. In previous campaigns, City's miserable displays would have cost them European football.
Manuel Pellegrini, the manager, has been slammed for his 'naive' tactics. He's quietly accepted the criticism, but he must acknowledge that his squad is ageing and the team is suffering as a result. With an average age of just over 29, City have the oldest squad in the league. The energy that characterised our play last term has faded into lethargy, but rather than complain, Pellegrini and his advisors should solve the problem and improve their negotiating skills in the summer window.
Fernando, Bacary Sagna, Eliaquim Mangala and Willy Caballero have not improved the side in any way. A club like Manchester City requires big names to go forward, Roberto Mancini proved that by bringing in Sergio Agüero, David Silva and Yaya Touré who are now considered club legends, but Pellegrini has brought in names unfamiliar to City fans and the more popular ones have been over the age of 30.
We don't need tiring legs, we need fresh ones.
The Blues have been linked with a number of the world's most promising young players this year. The rumours are promising, but City's recent business means fans will approach the window with pessimism. An overhaul of the squad is needed and the club's chiefs must convince their targets that the club is not destined for regression.
Yaya Touré to Inter Milan - Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy)
Good or bad? Good
If City are to overhaul their squad this summer, they must ensure that offloading Yaya Touré is made a priority, but only if a replacement is lined up. The Blues have relied heavily on the Ivorian for his power and composure on the ball in the heart of midfield for the last two seasons, but his ability to drive his team through stubborn defences has deteriorated with age.
Touré is a fine player still capable of dominating his opponents, but City must break their bond with the 31-year-old sooner rather than later if they are ever going to emerge from their reliance on him and receive a healthy fee.
Stevan Jovetić back to Italy - Gianluca Di Marzio (Italy)
Good or bad? Good
Injuries have certainly played a role in Jovetić's calamitous City career, but his playing style and position have had an even more detrimental effect. The Montenegrin isn't a natural forward and prefers a role just behind the striker where David Silva and Samir Nasri will always be preferred due to their superior goal and assist records.
Jovetić is a technically gifted player, but the club made a mistake in purchasing a man who was never going to fit into the side. City are likely to receive a decent fee, between £15m and £20m, for the 25-year-old who is still highly regarded in Italy.
Edin Džeko to Juventus - Tuttosport (Italy)
Good or bad? Good
Jovetić is a technically gifted player, but the club made a mistake in purchasing a man who was never going to fit into the side. City are likely to receive a decent fee, between £15m and £20m, for the 25-year-old who is still highly regarded in Italy.
Edin Džeko to Juventus - Tuttosport (Italy)
Good or bad? Good
The Edin Džeko conundrum continues to separate City fans. He's a scorer of important goals, he can be fantastic in the air and he can produce moments of brilliance. The repeated modal auxiliary in that description, however, is the problem. Džeko is capable of great things, but he's infuriatingly inconsistent.
Sergio Agüero and Wilfried Bony are ahead of the Bosnian in the pecking order at the club and Džeko's goalscoring record has plummeted as a result with only 4 league goals this term. City supporters certainly recognise the 29-year-old's value, but also realise that he will not accept a place on the bench any longer. We might as well cash in on him.
Kevin De Bruyne to Manchester City - Het Laatse Nieuws (Belgium)
Good or bad? Good
Since completing his £16.7m to Wolfsburg last summer, Kevin De Bruyne has emerged as one of the most promising young talents in European football. With nine goals and 16 assists in 26 league appearances, De Bruyne is attracting interest from the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
Het Laatse Nieuws in Belgium claim Begiristain has met with the representatives of the 23-year-old who is valued at around £40m, but his proposed arrival would likely spell the end for Samir Nasri.
Raheem Sterling to City - Daily Mirror (England)
Good or bad? Good
Het Laatse Nieuws in Belgium claim Begiristain has met with the representatives of the 23-year-old who is valued at around £40m, but his proposed arrival would likely spell the end for Samir Nasri.
Raheem Sterling to City - Daily Mirror (England)
Good or bad? Good
City are in desperate need of a young, pacy, enthusiastic English winger who terrifies defences and scores goals. The perfect candidate has to be Liverpool's Raheem Sterling.
The 20-year-old is set to reject a huge £180,000-a-week offer from the Reds in the hope of moving to a bigger club with more solid European aspirations and I would urge City to break the bank for such a huge talent. City's play has become far too narrow this term and the injection of some English vivacity would kill two birds with one stone.
City to move for £32.9m Alvaro Morata - AS (Spain)
Good or bad? Bad
The 20-year-old is set to reject a huge £180,000-a-week offer from the Reds in the hope of moving to a bigger club with more solid European aspirations and I would urge City to break the bank for such a huge talent. City's play has become far too narrow this term and the injection of some English vivacity would kill two birds with one stone.
City to move for £32.9m Alvaro Morata - AS (Spain)
Good or bad? Bad
Personally, I'd stay well clear of the Spanish international (for now). Seven goals in 22 league games is a poor return for a striker and for the astronomical price quoted, City could invest in better players in more crucial positions.
Milner out, Barkley in for £35m - Sunday People (England)
Good or bad? Bad
Although the thought of James Milner leaving the club does not concern me all that much, the suggestion that we could sign a hideously overrated midfielder for £35m does.
Milner out, Barkley in for £35m - Sunday People (England)
Good or bad? Bad
Although the thought of James Milner leaving the club does not concern me all that much, the suggestion that we could sign a hideously overrated midfielder for £35m does.
Barkley often shows flickers of brilliance, but he is still a raw talent with a frustrating tendency to hold onto the ball instead of making sensible decisions. I can see why the club are monitoring him, his fearsome strike and eye-catching dribbling is impressive, but he's had a poor season in Everton colours and does not warrant a fee of over £20m.
City's heavy reliance on Yaya Touré means that the club must make the correct decision in replacing him. There is very little room for error and bringing in the wrong man could leave our midfield looking very vulnerable. Ross Barkley is not the right man to replace Yaya at present.
City's heavy reliance on Yaya Touré means that the club must make the correct decision in replacing him. There is very little room for error and bringing in the wrong man could leave our midfield looking very vulnerable. Ross Barkley is not the right man to replace Yaya at present.
City in talks with Paul Pogba - Calciomercato.it (Italy)
Good or bad? Good
Good or bad? Good
He's absolutely the ideal candidate to replace Touré. He's strong, he's agile, he's immensely powerful and he's a scorer of fantastic goals. However, there's one problem; he's Europe's hottest property.
Pogba is likely to command a fee of over £60m if he leaves Juventus this summer and City will want to avoid a bidding war with the likes of Real Madrid who have the financial muscle to shrug the Blues away from the Frenchman, but if City are serious about replacing their most influential player and progressing in Europe, they must break the bank for the 21-year-old.
Pogba is likely to command a fee of over £60m if he leaves Juventus this summer and City will want to avoid a bidding war with the likes of Real Madrid who have the financial muscle to shrug the Blues away from the Frenchman, but if City are serious about replacing their most influential player and progressing in Europe, they must break the bank for the 21-year-old.
