Money-bags Man City under pressure to deliver silverware (Feature)

By Ben James Aug 11, 2010, 11:57 GMT

London - For the second successive summer, Manchester City have outspent their rivals in the English Premier League by a mile. Last season their millions were not enough to secure Champions League football; this time they need to bring home the Premier League title.

At least that's what their rivals would like us to believe, ramping up the pressure on City as they look to do what Chelsea managed under Jose Mourinho by turning their cash into silverware.

Although Mourinho won the title in his first season as Chelsea manager, owner Roman Abramovic had begun his spending spree the previous year when Claudio Ranieri was in charge.

And it is the example of Ranieri that City manager Roberto Mancini will be anxious to avoid comparison with, for having spent around 100 million pounds the previous summer, Ranieri was sacked despite taking Chelsea to second place in the league in 2004.

Mancini has already spent 77 million pounds of his billionaire owners' fortune this summer in bringing in David Silva, Yaya Toure, Aleksandar Kolarov and Jerome Boateng.

Should the anticipated signings of Mario Balotelli and James Milner be completed before the month is out, his spending will be well over the 100-million-pound mark.

That brings pressure and having finished fifth last season, securing a place in the lucrative Champions League - by finishing in the top four places in the league - is the least their Abu Dhabi owners will demand.

Keeping their best players will be all the easier if they manage that, but the question is, having spent so much, can they win the title?

'You have to put City bang in the picture,' said Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, never one to miss out on the chance to put pressure on his rivals.

'They have got to be in the top four next year, they have to be. When Roman Abramovich took over at Chelsea and they made all their big signings the impact they had was to win the league.

'Now for City to spend that kind of money they have to be in the top four.'

Winning the title will not be easy, with champions Chelsea out to defend their crown and United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham all hoping to have a say in its destination.

'If they get a run together, if they get the consistency, they'll be a force,' veteran Manchester United forward Ryan Giggs said.

'No one knows if they're going to do that. It's a similar scenario to last season really. They've got so many talented players that, if they gel as a team, they'll be a force.

'If they don't then obviously it could be a frustrating season for them and they'll probably get a little bit of stick. But, if they gel as a team, like they proved in games last year, they can beat anyone.'

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard echoed Giggs's thoughts, saying: 'Obviously they have got the money and they are stronger than ever.

'But they will have to try and find the mix and make it work very quickly. I think Chelsea did it well. It probably took us about a season or a season-and-a-half to get to where we wanted to be.

'You feel that they are going to be a force eventually because of the money behind them - that is just the way it seems to be. But how quickly they can do it and how successful they can be remains to be seen.'

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes City will be in the mix in what he thinks will be a more open title race than ever, but if the pressure is getting to them as the season approaches, it does not appear to be affecting their players, with Argentina striker Carlos Tevez particularly bullish about his side's chances.

'Our aim should be to improve bit by bit, but we know we must fight for the title,' he said. 'The same teams will be there and even though we have brought in new players, other clubs will match us.

'We are right up there with them. We have strengthened and we are stronger. There is no great difference between all the top teams now. We'll see whether we are good enough. I hope we improve on last season and can challenge for the title right to the end. That's what we want.

'But the first challenge is to qualify for the Champions League. I hope it won't escape us this time.'

Given the money that has changed hands in the past 14 months to bring players into City, it seems that is the least they have to do.