January is fast approaching and although the rumour mill hasn't quite cranked into gear just yet you can be sure that clubs will have been looking at potential targets for a while now. Do City need to get the wallet out in January?
I think we all know that whether they do or not will largely depend on who leaves and for how much as City reign in the spending done over the last few seasons. Mancini has stated as much several times in press conferences in recent weeks. 
Goalkeeper- Joe Hart
- Costel Pantilimon
- Stuart Taylor
Questions were asked when City announced the season long loan of Pantilimon as we knew very little about him other than what we had seen in the Europa League last season. I do believe that he is a good stand-in keeper if the unthinkable should happen to Joe Hart. I really can't see any ins or outs happening with this position in January.
With Pantilimon only being on loan City will need to look at getting in another keeper capable of covering. Maybe that player will be Pantilimon, he's certainly got the right attitude and is about as good a keeper as you'll get who will stay at a club knowing he is likely to be 2nd choice for most of the season.
Right-Back- Micah Richards
- Pablo Zabaleta
- Nedum Onuoha
Micah has made the RB position his own this season and is almost everyone's automatic first choice for the role.
Zaba has predominantly been used for European games this season and will no doubt now feature in the Europa League. Lets face it, he's not a bad deputy to have is he?
Nedum really isn't in any sort of favour with Mancini and if the right offer comes in it may be tempting to let him go. However, given the recent injury worries in the fullback positions which saw Zaba play in left-back against Arsenal I don't think he will be going until the summer.
Left-Back- Gael Clichy
- Aleks Kolarov
- Wayne Bridge
Both Gael and Aleks have shared the left-back position this season, with Gael getting the more time between the two of them. Although it might not look it at times, Kolarov has stepped up his game from last season in both defensive and offensive duties. He is still better going forward than defending though.
Wayne Bridge, well, what do you say about this player... Turned down a move to Celtic in the summer because they couldn't match City's wages and now he is usually sat at home or seen swanning about town with his missus. Not bad work if you can get it. City will be desperate to get Bridge off the wage bill and pocket anything they can for him. I'll start the bidding at some lint and an old scrap of chewing gum rapper.
With Zabaleta's ability to play left-back should both Gael and Aleks get injured we wont be seeing anyone coming for this position.
Centre-Back- Vincent Kompany
- Joleon Lescott
- Stefan Savic
- Kolo Toure
- Dedryk Boyata*
The centre-back pairing pretty much picks itself at the moment. Kompany and Lescott are one of the best defensive partnerships in the country. They provide a balance to the back line and both complement each other's ability.
Stefan Savic will take some time to get used to life in the Premier League and his performances so far have proved that. That being said, he has shown enough potential to suggest he can make it in England once he is settled.
I don't think many would have thought it 12 months ago but we may be seeing the back of Kolo come January. Rumours have circulated about PSG's interest in the Ivory Coast international and his recent interview with So Foot has not helped restore his image since his drugs ban ended. Although he privately denied ever saying what was reported, So Foot have declared they have a recording of the interview and will take legal action should Kolo publicly denounce it. Message to Kolo; If you want to stay, get your head down, get fit and zip it.
With the promising Dedryk Boyata coming back from loan at the end of the season, unless Kolo is sold in January, I doubt we will see any more defenders coming into the club.
Midfield (Holding/Box-to-Box)- Yaya Toure
- Gareth Barry
- James Milner
- Nigel De Jong
- Owen Hargreaves
- Abdul Razak
The centre of midfield is pretty much covered in all honesty. Looking down that list of players you'd be a brave person to say we need yet another player who can play in the centre of the park.
Yaya Toure will be missing for a few weeks in January but even so, I don't think that warrants going out and spending anything on a 'replacement' as I have seen some say. Ok Hargreaves will probably never be fit enough to put in back to back games, and Razak is still developing as a player but that still leaves Barry, Milner and De Jong.
Mancini will have to rotate these 3 and include Hargreaves and Razak where possible to keep everyone 100% through January and part of February.
Midfield (Attacking)- David Silva
- Samir Nasri
- Adam Johnson
- Vladimir Weiss*
This is the position that City really need to be careful with. David Silva has become such an influential player that it is difficult to replace him should he have to miss games. Samir Nasri offers a lot of creativity although he has yet to really find his feet in the squad.
The real area City lack is options with wide men. Mancini is a great admirer of Adam Johnson but it is clear he still has much of his game to develop. Johnson is also City's only dedicated winger. Milner can and has played out wide but he isn't a winger.
A lot depends on what Mancini really thinks about Vladimir Weiss and whether he feels the Slovakian has enough talent to step up to the plate next season after his loan spell in Spain. I'm undecided about Weiss, he has obvious ability but lacks consistency. He could be the answer to City's lack of wingers but it's 50/50 as to whether Mancini trusts him enough not to bring in another wide man in January.
City do have a number of very talented young players coming through the ranks who fit into the attacking mid and winger roles. Juan Roman and Denis Suarez are both technically gifted young Spaniards and Alex Henshall Jeremy Helan and Albert Ruznak are all pacey wide-men.
All 5 have huge potential and if Mancini feels he needs another winger come January I hope he doesn't pick up one that's so young that it would hamper the chances of these young men in the future.
Forward- Sergio Aguero
- Edin Dzeko
- Mario Balotelli
- Alex Tchuimeni-Nimely*
- John Guidetti*
- Luca Scapuzzi*
As with the centre of midfield, City have enough options at the front to be able to leave it as it is. Given the options in positions behind the main striker only a long term injury to 2 of the players before the end of January would have City looking to bring in cover.
I've not included Tevez in the list for quite obvious reasons, he clearly doesn't want to play for City and will do as he damn well pleases. That situation has been done to death and the Club will sort that out as they see fit.
The 3 other strikers named on the list are players with the potential to step into a 4th striker spot next season. It'll be a 3-way fight between them, although none of them will have to be included in the 25 man squad due to their ages so they may have another season to prove their worth before Mancini makes a decision on them.
There are a lot of players out on loan that I haven't included. This is basically because I don't think any of them have a future at anymore, which is unfortunate for some of the younger players as if the club was in the same place it was 4 years ago they would likely be breaking into the first team quite easily.
All in all, when it comes to January, I really don't think we actually need to bring any players in (on loan or bought) for the majority of positions unless certain players end up with long term injuries or are sold on. If Kolo leaves, expect another defender to come in. If the midfield (holding or attacking) is hit with any long term injuries expect a loan signing.
I have seen it mentioned several times recently and no disrespect to anyone who has considered it, but the idea that City will actually go out and buy a player(s) to cover either or both Kolo and Yaya while they're on international duty is more than a little silly. It's makes absolutely no sens,e football or business-wise, what so ever.
You wouldn't expect any other manager to go out and buy a permanent replacement for a player who was out for 4-5 weeks with injury, so why would Mancini buy replacements for players off on international duty for the same length of time? As mentioned, the only way Mancini will by a replacement for Kolo is if he's leaving the club, not because he's on international duty. The same applies for Yaya.
There is a possibility that Mancini will look for another winger just so he has a player other than AJ to choose from but I can't see any more being done until the summer.
Don't be fooled by all the transfer rumours. This time 12 months ago their were around 30 players linked with moves to City and Mancini only opted to buy Edin Dzeko due to having only 2 strikers who were deemed good enough at the time.
Knowing me though, I'll be completely wrong.
Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot
After the disappointment of dropping out of the Champions League the boys at City will be looking to put that firmly behind them as they take on a Chelsea side which appears to be slowly clicking into gear.
Andre Villas-Boas has had a tough ride in England since moving from Portugese side Porto. Billed as the next "special one" by parts of the media, you can certainly see some of Mourinho's influence in the way AVB handles himself with the press. Managing by far the best team in a rather average league and managing one of the top 4-5 clubs in a much more competetive league are worlds apart, as he has quickly found out. 
They do still pose a threat though as Daniel Sturridge, a product of City's youth Academy, has scored 7 league goals so far this season and is beginning to look every bit the player we thought he would become at City. That is until his massive ego got in the way of things and wanted to move to a big club for the big money. 
Of course, City have their own Spaniard in David Silva pulling the strings on the pitch. New ways of describing David's ability and influence have quickly dried up as they have already been used several times over. As it happens, Merlin or the magician are the two terms most often used now as some of the things he does on the pitch are simply magical.
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot
City are out of the Champions League, just in case you didn't already know. But you know what? I'm not too disappointed. Of course I would have liked to see the club go a little further in the competition but all things considered we hardly embarrassed ourselves.
I could complain that it was Villarreal's inability to beat an egg that took us out of the competition, but ultimately it was our first game against Napoli which has turned out to be the game that bit City in the backside. City created enough chances to kill that game off, hitting the woodwork twice in the process. One swift counter attack lead by Maggio and a goal by Cavanni made the group that much more difficult. 
Whether Mancini makes a real effort at the Europa League is yet to be seen, however he has already said as much and if his previous character is anything to go by he will indeed want to win it regardless of how others perceive the value of the competition. At the end of the day it is a trophy and if it came down to it if you asked any fan of any club whether they would rather end the season with a piece of silverware or not, I'm sure they would say they would want something over nothing.
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot
Kolo Toure's most recent interview, given to So Foot will certainly raise a few eyebrows within City, and they certainly don't conform with the professional image that people generally associate with the elder Toure brother.
"I feel it's going to be more and more difficult for Africans. Competing in the tournament is a catastrophe for us these days. Coaches don't want to sign players because of it. African players are the victims of discrimination."
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't City sign his brother last year? Do Drogba and Essien play for one of the biggest clubs in England? Adebayor currently plays on loan for Spurs (although retired from international duty), Gyan was signed by Sunderland but wanted out, Odemwingie plays for West Brom and so on and so on. There have been plenty of African players play in the Premier League over the years.
Although the accusation of discrimination was not directed specifically at Manchester City, he then goes on to describe how the club hired a plane to get him back to Manchester from the African Nations Cup so he would be available to play in the Carling Cup semi-final 2nd leg against United in January 2010;
"I couldn't get back in time and we lost. I believe the club as never got past that, and I'm paying for it now."
So Kolo is saying because he couldn't get back in time to play a game the club are punishing him for it nearly 2 years later? Don't make me laugh. He was still first choice for the defensive partnership last season for the majority of the first half of the campaign until his drugs ban.
There are also claims that Kolo questioned the ability of fellow player and defender Stefan Savic by saying "When you look at the performance of Savic against QPR - excuse me, I'm relaxed."
Sorry Kolo but you've hardly covered yourself in glory when you've been given chances this season. I can appreciate that he will not be as sharp as he should be because of the ban but my word, some of the mistakes he has made are horrendous. I wont say he is a bad player but he isn't anywhere near being a first choice centre back at this moment in time.
He also went on to add "I know my own qualities, I've got nothing to prove. I'm convinced that if I'm not playing, it's not only for footballing reasons."
Those 2 howlers in the first 15 minutes against Norwich would have seen City 2-0 down against better opposition. Although he played well for the rest of that game it was against a newly promoted side for crying out loud. His performances against Birmingham and Wolves in the Carling Cup were, shall we say, questionable.
When Kolo failed his drugs test, Joleon Lescott quickly forged a strong partnership at the back with Vincent Kompany. One that was much more balanced and compatible than that of Kolo and Kompany. In my own opinion, Lescott is a better defender than Kolo in the first place. That may not have been the case 3-4 years ago, but it certainly has been for the last 2-3 in my own opinion.
How Kolo can say there is any other reason than ability for not getting much game time is absolutely laughable. He sounds like a jealous ex-girlfriend who's been dumped for someone younger and more attractive. He has no one but himself to blame for his lack of game time. Ok maybe he can blame Lescott and Kompany too, but it's not their fault they're just better than him.
There have already been rumours about PSG's interest in the Ivorian, and with us only a few short weeks away from the January transfer window these comments scream 'I'm an international footballer, get me out of here.' And to be quite honest, I'm not bothered.
Savic has shown signs that he has potential and if Kolo does leave I doubt we wouldn't be in a position to be able to bring in another defender if Mancini wishes to do so. But we'll see how this pans out, we can't see the whole context in which these comments were made in, but they aren't particularly professional and they wont help his case in the slightest if he actually wants to be at City.
Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot
I think we all know that whether they do or not will largely depend on who leaves and for how much as City reign in the spending done over the last few seasons. Mancini has stated as much several times in press conferences in recent weeks. 
Goalkeeper
Right-Back
Left-Back
Centre-Back
Midfield (Holding/Box-to-Box)
Midfield (Attacking)
Forward
