Manchester City’s second-rate millionaires will not bring medals

An awful lot has been made about Manchester City and Sheik Al-Mansur’s Middle Eastern millions, but the fundamental flaw is the calibre of player they are bringing in.

Criticism has been levelled at a number of clubs in the Premier League for favouring the import of cheaper, foreign talent at the detriment to home grown kids - not least Manchester City. This summer alone they have welcomed through the doors Aleksander Kolarov, Yaya Toure, Mario Balotelli and James Milner at a huge expense, though it is the capture of David Silva which highlights their failings.

As soon as the Chelsea players’ hangovers were kicking in after lifting the Premier League trophy in May, Roberto Mancini was being linked to all number of players including the Spanish winger, but also his national and club counterpart – David Villa.

Silva is a good player – he has just played an important part in winning the World Cup – but it is Villa who can make things happen by himself and win games and trophies almost single-handedly.

Looking at the Man City squad, it is full of good players, but not the level of talent needed to take them to the next level.

Balotelli picked up a Champions League winners medal last season, but it was Wesley Sneijder who made the difference. James Milner has been the stand-out player at Aston Villa and deserved his England call-up, but was only overshadowing the likes of Nigel Reo-Coker, John Carew and Luke Young.

It is telling Spain striker Villa chose to go to Barcelona – despite the fact he surely could have commanded a much larger wage than Yaya Toure who is on a reported £225,000-a-week at City – the top players want to go to the top clubs.

Take Milner as an example. He has been around the Premiership for a number of years at Villa and Newcastle and there is a reason Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger haven’t brought him to their respective clubs. He had a breakthrough year last term, but he wouldn’t make a significant difference in the Old Trafford or Emirates dressing rooms.

This isn’t too say Milner is out-of-his depth amongst the likes of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie but he would simply be another player.

For Manchester City to start being a force in English football they need to stop paying over-the-odds for good players and focus on growing their reputation as one of the biggest clubs on the pitch rather than off it.

It is left to be seen whether Balotelli – a young player with undoubted potential – will turn into one of those game-changing players like Lionel Messi, Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres, but Manchester City have to develop their youth team - the likes of Joe Hart and Micah Richards - to create a generation a-la Beckham, Butt, Scholes and Giggs to be able to justify a place at football’s head table.

Chelsea, the obvious comparison, for all their millions sill rely on two players who have been nurtured at the club – John Terry and Frank Lampard. The number of kids coming through at once may not occur again at the same level of Fergie’s kids, but there must be a core, before the Ronaldo’s and Kaka’s start calling.