Headlines!!: City cannot afford to be glorious failures after just nine days at the top... and it's time Ozil showed why Wenger paid £42m for him

City have been at the top of the table for just nine days this season
It would be a shame to see the entertainers come up short, like Newcastle in 1995-96 and Arsenal in 2002-03
The Premier League will strengthen next term - City must take their chance
In an ideal world, you would win trophies playing a fancied style, but it's more important to get the job done
Mesut Ozil revitalised Arsenal when Arsene Wenger spent a club-record fee on the German international, but his start has been good, not great
Ozil must live up to his £42million price tag for Arsenal's tough run-in

They are the overwhelming favourites for the title and the thrilling brand of football they have played has been a joy to watch.

But here’s a question: how long do you think Manchester City have spent at the top of the table this season?

Given the glowing way City have been spoken about, with many predicting they will turn the title into a procession, you would imagine they have been in the driving seat for a significant period.

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Tight at the top: It would be a great shame if Manchester City were the glorious failures this season

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Keeping up: Mourinho's Chelsea have spent one more day at the top of the table this season than City

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Onus is on: All the top clubs have several hurdles to overcome before May, but City are favourites

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If that is the case, you would be wrong. Since August 17, Manuel Pellegrini’s side have led the way for just nine days.

It is a sobering statistic. Arsenal have dominated the title race (130 days in first place) but City’s number is outstripped by both Liverpool (24 days) and Chelsea (10 days).

As the campaign approaches its defining stage, Pellegrini and his players will be anxious to change that.

For all the praise that has been showered on them, for all the goals they have scored and the thrills they have provided, City cannot afford to end up being remembered like Newcastle in 1995-96 and Arsenal in 2002-03 — two brilliant sides who ultimately came up short.

Do not take this as me being critical of City. Earlier in the season, when they struggled away, I asked the question of whether City fans would prefer to have Roberto Mancini back over Manuel Pellegrini, as they were too open and lost too often away from home.

City had slipped to seventh back then but their response since has been emphatic. Pellegrini, who was deservedly named Manager of the Month on Friday, has got things working smoothly and has proven he is a class act in the way he has handled spats with Alan Pardew and Jose Mourinho.

There is much to admire about City and Barcelona, their opponents in a blockbuster Champions League game, will be looking at them anxiously.

So too, for that matter, will the rest of Europe’s top sides as City have the firepower to blow anyone away.

But it is crucial they seize this chance to make their class tell. Next season, their rivals in the Barclays Premier League will strengthen. Manchester United are looking to spend £150million, Chelsea will complete their team by buying a class striker; Arsenal will surely do the same.

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New arrival: Pellegrini has already proven he is a class act in the way he has handled certain managers

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On fire: City have truly been this season's entertainers, but their time at the top has been surprisingly short

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The master again: Mourinho played them fantastically, and exposed City's frailties in some areas

Monday night’s defeat in that absorbing game with Chelsea showed why City tried to buy Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando from Porto before the transfer window closed, as injuries — especially the one to Fernandinho — left them exposed in key areas.

Martin Demichelis struggled alone in midfield, while Yaya Toure showed both sides to his game — he was surging forward like an unstoppable force at times, with the pace of a 100 metres sprinter, but he tracked back with the energy of a marathon runner in his final mile.

Pellegrini has persisted with 4-4-2 — something I criticised after they lost to Bayern Munich in the Champions League — but those tactics didn’t cost them against Chelsea; they got sprung on the counter-attack and paid the price for having too many midfielders charging forward.

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Back then: Newcastle held a 12-point lead in 1996, and were one of the best sides never to win the title

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Not like them: Manchester United narrowly won the title in 2003, but Arsenal were the entertainers

So while City were applauded on deadline day for not being held to ransom, showing there is more to them than just throwing money around, how would everyone at the Etihad have felt on Tuesday knowing that, perhaps, a few million more could have secured two key players?

I tipped Chelsea in August to win the title. Had they lost on Monday, they would have been out of the equation; six points, plus an inferior goal difference, would have been an unbridgeable gap for Mourinho and his men. Victory put them firmly back in the mix.

City have been the most impressive team by far this year and some of their performances, such as the 4-1 demolition of Manchester United, blitzing Arsenal 6-3 and the 11 goals they have powered past Tottenham, have been as good as anything we have seen domestically in recent times.

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Rampant: City have blown some sides away this season, including Manchester United, Arsenal and Spurs

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Advance: City knew they would improve their playing style when replacing Roberto Mancini with Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, seen here with January's Manager of the Month award

Football now has become as much about style as substance and we expect top sides to play in a certain way, given how Barcelona raised the bar. Playing with style is one of the reasons City went for Pellegrini and he is a man who will stick to his principles.

In an ideal world, you would win trophies playing with style. But if it comes to the crunch, you get the job done and win the trophies. After that, you can argue about who has played the best football and I know from experience how this feels.

The best Liverpool team I was involved in, certainly for style, was the 1996-97 squad. There were so many talented players, spearheaded by the attacking trio of Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Stan Collymore — but we had nothing to show for it and blew a glorious chance to win the title.

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Panache: The Liverpool side of 1996-97 had style, but they had nothing to show for it at the end

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Glory: Fast forward four years, and a treble came through substance and Gerard Houllier

Fast forward to 2000-01, the season of our cup treble. The brand of football might not have been as attractive but, as far as we were concerned, it wasn’t an issue — three different winners’ medals put style in the shade.

City have become such huge players in football now that failing to win the Premier League or Champions League will feel like a disappointment: success in the Capital One Cup, should they beat Sunderland, would be scant reward for the enjoyment they have given.

Pellegrini, clearly, will know this. That is why he has to turn City from the ‘Great Entertainers’ into the ‘Great Winners’. It is the only way that he and his players will want to be remembered.

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Want it all: Pellegrini knows City must be the 'Great Winners' as well as the 'Great Entertainers'

Time for top Gun Ozil to fire up

One of the best things that happened last summer, for football fans all over the country, was Arsenal’s signing of Mesut Ozil.

I’ve been a fan of his since I saw him at the World Cup finals in 2010 and I was genuinely excited about the prospect of the Germany midfielder displaying his skills in the Barclays Premier League.

With four goals and eight assists, he has had a good start. But that is all it has been.

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Boost: Ozil caused a positive storm around the Emirates when he joined from Real Madrid for £42million

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Step it up: But it's time Ozil showed Wenger why the Arsenal boss spent such a hefty amount of money on him

Over the next fortnight, Arsene Wenger will want Ozil to show why he invested £42million in him; when you spend world-class prices on world-class talent, you want to see them produce in the games that matter.

This sequence of fixtures — Liverpool, Manchester United, Liverpool then Bayern Munich — will define Arsenal’s season and Wenger needs Ozil to have more of an impact in these contests than has previously been the case this season.

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Decent return: Germany midfielder Ozil has scored four goals and created eight in his time at Arsenal

Arsenal have only picked up four points from the 12 available in games against Liverpool, Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs this season and it is time for Ozil to really stamp his influence on such an occasion.

There is no doubt Ozil gave everyone at Arsenal a lift when he arrived from Real Madrid, from the players to supporters, but you want to see him dominate when it really matters, like Eden Hazard did for Chelsea at City on Monday night. That is the level a player with Ozil’s gifts should be looking to hit regularly.

My top five managerial graduates

As Rene Meulensteen is discovering during Fulham’s battle to beat relegation, the step up from trusted assistant to main man is not an easy one to make. There are those, however, who have made a seamless and successful transition — this famous five showed how it could be done...

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Under fire: The pressure is on for Meulensteen despite only being in the Fulham job for two months

1 Bob Paisley

Liverpool’s decision to find Bill Shankly’s replacement from within could not have worked better, as the quiet and unassuming Paisley took the club up another level, winning six league titles and three European Cups between 1974 and 1983. He is the most successful English manager in history.

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Inside out: Liverpool promoted from within after Bill Shankly's departure, with Paisley delivering six titles

2 Bertie Mee

It was a shock when Arsenal promoted their physio to replace Billy Wright in 1966. Mee even wanted a clause in his contract to go back to his old job within 12 months if things didn’t work out. But, within five years, he had led them to success in Europe and became only the second manager to do the League and FA Cup Double.

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From within: Arsenal boss Mee became only the second manager to the League and Cup Double

3 Aime Jacquet

He may have emerged from the background to succeed Gerard Houllier at the worst possible moment — France had failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup — but come 1998, he had produced France’s greatest ever side, leading them to World Cup success on home soil.

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Success at last: French boss Aime Jacquet holds aloft the World Cup trophy in 1998

4 Tito Vilanova

Taking over the reins from Pep Guardiola may have seemed an impossible task but Vilanova ensured there was no break in Barcelona’s dominance, as they won La Liga in 2013 on his watch with the same style and elegance of Guardiola’s team. Sadly, illness has curtailed his managerial career.

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Giants: The transition between Guardiola and Vilanova was smooth, allowing Barca to flourish

5 Harry Redknapp

Redknapp had managed in the lower leagues before becoming Billy Bonds’s No 2 at West Ham but his career took a step forward when he was promoted in 1994. The Hammers enjoyed seven positive years under Redknapp, the high point coming in 1999 when they finished fifth in the Premier League and won the Intertoto Cup.

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Promoted: Redknapp did his bit in the lower leagues before becoming Billy Bonds's No 2 at Upton Park

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Friday 7 February 2014

City cannot afford to be glorious failures after just nine days at the top... and it's time Ozil showed why Wenger paid £42m for him

More from Jamie Carragher...

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