Fantasy Football: Imagine you were the Manchester City Manager!

As Manchester City manager, I would explain to the owners that success cannot come instantly and certainly cannot come by buying a bunch of individuals stars but rather by building a good team.

I would also make the owners aware that in order to build a squad that will stay together for a while, it is important to involve some British players who are less likely to move to the European mainland.

In my first season, I would like to have two good players for every position. In my second season, I would then buy one or two world class players to challenge for the title.

I want my transfers completed quickly and without any fuss, so I will go for the most realistic targets.

Here are my transfer plans for the first season (in brackets is a figure that I think will be too good to refuse although the club could agree a lower deal):

Goalkeeper: Graig Gordon, Sunderland (18m pounds).

Centre-backs: Bruno Alves, Porto (8m pounds); Juan, Roma (15m)

Right-back: Rafinha, Schalke (20m pounds).

Left-back: Taye Taiwo, Marseille (16m)

Central midfielders: Gareth Barry, Aston Villa (20m); Lorik Cana, Marseille (15m)

Right winger: Joaquin, Valencia (15m) 

Left winger: Yuri Zhirkov, CSKA Moscow (16m)

Strikers: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Ajax (20m); Sergio Aguero, Atletico Madrid (35m) 

Those 11 players (costing up to 198m pounds) will be joined by Joe Hart, Kasper Schmeichel, Michael Ball, Micah Richards, Vincent Kompany, Martin Petrov, Michael Johnson, Elano, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Jo and Robinho to make up a 22 man squad.

The rest of the players will have to fight for the remaining four or five places and others will be sold.

Assuming that my transfer kitty over the two seasons is 260m, I will still have 62m left to spend on one or two "galacticos" in my second season.

I could blow the whole lot on Lionel Messi. Depending on his situation at Barcelona by that time, he might be keen to link up with Aguero.

With this starting eleven, I would not fear any team:

Gordon -Taiwo, Kompany, Juan, Richards - Messi, Barry, Elano, Robinho - Jo, Aguero

The team will be based on a defensively solid back four with Barry (or Cana) holding things together in midfield. Messi and Robinho will have 100% creative freedom to support Jo and Aguero in the attack.

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