Man City Charity Not Good for Premier League Title Aspirations

During the opening month of the new Premier League season, it appeared Manchester City made their intentions for a top four birth very clear.

Having adopted the same "no mercy" attitude seen in giants Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal, Mark Hughes' men managed to win their opening four matches in clinical fashion.

Man City's 4-2 victory against Arsenal on September 12 seemed to be the official sign of a change of fortune in Eastlands not seen since the late 1960s and early '70s.

Indeed City are yet to attain any silverware of special significance since attaining the 1976 League Cup—a drought of over 30 years.

A 200 million quid takeover bid, courtesy of an Abu Dhabi investment group in September 2008, however, allowed City to fork out significant cash to lure some of football's most established stars to Eastlands.

Former Real Madrid player Robinho became the first lucrative signing for City. The Brazilian's transfer cost 32 million pounds.

High profile stars Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Shay Given and Craig Bellamy followed suit, allowing City to possess one of the more formidable rosters in their history.

There was little wonder in the end why City were the team most favoured to disrupt the dominance of the Premier League's fantastic four heading into the 2009/10 season.

And during the opening month of competition, it seemed a formality that either United, Chelsea, Arsenal, or Liverpool would find their places in Europe severely under threat.

But ever since City's merciless 4-2 victory over Arsenal just over three months ago, Mark Hughes' men have become arguably the most charitable team in the Premier League.

After losing a dramatic derby match to glamour rivals Manchester United, City have gone on to draw eight of their past nine games against opposition they really should have put away.

The recent three all draw against struggling Bolton is probably one of their more frustrating results this year, considering City managed to beat Premier League high flyers Chelsea 2-1 last week.

To back up that great performance with a below par showing against a side one place from the bottom of the ladder is simply not good enough at this level.

Despite losing the least number of games this season, City currently find themselves in a dogfight with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Birmingham City for an automatic Champions League spot.

Indeed City has a tremendous opportunity to stake a claim for a top four birth when they meet Spurs next week.

Mark Hughes' men are one point adrift of Tottenham and cannot afford to let another three points slip if they are to keep pace with Aston Villa and Arsenal.

Indeed Man City's next seven games are all winnable affairs for a side that has the roster and class necessary to find themselves playing in the Champions League in the near future.

For that to happen, however, City must rediscover their appetite for victory and maintain the hunger for a top four birth for the rest of the season.

Only then will they be able to find themselves constantly in the hunt for silverware the likes of Liverpool, United, Chelsea and Arsenal have become accustomed to winning throughout their respective histories.