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This season has been a right old rollercoaster ride for Manchester City backers. Matched as low as 5.9 on the eve of the start of the season, they drifted out to 40.0 at one stage but are now right back in business according to the market, trading at 9.0. If anyone can explain to me why they're almost twice the price Chelsea are (even if Carlo Ancelotti's side won their two games in hand they'd still be a point behind) I'd love to hear their explanation by the way, but my advice to anyone who hasn't yet had a bet on the Premier League winner market is to take a punt on Roberto Mancini's side. The Italian has a really good chance of guiding this motley crew to Premier League glory but....only if he follow these five golden rules.

1) Get rid of everyone who doesn't want to be there - It's one thing for the likes of Wayne Bridge or Adam Johnson not getting as many games as they'd like but it's completely different to have the likes of Roque Santa Cruz, Emmanuel Adebayor and Shaun Wright-Phillips making it clear to all they'd rather be anywhere else than at Eastlands. This creates a bad atmosphere and is a bad influence on younger players. All three were signed by Mancini's predecessor Mark Hughes, are players he clearly doesn't like and doesn't intend to play, so they should be shipped off before they cause further damage.

2) Buy Edin Dzeko - Easier said than done, I hear you cry. Reports suggest that it may be a lot more straightforward than one would think though. It looks like Wolfsburg are ready to cash in on their prize asset before injury or loss of form sees his value dip below the £30-35 million he's currently valued at. Steve McClaren has made a pretty ordinary start to his time at the German club but with little chance of securing a European place and relegation very unlikely, this may not actually be the worst time to let him go. The money clearly isn't a problem for City and a world-class out-and-out goalscoring striker who is strong in the air is arguably the only thing that's missing from this squad.

3) You've got to go for it if you want to win the title - I don't blame Mancini for setting his side up in a defensive mode away to Spurs on the opening day of the season or for considering a goalless draw at home to Manchester United a decent result. But that's a far cry from hauling off Carlos Tevez with a few minutes to go at home to Birmingham and replacing him with Gareth Barry. His explanation at the time was that almost every other player on the pitch was going forward and that was leaving gaps which Birmingham could have exploited on the break. In other words: he was better off taking a 0-0 draw than risk losing the game.

I'm sorry Bobby (that's what I call him in my imaginary conversations with him) but across town at Old Trafford they don't settle for home draws to Birmingham when they're trying to win the Premier League; they go for it even though every so often they end up losing the match going for the win. And they know a thing or two about winning the league over there...

4)Play your best players in their natural positions - The most glaring mistake Mancini made for his first ten or so matches this season was to think James Milner was an attacking midfielder. For the most part this season Mancini has played a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-1-2. That's fine. But if you're going to do that and you want to include Milner in the side, he has to be part of the midfield three, not the front three. To play Nigel De Jong, Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure and then Milner as well is just far too defensive and is asking the former Newcastle and Villa man to do something that just isn't in his make-up. Speaking of Yaya, he's a far more skilful player than many Premier League fans first thought but he's not Juan Riquelme just yet. Once again, to play him as part of the midfield trio and give him license to roam forward is a good,positive move; to ask him to become some sort of playmaker all of a sudden doesn't do him or the team any good.

5 Silva plus ten - It's harsh on Adam Johnson, who is one of England's most promising young players, but David Silva needs to start every single match Mancini is desperate to win. In other words, I'm all for Johnson playing 90 minutes in the two Cup competitions but Silva needs to start the PL matches just because of that extra little bit of experience and class. If he's having a bad day then yes, bring Johnson on for him with 20 minutes to go. But the Spaniard is the player most likely to unlock a defence with a moment of magic and is arguably the most essential cog in Mancini's wheel.


By Jamie Pacheco

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