It can be easy to confuse an ending with a new beginning. Tottenham Hotspur brought down the curtain on one Manchester City manager's reign last season and, when Spurs completed a decisive double at the City of Manchester Stadium in May, there was initial speculation that Harry Redknapp had become Eastlands' executioner in chief. It was not true, of course; ambition has been married with restraint and Roberto Mancini remains in situ. Peter Crouch's headed winner earned Tottenham the coveted fourth place, at City's expense, but it did not unseat Mancini.
Mark Hughes's fate was sealed after a 3-0 loss at White Hart Lane in December. His successor did not merely survive the second setback to Spurs. He emerged stronger. The theory was that City would be able to recruit a higher calibre of player when they had the benefits a fourth-place finish provides. David Silva, a World Cup winner, and Yaya Toure, a Champions League winner, have more than respectable resumes. Jerome Boateng and Aleksandar Kolarov, the defenders, are other arrivals while the signing of Mario Balotelli, the young Inter Milan striker, was completed last night.
Mancini has had the opportunity to put his ideas into practice. He has had the chance - and the budget - to put his mark on the team he inherited. It is less British, his critics have claimed, but it is more cosmopolitan. This, for the first time, is his side. The smiling Italian has the sort of dilemmas other managers can only envy - Shay Given or Joe Hart in goal? Should he pitch in Silva for a debut at White Hart Lane or pick the in-form Adam Johnson? - and the demeanour of a satisfied man. Craig Bellamy's criticisms can be shrugged aside ("not important") because he has a retinue of satisfied players at his disposal.
"I feel fully prepared for the new season," Mancini said. "I have built my team and I have worked with them for five months." Not that he has had as much opportunity as he would have liked to road-test his new recruits. Pre-season has been disrupted by the delayed availability of a sizeable World Cup contingent and Mancini added: "We need to work together for two weeks as we haven't had the whole squad work together at all during the last month."
Integration is an issue but this, the Italian insists, is evolution rather than revolution. "We change five players [including Balotelli]," he said. "We have 18 or 19 players that stayed. I think that I got in five fantastic players and these players will change our history." He is similarly effusive about Balotelli, the 20-year-old he managed at Inter Milan. "He can play wing, he can play first striker, he can play second striker. I think he will become one of the best players in the world," the City manager said.
The sixth signing is set to be James Milner, but the deal is being delayed by Stephen Ireland's demand for a £2 million [Dh11.47m] pay-off to join Aston Villa in part-exchange. Amiable as Mancini often is, there was a steeliness to his response, effectively ending the midfielder's City career. "He played here all his life and I think he needs a change," he insisted. "At the moment, he needs to change. I think it is time for Stephen to change club." A new regulation forms part of the explanation. With the introduction of the 25-man squad rule, there is much attention on City's accumulation of footballers, with the notion that they have two players for every position. So, however, do Spurs. They have shown that outsiders can break into the top four. Now it is City's turn to prove they can enter the upper echelons of the division. "Our target is not 72 or 74 points, we play for the maximum," Mancini added. "I hope that it will be better than top four. I hope we can win something." And will that something include the Premier League this season? "Why not?," he responded. Why not indeed? sports@thenational.ae
Tottenham v Man City, 3.45pm on ADMC Sports 3 & 5, to order: 800-2388 or www.admcsport.com
Key battle Aaron Lennon v Aleksandr Kolarov City's new Serbian left-back, Kolarov, arrives with potential. He impressed last season for Lazio and at the World Cup. But there are easier ways to start you Premier League career than facing the speedy winger Lennon, below. Tactics The entire league awaits to see how Roberto Mancini, the City manager, will fit all his big-money signings into his formation. Tottenham have a more settled formation and their widemen gave City a lot of problems in their two meetings last season Previous meetings Tottenham won both last season's encounters - 3-0 at home and 1-0 away - beating City to the fourth spot in the process. In fact, Spurs have beaten City in 11 out of their last 12 matches in the league - City's only victory came at home in March 2008. Line-ups (Probable) Tottenham (4-4-2) Gomes; Assou-Ekotto, Kaboul, Dawson, Bale; Lennon, Huddlestone, Palacios, Modric; Giovani, Defoe Man City (4-4-2) Hart; Boateng, Kompany, K Toure, Kolarov; Y Toure, Barry, Silva, Johnson; Tevez, Adebayor Facts ? Spurs had 19 different goalscorers last season - a Premier League record. ? Eight of the last 11 Premier League matches between the sides have ended 2-1. ? Gareth Barry will be making his 400th appearance in the Premier League.
This week Today Tottenham v Man City 3.45pm Aston Villa v West Ham 6pm Blackburn v Everton 6pm Bolton v Fulham 6pm Sunderland v Birmingham 6pm Wigan v Blackpool 6pm Wolves v Stoke City 6pm Chelsea v West Brom 8.30pm Tomorrow Liverpool v Arsenal 7pm Monday Man United v Newcastle 11pm *All times UAE Leading scorers (2009-10) Didier Drogba, Chelsea 29 Wayne Rooney, Man United 26 Darren Bent, Sunderland 24 Carlos Tevez, Man City 23 Frank Lampard, Chelsea 22 Assists (2009-10) Frank Lampard, Chelsea 17 Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal 15 Didier Drogba, Chelsea 13 James Milner, Aston Villa 12 Ryan Giggs, Man United 11 Yellow cards (2009-10) Fabrice Muamba, Bolton 11 Titus Bramble, Wigan 10 Lorik Cana, Sunderland 10 Stephen Carr, Birmingham 10