The Two Extremes Of Sven's Problem

There's no doubt that the Sven effect has transformed City into a confident and professional outfit this season.

The football is unrecognisable from the dire spectacle City fans had the misfortune to watch in the last 3 or 4 seasons and thank goodness for that. City are riding high in 3rd place and playing some stuff, although I have to say the awful performance against Sunderland on Monday night took me right back to the darkest Pearce and KK days - I suspect that was just a blip on an otherwise wonderful season so far.

As I've said, the performances are a vast improvement, but they can and must still get better and more consistent if we're serious about challenging for Europe.

Sven's forays into the transfer market have been very successful on the whole, but there are two areas that still need to be sorted out, namely the 'keepers jersey and the forward line. The top and the bottom of the team, if you like, have been problematic since Sven took over and even now, they look far from being resolved. The bit in the middle, i.e the back four and the midfield are solid enough, but don't be surprised to see some additional strengthening in January.

Now that Kaspar is away on loan, it's a straight fight between Hart and Isaksson with Hart just edging it at the moment for the green jersey. Joe has done very well for a young lad, but he does obviously lack experience which has shown a few times this season. He will develop into a top, probably future England 'keeper, but it's a big ask for him to play at this level every week at his age.

As for Isaksson, despite him being here for 18 months, we still haven't seen enough of him to make up our minds. It's obviously an uneasy relationship between him and the club as neither Pearce or Eriksson have shown total faith in him - why, I really don't know.

Up front, we are clearly lacking a 20 goal per season striker. Bianchi may be that person, but like Isaksson, we just don't know. Mpenza has toiled hard on his own up front, but he's clearly not cut out to be a lone striker, something that showed against Sunderland, when he didn't win a ball all night. Enough's already been said about Samaras and the best think for him and City would be an early exit elsewhere to rebuild his career. Of the three, I'd probably only keep Bianchi and persevere with him.

Where does that leave us then? Well, with money to spend we need a top international 'keeper and two proven strikers at this level. With the transfer window looming Sven will be linked with every player under the sun and if true to form will buy none of them and pull off a surprise or two when he does eventually dip into the market.

Let's hope he and the backroom team have been hitting YouTube a lot over the last few weeks and have spotted some more talent ;-)

Good luck to the team and the travelling support today - Fratton Park is an awful place to go to at the best of times; I think I'd settle for a draw if I could.

Please Not Lehmann !

A load of speculation today that Sven will be in for aging Arsenal 'keeper Jens Lehmann (now 37) to bring in a bit more experience and increase competition for the No1 jersey.

I really hope this is just a case of wild speculation, as I for one would not like to see him at Eastlands.

I think Sven needs to be very careful with his next wave of signings as so far he's been very fortunate to have assembled a group of players that (a) seem to gel very well together and (b) have a good relationship with the crowd. This has been a significant contributory factor to City's best ever start for over 30 years.

I don't think Lehmann fits either of the above criteria and over the past few season's he has by far been the 'keeper who has irritated and angered the City fans the most with his "gamesmanship" and unsavoury antics, particularly at corners and set pieces around his area - you all know what I mean.

I would think it unlikely that many City fans would welcome his arrival and warm to the man. I can't see that it would do wonders for team spirit in the changing room either.

The 'keepers position at the moment does need to be resolved, but I hope not like this. Both Schmeichel and Hart have done ok so far, but they are still young kids and far from the finished article, but both have enormous potential.

I also increasingly get the feeling that Isaksson seems to be developing into a square peg in a round hole at City, as since his arrival under Pearce, he's had a string of unfortunate injuries and when he has been fit, I've never really felt that the management have shown total confidence in him. We'll just have to wait and see on that one, but what the guy needs for sure is a decent run of games and to stay healthy.

Personally, I'd stick with what we've got for now and have another look at things at the end of the season.