Having watched both try (and fail) to match the expectations at City, the case for Hughes over Sven is more debatable. They’re completely contrasting figures with the elderly urbane european perspective of Sven opposed by the more abrasive Brit manager.

Although both had their failures in the transfer market, Hughes is renowned for the research and planning that goes into making a purchase. This was seen primarily at Blackburn, but was lost at City in the Abu Dhabi whirlwind. Vincent Kompany can be highlighted as the kind of Hughes purchase Fulham will be hoping for.

Initially Sven seemed to wave a magic wand when, arriving shortly before the 2007/08 new season, he embarked on a continental trolley dash to produce a team which got off to a flying start. When the wheels came off, these same purchases became ammunition for the Swede’s critics.

The point most people overlook is the lateness with which Sven arrived that Summer and the overhaul required of the Pearce/Wardle squad. We might have gleaned more insight into Sven’s squad building qualities had he been given more than a single season.

Off the pitch Hughes is credited with overseeing improvements in Carrington and a more rigorous training and fitness regime. Sven was notoriously relaxed in this area, leaving such things to his coaches and the team slumped markedly after Kenny Jackett left to become Millwall manager.

In assessing Hughes’ time at City, Daniel Taylor today focusses on his relationships with players. To summarize, getting the best out of Craig Bellamy is to Hughes’ credit while a failure to connect with the Brazilians counted against him.

The likes of Elano and Martin Petrov were inconsistent under Sven, but Hughes was able to get even less out of them. The player protests following Hughes departure were less than anticipated with everyone falling into Mancini’s well drilled lines.

Where Sven can be said to come out on top is in tactics and organisation. From the very first game, away to West Ham, there was a clear plan in absorbing what the opposition had to offer before hitting them on the counter. Straight out of Serie A, and it worked.

By the end, at Middlesbrough, this was in tatters, as everyone knew he was on the way out. It’s scandalous that no-one on the pitch that day seemed to care, but that’s modern footballers for you.

Hughes’ side were also dangerous on the counter, but in a more full-blooded British way, with players bombing forward. At the back it was another story with the manager never able to get the defence organised. Good players went backwards, notably Dunne and Richards. New signings in Bridge, Toure and Lescott failed to replicate their previous good form.

If Fulham lose the discipline with which Hodgson has imbued them, then they could plunge down the table. The high tempo Brit style football which Hughes demanded also left us with an Everton style injury list. While our large squad could just about cope, Fulham may not have the same resources.

One statistic that’s often overlooked is that after three transfer windows spending fortunes, Hughes’ side had less points when he was sacked in the 2009/10 season than Sven’s did at the same point in 2007/08.

Sven has an excellent reputation on the continent, but it’s his failure to inspire England beyond quarter finals while being handsomely rewarded that rankles with the media in this country. Hughes, who carries press goodwill from his days as a player, offers traditional British virtues.

Whether he’s a better bet for Fulham than the astute Sven with a good coach under him remains to be seen. Forget all the pressure from Abu Dhabi, his achilles heel at City was the defending and he’ll need a return to the solidity of his Blackburn side to succeed at Craven Cottage.

One final question. Just because Fulham have had a good couple of years under Hodgson, are they really a bigger club than West Ham, who Hughes passed on the chance to manage earlier in the Summer? Both have controversial owners, but maybe Al Fayad offers a little more loyalty to his manager and Hughes feels in need of that.

• Who do you rate highest – Sven or Hughes?

As a consequence the past couple of days have seen increased speculation about the futures of Craig Bellamy and Stephen Ireland in particular. Yet it’s still possible for them both to make the squad even with the new players coming in.

Below is an update of the previous look at our possible squad. Alesandar Kolarov has been added and Stuart Taylor has returned.

It’s worth noting that the addition of Mario Balotelli won’t affect the 25 man senior squad as he is under 21.

Bringing in a new target man in the form of Dzeko or Ibrahimovic is likely to give us three out and out strikers with Bellamy and Balotelli as alternatives. If we were to sign Torres as well, then the future of Adebayor would come into question.

If Mancini sees Balotelli as a winger who can cut in and deliver a powerful shot, then this puts pressure on Bellamy’s place. Both Adam Johnson and David Silva are natural left wingers though they may not play there.

The key quality Bellamy has over his rivals is a willingness to track back. Balotelli is more in the Robinho mould, with Jose Mourinho regularly admonishing him for failing to support his full-back.

Both David Silva and James Milner may be at their best in attacking midfield roles, which would put pressure on Ireland’s squad place. However if either is seen as primarily a winger, then Ireland’s chances of remaining are greatly improved.

A question mark hangs over the right-back role, particularly from an attacking perspective. Neither Richards or Zabaleta have convinced, and maybe Mancini will look to use Boateng if he can’t secure his preferred choice of Maicon.

If Maicon were to arrive, then the speculation around Richards could prove justified. The big names to leave are likely to be Robinho and Santa Cruz, yet the departure of Onuoha will be the saddest in many ways.

Nedum may well go on to be an England player and ought to be worth a place in a top class squad in the same way as Wes Brown has been at United. There just doesn’t seem to be room for him, Richards and Zabaleta in this squad.

Goalkeepers:

• Joe Hart (home grown).
• Shay Given (home grown).
• Stuart Taylor (home grown).

Full backs:

• Pablo Zabaleta (also midfield, left-back).
• Wayne Bridge (home grown).
• Aleksandar Kolarov (also midfield).
• Micah Richards (home grown, also central defence).

Central defenders:

• Vincent Kompany (also midfield).
• Joleon Lescott (home grown).
• Jerome Boateng (also right-back).
• Kolo Toure.

Central midfielders:

• Gareth Barry (home grown).
• Nigel de Jong.
• Patrick Vieira.
• Michael Johnson (home grown).
• Yaya Toure(also central defence).

Creative midfielders:

• Stephen Ireland (home grown).
• New creative midfielder – James Milner (home grown, also winger), Mesut Ozil, Marek Hamsek.

Wingers:

• Adam Johnson (home grown).
• Craig Bellamy (home grown, also striker).
• Shaun Wright-Phillips (home grown).
• David Silva (also creative midfield).

Strikers:

• Emmanuel Adebayor.
• Carlos Tevez.
• New striker – Edin Dzeko, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fernando Torres.

Additional U-21 players:

• New signing – Mario Balotelli
• Vladimir Weiss (possible loanee).
• Dedryck Boyata (possible loanee).
• Alex Nimely.
• Abdisalam Ibrahim.
• Gregory Cunningham.
• Andrew Tutte.
• Ryan McGivern (possible loanee).
• Alex Henshall.
• Javan Vidal (possible loanee).
• Adam Clayton (possible loanee).
• Ben Mee (possible loanee).

Loans:

• Gunnar Nielsen.

Confirmed departures:

• Benjani.
• Karl Moore.
• Sylvinho.
• Valeri Bojinov.
• Martin Petrov.

Other resulting departures:

• David Gonzalez.
• Kelvin Etuhu (home grown).
• Nedum Onuoha (home grown).
• Javier Garrido.
• Roque Santa Cruz.
• Robinho.
• Jo.
• Felipe Caicedo.
• Shaleum Logan (home grown).

• How do you see the final 25 senior players looking?

The most obvious areas are full-back and centre forward, if Roque Santa Cruz moves on. The Paraguayan has been linked with a number of clubs, although it’s unlikely he will leave before new strikers are in.

Little progress appears to have been made with agreeing a fee for Edin Dzeko, while speculation surrounding Ibrahimovic has diminished of late. If the Swede were willing to come to Eastlands, then it’s possible a deal could still happen. Offering Robinho in part-exchange would make it a lot more palatable financially.

There’s a feeling that a deal for Dzeko isn’t being pushed as hard as it might while other irons are in the fire. Aside from Ibrahimovic, the biggest of these is Torres.

After we missed out on a Champions League place, the likelihood of us signing the Spanish striker seemed zero, yet rumours abound that ourselves and Chelsea are in the hunt. As champions and champions league contenders, Chelsea must surely be favourites, particularly with Abramovic keen to make a big name signing this Summer.

However it could be argued that Chelsea’s priority is midfield. Both Abramovic and Ancelotti are fans of Kaka, who has not captured hearts in Madrid and doesn’t come across as a Mourinho style player.

Looking at Torres himself, el Nino seems in no rush to be back in Liverpool, while the planned discussions with Roy Hodgson could simply be PR for both parties. Any sale of Torres would need careful media management on merseyside, where Liverpool would presumably portray it as the player’s decision to leave – rather than their own desire to cash in.

If City were to pull off such a stunning signing, and bring in a target man, then the chances of either Tevez or Adebayor departing would increase dramatically. Tevez has his suitors, and the influence of Kia Joorabchian can never be discounted. An improved contract may be the price City have to pay if we want to keep our talismanic Argentine.

Mario Balotelli’s agent claims we have made a bid to sign the Inter striker. The link with Mancini who gave Balotelli his debut is obvious, but if we sign any of the more established strikers we’ve been linked with, then it’s hard to see where Balotelli would fit in.

Back at left-back, the attacking Aleksandar Kolarov is strongly linked with us, not least by the Lazio president who struggles to keep his opinions to himself. An offer bigger than one from Real is rumoured to have been made, though not accepted.

Interest in David Luiz appears genuine. The 23 year old Brazilian is similar to Boateng in that his terrfic natural ability enables him to play across the back four. Whilst his quality is clear, signing Luiz would give us a surplus of players whose best position is central defence.

The remaining player with whom we’ve already made a bid is James Milner. Agreeing a deal with Villa appears to be the sticking point here. City don’t appear to pay over the odds for Milner in the same way they were Lescott last season. Quite right too. A cash plus player deal has been mooted in the media, though swap deals occur a lot more often in speculation than they do in reality.

A right-back who offers a genuine threat going forward is the only position where no player is being strongly linked. Mancini may have a desire to be reunited with Maicon or to sign Dani Alves, but these appear unrealistic. Holland’s Gregory van der Wiel is likely to be playing in the World Cup final, but doubts remain about him defensively.

• Who do you think City will sign?

The signing of Yaya Toure gives Mancini plenty of scope to rotate his central midfielders. The manager voiced his concern about being unable to do this last season, where de Jong and Barry could rarely be rested.

With the Europa League to contend with, City could face a Fulham style 60+ games next season. Any talk of selling de Jong or Barry now we’ve signed Yaya Toure should be quickly rebuffed. These days nobody wins anything by having a strong first choice 11 alone.

United and Chelsea have been demonstrating this for several years, and City are now approaching a similar level.

As for who else might join, the rumours about Milner don’t go away and his mediocre World Cup may prevent Villa from attaining the £30m fee they hoped for. Putting Milner in the same price category as David Villa is absurd even for inflated English club prices.

Edin Dzeko appears the most likely striker to join, giving us the option of a target man with a better fitness record than Roque Santa Cruz. Torres speculation has resurfaced following his poor World Cup so far, and our signing of his compatriot David Silva. It would still be a big surprise to see him move to a club outside the Champions League.

Ibrahimovic is looking less likely, though Robinho’s strong World Cup could make a deal with Barcelona possible.

Aleksandar Kolarov is close to filling Mancini’s desire for an attacking left-back according to reports in Il Corrierre dello Sport. Whether he’s a significant improvement on Wayne Bridge is open to debate. Portugal’s Fabio Coentrao has looked a better bet in the World Cup.

From the squad below, one question is whether Mancini wants a quality attacking right-back. His Maicon dream is unlikely to be fulfilled. Another question is whether Stephen Ireland will be content with a squad place. At least he, along with everyone else, should get some game time thanks to the Europa League.

Goalkeepers:

• Joe Hart (home grown).
• Shay Given (home grown).
• Gunnar Nielsen.

Full backs:

• Pablo Zabaleta (also midfield, left-back).
• Wayne Bridge (home grown).
• New left back – Aleksandar Kolarov, Fabio Coentrao, David Luiz (also central defence), .
• New right back – Leonardo Bonucci. This position may be occupied by Boateng, Nedum Onuoha or Micah Richards.

Central defenders:

• Vincent Kompany (also midfield).
• Joleon Lescott (home grown).
• Jerome Boateng (also right-back).
• Kolo Toure.

Central midfielders:

• Gareth Barry (home grown).
• Nigel de Jong.
• Patrick Vieira.
• Michael Johnson (home grown).
• Yaya Toure (also central defence).

Creative midfielders:

• Stephen Ireland (home grown).
• New creative midfielder – James Milner (home grown, also winger), Steven Gerrard (home grown), Mesut Ozil, Marek Hamsek, Yoann Gourcuff.

Wingers:

• Adam Johnson (home grown).
• Craig Bellamy (also striker, home grown).
• Shaun Wright-Phillips (home grown).
• David Silva (also creative midfield).

Strikers:

• Emmanuel Adebayor.
• Carlos Tevez.
• New striker – Edzin Dzeko, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mario Balotelli (also winger).

Additional U-21 players:

• Vladimir Weiss (possible loanee).
• Dedryck Boyata (possible loanee).
• Alex Nimely.
• David Ball.
• Abdisalam Ibrahim.
• Gregory Cunningham.
• Andrew Tutte.
• Ryan McGivern (possible loanee).
• Alex Henshall.
• Javan Vidal.

Confirmed departures:

• Benjani.
• Karl Moore.
• Martin Petrov.
• Sylvinho.
• Stuart Taylor.

Other resulting departures:

• David Gonzalez.
• Kelvin Etuhu (home grown).
• Micah Richards (home grown).
• Nedum Onuoha (home grown, also right-back).
• Javier Garrido.
• Roque Santa Cruz.
• Robinho.
• Jo.
• Felipe Caicedo.
• Valeri Bojinov.
• Shaleum Logan (home grown).

• How do you see the final 25 senior players looking?

Gareth Barry

Yes he’s disciplined, but Barry has neither the pace to get across the pitch nor the bite in the tackle to make a top defensive midfielder. This is hardly a revelation to anyone who watched him play for City last season, so quite why England were expecting him to shackle Ozil is a mystery. The fact he’d barely returned from injury was unlikely to speed him up.

Losing possession for the third goal was unfortunate. Leaving him back to mind Ozil for what proved to be the fourth was a disaster in waiting.

Barry can still do a job in the Premier League, but this performance should remove any doubts about the need to sign Yaya Toure.

Jerome Boateng

Showed a good range of passing while looking very comfortable on the ball and, Vincent Kompany aside, this will be a welcome addition to our defence. When it comes to actual defending Jerome’s not been great in his two matches so far.  Primarily, he’s resembled Micah Richards in failing to close down wingers and stop crosses. For Upson’s goal, Jerome was the defender at fault, failing to time his jump and challenge the England centre-back.

In mitigation, his previous appearance against English opposition at Fulham in the Europa League saw Jerome strong in the tackle and looking excellent defensively. In that game he was playing in central defence.

Seeing how he copes against Argentina should be interesting.

James Milner

Came of age last season playing in central midfield. Here we saw James on the wing and were reminded that his lack of pace prevents him being a £20m winger never mind a £30m one. On the plus side he’s still a better crosser than any of our current wingers.

Martin O’Neill is a motivator of organised teams, which is capable of making average players look good. Barry looked better under O’Neill than he has at City. There’s a big question as to whether Milner would continue his excellent Villa form if he’s moved around by Mancini and asked to play on the wing.

Mesut Ozil

Once again Ozil was the most dangerous midfielder on show. His burst of pace and sharp passing ought to enable him to survive in the Premier League despite his youth and lack of muscle.

The only reservation would be some German players perform better within the framework of their national side than they do for their clubs. Klose and Podolski are typical examples. With Ozil this would be a minor concern.

City appear to have made David Silva our number one target for the creative midfielder role. The advantage with Silva is that he is equally at home on the wings. Signing Silva is likely to leave little room in our squad for Ozil, unless Ireland was to leave.

If he ends up at Chelsea, Arsenal or United, we could be left to rue a missed opportunity.

Shaun Wright-Phillips

Managed to squeeze in his usual substitute’s cameo role and, mercifully for Shaun, it was brief!

Matthew Upson – our one time target

When Mark Hughes appeared to be considering signing Upson late last Autumn, it felt like a desperate attempt to salvage a shaky defence. Yesterday showed again why Upson isn’t a top quality defender.

The West Ham player has always lacked pace and been slow on the turn. At international level this is exposed more than in the Premier League.

Would any City fan take him over Nedum Onuoha? Nedum is better suited to international football than Upson, where his slight lack of height matters less and his clean tackling is more valuable.

If Nedum is still thinking of playing for Nigeria, then someone at the FA should have a word quickly. It’s not as though the first choice pairing of Terry and Ferdinand are getting any younger or fitter.

I felt before the tournament that Capello would have been better served with Nedum than either Carragher or Upson, and nothing since has made me alter that view.

• How do you think these players rated?

Thus far we’ve had five of our alleged transfer targets on show and it’s easy to see which one has got us drooling.

Mesut Ozil

The young German playmaker certainly helped us get over the disappointment of not seeing Jerome Boateng. He played like we want Stevie Ireland to play.

Sharp, penetrative passing coupled with a desire to burst forward and score himself. There was more consistency to Ozil’s passing and he showed a nice burst of speed to get beyond defenders. Despite a lack of physical presence, the quick one and two touch passing should help him survive in the Premier League.

Ozil’s been linked with City over recent months though recently talk of David Silva have been stronger. The Spaniard has greater experience, but a move for him appears difficult due to Valencia’s financial demands and the player’s desire to remain in Spain.

Tor-Kristian Karlsen:

“credit to #mcfc scouting team who’ve been tracking mesut özil for months. deal might still be struck with werder bremen this summer”

It’s not a good transfer strategy to sign a player after one good game, but if it was, let’s go for Ozil and leave Silva to his other suitors.

Angel di Maria

The highly valued di Maria struggled to get into the game against Nigeria. He did little wrong, but failed to shine. Talk of 30 million euros seemed excessive.

Maradona’s team was a little chaotic with more talent than discipline, but it didn’t stop Messi from looking good. Tevez also offered more than the young winger. There should still be time for di Maria to shine in the coming games.

Aleksandar Kolarov

Our links with the Serbian left-back are a little more tenuous and like di Maria, he looks likely to end up at Real Madrid. On this showing against Ghana, they’re welcome to him.

Kolarov is keen to get forward, but didn’t look great defensively – all a bit to similar to Wayne Bridge. In fairness his long range passing and shooting looked of a higher standard.

A new left-back is top of many City fans wish list, yet no clear transfer target has emerged.

Yoann Gourcuff

Another playmaker we’ve been linked with, but let’s hope it goes no further on this display. Like many in the French team, Gourcuff struggled to impress against Uruguay with one shot going out for a throw-in.

He’s surely a better player than we saw here, but there was a clear lack of pace which can’t be blamed on Domenech.

James Milner

We already know about Milner and it’s just as well given his nightmare against the USA. Offering nothing in attack and struggling to keep up with a pacy American full-back, the Villa player was hauled off after half an hour. Ironically his replacement was Shaun Wright-Phillips who fared better despite playing on his wrong side.

Players we’ve been linked with in the upcoming games include: Leonardo Bonucci (Italy), Giorgio Chielini (Italy), Mark Hamsik (Slovakia), Simon Kjaer (Denmark), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast), Dani Alves (Brazil), Maicon (Brazil) and Gregory van der Wiel (Holland).

• Who do you think City should sign from those on show at the World Cup?

Below is an update following the confirmation of new deals for Patrick Vieira and Jerome Boateng.

The club are clearly hoping to sign Yaya Toure, which would surely complete the central midfield roles. Either Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Edzin Dzeko appear to be first choice for a striking vacancy. We have been linked with others but it’s difficult to see how they would fit in.

Full-back remains the biggest mystery. It’s not clear where Boateng’s first choice position will be. At left-back we’ve been linked Aleksandar Kolarov, though Real Madrid and Inter Milan are favourites to sign the Serbian.

If Boateng is considered a new right-back, then it would leave room for either Nedum Onuoha or Micah Richards to stay.

Whichever one of David Silva or Angel Di Maria doesn’t sign for Real Madrid could be our first choice as a new winger. Whether we get them is another matter.

If we succeed in signing James Milner, then it’s difficult to see where another playmaker would fit into the squad unless Stephen Ireland was to leave.

As I said last time, City could face over 60 games next season if they go far in the Europa League. 30 something games should be the optimum for any player so it’s not simply about having a good first choice eleven. They’re rarely all fit and available at any given time.

Goalkeepers:

• Joe Hart (home grown).
• Shay Given (home grown).
• Stuart Taylor (home grown). Gunnar Nielsen could be an alternative.

Full backs:

• Pablo Zabaleta (also midfield, left-back).
• Wayne Bridge (home grown).
• New left back – David Luiz (also central defence), Aleksandar Kolarov.
• New right back – Leonardo Bonucci. This position may be occupied by Boateng, Nedum Onuoha or Micah Richards.

Central defenders:

• Vincent Kompany (also midfield).
• Joleon Lescott (home grown).
• Jerome Boateng (also right-back).
• Kolo Toure.

Central midfielders:

• Gareth Barry (home grown).
• Nigel de Jong.
• Patrick Vieira.
• Michael Johnson (home grown).
• New midfielder – Yaya Toure, Javi Martínez, Fernando Gago, Mathieu Flamini, Lassana Diarra.

Creative midfielders:

• Stephen Ireland (home grown).
• New creative midfielder – James Milner (home grown, also winger), Steven Gerrard (home grown), Marek Hamsek, Mesut Ozil, Yoann Gourcuff.

Wingers:

• Adam Johnson (home grown).
• Craig Bellamy (home grown).
• Shaun Wright-Phillips (home grown).
• New winger – David Silva, Angel Di Maria.

Strikers:

• Emmanuel Adebayor.
• Carlos Tevez.
• New striker to replace Santa Cruz – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edzin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli (also winger).

Additional U-21 players:

• Vladimir Weiss (possible loanee).
• Dedryck Boyata (possible loanee).
• Alex Nimely.
• David Ball.
• Abdisalam Ibrahim.
• Gregory Cunningham.
• Andrew Tutte.
• Ryan McGivern (possible loanee).
• Alex Henshall.

Confirmed departures:

• Benjani.
• Karl Moore.
• Martin Petrov.
• Sylvinho.

Other resulting departures:

• Gunnar Nielsen or Stuart Taylor.
• David Gonzalez.
• Kelvin Etuhu (home grown).
• Micah Richards (home grown).
• Nedum Onuoha (home grown, also right-back).
• Javier Garrido.
• Roque Santa Cruz.
• Javan Vidal (home grown).
• Robinho.
• Jo.
• Felipe Caicedo.
• Valeri Bojinov.
• Shaleum Logan (home grown).

• Who would be in your 25 senior players?

It was thought that an indifferent season at club level, where he lost his place to England aspirant Adam Johnson would cost Shaun his World Cup chance – even with Beckham and Lennon were injured.

The Tottenham flier returned just in time, but Walcott’s indifferent form culminated in a shocking 45 minutes against Mexico. It was like watching Shaun at his worst – pace used to run into defenders rather than round them, and never finding a teammate with a cross.

On came Shaun to continue a run of decent cameo performances as an England sub where, crucially, he was willing to do whatever job the manager assigned him. This appears to have won him a place as back-up to Lennon and impact sub.

If Beckham had been fit, or Walcott showed a degree of form, then Shaun would have missed out. He deserves his luck after missing out in 2006.

Joe Hart

To make the final squad despite such limited international experience is all credit to Joe. No-one would normally suggest the number one slot at a World Cup for a keeper who has yet to make a competitive appearance in the national side. Such was Joe’s form for Birmingham, and his confidence in the friendlies against Mexico and Brazil that a case can be made.

However, with David James making a timely return to form, and Rob Green looking steady during the qualifiers, the odds will be against Joe. Italian coaches generally value experience and Fabio Capello doesn’t come across as a risk taker.

It makes perfect sense for Joe to be given the experience of attending a World Cup, even if it’s ultimately just preparation for future tournaments where he will be the number one.

Gareth Barry

It’s one of the peculiarities of football where being injured can improve your value. Never more so than with our Gareth as the ever injured Hargreaves, woeful form of Carrick and Milner’s inexperience as a defensive midfielder made Barry indispensable.

Capello waited, and was rewarded with sufficiently positive medical reports. After spending a season watching Nigel de Jong do the real shielding work at Eastlands, City fans may wonder whether Gareth is quite the defensive midfielder the nation thinks.

On the plus side, Gareth’s cultured left foot is a valuable asset in the England side, and the less frenetic pace of international football does suit his game.

Adam Johnson

The so called wildcard. Do experienced Italian managers do wildcards? We should have known the answer.

When Beckham, Lennon and Joe Cole were all injured, Adam came into the manager’s reckoning. The return of Lennon and a decent showing from the experienced Joe Cole against Japan probably did for Adam’s chances, regardless of how good he looked in training.

It was still disappointing to see him overlooked. A winger with more ability to beat an opponent and who retains possession better than Walcott, Wright-Phillips or Lennon appears suited to the international arena.

Adam’s certainly a better right-winger than Wright-Phillips is a left-winger. However the left flank became less of an issue with the return of Joe Cole, the overlapping Ashley Cole, and Barry who frees up Gerrard.

If he maintains his City form, then we can expect to see Adam in an England shirt before long. In the meantime, he could do worse than spend his Summer with Stephen Ireland’s fitness coach and improve his stamina levels to last a full ninety minutes.

• How do you think City’s player’s will fare?

With the Europa League to contend with, City could play 60 plus games in the season. No-one is going to play every game. 30 something games should be the optimum for any player, as Ferguson as shown with his squad rotation over recent years.

The new rules limit a squad to 25 senior players, with an unlimited number of U-21 players. Of the 25 seniors, 8 must be “home grown”. To qualify as home grown, a player must have spent 3 years playing in this country prior to being 21. For example, Shay Given and Stephen Ireland would therefore qualify.

Looking at the possible make-up of the squad gives a clearer insight on where Mancini might be looking to bring in new players, and who may be considered surplus to requirements.

Below is a speculative take on how it might look, with possible new signings. Players are listed in their primary positions, with their secondary ones in brackets.

Goalkeepers:

• Joe Hart (home grown).
• Shay Given (home grown).
• Stuart Taylor (home grown). Gunnar Nielsen could be an alternative.

Full backs:

• Pablo Zabaleta (also midfield, left-back).
• Wayne Bridge (home grown).
• New left back – David Luiz (also central defence).
• New right back – Leonardo Bonucci. This position may be occupied by Boateng or Micah Richards.

Central defenders:

• Vincent Kompany (also midfield).
• Joleon Lescott (home grown).
• Kolo Toure.
• Nedum Onuoha (home grown, also right-back).
• New central defender – Jerome Boateng (also right-back)

Central midfielders:

• Gareth Barry (home grown).
• Nigel de Jong.
• Michael Johnson (home grown).
• New defensive midfielder – Yaya Toure, Javi Martínez, Fernando Gago, Mathieu Flamini, Lassana Diarra.

Creative midfielders:

• Stephen Ireland (home grown).
• New creative midfielder – James Milner (home grown, also winger), Steven Gerrard (home grown), Marek Hamsek, Mesut Ozil, Yoann Gourcuff.

Wingers:

• Adam Johnson (home grown).
• Craig Bellamy (home grown).
• Shaun Wright-Phillips (home grown).
• New winger – David Silva, Angel Di Maria.

Strikers:

• Emmanuel Adebayor (If sold, then Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gonzalo Higuin, Mario Balotelli (also winger)).
• Carlos Tevez.
• New striker to replace Santa Cruz – Edzin Dzeko.

Additional U-21 players:

• Vladimir Weiss (possible loanee).
• Dedryck Boyata (possible loanee).
• Alex Nimely.
• David Ball.
• Abdisalam Ibrahim.
• Gregory Cunningham.
• Andrew Tutte.
• Karl Moore.
• Ryan McGivern (possible loanee).

Resulting departures:

• Gunnar Nielsen or Stuart Taylor.
• David Gonzalez.
• Kelvin Etuhu (home grown).
• Micah Richards (home grown).
• Martin Petrov.
• Javier Garrido.
• Roque Santa Cruz.
• Patrick Vieira.
• Sylvinho.
• Javan Vidal (home grown).
• Robinho.
• Jo.
• Felipe Caicedo.
• Valeri Bojinov.
• Shaleum Logan (home grown).
• Benjani.

That’s 16 out and 7 in! Fitting the current players in with the positions we’re looking to strengthen throws up some interesting results.

For example, if we’re to sign Jerome Boateng and a new right back who’s strong in attacking, then it’s difficult to see how both Micah Richards and Nedum Onuoha can be accommodated. Particularly now that Zabaleta has established himself under Mancini.

Likewise, talk of both Bellamy and Wright-Phillips departing appears unlikely unless we bring in a host of wingers. Edzin Dzeko appears more likely to replace Santa Cruz as a target man than Adebayor.

There have been numerous creative players linked with City, but signing more than one may only be possible if Ireland departs, or if they can play down the flanks.

Talk of new contracts to Vieira and Sylvinho would complicate the squad even more as they’re unlikely to play regularly. Mancini likes to play two central midfielders with defensive qualities and could look to make a second addition. It will be interesting to see if Michael Johnson makes the 25 as one of four or five central midfielders.

It looks like we may see some signings this week, so I’ll look to update this list as and when they arrive.

• Who would be in your 25 senior players?

John Cross, Daily Mirror:

“Playing on the left wing, he terrorised Liverpool veteran Jamie Carragher and rained in a string of pinpoint crosses.”

Henry Winter, Twitter:

“#England training…obvious strengths: Rooney’s finishing, A Johnson’s left-footed crossing, Hart’s shot-stopping & Gerrard quarterbacking”

This may come as a slight surprise as crossing is a feature of Adam’s game which appeared to need the most work. At Middlesbrough, Stewart Downing was considered the better player on account of his superior delivery.

City have struggled for good crossing all season, and Mancini appears keen to improve on it both in training and with new signings. It’s never been a strength of Shaun Wright-Phillips nor Craig Bellamy, who has always been primarily a striker.

Mancini’s efforts to improve the situation in training were noted here, where those of us who remember him as a player could afford a wry smile.

Neil McNab’s Tash, Blue Moon forum:

The last group Mancini had were pure attacking, crossing and finishing and sadly as I have said before Mancini was the best crosser on view. Good to see AJ working from the left for quite a while but early on with him and SWP crossing Mancini stopped it, walked over took one himself which was perfect fro RSC to power a header in. So simple and he demonstrated very clearly what he wanted.They simply don’t have the natural ability the boss has.

James Milner may have come of age in central midfield this season, but he has always been known as a good crosser from the flanks, and this could have influenced the thinking of Mancini and Marwood in deciding to persue him.

Angel di Maria is another noted for his quality of delivery, though the rumuor-mill currently suggests he’s more likely to end up at Real Madrid. That remains to be seen. His lack of tracking back was notable when Benfica played Liverpool. Hardly a quality likely to endear him to Jose Mourinho if the Portuguese takes over at Real.

With none of our current first choice full-backs able to find a consistent delivery, any new additions in these positions also need to offer a better attacking side to their game.

Quality of crossing is an area where we lag behind all the other top teams in the Premier League, and it’s to be hoped an improvement by Johnson, which may require him playing on the left, is augmented by the right signings.

• What do you think of the crossing by City last season? And who’s likely to improve it?