CITY IN SHAPE TO BETTER CHELSEA - ROYLE
Former Manchester City manager Joe Royle believes his former club can show their title credentials at Chelsea tomorrow.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's team sit in an impressive third place with a quarter of the season gone, only three points behind pace-setters Arsenal.
Chelsea, troubled after the departure of Jose Mourinho, are outside the European berths in seventh.
New boss Eriksson has masterminded the revolution at Eastlands, with the financial help of ex-Thai President Thaksin Shinawatra, mixing cherry-picked foreign stars with some excellent youngsters.
The Swede has had no qualms lining up academy players like Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha, Michael Johnson and Steven Ireland alongside international stars like Brazilian Elano and Bulgarian Martin Petrov.
It's proving a potent mix, thinks Royle, who played 99 times for City in the Seventies, and lifted the club from the Second Division to the Premier League in consecutive seasons as manager in the late Nineties.
The 58-year-old said: "The City people I know are in the pinch-me zone - they are having a great time, loving it. They are so pleased with what's happening - the team are winning and they are winning in style.
"It is the best it has been at City for so long. It's a great start, and we're very close to taking the 'but' out of it now. This is a big game for City in so much as they have beaten all the sides that they should beat.
"If they are going to take it further than just a great season they have to beat somebody they are not supposed to beat. This Chelsea game comes into that category.
"It's a big test for them and I think we'll know an awful lot more as to whether this is just a fantastic start or a serious challenge after this game."
Royle also believes that Eriksson does not need to dip into Shinawatra's pockets in January, as the players at his disposal and the youngsters coming through, are doing a fine job.
"If it isn't broken then why fix it?" asked Royle. "They have already brought in a lot of senior players, but despite the rumours I don't think they will bring in many faces when the transfer window opens - there may be one or two at the most. I think Sven would be very wary about changing things too much.
"Elano looks the buy of the season, but the team have a terrific spine - the defensive pairing of Richards and Richard Dunne could play for any team in the Premier League.
"They have Onuoha as well as Richards in defence, and I am told (by Jim Castle - the head of the Academy) there are a couple of more kids who won't be far away by the end of the season. Their youth system at the moment is certainly the most productive in the country."
Former Manchester City manager Joe Royle believes his former club can show their title credentials at Chelsea tomorrow.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's team sit in an impressive third place with a quarter of the season gone, only three points behind pace-setters Arsenal.
Chelsea, troubled after the departure of Jose Mourinho, are outside the European berths in seventh.
New boss Eriksson has masterminded the revolution at Eastlands, with the financial help of ex-Thai President Thaksin Shinawatra, mixing cherry-picked foreign stars with some excellent youngsters.
The Swede has had no qualms lining up academy players like Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha, Michael Johnson and Steven Ireland alongside international stars like Brazilian Elano and Bulgarian Martin Petrov.
It's proving a potent mix, thinks Royle, who played 99 times for City in the Seventies, and lifted the club from the Second Division to the Premier League in consecutive seasons as manager in the late Nineties.
The 58-year-old said: "The City people I know are in the pinch-me zone - they are having a great time, loving it. They are so pleased with what's happening - the team are winning and they are winning in style.
"It is the best it has been at City for so long. It's a great start, and we're very close to taking the 'but' out of it now. This is a big game for City in so much as they have beaten all the sides that they should beat.
"If they are going to take it further than just a great season they have to beat somebody they are not supposed to beat. This Chelsea game comes into that category.
"It's a big test for them and I think we'll know an awful lot more as to whether this is just a fantastic start or a serious challenge after this game."
Royle also believes that Eriksson does not need to dip into Shinawatra's pockets in January, as the players at his disposal and the youngsters coming through, are doing a fine job.
"If it isn't broken then why fix it?" asked Royle. "They have already brought in a lot of senior players, but despite the rumours I don't think they will bring in many faces when the transfer window opens - there may be one or two at the most. I think Sven would be very wary about changing things too much.
"Elano looks the buy of the season, but the team have a terrific spine - the defensive pairing of Richards and Richard Dunne could play for any team in the Premier League.
"They have Onuoha as well as Richards in defence, and I am told (by Jim Castle - the head of the Academy) there are a couple of more kids who won't be far away by the end of the season. Their youth system at the moment is certainly the most productive in the country."
Labels: Joe Royle, Manchester City, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Thaksin Shinawatra
