What a difference six months make. During the summer City sacked Pearce and lured in ex England manager/victim Sven-Goran Eriksson to replace him. If City fans were skeptical about the appointment of the spectacled lothario, they need not have worried. The Swede, armed with new chairman Thaksin Shinawatra's millions, went about his business in the transfer market with impressive efficiency. It was obvious that the dole queue hadn't dulled his interest in the game as Sven lured the best, but lesser known, talent from across Europe to Eastlands in a giddy spending spree that featured no British players and a collection of random foreigners that Sam Allardyce would have been proud of.
The result? City have won eight out of eight home games this season. They currently sit sixth in the table and the clubs long suffering supporters are dreaming of Europe again; the only blot on Sven's copy paper being the 6-0 away thrashing at Stamford Bridge in October. The result sums up the average City supporters biggest headache. Despite the excellent start to the season, away victories have been hard to come by, with the Citizens having not won an away match since the opening day victory at West Ham. Having scored more home goals this season than in the entirety of the last, Sven's men have netted just six times away from Eastland and must improve their away form if they are to sustain a place in the top six. Not that away from is absolutely crucial to a top six finish - we were dreadful away from home last year and finished fifth. Sven will still be looking to improve, starting with the trip to White Hart Lane this afternoon.
Recent history would suggest he has a tough task ahead of him. Spurs have won the last six league meetings between the two clubs. The majority of those victories were comfortable, even the last two matches at Eastlands that probably rank as our best away performances for quite some time. On current form, however, who knows? Injuries to key defenders continue to mask the somewhat woeful form of players like Michael Dawson and Pascal Chimbonda and Juande Ramos should be praying for a swift return to action for Ledley King, if only for the morale boost his return would provide. Our captain completed 45 minutes in a reserve game in midweek, his first bit of football since the corresponding fixture last year, and looks set to make his first team return in the coming month. With Chimbonda and Lee doubtful for todays match, it's likely that Didier Zokora will dust himself off from being used as a darts board on Thursday night to partner Dawson in the centre of defence a situation less than ideal when you're facing the likes of Brazilian playmaker Elano and Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov.
Elano has been a revelation since joining Eriksson's blue revolution for £8m from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer. The midfielder has six goals in thirteen appearances, the majority of which have been goals of outstanding technical quality. He is blessed with guile, a great first touch and the ability to thread a pass through and eye of a needle and looks the quintessential premiership playmaker. Brazil coach Carlos Dunga described him as 'the symbol of the new Brazil' and it's easy to see why, his style and panache draw favourable comparison with Milan's Kaka and if he continues to perform with such verve, it will not be long before the biggest clubs in Europe come knocking on Sven's door for a chat involving the words 'asking' and 'price'. In short, he's the sort of creative midfield spark that Tottenham lack. Ramos will be hoping he doesn't prove that point this afternoon.
The drama at Tottenham continues to read like a script from a disaster/comedy, where the protagonist somehow manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by any means necessary, be it by Keystone Cops-esque calamity defending, shocking refereeing blunders or last minute wonder-goals by former Arsenal players. That all these plot twists came in one, heart-attack inducing afternoon at White Hart Lane last Sunday no longer comes as any surprise. The club, hand in hand with it's reluctant and tired support, have been waltzing to the funeral march on too many occasions this season. Ramos rightly points out that the club are not too good to go down and simply must start winning games as soon as possible before we really are in the mire.
It's been all to easy for the supporters and neutral observers to blame the board or the manager for the current malaise but ultimately the responsibility lies with the players. Though matters have not been helped by the tumultuous behind the scenes shenanigans, too may of our key players been below part this season. Though Jol invested heavily in the summer, he improved the side with just a few players, so continuity and blending of the squad should not have been an issue. Granted injuries have plagued the campaign, depriving us of King and, perhaps more importantly, Gareth Bale, whose performances since joining the club have been one of the positive aspects from a truly dreadful start to the campaign. But injuries should not mask the shocking fall in stature of players like Paul Robinson and Michael Dawson who were once two of the most reliable players in the squad and who are now reduced to floundering around and looking like half the players they used to be.
So, how will Ramos attempt to turn it around against Man City? After all, our performances have picked up since the Spaniard took over. Firstly, he should drop Darren Bent and, now that Keane is suspended, give Defoe a chance to start. Bent has been unimpressive since joining the club, whilst Defoe has waited on the bench with an admirable degree of patience. Jermain plays with his heart on his sleeve and has an obvious love for the club and its supporters, exactly the sort of player we need when we're stuck in a rut. Though Berbatov seems to dislike playing with Defoe, the potential for a productive partnership cannot be doubted, with Defoe's sharpness and movement complimenting the Bulgarian, who likes to drop off and look for the killer pass. What Defoe must concentrate on is his positioning and movement off the last man as he is too often caught offside, to the frustration of his manager and his teammates. Ramos will also be hoping for Huddlestone to continue his promising form of late by shackling the lively Elano, a task easier said that done. Today will be a real test of the youngsters ability and the clash between the two players will go far to deciding the outcome of the match.
I'm not going to put my neck on the line by predicting the score because there's a significant discord between what my heart thinks will happen and what my head thinks. All I know is that the club as a whole is desperate for a win, and where there's desperation, drama and controversy aren't too far behind. That said, it will probably be a run of the mill one-nil now!