City May End Up Having An Awesome Strike Force

With Manchester City on the verge of having the best strike force in the Premier League, who would you start?

Blog enthusiast Blue Lad Scragg sent us the following.

With Carlos Tevez looking very likely to join the Manchester City revolution in the next couple of days and Samuel Eto'o eyeing a possible move to Eastlands, I intend taking a look at the players Mark Hughes will have to manage next season.

The Main Forwards:

Robinho

Already a cult hero and adored by City fans. He signed last August for £32.5m and quickly announced City as a major contender on the world stage. Robinho started very brightly with moments of brilliance and goals that took your breath away. But, then came the winter which was accompanied with an alleged rape allegation. With the prospect of a Crown Court trial the Brazilian lost his confidence and his appetite (totally understandable), nevertheless he carried on building a partnership with Stephen Ireland which showed its worth in the latter end of the season.

However, Robinho was prone to go AWOL which obviously frustrated the hell out of Mark Hughes. With his personal problems in the past and the threat of prison behind him I think Robinho will undoubtedly be one of the first names on the gaffers team sheet.

Chances of starting: 8/10

Roque Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz recently joined City but reports of his new club chasing the Manchester United hitman Tevez and Barcelona's world class striker Eto'o are sure to worry the Paraguayan. But the South American is regarded highly in Hughes' books and is a totally different player to any of City's other strikers.

Santa Cruz had an outstanding first season in the Premier League scoring 23 goals in 43 appearances, plus he helped out with eight assists. Unfortunately the 6"3` striker had an injury-ridden second season scoring only six hence one of the reasons why the Rovers fans wanted him out.

Chances of starting: 6.5/10

Craig Bellamy

After a good start to the season with West Ham he signed for City in January for £14m where he met up with his old Wales international coach, Hughes. Hughes knows Bellamy well and knew he could get the best out of him. Indeed, he showed promising signs in his early days inspiring the Blues and giving that extra edge to the attack. He performed exceptionally well against FC Copenhagen at home netting two spectacular goals.

Bellamy gives you that extra edge with his constant chat back, never give in attitude and that exhilarating pace. But, Bellamy found himself spending the second half of the season on the treatment table.

Although Bellamy is a very good player he concerns me as he is injury prone and has struggled with knee problems for virtually his whole career.

I really like Bellamy and I think he could be used as an impact player, for instance playing the last 30 minutes of most games. But, be sure he will fight for his place and give Robinho a real run for his money.

Chance of starting: 4/10

Carlos Tevez, if he signs

Tevez is expected to wrap up a £25m move across from the red half of Manchester on Monday and will be out to prove Alex Ferguson wrong for not showing more urgency in signing the Argentinean. Hopefully he will come out on derby day and bag the winner at The Swamp, How cool that would be.

Tevez is a similar type of player to that of Craig Bellamy but unlike the Welshman he oozes class. His attitude is brilliant and his work rate is none stop. He also seems to have a knack of coming up with vital goals, But the question is, does he score enough of them?

He will demand guarantees about his place in the starting 11 and will insist assurances of his role at the club. He stated that he wants to stay in England but ruled out a move to Liverpool due to 'sentimental reasons'.

Carlos left United because he felt unloved and wanted guaranteed, first-team football. He spent many of United's most important games sat on the bench pondering his role at the club, especially with Berbatov and Rooney ahead in the pecking order.

Chances of starting: 8/10

Samuel Eto'o, if he signs

Eto'o has apparently been offered a mouth-watering contract to join City, believed to be in the region of £250,000 a week. The European champions seem surprisingly open to selling the striker as it appears the Catalan side are eager to cash in before his contract expires next season.

Chances of staring: 9/10

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