Re: Dzeko
I know what bad forwards look like, or at least what a forward playing badly looks like. There's a guy named Ibišević on our national team and he's often next to useless. It's not just that he rarely scores goals, it's that he so often bundles clear opportunities, messes up good team play by trying too much with the ball at his feet, gets in the way of other players and literally prevents us from scoring goals, etc.
I've watched 90% of his games since the move and Džeko has never looked like a particularly bad player, just a very ineffectual one. Several of the other marquee players in the City squad look just as misplaced. Does a team that cost however many hundreds of millions of pounds to assemble really consist of a bunch of talentless flops? No, it's the system - you don't have one.
I'd like to think I'm pretty neutral when looking at the English game. I've followed City since Džeko joined, but I don't have any particularly strong feelings for any of the Premiership clubs. Well, except maybe for your immediate neighbors, who I hate, but that's besides the point.
My point is, as a more-or-less objective outsider, I'd say that at least three clubs - those neighbors, Arsenal and even Tottenham - are miles ahead of you in terms of coherence, strategy and teamwork. I haven't seen enough of Liverpool and Chelsea this year, but I still suspect that if things don't change quickly, City's top 4 spot is going to come down to the wire.
Watching City has become painful at times. Dzeko has become a popular punching bag, but what the fuck was that against Wigan just now? The way people talk on this forum you'd think that before Džeko arrived you were a notch below Barcelona or 90s Milan. Honestly, this team has some fundamental problems, presumably stemming from your manager and an inconsistent transfer policy. I'm by no means joining the sensationalist English media, which, I've noticed in the past month or two, has some serious issues with City; I don't see any problem with City's sudden immense wealth. Still, it's mind blowing that after so many years of such immense wealth you only have one single player capable of providing any creative flair; that you literally don't have a single player capable of sending in a cross from the right flank.
Basically, I think the real problem is not in the forwards, but in the midfield, where you have an awesome collection of tough, physical defensive midfielders who can win back the ball and defend, but then very little order when you go forward. Especially when it comes to playing with width, creative possession football and quick execution in the final third, you have a surprising lack of options. I'm not convinced Mancini has any real masterplan for molding the great group of individuals at his disposal into a coherent team, or perhaps even real authority over some of these players.
I think you need a creative-minded, mature and unselfish attacking midfielder/winger type asap. Beyond that, I would give Mancini until this summer, not just to qualify for Europe, but show a significant improvement in team play and football philosophy. If not, and if Mourinho is available, I think the opportunity would be far too good to pass up.