All quiet on the signing front. Lots of newspaper speculation, but nothing of substance coming out of the club. I take this as a positive and hope that the team is plotting a swift move in a similar fashion to the Gareth Barry acquisition.

Glen Johnson is apparently heading for Liverpool and I've yet to see a shred of evidence that there was ever a possibility that he might come to City. Joleon Lescott is again linked and he's another that I'm not sure about.

Such a signing would certainly have a negative impact on Everton and would in principal upgrade the position. However for a variety of reasons I took an in depth look at the England defender over the course of a number of matches these past couple of seasons. There were games where Lescott played very well and certainly in attack he was a very effective weapon. However defensively I was not impressed feeling that his positioning was suspect and there was a tendency to play an opponent onside or get the wrong side of a attacker. Frankly I think we should take a pass even if we are considering him.

Roque Santa Cruz is yet another that continues to be linked. Fair enough but I can't get excited about him until he's played another season injury free. Johnson's Portsmouth and England team mate Peter Crouch has also had his named attached to City. Yet another in a long line of players Rafa shouldn't have let leave Liverpool, Crouch isn't your stereotypical centre forward but I've always liked him.

Not a bad player in the bunch but honestly pretty underwhelming. Gareth Barry takes the club forward; so would Tevez. Would Johnson, Lescott, Santa Cruz or Crouch be a significant upgrade over who we have currently? I don't think so. Or to put it another way would any of those four start for Liverpool, Arsenal, United or Chelsea? Exactly. Barry and Tevez meet that criteria. Quality not quantity is what the club needs.

And let me throw another name into the mix. Nicholas Anelka. If Tevez were to go to Chelsea then Anelka would probably be the odd man out. Anelka had a terrible reputation as "Le Sulk" when he came to City yet there wasn't a single negative incident with him. He played well, scored goals and was a quality addition. Further he's the type of forward that is always making runs forward. That he gets called offside so much is more a function of a lack of vision from his midfield than an inherent problem with his play. And what do City do as well as anyone in the Premier League? Make intelligent passes to players running into position. Anelka... Now that would be an upgrade.