The phoney war is over and there's less than a week to go until the start of the season, and there's plenty of conjecture in the papers as to what 2010/11 might bring City.

The Mail's Ian Ladyman harks back to that surreal night two years ago when the club made the plunge for Robinho at two minutes to midnight, going on to add that compared to Chelsea earlier in the decade our progress since has been relatively slow.

In his opinion, City are not title challengers just yet. "But can this squad win the Premier League this season? Certainly, it could. Will it? It's unlikely.

"A team needs a tried and trusted core of players if it is to succeed, individuals who instinctively know and understand each other and will drag a team through the difficulties of a demanding season.

"Certainly, City would appear to have bought well this summer. They have purchased players of sound character. Toure looks perfect for the Premier League, as laconic as he is physically formidable, while full backs Boateng and the Serbian Aleksandar Kolarov have impeccable backgrounds.

"Nevertheless, Mancini's squad looks peculiarly short of top-class central defenders and the emotional mentalities of players like Adebayor, Tevez and Bellamy must be considered. These are forwards who flourish with regular football but are not the best to have around when they are not in the team."

Over at the Guardian, Kevin McCarra is adamant that the time for City to deliver is now:

"City's summer outlay is expected to pass the £100m by the end of the transfer window. That leaves City with far more than the 25 senior players now allowed to be registered with the Premier League. Even after trimming the numbers, Roberto Mancini will have to keep a clear head if he is not to get lost in the labyrinth of possibilities that will remain.

"There is not much scope for excusing any lapses in form on the grounds that this is a work in progress. City's position in the marketplace is too strong for that explanation to be accepted and their readiness to force through transfers at any cost is currently without parallel."

Neatly stepping aside the daily Craig Bellamy-Spurs update (in the Independent, if you're interested...), the Sun has the boss squashing the notion of Joe Hart going out on loan. ""If we play Joe, Shay Given will still have a role in the team and if I pick Shay then Joe will help him. I'm fortunate because I have two strong keepers and that is important in a long season." We'd love to say that ends all talk of the England keeper going on loan again, but the chances of that, like those of anything coming from Mars, are a million to one.....