Early days perhaps, but does he hold the key to Man City’s success?

Football FanCast columnist Lewis Doe wonders if Adebayor is already holding the key to Man City's future success. 

With every game that passes, Manchester City are looking a more complete side and a lot of this is down to the big striker they signed from Arsenal. Emanuel Adebayor does not seem to go through goal droughts for very long and his ability to consistently score goals could be the factor that drives City into the top four at the end of the season. 

Although it is still very early days to be able to step back and reflect on the impact Adebayor has had, it is clear that he has offered the side something different to what they had before. He provides a new outlet up front through, which the side can play football. He is just as good at receiving the ball into his feet as he is competing for it in the air and this could be the difference come May. 

In the last two or three seasons City have not had a big target man that they can focus all of their play around. What Adebayor does so brilliantly is allowing the side to switch play with ease if something is not working out, an attribute that not a lot of players have. The majority of strikers can only play a certain way e.g. Jermain Defoe at Spurs is better suited to sprinting in behind the defence but does not have an aerial edge to his game. 

City boss, Mark Hughes, said in The Times: "There's been a lot said about him as a player and a person and a lot of it was negative, but you can only judge people on how you find them. He's a good, vocal presence in the dressing room, encouraging his team-mates, and a lot of things that were said I've not seen in him." 

"It's clear he's happy where he is. He's enjoying what's around him, enjoying playing with good players again and the fans love him, which is something that was missing from his life. He's got a big personality and huge presence on the football field. He knows he's at the start of something which could be special and he wants to play a big part in it." 

The things that sometimes hampered Adebayor's ability at Arsenal were his ego and the reluctance of Arsene Wenger to focus the team around him. What Arsenal did was ignore an edge to his style of play that City have discovered and it is this, which could ultimately turn out to be the key to success. 

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