After losing to Chelsea, no matter how Manchester United get on at the weekend against Liverpool, one thing is for sure: any slip up for Sir Alex Ferguson won’t affect their ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City. We’ve been wondering all season whether Roberto Mancini’s men were ready to make a real assault on the Premier League title, but now it would seem their title bid is as good as over as the Eastlands club sit 10 points adrift of Man United. Even so, City fans can be reassured by the fact that when it comes to winning silverware, it is only a matter of when, and not if. They have bought some of the world’s best players and in David Silva they have a player who can unlock any defence. Can he be the real difference next season?

Silva was another big name who came to the Premier League off the back of a huge transfer fee. So naturally, the media were quick to write him off after a couple of mediocre displays. But if we’ve learnt anything from foreign stars coming to England, it’s that it can take time for them to settle. Silva’s settling period seems to be well and truly over as he is now consistently playing as well as anyone else in the country.

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With a full season under his belt, Silva can only get better. He has already adapted to the physical nature of the Premiership and has shown signs of his technical genius. As well as having the ability to hardly give the ball away like all good Spanish midfielders, Silva floats around his opponents, proving to be impossible to mark. In fact, I don’t think you can call him a midfielder because he quite often fills that gap behind the front men which most defenders struggle to cope with.

If you add Silva to an improving Edin Dzeko, a fit Adam Johnson and the power of Yaya Toure, Nigel de Jong and Vincent Kompany, I’d say City have all the ingredients of a Premier League winning side. With experience of fighting a top four battle, next year could prove to be the year City finally get one over Manchester United after years of watching them lift trophy after trophy. What is brilliant for the neutral of course, is that Ferguson is highly unlikely to let that happen quite so easily, so it makes for some interesting viewing next season. But United need to invest, or at least replace some of their ageing stars. It’s been widely recognised that what Fergie needs is a new creative midfielder. Someone like…David Silva, perhaps?

Silva could be the key to whether or not City finally get their hands on the Premier League trophy. Until then, he is more than capable of continuing to mastermind Mancini’s assault on the Europa League - a trophy they probably should win this season. They still have the FA Cup this season as well, so despite being off the pace in the league, there is still much to play for.

City fans may have to endure their bitter rivals lifting the trophy again come May, but the future is definitely looking bright. What’s that old phrase? Every cloud has a silver lining? City certainly have theirs.

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