City v Watford - Obscene

Manuel Pellegrini's men have taken maximum points from their opening four games and stand eight points clear of champions Chelsea - There's no excuse

There is something obscene about Manchester City.

In fact, there are plenty of things obscene about Manchester City.

Let’s face it, the amount of money they are spending on footballers - and they are far from alone in doing so - is obscene.

As the latest luxury purchase - scanning in at £54million - was having his heart-rate checked in a private hospital seven miles down the road, a £49million acquisition was registering his first goal for a club where noughts don’t matter.

Raheem Sterling’s account-opener was facilitated by a clever managerial stroke. Manuel Pellegrini brought on a £25million substitute.

We are yet to see the latest £32million defender, Nicolas Otamendi, as the club is still waiting for clearance. From the work permit people, that is. Not the bank. City’s cheques always clear.

But you know what? It is worth coming to terms with the fact that most high-end clubs believe spending and success were twinned at Premier League birth.

It is worth spitting away the taste of financial extravagance and rinsing in some of the stunning football played by this squad.

So stunning, it is, occasionally, well, obscene.

Pellegrini has an obscene amount of options - that man with the stethoscope clamped to his chest in Cheshire, Kevin de Bruyne, extends the list - and some obscenely gifted players.

David Silva is a symphony of genius movement and gently persuaded passes.

It is the way he filtrates into pockets of threat. Like gas.

He is the monarch of the reverse pass. The type that set up Fernandinho for his second goal of the season was so routine for Silva that it is his equivalent of a shoulder-shrug.

Yet it was perfectly weighted, perfectly timed. That Fernandinho finished like Ronaldinho did it adequate justice.

This will not be remembered as one of Silva’s flawless masterpieces, nor was it one of Manchester City’s.

It took them an uncomfortable while to circumnavigate bus-parking at its hydraulic best but it was another slab of evidence to prove - just four matches into competition - City are the most accomplished operation in the Premier League.

And the key is that obscene amount of options.

Making it eight different City goalscorers already this season, Sterling deftly got his joy from Pellegrini’s half-time intuition.

Bring on Samir Nasri, put him wide left, move Silva wide right, shift Sterling central. Bingo.

In this luxuriously-staffed attacking unit, Sterling can only improve. He was pretty wretched for large swathes of last season but he is now cradled in deeply creative arms.

Playing in this City side will let everyone know whether Sterling is the attacking future of England or not. It will certainly give England long-term options if he excels centrally, as he did here in the second half.

And Sterling was certainly, persistently imaginative against a Watford side that had one thing - and one thing only - going for them. Organisation.

But it was probably never going to be enough against the spread of attacking players Pellegrini can lay out.

Yaya Toure was quietly ­imperious and even on an off-day, Sergio Aguero radiated nuisance.

With a face fighting against straightness, Pellegrini claimed not to have known De Bruyne was in town having his lower knees hammer-tapped.

Or maybe he was a little too embarrassed to talk about how City’s financial riches mean more attacking riches coming into the club.

Obscene in a good way or a bad way or both? Take your pick.

But one thing is already becoming apparent.

If Pellegrini does not win the title with this wonderful assembly of attacking talent, it will be an obscene failure.

Probably penned by some wanker who had us down for 4th at best before the season started

Andy Dunn of The Mirror.