Why did they sack Ericksonn in the first place? thought he was doing a very good job with them and seemed to be moving in the right direction... was before the arabs took over im sure ....
Anyways... for now with the squad they have i think if they overperform they'll be able to break into the top4...
If they manage to sign Lescott and Terry however i think a top4 finish would probably be theirs to miss out on.. in terms of quality players they'd then have much more than Arsenal do...
looking at the possible starting 11s..
Arsenal ManCity
Almunia Given
Sagna Toure Gallas Clichy Richards Terry? Lescott? Bridge
Walcott Cesc Song Nasri DeJong Barry
Arshavin RVP Tevez Ireland Robinho
Adebayor
they certainly seem to have a better starting 11 than Arsenals... the depth to their squad is even more impressive... but anyways... UEFA cup spot this season in my books if they dont sign atleast one top CB... but i wouldnt be surprised if they broke into the top4 because things at Arsenal and Chelsea (Ancelotti?!) dont look too promising this season...
As other mentioned if they had a top manager he would have a) probably tempted even better players to join (b) sorted out their squad better than Hughes is doing and would probably have led them to a comfortable CL spot this season with all the spending...