When Keegan is around, there has to be high hopes

Just as he had as a player with Liverpool and as manager at Newcastle United and England, Keegan arrived with an infectious enthusiasm that had great appeal to the long-suffering but loyal City fans.

He backed up his talk with a fantastic season in division one as City swept to the championship in style.

Playing with typical Keegan-esque panache, City scored 108 goals and chalked up 99 points to take the title by a mile. They also enjoyed a run to the FA Cup fifth round, thumping Premier League Ipswich Town 4-1 away en route in a performance that gave the whole club the belief they could compete at a higher level.

City were far and away the best team in the division and, unlike many promoted sides in recent years, also had the funds to further improve the squad to Premier League standards.

Keegan broke the club record to bring in 13 million pounds ($20.06 million) striker Nicolas Anelka and bought another Frenchman, Sylvain Distin, from Paris St Germain for four million.

Other new faces include striker Vicente Vuoso, mid-fielder Marc Vivien Foe and goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel — snapped up on a free transfer from Aston Villa. They join a squad containing some real entertainers, notably Ali Benarbia, local boy Shaun Wright-Phillips and striker Darren Huckerby, who finally appears to have added some tactical nous to his undoubted speed and skill.

Israel mid-fielder Eyal Berkovic is also a vital cog and his experience in the Premier League will be vital in helping the team settle. (Reuters)