In the same way that Dubai has emerged from the sands of the desert, Manchester City have risen from the cold, wet muddy grounds of Manchester to become a footballing powerhouse.

As they say, you can’t make a cake without breaking a few eggs, and boy oh boy, have a few shells been smashed by the Blues along the way.

Indeed, while Pep Guardiola has introduced some pragmatism to City’s transfer policy, which has benefited the club no end, those who came before him seemed to adopt a more, shall we say, frivolous approach.

High off their newly found riches, the likes of Mark Hughes, Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini all splashed the cash on some questionable signings who, quite frankly, didn’t possess enough ability to lace the boots of half of the current City squad, never mind play alongside them.

Take Javi Garcia, for example. It cost City £16million to recruit this lummox from Benfica in 2012, and for what exactly? The world's most expensive sleeping aid?

Honestly, what can we say about him? Should we start with his manoeuvrability? The Spaniard shifted at a rate that made the tectonic plates look like they’re travelling at light speed. He turned like a canal barge docked on sand and had the agility of man made entirely of cardboard trying to do an assault course. Picture it.

Then there was his general play. Garcia really didn’t bring much to the team - not least at the dynamic level we have come to expect of Manchester City nowadays. The Spaniard sort of just stood on the pitch and let things pass him by without contributing so much as a single positive ball forwards. It was boring to watch him, it really was. Especially on the comedown from the previous campaign. It just felt like the club were going backwards.

Though Garcia did feature a little more in his second season in Manchester under the guidance of Pellegrini, his one-dimensional, unfashionable style of play did little to win over the love of fans and, ultimately, the man in charge, whose preference for Yaya Toure and Fernandinho eventually squeezed him out of the club.

Manchester City fans, what are your standout memories of Javi Garcia? Are we giving him more stick then he deserves? Let us know in the comments below…