It is also a sign of lack of imagination/ability in a manager when they can't make that player work. Hate to say this but Wenger was excellent at seeing how a player can work in a certain position. One of the best examples of that is Ray Parlour. Ok, he didn't sign him, Parlour was already there, yet Wenger adapted what Parlour dos, where he stood on the pitch and even told his team mates to only pass to him in a certain way.
By the way you're not talking complete ****; you should drink and post more often
I'm not so sure, I think the reason players look so good at the lesser teams is because the team is set up to their strengths, making them look better than perhaps they are if they move into a different system. Take Bony as an example (he hasn't played much yet so I'm not writing him off) but at Swansea they were playing all their attacking football through him, playing off the fact that he is a strong, physical type who gets knockdowns/lay offs then peels his way into the box. At City the main attacking player is obviously Aguero who is best at receiving through balls and having a creative 3 behind him. City will set up and play what suits Aguero best and the others just have to slot in, which unless you are very good, means they will look pretty average.
It is part of the reason I don't like Pelle/don't want Austin. I think having these types of striker as our main attacking outlet stifles the creativity and ability of the 3 behind, and think we would be much more effective with a more mobile front man.
EDIT: Not sure why I quoted your post as I wasn't really responding to your point, just continuing my thought from last night with maybe a bit more clarity
