Manchester City have dismantled much of their backroom operation as they pursue a Catalonian dream of glory under Pep Guardiola, including the unit whose task, among many other things, was to find new ways of persuading transfer targets that Manchester was the place for them. The wisdom of that decision is, at best, questionable.

Those departing have included Haydn Roberts who co-founded and ran City’s Player Care operation but removed by City last July, at the time Guardiola was being introduced as manager. A far more limited operation is now being run by Spaniard David Quintana, the first team operations and support manager.

It was Roberts whom City would entrust with the job of selling Manchester to players, removing preconceptions of the city instilled by London and European clubs. Strategies included presenting the club’s merits to player targets from the top floor of the 47-storey Beetham Tower, which is the highest point in Manchester. “The London clubs would tell players who we were competing for that it rained more in Manchester and that the city was deprived,” says Roberts. “Presenting the benefits of city life and how we can support their families’ needs was essential. The Tower on a clear day revealed the Manchester players didn’t know about.”

There was substantially more to the role than that. Roberts - who was also involved in Project Dzeko, which secured Edin Dzeko’s signature from Wolfsburg in 2011 – first suggested to City a decade ago the idea of an arm of the club which would eliminate all off-pitch distractions for players by supporting them with logistical and personnel issues which could otherwise affect their performance. It was in 2009, in the early days of Abu Dhabi ownership, Brian Marwood now managing director of football services at the club, and former executive Des Coffey agreed to the establishment of the department.

Another of the tasks has been to keep players focused by dealing with unexpected events - a challenge, of course, with Mario Balotelli, whose life was so chaotic and difficult to get a grip on that Roberts ultimately engaged a matriarchal ‘housekeeper’ for him: the nearest thing in Manchester to a mother who would not take any nonsense. It worked and he finally started to settle, though by then, Balotelli had tried living in an Alderley Edge mansion, a trendy apartment at Manchester’s No 1 Deansgate, the seclusion of rural Mottram St Andrew and, eventually, Manchester’s Hilton Hotel.

Haydn Roberts left City last July after Guardiola took charge

But the more fundamental part of the Roberts’ operation was to help embed new signings within the club by taking on responsibilities which might otherwise remain with their agent. Balotelli’s agent, Mino Raiola, recently told the Financial Times that he was “an ‘in-house consultant for clubs.” City never thought that that kind of external control was healthy.

Under Roberts, the Player Care department established a support plan for every new player, though, contrary to the popular conception of player care as a glorified valet service, there was an attempt to understand and apply intelligence to the individual’s family and personality. City have made much, for example, of their links with the private St Bede’s College where their schools are educated. But when it came to players asking where their children would be educated Roberts would direct them to a less intellectual environment, if appropriate to the needs of the family.

Manchester City potential January transfers Show all 9 1 /9 Manchester City potential January transfers Manchester City potential January transfers IN: Virgil van Dijk The Dutchman has attracted interest from a lot of top clubs after an impressive start to the season. City have struggled with defensive injuries this campaign so would ideally like to shore up the defence with another addition. Southampton have said that they don’t want to sell Van Dijk however, so they may have to empty their pockets if they want to bring him to the Etihad. Getty Images Manchester City potential January transfers IN: Holger Badstuber Bayern Munich centre-back Badstuber is out of contract in the summer and after a career plagued with injuries, it looks unlikely that the German giants will want to renew. The 27-year-old could prove to be a low-cost alternative for van Dijk if the deal fails to materialise. Bongarts/Getty Images Manchester City potential January transfers IN: Julian Weigl After Gundogan made his way to Manchester from Dortmund in the summer, young Weigl may follow suit. With the former Dortmund midfielder out for the season, Fernandinho having picked up 3 red cards in six matches and Delph also injured, Guardiola may look to bring the youngster to City. Bongarts/Getty Images Manchester City potential January transfers IN: Steven N’Zonzi City will be facing stiff competition from the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea for the former Stoke midfielder. Reports suggest that Guardiola will be looking to bid £25m to trump both of the London sides. Getty Images Manchester City potential January transfers IN: Isco The Spanish attacking-midfielder has been keeping James Rodriguez out of the team this term and he’s a very exciting player. According to Spanish media, Guardiola has already tabled a bid for Isco and if he can pull off the deal, it’d certainly be one to excite the City faithful. Getty Images Manchester City potential January transfers IN: Andre Silva City lack numbers in the forward positions with only really Sergio Aguero and Kelechi Iheancho that can play up front, although they have recently signed Gabriel Jesus from Palmeiras. The Citizens have sent scouts to watch the young Porto striker score ten league goals in 15 outings, and they could be tempted to bring the 21-year-old to the Etihad. AFP/Getty Images Manchester City potential January transfers OUT: Yaya Toure The Ivorian has recently been brought back in to the fold by Pep, but it is unlikely to keep him at the club. The former Barcelona midfielder’s agent has said that he will spend January resolving the player’s future, whether that means he is going or staying remains to be seen. He is, though, the bookies’ favourite to leave Manchester. AFP/Getty Images Manchester City potential January transfers OUT: Jesus Navas Pacey winger Jesus Navas has been struggling to install himself as the club’s first-choice right-winger and it’s looking plausible that he might be on his way out. Reports suggest that he may be returning to Sevilla, whilst Fenerbahce are also waiting in the wings with a £20m bid. Getty Images Manchester City potential January transfers OUT: Fabian Delph Since signing from Aston Villa, Delph has struggled to break into the Manchester City starting 11 and Guardiola may be open to letting him leave in the January transfer window. According to reports, Newcastle United will be looking to bring the 27-year-old to St James’ Park. Getty Images

Other areas he would examine for players included security, tax advice, litigation issues and the search for property, with the popular misconception for many arrivals that £4m will buy them a far bigger property in one of the affluent Cheshire neighbourhoods, like Alderley Edge and Prestbury, than in London.

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But in some cases, the biggest challenge is actually persuading the player to trust the club to do the planning, since the modern Premier League player is a walking cottage industry. The ‘stakeholders’ meeting with an interest in one current City player last year saw the agent, the agent’s wife, an accountant from country of birth, an accountant from the country where he previously played, father, mother, solicitor – and player himself all sitting down around the table, wanting a say. “You’ve got about three days to get the club’s pitch to him right, if you’re going to convince him to put faith in you and the club,” says Roberts. “If you get it wrong, you’ll find that someone from the entourage is looking after him. Then you will lose the trust and control of the player, he will make bad choices and this will affect his football”

Balotelli eventually settled at City, despite interference from his agent (Getty)

Raiola insisted on taking control of negotiations for Balotelli’s house in Alderley Edge and was adamant he would drive down the price. He didn’t. A naïve and easily influenced player earning six figures a week can also fall prey to the hangers-on who will convince him they can find him a car at half the price the club has found, or a good night out. They then become a disruptive force.

The task of winning and preserving players’ trust meant Roberts and his staff retained such an extremely low profile that many supporters did not know they existed. The team intentionally did not have social media profiles. That is a contrast, it should be said to David Quintana, who recently Tweeted “Yaya’s agent is a liar, a nasty piece that should not be allowed to be outside a prison cell. Feel sorry for Yaya.” His Twitter account has subsequently been closed down.

City's current operations and support manager took aim at Toure's agent Dimitri Seluk (Facebook/Dimitri Seluk)

It is thought that City's wish to cut the unit back stemmed from a desire to restrict the services available to players, though Roberts challenges the notion that player support is a sop to players. “The consensus is that it’s ok to have support departments such as nutrition, medical and performance analysis but if we help the players “off the field” – which is where they spend 80% of their time – then we’re doing too much,” he says. “The player support department is the cheapest support department to run in a football club – £2,000 per week.” Patrick Vieira has stated that the support he received from Roberts and the Player Care department was worth 3 points per season.

“If a player is surrounded by second rate accountants, tax advisors, immigration lawyers, security, driving lawyers, property advisors and education advisors then how long would he last in the UK? Ask Angel Di Maria, whose family never got over a burglary at the house they had taken in Manchester.”