Yaya Toure is the best centre mid in the league in my opinion, don't get me wrong. It's just he's not the playmaker that Mancini is trying to force him to be. He just doesn't move the ball fast enough which doesn't help when it comes to playing teams which pack 11 behind the ball. I don't think it's a case of City fans not rating him, he's certainly world class. He's such a unique player, there is no-one like him in the world. His return will probably help us in the run-in. It's just our best football has been played while he's been in Africa.
Like you said, winning the title now will be very difficult. No team has ever had more points than United at this stage of the season. I think with the money Mancini has spent and the failings in Europe, and the expected availability of Mourinho in the summer, finishing anything other than top will see Roberto lose his job.
Personally, I want to give him another year. When he was hired, he was told to get into the Champions League after one season (did that), win the FA Cup by three (he won it in his first) and the league by five (he won it by the second). He's done better than even our ambitious owners have expected, so I think he deserves more than being sacked by the end of his first trophyless season.
That's just my opinion, though. We have new CEO and a Chief Executive, keen on creating a club like Barca in England. They probably have their own ideas about how we should play that doesn't sit well with me. Heavy board interference is never a good thing.