You also have to question Citys transfer dealings. They won the League by the skin of their teeth so the summer transfer window was the perfect opportunity for them to strengthen the side and move to the next level. They have a very strong, robust midfield with Toure, Barry and Milner but Toure is the only player with the technical skills to match his brawn. The other two just aren't technically proficient enough to control games.
Instead they got rid of their best defensive midfielder in De Jong and replaced him with a decent ,but not quite as effective, Javi Garcia. They were looking for more width but again replaced their best winger with an inferior player.
And Rodwell has just been a disaster so far. He has the potential to be good but he's injury prone and has cost them points in the league.
You can argue that midfield was the area they needed to add the most quality to. They've failed in that regard.