With plenty of money at his disposal, Manchester City’s new managerRoberto Mancini now needs time to turn the perennial Premier Leagueunderachievers into title contenders. Mancini takes over from Mark Hughes, who was fired Saturdaydespite City being sixth in the Premier League standings, thetarget owner Sheikh Mansour had set before the season. Eighteen months earlier, Sven-Goran Eriksson was dumped bythen owner Thaksin Shinawatra despite delivering the top-10 finishthat had been requested of him. Patience has long been in short supply at the underachievingclub which lives in the shadow of powerful neighbor ManchesterUnited. While Alex Ferguson has lifted 25 major trophies in 23 yearsat United, City has had 14 different permanent managers – includingMancini – without winning anything in the same period. “Comedy has always been at the heart of what this club is allabout,” Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook said last month.The former Nike executive was referring to a billboard postertaunting United about Carlos Tevez’s summer defection, but it couldapply to City’s decision-making in recent years. Hughes claims that Mancini’s appointment had been decidedlong before Saturday’s announcement, despite just two league lossesthis season – fewer than any top flight club. Hughes has given Mancini an immediate route to glory bysetting…