Manchester City's key trio destined for greatness

Manchester City's players celebrate with match-winner Yaya Toure at Newcastle

Manchester City's likely title triumph is nothing more than they deserve.

City may have wobbled at times this season but yesterday's hard-fought 2-0 win at Newcastle was a performance of champions and a result which takes them within a whisker of their first championship since 1968.

They have deservedly beaten Manchester United home and away while they have consistently played the best football in the country, and there have been no end of fantastic performers throughout the campaign.

Sergio Aguero has had a superb first season in English football, with his 22 league goals and energetic all-round performances a key reason behind City's success.

David Silva has also been terrific - particularly in the first half of the campaign - while Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko have had their moments and Carlos Tevez has made a big impact since returning from his self-imposed exile.

However, three players have epitomised everything City have been about this season and are well on their way to becoming legends at the club - if they are not already.

They are Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure, with the latter proving to be the match-winner in yesterday's crucial win on Tyneside.

Toure was mocked when he first arrived at City due to his huge salary and because many saw him as merely a one-dimensional defensive midfielder, but he has proved over the last two years he is so much more than that.

He started in defensive midfield at St James' Park and did a good job of shackling the likes of Yohan Cabaye, but he has shown time and again just what a colossus he is going forward and this was demonstrated as the game went on.

This is where his manager, Roberto Mancini, came in.

The Italian has been criticised at times this season for negative tactics, his faith in Balotelli and for the mind games he has recently experimented with, but his decision to bring Nigel De Jong on for Samir Nasri was a masterstroke.

With the score at 0-0, it looked like a negative move but it in fact freed up Toure, who then wreaked havoc in Newcastle's defence.

His powerful runs were too much to cope with and he could have grabbed himself four goals, but his brace was more than enough.

His first, on 70 minutes, was a simply superb placed shot from outside the area, one which gave home goalkeeper Tim Krul no chance.

Toure has consistently been City's driving force over the last two seasons

It was fitting Toure was the man to find the breakthrough, as he has developed a knack of scoring crucial goals.

It was, of course, his strike against Manchester United which sealed City a place in last season's FA Cup final and he also scored the winner in the final against Stoke to take the club to their first trophy win in 35 years.

Toure is a simply superb player who very rarely has a bad game, which brings us to City's next crucial individual: Vincent Kompany.

Kompany has been City's rock at the back for a number of years and took over the captain's armband for this season, and it is very hard to remember a mistake from him in recent times.

The Belgian wasn't a high-profile signing - in fact, he was brought in before the days of Sheikh Mansour's ownership for a fee of just £6million - but has established himself as City's most consistent and reliable performer.

It is a travesty he was not even one of the six nominees for PFA Player of the Year - for me, he should have won the award.

Kompany does everything right in defence, which he again underlined at Newcastle by keeping the potent strike-force of Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse quiet.

He is also a real threat from set-pieces, and City fans will remember his headed winner against Manchester United last week for decades to come.

Kompany was superb yet again for City yesterday

Mancini has in the past stated Kompany could eventually be the best defender in the world.

He is certainly the best defender currently playing in this country and it is likely his stock will continue to rise in the years to come as City become an established force in European football.

And then there is Joe Hart.

He is England's number one by a clear distance - in fact, he is so much better than his rivals it is embarrassing.

The likes of Ben Foster and Paul Robinson know that and that is why they retired from international football - as they know Hart should occupy the position for the next 15 years.

He is such a calming influence in goal and it is extremely rare to see him make a mistake.

His only slight error at Newcastle was one poor goal kick but other than that his performance was flawless.

Like Kompany, Hart could become the best in his position in the world and he is clearly the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.

Hart has grown in stature since becoming City's first choice goalkeeper in 2010

He has saved City points on numerous occasions this season and the frightening thing is he is only going to get better.

Toure, Kompany and Hart look every inch like champions, while the likes of Aguero, Silva and Tevez add the flair to make this City team great.

They still have one more job to do though, and that is to beat Queens Park Rangers at home.

City mustn't fall into the trap of thinking the title is theirs yet as QPR will go to the Etihad Stadium with their Premier League status on the line and Mark Hughes would love nothing more than to spoil his old club's party.

However, City have dropped just two points at home all season and everything points towards a win over QPR, which would surely seal the title barring an avalanche of goals for Man United at Sunderland.

Just a few weeks ago, after City lost at Arsenal, the prospect of Mancini's men winning the title looked almost impossible but they kept the belief and have been rewarded.

Mancini deserves so much praise for the turnaround, but so do the magnificent spine of the team: Hart, Kompany and Toure. The men.

They are the ones who dragged the team off the floor and back into title contention and it has been their contributions in recent weeks which has put City in the position they find themselves now.

You could sense the delight of the City fans in the heavens at St James' Park yesterday after the first goal and the final whistle, as they know their club stands on the brink of history.

There will be some out there who begrudge them this triumph due to the money they have spent, but their emergence as a force should be welcomed.

After all, the dominance of Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal in English football has become tiring so it is nice to see a new name among them and shaking it up.

Those fans who followed the club in the dark days deserve this moment. They could surely have never imagined this when battling with the likes of Macclesfield in the third tier.

City's players and fans were given generous applause after yesterday's win by Newcastle supporters, who recognise the similarities between the clubs and realised the importance of the win to all those associated with the club.

City fans repaid the gesture by applauding Newcastle's squad as they did their lap of honour following a superb season, and both clubs can reflect on a magnificent campaign.

For City, it has been an incredible and historic one which will be remembered forever, providing they finish it off next week.

It will be made all the sweeter by the fact they have beaten their bitter rivals after they had been in an almost unassailable position, so their fans will be ready for one massive party on Sunday.

Last Monday's 1-0 win over Man United put City in pole position ahead of their final two games

The skills and brilliance of Aguero and Silva et al has been key to their success, but the leadership skills and consistency of Hart, Kompany and Toure has been the real driving force.

They are three players who should form the backbone of City's side for a number of years, which should ensure a period of dominance at the Etihad Stadium.

When you look at the great sides of the past there is always players like them among the ranks: champions in every sense of the word.

City's turnaround in recent weeks would not have been possible without them and while all around them seemed to lose their heads at crucial points in the season, they kept theirs.

They have been the on-field warriors for Mancini and Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford must wish he had players like them.

If Ferguson could take three players from City, he would surely choose those three - just ahead of Silva - as his side has certainly lacked bite this season.

In the past, he has had the likes of Edwin van der Sar, Nemanja Vidic and Roy Keane to play those roles but two of those have now left and Vidic has missed much of the campaign with injury.

City's trio will only be more imposing next season with the experience of a title win under their belts, and that will be a prospect to strike fear into their opposition.

To produce performances of champions like City did yesterday, a team needs a spine of champions.

And Manchester City certainly has that. Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure. If you add Sergio Aguero to that, City have as effective and frightening a spine as any team could wish for. That is why they are the champions elect.