The boy’s got heart: Manchester City’s Hart continues great start to season

For Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini, it was all about going with his Hart.

The Italian tactician— now in his first full season as the Sky Blue’s manager after taking over for Mark Hughes in the middle of last season— has seen hundreds of millions shelled out by the new owner, Sheikh Mansour, to shore up seemingly ever position on the pitch.

With that, Mancini knows that to whom much is given, much is tested. Even with a squad that some are touting to win the title, the Italian’s hot seat is still simmering enough to hold down the sixth-best odds to get the first sacking of the season.

And after presumably watching fellow Italian manager Fabio Capello fail to give young City starlet Joe Hart a chance in this past summer’s World Cup, resulting in goalkeeping comedy and calamity for the England team, Mancini wasn’t about to make the same mistake as his countryman.

Since inserting Hart as the starter during preseason, that at the expense of Irish international Shay Given, the 23-year old has been nothing short of sensational. In Monday’s 3-0 win versus Liverpool, he pulled off a difficult-to-believe double save in the second half to preserve the shutout; in the opening weekend’s match versus Tottenham, Hart pulled off a heart-stopping 11 saves.

Two weeks into the campaign, no test seems to have been passed so plainly for Mancini as the one between the sticks. Indeed even with Given’s seasoned experience being sheltered away on the sidelines, no position seems as secure at the moment as Hart’s.

So much so that Given has been forced to look for first-team football elsewhere. If ever there was a player to perfectly epitomize the revolution at Manchester City, it’s Given, a player, now resigned to ride the pine, all the while holding over 100 caps for his country on top of over 400 appearances in England.

Nonetheless, one would struggle to find something wrong with the selection. An abundance of acrobatic saves and blinding deflections mixed in with his cool command on crosses versus Tottenham and Liverpool showed Hart has every tool in the shed.

Tools that should be utilized much more by the English senior squad heading into the future. With David James already over the hill at age 40 and West Ham’s Robert Green almost undoubtedly playing his way out of the role as starter, if not squad member, Hart will have the English goalkeeping gates open to his will as the squad start’s to shift towards Euro 2012 qualifying.

Just 23 years of age, Hart could feature for a further four World Cups if he plays as late as James, and must become England’s No. 1 immediately. At the club level, Hart should become an integral piece of Manchester City’s puzzle to crack the top four and indeed win the title itself.

And if Hart’s stellar form continues and coincides with silverware for City, Mancini will most likely be thanking Joe, from the bottom of his heart.