Manchester City's ambition off the pitch knows no limits - so it would be ironic indeed if a lack of ambition on it was to pull the rug from under Mark Hughes and his brave new world.
The expensive symbols of their desire to dismantle the Premier League's established order were dotted all over Anfield in a meeting with Liverpool that was custom made to measure the scale of Manchester City's threat this season.
Instead, confronted by a Liverpool team short on confidence and shorn of key personnel before and during the game, City's negativity betrayed a lack of conviction that raises serious questions about their ability to muscle in on the top four.
Hughes - having painted a decidedly rose-tinted picture of how City were the better team in an undistinguished, messy affair - railed at justified suggestions in his post-match briefing that a more positive tactical approach might have brought greater reward.
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Sir Alex Ferguson's touchline ban does not kick in until after Everton's visit to Manchester United on Saturday - so he can keep an eye on a potential Old Trafford prize at close quarters.
Everton's line-up is likely to contain Jack Rodwell, the elegant rising star who is fast-becoming the most wanted teenage talent in English football.
Rodwell's name was noted long ago by Ferguson and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is also a huge admirer. Now the tall 18-year-old, who signed a new five-year contract at Everton in February, has attracted attention from potential new suitors in Chelsea and Manchester City because of his rapid development under David Moyes.
But after Rodwell exchanged shirts with Rio Ferdinand following Everton's FA Cup semi-final win against United last season, speculation is mounting that he is being lined up to claim the shirt on a permanent basis at Old Trafford in the future as the England defender's eventual successor.
So how long will it be before Everton's resolve to keep one of the game's bright young stars is tested again, as it was when Wayne Rooney left for United after Euro 2004? And would it be in the best interests of Rodwell to leave with his career only in its infancy?
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James Milner and Darren Bent boarded the plane back from Qatar with England careers heading in opposite directions - one can make plans for the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa while the other will regret the opportunity that got away.
Milner, in the stifling heat of Doha and in the face of Brazil's vastly superior range of talent, demonstrated the intelligence and versatility that surely convinced coach Fabio Capello of his worth next summer.
For Bent, substituted after 54 minutes of fruitless sweat and toil, this was probably his last chance to impress on Capello a talent that works well in the Premier League but has failed to make an impact at England level.
And as he trudged off disconsolately, and in the almost certain knowledge his World Cup hopes were over, it was hard not to sympathise with the Sunderland striker.
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I'm Phil McNulty and I'm BBC Sport's chief football writer. I cover the biggest, best, most interesting and most hotly-debated sport in the world.
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