Adebayor up front with Carlos Tevez – unbelievable! And they have Roque Santa Cruz and Robinho too. What a strike force! That's it, [Manchester] City are champions for sure.
This is what Jose Mourinho had to say late last week when asked where he thinks the Premier League title will end up come May 2010. Experience tells us that when Mourinho speaks, remember to add salt. A lot of it. If you happen to be a fan of a rival club, however, make sure you have something for your blood pressure.
However, before this is written off as a typically controversial Mourinho sound bite designed to rile a few of his heavyweight peers, it may be worth taking a closer look at the activity going on at Manchester City. I mean, could a team come from beneath the ‘Top 4’ and claim the title? Could a side that has spent over thirty years in the shadow of their red rivals sprint to the finishing line first?
I’ve heard it mentioned that it’s been done before…and recently too, but the Chelsea ‘model’ was completely different. Yes, they spent big but they were already a firm fixture in the top 4 and their Premier League success was arguably more Mourinho-related (as much as it pains me to say) rather than anything to do with a summer of epic transfer activity. Being part of the Top 4 furniture really cannot be underestimated and it’s taken for granted that the League winner will always come from one of Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United or Chelsea. However, with high profile departures from each of these clubs either rumoured or confirmed it seems now is as good a time as any for a team outside of the hierarchy to clinch the title. Having said that, my money would still be on one of Aston Villa or Everton or Spurs making that leap. Here’s why.
Their players
Yes, City have spent big and yes they have bought some stellar names but make no mistake – if any of the top 4 had really wanted to buy those players, they would have. Take Carlos Tevez for example. Manchester United had him for two years and despite the old Trafford faithful taking them to their hearts, their support for Tevez and his work rate was more a condemnation of the collective lack of ‘effort’ shown by Ronaldo and Berbatov. The question for United was, should they pay £25M to keep the supporters happy or should they cut their losses and hope the fans keep their trust in the manager? There was only ever going to be one outcome and with some of the comments made by Tevez since, it would seem to be the shrewd one. Ok, who else. Adebayor? A Mercenary of the highest order and one that the Arsenal faithful were happy to see leave. Adebayor will undoubtedly make City a better team but not a Premier League winning one, he is also not the ‘Marquee’ signing the owners are desperate to make. Ok, Barry? A good signing definitely, but a Premier League winning one? No chance. Barry has cemented his place in the English starting 11 in the past 18 months but there are plenty of players in the Premiership who can lay claim to being at least his equal. Most of these players reside at teams within the top 4! City really needs a Messi or a Kaka to really strike fear into the hearts of their opponents.
Their rivals
On paper, it’s looking rosy for City and by the time the league kicks off they could have another batch of superstars in place, but the teams ahead of them are in pretty decent shape as the kickoff looms ever closer…
Despite Losing Ronaldo, Manchester United has started pre-season on fire. And, as I’ve said time and time again – their strength in recent years has been their defense and this doesn’t look like changing anytime soon. Whilst Arsenal have lost Adebayor to City, I feel their firepower will keep them up around the top of the league – Van Persie is due an injury free spell, Eduardo looks ready to take the step up and Arshavin’s four-goal salvo against Liverpool last season has already made him an Emirates favourite. Over at Stamford Bridge, we have seen a relatively quiet summer, but the acquisition of Carlo Ancelotti as their new boss has the potential to be a masterstroke, the only question that remains is where their focus lies. It’s no secret that their owner craves Champions League glory over further Premier League success. However, they have too many match-winners (Lampard, Drogba etc) to drop out of the top 4 in the coming season. And finally, Liverpool – with Ronaldo gone, it seems more than likely that Torres will take on the mantle of ‘most feared attacker’ in the league and if him and Gerrard stay fit, I can’t see Manchester city getting within 15 points of them.
So there we go. It may seem damning but I’m only attempting to lay down some perspective. City will ruffle some feathers this season and will be a match for anyone on their day (especially at home) but the best City fans can hope for from a league perspective is for their team to blur the boundaries between the top 4 and the rest. For that to happen they will need to take points off the big boys and hope a few others do too. But win the league? No chance. They won’t even make the Top 4…
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