For history, you go to United. For the future, you go to City
MANCHESTEr CITy now tick all the boxes. They have the manager, the players, the owners, everything they need to become one of the Premier League’s greatest teams.
If I was a young player now and had my choice of club, I would choose Pep Guardiola’s City without doubt. They are building towards a powerful dynasty.
Manchester United have won 20 league titles and City have long been in their shadow but the boys in sky blue now have the biggest pull for players. If you want history, go to United. If you want the future, go to City. That is the way it feels now with the platform they have.
When Chelsea won the title in 2015 under Jose Mourinho, they won several games by a single goal in the second half of the season. A 1-0 here, a 1-0 there. City didn’t do that. They refused to take their foot off the pedal. Guardiola would not allow it and that has been part of their charm.
City’s owners aren’t the hiring and firing type and we know they will spend big and back their bosses. People may say they bought the title but plenty of teams have spent significant funds. City, to their credit, spent theirs in the best possible way. Guardiola felt he had a goalkeeper problem and solved the issue by buying Ederson. He felt they needed a better right back so bought Kyle Walker.
But the thing that has impressed me the most is Guardiola’s ability to improve players. Just when we thought David Silva could not get any better, Guardiola has somehow got more out of him. It’s a touch of magic.
They’ve now got to go again. City cannot rest on their laurels because there will be teams gunning for them next season. Liverpool will want to have another crack at them, as will Tottenham.
For me, their best result of the season was on Saturday night. City devoured a good Tottenham team at Wembley after a week in which they were supposed to have lost their air of invincibility. They could have been feeling sorry for themselves but no, Guardiola had his players pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
Are they better than Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2004-05? Better than Arsenal’s Invincibles? Better than Sir Alex Ferguson’s United title winners?
It is hard to say until they have done it over two or three seasons but we have to say they have the opportunity to do it. The character of these worthy champions has been wonderful.