City need a Pep up to stay at the top
The unapologetic and brutal manner in which the light blues have shoved themselves to the forefront of the game has shaken the traditional establishment.
Prior to 2011, they were an underachieving club of a certain size, not having won a pot of note in 35 years.
Since then, they’ve landed ten trophies. Among them are four Premier League titles. Nine top-four finishes confirm the consistency.
Along the way, they’ve banged in more goals and averaged more points than any of their rivals.
They’ve gone from being ‘noisy neighbours’ as Sir Alex Ferguson once tagged them, to being the team to catch – the standard-bearers – culminating in that historic treble last term.
Okay, the prize of European Champions still eludes them – the one target still to be ticked off a list of achievements that would have been unthinkable before the Abu Dhabi Group flexed its financial muscles.
Of course, what appeared to be a bottomless pit of cash has certainly helped.
It took an investment of a cool £1billion to land that first Premier League title.
They have scaled the heights. The recruitment of arguably the world’s best coach – Pep Guardiola – took the club to a new level.
But the next few years promise to be testing.
No longer are Manchester City alone in throwing vast sums of money at problems and hoping they go away.
On the European front, Paris Stgermain can match them in the spending stakes. The collective might – and historic pull – of Barcelona and
Real Madrid will always prove a magnet for the world’s best players.
Domestically, Liverpool and Manchester United are snapping at their heels. The former has a team that looks set to dominate in the nearterm. The latter, sooner or later, will find a solution to the slump of the post-ferguson era that has dogged them for the past six seasons.
So while the competition intensifies, what are City doing about it?
Off the pitch, the juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down.
But the club’s growth, in terms of revenue and prestige, has been driven by on-field success.
Guardiola has admitted there are no alternatives to the enigma that is Sergio Aguero (above top), who will be 32 years old next summer.
David Silva (above) will be leaving a huge hole as his legacy. Vincent Kompany’s influence has not been replaced, and probably won’t be. Kyle Walker will be 30 next season.
And what of the manager? How long can Guardiola keep going? Is he prepared to oversee another overhaul? Rumours abound that his next stop will be a return to Barcelona. Clearly, there is work to be done. Manchester City climbed a mountain to reach the summit of the English game. It was a great achievement. It’s one thing having money, it’s another spending it well.
But if they want to stay there, they need to reinvent themselves again.
They have raised the bar. Others are now at a similar level.
The decade to 2020 has been an historic one. If the next is to be as successful then they have issues to address.
For, as they have seen over the road at Old Trafford, a failure to do so properly can have serious consequences.
Squaring up to Tyson Fury – it might finally put an end to the trash-talking.
In the top six at Christmas.
The Brighton chief’s approach to management. Calm. Considered. Must be working under incredible pressure, but it doesn’t show. One to watch.
WHO’S NOT
Receiving honours in the New Year’s list. Really? For doing their jobs?