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The Season Ahead Part Twelve : Manchester City

Published by Ian John on September 9, 2009

Prospects for 2009 :
Well, surely it has to be the biggest season in Manchester City’s football history? Certainly in recent times. It’s difficult to imagine that the wealthiest club in the world, in terms of their owner’s personal wealth, was a league one club a few short years ago. With the hundreds of millions invested in talented players, a brand new stadium and owners who seem intent on knocking United off their perch as the cities number one club, the prospects for City this season are as bright as they have ever been in the history of the club, and yes that includes the glory era of the early 1970’s.

2009 is a big season for:
Well, there are so many players who fit this but perhaps the man with the most pressure on him this season is Manchester City boss Mark Hughes. Backed to the hilt by his free spending new owner, Hughes has bought in players of proven Premiership pedigree to the club and it is now up to him and his backroom staff, led by the underrated Mark Bowen, to assimilate their expensive purchases into a team that is capable not only of challenging Manchester United, but also challenging for the major honours. That must include the Premier League title and at least a qualifying spot in the Champions League. Anything less and the obituaries for Hughes will have been written long before.

Guaranteed to irritate in 2009 :
The bragging that they are the only club in Manchester, which may be geographically accurate (United are based in the neighbouring borough of Salford technically, which forms part of Greater Manchester, rather than the city of Manchester) is a tad pathetic really and smacks of some form of desperate pandering to misguided localised jingoism. Worse still are some of their fans claims that they are now a “bigger” club than the likes of United, Arsenal or Liverpool. Unfortunately chaps, a clubs appeal isn’t solely linked to their bank balance but also their heritage and proven success over many years at the highest level, an issue that this trio of clubs are still miles ahead of City on.

Things they’ll moan about in 2009 :
There will be the pathetic whimperings, borrowed from Chelsea for the time being, that because they are a rich and vastly wealthy club that they are somehow victimised by the powers that be. You can also bet that the media will be a target for the City hierarchy, with claims that the club is being put under undue and unfair pressure by the media due to their high profile takeover and spending. Erm, no actually, you did that yourself when you spent vast sums of money on players, not to mention a staggering amount on wages that the club, as a business alone, cannot sustain in any realistic terms without the grandiose spending of the clubs Arabian sugar-daddy.

Song that sums up their chances in 2009 : “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits
So are City ready to challenge for top honours? Well their squad certainly suggests that they are capable on paper of making a realistic challenge to the top four. However so much about the team, even with due respect given to their 100% start, remains unanswered. How will Hughes play all those strikers? How will they fare against the top sides? How will the expensively assembled stars gel together into a team? Are they going to put together these expensive pieces and get a Rolls Royce, or just a diamond encrusted Fiat Punto that has been blinged up?

Image Courtesy of ***Tung Ngo*** at Flickr.com