The Potential Impact of Man City on the Premier League's Future

[Devil-Dick Willie]

There is a huge disturbing trend of almost all top leagues across europe becoming dominated by a single team this decade. On a long enough timeline 1 capitalist venture topples all others. 

from 2009/10 onwards

Bayern munich. 7/9 (likely to win this year as well to make it 8/10)

Barcelona 6/9 (Likely to win this year as well to make it 7/10)

Juventus 8/10

Benfica 5/9 (likely to win this year as well for 6/10)

Ajax 4/9 (Likely to win this year as well for 5/10)

PSG 6/10

Man city and Chelsea 3/10 (Manchester city likely to win this year as well for 4/10)

 

A huge selling point of the Premier league is the fact that many teams can potentially win it at the beginning of any season. Manchester United, Chelsea, Man city and Liverpool and Arsenal have all gone into a season at some point this decade considering themselves likely, and all of those teams have been the favourite to win at the mid way mark some point this decade (even Arsenal) Spurs have just about snuck into this echelon as well. Perhaps none of these teams were as good as prime Juve, Barca or Bayern, but the charm of the EPL is the open nature of both the league and the football. 

But all this is in danger of being undone. The reason the league is so open post fergie united is that all the top teams are either impatient and disorganised (Chelsea) stingy (Arsenal, Spurs) bottle jobs (Liverpool, spurs) or shit (united post Ferguson)

Manchester city are none of the above. They have a huge modern stadium, a bottomless pit of money, a world class team. They do not make panic sackings. They invest in young talented players that will build the team and strengthen the squad, rather than make impulse buys or 'marquee players' They have started pumping out youth talents and they have manager who could likely stay until they win the Champions league. City always seem to have a long term plan. It's taken a massive slip up from them to even let Liverpool have a sniff and they could STILL win the league this season over a Liverpool team who has lost only 1 game. 

 

Could we be entering a period of unchecked dominance for Manchester City? A stretch where they will have to fuck up to not win a league title and will win many back to back titles? What will this do to the other EPL giants if so? Are City destined to be the Bayern Munich of the premier league for the next 5-10 years?

[True Blue]

With the amount of money invested in the clubs and the quality of the league, i don't see a single team dominating for more than two or three seasons. I just can't see one team win it for 8-10 years. Even during the Fergie years the dominance was broken from time to time.

[Stan]

I can't see it to be perfectly honest. Can't see City being as dominant as PSG or Juve in their respective leagues. One thing the Premier League usually gives is competition for the titles. 

Very rarely does a team just run away with it and win it as early as March which I think PSG or Juve have done before? 

I think you'll see teams like Chelsea or Utd have a bit of resurgence in the next few years. Then it's up to Liverpool and Man City to keep up the competition too if that happens. Some teams go through a bit of a transition period (Utd after Fergie) but in this day and age all anyone wants is instant success which is impossible for all clubs to achieve as well as unrealistic whether you're a big club or small club. 

As you point out Man City are in a great position in terms of their structure behind the scenes and financially, as well as the facilities at the club - I don't think that totally equates to unchecked dominance however. 

[The Artful Dodger]

Certainly possible, only thing is that there are several wealthy clubs in England. The real sign is if Manchester City start taking players off their direct rivals, so if they signed Van Dijk or Mane then you'd know the they're trying to decapitate the league like Bayern Munich, Juventus and PSG have.

[Harry]

53 minutes ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

There is a huge disturbing trend of almost all top leagues across europe becoming dominated by a single team this decade. On a long enough timeline 1 capitalist venture topples all others. 

from 2009/10 onwards

Bayern munich. 7/9 (likely to win this year as well to make it 8/10)

Barcelona 6/9 (Likely to win this year as well to make it 7/10)

Juventus 8/10

Benfica 5/9 (likely to win this year as well for 6/10)

Ajax 4/9 (Likely to win this year as well for 5/10)

PSG 6/10

Man city and Chelsea 3/10 (Manchester city likely to win this year as well for 4/10)

 

A huge selling point of the Premier league is the fact that many teams can potentially win it at the beginning of any season. Manchester United, Chelsea, Man city and Liverpool and Arsenal have all gone into a season at some point this decade considering themselves likely, and all of those teams have been the favourite to win at the mid way mark some point this decade (even Arsenal) Spurs have just about snuck into this echelon as well. Perhaps none of these teams were as good as prime Juve, Barca or Bayern, but the charm of the EPL is the open nature of both the league and the football. 

But all this is in danger of being undone. The reason the league is so open post fergie united is that all the top teams are either impatient and disorganised (Chelsea) stingy (Arsenal, Spurs) bottle jobs (Liverpool, spurs) or shit (united post Ferguson)

Manchester city are none of the above. They have a huge modern stadium, a bottomless pit of money, a world class team. They do not make panic sackings. They invest in young talented players that will build the team and strengthen the squad, rather than make impulse buys or 'marquee players' They have started pumping out youth talents and they have manager who could likely stay until they win the Champions league. City always seem to have a long term plan. It's taken a massive slip up from them to even let Liverpool have a sniff and they could STILL win the league this season over a Liverpool team who has lost only 1 game. 

 

Could we be entering a period of unchecked dominance for Manchester City? A stretch where they will have to fuck up to not win a league title and will win many back to back titles? What will this do to the other EPL giants if so? Are City destined to be the Bayern Munich of the premier league for the next 5-10 years?

Good post. Good topic.

At this point though the Premier league hasn't been won by the same club two years running since when? Ronaldos United? 

Tonight may be the year but I don't see pep hanging around that long and in the EPL the financial playing field is level enough that on average only a well funded team playing exceptionally well can win... It would be some feat if City could sustain this for a decade but as TAD said without a policy of decapitating their nearest rival it would be very hard, and I'm not sure they'd see that method being in line with their brand anyway.

[Devil-Dick Willie]

The financial aspect is interesting. Certainly Chelsea and United have cash to splash but Chelsea are generally short sighted and impatient. they're the sort of side who can sneak a title every few years through financial powerhousing but aren't stable enough to challenge year in and out. United have to come back from SO far behind. They literally need an entire new back 4, much less the problems in other positions. Arsenal and Spurs are smarter, but less rich and more frugal. Only liverpool as things stand look like they could win a couple of league titles over a couple of years.

 

I absolutely think it's likely we could see City win 4-6 titles over 6-8 years

[RandoEFC+]

Don't see it. Pep will do one or two more seasons, wring every last drop out of the club and go for another sabbatical before Juventus. City will dip at that point, which is when Liverpool will likely end their wait for a title if they don't do it this season. Can't see anyone else catching up that quickly to be the ones to take advantage. Chelsea and Arsenal have a remote chance. Can't see Spurs and certainly can't see United.

The television and Champions League money is so obese now that even if City tried to start hoovering up Van Dijk, Hazard and Kane to strangle the league the other clubs wouldn't need to sell and would just say no. They also surely wouldn't risk trying to spend that much money when they're already facing scrutiny over FFP.

They could dominate like Fergies United, comfortably winning about 60% of titles for the next decade but I can't see them reaching Juventus or Bayern levels of dominance.

[CaaC (John)+]

25 minutes ago, True Blue said:

I just can't see one team win it for 8-10 years. Even during the Fergie years the dominance was broken from time to time.

That ^^, like you said even Fergie's dominance was broken in his time by Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal, Chelsea & City, Fergie's United won it 3 years on the trot twice from 1998 until season 2001and was broken by Arsenal and then another 3 years on the trot from 2006 until 2008 and was broken by Chelsea, I don't think Peps City can achieve that and if he does then hats off to him.

Liverpool in the Shanks/Paisley era was just as close as Fergies and they won the title 3 years on the trot 1981 until 1984 but I just can't see City emulating United's and Liverpool's dominance the same, they might win it this year but the likes of Agüero, De Bruyne, Silva and others won't be around forever and will Pep stay at City as long as Fergie or Paisley did? remember that Mancini got City rolling along winning the EPL then he was sacked and replaced by Brian Kid until Pellegrini was made manager, got them the EPL title and he was booted out the door, owners nowadays are possessed with winning the Champions League Cup, Pep's never delivered that with City yet. 

[DeadLinesman]

Who are all these talented youths they’re pumping out? Genuine question.

[Devil-Dick Willie]

4 minutes ago, DeadLinesman said:

Who are all these talented youths they’re pumping out? Genuine question.

Foden, Suarez, Diaz, Iheanacho come to mind 

[Stan]

3 minutes ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

Foden, Suarez, Diaz, Iheanacho come to mind 

I'd like to see Iheanacho's talent with us one day

 

[Devil-Dick Willie]

1 minute ago, Stan said:

I'd like to see Iheanacho's talent with us one day

 

He's a 25 million pound player. City did their part I guess

[Mel81x+]

Too many variables to say they will be dominant. Lets start with ageing players and I dont think there's a like-for-like replacement within their youth.

• Aguero
• Silva
• Ferandinho

Then you've got the manager who I don't think will stay around long enough to see a decade of dominance either. Pep is out of the CL this year and hes the kind of guy who wants to win it all so he'll go somewhere else or may even get tempted to go back to where it all started for him one can never say. And then there's the little lexicon that made all of this possible, money. Its not who has the best structure anymore but who is willing to dole out the money to make that kind of dream happen. I think a lot of clubs are watching whats going on here with a plan as well, be foolish to think they aren't. Once someone emulates the formula, and they will, its only a matter of time before the playing field is leveled and in a financial system that the PL can make possible its hard to imagine them staying as #1 forever. Putting clubs aside all it takes is another ludicrous acquisition from another Middle-Eastern big hitter to add some juice to a team that will afford competition again. We saw with Chelsea now we're seeing it with City so its not hard to imagine financial entities are looking at the Prem as a place to hedge their money as well.

I think they've won the league already and the rest of the upcoming games are a formality they will overcome but I don't think we'll see a decade of sheer dominance from them.

[Stan]

4 minutes ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

He's a 25 million pound player. City did their part I guess

Yeah to be honest I'm still willing to give him a chance really. Not many players shone under Puel and even in the few cameos he's played since Rodgers came in he looks a bit sharper. 

He was prolific at City but they perfected the way they play so it played in to his hands. He was never going to get ahead of Aguero and when they signed Jesus it probably didn't help his cause any further. 

Back to the point, if they continue to produce players like Foden (and don't become like Chelsea where they just loan them out mainly) then it does look seriously promising for City and maybe they do end up dominating. It's not like youth is the only thing they have to rely on and even then, not like they can't afford to keep them on if other clubs became interested. 

[Happy Blue]

Liverpool will only get stronger, Chelsea yo-yo from contenders to mid table, Spurs could challenge with a few more decent players  ..for us to stay on top we need to buy Kane, Ali, Son, Salah, Mane, Firmino that should be our goal this summer  

[Harry]

1 hour ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

The financial aspect is interesting. Certainly Chelsea and United have cash to splash but Chelsea are generally short sighted and impatient. they're the sort of side who can sneak a title every few years through financial powerhousing but aren't stable enough to challenge year in and out. United have to come back from SO far behind. They literally need an entire new back 4, much less the problems in other positions. Arsenal and Spurs are smarter, but less rich and more frugal. Only liverpool as things stand look like they could win a couple of league titles over a couple of years.

 

I absolutely think it's likely we could see City win 4-6 titles over 6-8 years

United are no further behind than we were when Klopp took over. He's turned almost the whole squad over in that time. United could reinvent themselves similarly quickly.

[Harry]

1 hour ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

The financial aspect is interesting. Certainly Chelsea and United have cash to splash but Chelsea are generally short sighted and impatient. they're the sort of side who can sneak a title every few years through financial powerhousing but aren't stable enough to challenge year in and out. United have to come back from SO far behind. They literally need an entire new back 4, much less the problems in other positions. Arsenal and Spurs are smarter, but less rich and more frugal. Only liverpool as things stand look like they could win a couple of league titles over a couple of years.

 

I absolutely think it's likely we could see City win 4-6 titles over 6-8 years

United are no further behind than we were when Klopp took over. He's turned almost the whole squad over in that time. United could reinvent themselves similarly quickly.

[RandoEFC+]

2 minutes ago, Harry said:

United are no further behind than we were when Klopp took over. He's turned almost the whole squad over in that time. United could reinvent themselves similarly quickly.

I disagree, with Liverpool you didn't have the being stuck with the likes of Lukaku and Sanchez on colossal contracts despite performing like squad players at best, or the commercial complications that United seem to have where they simply have to have 2 or 3 box office names in the side to keep them relevant in China and the US. I do see what you're saying, but United as a football club are fundamentally broken right now. Liverpool, while they had some financial difficulties at one point, most of their problems stemmed from signing bang average players for too long and could be fixed over the course of a few transfer windows by an effective transfer strategy.

I'd be amazed if United can get back into title contention in 5 years, let alone 3.

[Inverted]

I think that the only thing you can say is that they'll win it every season that Guardiola is there (this season maybe being the only exception). His system just has a machine-like ability to consistently blow away weaker sides and it doesn't seem at all affected by creative players losing form or running out of ideas, which is what has most likely cost Liverpool this season with that run of low-scoring games. 

 

[Stan]

2 minutes ago, Inverted said:

I think that the only thing you can say is that they'll win it every season that Guardiola is there (this season maybe being the only exception). His system just has a machine-like ability to consistently blow away weaker sides and it doesn't seem at all affected by creative players losing form or running out of ideas, which is what has most likely cost Liverpool this season with that run of low-scoring games. 

 

I think Man City's strength in depth though can attribute to a lot of their success now and in the future. Hence the financial strength being handy because if they really did want the next up and coming youngster, or wanting a big marquee signing in any summer or January window, they'll pretty much end up with that player. 

Their 2nd team could give a lot of other teams in this league a run for their money. 

[Happy Blue]

2 hours ago, DeadLinesman said:

Who are all these talented youths they’re pumping out? Genuine question.

Foden

Diaz

Adarbioyo

Garcia

Maffeo

Lopez

Suarez 

These players would all improve united (i know that's not saying alot )

[Burning Gold]

3 hours ago, Harry said:

Good post. Good topic.

At this point though the Premier league hasn't been won by the same club two years running since when? Ronaldos United? 

Tonight may be the year but I don't see pep hanging around that long and in the EPL the financial playing field is level enough that on average only a well funded team playing exceptionally well can win... It would be some feat if City could sustain this for a decade but as TAD said without a policy of decapitating their nearest rival it would be very hard, and I'm not sure they'd see that method being in line with their brand anyway.

No? I see decapitating as very in line with their brand

[Smiley Culture]

History says no, so I don’t see it happening. I think they’ll win plenty over the coming years, even once the inevitable Guardiola departure happens, but I think they’ll have rivals beating them to trophies now and again. Liverpool and Tottenham are probably the closest, Arsenal could be building something similar to the emergence of Liverpool under Klopp and who knows where Chelsea and United are going, but there’s still slight hope for them. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

As long as the other big clubs in the league prevent City from being the Bayern Munich to our Dortmund, I think the league will be more competitive. And when Pep leaves challengers probably won’t need to pretty much shoot for perfection to win

[Honey Honey]

Rafa has got them beat. Just a matter of time before others copy and they start struggling