Who Will Pose A Threat Next Season

Bellamy's Caddy said:
It will be interesting to see what other teams do in the transfer window.

I'm inclined to say Liverpool as they have the makings of a really strong first eleven, but then again there is not much quality when you look beyond that. The high pressing, in your face approach works well against the top teams, however when the focus is on them to break teams down they often lack that quality on the ball, which is what happens when your midfield is Henderson, Milner and Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Chelsea have massively underperformed this year and there seems to be a constant clash between Conte and the board. They've got a good squad, so if they get the behind scenes stuff sorted and with a few new additions they could be a threat. Having said that their recent transfer policy has been bizarre... Barkley and Drinkwater?!

United... strange team to work out. In theory a strong attacking line up, but very rarely demonstrated. Central midfield needs improving as their current set up just doesn't work. The haircut might get sold in summer, but not sure who would want him or be able to afford him. Mourinho's negactive approach has seen their league position improve compared to last season, but a lot of their big name players aren't performing and the fans aren't happy (Great from a City perspective!).

Spurs - A lot of credit to Poch for the job he has done there but realistically they blew their best chance for a title the year Leicester won it. Kane has proven himself to be a truly top class Premier League player (Champs League and International remains to be seen), Eriksson is also another quality player but I don't see many of the others getting in the starting line ups for the other top 4 teams aside from maybe Vertonghen. I think Delle Ali has been found out this year and not sure they have enough quality to challenge for the league.

From a City perspective it's incredible to think we've won the league in this style in only Pep's second season. Might we improve even further next season? Last year was a transition period as Pep instilled his style on a group of players unfamiliar with his methods, this year we really saw that come together.

In terms of our squad, this season it became apparent just how much we rely on Fernandinho and I would like to see another midfielder brought in to share the burden with him. Despite our goal scoring exploits I'd also still like to see another forward player come in. The emergence of Fodem and Diaz has been encouraging this season and hopefully they will play a bigger part next year.

Regardless of what the other teams do, I think we have the best chance of retaining the title since we won the Premier League for the first time. In the meantime I'm hoping Pep can keep the players on track to see out this season in the manner we've performed up to now. 100 points and the goal record would be a great way to do it. What a time to be a Blue!
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Spot on except for the United comment . . . they are shite. They aren't finishing 2nd next year, maybe not 3rd if Chelsea gets its act together, maybe not 4th if Spurs improve. They are stuck with a lot of old and/or overpriced dabbing lumps with a manager who couldn't motivate a jacket potato. If De Gea goes away, so do they.
 
Everyone else will improve, its hard not to Improve now with the money floating around. A lot of the so called pundits mention others improving but seem to neglect to mention how much better we can get ourselves. We will Improve too, probably not as much as we have from last year but still by a noticeable amount. However, even if we didn't, we only need to come close to matching this season to win it again next year. It's likely we'll smash the points record, I don't see anybody else being capable of doing that next year regardless of how much they improve. Remain consistent and we will retain the title.
 
Liverpool or Tottenham I would think, they'll spend wisely in the summer and mount a real challenge. Chelsea won't steady the ship just yet and Utd will stick with Jose and endure another wonderful season of that shit.
 
Biggest threat is us and complacency. If we invest in the right areas and don't have any season-ending injuries to key players, we'll smash it again.
United needs a big rebuild. Chelsea might be a threat if they don't have CL, but not sure if they want to invest. Liverpool has improved massively this year, and I think with a CB, CM & GK, they could be very strong. Spurs depends on how many players want to leave and who they bring in, but I can't say any areas for massive improvement.
 
On Talksh!te, Mickey Quinn was falling into the age of scouse narrative of "next year" - 29th time lucky! He reckons they will be given £250m to spend in the summer. I can see them spending between £100 and £150m but they usually like to recoup what they outlay. For me although our nemesis this season, they lack consistency and struggle against some of the more defensive sides and lack a creative edge in the middle of the pitch. It will be interesting to see if they stick with what they've got keeper wise and who they add in midfield in addition to Keita. Still lack depth for me and have much to do to close the gap.

Rags will strengthen no doubt but their transfer policy baffles me. Whereas we have sought to bring down the average age of the squad and buy players who will improve, they've generally opted to make statements in terms of the fee outlay or looked for age and experience, regardless of whether or not the player fits. That said, Mourinho has improved them without question and will have the funds to strengthen the team. Where they lack for me is actual quality in depth. Their reliance on the likes of Lingard, Mata, Herrera epitomises why they struggled to make any impact in the Champions League as soon as they came up against decent opposition. The league is different, they can get away with playing the "Mourinho Way" and will beat most teams at home but they've struggled against the top sides away from home, except us of course ;)! I think they'll be up there but not sure they can match us at all if we have a similar season.

Spurs seem to rapidly be approaching a cross roads. The new stadium looks brilliant but it remains to be seen if they can compete at the highest level or if it will become a monkey on their back a la Arsenal. They aren't currently a club that compromises it's wage structure or that seeks to spend £millions on recruiting players and while admirable they will ultimately be judged on success or lack of it. They took most of the summer year to get any meaningful business done and players like Eriksen, Kane and Ali will only hang around in the short term if they fail to deliver success. For me they have a lot of work to do to close the gap and they have allowed City, United and Liverpool to overtake them.

Chelsea always seem to implode after winning the league, but with a new manger they still have a strong squad and could be the team to challenge us with the right signings. Would love to put in a cheeky bid for Hazard, but don't see that deal happening.

Arsenal, nah

Wolves, not next season but if they establish themselves could we see them upset the applecart like we did 10 years ago? We'll see. A lot is made of the Mendes link, but they seem to be picking up good youth players like Neves. Will they be used as a stepping stone or will they throw £millions at it and go for marquee signings. It will be interesting also to see how FFP hinders them or not. Their commercial income won't be that good but that also can change with investment.

I'm really looking forward to next season already. We've truly raised the bar and this City side can only get better. I think we'll add a midfielder and a forward in the summer and maybe players like Maffeo will be welcomed back into the squad. Can't see Pep accepting the complacency that affected Mancini and Pellegrini's post title winning seasons.
 
Teams with potential of getting 90 points are what I'd say a threat to the league are. In order of threat imo.

Liverpool - few signings from being a very good side. Already see the difference Van Dijk has made to their Achilles heel. If they sold Salah you can put them 3rd in this list though.

Chelsea - 93 points last time they had no champions league(assuming they half arse the europa). Seem to be in a pattern of league win followed by naff season and this one has been naff for them.

United - if Mourinho remains manager they'll remain with the shackles on and don't see them doing much more than they've done this season.

Tottenham - will be the same as the last 3 seasons. You watch them and they aren't progressing just becoming the new Arsenal.

Arsenal - LOL, not with Wenger in charge

The rest - no Leicester surprises in the near future.
 
I can only see Liverpool and spurs with them and ourselves going into the summer with stable and settled squads. Rags, arsenal and Chelsea have managers who are not liked by the board or fans and all three need to rebuild. So could be interesting if a decent manager becomes available i.e joachim low. Who will pull the trigger first.

On top of that it being a world cup year managers and players don't tend to be available until the tournament is finished so there will be the usual mad scramble to get it all on place before the start of the season. Which we don't need to do.
Think spurs season depends on the manager not being lured away, keeping Kane and if they suffer from new stadium syndrome.

Plus after watching wolves play the other week might put an each way bet on them to bloody a few noses.
 
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