City Title Favourites

Marvin said:
Quite, but the background is injury / managerial speculation. Kompany picked up an injury mid-September and he was in and out thereafter with a whole host of players joining him. And by then the speculation over pellegrini was well underway.
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Even without the injury problems I think the MP replacement undermined everything that he could possibly do. It gave him an excuse for failure, it gave the players an indifference to his authority and brought an end to any chance we had to be a force at top level.

I know plans had to be made but why announce it so early in the season. How we managed fourth I do not know.
 
Don't think utd will be a threat to us next season as their squad lacks quality and Mourinho likes to spend the first year building 'his team' so that he can take all the credit if they win it in his second season.

I reckon Chelsea will be our biggest rivals as they don't have the distraction of European football, their manager is tactically exceptional and they probably have the best squad apart from us.
 
I get that some people have reservations over our squad and probably rightly so. Many are the wrong side of 30 which doesn't mean they can't still perform but perhaps are less likely to, or at least on a less regular basis. However, due to the euros, the transfer market hasn't really kicked off. A couple of good signings in the right positions for one side and bad signings in the wrong positions for another could shape those sides' fortunes. Also, we have a tactician in Pep. He has brought young players in from the youth squads, he has got consistent performances out of players into their mid 30s and he has bought well if he feels he's left without enough options. I fully expect him to be the type of manager to tell clubs to do one when they want £30m+ for a player then go elsewhere for a cheaper alternative and get more out of them. Some of our existing squad may have been world beaters with him at the helm for the last 3 years and they might still have a little career Renaissance.
Transfer window isn't yet open, let alone closed, preseason hasn't even started and nothing is even taking shape yet, let alone set in stone. I don't know why people are coming out saying there's no chance, we missed an opportunity etc. when we haven't even got going. The only terms under which I'll agree that it's difficult for us to win the league is when it hasn't bloody started and we're still watching the Euros!
 
It's not a surprise we're favourites. We've just got a manager who has won 6 of the 7 league titles he's ever competed for. I know he's always had a good side, but Barcelona weren't exactly dominant when he took them over. Leicester and Spurs are, rightly or wrongly, seen as having something of a freak season last year, and aren't expected to hit the same heights. Arsenal have raised hopes too many times before. Chelsea (who I think are one of the main threats) were so dire last season that it would be a gamble to bet on them in a new manager's first season in a new league. I think it's widely thought that Liverpool could be a dark horse, but talk of them winning the title is probably pushing it a bit. The rags have got a new manager, but they've also got a massive (and apparently perpetual) rebuilding job. Mourinho has shown in the past that with a substandard squad, he isn't the type that will come in and turn things around immediately. So on paper, I can see why we're favourites. We've probably got the best squad on paper, we've probably got the most money to spend in the summer, and we've got the best manager in the world. Let's hope it all translates to success on the pitch.
 
We still need some top class signings and time is ticking by. Utd getting mykhytarian is a big boost for them. We won't buy aubameyang and nothing is happening. It's getting a bit frustrating. I dont see City winning it unless at least three big name quality players come in .
 
I'm surprised that the odds are as short as that. It can only be the Guardiola effect, because I'm not convinced we have the strongest squad as things stand.
 
Ric said:
I'm surprised that the odds are as short as that. It can only be the Guardiola effect, because I'm not convinced we have the strongest squad as things stand.
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We currently arent,however,are they simply being a bit savvy/pre-emptive in their thinking? perhaps they have more confidence than some of our supporters that the club will sign the targets that will back up those odds.
 
I still think we have the strongest squad of they stay fit. Yes a number of them underperformed last season, but personally think a lot of that is that our last manager whilst being a nice guy and a calming influence was fundamentally a very poor tactician and reader of the game. He set up the team wrong in most games.

Had he played anyone and I mean anyone another defender or a second winger or another holding midfielder, instead of Bony we would have ended with more points. Every minute Bony played we effectively had 10 men.

We didn't perform as we could last season, we had a number of injuries, and a nber of poor refereeing decisions.

This season coming we will be the team to beat
 
You guys all need to remember that the more people bet on something, the more bookies will lower their odds on it. Most likely a ton of City fans and probability-based gamblers are hedging their bets with a few tenners on City chancing that Guardiola will have his usual Midas touch, and as a result the odds are slowly going down so that the bookies can limit any potential future losses.
 
There's a lot of ifs-and-buts and there's a lot of work to be done but looking at the other teams and the work they need to do, I'd say we're in pole position and this moment.
 
CrownPointBlue said:
If the team / squad were good enough & their attitude was right we should've won it,particularly after the first 5 games.

But look at our record & the quality of performance from game 6 on....rank.
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You didn't answer the question mate.
 
Rolee said:
You didn't answer the question mate.
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Before a ball was kicked we were second favourites behind Chelsea which given the previous seasons outcome seemed about right. I thought we'd be runners up to them.

However after 5 games I genuinely thought we'd win it. Our PL form / performances / attitude from then on was not much better than upper mid table.

I hope Pep has the desired effect,but I remain unconvinced about the hunger & attitude of many of the squad.

We shall see Rolee.
 
CrownPointBlue said:
Before a ball was kicked we were second favourites behind Chelsea which given the previous seasons outcome seemed about right. I thought we'd be runners up to them.

However after 5 games I genuinely thought we'd win it. Our PL form / performances / attitude from then on was not much better than upper mid table.

I hope Pep has the desired effect,but I remain unconvinced about the hunger & attitude of many of the squad.

We shall see Rolee.
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I think you're underestimating how good Guardiola will be.

The best manager in my life time, unfortunately, is Ferguson. He had a managerial win rate of around 58% whereas Guardiola's is around 72%. Ferguson won 16 league titles between 1980 and 2013 (so he won the league every other year). Guardiola has won 6 since 2009 - including having one year off as a sabbatical. He's won the same number of Champions Leagues and is only 2 european trophies short of equaling SAF's record despite being in management for less than a third of the time Fergie was around.

He's won 22 trophies in total since 08 averaging over three trophies a season. Fergie won 46 since '77 averaging 1.3 trophies a season. (even if you just go off his Aberdeen/United record it still only averages 1.4 trophies a season).


People use the 'he inherited the best team in the world argument' against a man who's side hadn't won a single trophy for two years before he arrived. He's never, failed to reach the semi finals of the champions league.

In 10 games against English teams IN ENGLAND (so excluding the home legs) he's got a result in 6 of them. Just think, that's against teams that are finishing in our top 4 - I don't know any other manager other then SAF and maybe Mourinho who could get similar results.


Sorry to rant on, but to summarize, this guy is the real deal. He's arguably going to go on and be the best manager in the history of Football. He's a born winner and the style of football and tactics used to win are undeniably associated to his knowledge and ability to train/motivate world class players. Have confidence, we've got the best manager and the most money to buy his targets!
 
Manchester33 said:
I think you're underestimating how good Guardiola will be.

The best manager in my life time, unfortunately, is Ferguson. He had a managerial win rate of around 58% whereas Guardiola's is around 72%. Ferguson won 16 league titles between 1980 and 2013 (so he won the league every other year). Guardiola has won 6 since 2009 - including having one year off as a sabbatical. He's won the same number of Champions Leagues and is only 2 european trophies short of equaling SAF's record despite being in management for less than a third of the time Fergie was around.

He's won 22 trophies in total since 08 averaging over three trophies a season. Fergie won 46 since '77 averaging 1.3 trophies a season. (even if you just go off his Aberdeen/United record it still only averages 1.4 trophies a season).


People use the 'he inherited the best team in the world argument' against a man who's side hadn't won a single trophy for two years before he arrived. He's never, failed to reach the semi finals of the champions league.

In 10 games against English teams IN ENGLAND (so excluding the home legs) he's got a result in 6 of them. Just think, that's against teams that are finishing in our top 4 - I don't know any other manager other then SAF and maybe Mourinho who could get similar results.


Sorry to rant on, but to summarize, this guy is the real deal. He's arguably going to go on and be the best manager in the history of Football. He's a born winner and the style of football and tactics used to win are undeniably associated to his knowledge and ability to train/motivate world class players. Have confidence, we've got the best manager and the most money to buy his targets!
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Lester favourites for me! Pep needs rebuild, scum may be challenging if they get pogba! Pool will be up there also
 
Manchester33 said:
I think you're underestimating how good Guardiola will be.

The best manager in my life time, unfortunately, is Ferguson. He had a managerial win rate of around 58% whereas Guardiola's is around 72%. Ferguson won 16 league titles between 1980 and 2013 (so he won the league every other year). Guardiola has won 6 since 2009 - including having one year off as a sabbatical. He's won the same number of Champions Leagues and is only 2 european trophies short of equaling SAF's record despite being in management for less than a third of the time Fergie was around.

He's won 22 trophies in total since 08 averaging over three trophies a season. Fergie won 46 since '77 averaging 1.3 trophies a season. (even if you just go off his Aberdeen/United record it still only averages 1.4 trophies a season).


People use the 'he inherited the best team in the world argument' against a man who's side hadn't won a single trophy for two years before he arrived. He's never, failed to reach the semi finals of the champions league.

In 10 games against English teams IN ENGLAND (so excluding the home legs) he's got a result in 6 of them. Just think, that's against teams that are finishing in our top 4 - I don't know any other manager other then SAF and maybe Mourinho who could get similar results.


Sorry to rant on, but to summarize, this guy is the real deal. He's arguably going to go on and be the best manager in the history of Football. He's a born winner and the style of football and tactics used to win are undeniably associated to his knowledge and ability to train/motivate world class players. Have confidence, we've got the best manager and the most money to buy his targets!
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You've given me an erection.
 
I would say we currently have the best squad in the league and the best manager in the world so we are rightly favourites. Anything can happen as Leicester proved, all I know is I can't fucking wait to watch us under Pep next season.
 
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