I know it's ridiculously early to think about how the league is shaping up. In the old days the consensus was that the league didn't take shape until 10 games in but all the same the phoney war of the Summer has passed, the first battles have been fought and this is a talking shop. The transfer window closes today. Is there anything that has struck you about City, or our opponents in the first games or anything about the Summer window that is interesting?
City
Pre-season prep.
Once again City start a season under-cooked. Rather than start a pre-season camp and hit the ground running as Liverpool have done, City seem to have assembled as late as possible. I expected City to under-perform in the Community Shield and against Spurs, and I don't blame Pep for this at all. It appears careless and unprofessional but I believe rest is important, and City are right to start under-cooked. My one concern about City at the moment is the fitness of Foden and KDB. If KDB and Foden are out for any length of time this could be a disaster as I just don't see City scoring enough goals against serious opponents with the false 9.
City transfer window
The transfer window closes and I would say it's been a disappointment. Grealish is a good signing but he does not fundamentally alter City, in fact he slows our game down quite a lot. He takes the ball, and has too many touches before passing it off with the result that the defenders are back in possession. I think like Mahrez it will take time. Grealish has elbowed Sterling out of the side and this is when Foden is injured. Did we need to strengthen our left hand side?
I am disappointed that we did not buy a striker. I don't believe we ever made a serious attempt to sign Kane. He was just too expensive. I don't think we instigated the Ronaldo enquiry either. That was a smart move by his agent. I think having bought Grealish, we should have moved on from the Kane deal and considered a defensive midfielder. For me that is another fundamental weakness in our side. Fernandinho is old whilst Rodri is a very good footballer but lacking in mobility. I am not convinced he can close the midfield down when teams are counter-attacking us. Basically I don't think we have strengthened our two key weaknesses over the Summer: our lack of a striker and our weakness in defensive midfield. However, Dias is amazing. Does he need midfield cover? It's not a disaster.
Torres and Jesus
Torres finished last season strongly and has 2 in 3 games and could have had more, however City looked toothless against Spurs, and have played two sides with terribly weak defences. Jesus performance on the right has been very good. I think he has 3 assists from 2 starts. He has been our best player in the opening games and I think that's particularly impressive as he must have felt under pressure given that Aguero has left and City have been linked with strikers. It's almost as if City were telling the football world that Jesus was not good enough.
Other transfers
Lukaku to Chelsea was the most predictable transfer of the Summer. He really suits their game. They are going to be the side to beat. Possibly they may find it difficult to open the stronger sides up if they are very defensive. For example, I think Lukaku works best attacking the space in behind the back 4. If teams defend deep, they will play on Lukaku's weakness. This maybe Chelsea's weakness.
Sancho? Not a player I know well. He's always flattered to deceive. I can see he's very skilful but his start at Wolves was terrible. Man Utd are a complete disaster as a footballing operation. They needed a defensive midfielder even more than we did and instead they bought a right sided player and a centre forward who threaten to stop the progression of their best young player: Greenwood. Of course, how they do will depend on how prolific Ronaldo is. If he scored at the rate he did in Serie A then they will challenge for the title but they don't create many chances. For example, against Wolves, Wolves created far more chances.
Liverpool surprised me. They have an ageing squad but they have done nothing to renew their side. Their squad must collectively know that this is their final chance to win trophies before it gets broken up. Salah is world class but they seem very reliant on him. I don't think they have enough to challenge for the title.
CL draw.
Really tough for City. How tough depends on whether Mbappe goes to Real Madrid. It's an exciting draw though. Looking forward to playing PSG, and Leipzig who were runners-up in Germany. Utd have the easiest draw they could have hoped for. At least Liverpool have a tough group too.
Predictions
Champions: Chelsea
CL: Wide open unless Real Madrid buy Mbappe.
FA Cup: City
League Cup: City
I think City's season rests on the fitness of de bruyne. City need to have de Bruyne and Foden in the side to make the false 9 effective. I think well organised sides will be able to resist a City side minus KDB and Foden and they will be able to counter-attack us as Spurs did and get some success. I don't see Torres as an effective striker who can step in and take the boots of Aguero yet. Spurs was a test. Norwich and Arsenal were not.
I think City's decisive moment will come after the end of season break and we find out whether KDB needs an ankle operation or whether he can recover gradually.
I think City will need to be almost perfect to beat Chelsea to the title and we already have two chinks in our side: DM and striker. Last season we covered the striker by spreading goals throughout the side but that only works I think if you have special midfielders like KDB and Foden.
I think Grealish will turn out to be a mistake. Not because he is not a special player. I think he is. But he is going to unbalance the side a little as our left hand side featured Foden and Sterling. How do we maximise Grealish, Sterling and Foden? That £100m should have gone towards a striker or a defensive midfielder. On the other hand, if KDB is out for any length of time, then Grealish may be very useful. Grealish in 2-3 years could be a world class player but in terms of this season I don't think he was the signing we needed to make.
Premier League surprise package
None. Spurs wont last. West Ham too reliant on Antonio who always gets injured. Everton might do well if Calvert-Lewin stays fit but surely too much rests on his shoulders. I don't see anyone breaking up the usual suspects
