Personally I think this going to be a defining season for all the top teams in the Premier League. I think the penny's dropped now that City are here to stay and that FFP isn't going to have the effect the established top 4 thought, and hoped, it would. Without doubt those 4 clubs are all trying to up their game for the new season and I think it's vitally important that we compete well, continue to progress, continue to establish ourselves in the Champions League and maintain our status within the top echelons of the Premier League.
That doesn't necessarily mean winning the Premiership again, albeit it would be nice to defend it, but we need to be challenging for the title, as Chelsea now seem to do each season and not just challenging for fourth place like Arsenal do. Getting through the group stages of the Champions League is a definite must. Even though the competition has left me a bit cold to be honest, I recognise that success in that competition is how teams are viewed in Europe.
Long term I would like to see us get to a stage where the academy is viewed as the benchmark for clubs throughout Europe and is producing quality players who progress in the game and have an impact professionally. Not exclusively for City and the Premiership, but it would be good if some of the future England team were products of our system.
On the football front I would like us to continue to be one of the top teams in a very competitive Premier League. But to me personally it is important that we achieve that by playing the style of football that we have enjoyed recently, particularly last season. I want us to be the team that supporters of other clubs want to watch and want their team to play like.
As a supporter I do believe that the clubs 'holistic' approach is the right way forward, albeit in don't consider myself a 'happy clapper'. Again, I would love City to be the club that is regarded as the trend setter in terms of looking after it's fans in terms of facilities, ticket prices and communication. If there is an area that concerns me for the future it is this one. Historically whenever we've been told "you'll never be Man United" every last one of us has heaved a collective sigh of relief because we'd never want to be. I just hope that our owners and executives understand that.