Last Season: 1stPre-Season Prediction: 2nd - A focus on finally nailing down a good European display coupled with a slow start will see City lose the title to Chelsea.
Manuel 'the Engineer' Pellegrini arrived at the Etihad Stadium last summer with one aim. To fix Manchester City. Following the departure of Roberto Mancini and a disappointing league campaign Manchester City were in a state of disarray. Pellegrini however took the reins and ultimately masterminded City to the top of the pack, earning them their second Premier League title in two seasons, as well as a League Cup trophy to go with it. They scored a bucket-load of goals with Negredo, Dzeko, Aguero and Toure all scoring over 20 in all competitions but another early European exit cast a shadow on an otherwise memorable season.
City's summer business is an interesting one to assess because of the £49 million cap placed on signings after their run in with the Financial Fair Play system last season. Bacary Sagna is a particularly good signing as a second-choice right back behind Zabaleta and Willy Caballero should provide better competition to Joe Hart than Pantilimon did. Fernando is a new addition to the centre of the park although got completely overrun by Arsenal in the Community Shield. The major signing is Eliaquim Mangala who should finally provide a competent partner for Vincent Kompany at the heart of defence, a problem City have had for a number of years.
One of the major stories of the summer has been the loan signing of Frank Lampard from New York City. How much this is a signing to actually improve the squad is questionable considering the veterans age of 36. The reality is that he has been brought in to tick boxes in the necessary home-growth player category for their FFP affected Champions League squad. City have a real dearth of home-grown players and this could come back to bit them, meaning players will miss European football, potentially (but by no means definitely) creating some squad disharmony and tension. It is worth acknowledging though, that Manchester City probably have the most complete squad in Europe, let alone just in England.
That said, pre-season has been heavily disrupted by the back-log of the World Cup. Major players such as Kompany, Aguero and Zabaleta have all been missing for the majority of the summer and face a race against time to get fit for the opening day clash at Newcastle after all missing out on the Community Shield. Their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal will have been a knock on confidence to a team that is yet to really click into gear in their preparation. The Gunners completely overran a really lacklustre City side and much work still needs to be done if City are to retain their Champions status.
City are in for a rocky start. Unlike Arsenal and Liverpool there just doesn't seem to be a full squad unity. The whole Toure birthday busy-up is still fresh in the memory and it seems as though pre-season has been very lurchy, with little consistancy. What you can guarantee though, is that by Christmas City will be absolutely flying. They have a squad with incredible depth and will be in and around the top of the League all season. They've proved they can win the league though, and this season will need to be the time they make their mark on the European scene. For that reason alone, I can see them losing the title to Chelsea.
Key Man: Yaya Toure - My head told me Vincent Kompany but something just tells me that the happiness of Yaya Toure could play a huge part in how City's season shapes up. As a central midfielder, the Ivory Coast international netter 20 goals in 35 games in the League, an astonishing feat. He is a key component of the spine of the team and if he becomes unhappy again then do not be surprised if the squad goes through a turbulent phase. Hopefully this won't happen but you never know in football. It's amazing how far a birthday cake can get you.
One to Watch: Stevan Jovetic - The man from Montenegro was unfortunate in his first season at City as a spat of injuries sent him tumbling down the pecking order and with just five starts for the the Citizens he will be hoping this season will be more fruitful. Now back to full fitness and scoring for fun in pre-season, Jovetic is desperate to make his mark on the team. With Negredo out for a couple of months he may get his chance to impress, especially with Aguero not yet at full fitness either. That is all, of course, if he doesn't get shipped off to Roma before the end of the transfer window.
Best Summer Signing: Eliaquim Mangala - I must confess to never having actually seen Mangala play so I will reserve full judgement until I see him but the media seem to be pointing towards an extremely assured and competent centre-back. That said, if his former club is anything to go by we are in for another treat. Porto have recently sold James Rodriguez, Hulk, and Falcao to other clubs so are no strangers to producing some absolute gems. The question will be if Mangala can make the step up and become another on of Porto's star sales.
