The jury is out on this one!
There are obvious reasons to expect that Pep will be successful at City, not
least given that he is working with people he knows well at the club. This is an obvious advantage from when he took over at Bayern Munich where he knew nobody really well in the beginning.
He also doesn’t have to win much next season to be rated a success. Manuel Pellegrini left having won only the Capital One Cup in his final year.
At Bayern the odds were against him even replicating what Jupp Heynckes had achieved, never mind bettering it. A treble of the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champion’s League was always going to be a tall order. As it turned out he found winning the Bundesliga and German Cup relatively easy and only the Champion’s League proved elusive.
Now his challenge has become even harder because winning the Premier League will not be as easy as winning either La Liga, with just Real Madrid to worry about, or the Bundesliga, with just Borussia Dortmund to worry about. It seems, however, that Pep wants more of a challenge in the domestic competitions and he will certainly get that at City. The desire to do well in the Champion’s League is the same at all the top clubs and I expect Pep to take City to at least the semi-finals in his first season.
Leicester City’s remarkable performance last season proved that you don’t have to be the wealthiest club or even have the best players. What you appear to need is great team spirit and a good manager. This fact has to be tempered with another which is that the Leicester phenomenon has only happened once in all the years that the Premiership has existed. Yes, you can argue that Blackburn Rovers achieved a similar feat when they won it, but they were backed by a multi-millionaire owner and also had Kenny Dalglish in charge, who was one of the best managers around at the time.
So, will Pep be a Premier League winner in his first season and, if not, who can stop him?
The usual suspects will be among the favourites. Manchester United have also fired an ageing manager who was losing touch with reality and have replaced him with Jose Mourinho who seems intent on proving that you can buy the title.
Chelsea’s ageing manager stood down to allow Antonio Conte to take over and, judging by how well Italy are performing at the Euros, Chelsea will be one of the favourites again.
So I expect the favourites to be City, United and Chelsea although don’t ask me in which order!
Liverpool and Everton are both dark horses and could do well. A lot at Goodison depends on how well Koeman spends any money he is given.
Spurs will be there or thereabouts but still seem to fall a little short when it comes to the sharp end of the season and Arsenal will be happy with top four and a cup run, as usual!
In conclusion, I would say that, although it will be harder than in Spain or Germany, there is nothing to make me think that City can’t or won’t win the league and do well in the Champion’s League.
Pep usually sets the standards, it is up to the rest to reach and surpass them.
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 