Manchester City - Contenders or Pretenders?

Well we are off to another electrifying Barclays Premier league season and as everyone suspected the two Manchester clubs are locked at the top of the table with Manchester United enjoying first spot(almost by default) thanks to goal superiority. Manchester City are undoubtedly relishing their best start to the season in decades with back to back wins and some great team work with new signings Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri adding the quality upfront that Man. City have been craving for seasons. Surely, Roberto Mancini must be looking ahead of the season hopefully with his expensively assembled team already eyeing the quadruple,which is achievable but certainly not an easy feat. We have seen teams starting strong and aiming for all there is to win and have ended up with nothing so staying focused and taking a game at a time is key.The season is still a long way to go and with the unpredictable nature of the English Premier league, we all have to sit back and watch it play out. The Issue with Chelsea last season is a vivid example of how quickly things can turn around in a club especially with other contenders constantly snapping at your heels waiting for them you to slip. At one point, one could have sworn that Chelsea were going to defend their title rather comfortably after a flying start to the season but then, for reasons best known to the team, their form plummeted drastically which saw teams like Sunderland going to Stamford Bridge and walking off with all three points as well as Arsenal thrashing them at the Emirates. I still think Manchester City have got strength in depth to mount a fierce title challenge on all fronts with talismanic and tricky David Silva already finding his mojo and entertaining fans with his smart movements and quick feet abilities.I have always admired David Silva's style of play, way before he signed for Manchester City. He was equally impressive at Valencia and possesses great passing and attacking qualities. Personally, i think David Silva can play at the same level of Barcelona's Xavi and Iniesta .He handles the ball superbly, and chances he creates are fantastic. At the moment, David Silva is the heartbeat of the Manchester City mid-field and he combines amazingly well with Yaya Toure.  With the wealth of players at Roberto Mancini's disposal, he really has no excuse this time if he fails to win a major trophy this season. Both fans and team are evidently eager to wiping the dust off their scanty trophy cabinet and filling them with the glitter of both domestic and European trophies. Another FA or Carling cup trophy would simply not be good enough and the Sheiks might just drop the axe and send Mancini packing if he fails to deliver this season. He (Mancini)  know's it, the fans know it, the players know it too!! The only problem right now at Manchester City is at the defence.They concede a lot albeit having a top drawer goal keeper  in Joe Hart. Joleon Lescott and Micah Richards would have to step up their game and do more to protect Hart. I still think that despite Manchester City's strong and confident start to the season, they would be no match for their neighbors across the street who seem to have got it all together and matching their prolific goal scoring capabilities boot for boot. United boost of a good if not the best attacking squad in the premiership with the emergence of younger lads into the senior team. Yet again, Sir Alex Ferguson proves to be the master of team rotation and the unearthing of youth talent. With Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverly enjoying successful loan spells at Sunderland and Wigan respectively, it's come as no surprise that they both have settled into the Senior squad nicely. Phil Jones and Ashley Young have also proven to be the buy of the season from a United point of view and their inclusion has given Manchester United a wide variety of attacking options and an extra steel at the defense with Chris Smalling, and Johny Evans both coming of age. It's unbelievable how easily Ashley Young and Phil Jones have adapted to the United style of play and  are already masterminding some great wins for the team. I have always admired Ashley Young's style of  play at Aston Villa and was not surprised when Ferguson went in for him. With his attacking ingenuity, he's sure to terrorize any defense and cause  major troubles from the wings. He also seems to have a great partnership with Wayne Rooney which is not shocking really since Rooney can play with almost anyone without  problems.. Chicharito a typical example..Carefully, Alex Ferguson has amassed an incredible amount of talent in his new,improved and evolved young side and  even more amazing star studded bench options with Park Ji-Sung, Giggs, Owen, Carrick, Fletcher, Berbatov, Macheda and the injured Welbeck and Cleverly all sitting games out. These players would easily pass for important first team players in any top four teams in leagues across Europe yet there they are, all waiting patiently, waiting for their turn to step up and prove themselves to the master of the game, Sir Alex Ferguson. The rest of the league can only look on in envy and pray for better years to come.
The title race is going to come down to the two Manchester Clubs in my opinion, (and i believe a lot of people would agree) and we are all waiting anxiously for the derby matches between the two teams which to some extent, is going to determine where the title goes. I cant see Chelsea challenging this season with their persistent troubles finding the back of the net,  and the misfiring Torres still not quiet yet back to his former self.( I am going to write a whole new story on Fernando Torres in my next blog and the possible reasons why he just cant settle in at Chelsea so check back in next week for it). They have however made a great signing in Juan Mata who  has gelled well with the Chelsea Philosophy of play and already spear heading attacks ( a role Fernando Torres should have been championing by now) and the young Daniel Sturridge proving why he deserves the nod ahead of Torres by scoring that incredible goal over the weekend at the Stadium of Light. Raul Mereiles is another good dead-line day signing and i still cant understand why liverpool would even think of selling such a player, a player who dazzled and scored some important goals for the club last season. I definitely see Chelsea finishing in the top 5 bracket that is if they find a solution to their poor goal scoring record real fast!.. Liverpool might also challenge and could go as far as the top three position if they can just win some pretty normal games and stop surprising us all with their on and off attitude which we saw a lot of last season. They have got some good attacking options as well with Luis Suarez already finding the back of the net and new boys Henderson and Charlie Adam also making their mark in front of the home fans. Liverpool have always had consistency issues and they seem to have problems with winning back to back. Kenny Dalglish would have to solve his defensive problems if he wants to bring Champions league football back to Anfield. Arsenal and Tottenham, in my opinion do not stand a chance in it with a prayer. It's true Arsenal is in a rebuiding phase but i still think Arsene Wenger's last minute panic signings are not going to make much of a difference. Their poor display against Swansea is evidence that the squad needs much more than Arteta , Metersacker and Benayoun to turn their situation around. They are going to need a lot of time to settle in and play the Arsenal way before any positive results could be manifested which might be a little too late to mount a meaningful tittle challenge.

These are my personal assessments and i still stand by my take that it's going to go down to the wire between the two Manchester Clubs in a season that promises to be entertaining, intriguing and unpredictable. Maybe some teams might turn things around quicker and prove me wrong but until i see some super fast changes in the situations of these clubs, none of them are going to be able to stand up to the superiority of both Manchester clubs in this enthralling seasons competition.