The Realistic Expectations for Manchester City in 2014/15 Are Dull and Wanting

Manchester City supporters are about to find out what an emptying bandwagon feels like.

The Sky Blues' season started with such bright promise. They would defend their second Premier League title in three seasons. Manuel Pellegrini's side also had significant Champions League ambitions.

Not even 10 weeks into the season, City are entering the traditionally long, abject English winter with the prospect of having the spring feel even more desolate.

City have played three Group E Champions League matches. They have yet to win one. The only reason City are not officially out of contention for the knockout stage is the schizophrenic inconsistency AS Roma have displayed in their three matches, which include a four-goal win and a six-goal loss.

But even if City somehow rescue their place in the knockout stage, take an honest look at Pellegrini's men and think realistically about how they would fare against Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain or (wait for it) Chelsea in a home-and-home tie.

On second thought, maybe it would be best not to think too long about that.

Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press

Perhaps the worst news on this front is that City are highly likely to end up in the Europa League, tacking on unneeded fixtures to an already crowded schedule in a putative chase for a trophy they really neither want nor need. 

As for City's defense of their league title, well, that isn't going so great, either.

City have played nine Premier League matches and won only five of them. West Ham United have five wins, too, the most recent one coming at City's expense.

City's other loss in the league came at home to Stoke City. Just about anyone not in the relegation places in the table probably look at their upcoming match with City and feel like earning a result is possible.

The larger issue, though, is that City have already spotted Chelsea a six-point lead in the table with nearly a quarter of the season gone. Chelsea have only dropped points at the Etihad and at Old Trafford, and they have yet to lose in the league.

Chelsea may or may not capable of playing 38 league matches without losing. Almost certainly, though, they will not need to match the feat of Arsenal's Invincibles to win the league going away.

Oddschecker.com lists 20 wagering services that have Chelsea not only favored to win the league, but at far worse than even-money odds. Whether Chelsea are 1/3 to win the league, or 2/5, or 4/11, the bottom line is that this race is functionally over before most people thought it would begin.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

American Premier League followers have had extensive access to three Premier League seasons. Two of them saw City win the league on the season's last day, and one of those wins came in extra time of the final match.

But those two City title campaigns sandwiched a Manchester United Premier League crown that was won with weeks left to go in the season. Sadly for City fans, the 2014/15 season is shaping up much the same way as that 2012/13 season did.

City were actually unbeaten through nine league matches in that 2012/13 season. They finished with 23 wins. Be honest: Do you really remember any of them?

So why will you continue to watch? The only thing surer than Chelsea's place at the top of the table would seem to be City's berth somewhere in the top four. City will most likely be in the Champions League again next season. Given how they have fared there, though, does that even interest City fans?

Apparently not.

Perception and circumstance are everything, of course. If you offered Champions League football and top-four finishes in the table to West Ham United supporters or to Southampton supporters right now, they would likely leap from their seats to grab them greedily.

Two league titles and ongoing Champions League futility will jade a following, though.

City's early stumbles in 2014/15 realistically mean that they will be playing out the string in April and May.

For fans accustomed to so much more, reality is going to bite.