Feel-Good Factor Returns as Manchester City Build Title Momentum
It’s been a great few weeks for Manchester City. After a cloud of negativity had descended on the club on the back of a patchy start to the season that brought some concerning results and performances, things have turned around sharply and they are looking to the new year with optimism.
Six straight wins, including some wonderful displays that suggest a serious shift in momentum, have seen the complexion of City’s season alter drastically.
Their victory in Rome in particular, where they gave a truly top-class European performance—arguably their first since entering the Champions League in 2012—has given the impression that this side has their confidence and belief back.
It's a result which cannot be underestimated in terms of its importance. City managed to win comfortably in their most high-pressure situation of the season, bereft of their four best players.
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In recent weeks, they have cut Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Premier League table to three points and are now safely in the draw for the Last 16 of the Champions League on Friday—a situation that seemed unlikely prior to the international break.
They face a trip to Leicester on Saturday looking to extend their unbeaten run to eight games, with players who were previously struggling for form looking back to their best.
A win in the Midlands would top a wonderful week. Their dramatic qualification for the Champions League round of 16 came just days after the club officially opened their new first team and youth development centre. The City Football Academy (CFA) is a £200 million, 80-acre project, providing world-class facilities for every single player connected to the club—from schoolboys to first-team stars—as well as acting a base for the majority of their staff.
It’s a real statement of intent from the club, a marker of their ambition as they look to establish City as one of the world’s elite football sides for years to come.
No stone has been left unturned, with Brian Marwood—the club’s football administration officer—having led a team of people dedicated to scouring the world for the best examples of sport training complexes in order to maximise Sheikh Mansour’s huge investment.
“I’m obviously very proud, a lot of people have worked incredibly hard from where we were six years ago to what you see today,” Marwood said at the centre’s opening. “We firmly believe we’re heading in the right direction.”
City's elite development squad manager, Patrick Vieira, says he is confident the new facility will provide City with home-grown players capable of playing in the first team. “I’m confident because we have talent,” the Frenchman said. “We now have one of the best—if not the best—facilities in the world.
“We have a clear idea about the kind of football we want to play at this football club, so everything is there. Now what we really need is time, because when you’re talking about developing young players, it’s [about] time.”
To those who have been connected to City for many years, such as former midfielder Colin Bell, the facility is incomparable to anything they have experienced before. “This is a different planet, a different era,” Bell said. “I never thought in my lifetime everything would be like it is.”
Bell, who is widely considered to be the best player in the club’s history, also feels it will help establish City as a top side in world football for years to come. “In 10 or 15 years, subject to changes with other clubs, I would think they will be knocking on the door at being the best team in the world,” he said.
And with the club now posting ever-healthier financial results, it seems the last few weeks have brought nothing but positivity from the Etihad.
City’s revenue for the last financial year was £347 million, by far a club record, and it is now widely expected that they will register a profit for the first time since the takeover in 2008 when next year’s results are available.
According to Samuel Luckhurst via the Manchester Evening News, City’s directors are confident the club will avoid any further Financial Fair Play (FFP) sanctions this summer, meaning the kind of restrictions placed on them this season, which limited their transfer muscle significantly, are a thing of the past.
This healthier financial position has led to speculation about players the club are targeting in advance of the summer transfer window opening. Sami Mokbel, writing in the Daily Mail, is the latest to suggest that Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba is top of Manuel Pellegrini's and Txiki Begiristain’s list of targets.
The Frenchman, who was largely ignored by Sir Alex Ferguson when he was on Manchester United’s books, is considered one of Europe’s top midfield talents, and the club are likely to view him as the natural heir to Yaya Toure’s throne.
At 31, Toure is unlikely to go on at the very highest level for too much longer, and the paucity of talent capable of playing that role means City will be analysing their options well in advance of the Ivorian’s departure.
Whatever happens regarding potential summer signings, City are building momentum at exactly the same time they did last season. It hasn’t been a straightforward start to the campaign, but there's been a shift in mentality that suggests it could go on and be significantly better between now and May.
Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.
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