Why Manchester City Will Not Win an EPL Title This Season

From the day Abu Dhabi United Group purchased Manchester City three years ago, forecasts of success were made for the blue half of Manchester. Although the club has already achieved a measure of success in those three years—winning the FA Cup and breaking into the top four—talk of the Citizens' championship-winning aspirations should be dismissed as premature.

Here are three reasons why.

The Squad Needs Time To Gel

Since the club was bought in August 2008 by Abu Dhabi United Group, there have been more than 20 new additions to the team. With basically an entire new team constructed within two full seasons and a preseason, it will understandably take time for the players to adjust to playing together, especially as many arrivals have been from foreign leagues and the language barrier will surely—at least initially—come into play.

However, once the squad becomes accustomed to life in Manchester and given time to gel they will be a legitimate threat to any title.

The Tevez Transfer Saga

The ongoing saga of club captain Carlos Tevez’s desire to return to South America would no doubt be a distraction to the preparations for the coming season. The captain of a team is supposed to be the figurehead and lead by example, but Tevez’s clear desire to leave England must surely have players and staff questioning how effective the team’s best player from last season will be during this upcoming campaign.

City has already signed fellow Argentine Sergio Aguero as a potential replacement even though Tevez appears to be staying at City due to his hefty price tag, and he could be a distraction in the dressing room. 

Inexperience

Although many of Manchester City’s players have big-game experience in leagues around the world, it will be interesting to see how this squad will cope with the added pressure of trying to achieve success domestically and in the Champions League.

Teams such as Chelsea and Manchester United in England, and Barcelona and Inter Milan across Europe, are regularly challenging for European and domestic titles, whereas this year it should be Manchester City’s main focus to retain their position in the top four of the English Premier League.

This will be difficult enough with the challenges coming from Tottenham and Liverpool aiming to re-enter the top four this season. 

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