When the English Premier League (EPL) was launched amid much fanfare in the spring of 1992, it had been a quarter century since Manchester City had won the title. In that time, they had only once finished in the Top 3. The riches that came with the spread of satellite television didn’t much change their fortunes either. By the time the Abu Dhabi United Group completed their takeover on September 1, 2008 – for a rumoured £200 million – City had been relegated twice from the EPL, and even spent a season in the third tier of English football.
What has happened since will always have an asterisk attached because of the manner in which City have deployed the Middle Eastern state’s vast wealth. What is beyond dispute, however, is that City’s football operation is the envy of every other. With Pep Guardiola, perhaps the greatest of modern-day coaches, at the helm, City stand on the cusp of an unprecedented fourth straight top-tier title. Unlike other Mickey Mouse leagues around Europe, English football – with its first season back in 1888-89 – has never seen a team win more than three in a row.
Barring West Ham and the departing David Moyes pulling off the most colossal upset at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Guardiola will have a sixth title in seven seasons. It will be City’s eight of the EPL era, behind only Manchester United (13), their bitter cross-town rivals who are set to complete an 11th year in the wilderness.
It speaks volumes of City’s remorseless consistency that victory on Sunday will mark a fourth season with over 90 points under Guardiola’s stewardship. Sir Alex Ferguson managed it just once across a 38-game season. Spare a thought for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta. Victory against Everton in their final game will give Arsenal 89 points. In all but three of the previous 31 EPL seasons, that would have been enough to clinch the trophy. As it is, despite taking four points apiece against both City and Liverpool, Arsenal look set to miss out on a first title in two decades.
But Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp – who leaves Anfield on Sunday after the most entertaining of nine-year spells as manager – could tell you that breaking hearts and grinding them into the dust is what City and Guardiola do. In 2018-19, Liverpool lost once all season and aggregated 97 points. Three years later, they lost just twice and finished with 92 points. On both occasions, City pipped them to the trophy by a point.
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Klopp enjoyed four league seasons where he didn’t lose a single home game, and yet he will leave Anfield with just one title to his name. You can either be snarky about City’s resources and their creative accounting, or just accept that Guardiola and his team have taken English football to an altogether higher plane.
In an intriguing twist of fate, Arsenal fans will hope that West Ham will help out one who was their talisman till last summer. Declan Rice is already one of the most transformational signings in EPL history, with an influence in central midfield that’s comparable to what Roy Keane had at Manchester United, and Patrick Vieira at Arsenal. Even if they don’t win the big prize this season, the squad that Arteta has assembled, with Rice at its heart, looks set to be part of the title conversation for years to come.
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