There were high hopes for Manchester City at the start of the 2014/15 season. As reigning champions, they entered the fray as favourites to lift the Premier League trophy again. Rightly so, given the squad they had and the performances they were putting in – you’d be a fool not to see them as the front runners from the off.
About a third of the way into the new season though, and City are already six points off the pace. Leaders Chelsea have gone unbeaten thus far and are only getting stronger, and that means there’s an uphill task ahead if the champions want to retain in May.
City have managed to net twenty-four times, of which star man Aguero can lay claim to fifty per cent, but there are frailties all around that could be changed to make for a stronger push to top spot. Chelsea are currently 1/7 favourites to scoop the Premier League title with Betfair when the time comes, with Man City at 6/1. That’s a gap that they’ll want to shorten. Chelsea have slashed away at City’s favourite status since the league kicked off, and now there needs to be a fight back or the fight is over.
Without necessarily having errors that are too glaring, there are definitely things that the Manchester side can look to change to cut the gap. They can’t affect Chelsea’s tally, other than when they meet personally of course, but they can sharpen up a few things. A recent victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League helped their chances in Europe, but domestically there is still much to do.
Hold on to Lampard
At 36-years-old, Frankie is fast approaching retirement, but the Citizens would be foolish to relegate him to the scrapheap just yet. A commanding performance against Bayern was one of the keys to their victory, and that can’t be underestimated.
He might have slowed down a tad, but the experience and vision is a necessary component from his position. He can still pick out the perfect long pass, he can still create play as good as almost any others, and he will still feed frontmen – and with the issues there this season we know they need all the help they can get.
Lampard is also a perennial goal scoring threat – the dynamite still remains in his boot and that’s a useful addition to any middle four.
Beef up the defence…..with midfield
Lampard can move forward, but also settle into a position a little further back. Some of the other City midfielders can be guilty of getting lackadaisical in that area. Yes, we’re looking at you, Yaya Toure. As it stands, it looks likely that Toure could be packing his bags in the New Year, with no shortage of midfield rumours being thrown around Manchester.
A solid holding midfielder would be able to provide support to the back four so they’re not overstretched, and plug some of the gaps that have been forming, leading to two defeats this season so far. It’s hardly been a tight ship; it could be worse, but second place Southampton have only conceded six times this season and that’s largely why they’re above their Northern rivals.
Targets include Ross Barkley from Everton and Sami Khedira from Real Madrid, but a defender such as Portugal’s Pepe would also be very welcome.
Find a goalscorer
It’s very well documented just how many issues there have been on the goalscoring front at Manchester City this season. Sergio Aguero is a shining light and leads the Premier League goalscoring charts this season, but he needs some support up there. If an injury struck, City would be up the proverbial creek without a paddle. Stevan Jovetic has already proven this theory.
Dzeko and Lampard have contributed, but the strikers need to, well, strike. They’ll have funds to spend in January and they won’t go too far wrong bringing in a prolific partner for Aguero. Though Manuel Pellegrini has dismissed talk of bringing in Lionel Messi, a big signing could be on the cards. Franck Ribery might be a target, and that would give some ammunition moving forward.
Let’s imagine for a second though that Lionel Messi for example did in fact make his way to Greater Manchester in the New Year – you could expect to see the Citizens’ odds shift dramatically, such is the talent and game-changing ability of the man.
So there is just three things that could easily change the dynamic of a season. It might seem obvious and we’re a long way from concluding, but crunch time comes in January and a lot can change when money and players are changing hands. Retention will mean a lot to the players and fans in Manchester, but also to the money men. Can they catch the Londoners? It remains to be seen, but there are still twenty-six games to do so.
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