Dubai: Oasis, Coronation Street, drizzle — Manchester is famous for many things. Including, it seems, as the new home of the Premier League trophy.
English football’s top prize has resided in the famous Lancashire city for four straight years thanks to the exploits of its two top-flight giants, United and City.
The red and blue halves of Manchester have won the title twice each — United in 2011 and ‘13 and City in ‘12 and last season — to leave the south of the country, and London’s top two clubs Chelsea and Arsenal in particular, choking on their jellied eels while their northern rivals toast their recent successes with chips smothered in gravy.
But is that about to change?
There appears to be a growing threat emanating from the capital, with Arsenal investing shrewdly after securing their first trophy in nine years last season and Jose Mourinho shaping Chelsea into a more ‘Mourinho-esque’ entity after a disappointing last term.
Up north, meanwhile, City have been hampered by their Financial Fair Play (FFP) obligations and have invested only relatively modestly, and United are a team in transition following their David Moyes disaster, even if they have now recruited a world-class coach in Louis van Gaal.
And with Liverpool — who have spent well but will be weakened by Luis Suarez’s departure — also in the title mix and Everton and Tottenham outsiders for a top-four spot, the Premier League season that starts on Saturday promises to be even more competitive than last year.
Champions City remain a solid outfit as they have held on to all the key players that won them the title, while adding defensive depth in Bacary Sagna and Eliaquim Mangala and central midfielder Fernando from Porto.
Coach Manuel Pellegrini is unflappable and, while he could never be accused of being a Harry Redknapp-style dial-a-quote, he is confident about his team’s chances this campaign.
“Five or six teams have the chance to win,” the Chilean said. “But we have a stronger squad than last year. We hope we can repeat it [the title] but we have to demonstrate that on the pitch.”
United have seen club legends Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra leave in the summer and others are likely to follow as Van Gaal shapes the squad that finished seventh last season to his liking.
Teenage left-back Luke Shaw and Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera have come in, but Van Gaal says the team is unbalanced and he has little choice but to reproduce the 3-5-2 formation that served him and the Netherlands so well at the World Cup.
“You cannot compare how the players will do under the guidance of Moyes with those same players under the guidance of Louis van Gaal,” the Dutchman said. “Every trainer wants a different style of play and different tactics.
“Now we have five No. 9s and four No. 10s and we don’t have wingers to play attacking width, not at the highest level of [Cristiano] Ronaldo or [Angel] Di Maria. So I have to play in another way.”
At the other end of the country, Arsenal have made probably the most exciting signing of the summer by persuading Chilean Alexis Sanchez to join them from Barcelona.
The diminutive yet powerful forward should fit perfectly into coach Arsene Wenger’s favoured system and will take some of the goalscoring burden off inconsistent targetman Olivier Giroud.
The Gunners will also be buoyant after beating Manchester City 3-0 to win the Community Shield on Sunday to add to last season’s FA Cup triumph, which was their first trophy since 2005. And, with World Cup-winning Germany stars Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski and Mesut Ozil returning to fitness, Arsenal fans should be full of optimism.
“It will be interesting to watch, the Premier League, because it looks like the big teams will all be very strong,” Wenger said. “We are less vulnerable now, that is for sure. In the last two years we bought Ozil and Sanchez — five years ago we would have lost Ozil and Sanchez.”
Mourinho looked a pale shadow of his former self last season, as the team he inherited struggled to make up for its obvious shortcomings up front. Now, the Portuguese former Real Madrid boss has signed playmaker Cesc Fabregas and striker Diego Costa to boost an attack that already boasts exciting wingers Eden Hazard and Andre Schuerrle, plus Brazilian midfielders Ramires, Oscar and Willian, who will hope to quickly shake off their World Cup disappointment.
And all that has left Mourinho in a once-familiar cocky mood. “We are strong. I don’t want to speak about the others because obviously the others are strong too. But we are going to be stronger,” he said.
Meanwhile, it’s welcome back to the Premier League to Burnley, Leicester City and QPR, who will all be among the candidates for relegation.
Redknapp’s QPR have the most talented squad of the three thanks to the big money spent on Rio Ferdinand, Steven Caulker and Jordon Mutch and the fact Loic Remy’s fitness problems mean no other clubs will sign him, but the potential for self-implosion lingers at Loftus Road.
Crystal Palace, West Brom, West Ham, Aston Villa and Hull City — if they get distracted by an extended run in the Europa League — should also be braced for a relegation battle.
So, while we all feasted greedily on the summer’s World Cup in Brazil like it was an intense UAE brunch, we can all now relax and enjoy the extended fine dining of the nine-month-long English Premier League season. Bon appétit. Or, as they say up north, tuck in.
