City Goalkeeper Wants Title
Manchester City goalkeeper, Shay Given, says the club can win the Premier League next season and defy all expectations.
Given says the club is in very good shape and the financial backing of new owners has allowed them to attract better players to the club who have put the side in a very strong position ahead of the new season.
However, Given's comments are going to annoy a lot of people who have never liked the pro-money spending policy that City have adopted in recent times in order to get themselves up to a level that other clubs have been working for over years to achieve.
There are also a few obstacles that Given appears to be ignorant to, which are strong factors likely to stop City doing anything more this season than securing a Champions League spot next May.
Ambition
No one can blame Given for having a healthy dose of ambition but this will be natural for anyone in his sort of position. He will not be expecting much competition this year for his place as his arrival forced out the talented Joe Hart, who still has a big Premier League future.
The point is that it's important to keep a level head when a player from a big club becomes the first person to come out and throw down some heavy comments. City have a lot of players who have never played together before and it's bound to take them a little time to start flowing as a unit.
The ambition of the new owners at Manchester City is huge and they clearly want to win everything they can while they're in charge of the club. However, they must not forget that the way they are going about their business is losing them a lot of respect from other sections of the football community. This will mean that any achievements in the future will always be tainted.
Obstacles
There are obviously going to be a lot of obstacles along the way for Manchester City before they start having the impact that Given predicts. They don't have the experience of the best sides in the country and this was demonstrated last year when they finished fifth after other players at the club said they would win the league.
They have a manager in Roberto Mancini who has still not proven himself in the English game. It's clear that he can be outwitted tactically and this will be important over the course of the season as sides look to find alternative ways to stop Manchester City from playing well.
Sooner or later the squad harmony at City will be risked because you cannot have so many big stars sitting on the bench and not expect some of them to be unhappy. They will all want to play regularly and this will create all types of friction and tension within the club at various levels.
Be very wary if you are going to bet on Manchester City to win the Premier League. Remember that Given is in a very privileged position and people in privileged positions do like to throw their weight around.
Wait until a month or two into the Premier League season. If City have beaten everyone out of sight and already have a lead over the other big clubs in the country then Given will be in the right position to say that the club will win the league. For now take the comments with a pinch of salt and stick to what you know, which is not this current City side.
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