Football Season Guide

Manchester City finally made the big step last season, bringing silverware to their fans after a long 35-year wait, and the stage seems set for the Blue side of Manchester to take over the world with their oil dollars. City have had a superb campaign last season, making it into the Champion League straight through the group stage, and also winning the FA Cup. Now the bar is set even higher for Roberto Mancini who will be expected to have a side challenging for the title and now just content with a top-four finish. Unfortunately for City all is not rosy in their backyard and the Carlos Tevez saga provided an unwanted distraction during the summer. The Argentinian clearly wants to leave but there is no club willing to pay him the wage he desires and the fee demanded by City at the moment. Thus, the both parties are stuck in an unhappy marriage and Mancini will need a lot of his management skills to utilise Tevez in City's advantage during the season. The club's shiny new toy is another Argentinian, Sergio Aguero, who arrives in a 38million deal and will be expected to provide flair and goalscoring touch in the forward line. Overall, City have been less agressive in the transfer market this summer as Mancini already has the key ingredients for a squad that can challenge on both a domestic and European front. Last year, that seemed to be the main achilles heel of the team, with City only picking up their form at the end of the season once their Europe League venture was over. It is debatable whether they will be able to cope better this time around but nevertheless more exciting times await the fans at the now renamed Etihad Stadium as City continue their quest towards the very top of the football pyramide.