Gareth Barry signing the start of things to come at Eastlands
Many expected Mark Hughes to lose his job before the end of last season, especially with some of the pitiful performances served up by Manchester City on the road. The club spent a shedload of cash bringing the likes of Robinho, Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bridge and Shay Given to Eastlands, yet finished up tenth – a full forty points behind city neighbours Manchester United. Despite this yawning chasm, the bookmakers are clearly wary of the Abu Dhabi United Group’s spending power, with Boylesports going as short as 22/1 that City win next season’s Premier League.
After all, Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea have both demonstrated what can be achieved with a large influx of cash, although quite whether Hughes will be able to mould a title-winning side in such a short space of time is open to question. Expekt and Skybet are happy to lay the Citizens at 40/1, although they are favourite on every firm’s ‘without the big four’ market. Paddy Power have a best price 2/1, with Tottenham (7/2 bet365), Everton (9/2 Paddy Power) and Aston Villa (4/1 Blue Square) expected to be their main rivals.
So far this summer, City have added Gareth Barry to their ranks, although the north-west club have been linked with several high profile names. Samuel Eto’o, Carlos Tevez, Joleon Lescott and Roque Santa Cruz are just some of the names being linked with a move to Eastlands, although the bookmakers are expecting the red half of the city to dominate for some time yet. Manchester United have now won three consecutive Premier League titles and they are 11/8 (Victor Chandler) to make it number four next May. Much depends on their ability to retain the services of Cristiano Ronaldo, with the Portuguese forward once again being linked with a move to Real Madrid.
Whether this transfer occurs or not, Liverpool demonstrated last season that they can now mount a sustained challenge for the league title. We should remember that success is largely a cyclical process and Rafael Benitez’s team look a big price at 10/3 (bet365). The main question mark hangs over the finances of the club, with the owners in a whole world of debt that was incurred when they took over at Anfield. Chelsea have no such problems thanks to the Stamford Bridge outfit being bankrolled by Roman Abramovich. The Blues are 3/1 (Coral) to win the league under new manager Carlo Ancelotti, while Arsenal (9/1 Ladbrokes) seem to get longer in the betting every season.