Noisy neighbours look ready to challenge champions this season

On Sunday Manchester City seemed to come of age with a 5-1 hammering of Tottenham on their own patch.

Last season the expensively assembled squad of players never really looked like realistically challenging for the Premier League, but this season is a whole other matter.

Belief

There is a really sense of belief that Manchester City are challenging for the big prizes this season, I never really got the same vibe from the club last season.

This season the boss, the fans and most importantly the players believe they can challenge for the Premier League title.

That belief is important when you are up against the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea in the title race. You cannot doubt your chances for second.

Style

Dare I say their style of play against Tottenham was Barcelona-like. Their front players were always on the move and nobody seemed to stay in a set position. Their passing was crisp and short. And the players looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Last season City appeared slightly defensive but this season boss Roberto Mancini has apparently decided to go on the attack. His tactics in the past have appeared defensive but they were anything but defensive at Tottenham.

White Hart Lane isn’t an easy place to go. This game was seen as City’s first big test this season, I think they passed with flying colours.

Intelligent

Manchester City’s midfield and attack is now full of intelligent players. The likes of Samir Nasri, Sergio Aguero and David Silva make such clever runs and have such good movement. These are players know the right pass or run to make in order to find a route to goal.

Proven

When striker Edin Dzeko arrived at Eastlands in January I predicted that he would be a big success. However when he struggled last season people started to question the striker. I never did, I knew that he would need time to settle and this season he has already shown his quality.

He is the complete striker. He’s decent with both feet, can head the ball and importantly he will get you goals. Dzeko proved to be prolific in the Bundesliga at Wolfsburg and he will be at City. With the supply line he has at City he should be prolific.

Strong

Manchester City haven’t just got a strong start eleven, as you would expect for such a rich club they have a strong squad. The likes of Adam Johnson, Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli all found themselves on the bench against Tottenham.

City basically now have two players for every position at the club. In fact Mancini will be trying to offload some of his unwanted stars before the transfer window shuts, with the likes of Craig Bellamy and Shaun Wright-Phillips set to leave the club.

Challengers

I now believe that Manchester City will probably be closer to challenging Manchester United than Chelsea this season. The Blues are still looking mechanical and having changed their style from last season. New Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas needs to be given time to bring in new blood and put across his ideas.

However Mancini has been at City awhile and the players know what he wants on the field. He has had his bedding in period and the club will reap the rewards of that this season.

Realistic

Critics will say that Manchester City should be challenging for the big titles because of the amount of money they have spent. Of course they should but just money doesn’t always bring you a winning team.

You need team spirit and togetherness. The City players look more together than ever this season and the new arrivals have fitted in perfectly with the squad. Although its early in the season Manchester City are looking like a top team.

It remains to be seen if they can keep up the good form for the rest of the season. One thing they will do is put in a stronger fight for the Premier League title with champions Manchester United and that will make the league title race a much more interesting spectacle.

Manchester City may not win the Premier League title this season but the signs are there that Mancini has built the foundations of a promising team and it really wouldn’t surprise if City did claim the Premier League title in the near future.

Can Manchester City win the Premier League title this season?