Premier League Betting: Do City have too much of a good thing?

Premier League / Feizal Rahman / 25 July 2010 / Leave a Comment

Roberto Mancini might struggle to keep his squad happy

"City are third favourites to win the title at [6.4], indicating a clear expectation from punters to go beyond just securing Champions League football next season and to challenge for the top berth."

Manchester City have made some useful signings this summer but how will Rober Mancini keep them all happy? Feizal Rahman wonders if they are ready to challenge for the title.

Money may not buy happiness but, in the short-term, it can certainly buy you the Premier League title. Chelsea spent over £200m upon Roman Abramovich's arrival in 2003 and it took them just two years before they secured their first league championship for half a century. The wait for Manchester City hasn't been quite so long - 1968 was the last time they topped the league - but an end to the drought may still be some time in coming.

As the rest of European football tightens its belts in line with the global economic climate, the expenditure at Eastlands keeps on rolling. Over £80m has already been lavished on Yaya Toure, David Silva, Jerome Boateng and Aleksandar Kolarov and further additions look set to follow with £25m-rated midfielder James Milner and Italian striker Mario Balotelli strongly linked.

City's rivals, meanwhile, have spent barely a fraction of that - the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham and even Chelsea priced out of the transfer market as selling clubs inflate their prices. In the case of Arsenal and Liverpool, the problem is trying to keep hold of key players rather than acquire them - Fernando Torres [2.02] to not be a registered Liverpool player on September 3rd 2010.

As a response to this one-team spending spree, City are third favourites to win the title at [6.4], indicating a clear expectation from punters - and one would assume their Abu Dhabi owners also - to go beyond just securing Champions League football next season and to challenge for the top berth. But with a bulging accumulation of highly-paid superstars, boss Roberto Mancini may find his transfer binge leaves him with too many cooks spoiling the broth.

Regardless of their six-figure monthly salaries, footballers want to be playing regularly and accommodating a current first-team roster of 36 players will prove an almighty headache for the Italian, who will need to initiate more squad rotations than a washing machine on spin cycle. Yet, even trying to offload those surplus to requirements may in itself prove troublesome as the high wage demands most are accustomed to at Eastlands simply cannot be matched by potential suitors elsewhere.

With the pressure on to deliver immediate results, it may prove all too much for a man who masterminded just 11 victories from 21 Premier League fixtures last season, ultimately costing the club fourth spot - City [1.59] to finish in the Top 4 in 2010/11. Indeed, following Mancini's arrival, Everton outperformed City in the league last season and rather than aiming their sights above them, the Citizens should perhaps be wary of those behind them.

David Moyes' men endured a torrid start to the last campaign with injuries and the acrimonious departure of Joleon Lescott but found fine form at the turn of the year. Continually punching above their weight, Everton look attractively priced at [8.4] to finish in the Top 4 and [2.7] for a Top 6 finish.

Should Tottenham reach the group stages of the Champions League, manager Harry Redknapp may find difficulty in juggling the taxing demands of both domestic and European affairs - Spurs [4.1] to repeat last year's Top 4 finish and [50.0] to win Champions League.

New Liverpool boss, Roy Hodgson, has plenty of work ahead to turn things around and were Torres to leave, along with highly influential midfielder Javier Mascherano, the dark clouds may linger over Anfield for a while longer. Liverpool are [2.74] to finish in the Top 4.

On paper, the Manchester City squad looks highly impressive but where Chelsea succeeded was in large part down to their manager, Jose Mourinho, who was never afraid to make aggressive tactical changes when needed. Mancini, however, came under fire for his overly cautious approach at the latter end of last season when crucial wins were required.

One key distinction was that Chelsea were there or thereabouts in the Premier League pre-Mourinho but City are looking to do too much too soon, having come from mid-table obscurity in such a short period. Can one ever have too much of a good thing? Manchester City may well just show us next season.