Last Saturday Manchester City thumped Watford 6–0 in the FA Cup final. It was the most one sided FA Cup final in a while and City equaled Burys 116 year record of the largest win a FA Cup final. After the game Manchester City were praised heavily and many think that the FA Cup final victory is just the beginning of Manchester City’s dominance of English football. City are already the most dominate side of the 10’s having won the Premier League four times, the FA Cup twice, the League Cup four times and the community shield twice. Many expect City to dominated the 20’s as they have the 10’s but there are a few issues off the field that may effect this such as the owners may stop pumping as much money as they have, the loss of Pep Guardiola and players like Leroy Sane leaving to get more match time at another club. Then there is of course all the issues surrounding the Champions League ban and issues with Man City’s revenue. This summer will be an interesting summer for City victories like the one on Saturday either began an era or are when eras peek. Can they hold onto their top players they have already lost Vincent Kompany one of the clubs longest serving players will other follow? Will they be in the Champions League and will Pep stay on or may he be tempted to join Juventus all these questions are yet to be answered.
Its not just a big summer for Manchester City but also for there rivals. Liverpool had an excellent season missing out on their first league championship in 30 years by a mere point they will be looking to strengthen in their midfield and add to their already threatening forward line to take the fight to the city. Liverpool could also be starting the season on a high should they win the Champions League next week. Without a doubt next season the rivalry between Liverpool and Man City will be more intense and we will get an early look at how these two teams line up for the season when they engage in there first battle on the 4th of August when they fight it out for the Community Shield. In the 2018/19 season Liverpool and Man City where a class above the rest but that may not be the case next season.
Tottenham who may be Champions League winners before the season starts would have had time to adjust to their new stadium and the manager will be given funds to spend should Pochettino stay on as manager. Should is a very big word in this situation as Pochettino has expressed his desire to move on if Tottenham do win the Champions League, it has become apparent that Pochettino is frustrated with the lack of funds his had available and he has down wonders for the club on a shoe string budget but big European clubs like Juventus are monitoring the situation and will be looking to tempt Pochettino away after the Champions League final. Losing Pochettino will hurt Tottenham in a big way he is without a doubt Tottenham’s biggest asset without him could they even challenge for a top four spot?
Then there are Tottenham’s London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea who have to rebuild in departments of their squad both teams will contest in the Europa League final next week but both will have an eye on next season. Chelsea cant sign players as they are banned from purchasing players during the next two transfer windows and they face a catch 22 situation with their star player Eden Hazard who probably single handely kept Chelsea competitive season. Its no secret Hazard wants to leave and join Real Madrid and with only one year left on his contract Chelsea may have no choice but to sell their star man. Chelsea did sign exciting winger Christian Pulisic and do have Callum Hudson-Oboi as replacements should Hazard leave but playing these players will go against Chelsea philosophy of playing youth over experience. Arsenal had a bit of a topsy-turvy season but many fans feel they have made decent progress under their new manager and Unai Emery has an important transfer window in which he has to improve his defense and find a replacement for Aaron Ramsey in the midfield and Peter Cech in goal if Arsenal are going to challenge for a top four position.
So Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea all have big summers ahead of them. Manchester City and Liverpool need to strengthen as they prepare to gun it out for the Premier League. Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have to either retain key assets or strengthen their squads to be in with a shout in the title race or to get a spot for the top four. As big as these clubs summers are no club has a bigger summer then Manchester United. The club has been in the wilderness since Sir Alex has left. Manchester United once the dominant force in English football have fallen in a big way. Poor transfer dealings and failure to invest smart in the squad led Manchester United to a 6th place finish and serious under investment in the defense led them to concede over 50 goals and keep only two clean sheets. The summer has already starter with a blow as they have lost a key midfielder in Ander Herrera and other key players like David De Gea and Paul Poba could soon follow suit. Manchester United have to buy a lot of players this summer and they have to buy smart if they want to a chance at challenging for top four. Failure to do this and Manchester United may have to worry about slipping down further in the table as there is a chasing pack who are confident they can challenge for the top 6 spot.
That pack is led by a pack of Wolves who not only got promoted last year but finished as high as seven their stadium Molineux become known as the fortress for the top six who struggled to win at the stadium. Further improvement in the squad will make Wolverhampton a serious contender to break the top six dominance and challenge for at least a 5th or 6th spot. Wolves are not the only member of this pack Watford, Everton, Leicester City and West Ham all feel that they to may have an outside chance of finishing in those spots. The likes of Crystal Palace, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Burnley will all feel that they can better their finishes from the previous season. New eras have began at Brighton and Southampton whose manager will get his first transfer window. Both clubs will be looking to stay clear of the relegation zone as they narrowly missed out on relegation. Then what can the new boys Norwich and Sheffield United do who will be joined by either Aston Villa or Derby.
Its going to be a great summer and I cant wait to see and share with you how things will play out. I hope you guys have had a good read and please share your thoughts with me about what you are excited about next season.
