Manchester City may be vulnerable post-Treble like Man Utd but at least one challenger must step up

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City swept all before them last season but can they achieve something remarkable and unique by winning a fourth title in a row?

There is a sense of inevitably heading into the new season about the destination of the Premier League title, with Manchester City perhaps having never been such heavy favourites.

Of course there are major question marks and perhaps even asterisks associated with City’s success, with the source of money, human rights abuses and those 115 charges not being washed away by titles and the brilliance of Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne et al.

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But as it stands, Lord Pannick, red tape and the might of the UAE will kick their case down the line, meaning Pep Guardiola and his squad are free to pursue a fourth successive title, something which has never been achieved in English football history.

It would solidify the sense that the Premier League is quickly becoming a higher-end Bundesliga or Ligue Un and rubbish the ‘anything can happen’ vibe that both the league and Sky Sports try and present ad nauseum.

A league is only as good as its competition, and a true and proper title race is needed this season, one that doesn’t see an Arsenal-type collapse when the pressure reaches boiling point.

There haven’t been more than two teams challenging for one title since 2013/14, which was largely a result of both Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp still being in Germany. Jose Mourinho’s second act wasn’t as outright dominant as his first with Chelsea either.

So is there any hope for this season? Are City infallible or flappable? Invincible or waiting to be knocked off their perch?

Including City, only six clubs have done three-in-a-row but as football began in 1992, Manchester United’s 1999-2001 and 2007-09 vintages will be most closely examined. It was also oddly the only one of these sides that also had the same manager for each of the seasons, while including the only other Treble campaign.

In 2001, United’s dominance was becoming exhausting for everyone else but also potentially for the players, with Roy Keane in particular fuming at the lack of investment after the 1999 Treble and the so-called “prawn sandwich brigade” in the Old Trafford stands.

It was reported again last week that Dwight Yorke rather hilariously asked Fergie for a year off after that night in Barcelona, to which his manager assumed was a joke. It was not.

Despite signing both Ruud van Nistelrooy and Juan Sebastian Veron in the summer of 2001, complacency and fatigue had creeped into the squad. Aided by the shock sale of Jaap Stam and planned retirement and then U-turn from Fergie, it led to Arsenal capturing the title.

Could City players find themselves feeling a bit similar? They’ve won it all. It is only human nature to wonder what the point is now and to feel a sense that their job is done. Pep is also so incredibly high-demanding that it does drain some players over time.

It is one of the reasons why he is constantly refreshing and retooling his squad, with three of the starting XI from that thrilling 3-2 title win game against Aston Villa having left and Joao Cancelo and Aymeric Laporte likely to follow.

Two of the subs and heroes of that day, Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling, are also gone with the former skipper’s absence sure to be felt both on and off the pitch.

In their place this summer comes the Croatian pair of Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic, both of whom will be expected to have a major part to play this season.

Granted, City have not lost Haaland like United lost Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 (or Carlos Tevez, who then went across town) but there have been some big departures this summer on top of Gundogan, including Riyad Mahrez, their top scorer in the season before the Norwegian and who still got 15 last year. Another big player and a big personality that will need to be replaced.

Injuries, as always, are possible. What would happen, for example, if Haaland suffered an injury like Wayne Rooney did at the back end of the 2009/10 season that cost United both in the league and Europe?

To be fair, City do have a World Cup-winning backup in Julian Alvarez, who likely would start for every other side in the league, but anyone is a drop-off from Haaland. City’s squad is also not the deepest, instead comprised of 15/16 elite-level players. Could the increased workload which now includes the Club World Cup, lead to the treatment room filling up?

Their other star man Kevin De Bruyne is back from his hamstring injury – mysteriously far ahead of schedule – but who knows the true impact of that, particularly given he’s now 32.

These are all what ifs and guesses but it will need a drop-off from City, on top of one or more of the current pretenders to step up to the plate for something special to happen this season. Otherwise, you’re looking at 95 or so points and Klopp’s side are not the Liverpool of 2018-22, nor are Arsenal or United. Near-perfection is just too much to ask for.

Could someone break the rule of one? Or are we destined to wait for Pep to leave and/or City’s dominance to be ended in the court rooms? A semblance of hope or clutching at straws? Only time will tell.