EPL: Manchester City Will Win Title, but How Will Future EPL Title Races Look?
Andrew Jordan@@Andrew_Jordan
Senior Writer IMay 11, 2012
Going into "Survival Sunday," the EPL's title race will be all but secured. Manchester City will face potentially relegated Queens Park Rangers at the Ethiad Stadium in what appears to be an easy win.
Man City have won 17 of 18 matches at home this season, and have not suffered a defeat at home in league play since Boxing Day 2010 against Newcastle.
This season has been more than memorable in the league for Man City. There was Sergio Aguero's goal-scoring heroics, a massive 6-1 win at Manchester United and, of course, the entire Carlos Tevez saga that ended with the Argentine striker coming back to Eastlands and again proving how deadly of a goal scorer he can be.
The title that Manchester City will win on Sunday will be deservedly remembered for years to come.
There will be many questions about how the footballing world will shape up. Is this the end of an era for Manchester United? How long will Manchester City rule the EPL? Will we ever see big clubs like Arsenal or Chelsea get back into a position where they can dominate the league?
But there will be one question that will be considered more heavily than any other: What will the future of the Premier League look like?
There is no doubt that Manchester City will remain as one of the most dominant sides in the league for years to come. Not only do their owners have a limitless bank account, but they also have developed a strong core for their future.
Two of Man City's best, Joe Hart and Vincent Kompany, were bought in as inexpensive transfer signings and both have proven to be invaluable for the club this season.
City has other players who will look to stay at the club for a long period of time, including Aguero and David Silva.
Roberto Mancini will also remain in as manager for years to come. Mancini will have many future appearances in the Champions League with the club's riches and that great base of players.
City have become among the most respected sides in Europe and will demand respect from everyone. It is feasible that City will win the Champions League within the next few years with their resources.
But Man City's future is far from being clear. Their supremacy will continue to get challenged by United for years to come.
A young United side that had a weak midfield and were without arguably the best defender in Nemanja Vidic for over half the season have taken City down to the wire in this title race.
United have plenty of emerging stars on their side in David de Gea, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Thomas Cleverly and Danny Welbeck, among others.
This doesn't count Wayne Rooney, who had a great year after a disappointing 2010-11 campaign, or Vidic.
Sir Alex Ferguson has built up this Manchester United squad in a way so they contend not only for this season, but also for many years to come.
After losing Cristiano Ronaldo and Tevez three summers ago, United have slowly started to come back. After posting 85 points in a second-place finish in 2010, United claimed 80 points to win the league last year. This year United will finish out the campaign with 89 points, the same amount as Man City.
This year's team was still transitioning with de Gea joining the club, the loss and reemergence of Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher's season-ending illness and Vidic's injury. Though Sir Alex appears that he is at his end, he has built a strong team to go out with.
But United are not going to be the only side that will contend in the future to win the title.
Chelsea has become a completely new side under Roberto Di Matteo. Their run to the Champions League final alone is legendary, and considering the young players they have coming through their pipeline, they will only continue to get better.
Di Matteo has proven himself to be the right man for Chelsea's job and will continue to get the most out of his players in the future.
Arsenal will hold onto Robin van Persie this summer. Arsene Wenger has proven his critics wrong in 2012 by getting the club into next season's Champions League with some inspiring performances. Arsenal's youngsters look like they have finally turned the corner.
Assuming Arsenal buys another experienced leader to join their ranks, they will contend for next year's title.
Tottenham will probably play Champions League football next year and assuming they keep many of their stars (which is a big if), they should continue to contend for the league.
For most of this season, Spurs were a contender but fizzled out of contention once March came.
Newcastle are another side to watch. With a dynamic duo of Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse on top, and an emerging squad that contends with anyone, they could be a dark-horse candidate in next year's EPL and a title contender for years to come.
Considering how unpredictable the EPL has become and the large amount of great players that continue to come into the league, Man City will have a tough challenge to remain on top.
City will be able to buy any payer in the world that they want, but who knows how well that will continue to work.
After spending nearly £500 million on players since their ownership change in 2008, City will have claimed an FA Cup title and a Premier League title in which they tied United on points.
In the future, Manchester City will continue to dominate the league, but by no means does that mean they will win the league every year.
The rest of the Premier League has strength and they have proven this throughout 2012 whenever they faced Manchester City or United.
With both City and United dominating the league, 44 percent of the clubs not from Manchester have taken points from the two Manchester-based clubs. This doesn't include sides such as Everton and Sunderland, who have taken points on multiple occasions from the sides leading the league.
Next year's champion could easily not come from Manchester, but rather from London, where three of the top six teams in the EPL play their football.
The 2012-13 campaign will be an interesting one to watch. Man City will face a stiffer challenge throughout the season and will need to find ways to adapt in order to repeat as champions.