City’s Season on Verge of Collapse

By Brian Lofrumento | 16th April 2009

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When the Abu Dhabi United Group bought Manchester City at the beginning of this season, both myself and football fanatics around the world sensed a new beginning for the blue side of Manchester. Names like Kaka and David Villa were all rumored to be heading to the City of Manchester Stadium, and even when the signing of Robinho was clinched I genuinely believed that the club would at least comfortably wrap up a UEFA Cup spot.

How wrong I was. Manchester City’s dismal away form has left them in the bottom half of the table for most of the season, and on current form it doesn’t look like this star-studded squad will even be in the UEFA Cup next season.

All of their problems came to a forefront this past weekend, when an inspired Fulham side strolled into Manchester and came away with a 3-1 victory. Fulham previously had just one away win all season, but they looked like superstars against an uninspired City team. Clint Dempsey’s two goals ensured that City’s woes in the league continued, and Mark Hughes and his men are now witnessing their domestic season unfold.

If that’s not bad enough, City’s season in Europe is also teetering on the edge of implosion. Already in the quarterfinals of Europe’s second most prestigious tournament, you’d think that City would be up for it. In Hamburg everything appeared to be running smoothly, as the English side got off to a first minute lead through a Stephen Ireland goal.

An embarrassing and half-hearted display throughout the rest of the match eventually saw City leave Germany with their tails between their legs. Hamburg ended up winning 3-1, a scoreline that will be extremely difficult to overturn today.

If City don’t manage to turn the tie around, and can’t find their feet in domestic football, their season could be over very quickly. Eleventh place is not good enough for a side of City’s quality, and if they want to attract the sort of big name players that they can afford then they need to be challenging for titles – nevermind a top half finish.

Can City really become one of England’s biggest clubs? Have your say in the comments section below or head on over to the Premiership Talk Forum!