A sixth City title in seven years would be domination and while we crave great teams that is not healthy
Manchester City are arguably the greatest ever Premier League team. They are certainly one of them. They are magnificent. They are entertaining. They have taken football to a new level. They are copied, studied, admired and envied. Under Pep Guardiola they have raised standards and are not just formidable but gorgeous to watch. Any game they are involved in is a gift.
But for the sake of the game, for the sake of the Premier League can someone else win the title this season! Please. That is not through a desire to deny City the achievement of becoming the first ever club to win four English titles in a row – they and Guardiola probably deserve that – but to bring back greater competitiveness.
There is far better football in the Premier League than in the Bundesliga. City have to earn their titles in the way that Bayern Munich do not. Bayern were poor last season and, yet, they somehow won an 11th title in a row. There are so many things to commend the Bundesliga for but competitiveness is not one of them.
Similarly in France, Paris St-Germain have been champions in nine of the last 11 seasons and yet have often been a club riddled by division and with the accusation of under-achievement constantly hanging over them. In contrast, Italy has crowned four different league winners in as many years and is enjoying a resurgence in European football with three Champions League quarter-finalists plus runners up in the Europa League and Europa Conference League. Clearly Serie A is not yet at the level of the Premier League largely because of the financial disadvantage they have suffered over the past two decades, but competition has raised the standard and, as a result, increased the drama.