RAG1: Though various people here have already made a lot of really good points, I'm still not certain which way it'll go. I still think they could finish above us, but I'm not sure if they will this season. They've obviously got the makings of a top side, especially in attack, with Adebayor, Tevez, Silva etc. Adebayor and Tevez played well together last season, and Silva's obviously a good creator from the wing, which means they'll probably manage to break down weaker opposition better than they did at times last year (like when they had 7 draws in succession). They've also strengthened in defence, and Kolarov and Toure are both proven, solid defenders in major European leagues.
I'm still not convinced it'll work for them though. Every side that spends as much as they do, especially on wages for the new recruits, will take time to gel, and will probably have instability, with good, seasoned pro's warming the bench (like Santa Cruz), and the need to try and rotate to keep everyone happy. Plus the fact that they're gaining a reputation as one of the sides to beat, and everyone's going to be really up for beating City. They'll probably, sadly, overtake us in the league at some point, if they can bring in big name players and develop their squad, whilst we're relegated to buying more modest names, and the club's finances are going down the shitter, but if they're buying players of the likes of Kolo Toure, and we're bringing in Chris Smalling (a decent, but unspectacular defender), they'll probably overtake us sometime.
We're not really off the boil or anything, and in Rooney, Evra, Fletcher, and others, we have some superb players, and play well as a team. But if we can't re-invest to replace players who are retiring, such as Giggs and Scholes soon will, and the perma-injured like Hargreaves and Rio, then we'll struggle to keep our dominance over a City side with limitless finances, and a financial draw for some very skillfull footballing mercenaries.
[strike]WAG[/strike] RAG OF THE DAY
