WADE PRETORIUS: Expect another procession as City keep dominating

The more things change, the more they stay the same. And like in life, the Premier League has adopted the proverb.

If you look behind the fluke of Leicester City winning the title — and there’s no taking away from the sheer brilliance of that feat — it’s hard to see much changing in the English top-flight. 

Manchester City suffered a small bump in the road to their next title with a 2-1 loss at Wolves but even in defeat you could see their strength: nearly 70% possession and eight shots on goal more than the eventual victors. Twice as many passes and they ended that defeat with a team passing accuracy of 88%. Sure, the Champions League might remain their top priority again this season but that doesn’t mean they are likely to be dethroned as champions of England. 

Pep Guardiola remains the best, their squad the biggest and most complete and of course, they have Erling Haaland. Who’s going to bet against him winning the Golden Boot?

It seems the Premier League only changes course when something seismic interrupts its course. For example, Manchester United’s dominance in the early 1990s, the emergence of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal as proper title rivals and the introduction of Jose Mourinho when he was still considered the “Special One”. All this time, Liverpool were outsiders and rarely played the part of title challengers.

Then arrived the Abu Dhabi investment in Manchester City, the retirement of Alex Ferguson and Guardiola taking control of City.

Liverpool’s long-suffering support base was buoyed when they welcomed Jurgen Klopp into the managerial hot seat. But in the past six seasons, City have won five league titles — including last season when they roared past Arsenal to their third consecutively — and Klopp managed to end the Reds’ 30-year wait for the biggest trophy in England.

Seismic shift

Given the start of City and their long-term dominance, it seems they will cruise to their next title. Neighbours United have gone from potential threats to questioning if Erik ten Hag will manage to last the season. Chelsea have spent billions but are far from the finished product, leaving Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool as the trio battling for second. 

It makes you wonder when the next seismic shift will come to disrupt the status quo. Some thought it might be Manchester United getting new owners or Arsenal adding some excellent depth in Declan Rice joining their midfield.

Liverpool don’t appear to be improving as question marks surround the future of Mo Salah. Klopp’s contract expires in three years and it’s hard to see him sticking around longer than that. Things might get worse for the Anfield club, not better. 

Of course, there are question marks about City and how they will overcome the allegations of their breaches of the financial rules.

The four-year investigation into how they have conducted their business is yet to lead to any ruling by the governing body, but it could be the one thing that knocks them off their perch. Then again, no English club is yet to be tackled on this aspect so many believe they will walk free. 

The amount of money it takes to build a successful, title-challenging outfit is enormous and it rules out at least 12 clubs now in the Premier League. The 2015/16 champions aren’t even in the division any more which only proves how hard it is “to keep up with the Joneses”.

Apologies to the neutrals who would love to see Spurs win the title or Aston Villa pip City on the final day. For three decades, the title has been shared around by a handful of clubs and that handful is getting smaller.

It’s not to say we won’t watch the rise and rise of Newcastle United with interest, or take some small amount of joy when City lose a match or two along the way.

But with an eye on the bigger picture, even the most partisan of fans know that dethroning the champions will take substantial investment, some VAR luck and no injuries to key players. And it might take a season or two of this to finally wear down Guardiola and his band of merry title winners. Even then, it might not be enough.