The champion of the English Premier League was confirmed on Saturday evening when Nottingham Forest beat Arsenal 1-0. With Arsenal’s defeat, Manchester City was crowned champion.
City is the fifth club ever to win the English championship three times in a row.
Urheilu presented five statements to its football experts about Manchester City’s superiority, which they answered. The experts are Miika Nuutinen and Markus Halsti.
The Manchester City players watched the Nottingham-Arsenal match on Saturday. See the moods of the players after the championship is decided below or from this link (you will go to another service).
Claim 1: City’s superiority takes interest away from the Premier League
In addition to consecutive championships, the Premier League victory is City’s fifth in six years. The series, considered the most competitive in Europe, seems to have been dominated by one team.
City’s superiority is starting to resemble Bayern Munich, who are fading champions in the German Bundesliga, or Paris Saint-Germain of the French Ligue 1.
Bayern has won the German championship ten times in a row. This year, PSG will lift the championship trophy for the ninth time in 11 years.
– The claim is greatly exaggerated. City have had challengers, while Liverpool competed really evenly for a few seasons. This season, Arsenal led the league for most of the season, says Miika Nuutinen.
Markus Halsti agrees with Nuutinen’s view. According to him, the Premier League is by far the biggest national football league in the world.
– And I’m not just talking about the championship, but about the whole series in general. The Premier League has such a deeply rooted historical position. Many players choose the team at the tail end of the Premier League before the top Italian clubs, says Halsti.
He reminds that the average salary of players in the English Premier League is clearly ahead of other European leagues. That’s why, for example, in the main leagues of Germany or France, middle or bottom teams have no chance to compete with the Premier League.
Statement 2: City will win the treble this year
City has a chance to win the treble, i.e. three championships this season. The Premier League title was already clinched, and in June the team will play in two finals: in the FA Cup against Manchester United and in the Champions League against Inter Milan.
The last time an English club has achieved this feat was in the 1998–99 season, when Manchester United won the championships in the three aforementioned competitions.
– It seems very likely that City will win the treble, if you think about the mood of the team. Securing the Premier League championship gave them the perfect setup for the cup finals, says Halsti.
The last time City lost was at the beginning of February, when Tottenham was stronger with 1-0 goals. Since then, the team has played 24 unbeaten matches, winning 20 of them.
– Shaking City in a single match and cup final is much easier than in a long series. I believe in City’s treble, but the team will surely have a hard time.
Argument 3: Newcastle emerges as a challenger to City
Newcastle United got new owners in October 2021. A group of investors led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) bought the club. In one fell swoop, Newcastle became one of the most financially powerful clubs in the world.
Now Newcastle is third in the Premier League.
– Newcastle has taken a big leap during the season. The big reason is certainly the Saudi money that the club has received, but I think the team has been built quite smartly. The player market has not yet gone after the giant fish, Halsti estimates.
According to him, clubs in the Premier League obviously need a lot of money to be able to participate in the championship. The resources aim to ensure a wide circle of players, where you can find good enough options for every game location.
However, money does not buy profits, Miika Nuutinen reminds. He states that Newcastle has not yet flexed its financial muscles. This Premier League season, hundreds of millions of euros have been spent by Chelsea, who are in the middle of the league.
– Succeeding in the Premier League requires a strong process and successes in many different areas. Newcastle has been one of the season’s biggest successes. The success of the club is based on the head coach Eddie Howe to the coaching process and how the team has been made to play, says Nuutinen.
Both experts point out that there are enough contenders for the championship in the Premier League. For example, Manchester United, which is in the middle of a possible change of ownership, can raise its profile.
Argument 4: City do not deserve championships because the club does not follow the rules of financial fair play
– You can say that, but championships are decided on the field. The City team, and the way they play football, deserves the championship. It is up to the wiser to assess which are the right punishments if violations have occurred, says Nuutinen.
The Premier League accuses Manchester City of more than 100 violations of financial rules. The Premier League published about it announcement (you will switch to another service) in February. It is almost impossible to say if City will receive any sanctions at all and what they would be.
Experts Markus Halsti and Miika Nuutinen agree that the rules of fair play in football’s economy need to be clarified. Nuutinen says that the number of violations and the penalties for them are “some kind of credibility problem” for football.
– I think we have been too loose in the past. If the rules of the game are set, as they are on the sports field, they must be adhered to. It cannot suddenly happen that the rules are not followed. Everyone has to follow the rules if they are set, Halsti’s line.
Read more: Manchester City accused of rule violations that could even lead to relegation from the Premier League – this is what the financial scam is all about
Argument 5: City’s dominance ends when Guardiola leaves
Josep Guardiola started as Manchester City’s head coach in the 2016–17 season. The first year at the club went without championships, and Guardiola described the season as a disappointment. Since then, City has won 12 trophies, with two more to follow this season.
Guardiola has stated that he is leaving (you will switch to another service) About City, if the allegations about breaking the rules of financial fair play are true. No other signs of exit are visible.
– There are such individuals playing in the team that sometimes you wonder if anyone even needs to coach at City? But thanks to my player background, I know that the head coach is the captain who steers the ship, says Halsti.
He estimates that Guardiola brought his own game philosophy to City, which hardly anyone could continue or even want to continue.
– If there will be punishments for the financial mess – and if there will now be a triple – the probability of Pepi’s departure is high. If the departure comes in such a quick period of time, the other teams have a very good place to attack in terms of the championship fight, Halsti believes.
According to the news, it is difficult to predict the moment when Guardiola will leave. He says that the Spanish coach has been able to answer the doubts that have been raised against him at City.
– For example, on the Champions League side, Guardiola has been talked about overcoaching, that he tries too hard with his individual match plans. This season, City has been purposeful, consistent and confident in its own principles.
– In addition, it has been said that Guardiola’s teams don’t suit a big striker, but now Guardiola has been able to adapt the team’s playing For Erling Haaland suitable, Nuutinen describes.
According to him, it is clear that when Guardiola’s era at City ends, there will be some sort of backwater phase. For example, the same has been seen in Manchester United, when Alex Ferguson retired as head coach.