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What next for Manchester City after historic Treble?

By Andy PymontPosted on Posted in FA Cup, Manchester City, Premier League, UEFA Champions League

Manchester City have done it. They have secured a historic Treble of the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League trophies. They completed this memorable feat with a 1-0 win over Internazionale at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on Saturday night.

As we previewed a few weeks ago, the Treble looked possible once City took control of the Premier League title race in April. However, it is one thing for it to be possible. It’s quite another to seal the deal by winning the huge late-season matches that matter.

This summer will be a short one for football fans. The World Cup in Qatar interrupted the 2022/23 season rather than occuring afterwards. This has made for a long season, and there will only be a short break before the next one. The Premier League will announce next season’s fixtures this week. We’ll all then start anticipating the upcoming campaign. The inevitable question will be asked: what next for Manchester City?

Celebrate the Feat

Manchester City fans will rightly want to celebrate before attention turns to the future. Winning a Treble is a fantastic achievement. It equals the 1999 Manchester United team and will be a feat that lives long in the memory.

The players certainly seem in celebratory mood, with many of them heading to Ibiza for a one-day party. They then returned to Manchester for the open-top bus trophy parade with fans:

Next for Manchester City: Four in a row?

Once the celebrations conclude, attention will turn quickly to the 2023/24 season. Here City are already on the brink of another remarkable feat. Having won the last three Premier League titles, City have the chance to win four in a row. If they can manage this, it will be another historic achievement.

English League Champions, 1980-2023

As you can see in the graph above, since 1980, Liverpool and Manchester United (the latter on two occasions) have won three titles in a row. Neither of them could make it to four consecutive titles. This continued a trend that extends all the way back to the foundation of the Football League in 1888. In the entire history of English football, no team has ever won four league titles in a row.

As fantastic as winning a Treble was, winning four in a row would be in many ways a bigger achievement. It’s unheard of for a team in England to reach that level and maintain it for a four-year period.

If anyone can do it, however, it will be Manchester City. Their rivals will have to seriously up their game in 2023/24 if they are to stop the Citizens from writing more history.

Next for İlkay Gündoğan: Stay or leave?

City’s German midfield maestro İlkay Gündoğan has been in great form this season. This was especially evident in the closing stages of their Treble campaign. The midfielder opened the scoring in the FA Cup Final in memorable – and record-breaking – fashion:

It is surprising to see speculation about Gündoğan potentially leaving the club, given that calibre of recent performance.

In sporting terms, the German won’t make a move to a club with a better chance of winning trophies next season than City. However, it may come down to other factors. There have been reports that City have only offered their captain a two-year contract. Other clubs might be willing to offer a longer deal which could be more appealing to the 32-year-old.

If he does leave, much as we discussed with Declan Rice last week, it’ll be with the blessing of the fans of his old club. City may have to enter a competitive market this summer for central midfield players. Alternatively, perhaps they will give more minutes to existing players. Kalvin Phillips played only 593 minutes for the club – with just 290 in the league – after his £45 million move from Leeds United and may perhaps be one of the players to benefit.

Next for Manchester City: More full backs?

Pep Guardiola has again innovated tactically this season, changing the way he deploys City’s full backs.

Guardiola has used players such as Nathan Ake and John Stones – central defenders – in these positions. In possession, Stones moves into a central midfield area and the other three defenders then form a back three. Stones has provided an extra body in the midfield to help control games.

This has obviously been an effective innovation on the field. It’s also caught the imagination of analysts on TV and radio who have discussed it at great length.

However, I do wonder if this gets the best out of every player at City’s disposal. The midfield players have to compensate for the lack of width from the full back positions during their build up play. Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish, and Riyad Mahrez have to play wider and stay wider than they would with true full backs in the team.

Stones enjoyed an eye-catching performance in the Champions League Final in terms of his possession:


…however, at times, with Stones in possession on the edge of the Inter box, you wondered if this was the player you would pick to have in that position. Don’t get me wrong: Stones is a fantastic player. He has excelled in this position. But he doesn’t offer the threat of a shot from the edge of the area or a threaded pass into the channels.

Part of me wonders whether this has been improvisation to deal with a lack of world-class attacking full backs in the squad. It could be compared to how they played without a striker in recent years. If a top-class full back is available in the market, could everything be subject to change?

City do have previous in terms of spending big on full backs. In 2017/18 they spent £120m on Kyle Walker, Danilo, and Benjamin Mendy in a single season. Two years later they spent another £65m on João Cancelo and Pedro Porro.

Next for Manchester City: Defend it in court?

Whilst City celebrate and plan for next season, however, there is also a dark cloud hovering over the club.

Fans of rival clubs will be quick to point out that Manchester City currently face charges of over 100 breaches of Premier League financial rules. They insist that an asterisk should be placed next to City’s achievements until this is resolved.

As we discussed in the article linked above, these charges will take a long time to resolve. There will be a long legal process potentially involving many appeals and challenges.

The question about how teams are assembled is one for football’s governing bodies. The current rules don’t seem clear and consistent. They are also very vulnerable to legal challenges. The Premier League and UEFA need to get a handle on this.

Fans want a fair system. We want to be able to enjoy great teams like Manchester City without worrying if they have an unfair edge. But fans also want a more broadly competitive league as we saw from the reactions to the talk of a European Super League and to great stories like Leicester winning the league. Financial Fair Play rules which simply entrench the existing top few clubs aren’t good for the game either.

It’s a shame that this cloud hangs over City’s achievements and it’d be great if everyone could just enjoy the football. But money has increasingly been the talking point in English football for decades now and that’s not likely to change any time soon.

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