If Manchester City eventually win the treble under Pep Guardiola, the comparisons to Sir Alex Ferguson’s swashbucklers from 1999 will surely come to the fore.
At present, the Citizens are so near yet so far in all competitions. A tough game against Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals awaits, as well as a Champions League test against Real Madrid.
The match against Arsenal next Wednesday had seemingly been billed as the Premier League’s title decider, but the Gunners late season collapse looks like it’s put paid to the trophy heading to north London for another season.
Writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Stan Collymore suggested that there’s every chance that City could, eventually, win what’s considered one of football’s Holy Grail’s.
‘Do I think it will happen this season? I don’t but I don’t think they’ll be far away in the next few seasons,’ he wrote.
‘If they continue the capital investment at City from the last six, seven, eight years, and there’s no suggestion that they’ll back off under pressure from the Qataris at Man United and the Saudi’s at Newcastle, then it’s inevitable because more clubs will buy more quality players.’
However, even if they were to eventually put themselves on the map with an historic season for the club, Collymore still doesn’t think the current City side can be compared to Man United’s side from 1999.
Though they weren’t as free-flowing or as easy on the eye as the current City side, they were dominant in all aspects and consistency personified.
Collymore gave his reasoning behind his opinion, and it’s hard to disagree.
‘This season I think they’ll be close but no cigar. If they were to do it, however, then the comparisons will start with that Man United side and I don’t think that the team that plays for Man City today, very good as they are, can hold a candle to that Man United treble-winning team,’ he added.
‘The ’99 vintage can legitimately go into a very rarified group with the great Liverpool cup winning teams, standing toe to toe with ANY team on a football pitch.‘
Those eras of dominance to which Collymore alludes stand alone at this point. Guardiola will almost certainly want to make sure before he leaves his position at the Etihad Stadium that his side can be brought into that particular conversation.
Once a knob, always a knob.
Stan who ? Wasn’t he a boxer ?
Only against women.
Semi final against Brighton….amateur!
Stick to dogging Stan