The curious case of Pep's City

Curious times these days when it comes to the English Premier League, not just because I'm dreading and half-expecting Everton to make the drop out of the top flight for the first time since 1951, but more  as Pep Guardiola's Manchester City cruise to the title seemingly with all the remorselessness of a Terminator.

I could write column after column on the Toffees and our proud history - the club with the longest time in the top flight in England, Dixie Dean still the top scorer with 60 goals in a single season (although Erling Haaland looks set to beat that if he stays in the Etihad) and lots of other nuggets of trivia that diehard Evertonians can recite by heart.

But I'm also realistic enough to know that not everybody is an Everton fan (perish the thought!) and while I'm at my wits' end about the Toffees' fate, what also  has me conflicted is the possibility that City will claim the treble at their ease and what that means for a sport that has its roots in working class culture.

Yet another kick in the teeth

THE LAST POINT

First of all, I'm not anti-City, far from it and if I'm honest, I enjoy the sort of football Guardiola's side play, a more English version of the magical performances routinely doled out by the great Barcelona side of Messi, Iniesta, Xaxi, Puyol, etc, etc - that team under Pep was easily the greatest, most exciting and entertaining team I've ever had the pleasure to watch.

The way City caress the ball around the pitch, their tactical flexibility and wizardry in tight situations has me mesmerised, even if some feel that it is all a little too boring, too sterile as the champions elect pass their opponents to death, teams often running on fumes in the final moments as City run them ragged.

Last week's showdown with Arsenal didn't live up to the usual Sky Sports hype as City effectively battered the second best team in the land into submission and as much as my Arsenal supporting buddies Ashley Molloy & Gerard O'Donnell won't like to read this, the game could have ended 6-1 or 7-1 and nobody could have argued it wasn't out of kilter with the game.

Guardiola's tactical nous was on display in all its brilliance - knowing that former City assistant manager Mikel Arteta would mirror his own penchant for pressing in the opponent's half, the Catalan coach used his opponent's strengths against them by inviting the pressure and then hitting the ball long to a marauding Viking and a footballer who looks like Tintin but plays almost like Messi.

Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne punched holes so gaping in the Gunners' rearguard that it was a wonder it was only 2-0 at the break in what was truly a tactical masterpiece and maybe the only, small scant  consolation for Arsenal fans is that when City are in this mood, it is hard to see anybody stopping them.

Real Madrid, as much as this Barca fan loathes them, might just have the blend of skill, arrogance, self-belief and history to do just that in the Champions League semi-finals but if they don't run out of steam, it is hard to see anyone stopping the City juggernaut.

Teams dominating is not where I have a problem - Liverpool ruled the 70s & 80s, United the 90s & 00s but where City are different is that they are backed not only by seemingly limitless Abu Dhabi oil money but they're spending it cleverly and deadly effectively.

WORDS CAN'T CAPTURE THE SHOCK

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City brought in Haaland, Kalvin Philips and Manuel Akanji this season, spending €150.5 million in the total. Startlingly, they let Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko depart for title rivals Arsenal with Raheem Sterling joining Chelsea into the bargain and yet they made a profit of over €59 million  - how do you compete with that?

It is interesting because many are now questioning City's finances and how they do their business - brushes with the authorities over financial fair play guidelines are nothing new in the Etihad and they're facing over 100 charges from the Premier League  right now (Everton are also facing down that particular barrel right now)  but it is hard to avoid the feeling that the push for an independent football regulator might be the  instigator in quite a few charges.

Eamon Sweeney wrote a blistering attack in the Sunday Independent but to be honest, I think his memory is not what it should be - Roman Abramovich had plenty of questions about him and his background but nothing happened until Ukraine was invaded; Liverpool almost went to the wall under Hicks & Gillett and United have their own peculiar history with Michael Knighton and the Glazers.

Even Arsenal's brilliant Invincibles could be said to have been built on exploiting tax loopholes that saw the players paid via off-shore accounts and I've often wondered if Arsene Wegner's great team broke up not because of age but because the tax loopholes were closed off? 

So when it comes to exploiting gaps in the rules, I'm not sure anybody is whiter than white  in top class professional sport as the search for an edge often comes in those areas that can be classified as more than a little grey.

A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

THE LAST POINT

Yet for all my admiration of the brilliance of Guardiola's City, I'll admit I'm conflicted - the era of State owned clubs means that the Evertons and even Liverpools and Arsenals see their chances of survival, let alone competing for trophies, fast receding. The era of billionaires was bad enough but how does Everton or Aston Villa or Brighton compete with Saudi Arabia's Newcastle? And what happens if Qatar takes over the reins at United?

So as much as I applauded the brilliance of City in demolishing Arsenal the other night, you wonder where it is going to all end up - Newcastle's away strip is virtually the same kit as that of Saudi Arabia so will we soon see Abu Dhabi City battle with Saudi Arabia Newcastle for the Premier League title? It is certainly looking that way.