Manchester City have so far struggled to reproduce the form that carried them to a second successive Premier League title last season. Former City striker Shaun Goater told Gianluca Lia that the team’s domestic struggles might see the club turn their focus on winning the Champions League...
In a not so distant past, one team used to rule Manchester. And that was Manchester United. At the turn of the decade, though, the bragging rights have shifted as the blue side of Manchester has emerged and has started to leave its mark on the English game.
It would not have been that way if not for the heavy investment of City’s Arab owners that want to raise the benchmark of elite football through their club management at Manchester City.
Shaun Goater, a clinical forward with more than 100 goals at Manchester City between 1998 and 2003, used to form part of the ‘previous’ Manchester City.
Now that times have changed, mediocrity does not form part of the club’s vocabulary anymore, hence why the 2019/2020 Premier League campaign is already being described as a disappointing one by Goater, speaking on behalf of leading Malta-based gambling operator, GentingBet.
“The Manchester City situation in the Premier League is not what the club wants,” Goater told the Sunday Times of Malta.
“They are many points behind Liverpool, and I feel that injuries have been a huge factor in this. The absence of players like Aymeric Laporte, Leroy Sane and Olesksandr Zinchenko has left its toll as they are key players who gave a massive contribution to Pep Guardiola’s plan.”
Goater thinks that with the team finding themselves with a huge point-gap from leaders Liverpool, Manchester City will shift their focus will be on the European prize.
“I feel that players like Phil Foden will see a lot of playing time within the league whereas players like David Silva could become more useful in the Champions League,” he said.
“At the same time, Guardiola will be also looking to challenge for the domestic trophies because he always wants to win the League Cup and also the FA Cup.”
Liverpool, on their part, have not seen any dip in their form as they continue march on atop the Premier League.
Asked about the Reds’ dominance, Goater indicated that their strength-in-depth is crucial for their victories.
“I don’t see Liverpool dropping their level anytime soon unless there are some major injuries,” the former Reading and Coventry City forward said.
“All their players are stepping up and this includes also their substitutes such as Divock Origi and Adam Lallana who are performing very well when they are called into action.”
One team who is looking to restore its way back into the elite level of the English game is Manchester United.
With their rivals collecting numerous trophies in the past years, the Red Devils are in search of the right project to embark on and reignite their inner animal to be among the best.
Following the win over City in the derby, Goater underlined the fact that the project seems to be coming together and with their quality players upfront they have a substantial offensive prowess to count on.
Still Goater believes United must add more options to their squad.
“Despite their offensive force, I still feel that the club needs to look to bring in a creative midfielder though,” Goater added.
North London struggles
North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are looking to turn their seasons around after a rough patch which have seen them distant themselves from the top positions.
While the Spurs have appointed Jose Mourinho as the man in charge to change their fortunes, the Gunners have now appointed Mikel Arteta after parting ways with Unai Emery.
“Tottenham are a really good team, they have a lot of quality and are really pushing themselves to be one of the main teams in the Premier League,” Goater said.
“With all the experience that Jose Mourinho has, he could be the one to achieve that but at the same time we have to see whether he will be the pragmatist coach we saw at Man. United or the previous version that was at Chelsea.
“Arsenal, on their part, need confidence to start to win again. For me, they need an aggressive centre back whereas in the midfield they are short of a player of character. For me, that is where they really lack their main grip.”
Goater was speaking on behalf of GentingBet.
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