Ian Cheeseman: Forever Blue

Here we are then. The Endgame. It’s been a long season, as they all are. So far Manchester City have bagged two trophies, the Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

Personally, I made an extra effort to go to Athens for the game between the Champions League Winners and the Europa League Winners and then to Saudi Arabia for the City games at the Club World Cup.

Being a match going Blue is a very expensive passion these days and who knows what the future will look like. The Champions League starts to morph into the European Superleague next season with extra games and a different format and it’s starting to look inevitable that the Premier League will consider playing games abroad too, because that’s where the money is.

While that’s in the future, it feels like City’s next two Premier League games will decide if they retain the title and make it four in a row, an achievement never done before. On Saturday the Blues travel to Fulham and then the following Tuesday it’s Tottenham Hotspur. City have yet to win, or even score, at Spurs’ new stadium, though they did win there in the FA Cup earlier this season.

Arsenal still have to travel to Man United, so it’s possible that the game at Tottenham might not be as crucial as it currently appears to be. Time will tell. Last weekend City swept Wolves aside at the Etihad Stadium, with Erling Haaland back on goalscoring form. His stats are amazing, though I give a lot of credit to the team that supplies him with the chances. Phil Foden, who progressed to the first team through City’s Academy, was named Football Writers Player of the Year and there’s no doubt he’s become an amazing player.

If I was awarding City’s player of the year, at this stage, I’d probably go for Rodri, the player who has not been on the losing side for any team he’s played for, in over a year. He seems to be City’s invincible. He has admitted that he’s feeling mentally and physically exhausted by having to play intensely every three days, so I wonder how he’ll feel when the World Club Cup becomes a month-long tournament during the summer of 2025. I know that will be a bridge too far for me and I only travel as a spectator of the games.

Bernardo Silva would also be in the reckoning for my player of the year. Remember that advert for the Duracell Bunny, that just keeps going and going? That’s Bernardo Silva for me. He leads the press against opposition teams. The team often seem to follow his lead and against Wolves there were times when the visitors couldn’t get further that the edge of their own penalty area. Eventually an error creeps in and City then have the ball in very dangerous areas.

That feels like one of the keys to what makes City so special. I’m always amazed by the way that City players swarm around the man on the ball. It sometimes feels like there are more blue shirts on the pitch than there should be.

Fulham and Spurs, on paper, look like very tricky opponents, but the way that City are playing, now that they’re on the home straight, I’m confident. I believe they’ll win another title. If they do, they won’t get the credit they deserve because of the 115 Premier League charges still hovering over them. Surely everyone in football wants that situation to be concluded.

Away from City, the points deductions, and threats of more, is ruining the relegation battle too. Our wonderful sport is in danger of losing the word “sport” from the description. One thing never changes though, It’s Great to be a Blue!