Forever Bue With Ian Cheeseman: Will Erling Haaland Be The Final Piece Of The Jigsaw?

In just over three weeks from now, the football season gets under way again with the Community Shield between the Premier League Champions Manchester City and the FA Cup winners Liverpool at Leicester’s King Power Stadium.

Will the domestic honours be split between those two footballing giants again?

Until all the transfer dealings have been completed, I’d be reluctant to make any predictions, although in truth I rarely give specific views on what might happen in individual games or competitions. If it was as easy as people think it is, I’d have a bet and become a millionaire. 

I’ll admit that, to some extent, the Premier League title race is a little easier to predict.

I’m not going to say Manchester City will win it again, despite the signing of Europe’s most prolific striker, Erling Haaland, but I have no doubt that’ll they’ll be in the top four and that they’ll start as hot favourites. 

Pep Guardiola, who I regard as the best coach in the modern game, will have a few changes to make in the style the team will play. Will he be able to slot his new strikers in seamlessly or will there be a bedding in period? 

Last season, and the recent previous seasons, have seen City dominate their opponents by endlessly passing accurately and waiting for the right moment to crack open the opposition defence. The more you have the ball the less you are threatened at the other end. It’s a simple philosophy and it has worked to perfection with the Blues winning four out of the last five title races, setting all sorts of records for points totals, goals scored and conceded, along the way.

I’ve loved watching the precision with which this has been achieved. Being able to play full internationals in every position on the field makes a huge difference, particularly against the clubs who can’t match the resources at Guardiola’s disposal. During the upcoming season it’ll be interesting to see whether this style of football will continue. 

I’ve not watched every game Erling Haaland has played during his career in Austria and Germany, but I have noticed that he appears to be best suited in a more isolated role, rather than the slick passing that City have so successfully employed so far under Guardiola. I feel confident that Haaland, and City’s other key signing during the summer, Julian Alvarez, will fit in perfectly, but I also believe it might not be perfect right from the start.

Liverpool will almost certainly be City’s main challengers again, but they’re making changes too. We’ve seen that the recent title races have been very close between City and Liverpool and there has been very little room for error. 

Last season Jurgen Klopp’s men won 28 of their 38 Premier League games and only lost two and yet they had to settle for second place. 

City lost three but drew fewer. The margin for error is minute. An opening day defeat at Spurs had to be shrugged off quickly and near perfection had to be achieved after that.

In the new season, there will be a six week gap between Premier League fixtures. How will that effect the team’s rhythm? 

If the Premier League is a little easier to predict, because of the big difference in resources between clubs, the Cup competitions are much more difficult to work out. That’s when tactics and small things make all the difference. 

Last season City fell just short in the Champions League, the competition their owners desire the most. Was it due to their opponents “wanting it more”, physical power, luck, tactics, substitutions or even corruption (as some have suggested) that cost City? Will Erling Haaland be the final piece in Pep Guardiola’s jigsaw? These are the questions that excite pundits and fans alike. Not long to wait now until it all starts again!