I can't help but think all these predictions about us challenging for the title will prove to be drastically wide of the mark.
We are now looking at essentially a completely revamped starting eleven, and not only do none of us have a clue what our starting eleven will be, we also have little indication as to how this new crop of (largely foreign) players are going to settle into the rigours of the Premier League. Also, with the players we have purchased we seem to be gearing up to play in a different way with 2 holding midfielders - a system favoured by Mancini in previous employment.
Playing this way is quite limiting, when you have players like de Jong and Yaya in the middle they are not players who can unluck a defence with a clever forward pass. They are essentially stoppers whose job will be to break up play and channel the majority of our attacks down the wings. I just wonder if this work - I know ithere's not too much value in debating at this stage, but I dont see much adaptability in our squad in terms of midfield personnel. Where's the box to box midfielder that's going to get 10 goals and create a load for others? I still think that without a Gerrard or a Fabregas we wont win anything this season.
I actually think getting Milner will be crucial to how far we can go. He'll give us the option to go direct through the middle - an option we dont currently have. He's young, at his peak and just the type of player we need.
Optimistic for the new season, but not expecting us to challenge the top 3.