The dust has long since settled on the Premier League season on 2011/12 and the memories of City lifting the trophy are already turning into a distant memory, such is modern football today.
The 2010/11 season was one of expectation and frustration as Mancini’s side grabbed a historic FA Cup victory while never really threatening the Premier League’s title race.
Finally the Mansour regime had some silverware to speak of but 2011/12 still needed more to keep the wealthy owners happy.
A first Premier League title was enough to see City’s Italian stallion sign a contract extension with the club and the fans celebrations all across the world were euphoric at such a triumph.
But was the 2011/12 season City’s greatest ever achievement?
Past glories have always been remembered at Manchester’s blue-blooded club. Four FA Cup trophies and two league titles had been won before Mansour’s money came flooding into the club, and true bluemooners used to hark back to the days when City were challenging for English football’s elite trophies.
That time was long ago though, and although the 1967/68 first division (that’s yester years’ Premier League to all those born after 1990) winning side beat Sir Matt Busby’s legendary ‘babes’ to England’s top prize, few season’s have sparked the wonder that 2011/12 did.
The game is a much harder one to conquer, even with millions of pounds in cash. Teams have tried and failed to buy the league with big money transfers on numerous occasions, and the 24/7 news media’s coverage of the game only means to exasperate any problematic situation that arises both within a club or outside it.
All in all the mental game that players have to play to keep focused throughout the season is much harder then it was during City’s previous successes.
City may have spent vast amounts of money on winning the Premier League last season, but it was needed just to give themselves the opportunity to do so. They still had to battle with the media and the mental side of the game and to beat their old rivals by such a small margin was the icing on a very expensive but delicious cake that was City’s greatest season to date.
For more Football Blogs and opinion from football fans around the world