Is Manchester City too inconsistent to win the title?

On Saturday, Manchester City lost to Aston Villa in a game which could almost be described as a freak win. After all, Villa didn’t exactly trouble City, save the two late goals which sneaked them ahead.

City actually dominated the game in every aspect. They enjoyed 67% possession, they had 21 shots while Villa had just 8. They had 7 shots on target to Villa’s 4 and had 13 corners to Villa’s 2. They were ahead in every statistic save one, the most important one, the final score which read 3-2, in Villa’s favor.

If a person reads these statistics, the first thing which would pop into their mind would be that, the final score is a statistical anomaly. Except that it quite isn’t one. What looks like an anomaly in fact fits perfectly into a pattern, particularly City’s away form. In 2013, City took just 15 points from a possible 36 points, while at home, they took 31 from 36.

What’s even more shocking than this disparity in their home and away performances, is their inconsistency in notching up the wins. They trounced Newcastle United 4-0, then lost to Cardiff City. They humiliated Manchester United 4-1 before losing to Aston Villa 3-2.

While Manuel Pellegrini could point out that the City squad missed Sergio Aguero and David Silva, that’s no excuse for a team aiming to capture the title. While their creativity and talent would definitely be missed, City should have really had more than enough in their side to beat a Villa side which was coming of a home defeat to Newcastle.

The question is whether City have enough consistency to mount a strong title challenge this season? If they really want to secure the title, they simply cannot afford to throw away points (that’s what they did, they threw the game away) at places like Villa. After all, they’re playing in the most competitive league in the world.

Imagine a cricket game. The team needs to chase down the target after restricting a tough opponent to a low score. Restricting them to a low score wouldn’t be a worthwhile achievement if they don’t back it up by chasing down the target. That’s what City’s loss to Villa looked like. The good work they did in defeating United was almost undone by the loss to Villa.

But then of course, it’s just been six weeks into the league, and it’s too early for City to start panicking. They have a capable manager in Pellegrini who’s doing nothing of the sort: “I think the Premier League is very irregular. I don’t know how many teams will be fighting for the title because we are just starting. It is a very tough league and the differences between teams are not too much. We are just starting working, and we hope that we will improve in the future so we can win the games we must win.”

While that’s all very well, City really need to find their consistency and eradicate their problems on the road. And they need to do it soon.

Most of the league’s legitimate contenders are in a state of befuddlement. David Moyes looks out of his depth after he replaced Sir Alex Ferguson as the manager of United. Jose Mourinho seems to be in the midst of his own set of problems at Stamford Bridge. Tottenham are still a piece of work in progress. While Arsenal is playing at an impressive rate at the moment, their injury and fitness concerns will, in all probability, pull them down in the future.

This year is a golden opportunity for City. They finally have a chance to pull ahead while most of their rivals are trying to find a steady groove. They can also triumph over their rival- United, in whose shadow they no longer sit.

A few years back, the general opinion was that the old, “poorer” City had the ability to make a mess of things even if they were served opportunities on a silver platter. In fact, they were known for that.

However now, things have finally started looking up for them. They won the Premier League title in 2011-12, after 44 years and were the runners up in 2012-13, finishing behind United.

The new, deep-pocketed City cannot afford to do the same mistakes they did in the past. With the amount of money they have spent in shaping their squad, they should be one of the most powerful sides in the world. One would in fact expect them to be ruthless. However, what we’re seeing is a team laden with money and stars who look like they would rather be anywhere else right now.

If City want to be taken seriously as title contenders, they better pull their socks up and start playing more consistently soon, because United will find their groove in some time, and when they do, they will have only one aim in their mind: To capture the title, yet again.