As August approached, the European transfer market was gradually coming to a close.
Especially in the Premier League, nearly all transfer business had been wrapped up.
This was also due in part to this season's Premier League schedule.
At noon on August 14, the season would officially kick off at White Hart Lane in London.
The opening match: Tottenham Hotspur at home against Manchester City.
Undoubtedly, a highly anticipated showdown.
But six days prior, the mighty Manchester City would face city rivals Manchester United in an away derby at Wembley Stadium.
This was the Community Shield—an annual match in the Premier League calendar where the league champions face the FA Cup winners.
You could say that the Premier League season was entering the fast lane from the very start. Big clubs clashing right out of the gate. The schedule was enough to get fans worldwide fired up.
In the second round, Manchester City would return to the Etihad to host another major opponent: Benítez's Liverpool.
This season, Manchester City would be playing in the Champions League and competing on multiple fronts. On top of that, the Premier League itself was intensely competitive. It would be a serious test for City's squad rotation and overall depth.
Following the Van Persie signing, Manchester City's total transfer spending reached €122 million—making them the highest-spending club in all of European football this summer, by a wide margin.
Among the traditional top four, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea had also ramped up their transfer activity, clearly sensing the heightened level of competition this season. Only Arsenal seemed stagnant.
Having failed to qualify for the Champions League, the Gunners lost tens of millions in revenue, forcing an already cash-strapped club to sell Van Persie. And just as August began, Arsenal announced yet another surprising departure.
Adebayor finally got his wish and completed a move to La Liga side Real Madrid.
The transfer fee: €25 million.
This made Real Madrid the third-biggest spender of the summer, behind only Manchester City and Barcelona.
The financial impact of the global economic crisis could be felt across world football.
But as The Guardian noted in its transfer market analysis, Manchester City had become a disruptive force, like a catfish stirring up the entire Premier League, forcing clubs like United, Chelsea, and Liverpool to grit their teeth and follow suit.
"No one wants to become the next Arsenal!"
More importantly, Tottenham Hotspur was showing serious ambition too.
Last season, Spurs lacked a clinical striker. Their top scorer was winger Damien Duff with 18 goals, while forwards like Robbie Keane and Crouch failed to hit double digits. This was widely considered the reason they couldn't break into the top four.
Early in the summer, Spurs were linked with several notable strikers, including Huntelaar and Džeko.
Redknapp even boldly stated that solving the striker problem was Tottenham's top priority this summer.
After signing Van der Vaart from Real Madrid, Spurs turned their attention to Wolfsburg's Bosnian center forward Edin Džeko.
In August, on the same day Arsenal announced Adebayor's €25 million transfer, Tottenham, Arsenal's North London rivals, announced the signing of Džeko from Wolfsburg for the same amount.
Redknapp was ecstatic, stating that Džeko's arrival would significantly enhance Tottenham's attacking firepower and, alongside Van der Vaart, would help Spurs mount a serious top-four push.
It was clear that after years of building, Tottenham saw their chance and were finally ready to go all-in for a Champions League place.
After all, once a club enters the Champions League zone, the annual tens of millions in revenue becomes impossible to ignore.
Džeko, Van der Vaart, Gallas, Sandro, Micah Richards...
Tottenham had made serious investments this summer and significantly improved their squad.
In its pre-season analysis, The Guardian predicted that Manchester City had a strong chance of finishing in the top four and even defending their title thanks to their deep, talented squad.
Based on their transfer activity, Tottenham also had a good chance of breaking into the top four.
But here came the dilemma.
Only four Champions League spots exist. Arsenal may not have spent much, but Wenger's coaching ability remains strong, and they still had a chance to sneak into the top four. With Tottenham joining the fray, someone would have to miss out.
Four spots. Six contenders. Plus potential dark horses.
The new Premier League season was shaping up to be the most competitive in years. No one could predict how it would unfold.
…
Gao Shen wasn't overly concerned with the external predictions about the Premier League.
For him, there was no point in paying attention to that. He preferred to spend his time resolving internal issues and helping players improve.
In his view, as long as Manchester City gave their best, that was enough.
He had always operated this way.
Despite being criticized every year for poor results in pre-season friendlies, Gao Shen never changed his approach.
They played four games in the U.S., recording one win, two draws, and one loss.
And these weren't exactly powerhouse opponents, Gao Shen had simply been too focused on testing tactics.
After returning to Europe, Manchester City played three more warm-up matches, including against strong teams like Dortmund and Valencia.
The result: three straight losses.
Even Gao Shen began to feel a bit guilty, joking on Twitter, "Usually, the worse we do in warm-up matches, the better we do in official competitions."
Compared to last year, the British media seemed to have learned their lesson. They didn't bother roasting Gao Shen over pre-season form.
But as Martin Samuel of the Daily Mail put it, "Everyone is just waiting for Gao Shen to slip up. The moment Manchester City loses, the backlash will be immediate and overwhelming."
Back in Manchester, City entered the final stages of preparation for the new season.
Next up, the squad would travel south to London to take on Manchester United at Wembley.
…
The Community Shield is not considered a major title, but it's often viewed as the curtain-raiser to the Premier League season and is always held a week before the league's first matchday.
Still, Manchester City opted to travel to London one day early.
At the pre-match press conference, Gao Shen explained that the decision reflected how seriously he was taking the Community Shield.
"Actually, we are very interested in every competition!" Gao Shen said with confidence.
The last time Manchester City won the Community Shield was in 1972—38 years ago. A long, long wait. Naturally, the fans were hungry for this trophy.
As for the new season, Gao Shen said City remained the most competitive title contender.
"We are the defending champions. This season, we'll still be the team to beat. I believe even our opponents wouldn't doubt that, and we certainly believe it ourselves."
He stated that Manchester City would compete on all fronts and wouldn't casually drop any competition.
"Everyone who knows me knows that's not how I operate. My team and I will give everything for every title!"
Though the new Premier League season would be fiercely contested, Gao Shen narrowed the true title race to four teams.
Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea.
As for Arsenal, he said Wenger's team had suffered significant losses in the transfer window and were slightly weaker than last season. They might still challenge for a top-four spot, but winning the title would be difficult.
Regarding the new campaign, Gao Shen made it clear that the Champions League was Manchester City's top priority.
"I've won the Champions League with two different teams, so I know what kind of team it takes to win it."
"I have a strong feeling and complete confidence that Manchester City has what it takes!"
Gao Shen made no secret of his desire to win the Champions League.
He wanted his third title. That would allow him to surpass Ferguson and others and become the most successful active coach in the world.
More importantly, there's no better stage than the Champions League to prove a coach's worth.
This ambition was not only Gao Shen's. It was shared by his coaching staff, the players, and most importantly, by Mansour and Mubarak.
Because only by winning the Champions League could Manchester City truly be considered among the elite of Europe.
Just like the once-famous G14 group.
Although the G14 was now defunct, the unofficial "entry ticket" had always been a Champions League trophy.
What?
Why did Arsenal qualify for G14 without a Champions League title?
Well… who knows? Maybe the Cup Winners' Cup counted?
In any case, the status of the Champions League in European football is unquestionable.
Even a club like Chelsea has chased it relentlessly.
It's said that Abramovich's demand for Ancelotti this season was simple: win the Champions League.
Though Gao Shen and City were focused on the Champions League, he emphasized that they wouldn't neglect the Premier League either.
"We're confident we can defend our title!"
As for the so-called Community Shield curse, Gao Shen scoffed at the notion. He didn't believe in it, nor did he think that winning the Shield meant they'd lose the league.
"These so-called curses don't really hold up."
"But it doesn't matter. I believe this team will show just how unreliable those curses are—both in the Community Shield and the league."
"No spell or jinx applies to Manchester City."
"We're strong enough to break all of them!"
On the topic of Manchester United's warm-up matches, Gao Shen admitted he hadn't studied them in detail.
"Of course, that's not because I'm blindly confident. It's because I believe that if we play our own football, our opponents will be the ones with the headache."
"A word on the new season?"
Gao Shen smiled, then turned serious.
"Premier League opponents—are you ready?"
Even the reporters at the press conference could clearly sense Gao Shen's unwavering belief in his team.
(To be continued.)