Thai owner Thaksin Shinawatra expected Manchester City to break into the top four in Sven-Goran Eriksson's first season in charge at Eastlands in 2007-08.
City failed miserably and Eriksson got the sack. Now, the club is under the stewardship of one of the best managers in the top flight, Mark Hughes (formerly of Blackburn Rovers).
Hughes must be given time to settle down in his new environs. Thaksin should not expect him to break down barriers in his first season at City. The involvement of multi-millionaires is not healthy for the English game as they expect that for every dollar they put in they take at least three in return.
The Citizens will play in the UEFA Cup in 2008/09 after they claimed a place via the Premier League Fair Play table. England were awarded an extra berth in the tournament after the league came top of UEFA's Fair Play rankings.
Last season, Alex Ferguson showed once more that his side is the one to beat for the honours.
Manchester United claimed the Premier League title for a record 10th time as the Red Devils went on to register a remarkable double when they lifted the Champions Cup following a penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea in Moscow.
United proved that their early-season hiccups came to recharge their batteries for the remainder of the campaign.
Ferguson remarked that the 2007/08 campaign was one of the closest and probably the most rewarding for his team in his 22-year tenure at the club.
United were strong in every department. The central duo of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic rarely put a foot wrong as the team finished with the best defensive record in the division after conceding only 22 goals.
In midfield, schemers came up trumps also in front of goal as they had done for many a year now. Up front Wayne Rooney led an almost solo attack since Louis Saha was sidelined for most of the time.
Portuguese ace Cristiano Ronaldo made backlines tremble with his darting runs, amazing dribbles and the knack for scoring goals. He finally came of age and netted a staggering total of 42 goals in all competitions.
Ryan Giggs showed what an asset he still is in a season that brought records for the Welsh wizard. A clubman through and through, Giggs gave his football life to the club.
On the domestic cup front, however, United failed to impress as they bowed out of both competitions at Old Trafford.
The exit to Coventry City in the League Cup in round three made our own Michael Mifsud a hero as he scored the goals in the 2-0 win.
In the FA Cup, they went down 0-1 to Portsmouth, the eventual winners.
Manchester City surely enjoyed doing the double on the champions in the Premier League, a feather in Eriksson's cap. They had bridged a gap of 38 years for that feat.
Yet, City failed to persist with their significant opening phase of the campaign and in the latter stages they had also lost a most impressive home record.
The fans were not happy and protested with the owners when they heard that Eriksson will not continue in his managerial duties.
In the home cups, City were beaten by Tottenham 0-2 at home in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, and in the FA Cup they were shocked by Championship side Sheffield United, who held the upper hand with a 2-1 win in the fourth round at Bramall Lane.