Odds on championship: 200-1. Odds on relegation: 28-1.
Manager: Mark Hughes (since June). Odds on first out the job: 9-1
Last season: 9th, 55 points; FA Cup fourth round; Carling Cup quarter-finals
Ins: Jo (CSKA Moscow, £18m), Tal Ben Haim (Chelsea, undisclosed).
Outs: Georgios Samaras (Celtic, undisclosed), Andreas Isaksson (PSV Eindhoven, undisclosed), Geovanni (Hull, free), Emile Mpenza and Paul Dickov (both released), Sun Jihai (Sheffield United, free), Matthew Mills (Doncaster, £300,000).
Possession is nine tenths of the law, and right now Thaksin Shinawatra possesses Manchester City and a whole lot more. City have just denied that Thaksin is selling, but confirmed there have been talks with investors. There is certainly uncertainty at Eastlands.
There's also a new manager. Mark Hughes has succeeded Sven-Goran Eriksson, after the Swede presided over a Jekyll and Hyde season. Thaksin, in between legal engagements, decided that the second-half slump - alleviated only by derby victory - was unacceptable, but given how little time the former England coach had to buy a new team last summer City did pretty well.
Some pundits - Tony Cascarino, Les Ferdinand - tipped the team for relegation last summer. That was never on the cards for a second and Hughes inherited a combination of youngsters who are delivering on their promise with precocity, and several good signings.
He has added to them with Jo, at £18m double the price of Eriksson's biggest signings. Acquisitions have been limited to the Brazilian and Tal Ben Haim, but with a lot of last season's buys now better adjusted to the Premier League, City have a squad that should challenge for fifth place, matching Thaksin's schedule, provided there are enough goals in the squad.
Jo will have to justify his price tag quickly, while Daniel Sturridge must continue his progress. Felipe Caicedo, an expensive buy in January, is 20 in September, a year older than Sturridge. The Ecuador striker had little impact last season and that will have to change. They should get plenty of ammunition from Martin Petrov and Elano, especially.
At the back, Hughes will hope that Micah Richards has better luck with injury, and also that City can keep hold of him if he is fit. Richard Dunne's decision to sign a new deal was a substantial lift and the skipper is talking up the chances of the club making an impact in Europe as well as at home.
To prove that they can make an impact on the Premier League, City could do worse than getting a result at Villa Park on the opening weekend. West Ham are the first visitors to Eastlands and Chelsea and Portsmouth follow in September. Those four games are all good tests of Hughes's team.
Still, as long as Thaksin is in legal jeopardy, there will be a cloud over City. And the lack of faith in Thailand's judicial system plus the notion of investing Third World money in football means many of us will still regard this Eastlands revival as immoral even if Thaksin sees off the charges.
Philip Cornwall