Sir Alex Ferguson has conceded that “it won't be a normal Community Shield for Manchester United,” this weekend, but, in reality the game is nothing more than a dress rehearsal for the 10 month climb to the summit of the Premier League.

Roberto Mancini has put together a squad capable of challenging for European football's most coveted pieces of silverware.

Despite the many cracks in the Manchester City dressing room, there seems to be enough depth in the team to smoothly fill any holes that will appear during the season.

This combined with the FA cup triumph and a third place finish in the Premier League means that the league can be viewed as a target that is reasonable, rational and realistic.

Honours such as the Community Shield and League Cup, despite being very pleasant, have to be viewed as bonuses rather than necessities this season.

Former Manchester City Goalkeeper Shay Given is refusing to rule out his former employers' title aspirations. The Republic of Ireland shot stopper told the Guardian, "I think they can win it."

"Last year they had to 'aim' to win the title as well and that's certainly the case now. They'll have to try and win it every year. But they'll do big things and rightly so.

"They've got fantastic owners who are very supportive in bringing in some of the best players in the world, so I think it's inevitable they'll do big things. Winning the Premier League and winning the European Cup—if not next year, then in the years to come. It's just a matter of time. When you have that level of support there's every chance you can do that," he added.

Shay Given’s views have been echoed by many other names who have served the Eastlands outfit.

In an interview with Sky Sports News, Denis Tueart, a League Cup winner with City in 1973, told viewers "I think we'll certainly be in the frame—I don't think anybody would question that.

"I think we can without question (win the title), with the quality of players we've bought already this season - and who knows there might be one or two more coming to supplement the squad.

"We're going to have a fantastic squad. With the four competitions we're going to be involved in, you have to make sure you have a good squad so Mancini can do his rotation,” Tueart added.

There are certainly many positives for Manchester City fans, and rivals, to take into consideration this season.

The depth of the City Squad

Manchester City have a solid backup in every position going into this season, with all but new recruit Sergio Aguero having Premier League experience behind them.

City’s defence is perhaps the frailest of the four positions, especially given the suspension of Kolo Toure and departure of Jerome Boateng. With that in mind City still have Zabaleta, Micah Richards, Vincent Kompany, Kolarov, Joeleon Lescott and Gael Clichy to call upon, all of them being seasoned internationals or Premier League starters.

Their midfield is perhaps the strongest in the Premier League. Yaya Toure and David Silva are two of the finest midfielders in world football and are oozing with attacking flair. This, combined with the determination of Adam Johnson, the professionalism of Gareth Barry, the efficiency of James Milner and the toughness of Nigel De Jong means that they are a team that is equally accustomed to playing a fluent attacking game and a tight defensive game.

City’s attacking artillery is equally impressive. If Carlos Tevez stays, there is every possibility that he could form a lethal strike partnership with Sergio Aguero. If he goes, City still have Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli to fall back on—two of the most promising young strikers in Europe, each with a big point to prove. The fact that seasoned professionals such as Emmanuel Adebayour, Craig Bellamy and Roque Santa Cruz are unable to get a look is testament enough to show that City boast a great attacking arsenal.

They have now tasted success

The hardest thing about winning major honours is keeping your calm under pressure. In the past, City has faltered. The semi-final exit in the 2009-10 league cup and early elimination from the same season’s Europa league campaign showed that the players were perhaps a little nervous about the expectations surrounding them.

Now that City has won the FA Cup, that should all change. The trophy is one of the biggest honours in domestic football and they had to beat off stiff competition to lift the prize.

The tactics are finally working

Roberto Mancini’s managerial techniques have drawn criticism from fans and players alike, but it now seems that the squad has at least become accustomed to the Italians' way of doing things. The tight discipline and two training sessions per day seem to have finally settled in with the dressing room.

More importantly, City has been attacking with real menace during their preseason campaign. This was particularly evident in their 3-0 win over Inter Milan in the Dublin Super Cup on Sunday.

The owners are willing to spend big

Of course, if all things fail you can always call for new recruits. It is a luxury that very few teams have; City seem to have an infinite reserve of money meaning that even the world’s finest players are nothing more than expendable to them.

Ethically, fans may have a problem with this. In terms of success, it effectively guarantees it. If the league cannot be won on the pitch, City can practically buy it.

There are, however, some skeptics who believe City’s title aspirations could be a little premature.

Peter Barnes, another former Manchester City player, told Sky Sports News that he believed that City’s title hopes could be a bridge too far this season.

"I still think if they play to their strengths they'll be in the top three or four when the season comes to an end.”

He added, "I don't know if they're good enough as yet, to be honest, to be title challengers to United or Chelsea. But they are top three and they might surprise me.”

Indeed, it would be foolish to assume that City is going to win the title by default. There is an incredible amount of competition in the Premier League.

Manchester United has made several fantastic captures this season, which effectively guarantees they will be title contenders. Unlike City, United have won league titles regularly in the recent past, and unlike City, all of their players are seemingly content with life at Old Trafford—even Dimitar Berbatov!

Liverpool has also made several important additions to their team. Although Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing are not the type of players who can win you league titles, Steven Gerrard, Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez all are (or at least they have the potential to be). City will probably pip Liverpool in the title race, but the Merseysiders will definitely be a more potent force than they were last season.

Chelsea is also going to be strong, despite their lack of new signings. Their squad may be aging, but they are incredibly fit. If they play with the same drive and desire that they have in recent seasons then their lack of youthful exuberance is irrelevant. If anything, new manager Villas- Boas could be all the new life Chelsea need if the Portuguese manager is able to inject his exciting tactics and youthful character into the Chelsea players.

Finally, Arsenal still has a strong team. Their best players may be linked with moves away from the Emirates but at present they are still Arsenal players, and these Arsenal players have been challenging for silverware a lot in recent seasons. Like Liverpool, they are not City’s biggest challenge, but they are a team that demand respect.

City also has several problems internally.

The Carlos Tevez saga is embarrassing for the club. It is never ideal for a club to lose their best player; it makes it worse when that player continually states his desire to leave in the most public way possible. If Tevez stays with the team, City will be holding onto a fine player but will also be stuck with the baggage that comes with him. If City is going to win the league, morale needs to be high. Tevez could drag it down.

If it is not Tevez that brings disharmony to the team, it is equally as likely to be Mario Balotelli. The less said about the troubled Italian, the better. He has been a consistent burden to his employers in every season of his professional career. His antics against Los Angeles Galaxy in a preseason friendly suggest that this is not about to change anytime soon.

Manchester City also needs to become more consistent. All too often they have struggled against opposition that lies on the other end of the table. Sunderland, Aston Villa and Wolves all claimed City’s scalp last season and the Citizens struggled with draws against the likes of Stoke, Birmingham and Blackburn Rovers.

The starting 11 were also overly reliant upon Carlos Tevez last season. The Argentine netted 14 goals more than City’s second highest scorer Mario Balotelli and provided several key assists to go alongside his goal tally. If City is going to continue to develop, their other strikers and midfielders are going to have to step up and share some of the goal-scoring load.

Overall, City is in very good shape to mount a title challenge. Despite their weaknesses, their players are more than good enough to win major competitions. It is by no means certain that they will win the league. They are probably not going to be regarded as favourites by many people, but they are force to be reckoned with nonetheless.