Steve McMahon: Last day, last show

It’s been an amazing season but all good things must come to an end and on Sunday they will end with Manchester City being crowned as champions for the first time in the Premier League era — their first league title in 44 years.

Manchester United could still win the title if City slip up at home to Queens Park Rangers (QPR) but Roberto Mancini’s side did the job at Newcastle last time out and this will be a much easier game for them at the Etihad against lowly QPR.

And City would absolutely deserve it if they won the title this weekend.  They have undoubtedly been the best team. They also have the best goal difference in the Premier League and have scored the most goals so far this season.

So, who should take most of the credit if City do go on to win the title this weekend? Should it be the players or the manager? A bit of both but certainly Roberto Mancini has got things right in the closing stages of the season.

Against Newcastle last weekend, the Italian got his tactics spot on.

With the game deadlocked at 0-0 in the 62nd minute, Mancini decided the time for change had arrived and he replaced Samir Nasri with Nigel de Jong. This allowed Yaya Toure to push further forward, and the move bore fruit in spectacular fashion as Toure netted twice in the remaining half-hour to seal a vital 2-0 win for City.

Of course, the players have also been superb for Mancini this season. In my opinion, none more so than Vincent Kompany who would be my choice for City’s Player of the Season. Everyone talks about how good City are going forward with the likes of David Silva and Sergio Aguero, but Kompany has been outstanding at the back for City. He’s such a powerful player and a proper centre-back who can play the ball forward as well.

This is one reason why I feel QPR don’t have a hope in hell to get a result at the Etihad this weekend. Not that it may matter much in the end because Bolton will at the most get a draw away to Stoke in their final game of the season which means QPR will stay up even if they lose to City on Sunday.

Therefore, Bolton will join Blackburn Rovers and Wolves as the three Premier League teams who drop down to the Championship at the end of the season. Looking at the table, they are the three worst teams in the league this season.

Further up the table, revealing the identity of the teams which will finish third and fourth is a little harder to say. Arsenal (on 67 points) currently occupy third while Tottenham (on 66 points) are fourth and ahead of fifth-placed Newcastle by one point.

The Gunners have a tricky final game at The Hawthorns on Sunday where they will face a West Brom side who will want to do well in their last game under newly appointed England manager Roy Hodgson. Spurs on the other hand have a very winnable game at home against Fulham.

However, I still believe Arsenal have it in their own hands to get third and they will do it while Harry Redknapp’s Spurs will have to settle for fourth which is fine because I honestly don’t think Chelsea will beat Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League final later this month.

And if Chelsea lose the final, then their season can only be looked as an absolute disaster. Sixth-place in the league and only an FA Cup trophy to show for their efforts cannot be deemed a success if you are Chelsea. It’s the same with Liverpool; they’ve not won the FA Cup and currently lie in mid-table, so all they’ve managed to achieve this season is the League Cup. It’s been a disaster.

(Former Liverpool and England International Steve McMahon is a football expert with ESPN)