TEAMtalk guest Rich Kitto believes there will be a shift in power in Manchester over the coming seasons now that City are kings of England.

"It doesn't matter where you are; you are nowhere compared to where you can go." Bob Proctor, American Business Consultant.

As the blue moon begins to rise over Manchester, it could signal the setting of the sun for the red half of the city, and their evergreen manager.

Firstly, what an unbelievable finish to what was quite a breath-taking season. After 38 games of battle and strife, ups and downs, twist and turns it was never going to be a straightforward and predictable outcome. And after competing for well over 7500 minutes of domestic football, Sir Alex Ferguson was within minutes of bringing home his 13th Premier League title.

What an achievement it would have been, and great recognition must be placed at the feet of the Scot for even taking it this close. United came into this season as most pundits' underdogs, a position that they and their supporters certainly aren't used to, considering the sheer spending levels of their noisy neighbours in bringing in some of the best footballing talent from across Europe. Worse yet, they could find themselves in even more unfamiliar terrain next year, as Man City look a genuine threat to topple the Ferguson dynasty and repaint the city blue.

On paper, man for man, it outlines why it was such an accomplishment for Ferguson to lose out simply on goal difference. City certainly has the more superior first team, with great strength in depth down the ranks compared to their rivals. Joe Hart has established himself as a world-class keeper and crucial to England's hopes this summer, Vincent Kompany is the league's finest centre-half, Yaya Toure is a colossal midfielder who bosses games and opponents, whilst David Silva and Sergio Aguero have the grace, prowess and intelligence to star in any team.

And whilst Patrick Vieira's comments that the re-signing of Paul Scholes was 'desperate' were extremely far off the mark - as the tireless midfielder is still a stunning player and contributed vastly to the second half of the Red Devils' season - Ferguson must invest and reenergise his team with world-class players to maintain pace.

This will be no easy task for the man that is used to getting what he wants. With the Premier League trophy now in their cabinet - alongside their momentum, current stars, and a warchest of money - City have everything in place to attract the best players in the world and blow United out of the water should they wish. The hugely talented Lille player Eden Hazard, who Fergie publicly praised, looks likely to be a fine example of this after expressing his desire to play in England and that: "It's the blue that I'll be wearing next season. Definitely the blue." Samir Nasri made a similar decision last summer, whilst nothing needs to be said of Carlos Tevez's move across Manchester.

Ultimately a season that showed huge promise at 4:47pm on Sunday afternoon resulted in huge disappointment for United. The fact that Man City came so close to a monumental mistake by throwing away a title that everybody had written off as a given, should not paper over the cracks that the Red Devils should never have allowed the situation to develop. Losing at Wigan and throwing away a two-goal lead to Everton was inexplicable, and was so out of place for a team that is used to dominating the business end of seasons.

City fought tooth and nail until the very last kick of the campaign and simply put it seemed they wanted it more than their red cross-city counterparts.

But, after all, having seen their team knocked out of the FA Cup by Liverpool, Europe's elite competition by Basle, and then completely outplayed by Bilbao, perhaps it shouldn't be such a surprise for United fans. Maybe the Manchester United of old is not the Manchester United of now. I wrote last week that Liverpool fans need to recognise that they are not the team that history depicts them as, and perhaps the same could be said to Fergie's followers.

No longer is it a 'given' that they will attract the best players, score the late goals, do it on the European stage, and win when it really matters. Or even, dare I say, that they are the biggest team in Manchester. They don't have inspirational leaders like Schmeichel, Bruce, Keane and Cantona to drag them over the line, and show too much reliance on the ageing legs of Ferdinand, Giggs and Scholes.

There are some certainties - United and Ferguson will find resolve and will be up there challenging again next season.

But have no doubt, Manchester City are here to stay. They will grow from this experience, gain confidence and build desire. They'll spread their fan base, look to dominate Europe, and continue to seek and bring in the biggest names around the planet, regardless of what it will cost them. They say to make a small fortune in football you have to start with a big one, and Sheik Mansour has a bottomless pit to turn City into a truly great team.

Knee-jerk reactions are commonplace in football, especially amongst the footballing media looking to make a quick headline, and United have seen off such challengers in the past. But if Gary Neville describes losing one game at the club as 'a crisis', then how do you describe losing the title to the team that have been the butt of your jokes for the last 40 years?

No longer will Ferguson have everything his own way and he has a lot of work to do in a short space of time; and perhaps time won't be the only thing he can't buy this summer. A change of the guard is upon us.