I can only speak for myself. To me, no, it is a big success, but the key is to get top 4 next season and the season after too. The improvement in game play is obvious. The project is headed in the right direction.
Finishing 4th from our current position would be a disaster. It would mean two teams not being City would have finished above us. Newcastle (they are greater strangers to being at the top than we have been in recent years), Tottenham (8 points ahead with a game in hand), Man United (11 points ahead), Liverpool (15 points ahead). How could allowing two of these teams to usurp us in the league table be considered a success?
Saka, Martinelli, Odegaard, Saliba are they key. How good can these young footballers be? Is Saliba the heir to VVD, Odegaard to KDB? Are Saka and Martinelli along with Jesus capable of replicating as close as possible the effect of the Liverpool trio Firminho, Salah and Mane?
This is the unknown. Most of our main players are younger. Odegaard 23, Saka 21, Martinelli 21, Saliba 21, Gabriel 24, Tomiyasu 24, Ramsdale 24, Jesus 25, ESR 22, Vieira 22, Zinchenko 25, Tierney 25, White 25, Nketiah 23. The only players in the first team over 25 are Xhaka and Partey. This is why whilst I am surprised to have taken 37 from 42 points, im not surprised by the fact we are doing better than previous seasons.
Were like a flower right before spring that has been given extreme care in its preparation. No doubt we will blossom, but to what degree - we dont know. We could get lucky and his stem could turn into a bright red rose this season. Or we could be still too early in the cycle and not ready yet.