Remaining 6 games...

[E17yid]

Newcastle: 3 points
Southampton: 1 point (though I really think we might sneak this one for some reason, the game at WHL was one of the first, and only, times we really pressed well as a unit)
Man City:0 points
Stoke City:1 point
Hull: 3 points
Everton:1 point

 

[slartibartfast]

Sundays game against Newcastle will be a TV spectacular.. Two in form teams with creativity to burn. Expect loads of goals and excitement. Alternatively there is always the snooker!

Unbelievably the snooker will be played at a quicker tempo.

 

[slartibartfast]

OK, so I've just finished inhaling a load of nitrous oxide and thought I'd ask the question...could we win all of our last 6 fixtures???

If we look back at our performances over the past month or so, it would be a firm 'not a chance'.

After beating Chelsea and Arsenal I was super positive and thought our run-in looked fairly straightforward apart from the Man City game - we were unstoppable...now I look at it and think we'll be lucky to get 8 points out of that let alone 18...

Can our players put in 6 performances of their lives - proper blood, sweat and tears...taking no prisoners.

Newcastle (a) - are awful at the moment, i'd hope we go there and win bu knowing our luck this will be the one game Newcastle turn up
Southampton (a) - sill in the hunt for top 4 and playing some nice football...a tough ask but do-able
Man City (h) - they're having a blip but that won't last...I'll be prepared for the Sergio Aguero show once again at the lane
Stoke (a) - never an easy game but one we should in theory win...always a battle.
Hull (h) - see Newcastle
Everton (a) - a tough end to the season, but they won't have Lennon and will hopefully have started their holidays

Also...If we did manage such a seemingly impossible feat...would 72 points be enough for a CL place - surely it would be a close run thing???

So my conservative prediction is WDLWWD...11 points. Anything more will be a bonus.

What say you?

I say youve been on the crack pipe and the Nitrous was a starter.

 

[slartibartfast]

Another season post Redknapp and another step backwards.
No matter how you dress it up, thats the truth.
We're going backwards.
We need to sign some quality, proven EPL player's or we'll be mid table team again in 3 seasons time.
And those thinking the new stadium will be our saviour should take a look around. Newcastle are just one of a few teams with a big stadium who still struggle like fk.
We need a proven manager, jury still out on Poch imo but not overly confident to be honest, and we need to back him with players HE wants, not Levy or some cock DOF.
Seeing us pitter out like this pisses me off

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

Another season post Redknapp and another step backwards.
No matter how you dress it up, thats the truth.
We're going backwards.
We need to sign some quality, proven EPL player's or we'll be mid table team again in 3 seasons time.
And those thinking the new stadium will be our saviour should take a look around. Newcastle are just one of a few teams with a big stadium who still struggle like fk.
We need a proven manager, jury still out on Poch imo but not overly confident to be honest, and we need to back him with players HE wants, not Levy or some cock DOF.
Seeing us pitter out like this pisses me off

You are not wrong, but proven in EPL is a smoke screen IMO. It's not a given that we need players from PL ust because our signings from abroad haven't worked out. Loads of PL to PL transfers don't work out too.

 

[not_tenth-again]

Not sure how many we will score but you can surely expect us to finish within a game of 4th.... just so we can hammer ourselves all off season about what could have been.

 

[slartibartfast]

Not sure how many we will score but you can surely expect us to finish within a game of 4th.... just so we can hammer ourselves all off season about what could have been.

Trust me, you haven't got to worry about that.
Never gonna happen.
Not a fkin chance in hell.

 

[Strikeb4ck]

I'm expecting 7-8 points, but sure, look forward to getting 18 points from those fixtures. You must be out of your mind. We are just not very good, simple as.

 

[tototoner]

When was the last time our season finished so early, most of the players will only be thinking about where they will go holiday till the end of the season.

 

[AJW]

The city game will be a weird one as I would order they top 4 than Southampton or Liverpool. It will be odd to be happy with a defeat

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

With a robust, creative and pacey midfield quartet of Mason, Bentaleb, Townsend and Chadli, surely 6 wins out 6 is a walk in the park!

 

[Tom Pops]

When was the last time our season finished so early, most of the players will only be thinking about where they will go holiday till the end of the season.

Last season

 

[hughy]

The city game will be a weird one as I would order they top 4 than Southampton or Liverpool. It will be odd to be happy with a defeat

I could understand Liverpool, but why would you rather they finished top 4 than Southampton?

 

[AJW]

I could understand Liverpool, but why would you rather they finished top 4 than Southampton?

I imagine Southampton may be rivals for some of our players this summer and it would just hurt less for some reason! You expect them to get it

 

[prawnsandwich]

We have to at least win 5 of these games and draw one to improve on last season.

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

I imagine Southampton may be rivals for some of our players this summer and it would just hurt less for some reason! You expect them to get it

Hopefully they are still interested in Townsend!

 

[only1waddle]

Hopefully they are still interested in Townsend!

I'm guessing even they wouldn't take him.

 

[slartibartfast]

We have to at least win 5 of these games and draw one to improve on last season.

Never gonna happen.
Another step backwards from the previous season. At least we're consistent.

 

[Shea]

You are not wrong, but proven in EPL is a smoke screen IMO. It's not a given that we need players from PL ust because our signings from abroad haven't worked out. Loads of PL to PL transfers don't work out too.

Torres had proven himself in the EPL at Liverpool and reinforced it several times over before his high profile move to Chelsea - it certainly didn't stop him being one of the biggest flops ever in the EPL at the money he cost

So you're right proven EPL is not the yardstick by which we might scout players

People must assess a players attributes against the needs of the current squad and compatibility with the existing players and the managers ethos and tactics

Wenger is quite the master at this to be fair - he buys players (not without mistakes to be fair) that suit his team and he moulds a unit that outperforms the sum of its parts

Ironically he (like us) have tended to be less successful when trying to make the more high profile expensive signings than he has plucking relatively unknown or underappreciated gems that others won't take the risk on and using them to create a team without them having to be superstars

Its far more important that a player suits the team and completes it as a unit than it is that the player as an individual be the most talented or high profile - Soldado being a prime example, good player no doubt but his suitability to our team, manager, system and league were all poorly assessed and the move failed drastically where as I am sure we could have signed serval other less talented options who would have performed better and made us a stronger team as a result

 

[225]

5 Games to go...


Mathematically we can still equal our highest points tally of 72, but only if we win all of our last 5. Which ain't happening.

1: Chelsea...........................P32...... 76 pts
2: Arsenal............................P32...... 66 pts
3: Manchester United........P33...... 65 pts
4: Manchester City.............P33...... 64 pts
5: Liverpool.........................P32...... 57 pts
6: Tottenham Hotspur.......P33...... 57 pts
7: Southampton.................P33...... 56 pts
8: Swansea City..................P33...... 47 pts

Can't see us finishing any lower than 7th, but the tight bunching in 2nd, 3rd and 4th means CL is still wide open. Shame we dropped points at Burnley and Villa, but life goes on.

City need 12 points from 15 to secure CL football, or less on a game-by-game basis, depending how Liverpool and we do.