5) Europa League football
That probably the best point especially if you get to caroba semi as well. Combination of a caroba run and Europa can kill teams just after Xmas . Did for United and Arsenal last 2 years.
5) Europa League football
Can you read? I’ve said we would finish closer to 6th, points-wise, than 1st. Whether that’s 2nd, 3rd (although I highly doubt that), or 4th, 5th is a different story altogether, but we will not be contending for the title.
No, we really haven’t. Last season we were a country mile away from City, and the league was over as a contest from around Christmas time the season before. We didn’t even contend in the Leicester season either, we were just best of the rest....and then ballsed that up too.
We won't be contending for the title? I suppose if you say it, it must be true then lol.
his original post seemed to strongly relate to the lack of signings, not taking into account we now have Moura fit, Lamela returning, possibly Danny Rose, Winks, and Toby, and no guarantee that we will suffer the same injuries next season, or that the teams around us might suffer injuries. Yes we are going to need some luck on our side with injuries, and with our history since I started going, I'd have to say we aren't a team that gets too much fall our way.
the WC is going to cause a lot of the top teams possible burn-out this season, so could see the gap close the whole league up, the better equipped will be Man C due to their squad (Bought) depth, and Liverpool who had the least amount involved and their new signings joining early (at a massive cost in agents fees), but their new players will still need to settle, and just because 1 shone through v a shit Spam team (which shows wasting money guarantees you nothing), it doesn't mean anything.
yes Chelsea have strengthened, but lets see how their new keeper copes against better teams. 1 mistake and his confidence could get damaged, he might even struggle to settle, he might suffer once we hit a really cold spell, plus they have the Europa, and a manager that's never won sod all before. I know Poch hasn't but he isn't playing in a completely different league.
who knows how Man U's season is going to pan out, if Moaninho keeps upsetting the players, the players might not give 100%
to be totally honest this thread would be best started at the end of January when we know what is panning out. with the stadium and the transfer window their are too many people feeling/being negative at the moment. I just hope the majority that go as ST holders or regular as members don't let it flood onto the terraces, their bad moods will effect the atmosphere and surely effect the team.
Not a dig... Just too many what IF'S to mask our shortcomings in the last window.
We should be confident in our team strength and that we ready for all comers this season.
Not directed at you per se.
the thing with any football season is the word "IF", what if the ref/Kane/Lloris etc, ect……. no one knows what's going to happen
if anyone had told me when ENIC took over that in 18years time we would (hopefully) be moving into the 2nd biggest stadium for league football, had the top facilities in our training ground, been involved in 2 PL run in's, qualified for CL football 3 times in a row, officially 4 times in total (would of been 5 but for Chavs). I would of called the men in white coats to have you sanctioned
We've strived for years to get CL football. So more than anything we dont want to fallout and fall so far back as a team that we take yrs to get back in it. Just look at Arsenal now.
We didn't need Liverpool tyoe of spending we needed to recruit in CM and cover for Eriksen.
But my original point was there's too many posters focusing on what "IF" scenarios and not on our team strengths which in itself is a silent admission of our shortcomings.
Anyhow it's a long season. Lets enjoy the journey ahead.
Considered by who? By those with a vested interest in declaring a “title race”? And why, because we were the “best of the rest” as I’ve already acknowledged?We were considered title contenders at varying points in those seasons. Just because we slipped away does not mean we were not in contention well into the season, because we were.
Not hard to grasp really.
Or maybe if I say it, it’s what I think will happen. And maybe you just need to be ok with that.We won't be contending for the title? I suppose if you say it, it must be true then lol.
Considered by who? By those with a vested interest in declaring a “title race”? And why, because we were the “best of the rest” as I’ve already acknowledged?
Delude yourself all you like, but the facts are that at no point in any of those three seasons were we in serious contention for the title. Both Leicester and Chelsea had as close to a procession to the title as you can get.
yes if absolutely everything goes right for us and wrong for our rivals, then we’ll almost certainly do well. I think you and I both know that’s not how football works though. The fact that you’re having to rely on speculative factors like whether or not foreign players will be able to handle the cold to make point says a lot.his original post seemed to strongly relate to the lack of signings, not taking into account we now have Moura fit, Lamela returning, possibly Danny Rose, Winks, and Toby, and no guarantee that we will suffer the same injuries next season, or that the teams around us might suffer injuries. Yes we are going to need some luck on our side with injuries, and with our history since I started going, I'd have to say we aren't a team that gets too much fall our way.
the WC is going to cause a lot of the top teams possible burn-out this season, so could see the gap close the whole league up, the better equipped will be Man C due to their squad (Bought) depth, and Liverpool who had the least amount involved and their new signings joining early (at a massive cost in agents fees), but their new players will still need to settle, and just because 1 shone through v a shit Spam team (which shows wasting money guarantees you nothing), it doesn't mean anything.
yes Chelsea have strengthened, but lets see how their new keeper copes against better teams. 1 mistake and his confidence could get damaged, he might even struggle to settle, he might suffer once we hit a really cold spell, plus they have the Europa, and a manager that's never won sod all before. I know Poch hasn't but he isn't playing in a completely different league.
who knows how Man U's season is going to pan out, if Moaninho keeps upsetting the players, the players might not give 100%
to be totally honest this thread would be best started at the end of January when we know what is panning out. with the stadium and the transfer window their are too many people feeling/being negative at the moment. I just hope the majority that go as ST holders or regular as members don't let it flood onto the terraces, their bad moods will effect the atmosphere and surely effect the team.
Or maybe if I say it, it’s what I think will happen. And maybe you just need to be ok with that.
And maybe next time you’ll actually read what was said before making a fool of yourself.
Injuries to key players will also play a massive part. All the top 6 basically have 2 key players apart from city. Liverpool Salah/Vvd,spurs Kane/Eriksen, chelsea hazard/Kante, United Pogba/Lukaku,Arsenal Aubameyang/Lacazette. Take one out and it will be a loss, take two out and it’s a disaster.
Had a chance to take control isnt same as contending. Plus we never took that chance, and so never put Leicester under any sort of pressure. If you call that contention, then you must not understand the word.Think you will find that there was a period where we had the chance to take control when Leicester won it, and they only confirmed it early May. Yes we only got 2 points in our last 4 games, but we was involved. With Chelsea they only had us pushing them, and yet again early May.
If you don’t see that as contending then your blind
yes if absolutely everything goes right for us and wrong for our rivals, then we’ll almost certainly do well. I think you and I both know that’s not how football works though. The fact that you’re having to rely on speculative factors like whether or not foreign players will be able to handle the cold to make point says a lot.
My post did relate to a lack of signings, but not just signings for the sake of it. I think we went backwards last season, and that there are areas of the team that need addressing (by bringing better players in, rather than just hoping someone gets better), and we haven’t done that. At the same time, the team that finished miles ahead of us (and everyone else) have increased their depth. The team that finished right behind us have now addressed ALL of their glaring issues, and project to be much improved over last season. Yes we can hope against hope that their new signings all won’t work out, and that could turn out to be the case, but it is also a lot more likely that they will. Objectively speaking, both squads are now better than ours, and common sense alone suggests we won’t be able to compete with them over the course of the whole season.
Chelsea are a Jekyll and Hyde team, and yes we could easily finish above them this season, but I don’t think we will. Whenever they’ve been fully engaged, and not all fighting behind the scenes, they’ve finished ahead of us each time. With their new manager, and also a couple of astute signings in Jorginho and Kovacic, I think this will be one of those seasons.
We finished behind Man U last season, and while I can’t see that they’ve significantly improved, I can’t see that we have either. So whilst it wouldn’t be a surprise for us to finish ahead of them, neither would it be to finish behind them either.
The only team I can confidently say we’re better than and I expect to finish ahead of us Arsenal.
That’s my logic for not thinking we’ll get anywhere near challenging for the title. 3rd is the absolute best we can hope for IMO, but I think 4th or 5th is more realistic.
Well that bit was never in question as far as I am concerned. On any given day, we can beat pretty much anyone. My doubt is that we can be consistently better than everyone else over a whole season.please accept my apologies not having a great day, so I'm going to just comment on your 1st paragraph.
I know exactly how football works, and I also know there are no guarantees in it either. if there was Leicester would of never won the league at all. its nothing about everything has to go our way and against our rivals, because if we can stay fit we can beat any team. we just need to win our games simple as. just because Man C have a stronger squad than us it doesn't mean they will beat us both games.