This is a question to our fans and opposition.
My guess:
City/ Chelsea - hell yes would be happy for us to take 2nd leaving 1st place free
Liverpool/ Arsenal/ Tottenham/ Everton - No chance, they would hope us to have another bad season and 2nd could take one of their top 4 places
Us - divided, do you like to gamble or not? 2nd would be a great turnaround on a terrible year and would mean we were back in the Champions League having fought off a likely strengthened Liverpool, a typically top 4 Arsenal, the unlikely top 4 anyway Tottenham and Everton, but with another years experience and a new manager. Lets be honest City and Chelsea are taking 2 of the top 4 spots regardless!
Personally I'd not accept it. Similar to what happened with Liverpool we should have a clearer schedule and thus be primed for competing for the title. I don't think any team appears capable of pulling together sufficient consistency to be outright winners, thus giving us a great chance. The risk is that with two spots basically guaranteed to Chelsea and City that leaves 2 spots. Arsenal always find a way and Liverpool are at their strongest.
The risk is we could easily slip to 5th if we don't improve substantially on this season and find some consistency. If we do however 1st place could be there for the taking.
My answer to this question is based on us making some decent signings this summer. In absence of at least one top class central defender, and maybe one central midfielder I just can't see it. We probably have enough talent in midfield and the wings that improved performance with one or two players could be enough to take us to the next level. It's a stretch to rely on Evra, but well we've done it plenty before and I'm not sure his level has dropped that much since we won the title.
On the wings for instance we have Januzaj and Zaha, or Nani and Valencia, or make shift Welbeck/ Mata/ Kagawa or Young personally lowest on my potential list. It shouldn't be too much to expect just 2 of these to maintain some form over the season, even if we have struggled for too long.
In midfield we would need Fellani to up his form, Kagawa to be used in the right position more regular, or Cleverley to substantially increase his ability (unlikely), Carrick would need to show the maturity that Giggs has managed for years. In reality we maybe need that extra piece in the puzzle to ensure we have the necessary quality. A seriously solid defensive midfielder is probably what is required to ensure we can exploit the creativity and potential of some of our other players.
My guess:
City/ Chelsea - hell yes would be happy for us to take 2nd leaving 1st place free
Liverpool/ Arsenal/ Tottenham/ Everton - No chance, they would hope us to have another bad season and 2nd could take one of their top 4 places
Us - divided, do you like to gamble or not? 2nd would be a great turnaround on a terrible year and would mean we were back in the Champions League having fought off a likely strengthened Liverpool, a typically top 4 Arsenal, the unlikely top 4 anyway Tottenham and Everton, but with another years experience and a new manager. Lets be honest City and Chelsea are taking 2 of the top 4 spots regardless!
Personally I'd not accept it. Similar to what happened with Liverpool we should have a clearer schedule and thus be primed for competing for the title. I don't think any team appears capable of pulling together sufficient consistency to be outright winners, thus giving us a great chance. The risk is that with two spots basically guaranteed to Chelsea and City that leaves 2 spots. Arsenal always find a way and Liverpool are at their strongest.
The risk is we could easily slip to 5th if we don't improve substantially on this season and find some consistency. If we do however 1st place could be there for the taking.
My answer to this question is based on us making some decent signings this summer. In absence of at least one top class central defender, and maybe one central midfielder I just can't see it. We probably have enough talent in midfield and the wings that improved performance with one or two players could be enough to take us to the next level. It's a stretch to rely on Evra, but well we've done it plenty before and I'm not sure his level has dropped that much since we won the title.
On the wings for instance we have Januzaj and Zaha, or Nani and Valencia, or make shift Welbeck/ Mata/ Kagawa or Young personally lowest on my potential list. It shouldn't be too much to expect just 2 of these to maintain some form over the season, even if we have struggled for too long.
In midfield we would need Fellani to up his form, Kagawa to be used in the right position more regular, or Cleverley to substantially increase his ability (unlikely), Carrick would need to show the maturity that Giggs has managed for years. In reality we maybe need that extra piece in the puzzle to ensure we have the necessary quality. A seriously solid defensive midfielder is probably what is required to ensure we can exploit the creativity and potential of some of our other players.
