I agree about building a team that will be successful in the future, but finishing top 4 will enable that (money, attracting top young players) so it's still an important base-level achievement. and achievable with the squad we have.
I'm not worried we wont challenge for the title.....i'm worried we wont make top 4!
- Thread starter BringNaniBack
- Start date
That's true. But the expectations are rightfully lower.
You are right, but in my mind we should start with that, cross our fingers and die with our youngsters:
-----------Martial
--Memphis-Pereira-Wilson
--------BFS--Schneidy
Shaw-McNair-Smalling-Darmian
You can't get better than Sir Alex and those times have gone.
LvG's got the players he wanted and the mix/balance he wanted, now lets see what happens
Sir Alex also took 3 odd years to get some sort of shape and then a further 3 years before he got a league title. There is a lot of revisionism on here.
As previously stated LVG, rightly or wrongly, has set up a foundation, which is based on youth and experience. He now has to deliver, but when you compare the condition of City and Chelsea it will be a bigger achievement if LVG gets a title in his 3 year contract.
They have a good backup striker, have added a strong CB option, and also added a creative forward should Silva go down. They are the last to be worried about crashing with a critical injury.
Arsenal and Chelsea have much more to be concerned about in that regard, not to mention us.
Agree totally
Tbh under Sir Alex we rarely if ever started well - took us till Christmas time/New Year to hit full speed. For me it's the low tempo snoreball that I can't abide under LvG. In Champions League football against the likes of Bruge it may work but against the Bayerns and the Real Madrids of this world we will get utterly torn a new one...
You can't possibly know that. LVG's been there and has applied his philosophy in 3 big clubs (Ajax, Barca, Bayern) and has won titles, cups, the CL and managed to reach another CL final in 2010. I understand that he got lucky with Bayern but take in mind that it was his first season at the club and managed to win a double. If his tactics were so ineffective against the big teams he wouldn't have the reputation he has now nor would he have won so many trophies.
I have to admit that his tactics aren't the most effective in the Prem but I think they are alright for those tough European nights where you need to control the game and not concede goals.
In the light of our current woes is anyone else starting to worry we wont get the top 4? Tottenham look to have a mark on us and you cant rule out sides like Palace, Leicester and Liverpool.
After this loss. It would have been 10 points in our last 9 games. 7 goals scored, 8 conceded. 4 wins in our last 16 (17?) We should be concerned about finishing in the top half of the table, at this rate.
I'd say we're about evens to finish in the top 4 at this point, so yeah, I am quite worried about it
Didn't we score from 6 of our first 7 shots this season? We've not convinced all season and now we're being found out. The people who said we were capable of challenging for the title were delusionsl. We're miles off.
I'm actually convinced we won't make top 4 but given how we performed in CL this year I wouldn't say it's a huge issue. We need to sort out the entire club before we think about competing in Europe.
In terms of competing within it I agree with you, but financially and in terms of attracting players, it would be very harmful.
Of course we have dragged ourselves down into a dog fight.
And as much as I like LVG, unfortunately we may have to say goodbye to arrest this slide. The other problem of course is who we get should be able to get us top 4. Not so sure Giggs is the man for that.
I think we are in a puddle.
And as much as I like LVG, unfortunately we may have to say goodbye to arrest this slide. The other problem of course is who we get should be able to get us top 4. Not so sure Giggs is the man for that.
I think we are in a puddle.
Exactly. The one game where I truly felt we looked good this season was Everton 3-0 away.
We won't make top 4 with LvG he's lost the players.
And even then Everton were so flat after howard kendal's death i think that played as big a part as anything we did.
Statistically we are on track to score our least amount if goals in years, so I've thought that we were never certs for top 4.
I wonder what the club minimum target is considering the spend?
I wonder what the club minimum target is considering the spend?
I'd stay regardless of spend top 4 is a minimum
I was under the impression it was a title challenge, CL knockout stage, and possibly a cup.
We will find it a struggle to get top 4 if we don't make some big changes
There's nothing to be optimistic about until the board makes a change. This is worse than Moyes and if LVG is still here in May, that would be reflected in the table.
The most " i told you so" thread ever.
If this keeps up. We'll finish close to relegation.
Liverpool only 2 points behind... Has LvG been sacked yet?
Liverpool 2 points behind and they will have Man Utd at home in the second half of the season.
The signs were evident, earlier in the season. Not surprising in the slightest.
And we have Chelsea next. I can't see us winning.
We were striking lucky with a lot of wins. Our luck has well and truly run out.
I remember this thread seemed borderline ridiculous to me when it first appeared, I felt that secure about things, top 4 was a given I thought. Not anymore.
We could find ourselves 9th in the league on Monday. Ironic, how at the beginning of the month, we were only 2 points off the top.
I don't think Kendall's death was such a big deal for Everton players. I bet some of them don't even have a clue who he is. They're not very good anyway.
But yeah, we've been mostly shite this season.
Depressing. And I can't see it changing at the moment.
I'm not sure I agree with that, TBH. You do need quality players to compete but Leicester is showing the top-budgeted clubs a thing or two this year about how cash does not substitute for cohesion, organization, and effort. You would think City at this point would be winning everything but they don't because they're not exactly the best-orchestrated team on certain weeks. We've spent a fortune this summer and it's really meant nothing. It's how you fit players into the team and maximize their talents.
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In fact, there is a possibility of being 11th...
It's gonna be another battle for 4th now, and that's with a new manager. Stick with LVG and we'll have a Moyes finish.
Very concerning as the hit to our finances, etc could mean we miss out on the sort of calibre players we need to add to have a good team again.
We need to add a couple players in January, as difficult as that is.
We need to add a couple players in January, as difficult as that is.
Top 4 ??? Us ??? 
A number of teams are poised to overtake us in the very near future.
A number of teams are poised to overtake us in the very near future.