Top 4 race 2016/17

[Sandikan]

I didn't mean it's bad that they dropped points, I meant it's bad that they dropped points and we didn't make the most of the opportunity. Okay at least we drew and gained a point on Liverpool and co, but really it should be all 3.

Who thought we'd be able to catch Liverpool up by a point with our respective fixtures?! Not one soul in the place.

Therefore it's a positive.

Since when was Stoke away any sort of given?

 

[Winrar]

In fairness, I don't think anyone thought Pool would lose today!
v Chelsea, a chance, but Swansea? At home? Incredible scenes

Agreed. who would've thought their first home defeat would come from Swansea of all teams.

 

[Sandikan]

Agreed. who would've thought their first home defeat would come from Swansea of all teams.

That new manager magic strikes again!

 

[Janson]

It's not just 'one of those games though' is it? Nor does it have to happen. In fact it has happened way too many times, to just be 'one of those days'. It actually happened vs Stoke at home in the reverse fixture. The pattern of the game has usually been the same, us failing to finish our myriad of chances and one or two players choosing to have absolutely stinkers costing us.

I don't doubt we're making progress, but we are plateauing due to our poor finishing which hasn't improved. Even during our winning run we were usually scoring no more than 2 goals, whilst maybe conceding 1. All while creating a host of chances. It was fine then when we were winning, but we need to be better now. I'm not expecting to win every game and I implied so in my last post. Wins in games like today, would give us a bigger cushion against the top teams when we go to play them. If the team drastically improves the conversion rate, the scenario will equally change drastically.

We do have problems finishing chances, and it still shows from time to time despite our great run. But I am more than satisfied with how we have managed to come back to fight for fourth. Now it all depends on how we bounce back from this.

I still wouldn't say this was that similar to the first game (where we played much more fluently and created more clear chances). I felt that in this game it was less down to luck and more to it being the wrong mix of players. We still had some moments of magic today which got us chance but I felt we were much less fluent and didn't deserve to win unlike the first game.

 

[Bepi]

The top 4 race is actually a race between the 2-6 positions in the table right now. Current form is not an indicator of future performance.

Utd could use this transfer window to make a better case though, I can't see why Mou is saying you are done? He even recouped a £35m kitten to top up a splurge! Top 4 is pretty important this year, being the richest club around is a good foundation but CL needs you in and you need CL games too to accelerate your rebuilding.

 

[soad]

At a normal situation, i would be ok with a draw away at Stoke. But now it's a little bit disappointing. We're still here so 3-4-5 points are nothing. We got good fixture, its time for a new run of winnings. I think we'll be in the top 4 at the middle of february.

 

[AXVnee7]

Who thought we'd be able to catch Liverpool up by a point with our respective fixtures?! Not one soul in the place.

Therefore it's a positive.

Since when was Stoke away any sort of given?

It's not so much the fixtures, but on the balance of the game. It doesn't matter whether it was Stoke or Chelsea today, with the way we dominated the game we really should've won. It's just worse, because it is Stoke. If we just about salvaged the game on the end of a battering it wouldn't feel so bad.

It's not a positive for me (though not so much a negative either as we didn't lose) but because I already knew before hand 1 of Spurs or City was going to drop points. I didn't expect Liverpool to lose of course, but I wanted to gain ground on the others. I do expect Arsenal to win too but let's see. Again it's the way I reflect on the game that makes it feel like such a wasted opportunity. I won't dwell on it too long though, time to move on and focus on getting to Wembley for the final.

 

[Ephrem]

Its two points dropped . That's no doubt .

Liverpool slowly starting to slip off or something ? Most probably they will win against Chelsea though .

Win next week and we are again closer to both Liverpool and Man City ( Chelsea and WH ) . I'm expecting both two drop points .We have to start taking our chances before its two late.

 

[Santi_Mesut_Alexis_87]

So if we win tomorrow we go second. Not bad!

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Too tough to call right now between 2nd & 6th.

Chelsea have it wrapped up though.

 

[Manny]

2-2 is a good result for United

 

[VorZakone]

How many rounds has Utd been 6th now ?

 

[FlawlessThaw]

So if we win tomorrow we go second. Not bad!

Yeah for all of Spurs being the main challenger to Chelsea, you'll still see Arsenal ahead of close of play tomorrow.

 

[Roeindo]

We really need to use this transfer windows to bring reinforcement in. CM and LB is a priority. Seing Fellaini in the starting line up doesnt give enough confidence to win games.

 

[Adisa]

Could have been a disastrous weekend. Arsenal will probably pull away from us tomorrow but their February fixture list is fecked.

 

[Adisa]

How many rounds has Utd been 6th now ?

Since early October.

 

[GlastonSpur]

Yeah for all of Spurs being the main challenger to Chelsea, you'll still see Arsenal ahead of close of play tomorrow.

Maybe, but it's all about the fixtures. Spurs have gotten many of their hardest games out of the way now.

 

[AltiUn]

Could have been a disastrous weekend. Arsenal will probably pull away from us tomorrow but their February fixture list is fecked.

Yeah Arsenal are catchable regardless of their result tomorrow, massively uninspiring this season.

 

[ChaddyP]

Can Burnley make this weekend a little better now?!

 

[Dumbstar]

Whomever said Arsenal might drop out of top four for a change seriously need their noggin investigating. Having lost to Swansea at home and we're still only one point off Spurs but not out of top of four places this weekend at least. Was expecting a lot worse after our game.

Utd still 4 behind + the goal difference. They'll make it up in the next few weeks but then will struggle with cups and Europe restarting.

Utd, City and Spurs drawing couldn't have come at a better time. Klopp's rocket should now be firmly planted in the players' arses before the Chelsea game.

 

[Moiraine]

So it looks like a draw today wasn't so damaging at all. Things pretty much stand where they were before the weekend.

There is something seriously wrong with United in front of goal though and they are more than likely to miss out on Top-4 if they keep missing chances. Finishing in front of goal seems to have got worse. We need to play 2 upfront if Mourinho keep playing Ibrahimovic as he can be wasteful as well as brilliant. Width on the right side is going to be vital and thats what has been missing so far.

 

[Kush]

Obviously not true. Everyone drops points as we just saw. We just need to take care of our business and not engage in pre-defeatist logic.

I don't think it's pre-defeatist, rather it is realistic. You only have to go back few weeks to see how people were predicting the league table at the end of May and many knowledgeable posters put us in first position! All that on basis of our six game winning run in the Premier League. Fair to say no one thinks we're in race for the title now as Chelsea would most probably be 14pts above us tomorrow.

My point is people really overrate how good we actually are and get carried away once we've beaten few teams in a row which we should be beating anyway. Prime example being today, such an important week given in context of results yet we blew our chance and had to rely on a piece of magic to salvage a point. It's just not good enough, I've no doubt the teams near us will drop points but I worry we'll drop too many points ourselves.

 

[pascell]

Felliani starting was questionable.

Impact sub only.

Even with him on the pitch we made chances, then took him off and brought an attacking player on. We made the right changes, it was just our finishing again.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

So it looks like a draw today wasn't so damaging at all. Things pretty much stand where they were before the weekend

Yeah, league table stil not looking too bad. Only Chelsea look out of sight at this point in the season. The rest are catchable if United start converting their chances and start winning a few games in a row again

 

[Jippy]

Maybe, but it's all about the fixtures. Spurs have gotten many of their hardest games out of the way now.

Agree. I find it kind of odd that people are cheering the fact that one or both of City and Spurs would drop points today, given we still have to play both away, with no certainty of getting anything from those games.

 

[Alexrad]

Really shame we couldn't capitalize the fact that 3 teams ahead of us dropped points, only one point gained on Liverpool...

I feel that we dropped a bit but there's a nice chance to get back up in our form with the fixtures that follow. Two easy cup games then Hull home in PL to get back into grow. Then Leicester away and Watford home to follow. Win those 3 PL games and we are going to be top 4 or at worst point or 2 away then seeing how there's top 6 clash in every round of those matches.

We really need to use this transfer windows to bring reinforcement in. CM and LB is a priority. Seing Fellaini in the starting line up doesnt give enough confidence to win games.

CM is higher priority. People need to realize that, seeing how packed our schedule will be till the end of the season, Fellaini will start a lot of games and be very much involved if we don't bring anyone. It's simply not good enough, it will hurt us so much.

 

[Raoul]

I don't think it's pre-defeatist, rather it is realistic. You only have to go back few weeks to see how people were predicting the league table at the end of May and many knowledgeable posters put us in first position! All that on basis of our six game winning run in the Premier League. Fair to say no one thinks we're in race for the title now as Chelsea would most probably be 14pts above us tomorrow.

My point is people really overrate how good we actually are and get carried away once we've beaten few teams in a row which we should be beating anyway. Prime example being today, such an important week given in context of results yet we blew our chance and had to rely on a piece of magic to salvage a point. It's just not good enough, I've no doubt the teams near us will drop points but I worry we'll drop too many points ourselves.

Actually its the inverse. People underrate us, thus all the negative moaning that we wont make top four despite the fact that we're still 16 fixtures off the end and only down a few points. Its the gloom and doom bedwetters that are being unrealistic. No one expects us the win the league at this point, but lets not lose the plot and pretend we don't have a chance at top 4.

 

[Sandikan]

Its two points dropped . That's no doubt .

Liverpool slowly starting to slip off or something ? Most probably they will win against Chelsea though .

Win next week and we are again closer to both Liverpool and Man City ( Chelsea and WH ) . I'm expecting both two drop points .We have to start taking our chances before its two late.

It'd seem to fit that they're running our of steam due to their style, but we'll see.
We should have been out of sight last week before that penalty giveaway.

Mane being out, along with Coutinho being nursed back in doesn't help either. Not to mention Klopp doing wonders with a squad low on quality.

I think we can catch them for certain. I just wonder which other team we can reign in!

 

[NYAS]

Actually its the inverse. People underrate us, thus all the negative moaning that we wont make top four despite the fact that we're still 16 fixtures off the end and only down a few points. Its the gloom and doom bedwetters that are being unrealistic. No one expects us the win the league at this point, but lets not lose the plot and pretend we don't have a chance at top 4.

Do you think we'll make top 4?

 

[Sandikan]

Whomever said Arsenal might drop out of top four for a change seriously need their noggin investigating. Having lost to Swansea at home and we're still only one point off Spurs but not out of top of four places this weekend at least. Was expecting a lot worse after our game.

Utd still 4 behind + the goal difference. They'll make it up in the next few weeks but then will struggle with cups and Europe restarting.

Utd, City and Spurs drawing couldn't have come at a better time. Klopp's rocket should now be firmly planted in the players' arses before the Chelsea game.

You're right in one way, but you've gone from top to probably 10 points off tomorrow over a few weeks.
Title chances over, which seemed unlikely pre season anyway, and now in a right scuffle for top 4.

I personally didn't for a second think Arsenal or City would miss out. Chelsea are clearly romping to the title.

Leaving Tottenham and You guys to be overtaken.

I think we can overtake you guys, but Tottenham will be very hard work, unless they get a few more injuries. Both centre backs possibly out is a start.
We may very well have to win that Europa to get into the main thing next year

 

[Raoul]

Do you think we'll make top 4?

Yes

 

[Damien]

How many rounds has Utd been 6th now ?

Since MD11 (Swansea away, 6th November). Since then we've won 6 and drawn 5 matches (23 points out of 33).

Top 6 results since MD11
Chelsea: W9, L1, GF19, GA6, GD+13 (27/30)
Spurs: W8, D1, L2, GF30, GA10, GD+20 (25/33)
Man Utd: W6, D5, L0, GF17, GA8, GD+9 (23/33)
Arsenal: W6, D2, L2, GF24, GA11, GD+13 (20/30)
Liverpool: W5, D4, L2, GF21, GA13, GA+8 (19/33)
Man City: W6, D1, L4, GF18, GA18, GD0 (19/33)

 

[Theonas]

Mourinho and Guardiola obviously have the best CVs in the league but in terms of performances, I honestly don't think there has been a better coached team in the PL than Pochettino's Spurs for a good few years now. They simply look so well drilled offensively and defensively not to mention they're the most consistent team in the country over the past 18 months.

 

[Ephrem]

It'd seem to fit that they're running our of steam due to their style, but we'll see.
We should have been out of sight last week before that penalty giveaway.

Mane being out, along with Coutinho being nursed back in doesn't help either. Not to mention Klopp doing wonders with a squad low on quality.

I think we can catch them for certain. I just wonder which other team we can reign in!

Yeah...its incredible to think that even at one of our worst season we are still 4-5 points behind Spurs and Liverpool who is having their best seasons.

But I'm still a little worried about our lack of goals.

 

[royboy16]

If we took Chelsea out of the equation, the race for a title between the teams in 2nd and 6th would make a very interesting title race.

 

[Sandikan]

Yeah...its incredible to think that even at one of our worst season we are still 4-5 points behind Spurs and Liverpool who is having their best seasons.

But I'm still a little worried about our lack of goals.

It has been the story of our season. We've dominated all but a handful of games.

You have to ask though, is it better to be as we currently are, playing well, creating plenty, and scoring a low percentage, or be like VG's team, creating next to nothing, boring the sh!T out of everyone and scoring a high percentage of chances, and usually relying on world class keeping jobs from De Gea.

I'd say the former, as things turn at some stage, and the latter option used to turn to us losing comfortably.

 

[NYAS]

Yes

Can I ask what makes you think that? I accept the idea that present form is not necessarily an indicator of future performance - that can be applied to anything.

What indications give you confidence that we'll make it? The following is why I don't think we will and what I base my opinion on:

- Yes, a lot of our rivals above us play each other in the coming weeks but we always make a hash of taking advantage of their dropped points.

- When it comes to head-to-head games against the teams above us, we've only won 1 game out of 6, with 3 away games coming later in the season.

- We have one of the worst chance conversion rates in the league. We aren't clinical enough.

Chelsea, City, Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool. We'd have to finish above two of those teams and I can't see it happening. Which is why I'm very interested in the reasons people think we might make top 4, apart from meaningless lines such as "we're better than last season" and "you never know, anything can happen".

 

[Raoul]

Can I ask what makes you think that? I accept the idea that present form is not necessarily an indicator of future performance - that can be applied to anything.

What indications give you confidence that we'll make it? The following is why I don't think we will and what I base my opinion on:

- Yes, a lot of our rivals above us play each other in the coming weeks but we always make a hash of taking advantage of their dropped points.

- When it comes to head-to-head games against the teams above us, we've only won 1 game out of 6, with 3 away games coming later in the season.

- We have one of the worst chance conversion rates in the league. We aren't clinical enough.

Chelsea, City, Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool. We'd have to finish above two of those teams and I can't see it happening. Which is why I'm very interested in the reasons people think we might make top 4, apart from meaningless lines such as "we're better than last season" and "you never know, anything can happen".

Mainly because i think we are fundamentally better than the other sides and have been extremely unlucky to not get a feckload more points than we currently have - both from our finishing in the final third as well as the ridiculous amounts of time we've hit the woodwork. Our best form is yet to come and once we reach it, we will be unstoppable.

 

[D2Z]

Lose to Chelsea next week and Liverpool might drop out of the top 4. They wont make top 4 this season I believe.

 

[Leftback99]

Another poor weekend and one game less remaining to make up the ground. City and Spurs have matched our result today whilst getting a much harder fixture out of the way.