And we wouldn't be parading a 4th place finish either.
Finishing 4th once every few years or so is meaningless. No one remembers that we finished 4th that year under Van Gaal.
Trophies please.
Never said we would parade a 4th place finish.
IMO there are only two trophies that really matter currently. The league title, and the Champions League.
FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup don't come close, and the latter is only worth going all out for because of the Champions League qualification, which is equal to finishing in the top 4.
Managers have often stated that summer recruitment is dependent on CL qualification, many players are quoted saying they want to be playing in it the next season. Whilst you're right that nobody remembers who finished 4th in such-and-such year, a CL qualification can sometimes be the difference between signing a decent player or a very good player, as well as keeping your best players. There are exceptions of course, and United have defied that (most probably because of the wages it can pay) but a lot of the best players want to be playing in it and expect to be playing in it. A Champions League qualification can very much be a platform for moving forwards. Liverpool for example, I believe their summer recruitment will be very different if they end up finishing 5th instead of 4th. I don't see top players joining them without CL football on offer.
I personally think finishing 4th will hugely important to Liverpool, and I'd bet any Liverpool fan would prefer that to winning the League Cup or FA Cup this season.
If Liverpool qualify for the CL, and we lose the EL final, have we had a better season than them because we won the League Cup? I wouldn't say so.