We're in a fight for 2nd

[SalfordRed18]

And tbh, arguably should be comfortably 2nd.

Regardless of that though, if you said to me at the beginning of the season, with 10 games to go would you take being in the hunt for 2nd? I'd have said yes, means we're a lot better.

We are a lot better.

I'd even argue in a normal season we'd be the hunt for the title, too. This united team could have won the previous 2 seasons IMO. It's clear improvement.

Hell I would have even taken 3rd. This will be only our 2nd top 4 finish since SAF retired.

It's impressive and the right direction.

Anyone disagree?

 

[Paxi]

Meh. As long as we get top 3 and don't have to qualify for the CL via a 2 legs.

 

[BarcaSpurs]

Meh. As long as we get top 3 and don't have to qualify for the CL via a 2 legs.

4th auto-qualifies for the group stage now.

 

[Guy Incognito]

2nd, 3rd, 4th, does it really matter these days? If the ultimate aim is to qualify for CL football?

 

[whatwha]

4th auto-qualifies for the group stage now.

Has that change come into effect already? Cool.

 

[Paxi]

4th auto-qualifies for the group stage now.

When did that change? If so then I couldn't care what position we finish. 2-4. Concentrate on FA cup and Champions League. Unlikely, I know, but Liverpool, Porto, Chelsea, so I guess anything is possible in Cup competitions.

 

[IRELANDUNITED]

I think Liverpool will finish there and we'll be 3rd or 4th. I wont be too bothered anyway, we need to focus on the Champions League and FA cup.

 

[Water Melon]

Have we improved? Yes. Have our title hopes increased? Now. We need to beat City and become champions that is the task.

 

[Android1974]

Yeah, while Champions League's in stake and the FA Cup, it should top getting 2nd, nevertheless, it is still important and prestigious. Mentally, I'm not seeing us challenging for the title after we finish 4th.

 

[SirAF]

As long as CL football is secured then it doesn’t really matter if you’re 2nd or 4th.

Yes, massive improvement either way!

 

[PoTMS]

Not to be crude, but who gives a shit? I don't think we'll finish second either but as long as we finish top four, I could care less about the PL. You may say rival fans will have bragging rights but again, I'm not arsed. They don't give trophies for finishing second. I'll leave the bragging rights for the real trophies.

 

[Adisa]

Finishing anything below second is poor imo.
We spent large parts of the season making fun of Liverpool. For them to finish above us, considering what we've spent and how far we need to go to catch City will be hugely disappointing.
We were 8/10 clear of Liverpool and Spurs at different stages his season.
Finishing below any of them suggest we aren't making sufficient progress imo.

 

[Chicharo]

Yeah, I wouldn't like us losing against Liverpool and Shitty, but 2. or 4. doesn't really matter.
Let's somehow try to win the CL.

 

[spiriticon]

We've been in a fight for second since the end of December. Gotta finish above Liverpool. I'm going to hate it if we don't.

 

[Adisa]

Furthermore, it's not like Liverpool or Spurs don't have CL aspirations this season as well.
Considering the narrative of how the season has gone, I'd say we have to finish second.

 

[Akshay]

It's the right direction and there is improvement, but I wanted a title challenge this season and we haven't got that. Even without City's ridiculous form we dropped the ball over the winter period. We're still in the FA cup though and could go deep in the CL depending on who we draw.

A strong end to the season with a 2nd place finish and a trophy and I'd be happy.

 

[SirAF]

Not to be crude, but who gives a shit? I don't think we'll finish second either but as long as we finish top four, I could care less about the PL. You may say rival fans will have bragging rights but again, I'm not arsed. They don't give trophies for finishing second. I'll leave the bragging rights for the real trophies.

This.

Actually, in Norway they literally hand out medals for 2nd and 3rd place - which is a fecking disgrace. The media are always talking about who will get silver and bronze ffs

 

[Schmiznurf]

To those not caring, do you really want to finish beneath Liverpool?

 

[Sanche7]

I disagree with people who say it doesn't matter if we are 2nd,3rd or 4th.
I mean yeah all of those 3 positions offer money and CL place but as Mourinho said now it's all about pride.

We might finish 15 points behind City, but we are right at their tails when they look down.Yes our season might not have been as good as expected and our play isn't top notch yet, but despite that, when Spurs, Pool and Chelski look up, they should see us, above them.

And I'm sure it would feel different for the players, management and the board too, finishing in the top 3 after 5 years.And not having to scrape for a narrow top four finish could help us focus more on the CL if we manage to go to the later levels.

We are Manchester United, one of the most prestigious clubs in the world.Hell yeah it matters if we finish 2nd or not.

 

[Ashley R1+O]

We need to beat City and become champions that is the task.

To be pedantic we don't really need to beat City as we only play them twice. We need other teams to beat them, in turn we need to beat those other teams a lot more.

Psychologically, if any player in our squad can't get themselves up to finish second for personal pride then they should walk out the door. We need to finish as high as we can every season and take stock of it. Silverware or none.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I disagree with people who say it doesn't matter if we are 2nd,3rd or 4th.
I mean yeah all of those 3 positions offer money and CL place but as Mourinho said now it's all about pride.

We might finish 15 points behind City, but we are right at their tails when they look down.Yes our season might not have been as good as expected and our play isn't top notch yet, but despite that, when Spurs, Pool and Chelski look up, they should see us, above them.

And I'm sure it would feel different for the players, management and the board too, finishing in the top 3 after 5 years.And not having to scrape for a narrow top four finish could help us focus more on the CL if we manage to go to the later levels.

We are Manchester United, one of the most prestigious clubs in the world.Hell yeah it matters if we finish 2nd or not.

We have to win tomorrow and then beat Liverpool next weekend. Then it is just keeping our focus. I want 2nd and a cup. Our players should be enjoying winning trophies. Ideally in our dreams a CL win would be something else. Just imagine City's parade and then what we could produce for a CL win.

 

[BluesJr]

Finishing anything below second is poor imo.
We spent large parts of the season making fun of Liverpool. For them to finish above us, considering what we've spent and how far we need to go to catch City will be hugely disappointing.
We were 8/10 clear of Liverpool and Spurs at different stages his season.
Finishing below any of them suggest we aren't making sufficient progress imo.

This is correct.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

To be pedantic we don't really need to beat City as we only play them twice. We need other teams to beat them, in turn we need to beat those other teams a lot more.

Psychologically, if any player in our squad can't get themselves up to finish second for personal pride then they should walk out the door. We need to finish as high as we can every season and take stock of it. Silverware or none.

Exactly and only Liverpool have been up to the task this season in the league. You would hope that teams might actually come up with some sort of plan to negate their play next season. Of course it would be nice to go to their place and beat them, just to be party poopers.

 

[Water Melon]

To be pedantic we don't really need to beat City as we only play them twice. We need other teams to beat them, in turn we need to beat those other teams a lot more.

Psychologically, if any player in our squad can't get themselves up to finish second for personal pride then they should walk out the door. We need to finish as high as we can every season and take stock of it. Silverware or none.

Pedantic and correct. So here's hoping we do better than City next season.

 

[Minimalist]

Mentally I think it'll be damaging for next season if we let Liverpool beat us at Old Trafford and finish above us.

 

[christinaa]

I couldn't care less if we finish 2nd to 4th, but those positions are still not 100% confirmed.

 

[Ashley R1+O]

Pedantic and correct. So here's hoping we do better than City next season.

Unless you meant an all encompassing "we need to beat City" as in we are playing them in a duel slugging it out and we need to do everything we can to finish above them (to beat them). Then that is correct as well, but we need to drop less points against the middle teams and ensure we take maximum points from the promoted teams. So far I believe we've dropped 6 points against them at the least.

 

[Raoul]

And tbh, arguably should be comfortably 2nd.

Regardless of that though, if you said to me at the beginning of the season, with 10 games to go would you take being in the hunt for 2nd? I'd have said yes, means we're a lot better.

We are a lot better.

I'd even argue in a normal season we'd be the hunt for the title, too. This united team could have won the previous 2 seasons IMO. It's clear improvement.

Hell I would have even taken 3rd. This will be only our 2nd top 4 finish since SAF retired.

It's impressive and the right direction.

Anyone disagree?

We will finish 2nd and be well positioned for a massive assault on all trophies next year. Short of winning the league this year, which was never in the cards given City's record pace points tally, we are definitely moving back up into striking distance of taking the league next year.

 

[Hammondo]

Considering the money we have spent yes it does matter.

 

[JustFootballFan]

This.

Actually, in Norway they literally hand out medals for 2nd and 3rd place - which is a fecking disgrace. The media are always talking about who will get silver and bronze ffs

Looking at the medal table from the Winter Olympics, these five million Norwegians really need to get their act together with their loser mentality. They all seem to have asthma, too.

 

[Sanche7]

We have to win tomorrow and then beat Liverpool next weekend. Then it is just keeping our focus. I want 2nd and a cup. Our players should be enjoying winning trophies. Ideally in our dreams a CL win would be something else. Just imagine City's parade and then what we could produce for a CL win.

I can see us going all in for the FA Cup but CL, I don't think we have the quality.
The problem is we don't have a strength or an area without weakness.
Defense - 32 y/o wingers and injury prone CBs
Midfield - lack of depth and inconsistent star midfielder
Attack - an attack which hasn't gelled, again inconsistent

If you have a very strong attack or a very strong defense and good enough attack you have a shot at the CL.And for that reason I don't see us progressing much further.
But we have Mou, if anyone can he can
And we have match winners - DDG, Pogba, Sanchez Martial and Lukaku
So maybe, if the starts align, maybe

 

[SirAF]

Looking at the medal table from the Winter Olympics, these five million Norwegians really need to get their act together with their loser mentality. They all seem to have asthma, too.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

We will finish 2nd and be well positioned for a massive assault on all trophies next year. Short of winning the league this year, which was never in the cards given City's record pace points tally, we are definitely moving back up into striking distance of taking the league next year.

If we hit some form and play well till the end of the season, we could finish with 85 points or thereabouts. That'd be a very good platform going into next season.

 

[idmanager]

Finishing second matters only as long as we were anywhere close to a title race for at least more than half the season.

As long as we qualify for Europe and have a strong showing in Europe, the specific league position wouldn't matter to me.

 

[Raoul]

If we hit some form and play well till the end of the season, we could finish with 85 points or thereabouts. That'd be a very good platform going into next season.

Agreed. We will be better off in terms of points, league position, and general play - but Mourinho still has to get the balance right and get us playing in a galvanized manner. More squad cohesion and another player or two in the summer should sort that out imo.

 

[Rado_N]

Denying Spurs and Glaston of the "finished above United Cup" would be nice.

 

[Seveneric]

If I recall correctly, most fans pick at the start of the season was that United would compete for the title and finish in the top 4, to count as a 'satisfactory' PL season.

United of course failed on the competing for the title part, thanks to City running away with it, but will meet the top 4 finish objective. So, I doubt anyone should be disappointed.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Remaining 10 games.

(March)
Crystal Palace
Liverpool
West Ham
Swansea

(April)
MCity
West Brom
Bournemouth
Arsenal

(May)
Brighton
Watford

 

[Adisa]

As @Raoul said, it's also about momentum going into next season where we are expected to challenge City.
Stuttering to 4th doesn't bode well for next season.

 

[JinnerJamie]

2nd in the league with at least a Quater Final in the CL and an FA Cup win would be a good season.