Comfortably 4th yes. 2nd - not sure. Spurs and Liverpool have equally good chances to finish 2nd right now. Much depends on their progression in the CL.
We're in a fight for 2nd
- Thread starter SalfordRed18
- Start date
- Status
Go all the way and get the best result.
Best result is almost impossible now, so get the second best one, 2nd place.
Not to use it as bragging rights or whatever, but United should always try and finish with the best result as we can.
Best result is almost impossible now, so get the second best one, 2nd place.
Not to use it as bragging rights or whatever, but United should always try and finish with the best result as we can.
Last edited:
I desperately want to finish above Pool and Spurs, but it really doesn’t matter. You get no trophy for 2nd, nobody cares two minutes after the last round is over. What matters now is the FA Cup, hopefully Chelsea and Spurs will play each other before they reach the final. Or give us Spurs at home please.
2nd or 4th it doesn't mean shit tbh. If you're not the English Champions by the end of the season the best you can hope for is CL qualification. Every after that is just a moral victory, which no one cares about (except Liverpool). Maybe with the exception of finishing 1 point or losing on goal difference.
Have we progressed? yes. Are we still under preforming given our squad? yes.
We need to win the FA Cup to save our season imo. We should be beaten Chelsea or Spurs.
Have we progressed? yes. Are we still under preforming given our squad? yes.
We need to win the FA Cup to save our season imo. We should be beaten Chelsea or Spurs.
It definitely matters to me that we finish ahead of Liverpool. Would be quite happy with the 2nd place for now.
If we win tomorrow night and beat Liverpool next week I think we'll finish second.
When did finishing second become something to reach for.
A top 4-finish in Mourinho's second season, without a proper title challenge and 0 titles is a failure. Especially when you concider the style of football that comes with the guy.
Don't see any reason why the expectations should be any lower then that.
Don't see any reason why the expectations should be any lower then that.
Under Klopp, we've finished 6th and 4th. Any higher has to be seen as an improvement. We're averaging over 2 points per game and any other season, it would see us as title challengers.
Progress this season is tough to measure because of how far away City are but both Utd and Liverpool have drastically improved from last year. Only Chelsea should be dissapointed with their current position when you take last year's final table into account (clearly Arsenal fans will be disappointed but a non-top 4 finish was expected after last year)
Progress this season is tough to measure because of how far away City are but both Utd and Liverpool have drastically improved from last year. Only Chelsea should be dissapointed with their current position when you take last year's final table into account (clearly Arsenal fans will be disappointed but a non-top 4 finish was expected after last year)
Liverpool have an easier fixtures but you never know when they are going to slip. 4-6 points from the next 2 games and we should be in good position to finish 2nd.
You misunderstand.
No one is aspiring for second.
Just saying finishing second is important in the context of this season and where we are going.
You're on pace for 78.6 points. That's very much in the 3rd place territory. I'd say to be title challengers you need to get over 84 points. Anything less and it wasn't a challenge but you were 2nd. Hell, spurs were 2nd on 86 points last season and didnt really challenge, there was always a nice gap.
Didn't Arsenal end up second the year before that too? They were never close to challenging.
When there is a 16 point gap with less than 10 games to go?
Never have been, and shouldn't start becoming something we aspire to get.
No one wants it, yet considering the context of MCity finishing first, it's better to get the next highest one than not.
Doubt any of us will celebrate and cherish it (getting a 2nd) at the end of this season.
Agree with you largely, and this is very pedantic point but do you think that DDG can be classed as a match winner? Only in that in my mind a match winner needs to be someone who directly contributes to the match winning goal. DDG is probably the best GK in the world but more of a match saver, but like I said I am being a pedant right now.
Not really bothered about a 2nd place pissing contest, the two closest to us are playing much better but who knows if the CL will have an effect. I'd settle for seeing us stick with a formation and playing some decent football for the rest of the season, as the progress is basically on paper this season, the football has been mostly garbage.
Not possible. We’re already in the quarters so if we do play Spurs it will be at Wembley either in the semis or the final (their “home”).
Liverpool are on a roll. Klopp has done a brilliant job with them. Looks like they're going to keep their foot on the gas pedal as we enter the run in. Touch and go if we can cope with them breathing down our necks. Should manage 3rd place though. I'd be disappointed if we came lower down than that tbh.
Good performances in the Champions League and vs City at the Etihad will set us up very nicely indeed for next season.
Would I rather get 4th and win the FA cup, yes. But finishing 2nd and winning the FA cup is even better. People who say they don't care if they get 2nd or 4th, would they say the same between 17th and 8th?
We shouldn't arguably finish 2nd comfortably. A win tomorrow and the difference is 2 points but Liverpool have been in better form for a while. Beat them next week and there's no reason why we shouldn't finish 2nd.
If it were Chelsea competing for 2nd or Spurs I wouldn't care really as long as we'd finish in the top 4 but I'd rather we finish above Liverpool than below them obviously.
If it were Chelsea competing for 2nd or Spurs I wouldn't care really as long as we'd finish in the top 4 but I'd rather we finish above Liverpool than below them obviously.
Straight to group stage for a 4th place finish would kill some of the edge to the 2nd - 4th place competition.
Is this 100% correct?
No matter the relative league position, we should always be up for a game against the Mickeys. Win that one and I think it will give us enough momentum to secure 2nd place. But, that in itself feels a bit 'meh'.
2nd place and an FA cup win would feel like an achievable 'good result' for the season.
Is this 100% correct?
No matter the relative league position, we should always be up for a game against the Mickeys. Win that one and I think it will give us enough momentum to secure 2nd place. But, that in itself feels a bit 'meh'.
2nd place and an FA cup win would feel like an achievable 'good result' for the season.
Even last week, Mourinho was highlighting the importance of finishing second. City are gone, nothing we can do. Much better to be able to say you're the second best.
Stuttering to fourth blows the idea that we are somehow going to compete with City for the title next season out of the water.
How can you say that while finishing below Liverpool and Spurs?
Stuttering to fourth blows the idea that we are somehow going to compete with City for the title next season out of the water.
How can you say that while finishing below Liverpool and Spurs?
Are we the 2nd best team in the country? In my opinion we are not.
2nd most consistent, maybe.
I don't want to finish behind Liverpool but second is first loser, so not that bothered.
I am more worried about us giving City a guard of honour or them winning the title against us. Apart from that, as long as we're at least 4th, FA cup and CL take priority.
I am more worried about us giving City a guard of honour or them winning the title against us. Apart from that, as long as we're at least 4th, FA cup and CL take priority.
Even if we do finish strong and spend more this summer, I’m not too confident of the bolded. I think a large part would have to be if City drops back to the pack a little. At this point, I’d settle for finishing above Liverpool (which hopefully means 2nd), competing well on all fronts, and winning a trophy next year. Just re-read what I typed, and it basically means a repeat of this season so far.
Last edited:
This. Winning a cup will be far more important in how I look back on the season. I’m not going to spend five minutes relishing having finished second once the season is over.
Of course it matters to finish as well placed as possible.
When the mentality of "2nd or 4th doesn't matter which", starts to creep into your dressing room, you will have serious problems.
End of the season, I'd be very satisfied with League Runners Up and FA Cup Winners....To my mind, that would be a successful season, and a confirmation of our progress.
For me, it shouldn't be about choosing one over the other, doing the very best that you possibly can in every competition is always the target.
When the mentality of "2nd or 4th doesn't matter which", starts to creep into your dressing room, you will have serious problems.
End of the season, I'd be very satisfied with League Runners Up and FA Cup Winners....To my mind, that would be a successful season, and a confirmation of our progress.
For me, it shouldn't be about choosing one over the other, doing the very best that you possibly can in every competition is always the target.
Fight to the end, and finish as high as we could.
If we were to go deeper into the FA Cup and CL we will probably start resting players in the league if we have top 4 wrapped up. Players like Matic and Lukaku have played a lot of games.
I want to knock a big side out of Europe. Bayern, Juve, Barce, PSG or Madrid. Would send a statement that with improvements we could seriously challenge for it next season and I want that feeling back.
I think we have the second best squad in the league so it would be par. You could maybe argue that Spurs and Liverpool have certain advantages in their starting line ups but neither has the depth of Utd. I am a little surprised by how badly Chelsea have fallen away, clearly their transfers and the transition they are undergoing through the spine of their team is causing problems. Never thought their title winning team was anything special but to go from 1st to 10th to 1st to 5th is a strange spell.
I would also like a proper European tie before this season ends. Yes, Utd won the Europa League but it was a dull run against mediocre teams, haven't had a really big European night since Bayern under Moyes.
I would also like a proper European tie before this season ends. Yes, Utd won the Europa League but it was a dull run against mediocre teams, haven't had a really big European night since Bayern under Moyes.
I care. Personally.
Even when there's no trophy runner up still get a dot in the history book.
And jose finishing 2nd would be a great psychological boost for next season, it shows that tangible wise we are moving in the right direction from 6th to 2nd.
Finishing 2nd also means jose would have more time on his hands. This place would be unbearable if we finished 4th.
It'll depends on our cl run. If we got knocked out early jose would put his eggs in the only basket there is, and with our squad and no cl to go juggling fa cup and a strong epl team won't be much of a problem. Plus we had an ok run in apart from city, which probably had won by the time we play them and hopefully they prioritise cl and rest some player since the league is well and trully in the bag bar some bizzare miracle
Even when there's no trophy runner up still get a dot in the history book.
And jose finishing 2nd would be a great psychological boost for next season, it shows that tangible wise we are moving in the right direction from 6th to 2nd.
Finishing 2nd also means jose would have more time on his hands. This place would be unbearable if we finished 4th.
It'll depends on our cl run. If we got knocked out early jose would put his eggs in the only basket there is, and with our squad and no cl to go juggling fa cup and a strong epl team won't be much of a problem. Plus we had an ok run in apart from city, which probably had won by the time we play them and hopefully they prioritise cl and rest some player since the league is well and trully in the bag bar some bizzare miracle
I don’t see much evidence to back this up. Liverpool comfortably play better football than us.
One of the main reasons we’ll finish top four is that two teams have eliminated themselves from the race (Arsenal & Chelsea) rather than us doing anything particularly special.
Our main achievement is probably our defensive record, mainly down to one man.
Don’t see much positive from this season overall.
I agree with folks who says 2nd or 4th doesn't matter, but the bold part is what bothers me the most. It clearly shows we are unable to perform in pressure situations - also, both those teams have an identity in the way they play, we don't seem to have any pattern
This place is driving me up the wall!!! “You could maybe argue”
What planet are you living on?
DDG aside, who from our 11 is getting into Liverpool’s? And be realistic, though that looks a struggle based on what you’ve said on this thread so far.
It’s possible this fits in with their overall societal approach and not just football?
Could be one of the reasons Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, OECD Better Life Index, and The Democracy Index.
And before you say, “all that for handing out 2nd and 3rd place medals”, no.
Of course we will go for second. Everything else is diluting the winning mentality of the team. You are winning over every team you are above.
- Status