We're in a fight for 2nd

[charlenefan]

If this stat is true then we will finish second, I checked for last season and we were 6th after Game Week 12 n we ended up 6th. We were 2nd this season after GW12

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As I've said before anything less than 2nd will be disappointing now

 

[Hawks2008]

I think the fact we have to fight for second after having a comfortable gap between us and Liverpool/Spurs/Chelsea earlier just shows our inconsistency. Anything other than 2nd place is a bad finish at this stage.

 

[shaky]

We have improved yes, and Jose's done some things right. But the fact is, Chelsea and Arsenal have regressed, making Top 4 easier.

If we finish above Liverpool and Spurs, I will agree that it is an improvement. But if we just scrape 4th over Chelsea and Arsenal, then it is actually below par.

City and Liverpool have improved a lot though. I'd say the overall quality of the top 6 is far higher now than last season.

 

[B20]

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

This is why I am vested in where we finish this season.

I think there's a difference between finishing 2nd with 80+ points and setting a challenge of making the next step up; and finishing 4th comfortably and then having to eye 1st from there.

 

[RobinLFC]

This is why I am vested in where we finish this season.

I think there's a difference between finishing 2nd with 80+ points and setting a challenge of making the next step up; and finishing 4th comfortably and then having to eye 1st from there.

20/27 would be a reasonable return for our remaining games, which would only give us 4 points more than last year. Not exactly a huge step up imo although it feels like our performances have been more 'steady' this season.

 

[noodlehair]

I don't think it makes much difference and if top four is fairly secure, which might happen with Chelsea's form, then I expect Jose will start focusing more on the CL, presuming we're still in it. Same applies to Klopp.

Would rather finish 2nd than 4th obviously but there's really not much point trying to pretend there's some great element of importance in doing so. That would make us Tottenham. No one wants to be Tottenham.

I think the top four at the moment is the best four teams this season anyway...debatable which order you want to put United, Liverpool and Spurs in, and expect they'll all be fairly close together whichever way it ends up. Though United are currently the ones who look like they need a kick up the backside.

 

[Cliche Guevara]

Look at it this way, we’re now in a title fight with Spurs and Liverpool. We absolutely have to win that!

Yeah, you don’t get a trophy for coming second but that’s absolutely irrelevant.

We’ve been second all season and to not finish second now would be failure. Why would anyone be happy for United to fail?

We need to prove we are better than those teams and, more importantly, prove we are capable of bettering those teams in a relative league head-to-head.

Not to mention the psychological impact of a Man United likely to improve next season, finishing above a possible peaked Spurs and Liverpool.

Ultimately it’s not so much the league table at the end of the season, but having the capability to finish ahead of those other teams.

And it is actually about the league table, who the feck ever wants to finish behind Liverpool and Spurs? Have some pride!

 

[Varun]

If top 4 is secure, every manager worth his salt will rest some players before the CL games. It's just common sense. Other than that, we should and will go into every game putting our best team out.

 

[SirAF]

If top 4 is secure, every manager worth his salt will rest some players before the CL games. It's just common sense. Other than that, we should and will go into every game putting our best team out.

Absolutely. If they beat Sevilla I would expect players to be rested ahead of the QF, as long as top four isn't looking iffy.

 

[RedDevil@84]

We obviously need to finish 2nd, to show that we are best of the rest. But in the event that we finish 3rd or 4th and qualify for CL as per the new rules, it is hardly terrible.
It is not like we have a St Totteringham's day or something.

 

[The Brown Bull]

If we win a trophy and beat Liverpool next Saturday I won’t care where in the top 4 we finish.

 

[theREDMAN]

The next 3 league games are massive. Beating Palace today and then Liverpool on Saturday would really bring me peace of mind concerning top 4. Chelsea seem to be in a bit of a mess right now and I think the main players are turning on him the way they did Jose. It is still to close to focus only on Champions League like we did Europa last season. I would like to see us win the next 4 games and finish this season with some momentum and maybe a trophy or 2 if we are lucky. Anything can happen once you get to the last 8 in a cup competition.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

I think the fact we have to fight for second after having a comfortable gap between us and Liverpool/Spurs/Chelsea earlier just shows our inconsistency. Anything other than 2nd place is a bad finish at this stage.

At which point did we ever have a comfortable gap? Chelsea and recently Liverpool have always been on our tail.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

The key is to show some consistency, especially in our attacking play. If we fail to show up against Liverpool the encouraging 2nd half against Chelsea won't mean much.

I don't quite trust this team. Need to see more assured, cohesive performances on a consistent basis, especially against strong opponents.

I'm not talking about looking pretty but about putting in convincing team performances.

 

[Bobski]

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.

Planet Earth fellow, certainly not one where I think this Liverpool team is full of incredible talent. They have a well matched attacking line up and are more than the sum of their parts, those 2 go hand in hand but outside their front 3 I think Utd have the clear advantage, even then you could make arguments for Sanchez and Lukaku. Sanchez especially would look great in their set up, while Klopp would probably prefer Firmino's all round game.

Karius
Robertson
Lovren
VVD
Gomez/AA
Can
Henderson
Chamberlain

I think Utd have the better defensive options, VVD has a lot to prove, Lovren would be fighting with Lindelof and Rojo for a place on the bench at Utd, Roberston under Mou would probably be sitting on the bench just like Shaw while I would take Valencia over their RB options.

In Midfield I like Can, very good all rounder, certainly would be an upgrade on McTominay/Herrera, but Henderson/Wijnaldum/Chamberlain, little exceptional there, Pogba and Matic should be the class of this group.

A question like who from Utd's 11 is getting into Liverpool's is odd to me. What has happened this season to suggest that Liverpool are so clearly superior, talent wise, to Utd? A more cohesive and entertaining team yes, but that is not the question.

 

[Cliche Guevara]

Who from Liverpool would get into the United team?

Definitely Salah...

 

[shamans]

Who from Liverpool would get into the United team?

Definitely Salah...

I would take their whole attack over ours.

 

[Adisa]

At which point did we ever have a comfortable gap? Chelsea and recently Liverpool have always been on our tail.

Not Chelsea but certainly Liverpool and Spurts.
We were 8 and 10 points clear of both as recently as January.

 

[Adisa]

I would take their whole attack over ours.

Won't be surprised to see their attack struggle over here but that's for another thread.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Not Chelsea but certainly Liverpool and Spurts.
We were 8 and 10 points clear of both as recently as January.

Yeah, but we never had a comfortable gap in 2nd place, no matter who it was there was always someone very close to us. I disagree with this idea that we've always had 2nd place in the bag and at some point, we've suddenly lost form. We've always been like this throughout the season. 2nd Place was never comfortable for us it's just that we've clinged onto it the longest, we were dropping and gaining points inconsistently throughout.

January:
Week 22, 1 point clear of Chelsea, 3 of Liverpool.
Week 23, 3 points clear of both Chelsea and Liverpool.
Week 24, 3 points clear of Chelsea, 6 of Liverpool.
Week 25, 3 points clear of both Chelsea and Liverpool.

Hardly comfortable.

 

[Mrob777]

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.

Surely you jest? There are a good handful of players that could easily seam into Liverpool’s starting XI.

De Gea

TAA VVD Bailey Robertson

Pogba Can

Salah Sanchez Mane

Firmino

You could even make a case for a fully fit Herrera and Shaw. Also depending on how you wanted to play you could swap Pogba and Sanchez and replace Sanchez with Milner for a more engine in the midfield. Unfortunately I wouldn’t have Mourinho as the manager. Klopp for me would get the best out of the players and would be a very entertaining team to watch.

 

[el3mel]

Yeah, but we never had a comfortable gap in 2nd place, no matter who it was there was always someone very close to us. I disagree with this idea that we've always had 2nd place in the bag and at some point, we've suddenly lost form. We've always been like this throughout the season.

January:
Week 22, 1 point clear of Chelsea.
Week 23, 3 points clear of Chelsea and Liverpool.
Week 24, 3 points clear of Chelsea, 6 of Liverpool.
Week 25, 3 points clear of Chelsea and Liverpool.

Agree. The thing that changed is Chelsea fall and Liverpool and Spurs rose up, but we were always 1-3 points away from 2nd spot. The 3rd spot is the one who changed. It's fairly normal anyway.

 

[Adisa]

Yeah, but we never had a comfortable gap in 2nd place, no matter who it was there was always someone very close to us. I disagree with this idea that we've always had 2nd place in the bag and at some point, we've suddenly lost form. We've always been like this throughout the season. 2nd Place was never comfortable for us it's just that we've clinged onto it the longest, we were dropping and gaining points inconsistently throughout.

January:
Week 22, 1 point clear of Chelsea, 3 of Liverpool.
Week 23, 3 points clear of both Chelsea and Liverpool.
Week 24, 3 points clear of Chelsea, 6 of Liverpool.
Week 25, 3 points clear of both Chelsea and Liverpool.

Hardly comfortable.

Sorry, was thinking about December when the table was

2. Manchester United 35 (26)
3. Chelsea 32 (16)
4. Liverpool 29 (14)
5. Arsenal 28 (10)
6. Tottenham Hotspur 25 (10)

 

[JDoe]

Surely you jest? There are a good handful of players that could easily seam into Liverpool’s starting XI.

De Gea

TAA VVD Bailey Robertson

Pogba Can

Salah Sanchez Mane

Firmino

You could even make a case for a fully fit Herrera and Shaw. Also depending on how you wanted to play you could swap Pogba and Sanchez and replace Sanchez with Milner for a more engine in the midfield. Unfortunately I wouldn’t have Mourinho as the manager. Klopp for me would get the best out of the players and would be a very entertaining team to watch.

I'd even go further and say Valencia would start over TAA, at least currently, and Matic would definitively start over Can if he is anywhere near top-form, Can is not a typical Klopp midfielder and surely not as the deep sitting one even though he has been deployed as such over time. I could also see Martial starting ahead of Mané if Klopp gets the best out of him. Lukaku would be dropped simply because Firmino is the much better fit for his system. So that'd be something like:

--------------DDG--------------
Valencia-VVD-Bailly-Robertson/Young/Shaw
----------Pogba-Matic----------
Salah-----Sanchez---Mané/Martial
------------Firmino-------------

or

--------------DDG--------------
Valencia-VVD-Bailly-Robertson/Young/Shaw
----------Can-Matic----------
Salah------Pogba-----Sanchez
------------Firmino-------------

 

[ZAGREB RED]

I think it's between United and Liverpool for second spot, Spurs to a lesser extent. Chelsea will finish 5th most likely, Arsenal are nowhere.

 

[Cliche Guevara]

I would take their whole attack over ours.

Not a chance!

 

[Red Royal]

IF we win tonight, then I wonder how Jose will set up against Liverpool. Will he try to stifle them and hope to nick a goal or put their backline under pressure to ser how it copes. History tells us it will be the former but I somehow think Jose may spring a surprise. With Seville in mind, could be a good game to get Rashford a central role up top. A win would be great and set us up pschologicaĺy really well for the final part of the Season. can't wait!

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Who from Liverpool would get into the United team?

Definitely Salah...

Just Salah for me, very clinical finisher since our finishing is hit and miss this season. Also Firmino since he's useful leading the line and his high workrate.

 

[ghagua]

I'm looking forward to that 2nd place trophy.

 

[buckooo1978]

a combined 11 is difficult

you have that Liverpool attack that is fantastic and very talented players that fit into a system that helps them create lots of chances

you have a United side with a tactical approach that is dominated by being solid and relying on individuals

on paper the team for me would be (based on form/ability)

-----------------------------De Gea-------------------------------
Valencia---------VVD------------------Bailly---------Robertson
-----------------------------Matic--------------------------------
---------------------Herrera--------Pogba-----------------------
Salah----------------------Firmino------------------Sanchez

hard not to pick Mane but Sanchez is superb - tho we've yet to see the best of him

 

[Pexbo]

a combined 11 is difficult

you have that Liverpool attack that is fantastic and very talented players that fit into a system that helps them create lots of chances

you have a United side with a tactical approach that is dominated by being solid and relying on individuals

on paper the team for me would be (based on form/ability)

-----------------------------De Gea-------------------------------
Valencia---------VVD------------------Bailly---------Robertson
-----------------------------Matic--------------------------------
---------------------Herrera--------Pogba-----------------------
Salah----------------------Firmino------------------Sanchez

hard not to pick Mane but Sanchez is superb - tho we've yet to see the best of him

Herrera has no place being in this conversation.

 

[RMD83]

I’m amazed how many people are claiming very few of our players would make the Liverpool starting 11. Liverpool are playing beyond the sum of their parts and you have to give credit to Klopp for that. Man for man our starting 11 and squad is miles ahead of theirs. The front 3 of salah, mane and firmino are in fine form and have great chemistry together, that said our front 3 of Sanchez, lukaku and martial is hardly something to be sniffed at although undoubtedly they have not gelled like their front 3. Beyond that they have a decent midfield at best and an appalling defence with the addition of VVD who has hardly been in great form since he joined. The negativity on here at times is sensational.

 

[pixel]

I don't think it makes much difference and if top four is fairly secure, which might happen with Chelsea's form, then I expect Jose will start focusing more on the CL, presuming we're still in it. Same applies to Klopp.

Would rather finish 2nd than 4th obviously but there's really not much point trying to pretend there's some great element of importance in doing so. That would make us Tottenham. No one wants to be Tottenham.

I think the top four at the moment is the best four teams this season anyway...debatable which order you want to put United, Liverpool and Spurs in, and expect they'll all be fairly close together whichever way it ends up. Though United are currently the ones who look like they need a kick up the backside.

Not buying that. After spending truckloads, mocking how klopp doesn't have any defensive nous, the whole '2nd year is Jose's year', we can't even finish 2nd behind city, then a) there is something massively wrong in how we are doing things, and b) it would be a huge confidence boost to whomsoever finishes 2nd for the next season. If City had been in our shoes, struggling to finish 2nd, we would have rightly laughed at them.

 

[Adisa]

I’m amazed how many people are claiming very few of our players would make the Liverpool starting 11. Liverpool are playing beyond the sum of their parts and you have to give credit to Klopp for that. Man for man our starting 11 and squad is miles ahead of theirs. The front 3 of salah, mane and firmino are in fine form and have great chemistry together, that said our front 3 of Sanchez, lukaku and martial is hardly something to be sniffed at although undoubtedly they have not gelled like their front 3. Beyond that they have a decent midfield at best and an appalling defence with the addition of VVD who has hardly been in great form since he joined. The negativity on here at times is sensational.

This is how I see it. If both clubs substitutes players, we'd be asking for Martial, Lukaku and Sanchez. Grass looking greener and all that.
I'm not convinced Salah, Mane and Firminho would look anywhere near has good if the were playing here.
We have some quality attackers. I have no doubt about it.

 

[Bobski]

I’m amazed how many people are claiming very few of our players would make the Liverpool starting 11. Liverpool are playing beyond the sum of their parts and you have to give credit to Klopp for that. Man for man our starting 11 and squad is miles ahead of theirs. The front 3 of salah, mane and firmino are in fine form and have great chemistry together, that said our front 3 of Sanchez, lukaku and martial is hardly something to be sniffed at although undoubtedly they have not gelled like their front 3. Beyond that they have a decent midfield at best and an appalling defence with the addition of VVD who has hardly been in great form since he joined. The negativity on here at times is sensational.

Multi-faceted at that.

You have those who think Utd are shit, top to bottom, those who jump on the players to avoid criticizing Mourinho and those who jump on Mourinho to avoid criticizing the players. Add in all the individual player against player agendas and it can be hard to keep track of it all.

 

[buckooo1978]

Herrera has no place being in this conversation.

I've picked him based on the balance of that team - probably shouldn't have picked him on this years form but that midfield was superb against Everton and I think the balance is right

I also like the guy a lot which heavily flavoured my pick

 

[hasanejaz88]

20/27 would be a reasonable return for our remaining games, which would only give us 4 points more than last year. Not exactly a huge step up imo although it feels like our performances have been more 'steady' this season.

You have to take into account how much the EPL has improved from last season in general, that has especially taken its toll in Liverpool's games against the top 4. The record last year compared to this year is vastly different. Also you had the UCL to deal with, so all in all even if the difference is 4 points come the end, I think Liverpool wouldve done better.

Last year was also very volatile, with the exceptional first half and then the dramatic decline at the turn of the year. This year has been more consistent, which is a positive sign.

 

[Jim Beam]

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.

So you decided to make it better by creating the most stupid post in the thread?

 

[Cliche Guevara]

I’m amazed how many people are claiming very few of our players would make the Liverpool starting 11. Liverpool are playing beyond the sum of their parts and you have to give credit to Klopp for that. Man for man our starting 11 and squad is miles ahead of theirs. The front 3 of salah, mane and firmino are in fine form and have great chemistry together, that said our front 3 of Sanchez, lukaku and martial is hardly something to be sniffed at although undoubtedly they have not gelled like their front 3. Beyond that they have a decent midfield at best and an appalling defence with the addition of VVD who has hardly been in great form since he joined. The negativity on here at times is sensational.

I couldn’t agree more. Beyond their front three, who the team is fully set-up to support, they are a bit pish.

 

[B20]

I’m amazed how many people are claiming very few of our players would make the Liverpool starting 11. Liverpool are playing beyond the sum of their parts and you have to give credit to Klopp for that. Man for man our starting 11 and squad is miles ahead of theirs. The front 3 of salah, mane and firmino are in fine form and have great chemistry together, that said our front 3 of Sanchez, lukaku and martial is hardly something to be sniffed at although undoubtedly they have not gelled like their front 3. Beyond that they have a decent midfield at best and an appalling defence with the addition of VVD who has hardly been in great form since he joined. The negativity on here at times is sensational.

VVD had a few wobbles in the first few games and has otherwise been majestic. Robertson has been quality as well.

"hardly something to be sniffed at" doesn't change the fact that none of them have actually shown themselves to be better, except sanchez who has been off all season.