Absolutely. Agree with every word here. Though I didn't think Liverpool would drop off quite to the extent they did. I thought we'd end up closer to them and City, but that they would be the team who would be closest to City.
My target for us this season (on the proviso that Sancho was signed) was that we'd get 75+ points and be in the Top 4 with a cup win or two. As it turns out, we're on course for that target and we didn't end up buying him, and I'd actually go further and say, like
@SadlerMUFC said, we've done it with essentially the same First XI that we had last season.
Of course, it's not all been plain sailing, and I think since that Everton equaliser hit us like a dagger (and pretty much ended any semi-realistic hopes we had of winning the title), we've not been the same team that we were when we really got into our groove during November to January. But in spite of that, we've been getting the results by and large, that our play deserved. Playing a game every three to four days, almost non-stop since June, having had no preseason and a shocker of a transfer window where literally none of our first team priorities were resolved, I think this drop off was bound to happen. The good thing is, rather than it being a string of losses, it was a string of draws, which points to some backbone being apparent in this team.