Form Table

Injuries, lack of creativity (Greenwood/Bruno), Ole getting to know the players/squad....lots of variables which are seemingly being addressed as the season has gone on. Long may it continue.

I don't think there is a great difference between us and City when we are at full strength. The key difference is that they have superior squad depth to us.

The problem is that City are off the pace this season and are currently 21 points behind whatever that team it was who won the title (The brain bleach is working). If they show equal from next season then they won't be challenging for a title next season either. I think that we really need to look at the form we have produced since February as what we need to achieve constantly if we are to challenge going forward. To do that we need to strengthen the squad.

Telling as you say. Yet there are still some people who’d sack Ole, baffles me.

Motorman said:

Absolutely. As has been pointed out many times, the team now compared to this time last year is night and day. Even without signings, the development of players also is a huge difference.

I would love to build on what we have done this year, and I would fancy our chances.

I would fancy our chances against any team in Europe at the moment, the way we are playing!

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Yep, it’s very hard not to get carried away at the moment.

M Bison said:

Telling as you say. Yet there are still some people who’d sack Ole, baffles me.

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Surely there is no-one, even on redcafe who right now would sack him.

Open question - would anyone be brave enough to admit they would?

What's the intention behind this thread?

Motorman said:

Last 5 games: United 1st (2 points ahead of City)
Last 10 games: United 1st (3 points ahead of City)
Last 15 games: United 3rd (1 point off City)
Last 20 games: United 3rd (joint points with City-2nd)
Last 25 games: United 3rd (2 points off City)

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Last 30 games?

Odd, where's Leicester and Chelsea? 4th and 5th?

Or is this only comparing three teams?

Ish said:

Injuries, lack of creativity (Greenwood/Bruno), Ole getting to know the players/squad....lots of variables which are seemingly being addressed as the season has gone on. Long may it continue.

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This, pretty much.

Why are you putting City as benchmark ? The team who is having one of the worst seasons in years. Put Liverpool as the benchmark and will know how much behind are we.

We are not challenging next year. A comfortable top 3 should be our target next season and in 21/22 we should be ready for the title challenge.

Sandikan said:

Surely there is no-one, even on redcafe who right now would sack him.

Open question - would anyone be brave enough to admit they would?

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I would hope not, but would not be surprised if there were.

Many of the positive signs under Ole have been there well back into last season, it wasn’t enough when the Ole-poll was opened up until recently.

Things are clicking now and the groundwork Ole has laid is baring fruit with Bruno added and Pogba back fit (with Greenwood coming through.)

I cant wait until our next game and I love Ole for bringing that feeling back.

Motorman said:

Unless we basically won every game this year, we wouldn't have caught Liverpool. There is no point in comparing to them this year, they've had a freak season.

I dont think they will have it as much their way next year.

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Was last season a freak season too?

Skills said:

Was last season a freak season too?

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And the season before (17/18) City got 100 points. Basically for 3 seasons in a row now, the winners had ~100 points. We don't know if it'll be the same next season, but it's highly probable and nowhere near "freak" incidence.

MadMike said:

And the season before (17/18) City got 100 points. Basically for 3 seasons in a row now, the winners had ~100 points. We don't know if it'll be the same next season, but it's highly probable and nowhere near "freak" incidence.

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And Chelsea got 93 the year before that. 90+ points is the standard to win the league now

Motorman said:

I agree entirely, love watching us play. Actually enjoyment throughout watching us pick through teams. In the past we would aimlessly pass around, with no attacking threat. Now we feel it is just a matter of time before we break through. Great stuff.

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Yeah exactly, we’ve got our identity back and we are all about attacking, feels like a United team for the first time in six years

Random Task said:

This, pretty much.

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Yeah we’re gaining momentum and going from strength to strength. Long may it continue.

Since the restart we have played our best football in years, almost since a decade.

I have really enjoyed the movements and the combinations up front. We can see something is happening and we are playing fantastic attacking football.

I had that feeling in some games with Ole like in the first half against city away this year where we dismanteled them but it was never that controlled and more then half a game.

I really don't care about the alternative table or how far away we are from the title. It'll come in time, we just have to focus on our performances on the pitch and enjoy the football.

We had some few good games and people speak already about the title. It is the best way to be disappointed I feel. We lack quality players in the squad still.

I will just enjoy the football for now and hope to see a good game as much as possible next season.

I'll not forget that we are the youngest squad in the PL and that a lot of players are still learning . So I will not have to call for Ole's head if we have a bad run next year.

Football is supposed to be fun, I am rediscovering it actually and I realise that the rest is kind of secondary.

I for one don't subscribe to this narrative where we are far off City and Liverpool. I just find pundits perpetrating this nonsense lazy and this narrative is carried over to the public hence why all over the internet you'd see people writing how far off we are from City or Pool. I like to judge teams by what I'm seeing, not a narrative portrayed by the media.

Of course Liverpool over the course of the entire season have been miles better than us(as reflected by how many points off them we are) but as the season goes and what I've seen I refuse to subscribe to this ridiculous nonsense about us being miles off them or City who by the way have been also quite poor this season yet their pedigree for next season isn't called in question nor is their shitness this season highlighted enough by the media.

Unlike a popular opinion, I see us mounting off a title race next season. We don't even need to buy world class addition to do so, just add to the squad to add depth that'll help us through injuries and patches of poor forms and we're good to go. All I've wanted to see us do is have the ability to dispatch and beat lower on the table and so far I've seen it and now even expecting us to beat lower teams.

The league is won by being consistent at beating the teams you're expected to beat and we're on the right track.

bond19821982 said:

We are not challenging next year. A comfortable top 3 should be our target next season and in 21/22 we should be ready for the title challenge.

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I dont say we will win PL. But im not that pessimist. Our starting 11 is only like 1-2 players far from very good. Since Bruno came, we have not been much more weaker than Liverpool. After Pogba returned we have been maybe the best team in league. We are in top of the 10 games form table. And this young team is just getting better and better.

We need just 3 signings and we will genuinely challenge for the title next year.

My picks will be
Sancho
Ndidi (VdB as backup)
Nathan Ake or Pau Torres

I'm just excited to see us playing courageous football again; one of the main reasons I fell in love with United in the mid 90's. When I talk about United I say 'we' and my wife rolls her eyes at me, but that's how I truly feel. Can't wait for tomorrow. A massive match, and based on the results this weekend, we will see who has the bollacks to snatch it, and march on! Giddy already! Our biggest match in a long while.