Would you be happy with finishing 3rd this season but with more points than last season?

horsechoker

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Last season we had 66 points and we might finish 3rd again but with potentially more than 70 points. In that situation the dense football media and fans will say we haven't improved but at the halfway point we are top and in title fight, something which we weren't last season.

I think only the most optimistic fans think we can win the title and Liverpool and City are likely to be the top 2 with 80 plus points.

So would you be happy with 3rd or would you consider this stagnation?
 

romufc

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Would 100% need a trophy if we finished third with 70 points to call it progess.
 

Offside

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This season’s aspiration was to finish closer to the top 2. If we were 3rd right behind them it would signal progress. However, winning something or finishing 2nd would signal real progress and that’s got to be the target. I’d say top 3 should be a minimum target now.
 

DevilsOwn

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At the start of the season, and the transfer window, Definitely Yes.

Now, with our first half, would be disappointed if we aren't in the top 2 and fighting for the title.
 

city-puma

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I am only satisfied if we are all the way in the title race and end up within five points gap.
 

DOTA

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Nah. If City continue to perform very well then I can accept us finishing behind them but there aren't two teams in this division better than us.
 

KennyBurner

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Nope!. We have no injuries and should be able to twat the rest of the league except City and lIverpool. Second or we haven't really improved given Liverpool dont even have 2 fit CBs.
 

P-Nut

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City seem to be clicking into gear so they are heavy favourites at the moment.

I'd be gutted to finish behind Liverpool to be honest, they've had their starting CBs out for most of the season and we should be taking advantage of that. We've shown consistency for 12 months that suggests we should be able to stay ahead of them so it's second as a sign of progress for me.

The cups don't really show progress over a course of a season, but I think we need to be picking one up this season or next otherwise its in danger of becoming a drought.
 

charlenefan

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DevilsOwn said:
At the start of the season, and the transfer window, Definitely Yes.

Now, with our first half, would be disappointed if we aren't in the top 2 and fighting for the title.
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Current position has obviously changed expectations but like you said people need to remember the calamity that was the summer

To answer the OP yes I would be happy with 3rd again with an improved points total
 

Walters_19_MuFc

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Think the main objective for Ole is to close that gap between City and Liverpool. Therefore, if we finish third this season with us being closer to City and Liverpool, then we are clearly progressing as a side.

That being said, expectations have changed now, which is to be expected. Not many would have had us in the position we're in but we're there now. We may fall short but if we continue to give a good account of ourselves, who knows what we could achieve?
 

Popcorn

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I think Liverpool might fade away somewhat. I would be disappointed if we don’t finish above them but not unhappy with progress. It’s good to be in the mix and to feel like we have a chance. Not felt that for a long time.

Progress can definitely be seen and it’s not just in the points or the table position. We still have a fair way to go yet.
 

Zen86

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Comfortable 3rd, and not far off the top 2 would’ve been the aim at the start of the season. It’s hard not to look at things differently having had a taste of the top of the table though. I’m not expecting to win the title but I’d be disappointed if we’re not still in the running come April.
 

Withnail

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If we're third, still in the title race in March/April and finish much closer to the top it would definitely be progress but it would still be a bit of a disappointment given where we are now.
 
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K Stand Knut

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Happy to see the modern day football fan coming to the fore on this with their smacked a*ses.

‘Fans’ saying they wouldn’t be happy with the same league position but more points than last season. WTF?? Improvements are improvements and we might have to take small step after small step.

It’s easy to say that we are where we are after half a season and therefore we should expect to now finish within 5 points of any potential winners but that just isn’t how football works.

We are equally as likely to hit a difficult period as we are to remain unbeaten for the next 4 months, especially when the EL kicks in again and we’re on Thursday/Sunday/Thursday every week.

We really just need to enjoy this season for what it is and smile whilst we can. A lot can go wrong, just like a lot can go right.

A percentage of you will be calling for Ole’s head if we lose our next two games
 

Dr. Dwayne

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No, but it would show some progress if we are within touching distance of first and second. Personally, as of now, I want at least second and preferably winners.
 

Mike Smalling

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The top of the league could be exceptionally tight this year, so a few points could easily separate the winner from 3rd or 4th. Of course we should target winning it, but if we were to get 75-80 points, but end up in 3rd, that would still be progress. Rome wasn't built in a day.

No matter where we end up this season, the most important thing will be to keep building. A good summer transfer window and we would be right up there again next season.
 

ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg

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How about finishing first with less points?

would I be happy. No. But I would be satisfied.

we are going in the right direction.
 

Irwin99

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I think another top 4 finish and a trophy run would be good enough because, although we had two seasons of CL football with Jose, one of those was via a 6th place finish and a Europa League win. Getting into the CL for two consecutive seasons would be a sign of progress. After that though, the expectations really must change and get higher.
 

dal

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KennyBurner said:
Nope!. We have no injuries and should be able to twat the rest of the league except City and lIverpool. Second or we haven't really improved given Liverpool dont even have 2 fit CBs.
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I think you have to remember that one of those centre backs replacements is probably the best in the league.
 

Dominos

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It depends on 2 things. How big a points total do we get, and how are the performances on the pitch.

The points improvement has to be significant on last year, so going from 66 last year to 70 points this year for example would not be satisfactory. We're currently on course for 78 points at our current rate so any less than that will be a disappointment - we should be aiming for 80+.

I also want us to actually look like a top team in our performances. If we got 80 points by winning games in the manner we did against say West Ham, Wolves and West Brom, then I'm not going to be jumping for joy. If we get 80 points by actually playing well in most of our games then that's a much better prospect.

As long as there's significant progress in terms of results and performances then I'm content.
 

SER19

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I wouldn't focus on the points total itself. If 3rd meant we were still in contention and gave a title race a good go until near the end then yes. A cup would really soften that too
 

Chairman Steve

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I feel it’s getting to the point where a comfortable 3rd place finish and not too far behind the top 2 of City and Liverpool is the minimum requirement.

Fighting for a Top 4 place on the last day with the risk we finish outside of the Top 4 all over again would feel disappointing now.
 

Judas

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I know its not answering the question, but I think the fight for top 4 is going to be absolute hell this year, we're still in that fight, even though we're currently top. All I'm concentrating on is each game, keep winning and performing and seeing where we end up. At this moment I don't know what I would be pleased with really, the whole top half is on a knife edge.
 

ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg

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Zen86 said:
Points are pretty meaningless in this context. We could finish 5th with more points than last season, but that isn’t progress.
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that wasn’t the question though. It’s whether you would be happy with 3rd.

we aren’t getting 3rd with the same points as last year.
 

Infra-red

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I still expect City to win it - second/third place with around 80 points is the most likely outcome for us at this stage, I think. That would represent progress and would see Ole in to another season.
 

RedTiger

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Nope. I would not be happy.

My goal for the team last year was to come 3rd and we did well to achieve that. My goal this year was/is to win the title or at least come a very close 2nd.

On a positive note, everything is going in the direction I was hoping for with Oles appointment. We are playing more risky passes forward like a United side, we are rebuilding the squad into something that is practical and usable. Finally we are playing the game like we know we can beat the opposition, none of this cowardly nervous containing shit that we've witnessed for almost 6 years since 2013. We are beginning to play with confidence, that old school United confidence.
 

Nou_Camp99

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If we finish 3rd it will be the first time we have had back to back top 4 finishes since Fergie. That's progress.
 

Amadaeus

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According to that metric, we will be doing slightly better than Moyes. So, I definitely won’t be content. We Need at least a trophy either fa cup or Europa league to save that season. We sacked Lvg for less than that and jose would have done better.
 

Bilbo

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Couldn't really care less about points totals as a comparison. Leagues get stronger or weaker each season and its not a particularly accurate way to measure progress IMO.

If you'd asked most people at the start then a consolidation of top four would have been acceptable. We'd just had what was perceived to be a poor transfer window and others had strengthened, so 3rd would have been great. Today, expectations have changed because the team are demonstrating progress so if you ask me right now I'd say I want us to win the title, but if we end up falling short and finishing 3rd I would still feel that this team have moved on. We are clearly a better side than Tottenham & Chelsea right now, and those two were expected to be our main competitors for CL places.

Ole will be leading this team next season. I think we've seen enough by now to know that sacking him is extremely unlikely, and I for one am totally confident that he will know (better than anybody we could replace him) exactly what we need to bring in to make the team better.
 

Trex

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At the start of this season I felt a third place finish(with better points) should be the target considering it took 90+ points to win the league the past three seasons, considering we could be on 40pts after game 19,if we are even slightly better in the second half of this season we could get to 80+ pts and considering neither City nor Liverpool have maintained the standard of previous season we should be right in the mix come may
 

eire-red

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romufc said:
Would 100% need a trophy if we finished third with 70 points to call it progess.
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You took the words from my mouth. If we don't win the PL, then anywhere in the top 4 and a trophy would be a good season, and something to build on. We need to break that 70 point mark though, which is looking likely.
 

GeniusIdiot

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I would be happy if we were close to the top 2 and finished 3rd. Most people could not make a reasonable claim that we would win the league before the season started so getting closer to the top is reasonable progress. I think my threshold is around 9 points off the top, 3 games left and we still have a mathematical chance to win is enough for me. This is barring someone winning the rest of their games or some other ridiculous win streak.
 

Strelok

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Yes, before the season started everyone would I think, so did I. But given the current circumstances I'm still happy if we come third, it's an acceptable result but tbh, very very disappointed because we fail to capitalise the opportunity. Not every season Liverpool got all their CBs injured and City lacking a good striker.
 

el3mel

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Definitely of course, as long we're close to the top 2. Last season we were 15 points away from City in 2nd spot. Finish anywhere in top 3 with close points to the other 2 and it's fine.
 

Regulus Arcturus Black

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el3mel said:
Definitely of course, as long we're close to the top 2. Last season we were 15 points away from City in 2nd spot. Finish anywhere in top 3 with close points to the other 2 and it's fine.
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This pretty much, our 3rd last year had a rather pathetic points total. If we get 3rd but with 10 better points, you’d have to be pleased.
 
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