Good enough for top 4 next season?

[Eric's Seagull]

It all comes down to who else we sign, if Lukaku goes and we sign A) a CB probably Maguire, B) a midfielder probably Bruno and C) a striker probably Yedder, an If players like Gomes, and Greenwood are given a crack of the whip then I think we will be distinctively better than last season and will prbably be in and around the top 2-3 for most of the season but will drop away towards the end.

6/7th Arsenal are done for my money could well be scrapping with Leicester, Wolves and Everton for top 6,
3rd/4th Spurs will as ever be about keeping their best 11 on the field, but I have a sneaky feeling they will not be as close to the top 2 throughout the season as they were this time
1st City will romp it next season IMO
2nd Liverpool put ina herculean effort last season and were slapped away, CL aside the minute any cracks show I think they will wobble
5 - 8th Chelsea many people reckon FL is going to immediately get a tune out of Chelsea, but he was not that great at Derby for much of the time he was there and was hella fortunate to get into the play offs Chelsea for me are very fragile, as long as it is going well they will be okay, but if the wheels come off I reckon they will come off big style
3rd/4th Us, A bit like Chelsea if we go well will will get top 4 no probs, we are better than Chelsea or Arsenal, if it goes pear shaped though.... not going to happen, Maguire coming in and being made captain straight off will galvanise the team

You make some good points.Agree with the first part in bold. Also agree with second part in bold as expect both to have similar seasons to last. Don't agree with third part in bold although it could well happen, I think Liverpool are going to push them all the way and could possibly pip them to the title with a few decent signings to add depth although this looking mote unlikely the further we go in the window. Really admire your optimism with the last point in bold which would make me very happy if it happens mate

 

[Eric's Seagull]

I'm not sure about that original team, but my suspicion is that we'll just about get maguire over the line by deadline day and that will be our only other bit of business coming in unless Lukaku leaves.

With our current side plus Maguire, I think we'll struggle for top 6,never mind top 4.

I also think it is going to take a while with Maguire but Leicester said they want adequate time to get a replacement signed. Hope you are wrong on the bit in bold but I fear you may be right as nothing Woody does surprises me anymore. We can just hope mate

 

[Craig Ward]

I think we are capable of top 4.

Clearly player for player we are behind a lot of clubs, but if Ole can get the team playing a certain way and breed confidence who knows.

The pre-season signs are good - positive football, lots of youth and promise.

It is evident however and I thnk we all agree, we need at least another 2 incomings to the x11.

Fred hasn't played much, but we desperately need a midfielder.

A CB signing will also transform the way we look, much like AWB will.

I think we need more signings than 2, but at this point its essential we have Maguire and Fernandes as confirmed signings. More than that will be a massive bonus.

The less game times Young/Smalling/Jones/Matic have the better for me.

McTominey needs to be the starting DM without a shadow of a doubt

I thinks its a given Darmian is done here, as the past few seasons we need several outgoings. Rojo/Lingard/Sanchez are not required for me.


Lukaku looking likely to leave and Pogba will always have that stigma around him, its a matter of when not if.


We need to trust Ole, he is doing the right things. We have a good group of young players and some atrocious old players. Go with youth, confidence breeds success

 

[Litch]

If capable but needs a few stars to align.....

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Defence is getting there, the big question is if we have enough goals and creativity for Top 4.

We haven’t been scoring enough for a long time. In the Van Gaal era it was shockingly low, Mourinho slightly better but still poor. Not sure the current crop is capable.

We’d be lucky if Martial, Mata, Lingard, and James can score 20 league goals between them.

 

[Shakesy]

Defence is getting there, the big question is if we have enough goals and creativity for Top 4.

We haven’t been scoring enough for a long time. In the Van Gaal era it was shockingly low, Mourinho slightly better but still poor. Not sure the current crop is capable.

We’d be lucky if Martial, Mata, Lingard, and James can score 20 league goals between them.

In the post Fergie years, we scored our most goals in Mourinho's second season (17/18). Our second best season for goals scored is last season.

 

[Infra-red]

Not good enough right now to be confident of top 4, although I would expect us to be in the mix and the gap from 4th to 7th to be pretty narrow.

You never know though - maybe next week we'll go out and sign Tah, Grillitsch, Fabian Ruiz and Ziyech - it's never too late!

 

[Treble]

Defence is getting there, the big question is if we have enough goals and creativity for Top 4.

We haven’t been scoring enough for a long time. In the Van Gaal era it was shockingly low, Mourinho slightly better but still poor. Not sure the current crop is capable.

We’d be lucky if Martial, Mata, Lingard, and James can score 20 league goals between them.

Not sure about that. Defence depends not only on the individual quality of several players but also on the overall defensive organisation of the team from the forwards to the keeper. Even if we are getting there in terms of quality of the defensive players by signing AWB and Maguire, there are still serious question marks over the defensive organisation of the team as a whole. People tend to underrate the importance of organisation and overrate individual qualities. Even individual quality is not something fixed but depends for its expression on the team's (or even club's) organisation and atmosphere. Even Messi's class drops a level or two when he plays for Argentina. Any post saying 'we sign players X, Y and Z and we are sorted" makes this mistake.

 

[SaintMuppet]

Rudolph missed your chimney last year?

No he found it ok.

Then took a humongous dump down it.

 

[haram]

Our competition is Arsenal and Chelsea bro.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Not sure about that. Defence depends not only on the individual quality of several players but also on the overall defensive organisation of the team from the forwards to the keeper. Even if we are getting there in terms of quality of the defensive players by signing AWB and Maguire, there are still serious question marks over the defensive organisation of the team as a whole. People tend to underrate the importance of organisation and overrate individual qualities. Even individual quality is not something fixed but depends for its expression on the team's (or even club's) organisation and atmosphere. Even Messi's class drops a level or two when he plays for Argentina. Any post saying 'we sign players X, Y and Z and we are sorted" makes this mistake.

Fair point, good post.

I feel though we’re taking steps in the right direction by identifying the issues.

 

[Steven-UK]

Top 4 next season?

With this current team as it stands right now?

No...

 

[El-Manos]

Pre season performances have shadowed our poor transfer window so far. However we have to be realistic . Our current signings are insufficient. Going into the new season without a new CM, CB & RW is suicidal.

 

[Ali Dia]

I don’t think we are as things stand. We’ve played two poor teams and we’ve beaten much better in previous preseasons and faltered in the league when the going gets tough or teams defend deep against us. We still need much more threat from the ride side of the pitch, to replace lukaku, get rid of pogba, and sign at least 2 if not 3 starters. Otherwise it’ll just be deja vu.

Having said all that we should comfortably be making top 4 with the wages we are paying and the amount we’ve spent post Fergie.

 

[Fer]

We improved our defense a bit, but we are going to have problems creating goal opportunities for Martial/Rashford.

For the moment, they are not strikers that score 20+ goals per season in the league.

I hope to see more of Gomes/Greenwood than Mata/Lingard.

 

[Mark Pawelek]

3rd ------ 4th ----- 5th ----- 6th or below.
15% ---- 30% ---- 30% ---- 25%

I rate our chance of 1st or 2nd minimal. City and Liverpool will surely finish about us. Spurs could stall if Harry Kane is injured for a while, like they did last season. I think United are stronger than Arsenal. About on a par with Chelsea. I think we will fight it out for 4th position with Chelsea.

 

[LuckyScout78]

10 pm and transfer window closed. 3 new players. With the current squad. I will be impress if Ole and United get top 4 this season.

Top 3: City, Liverpool and Spurs

Top 4: Arsenal. If they got lucky they might finish above Spurs. But with Celso and Ndombele. Spurs have a really strong central midfield. The drive,engine and ball skills if Celso. Celso can be a hit this year.

And Luiz to Arsenal. I didnt see that coming. Luiz can be the top 4 difference to Chelsea and Arsenal.
I think Chelsea had a good chance for top 4 before that Luiz departue. First i read he want to move to Arsenal, next and last day. Went for 8 mill. With Rudiger suffering with knee injury. Then Lampard has to trust on Zouma, Christensen or some solid and good CB from the academy. Again, Luiz departue can be the situation the will leave Chelsea out of top 4.

Conclusion. With United and Chelsea, two teams that still have few weak areas and positions. Then with a really good transfer window. Arsenal will take the last spot. And Spurs look strong on paper now. Mine top 4 predictions this year.