Title is self-explained.
If we finish this season at 2nd place but with lower point tally and goals than last, would you see it as a success?
- Thread starter Sir Erik ten Hag
- Start date
I guess? But that would mean many of the other clubs would have collapsed for this to possibly happen.
Depends on what people view success as. Was Ole's 2nd a success. Was Jose finishing 2nd a success. If both were yes, then this would be as well.
Given how we currently look, where we are 2nd best for significant chunks of every game, it would be a really big achievement for this team to finish 2nd because right now making top 4/5 feels a long shot based on the form in the opening weeks. It would particularly be a success if it looks like Ten Hag starts to build an identifiable, repeatable style of play by some stage this season rather than being pragmatic and trying to get by game-to-game.
Post of the year 
I would see it as a miracle.
If we finish second in our cl group it would be a success, never mind the Prem.
It'd be a success relative to how shite we are right now. But who cares, it's obviously not going to happen
It would be a success but not really possible, so the question is redundant.
Something has gone terribly terribly wrong with about 4/5 teams if we manage 2nd
Man city relegated for 115 reasons, Liverpool banned for abusing asthma protocols, Arsenal fined 20 points for having Arteta as manager, Spurs being Spurs.
It's on.
It's on.
Of course, but the chances of us finishing in second in the league are only marginally higher than the chances of me playing for United next season, so this is kind of a moot point.
I think we're pretty much nailed on to finish with fewer points and fewer goals scored this season at this point.
I look at Villa's season last term, and I think that's a fair representation of where I expect we'll wind up. 61 points, 51 goals scored.
I think we're pretty much nailed on to finish with fewer points and fewer goals scored this season at this point.
I look at Villa's season last term, and I think that's a fair representation of where I expect we'll wind up. 61 points, 51 goals scored.
Pointless post as its never happening.
why?
city
arsenal
liverpool
spurs
villa
Newcastle.
be tough to make top 6 on this seasons showing.
why?
city
arsenal
liverpool
spurs
villa
Newcastle.
be tough to make top 6 on this seasons showing.
2nd
And with a lower point total than last season hahaha how is that even possible? Every other club losing every other game from here on in2nd
And what do you call those flying pigs you see out in the garden every morning?
As always I'm not overly concerned by the league finish unless we win. Some of our finishes in recent seasons have flattered us, sometimes other clubs have just collapsed themselves and we've been the best of a bad bunch.
I've always been willing to base it on what I see on the pitch. If we're developing a great young squad with an eye catching style of play, then I'll be happy. If we're trying to spend loads of money on established players, playing shit football but grinding wins or relying on individual moments, then it's not good enough unless you're actually winning stuff and getting a return on the investment.
So I'd rather finish outside the top 4 with a young squad and a good style of play, than finish second as we are. Especially when the football is nothing to write home about and we don't look like competing for many years on current trajectories.
I've always been willing to base it on what I see on the pitch. If we're developing a great young squad with an eye catching style of play, then I'll be happy. If we're trying to spend loads of money on established players, playing shit football but grinding wins or relying on individual moments, then it's not good enough unless you're actually winning stuff and getting a return on the investment.
So I'd rather finish outside the top 4 with a young squad and a good style of play, than finish second as we are. Especially when the football is nothing to write home about and we don't look like competing for many years on current trajectories.
Finishing 4th would be a success this season from the way we’re playing and started.
I did a quick check, and 2nd is higher than 3rd, so yes that would be better.
Especially after the first part of the season as we'd need to be pretty darn perfect here on in!
Especially after the first part of the season as we'd need to be pretty darn perfect here on in!
Ole 2nd place only amasses 74 points, which 1 less than last season tally.And with a lower point total than last season hahaha how is that even possible? Every other club losing every other game from here on in
Agree that it's difficult to see to all current top 7 teams struggling as bad as COVID seasons. Hope we're not under another pandemic this soon just to finish 2nd though.
Is this a thinly veiled Ole thread? I think it is.
We'll be lucky to finish 4th mate.
What if we finish 1st but with a lower points tally than 2nd?
Kill for 2nd mate. Probably .5% chance of it.
The only success for a club of our status is winning the major trophies. That's unrealistic for now so what we should be looking for is how close are we getting to success. For me, the only indicator of that is how coherent and consistent we play. There were 2nd places finishes like ours under Mourinho and Ole that were less indicators of progress or future success than 3rd or 4th finishes like Liverpool under Klopp for example. So it has nothing to do with league position for me, and all with how well we're playing. We should reach a level of performance similar to the second half of the 2005/2006 season or better still, Arsenal's last season. That's much more encouraging and promising for the only success that matters which is consistently challenging for the big trophies.
The way Spurs and Arsenal are going, second place would be astonishing, a minor miracle, and indeed a success. I don’t care about points totals, 2nd is 2nd.
Considering the quality of our current football finishing 2nd would be absolutely amazing.
There's a word missing after 2nd
Our league position from last year would be better but I wouldn't call that a success as such.
This must be a bait for future quoting
Yes. What relevance are points tally’s across different seasons?
Yes. Even top 4 would be a success considering how we have started this season
2nd? In the PL?
It would be trophy by itself if we manage that.
It would be trophy by itself if we manage that.
The only realistic chance we have of finishing 2nd is to have an objectively excellent run from here on and in. Which would obviously be...well, objectively excellent.
The scenario proposed is unlikely in the extreme. But the answer has to be: kinda, but not really. It wouldn't happen unless multiple teams collapse/start under-performing terribly, and as such would have little to do with any actual progress on our own part.
The scenario proposed is unlikely in the extreme. But the answer has to be: kinda, but not really. It wouldn't happen unless multiple teams collapse/start under-performing terribly, and as such would have little to do with any actual progress on our own part.
It would be an incredible achievement
Yes. But we will not
What, you ask this question now, as we are 8th in the table, with not a single good game of football to our credit during the whole season?
The answer is yes.
If EtH can get us second place by the end of this season, it will have been a miracle.
I think the last team to score fewer goals than we did last season and still finish in the top four was Liverpool in the 06/07 season. So the odds that any team could score fewer goals and finish second this season is far beyond slim.
But if we hypothetically did, sure. On paper that's a strong league finish, we'd presumably have to have done something right to get those points and end of season goal/points tallies aren't the best metrics for measuring progress anyway.
But if we hypothetically did, sure. On paper that's a strong league finish, we'd presumably have to have done something right to get those points and end of season goal/points tallies aren't the best metrics for measuring progress anyway.