Next 5 Fixtures

FootballHQ

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After barely missing out on a win against Liverpool the players should have confidence now. Time to go on a winning run especially with Martial and hopefully Pogba being back. Could get top 4 by Christmas.
Top 4 is pretty much near impossible if you look at it objectively points wise. You'd have to go on a better winning run than last season.

There are 29 games left. To finish on 70 points which is usually the bar for 4th you need to win 20 of those games (or of course 18 or 19 wins with more draws). Team that can't win away and still has top half all away for rest of the season from December.

It will be like 16/17, better to at least keep yourselves in europa league and see how the knock out rounds play out.
 

Sandikan

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We never learn from these "next xxx games" threads do we!

We haven't won away in forever, yet people are seriously thinking we'll win all of the aways :lol:
 

charlenefan

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Top 4 is pretty much near impossible if you look at it objectively points wise. You'd have to go on a better winning run than last season.

There are 29 games left. To finish on 70 points which is usually the bar for 4th you need to win 20 of those games (or of course 18 or 19 wins with more draws). Team that can't win away and still has top half all away for rest of the season from December.

It will be like 16/17, better to at least keep yourselves in europa league and see how the knock out rounds play out.
If last season proved anything is Top 4 isn't impossible until it's mathematically done. I mean we're 2 points behind Spurs is it pretty much impossible for them as well?

Top 4 is unlikely for us given our issues but points wise no it's not impossible for anyone at this stage at all
 

romufc

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We never learn from these "next xxx games" threads do we!

We haven't won away in forever, yet people are seriously thinking we'll win all of the aways :lol:
Crystal Palace hadn't beat us at home in god knows how long.. But they did.
 

FootballHQ

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If last season proved anything is Top 4 isn't impossible until it's mathematically done. I mean we're 2 points behind Spurs is it pretty much impossible for them as well?

Top 4 is unlikely for us given our issues but points wise no it's not impossible for anyone at this stage at all
Oh Spurs are total mess aswell ,realistically I think you're looking at Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester for 3rd and 4th this season.

Only thing I would say with Spurs if they can sort themselves out quickly is after Sunday they'd have already played Man. City, Liverpool and Arsenal away so three of their hardest away games out of the way (although won't help them much if they play like they did at Brighton!).
 

Enigma_87

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If last season proved anything is Top 4 isn't impossible until it's mathematically done. I mean we're 2 points behind Spurs is it pretty much impossible for them as well?

Top 4 is unlikely for us given our issues but points wise no it's not impossible for anyone at this stage at all
we're 7 points adrift and have much shorter squad compared to last year.
 

jackal&hyde

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Top 4 is pretty much near impossible if you look at it objectively points wise. You'd have to go on a better winning run than last season.

There are 29 games left. To finish on 70 points which is usually the bar for 4th you need to win 20 of those games (or of course 18 or 19 wins with more draws). Team that can't win away and still has top half all away for rest of the season from December.

It will be like 16/17, better to at least keep yourselves in europa league and see how the knock out rounds play out.
I would agree in general but our rivals for top 4 don't look very strong either. The bar for how many points are necessary will be lower this season IMO. We are 7 point of number 3, not that much with so many games to go. We'll know more by December.
 

Alek M

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We know how to counteract with pacy James and Rashford. But we have trouble opening up well organized defenses (like ours yesterday)
 

Enigma_87

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I would agree in general but our rivals for top 4 don't look very strong either. The bar for how many points are necessary will be lower this season IMO. We are 7 point of number 3, not that much with so many games to go. We'll know more by December.
Well City and Liverpool you can write off. There are 2 spots left.

We have Spurs, Leicester, Arsenal and Chelsea apart from us fight.

Arsenal can potentially move 8 points above us with Leicester and Chelsea already 7 points above us.

You have to also factor that our away form is shite and we're playing Leicester, Chelsea, Arsenal, Pool, Spurs, Everton (we traditionally do bad there) - all away from home after New Year. It will be very hard to build momentum, especially when you consider fatigue and if we're still in EL by that time.

It's all projections of course, but all the teams in questions have far superior managers than us(with the exception of Everton and maybe Chelsea) and the ability to bounce back from bad run, in contrast to us.

If we don't win the next two away against Norwich and Bournemouth I think we can forget about top four this year comfortably.
 

jackal&hyde

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Well City and Liverpool you can write off. There are 2 spots left.

We have Spurs, Leicester, Arsenal and Chelsea apart from us fight.

Arsenal can potentially move 8 points above us with Leicester and Chelsea already 7 points above us.

You have to also factor that our away form is shite and we're playing Leicester, Chelsea, Arsenal, Pool, Spurs, Everton (we traditionally do bad there) - all away from home after New Year. It will be very hard to build momentum, especially when you consider fatigue and if we're still in EL by that time.

It's all projections of course, but all the teams in questions have far superior managers than us(with the exception of Everton and maybe Chelsea) and the ability to bounce back from bad run, in contrast to us.

If we don't win the next two away against Norwich and Bournemouth I think we can forget about top four this year comfortably.
I'm not saying we're favorites of course, but 7 points is not that much. As of today, we beat both Leicester and Chelsea and draw with Arsenal and Liverpool; that is a decent record. I would back us against a free fall Spurs to. The away form is very bad though, i agree; also, it's more about beating the smaller teams that park the buss that has created problems for us. My hope is on the fact that the team will be significantly better once we sort some of our injuries, specifically when it comes to putting away the smaller teams that we get 60-70% possession against.

Disagree with what you say about the managers. Pochettino is having a hell of a time in trying to bounce back (for whatever the reasons might be) and Unai is not exactly an expert in consistency with Arsenal.

We'll see but i would not write us off just yet. Things will be much more clear by December.
 

Enigma_87

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I'm not saying we're favorites of course, but 7 points is not that much. As of today, we beat both Leicester and Chelsea and draw with Arsenal and Liverpool; that is a decent record. I would back us against a free fall Spurs to. The away form is very bad though, i agree; also, it's more about beating the smaller teams that park the buss that has created problems for us. My hope is on the fact that the team will be significantly better once we sort some of our injuries, specifically when it comes to putting away the smaller teams that we get 60-70% possession against.

Disagree with what you say about the managers. Pochettino is having a hell of a time in trying to bounce back (for whatever the reasons might be) and Unai is not exactly an expert in consistency with Arsenal.

We'll see but i would not write us off just yet. Things will be much more clear by December.
Well as you mentioned our results came at home against the better teams whilst we lost points against weaker teams already. However we are yet to play a decent team away from home and we are losing points left and right to inferior teams. I doubt we will get some points against Pool, City, even free fall Spurs when we visit them, long time till then mind, but unless we make a significant change in mentality and set up I just can't see it. Chelsea in the cup will be good indication where we are in that respect.

Call me pessimist but I doubt our injury list will become better come the business end of the season. So far we received a lot of injuries barely playing 2 times per week.

Unai isn't very consistent - true, but he has shown the pedigree that he can be if we go with his Sevilla feats and he will pick it up at some point. Arsenal are looking a bit better to me this season, but won't challenge for honors until they get their defence in place.

Still with the advantage they have so far it's easier to project them to be the more consistent ones compared to us.
 

FrankDrebin

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Got a decent result yesterday with a promising performance,more so in the 1st half.
Ole and the squad need to build on the positives yesterday. Good batch of fixtures coming up now.

Now If they dont ? Well last night would just illustrate that everyone just rose up for the occasion purely because it was a derby and little more.
But if we do go on a good run with promising performances and ,obviously,results then Ole has brought himself time and will be hopefully be rewarded with funds in January.
 

Kurton

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Maximum 4 points and hopefully the end of his pathetic reign.
That's pathetic mate. I'm of the opinion that Ole's not good enough, but that's based on seeing the games he's managed. If he goes on a winning run and shows promise in performance improvement, I'll change my opinion. You if support a team you should never hope that they lose just so that the person you don't fancy is gotten rid of. It seems there are just two types of people on this forum, ones that have their head buried in the sand, and the crazy ones who want the team to even lose just so that they can have their way :houllier:
 

Mainoldo

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That's pathetic mate. I'm of the opinion that Ole's not good enough, but that's based on seeing the games he's managed. If he goes on a winning run and shows promise in performance improvement, I'll change my opinion. You if support a team you should never hope that they lose just so that the person you don't fancy is gotten rid of. It seems there are just two types of people on this forum, ones that have their head buried in the sand, and the crazy ones who want the team to even lose just so that they can have their way :houllier:
Did I say I hope we lose? I said I hope he’s gone. There’s a real difference.. I don’t get how you can point out you don’t think a man is good enough but then at the same-time be shocked that I believe we will continue to produce not good enough performances.

But what’s new. I want us to hire a competent manager to improve our team performances and actually have a hope of getting top 4 where the quality for that position is low. But I’m the bad guy.
 

NJM78

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I expect draws at best and hopefully that will be more than enough shit results to end of Oles reign.
 

el3mel

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Norwich - W. We really should win. They're so defensively bad and lost the majority of their games. City game was a fluke.
Bournemouth - L. We'll be back to being shite here.
Brighton - D. They'll park the bus and I doubt we'll find a solution.
Sheffield - D. Same. Has a banana skin written all over it.
Villa - W. They don't park the bus and the game is at home. Should be a win.
 

fps

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That run of fixtures I'd expect, to show clear signs of progress and make up some lost ground, 12 points. That would tell me there's hope for the future and January could then bring the squad reinforcements to push on for Top 6.
 

fergiesarmy1

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I’m 31 so don’t be shy how old are you?

Then you can explain the relevance of watching them longer?
Well I started going in 86 so you do the math, the relevance was you asking me if I actually watched them at all. Whippersnappers like you haven’t seen tough times ;)
 

sunama

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After barely missing out on a win against Liverpool the players should have confidence now. Time to go on a winning run especially with Martial and hopefully Pogba being back. Could get top 4 by Christmas.
Moyes was fired in 7th place.
LVG fired in 5th place.
Jose fired in 6th place.
And Ole will struggle to make it past Christmas IF he is mid table (which I think he will be).
Regarding 4th place - I think you need to be realistic.
 

Roboc7

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No chance we win all five or even four of those games. 8-9 points would be a good return given our current status and even that requires an upturn in form.

We’ve been averaging a point a game for almost half a season now and nothing I’ve seen recently suggests that is likely to change.
 

bonothom

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27/10 - Norwich (Away)
2/11 - Bournemouth (Away)
10/11 - Brighton and Hove Albion (Home)
24/11 - Sheffield United (Away)
1/12 - Aston Villa (Home)

With the players slowly coming back and getting the tough one out of the way, we should be targeting maximum points in those 5 games.
I have absolutely no confidence what so ever that United will win any of these games. Ole has one way of playing and that is counter attack, rendered useless when playing teams such as the above. United will win 2 at best.
 

bonothom

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I'll take 12-13 points right now if offered.
I'll take 10 from the next 5.We are averaging just over a point a game since end of March. If that doesn't improve over the next 5 games then United are in a relegation battle.
 

sunama

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I am reading comments on here and I dumb founded.
We have scored 10 points from 9 games so far. These are actual results.
But we have people on here predicting 12 pts from the next 5 games?
Am I living in some twilight zone where the last 9 games didn't actually take place?
Based on this kind of logic, Newcastle supporters should fully expect to be in 10th place after playing their next 5 games.
And MCFC and LFC will probably draw/lose every one of their next 5 matches.

And then there is the Jan transfer window. Some believe we will buy players.
We spent very little in the Summer, so what makes anybody think that we'd save money in the Summer, so we can spend in January?
What logic is being used here, when people think we are going to spend anything in January?

Do people realise that we are saving as much money as we can, we have hired a manager with no relevant experience to manage a top club and we have made (and continue to make) the worst start to an EPL campaign ever?
 

Zlatattack

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I expect a mixed bag of results unfortunately. This ought to be 15 points, but we'll be lucky to get into double figures. If we can just go on a run and get some new faces in January, maybe we can salvage this season. Everyone else has been terrible too, but most other teams are there and there abouts, we're way below.
 

Mainoldo

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Well I started going in 86 so you do the math, the relevance was you asking me if I actually watched them at all. Whippersnappers like you haven’t seen tough times ;)
:lol: You only experienced 7 years. So we’ve got one more year left until you lose your sh7t too. I’ll welcome you on board.
 

Sandikan

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Crystal Palace hadn't beat us at home in god knows how long.. But they did.
What's your point? We'll suddenly not only break the away day hoodoo, but then suddenly go on a smash fest?
 

mitchmouse

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The way we have been playing this year, this set of games if more worrying to me than if we were playing the top 6. So far this year these are the games we struggle in. Meanwhile, we have 2 wins, 2 ties and 0 losses against the projected top 6...
agree. wouldn't surprise me to see us sit back against Norwich, hoping to catch them on the break - then getting caught ourselves
 

romufc

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What's your point? We'll suddenly not only break the away day hoodoo, but then suddenly go on a smash fest?
Just cause you think we haven't won in forever doesn't mean we cannot win away games.
 

robinamicrowave

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27/10 - Norwich (Away) - L
2/11 - Bournemouth (Away) - L

Solskjaer goes.

10/11 - Brighton and Hove Albion (Home) - W
24/11 - Sheffield United (Away) - D
1/12 - Aston Villa (Home) - W
 

starman

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These are good opportunities to show a turn around, especially with Martial back. Should be looking at a minimum of 3 wins from the next 5.

If we continue to go through a poor period though, its going to be very difficult for Ole to keep the job. I hope he can get to January so can see the further reshaping of the squad. As even though the results haven't been great, i have agreed with all the incoming and outgoings, something i cant say with any of the previous 3 managers
 

MsNuno

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27/10 - Norwich (Away)
2/11 - Bournemouth (Away)
10/11 - Brighton and Hove Albion (Home)
24/11 - Sheffield United (Away)
1/12 - Aston Villa (Home)

With the players slowly coming back and getting the tough one out of the way, we should be targeting maximum points in those 5 games.
You have to factor in Europa &league cups games in too which impacts on league performance
You should get a decent return on those games
Norwich w
Bournemouth l
Brighton w
Sheff u d
Villa w
can’t see you getting top 4 to be honest
 

A-man

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Wish people would stop omitting the likes of the EL and the LC when they do these lists, you cannot look at league fixtures outside of the context of the other games we have to play. Our next 6 games are

Thursday - Belgrade (a)
Sunday - Norwich (a)
Wednesday - Chelsea (a)
Saturday - Bournemouth (a)
Thursday - Belgrade (h)
Sunday - Brighton (h)

The next 4 games worry me, all away from home, likely all with a less than 100% fit squad and players severely lacking in confidence. I didn't watch the game yesterday but a gutsy game raising draw against our biggest rivals doesn't give me any confidence when it comes to these lesser games

Looking at that list right there I cant see any wins until we get back to OT next and even then you just know it'll be narrow margins
Yes it is six matches in 18 days. There will be many positions where rotation is not possible unless fifth choice is picked. Fullbacks, centrebacks, forwards, .. many positions with a lot of injured players.