Order of priorities for the rest of the season

[DWelbz19]

1. New owners
2. Win 2 competitions
3. Rehabilitate and re-educate Greenwood
4. Greenwood trains with the u21s
5. Greenwood returns to save us £100m on a new striker as Ten Hags new project

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

1. League Cup as of right now
2. Top 3
3. FA Cup
4. Europa

Mainly because I think putting a higher priority in Europe could be suicidal with our fixture list as much as I'd love to win it. We sadly don't have the depth to compete on even 3 fronts realistically much less 4.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Hey, my attitude won't make a difference to the games. I can't see us getting past this Barcelona side, they are superior in basically every position except for Casemiro and Varane. They are top in La Liga, barely concede goals, and have a lethal striker. Meanwhile we have basically no depth in midfield, struggle with scoring goals, and have an insane schedule around the Barca games. Also, our record against Spanish teams is dreadful.

It's not quite a foregone conclusion but I wouldn't give us more than a 10% chance and that is being generous.

Casemiro, Varane, Martinez, Dalot, Shaw, Rashford would all start for them. Also La Liga is piss easy this year fyi. This isn't prime 2011 Barca, they got spanked out of UCL groups for a reason. Good team that very well may beat us (especially given the run of fixtures we have) but not a foregone conclusion

 

[Red in STL]

That's an easy question to answer

Win every game we play, if that isn't the priority I want to know why it isn't

 

[Lights Out]

I really wouldn’t be that bothered if we went out against Barca IF we beat Newcastle at Wembley.

The biggest priorities were getting Top 4 and winning a trophy.

 

[Lights Out]

That's an easy question to answer

Win every game we play, if that isn't the priority I want to know why it isn't

We could potentially get into a situation where we have to play on a Tuesday & Thursday like we did under Ole and that all went to shit didn’t it.

 

[Shimo]

Crystal Palace on Saturday, then Leeds, then Leeds, then Barca ... and so on. Next game being the priority is what is putting us on the right track for the season, can clearly see that with each game selection that ETH is making.

 

[CM]

1. League Cup
2. Top 4
3. FA Cup
4. Europa League

League Cup would be my top priority as it's the first available trophy and we're now one game away from doing it. The FA Cup draw is opening out quite nicely too - Man City, Spurs and Brighton are the best remaining teams from the last 16. That presents an opportunity.

I'm not really too bothered about Europa. Barca is a tough draw, top 4 should be fairly safe and the two legged nature of the ties until the final means loads of games in an already tight fixture list. Ten Hag likely plays strong teams in every competition though so I'm not sure priorities really exist in that sense.

 

[Bulldog United]

1. Pumping off
2. Hopefully win some trophies
3. Sign Kovacivic from Chelscum

 

[ole@thewheel]

1. Win Premier League
2. Win FA Cup
3. Win League Cup
4. Win Europa League

On that order.

 

[Red in STL]

We could potentially get into a situation where we have to play on a Tuesday & Thursday like we did under Ole and that all went to shit didn’t it.

Doesn't mean winning the games weren't a priority though

 

[lsd]

1. New owners
2. Win 2 competitions
3. Rehabilitate and re-educate Greenwood
4. Greenwood trains with the u21s
5. Greenwood returns to save us £100m on a new striker as Ten Hags new project

You need to be banned

 

[NYAS]

Hey, my attitude won't make a difference to the games. I can't see us getting past this Barcelona side, they are superior in basically every position except for Casemiro and Varane. They are top in La Liga, barely concede goals, and have a lethal striker. Meanwhile we have basically no depth in midfield, struggle with scoring goals, and have an insane schedule around the Barca games. Also, our record against Spanish teams is dreadful.

It's not quite a foregone conclusion but I wouldn't give us more than a 10% chance and that is being generous.

They have 5 players who would get in our starting line-up. Not quite “every position”.

 

[lex talionis]

Some of the replies here are surprising.

We need to finish in the top four, simple as and end of. If we don't finish in the top four by definition it means we've ended the season in the league poorly. The last thing we want to see happen is ending the season in the league poorly. With the rise of Newcastle this season and Tottenham over the last few seasons, if we yield ground to both of them and crash out of the top four we are truly fukked going into the summer transfer window, regardless of how we do in the three cups. And let's be realistic, if our form is such that we've fallen out of the top four it's highly unlikely that we've won the EL cup.

Top four, everything else is an afterthought.

Are there other considerations? Of course there are. We'd like to have proper owners buy the club. We'd like to see a positive outcome regarding a player who has had to stay away from the club over the last 12 months. We'd like to see improvements made to OT. But we'd like to see all that and more, but it's critical that our performances on the pitch match reasonable expectations and the reasonable expectation that must be met is finishing in the top four. A cup or two would be a nice bonus.

 

[Sandikan]

Top 4 is comfortable IMO.

1. League Cup final now that we are here
2. Europa League
3. FA Cup
4. Finishing higher than 4th in the league

Don't see why Europa is ranked above FA cup. Especially if Top 4 is achieved.

 

[Sandikan]

Hey, my attitude won't make a difference to the games. I can't see us getting past this Barcelona side, they are superior in basically every position except for Casemiro and Varane. They are top in La Liga, barely concede goals, and have a lethal striker. Meanwhile we have basically no depth in midfield, struggle with scoring goals, and have an insane schedule around the Barca games. Also, our record against Spanish teams is dreadful.

It's not quite a foregone conclusion but I wouldn't give us more than a 10% chance and that is being generous.

The beauty of the Barcelona tie being so early is win it and we have a great chance of winning the tournament, lose it, and we don't have to wade through tonnes of extra fixtures and can concentrate on the more important/winnable stuff.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

1)Top4
2)Fa Cup
3)Carling cup
4)Europa

Normally wouldn’t give a damn about the Carling cup, but would be nice for the team and ETH to get some silver wear through the door so quickly in to his tenure. Newcastle look decent mind so not really banking on it,

 

[bosnian_red]

Don't see why Europa is ranked above FA cup. Especially if Top 4 is achieved.

Europa League gives us more coefficient points, I think more reward money, pot 1 in CL groups next year, more prestigious these days IMO. But it's tight between the 2 overall.

 

[Siorac]

Don't see why Europa is ranked above FA cup. Especially if Top 4 is achieved.

Why wouldn't it be? It's a European trophy.

 

[HookedOnAPhelan]

1. Top 4
2. Win League Cup Final
3. FA Cup (more prestigious than the League Cup obviously, but winning the final is most important right now)
4. Europa League (pointless if we get top 4, if not then it's priority 1)
5. ???
6. Profit

 

[Todd]

1. Top 4 in the league
2. League cup trophy
3. F.A. Cup trophy
4. Europa League

I think the top 3 are legitimately within reach. I honestly don't think it'd be the worst thing in the world if Barca knocked us out of EL. Last thing we need in the spring when we're trying to solidify a top 4 spot is extra fixtures because we're deep into the EL.

 

[Sandikan]

Why wouldn't it be? It's a European trophy.

Would you say the same for that Plate European cup, or whatever it's called? The one Tottenham got kicked out of last year?

 

[Siorac]

Would you say the same for that Plate European cup, or whatever it's called? The one Tottenham got kicked out of last year?

I have no idea what that is but the Europa League is a major European trophy, second only behind the Champions League. I'd choose it over the FA Cup every time.

With the fixture congestion this season it's tempting to say just bin them both though.

 

[Unam333]

1. League Cup
2. Top 4
3. Europa
4. FA Cup

If we beat Barcelona, I think #WeGoForIt LvG in the Europa. I'll be "happy" enough losing to them.

Same order. The only reason the League Cup is number one is because we're one match away of winning it.
I'm really not looking forward to the games against FC fecking Barcelona.
Had you asked me at the start of the season the order would have been like this:

1. Top 4
2. Europa League
3. FA Cup
4. League Cup

 

[pratyush_utd]

1. League Cup ( We need a trophy! and we have one more game to focus on)
2. Top 4

Anything else is a bonus

 

[Sandikan]

The Barcelona ties surrounding the league cup final is a bit of a nightmare triple isn't it, while Newcastle get a midweek rest.
Will have to get the freshness right.

 

[rimaldo]

1. to win the hearts and minds of all opposition supporters.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Win Europa league (priority)

Win LC (as we are already in final)
Win Fa cup

 

[BorisManUtd]

1. Top 4
2. Win League Cup Final
3. Win FA Cup
4. Win Europa League

This. Winning 2 domestic cups in one season would be brilliant.

Europa League is the one I care the least, even if we go through vs Barca we'd still have another 7 games to go in order to win it. And there are teams like Sevilla, Arsenal, Juventus, Ajax, Roma. Not saying we can't beat these teams but it takes some effort and damages us in league. We won Europa in 2017, got far in 2020 and 2021. Bored by that competition.

 

[giggslover]

1. Top 4
2. Tie Down Rashford
3. Europa League
4. League Cup

 

[ThinkTank@Cafe]

1. Top 4
2. Mickey Mouse Treble

 

[Hester_manc]

1) Win Europa League: Gives us a title and CL-football next season.
2) Top 4: Gives us CL-football next season
3) FA-cup: The biggest national cup.
4) The Carling Cup

And maybe more important:
New contracts to Rashford and Garnacho.

 

[devil99]

1. Beat Barca 8-0
2. Beat Barca 7-0
3. Beat Barca 6-0
4. Beat Barca

 

[gerdm07]

1. Top 4
2. League Cup
3. FA Cup
4. Europa League
5. Loan out Greenwood if possible

 

[Gator Nate]

1. The next game
2. The next game after that
3. Rinse and repeat

Honestly, outside of squad rotation to avoid injury, we just need to keep playing. This season has already been a success in my book given our situation going into the year and the scheduling gymnastics forced by the WC. We're already in the Moose Cup final. We're still alive in the FA cup. We made it out of the EL group stages. We're sitting top-4 with a decent point advantage.

Given the state of the rest of the league, I think top-4 will take care of itself if we just keep the squad rotating. ETH has done a masterful job of that (5 subs helps tremendously) so far. And the way he's done it has kept a sharp edge on most players. Barring a true injury crisis, we'll do well in all competitions.

I really can't wait for next year, when we have a normal preseason and start, followed by a "normal" competition schedule that will allow a little bit more concentrated use of the talent in the squad.

 

[World Game]

“Europa League is a trophy” is one of the most cringe lines repeated on this forum.

Would you celebrate getting knocked out in Ro16 CL as an achievement? If not then you shouldn’t celebrate winning a competition that you qualify by getting knocked out before the Ro16. The only time it will be worth celebrating is if we tragically manage outside top 4.

1. Top 4. All our progress will be lost if we miss out on CL no matter what else we win this season. It also denies Spurs/Chelsea/Pool and sets them back.

2.League cup because if we don’t win it from here it means we lost a final. Winning will help build a winning mentality. Losing will build a choking mentality.

3. Top 3 to secure CL even more. If we are above Newcastle with a buffer then we can worry about the other cups.

4. FA Cup

5. Not overplaying our most important players so they will be in the best condition for a title challenge next season.

6. EL

 

[Michael T]

For me, this season was all about building the squad in EtH's image, with no real expectations of silverware or top four. Especially since we started from such a low base. Obviously, my expectations have been well and truly surpassed and we are well ahead of where I thought we would be.

Hopefully we can push on and win some silverware and a Champions League spot this season, but the core issue remains the rebuild , and so I'm not too worried about EtH's lack of squad rotation, even if it means we end up winning nothing, because with every game the best 11 play together, their understanding and movement should improve in the way the manager wants and when substitutions are required, it'll expose where the weaknesses in the squad are.

I don't think the manager had any expectations regarding silverware when the season kicked off, probably specifically having a game plan of whenever possible playing his best side continually until they lived and breathed his system, only using subs when absolutely necessary, with the expectation that that would put him in the best position to start the re-build proper this coming summer; although this may have changed in recent games due to our outstanding progress and success on all fronts, and silverware a good possibility. Not only that, this season was always going to be an anomaly, what with the imposition of a mid-season World Cup and resulting hectic schedule.

This coming summer will be a massive game changer, and with a little luck, new, more ambitious owners will be in place and I'm pretty confident that those 3 - 4 playing positions that we all know need upgrading will be filled with the best players the market has on offer, so EtH can have his pick.

So I'll just enjoy the ride this season, as I said, it's already surpassed my expectations, so EtH can do what he likes with his substitutions and tactics, I'll not complain. Next season will be the one to watch. EtH must be rubbing his hands with glee. I know I am!

 

[PogBruno]

Just continue to allow me giving mouthful to my scouse mate

 

[Graveyard]

Obv top 4 is most important but it is also the only competition we’re in that we cant win. All the other competions can lead to silverware. I feel we can win all three cups. How great would that be.

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

Nothing is above the League Cup final. We simply must win it.