I assume the thread title is a literal description of the thread content?
The Title Race 2013/14
- Thread starter Buchan
- Start date
Shite.
All I'm grasping is that there's a 21 year old banging on his door. I say let them in.
We've taken more points away from home than any other team in the league. If we can improve our home form going into the business end of the season we're laughing.
Bingo.
What's good now is that if we seriously want to be considered as a top 4 team now, every game is a must win. Last season there were games against clubs in which I was 99% confident that we'd win. This season, I don't have that feeling. It's totally "feck - we've got to win this".
It's good to have that pressure on the players. One more slip up and I think the gap will be too daunting for our players and our heads will drop for a period again.
Chelsea-Liverpool tomorrow - one will obviously drop points so the gap on them will be closed at least. As long as Liverpool don't win, the gap will be cut to 7 points from the top of the table - which is fantastic really considering it was 13 odd or so.
Tottenham next will be our hardest game on paper for a while. As long as Rooney's back, then I'll go into it with confidence we'll get something from it.
Get a player or two in next month and we'll be bouncing.
We went to City, Liverpool and Tottenham, but we've been spared Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Everton and Southampton so far... I'm not sure it means that much.
In Pardew I trust.Im glad you guys are back in it, I was actually starting to get bored of coming on here and reading the meltdowns and not being related to the title. Now we can have some proper banter as the points differences change!
Really don't see us winning the title. One thing about our tough fixture list at the start was that it guaranteed us a run of easy games soon which have just gone by. Now we won't be facing relegation fodder week in week out and will be back to reality. We're playing nowhere good enough to compete for the title, hopefully we'll reach the top 4.
In an average season that might be true, but this season no one is really playing consistently well, the spotlight is on us because of circumstances surrounding this season for the club, but chelsea and city arent doing much better than us really, city away from home have been a shadow of even last years team.
I think Citys away form is now getting slightly overplayed. They have been poor but are picking it up a bit now and have won in some difficult places, Swansea will be a key test for them on NYD, if they can win this then they will be too strong IMO.
I still maintain its Arsenal's to lose...because they had such a big lead and they will blow it. Therefore we can enjoy their mini meltdown.
Can I do that?
Can I do that?
I wouldn't agree with that. Arsenal have been breathtaking at times this season, and, with the exclusion of their dip in the past few weeks, they have been consistent. City have been nothing but consistent at home - painful really. Away they are anything but that. You couldn't have that though. If they were playing well away, the title would be over now. Chelsea, despite not having a striker, are there about's the entire time. Suarez is playing majestically all term. Everton, with the blip aside, have been nothing but consistent. Newcastle are playing well above average for themselves this term also.
We have a lot of work to do and hopefully, the addition of a couple of 9 stone Spaniards in January will settle the ship.
I think you have already settled the ship, but you now need to superpower it.
If we win 15, draw 1 and lose 3 of our remaining 19 games we'd finish on 80 points, which probably wouldn't be enough to win the league, unfortunately those back to back losses against Everton and Newcastle have ended any hopes we may have had. We could still finish second though, I think City will be the only side to get more than 80 points this season.
The real problem here is that we're hugely unlikely to win 15 out of 19.
Yeah, that's the point, even if we do win 15 out of 19, which would be a fantastic achievement, it still wouldn't be enough.
So you wouldn't agree that other clubs have struggled with consistency, and then point out where other clubs haven't been consistent.
Good point.
I don't understand how we can be out of it when no one has pulled away yet? The gap is getting smaller at the moment.
Sure its not likely, but I dont think you can rule out the possibility of a high 70s points tally being a 2nd or 3rd place finish this year. Its tighter than a 12 year olds...erm..
Sure its not likely, but I dont think you can rule out the possibility of a high 70s points tally being a 2nd or 3rd place finish this year. Its tighter than a 12 year olds...erm..
I don't know how we can talk about the title when there is still a good chance we won't even finish top 4 given Liverpool's form, they played very well at City.
Over the course of a season, whereby a team prevails via marathon over sprint - there will always be some sort of a dip in form (excluding the invincible's).
Everton's sole loss at home in 2013 and Arsenals tiny dip in form this term hardly merits a 'lack of consistency' this season. I know that my point about Citeh is in fact contradicting myself, but, I thought I had pointed that out in my own statement.
Good for you to jump at this while all the while ignoring my point about Suarez and the Geordies.
Too many people seem to look at Liverpool and automatically assume that their demise is a given. It is bordering on an extreme arrogance and is silly
A lot of your tougher games have been at home though. I'd expect your home form to rapidly improve and your away form to begin to falter.
Don't be soft mate, it'd be hilarious seeing them play on Thursdays.
Been there, done that. Good effort
Are we still thinking abt challenging for the title?
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There's no magic number this year. If we continue winning, we will be in the mix until the very end.
We've won four in a row and are actually playing better now than a month ago, despite intermittently missing our three best players - so yes, we are.
...and we are still in all 4 competitions.........
No.
Being serious, I'm getting giddy at the thought of beating the scouse to top four.
City
Chelsea
United
Arsenal
As a lot of people predicted here at the start of the season
Chelsea
United
Arsenal
As a lot of people predicted here at the start of the season
A lot of people thought Spurs would challenge and they also thought that United would occupy one of the first two spots.
...and we are still in all 4 competitions.........
It's on.
Seriously: This is a season in which 7 or 8 point gaps are far from unassailable. We should make top 4.
The fact that no team has gone 9/10/11/12 points clear with how frequently the others have dropped points tells you all you need to know about this title race. City, with they money the spent in the summer and the strong squad they already had at their disposal, should be streets ahead of the rest considering ourselves and Chelsea have played poorly for large parts of the campaign. Not to mention the crippling injuries we've sustained to our three/four best players over the autumnal period. Arsenal and Liverpool have benefited hugely from the fact that City, Chelsea and ourselves all have new managers at the helm and they've - commendably - seized the opportunity. (As have the likes of Everton and Newcastle, to be fair.) However, I see them wilting towards the end of the campaign as they don't have the respective squads to seriously mount a challenge (unless they invest in January) and I see the other sides progressing, particularly United.
We're seven points off top spot at present (eight if Arsenal win later on). That is more than manageable. In 2011/12, we were nine points off City after that 1-6 game but had it clawed back to three points on New Years Day, and that even includes the 2-3 Blackburn debacle. We've seen decent points lead being squandered in the space of a week before, I don't know why folk are pretending that seven points is unassailable. Maybe they're individuals who like to keep their expectations in check for fear of the possible let-down, but football is an emotional game; what good is it if you're not going to get giddy about your team's prospects?
We've won six games from six in all competitions since the Everton and Newcastle disappointments, which is a fantastic response from all involved. We've kept four clean sheets in those games. Our play has looked more balanced and confident in the past six games. Players like Rooney and Smalling have come out with words to the effect of "The rest will be looking over their shoulders now", etc. That's a great sign that the players are aware of their predicament and also that the confidence is coursing through their veins again. Ashley Young, for example, is a different animal to the one we loved to ridicule only a few weeks back.
We've the best away record in the league, our injury woes are almost behind us, we may have an exciting January transfer window in front of us, our supporters are the best in the country, which the players are certainly feeding off, we're still in four competitions despite everyone writing us off and we're in an ideal position to pounce when the sides in front of us in the league table slip up. Call me a hopeless optimist, but I truly believe we're on the cusp of something magical this season. And if not, well, we have laid the foundations for a solid effort next season with our new manager a full season further experienced. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing how it all pans out.
We're seven points off top spot at present (eight if Arsenal win later on). That is more than manageable. In 2011/12, we were nine points off City after that 1-6 game but had it clawed back to three points on New Years Day, and that even includes the 2-3 Blackburn debacle. We've seen decent points lead being squandered in the space of a week before, I don't know why folk are pretending that seven points is unassailable. Maybe they're individuals who like to keep their expectations in check for fear of the possible let-down, but football is an emotional game; what good is it if you're not going to get giddy about your team's prospects?
We've won six games from six in all competitions since the Everton and Newcastle disappointments, which is a fantastic response from all involved. We've kept four clean sheets in those games. Our play has looked more balanced and confident in the past six games. Players like Rooney and Smalling have come out with words to the effect of "The rest will be looking over their shoulders now", etc. That's a great sign that the players are aware of their predicament and also that the confidence is coursing through their veins again. Ashley Young, for example, is a different animal to the one we loved to ridicule only a few weeks back.
We've the best away record in the league, our injury woes are almost behind us, we may have an exciting January transfer window in front of us, our supporters are the best in the country, which the players are certainly feeding off, we're still in four competitions despite everyone writing us off and we're in an ideal position to pounce when the sides in front of us in the league table slip up. Call me a hopeless optimist, but I truly believe we're on the cusp of something magical this season. And if not, well, we have laid the foundations for a solid effort next season with our new manager a full season further experienced. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing how it all pans out.
The title is still out of the equation. To win it, it means literally no room for error due to our poor start to the season and a bit of fortune with top sides dropping points they shouldn't.
Top four should be the goal and what United fans should be hoping for. It'll be difficult, as again, we can really only drop around ten points between now and the end of the season - we would have to show title-winning form essentially.
Anyway, the scenario I depicted a few weeks ago, is still possible. Build some momentum and form with Premier League wins against Hull, Norwich and Spurs (hopefully) and then if we are active in the window and can sign a midfielder who can immediately impact our first team like Ozil for Arsenal, I will really fancy our chances of a top four place.
I wouldn't call you a hopeful optimist, I'd call you outright deluded.
We can only accumulate 85 points, meaning we would probably only be able to drop two or three points - if that - between now and the end of the season. That simply isn't going to happen.
People are awfully sure that it's going to take 84/85 points to win the league.
It's not.
It's not.
It might be. Double City's halfway tally and they're only 3 points below that target. If they just slightly improve their away form they'll achieve that pretty comfortably. Arsenal could also make that. I think the best we can do is between 75-80 points which probably won't be enough to win it (although you never know) but should, hopefully, get us in the top 4.