United and top 4

[Grylte]

Problem is this might also be our best chance of qualifying for CL next year by wining Europa League again especially with the emergence of Leicester, Wolves and Everton who will all be pushing top 6 next season.

I doubt they will, their best players will be picked up by other teams, and they're going to have to start from scratch with good championship players again.

 

[wolvored]

I doubt they will, their best players will be picked up by other teams, and they're going to have to start from scratch with good championship players again.

I dont think they will. Wolves and Leicester owners have a lot more money than the Glazers. They will be stronger next year.

 

[Speedicut75]

I dont think they will. Wolves and Leicester owners have a lot more money than the Glazers. They will be stronger next year.

That's a sobering thought.

 

[Grylte]

I dont think they will. Wolves and Leicester owners have a lot more money than the Glazers. They will be stronger next year.

The clubs aren't as big, and can't get the best players, they still have to find them in lower divisions and weaker leagues.
By all means, they have done great so far, so not saying they can't do it again, but teams like them will always have to rebuild after a good season, when top teams buy their star players.
And yes, they do have to sell, the players always wants to go to bigger clubs when they come knocking.

 

[croadyman]

I know this will probably get criticism but feel that now top 4 has gone Ole should play some youth in last two league games.

He may as well have a look at them ahead of next season.

 

[gerdm07]

Week in, week out, Ole's unshakable trust on Young, Matic, Rashford and Lukaku is what's bringing us down.

What other options does Ole have?

That's that. Europa next year. Oh well.

 

[Judas]

Thought for awhile we wouldn't get top 4, but the way we've been given opportunity after opportunity to get in there and wasted it every single time has been truly shocking.

 

[Irwin99]

Thought for awhile we wouldn't get top 4, but the way we've been given opportunity after opportunity to get in there and wasted it every single time has been truly shocking.

It really was the last chance and I thought we'd approach it like a cup final with urgency and pride, which we did do for about 30 minutes. After that it was pretty awful. We weren't exactly playing a great side either.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Thought for awhile we wouldn't get top 4, but the way we've been given opportunity after opportunity to get in there and wasted it every single time has been truly shocking.

Reminds me of LVG's second season. That penultimate game against West Ham...

 

[VinnyRedDevil]

Assuming MU win the next two games, they will have 71 points.

Remaining matches...

Spurs

Bournemouth away
Everton home

Chelsea

Watford home
Leicester away

Arsenal

Brighton home
Burnley away

======

Bottom line is, we need Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal to drop points. There is still a remote chance of getting top four but we should not be in this shitty position in the first place.

 

[JEredDevil]

For those that want the kids to be played in the remaining games, dont get your hopes too high up. It might be very very very difficult for us to get top 4 now but it's still mathematically possible. For those calling the kids to be played, what if they dont get the 3 points and our rivals all lose again? Sure, maybe they would play better than the seniors but IMO that is too huge a risk for Ole to take. The goal has always been to qualify for top 4 since that good run of games and we are still actually in it tbh. If Ole does play the kids and win, of course, everything would be great. But what if he plays the kid and loses and the rest loses as well? We would have miss out on another good chance and we would probably say that he made the wrong decision to play the kids.

I would suggest playing the seniors against Huddersfield until we are mathematically out of the race. Arsenal and Chelsea still have the Europa league to play for and i could consider our remaining fixtures in the league easier than theirs. Arsenal have Brighton (who might or might not be relegated depending on the Cardiff game) and their last game is away to Burnley. Arsenal away from is atrocious and if Cardiff does beat Crystal Palace the day before Arsenal play Brighton, Brighton would be fighting for their lives as well. Chelsea has much trickier fixtures, home to Watford and away to Leicester. Along with Wolves, Watford has been the other standout team this season and could certainly give Chelsea some problems. While Leicester, certainly has the ability to take 3 points from Chelsea. We still have a glimmer of hope to make top 4 if we win against Huddersfield and if it comes down to the last game for the 3 teams, i pretty much fancy our chances even if we dont really deserve it.

The point i'm trying to make is that i feel that we should play the first 11 against Huddersfield since our game is the same time as Chelsea's and we have already realised how much of a disappointment they can be. So if they do not get the 3 points, i would rather bash them instead of bashing the kids.

 

[TMDaines]

For those that want the kids to be played in the remaining games, dont get your hopes too high up. It might be very very very difficult for us to get top 4 now but it's still mathematically possible. For those calling the kids to be played, what if they dont get the 3 points and our rivals all lose again? Sure, maybe they would play better than the seniors but IMO that is too huge a risk for Ole to take. The goal has always been to qualify for top 4 since that good run of games and we are still actually in it tbh. If Ole does play the kids and win, of course, everything would be great. But what if he plays the kid and loses and the rest loses as well? We would have miss out on another good chance and we would probably say that he made the wrong decision to play the kids.

I would suggest playing the seniors against Huddersfield until we are mathematically out of the race. Arsenal and Chelsea still have the Europa league to play for and i could consider our remaining fixtures in the league easier than theirs. Arsenal have Brighton (who might or might not be relegated depending on the Cardiff game) and their last game is away to Burnley. Arsenal away from is atrocious and if Cardiff does beat Crystal Palace the day before Arsenal play Brighton, Brighton would be fighting for their lives as well. Chelsea has much trickier fixtures, home to Watford and away to Leicester. Along with Wolves, Watford has been the other standout team this season and could certainly give Chelsea some problems. While Leicester, certainly has the ability to take 3 points from Chelsea. We still have a glimmer of hope to make top 4 if we win against Huddersfield and if it comes down to the last game for the 3 teams, i pretty much fancy our chances even if we dont really deserve it.

The point i'm trying to make is that i feel that we should play the first 11 against Huddersfield since our game is the same time as Chelsea's and we have already realised how much of a disappointment they can be. So if they do not get the 3 points, i would rather bash them instead of bashing the kids.

I couldn't agree more. The first team need to be accountable for finishing the season whilst it is still live. I neither believe the kids are somehow more capable than seasoned professionals, nor do I think they should face the burden of ensuring the six points. Rightly or wrongly, these two games are seen as gimmes given the form of the bottom three against the top six (zero points). The kids winning wouldn't be that meaningful, whilst them losing would be a terrible introduction to the team. Bournemouth away under Van Gaal was one of the lowest lows post Ferguson.

I think Chelsea will get at least one win and I don't fancy us to overhaul the GD, so think we are already dead in hindsight, but we have to keep the other sides as honest as we can.

 

[TRUERED89]

I dont think they will. Wolves and Leicester owners have a lot more money than the Glazers. They will be stronger next year.

It doesn't matter if the owners themselves have more money than the Glazers, Leicester & Wolves cannot pay the same wages as United, City, Chelsea etc. So if any big clubs come calling, I'm sure it wont be too difficult.

 

[Arka_BleedingRed]

What other options does Ole have?

That's that. Europa next year. Oh well.

Really? Ashley Young is irreplaceable now? Until we get a better player the likes of Martial, Lukaku, Alexis and Rashford should have been rotated according to the opposition. And Matic completely dropped. It's true that we need new players though.

 

[gerdm07]

He tried Lindelof at RB and that didn't work so well. Dalot has been hit or miss which is typical for young players. Alexis just came back and was pretty woeful before his injury. Again, Ole doesn't have many choices.

 

[CM]

Reminds me of LVG's second season. That penultimate game against West Ham...

That was worse because we only needed to hold on for 15 more minutes to win the match and still found a way to lose. I think we have more quality now but the players still seem to lack the character to react to adversity.

 

[minoo-utd]

E.L that's our standards now. Club can do nothing about it. No plans it seems. Everyone is clueless.

 

[Woziak]

I doubt they will, their best players will be picked up by other teams, and they're going to have to start from scratch with good championship players again.

Most of these teams are picking up great young British and Benelux talent, something we once excelled at, If we picked up Chillwell, Madison, Neves, Felipe Anderson, Maguire, D Gray, Coady Conner, Tielemans, Declan Rice, Idris Gueye, W N'didi. All the above would currently walk into our squad. If you go week in week out to OT like me, you will know this group of players with their current attitude and fitness levels are at best top 8 next season!

 

[Woziak]

Come on now I don’t think things have gone that drastic. Whilst Wolves and Everton have money to spend they still can’t attract the really big names. They just pay more for better than average players.

It's not just about money, It's about work ethic and whom at the top of the pyramid is pulling the club in an upward direction, both the owners at Wolves and Moshiri at Everton have far more imagination and dreams about what an Elite football club looks like than what our current clown owners do or maybe you think the Glaziers and Woodward are the dream team?

 

[Josep Dowling]

It's not just about money, It's about work ethic and whom at the top of the pyramid is pulling the club in an upward direction, both the owners at Wolves and Moshiri at Everton have far more imagination and dreams about what an Elite football club looks like than what our current clown owners do or maybe you think the Glaziers and Woodward are the dream team?

Why would I think the Glazer and Woodward are the dream team. I'm being realistic. If we went for the same players as Everton and Wolves I'm sure we would always get the player. Unless they were Portuguese because of the Mendes connection to Wolves. Neither have the infrastructure or stadium to push on just yet.

 

[Kapardin]

United and Top 4. Still a better love story than Twilight..

I agree that I'm not really arsed about qualifying for CL only to look like Schalke or Shakhtar and get slapped around by the big boys while City and Liverpool are taken seriously by their opponents.

I think EL is a good competition for a season or two if we genuinely undergo a proper transition as opposed to false dawns - clear out the deadwood, get in a DoF, identify players from lesser leagues or lower teams who would consider us a step-up despite only offering EL. I know the Glazers will panic and spend well if we don't qualify for CL, that is a plus, but I'm not sure we have the structure to identify the sort of players I mentioned.

 

[youmeletsfly]

Heard a stat on sky, us, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs dropped 29 points in the last 9 days.

City ane Liverpool lost 33 among them during the whole season.

 

[Sassy Colin]

Hold on, Spurs have Everton next week?

Dare to dream?

 

[bosnian_red]

Hold on, Spurs have Everton next week?

Dare to dream?

Spurs play Everton, Chelsea play Leicester away, Arsenal play Burnley away. All have semi final games in midweek. If Chelsea drop points against Watford, then its anyone's chance. A win for Chelsea tomorrow will see us need to make up a +9 GD between Cardiff and Huddersfield (again, not impossible, just unlikely).

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

I doubt they will, their best players will be picked up by other teams, and they're going to have to start from scratch with good championship players again.

Not sure Wolves got enough quality up front. They are tactically very good and a solid side though. I think Everton do have enough quality to take the next step with a good window. What they need is a top quality striker to complement Richarlison and Sigurdsson in the attack. Maybe improve the midfield more too, but they got a decent squad overall.
Leicester have done it before and could do it again. Although they miss Mahrez in terms of quality in the midfield. Vardy is also getting older so not sure the attack is good enough.

 

[Bestietom]

Assuming MU win the next two games, they will have 71 points.

Remaining matches...

Spurs

Bournemouth away
Everton home

Chelsea

Watford home
Leicester away

Arsenal

Brighton home
Burnley away

======

Bottom line is, we need Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal to drop points. There is still a remote chance of getting top four but we should not be in this shitty position in the first place.

We would not have had any chance at all if we had kept Mourinho. Ole has done well getting us this close and only for injuries at the wrong time we would already have qualified for Champions League. Now some don't seem to be performing.