romufc
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Liverpool.Not the greatest teams who actually win the trophies. They generally have great squad depth.
Liverpool.Not the greatest teams who actually win the trophies. They generally have great squad depth.
We're barely a shadow of the side that played in those PSG and Barca games.Are we though..
Last time we play CL, we reached Quarter-final, did fine in the 1st leg against Barca (with our squad crippled with injures so we play with weaker 11), sneaked a win against PSG (again a weaker 11) and did okay in one game against Juventus (full strength squad) group stage. And we've been making huge sounds/promising signs of what's to come next! with Bruno in domestic competitions. English teams have been doing well in recent seasons (a sign that the league is strong and competitive). We're the 3rd best team approaching next season.
In what way are we a Dark Horse?
Doesnt look like it. We seem to be buying at max 3 players (Sancho, CB, Grealish/VdB). That would be a great improvement, but not enough to go far in the CL. Bringing in 3 players this summer is far from certain under Ed/Judge as well. We could end up with only 2, which would be quite disappointing.Don’t see us anywhere near that level.
The elite sides will just force our full backs wide and make them do something.
We might be able to counter and win a few but as a side unless we have a huge summer I think we have too many glaring weaknesses.
Juve? Do you even watch them to be making such blinkered statements? You also say that this isnt football manager yet you have mentioned coutinho who cant get a game and Leroy sane who hasnt even played a game but has been injured for the year. Clueless.Absolutely no chance. No CL win so soon. Have you seen how good Bayern, Juve, Real, etc are?
Bayern just signed Leroy Sané and they still have Coutinho. Powerhouse signings.
This is not Football Manager.
I had a similar vibe regarding our season in the CL during LvG's reign, and we all know how that ended up... I'm saying nothing this timeIn recent weeks there has been quite a lot of talk of how important CL is in terms of finances and attracting better players. That's obviously true. But people are underestimating our chances to actually achieve something in the competition from a sporting perspective.
Our record against this season's top 6 makes for pretty reading. For most parts we've risen to the occasion in the bigger games. Obviously still work in progress but we've shown signs of being robust, soaking it up and going for the sucker punch. Playing on the counter is often frowned upon but having a high class counter attacking game in your locker has almost always been a recipe for success in Europe. If you don't have that counter attacking game you'll eventually come unstuck. Sooner or later you'll face an opponent who know how to counter, expose your defence and knock you out of the competition.
Our achilles heel in the CL in recent years has been our home form. We have won 1 our of last 6 home games in the competition. Fellaini scoring the only goal of the game in added time against... Young Boys. With the improvements of Rashford/Martial, emergence of Greenwood and introduction of Bruno and hopefully Sancho we're more or less in sync with the modern way of playing football rather than the dour zombieball and hoofing it to big lumps we had been accustomed to for far too many years. I think next season is when we bring back the magical European nights to Old Trafford and make the place a fortress again.
I see us reaching the semis next year and from that point onwards anything is possible.
Oh and we're winning a CL within the next 5 years. Mark my words.
Well if we are a horse we'd be a dark one given we've only made the CL 4 times in the last 7 seasons.Are we though..
Last time we play CL, we reached Quarter-final, did fine in the 1st leg against Barca (with our squad crippled with injures so we play with weaker 11), sneaked a win against PSG (again a weaker 11) and did okay in one game against Juventus (full strength squad) group stage. And we've been making huge sounds/promising signs of what's to come next! with Bruno in domestic competitions. English teams have been doing well in recent seasons (a sign that the league is strong and competitive). We're the 3rd best team approaching next season.
In what way are we a Dark Horse?
Exactly and I think that's what OP's getting at, too. That front line can get an away goal or two anywhere. In the home leg we can play on the counter.If we get Sancho you never know how far we can go. Our front three /four and the attacking midfielders below them would be a pain to play against. And merely having a RW threat who would attract three defenders at all times would open up space for Martial and Rashford.
But it's best to focus first on continuing our momentum next season before we jump the gun on Cl expectations.
It looks like you are mixing two things here. Having a good counter-attacking unit does not necessarily mean you are good at defending and protecting yourself from good counter-attacking units. If we set up to counter the opponent, by definition we would surrender the majority of ball possession and would expect the opponent to control the game (at least in terms of having most of the ball).In recent weeks there has been quite a lot of talk of how important CL is in terms of finances and attracting better players. That's obviously true. But people are underestimating our chances to actually achieve something in the competition from a sporting perspective.
Our record against this season's top 6 makes for pretty reading. For most parts we've risen to the occasion in the bigger games. Obviously still work in progress but we've shown signs of being robust, soaking it up and going for the sucker punch. Playing on the counter is often frowned upon but having a high class counter attacking game in your locker has almost always been a recipe for success in Europe. If you don't have that counter attacking game you'll eventually come unstuck. Sooner or later you'll face an opponent who know how to counter, expose your defence and knock you out of the competition.
Our achilles heel in the CL in recent years has been our home form. We have won 1 our of last 6 home games in the competition. Fellaini scoring the only goal of the game in added time against... Young Boys. With the improvements of Rashford/Martial, emergence of Greenwood and introduction of Bruno and hopefully Sancho we're more or less in sync with the modern way of playing football rather than the dour zombieball and hoofing it to big lumps we had been accustomed to for far too many years. I think next season is when we bring back the magical European nights to Old Trafford and make the place a fortress again.
I see us reaching the semis next year and from that point onwards anything is possible.
Oh and we're winning a CL within the next 5 years. Mark my words.
Yeah me too. Good to be back.Both are correct. However, get the right personnel and there's no reason why we can't get to the play off stage. Winning the thing is a stretch but luck can play a part.
Just happy to be taking part
This was the team that played in Paris:We're barely a shadow of the side that played in those PSG and Barca games.
Juve? Do you even watch them to be making such blinkered statements? You also say that this isnt football manager yet you have mentioned coutinho who cant get a game and Leroy sane who hasnt even played a game but has been injured for the year. Clueless.
A lot will depend on Mister Ed.Neigh
If those Barca games were starting today, only Lindelof, Shaw, and Rashford would be included in the starting eleven with Fred and Mctominay on the bench, and, perhaps more importantly, they have all improved to varying degrees since then too.This was the team that played in Paris:
De Gea; Bailly (Dalot 35), Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Young, McTominay, Fred, A.Pereira (Chong 80); Rashford, Lukaku
I mean, come on. The issue with that post was calling the home game against Barcelona "doing fine" - we were outplayed and lost the game without a shot on target.
OK... you said 'we're barely a shadow of that side' - I took that to mean that we were much stronger back then which didn't make much sense to me. But apparently you meant the other way around.If those Barca games were starting today, only Lindelof, Shaw, and Rashford would be included in the starting eleven with Fred and Mctominay on the bench, and, perhaps more importantly, they have all improved to varying degrees since then too.
AWB, Maguire, Pogba, Bruno, a rejuvenated Matic, an improved Martial, and Greenwood have helped transform the side that was embarrassed by Barca into a very competitive one. That we are the second-best team in the PL since the turn of the year is evidence of that.
Throw Sancho, Grealish, and a pacy CD into the mix and who knows what we can achieve.
Yeah, we've improved ten-fold since then, which speaks volumes for Ole's management of the club during that time.OK... you said 'we're barely a shadow of that side' - I took that to mean that we were much stronger back then which didn't make much sense to me. But apparently you meant the other way around.