Spurs are now only 2 points better off compared to the same time last season with virtually the same GD (46-18 v 45-19). They're clearly a good team and on a different level to every other team outside the top 6 but aren't anything special. They'll finish around 78 points in my opinion which is just about beatable for us if we don't have any more silly slip ups against the fodder.
Top 4 race 2016/17
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
Rest of the pack is far behind , 6th is 12 point behind leader chelsea , that's not something i'd say 6 teams competeting for the title. Even next season It would be between Chelsea,Man city and Man united if Mourinhio improves them big time. It's a pure delusion if you think Arsenal,Spurs and Liverpool are contender for league titles. Even their fans would deny that. set for next season? look at previous season, Arsenal and Spurs let Leicster of all people walk the league with 10 points when heavyweight like Man united, Chelsea and Man city had off season. When Arsenal and Spurs can't stop Leicster from winning league comfortably, i'm not sure they can stop or compete when Chelsea, Man united and City return to best.
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League cup is one more game so should see our top team play that.
The home Europa League game is massive. If we can win that 2 or 3nil, it means we can rest players for FA Cup and second leg and then focus on league cup final then Bournemouth. It will do us a world of good just by having that one result (and of course winning the League cup)
It sets us up beautifully for the crunch time with confidence, as well as going through in the two other cups (rotated team should beat Blackburn, no disrespect to them)
The home Europa League game is massive. If we can win that 2 or 3nil, it means we can rest players for FA Cup and second leg and then focus on league cup final then Bournemouth. It will do us a world of good just by having that one result (and of course winning the League cup)
It sets us up beautifully for the crunch time with confidence, as well as going through in the two other cups (rotated team should beat Blackburn, no disrespect to them)
Spurs are second and almost finished second last season. I've spent many years laughing at Spurs, but it's unrealistic to not consider them a contender now. They're only being written off again because they were forced to put out an under-strength team and lost to Liverpool. If they can add depth in the summer window and keep their players, they'll be up there again next year.
I think we are definitely in with a shout for top 4 but it will be tough especially the longer we are in the cups. Since we have not had penalties given to us this year I cannot expect it to change much and the way Arsenal's get majority of decisions they will get in top 4. I think 4th spot will be between us Liverpool and Spurs. City and the FA sponsored Arsenal's will get top 3.
It's not bad to draw against Burnley, as they have the 3rd best home record in the Premier League.
I'm not that unhappy about the result today, Burnley deserved a point.
So i wouldn't call it 2 points dropped. It can happen to draw these games during the season.
It's not being second or 3rd, it's about chasing leader and putting pressure on them, that's what real title contender do. Both Arsenal and Spurs have proven to be very weak while piling up pressure on leaders, They let Leicster run away with title , and now they're letting you run away with it. Sure Arsenal and Spurs can make top 4 finish look intresting by dropping points and letting man united catch them while in reality these two side should've been closer to Cheslea not man united , that's what real title contender does. They look closer to 1st than 6 th. You can spin it anyway you like but your argument bite the dust in face of fact and reality.
Just realized we are currently one win away from being second. Obviously not realistic we will be, but let that just sink in for a minute.
You are also one win away from remaining 6th. Which is a bit more a frequent occurrence.
Obviously, I'm just winding you up a little.
We'd have been sixth for about 5 months by the time we play next
Interesting, considering Leicester didn't run away with the title, Spurs looked like they had every chance of catching them until the last couple of weeks. Spurs are also currently the team closest to us. They might not be quite good enough for a full blooded title challenge just yet, but if they add depth then what exactly is going to stop them being a contender next year? They've beaten both us and City this season, they're not where they are by accident.
I think we can rule out Leicester now.
If we win our games through April 5th and our game in hand when it's played we're guaranteed to climb.
In that time frame
Liverpool vs Arsenal
City vs Liverpool
Arsenal vs City
Us and Spurs are the only top 6 that don't play another in top 6 during that time. We play Chelsea April 15th and Spurs play Arsenal April 29th. We'll have rescheduled City away at some point though.
More optimistic than I was a couple of months ago and we have definitely improved our attacking game from the last 3-4 seasons but still feel we will miss out mainly because we are not clinical enough in front of goal and the referees absolutely hate us. Can't remember the last time we had created such glaring opportunities in front of goal and had a return of under 40 goals with 2/3's of the season gone. Just imagine Ruud in this team, we would be right up there. Also can't remember the last game where we played awful offensively yet converted all our shots on goal (maybe West Ham away). That's what the team under Fergie did towards the end of his reign and LVG most of the time. We need that sort of efficiency especially when we play the better teams away from home. Zlatan has done well getting 20 goals but still frustrates me with his poor finishing and lackadaisical play. I feel Liverpool will become stronger now that they'll get that rest between games. Spurs remain a strong cohesive outfit so fancy them getting top 4. We need to win all our home games and maybe get away with 1-2 losses against either arsenal, Spurs, Southampton and man city away to have a chance. Highly achievable but our fortunes in front of goal have to change.
That's encouraging apart from Liverpool who are acting like the league consists of the top 6 only.
Will also help if Tottenham progress in the Europa League and drop further points in the league as a result.
Just as close as the 2nd through 6th are, the bottom 5 are within 3 pts of each other.
Should be a great run in if it stays this close.
Should be a great run in if it stays this close.
It's in our hands now which is as much as we can ask for. We're in this position because of a poor start to the season which is understandable having taken on a new manager and the big job he had on his hands starting off.
If you chalk the first ten games of the campaign down to Jose settling in, only Chelsea have scored more points than us in the following 15 matches. We're 7 points clear of Liverpool in that time frame, 6 ahead of Arsenal and at least 4 clear of City. I'm backing us to finish 2nd.
If you chalk the first ten games of the campaign down to Jose settling in, only Chelsea have scored more points than us in the following 15 matches. We're 7 points clear of Liverpool in that time frame, 6 ahead of Arsenal and at least 4 clear of City. I'm backing us to finish 2nd.
Imagine if, after being 6th for so long, we end up 2nd.
That would be glorious. Not only CL spot but a direct spot, no qualifying rounds.
That would be glorious. Not only CL spot but a direct spot, no qualifying rounds.
We really should finish ahead of a team that starts Lucas, Milner and Mignolet. I'm more worried about finishing 5th behind the others. Citeh and Arsenal have the talent and style needed to break bad teams down and Tottenham are generally solid, yesterday aside.
I didnt mean from last season. They have gone up a level from thei usual
Rumours for the Derby:
- 1st March if there's no FA cup replays
- 8th March if either side is involved in a replay but United go out the EL
- 26th April if there's a replay and United go through
Can I have option three please Dan?
Last year they finished 11 points off Leicster , that's not a title challange. this year they collapsed before march. where they're exactly? got embarassed in cl group stage and are struggling to finish 4. Can you bet your house on Arsenal or Spurs winning league ? Spurs are only in the mix because Man united and city declined. when these two teams improves they'll be near Chelsea not spurs or Arsenal. One has not won a league since 62 and another has not won since last decade. they gotta prove it before anyone take them as serious title contenders. finishing 10-12 points off leader doesn't translate in to competing for league.
You are also one win away from remaining 6th. Which is a bit more a frequent occurrence.
Obviously, I'm just winding you up a little.
Your team also has like 1 win in 10 so I wouldn't gloat too much....
I'm surprised why the bookmakers have Liverpool above Arsenal. I understand that they probably took into account of the fact that Arsenal is still in other competitions and Liverpool can now focus just on the league, but Arsenal is still above Liverpool and on paper, their squad is still stronger than Liverpool; not to mention that they always finish in top 4.
8th is a CL gameweek, will Uefa allow the FA to play such a big game on the same date as Dortmund vs Benfica and Barca vs PSG?
Question, as I haven't been on here properly in the last week..
Was Steven Gerrard saying "United have left themselves too much to do, to get into the top 4" a thing on here?
If not, why? We're 2 points off 2nd aren't we?
Was Steven Gerrard saying "United have left themselves too much to do, to get into the top 4" a thing on here?
If not, why? We're 2 points off 2nd aren't we?
Our top 4 chances have been dented for sure(due to the three straight draws vs Pool, Stoke and Hull). At the beginning of the year, we were not too far away from the top 4 positions. We were looking at a fairly easy set of PL fixtures and also had other competitors playing each other. I felt that it was really important that we were in the top four and at least 2 points off the team in 5th before Europa started. For two reasons:
1. Europa will affect us
2. We still have to play Chelsea, City, Spurs and Arsenal. The three we are competing with will all be at home. While the other teams have played a good chunk of their tough games.
Others dropped points and so did we. So the making up that we were supposed to do, did not happen. I feel our chances of being in the top four were higher on 2nd Jan, than they are now.
We still can make it, but it is going to be tough now.
1. Europa will affect us
2. We still have to play Chelsea, City, Spurs and Arsenal. The three we are competing with will all be at home. While the other teams have played a good chunk of their tough games.
Others dropped points and so did we. So the making up that we were supposed to do, did not happen. I feel our chances of being in the top four were higher on 2nd Jan, than they are now.
We still can make it, but it is going to be tough now.
I just can't see us getting top four. Our run-in is a nightmare compared to the other five teams. Away games to Arsenal, Spurs, and City.
We'll beat Arsenal. Also I think we'll take something at Spurs.
Eh? We're 2 points off 3rd place (2nd if City draw today).
Yeah. As I said, the three draws have made it really difficult. The run-in along with Europa makes it super difficult. Our hope would be for teams like Pool, City and Arsenal to keep dropping points the way they have in the last two months. I feel we will need 78 points to finish in top four. We need 30 points out of 39 for that.
That allows us 3 draws and one loss. Winnings 9 of following 13 games is a tough task especially when we need to perform very very well to win games, as we don't score that easily:
Bournemouth (H)
Southampton (A)
Boro (A)
West Brom (H)
Everton (H)
Sunderland (A)
Chelsea (H)
Burnley (A)
Swansea (H)
Arsenal (A)
Spurs (A)
Palace (H)
City (A)
With the rescheduled city game, Europa and FA Cup, this is going to be tough, very tough.
United still have a good shot at the Europa League. It guarantees the CL spot, right? So if MU don't finish in the top four they can still make it by winning the cup competition. Come to think of it, Spurs are still in it, too. But like United's chances better due to a deeper squad and Mourinho's experience.
By the way, if it happens, would the EL winner take the 4th team's place in the CL next season?
By the way, if it happens, would the EL winner take the 4th team's place in the CL next season?
The same Spurs who thumped City and Chelsea at home? I'd be surprised.
Arsenal, maybe, but City? I'd say a draw is our best shout, and Chelsea, well we're at home but they're a level above everyone.
I reckon we'll get 6 points out of 12 which will leave us too far behind the others.
No, five teams. Spain had five this year when Sevilla won it.
UEFa can't stop it. They'll just reduce the English club's TV allocation.
You can only really start judging this after our game with Chelski in mid-April.
At the moment we're on a great unbeaten run, have few injuries and our next games are Bournemouth (H), Southampton (A), Middlesbrough (A), WBA (H), Everton (H), Sunderland (A).
There's 6 games we should be looking to get max points from and if we go near to that and then get something out of the Renties we'll be in the mix.
As long as the fixture pile-up isn't too severe, those last few games against top-4 rivals at the business-end of the season will mostly come down to momentum and confidence.
Personally, I think Jose will get us into the CL places and win us at least one bit of silverware this season...
At the moment we're on a great unbeaten run, have few injuries and our next games are Bournemouth (H), Southampton (A), Middlesbrough (A), WBA (H), Everton (H), Sunderland (A).
There's 6 games we should be looking to get max points from and if we go near to that and then get something out of the Renties we'll be in the mix.
As long as the fixture pile-up isn't too severe, those last few games against top-4 rivals at the business-end of the season will mostly come down to momentum and confidence.
Personally, I think Jose will get us into the CL places and win us at least one bit of silverware this season...