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Re: Will we get top 4?

Posted: Thu May 25, 2023 9:59 pm
by Felwin
Signed, sealed, delivered.

Re: Will we get top 4?

Posted: Thu May 25, 2023 10:02 pm
by Fuck the Glazers
With one trophy in the bag and maybe another one too.

It's been a great season.

Hag has had to battle losing Greenwood, Ron, not getting a replacement in jan, the Maguire saga, the ownership saga as well - it's been a mess. But we've achieved our main aims.

Re: Will we get top 4?

Posted: Thu May 25, 2023 10:10 pm
by Jason
Been saying it all along, we'd get 3rd, never in doubt!

Re: Will we get top 4?

Posted: Thu May 25, 2023 11:45 pm
by bman2
Fuck the Glazers wrote: 1 year ago With one trophy in the bag and maybe another one too.

It's been a great season.

Hag has had to battle losing Greenwood, Ron, not getting a replacement in jan, the Maguire saga, the ownership saga as well - it's been a mess. But we've achieved our main aims.
Besides the entertainment value for supporters being in the Champions League, the club also badly needs that CL money right now. CL qualification is probably going to make a difference to our summer business, we could probably afford one additional player now in the 40-50M range.

Re: Will we get top 4?

Posted: Fri May 26, 2023 7:08 am
by Felwin
Fuck the Glazers wrote: 1 year ago With one trophy in the bag and maybe another one too.

It's been a great season.

Hag has had to battle losing Greenwood, Ron, not getting a replacement in jan, the Maguire saga, the ownership saga as well - it's been a mess. But we've achieved our main aims.
100%. In August I was thinking "get rid of Ronaldo, get Europa again, decent cup run and at least look like a team". It's been a battle and we've looked shocking at times but League Cup and 3rd is very solid. If we can stop Abu Dhabi doing the treble then it's a great season.

Re: Will we get top 4?

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2023 9:41 am
by Fuck the Glazers
What do you lot reckon this season - will we get top 4?

I think so. Maybe top 3. I think we'll be short of goals though given that Hojlund's injury has to be managed.

Chelsea will be stronger. Not sure about Liverpool. Depends on whether Klopp can rebuild. Spurs will play rock n roll football under Ange but they don't have all of the pieces of the puzzle yet.

Newcastle will kick on or sack Eddie Howe. They're unstoppable now. Only US state sanctions can prevent their ascent to the title.

Re: Will we get top 4?

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2023 9:45 am
by swampash
I think so too. Despite the general gloom that set in after the Wolves game I think we‘re on the right track.

Re: Will we get top 4?

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2023 9:59 am
by JoelfuckingGlazer
No, I don't think we will. In theory, we've improved the squad. But City are a given, Arsenal will be top 4. Liverpool should be fine, I think. Chelsea are building an awesome squad. Newcastle came out swinging and have definitely improved their squad, but CL football will take its toll.

For me, and maybe I'm just being my natural pessimist self, but we have a very limited attack, a lack of depth in defence, and the spectre of both the clubs sale/non sale and the return of Greenwood. On that last one, it could completely fuck us. It'll create a shit storm, toxic atmosphere everywhere we go, probably a load of sponsor noise when the backlash begins..... and this lot of players don't stand up well to heat.

It could go massively tits up this season. We needed Kane, and we needed something different to Mount. Caicedo. Caicedo instead of Mount and Kane instead of Hojlund would have been huge. An extra 70m or so, but we could have done it.

Re: Will we get top 4?

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2023 10:25 am
by dozer
Initially I thought we should nail 3rd place or even 2nd with more points than last season.
But now, I think 4th will be a struggle. The others have strengthened more.
We're in deep trouble if we don't get a right back, CF and right winger. Even then we'll need a backup CM and CB.

Guardiola's biggest strength is he cuts the crap quickly and does not hesitate buying more players for a specific position if the existing players aren't good enough.

Re: Will we get top 4?

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2023 10:35 am
by Felwin
I'm gonna be the one sitting on the fence here. It really depends on so many factors. Not as cut and dry as last season where I was fairly sure we'd miss out but had an outside chance. If Ten Hag's changes don't work we might be on the backfoot fairly quickly. At the same time I can see us keeping it fairly tight again and challenging for 2nd.

If Varane/Martinez find form, Onana improves our buildup and defence as expected, Shaw is good again, Casemiro finds form, Hojlund slots in, Antony and Garnacho continue to improve and Rashford has an extended purple patch again, we should be in with a shout of silverware. Lots and lots of "if's" though.

The pessimist in me sees the midfield as worse than last season and everywhere else but GK as more or less the same. And bman, you're spot on about Greenwood. Potential to nuke the season if (when) the club make the wrong decision.