Next three games

Pogue Mahone

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"like a man in silk pyjamas shooting pigeons
Which one do you most badly want to win?

For me it’s:

1. Leicester
2. Newcastle
3. Barca

I’ve always maintained the league and Europa cups are fairly tinpot trophies so it would be hypocritical to put them on a pedestal now. With Liverpool potentially on a charge and the change to put a hefty gap between us and Newcastle I’m going with 3 points today as my number one priority. Especially as Casemiro being out and Leicester in such great form making it possibly the trickiest fixture of the three.

Other opinions are available.
 
1. Newcastle - Let's end the cup drought. Would be great for Ten Hag.
2. Leicester - 3 Points
3. Barca - They're a top side, can tolerate if we try our best and lose to them.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Which one do you most badly want to win?

For me it’s:

1. Leicester
2. Newcastle
3. Barca

I’ve always maintained the league and Europa cups are fairly tinpot trophies so it would be hypocritical to put them on a pedestal now. With Liverpool potentially on a charge and the change to put a hefty gap between us and Newcastle I’m going with 3 points today as my number one priority. Especially as Casemiro being out and Leicester in such great form making it possibly the trickiest fixture of the three.

Other opinions are available.
Click to expand...
Yeah today’s match is critical. We have to rotate but we should be prioritising beating Leicester. Annoying that they have looked crap for a large part of the season and now are massively in form as soon as they play us. I just hope we don’t look too tired. Not having a steady midfield for the last few games has been a big problem and I hope that doesn’t show today.

As for the others, slightly less critical, but winning mentality is crucial for us as we go forward. If I had to pick an order: 1) Leicester 2) Newcastle (it’s a final) 3) Barcelona (no shame in going out to them)
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Which one do you most badly want to win?

For me it’s:

1. Leicester
2. Newcastle
3. Barca

I’ve always maintained the league and Europa cups are fairly tinpot trophies so it would be hypocritical to put them on a pedestal now. With Liverpool potentially on a charge and the change to put a hefty gap between us and Newcastle I’m going with 3 points today as my number one priority. Especially as Casemiro being out and Leicester in such great form making it possibly the trickiest fixture of the three.

Other opinions are available.
Click to expand...

Its actually

Leicester
Barcelona
Newcastle

There’s is enough time between the Leicester and Barcelona fixtures. We could play a full strength team if we want. We haven't won anything in 6 years, whether tin pot or not a club of our stature can't go things long without silverware.
 
We’re in a cup final next week for Christ sake. We haven’t won a bean in five years.

Anything answer other than the cup final is completely mental at best, or horribly spoiled and entitled at worst.
 
1. Newcastle - ending the trophy drought is absolutely essential for this team.
2. Barcelona - it's time to show we're once again a force in Europe and eliminating the runaway La Liga leaders would be fantastic. Besides, I absolutely despise the cnuts.
3. Leicester - even if we don't win, we're still in a phenomenal position to finish in the top 3.
 
People will remember next year whether ten Hag beat Newcastle. They won’t care one bit whether we beat Leicester today.

Call it a tin pot all you like but it‘a counted by all media institutions towards our total trophy count and that matters.
 
Newcastle- we need a trophy to show the teams progression and it will make them hungry for more.

barca- knocking them out would show were becoming a force in Europe again and will set us up nicely for next seasons CL

Leicester- I think we’ll win this game but even if we draw or lose then we’re still in a pretty comfortable position in the table and since Newcastle dropped points we’ll be fine.
 
Scorpy said:
1. Newcastle - ending the trophy drought is absolutely essential for this team.
2. Barcelona - it's time to show we're once again a force in Europe and eliminating the runaway La Liga leaders would be fantastic. Besides, I absolutely despise the cnuts.
3. Leicester - even if we don't win, we're still in a phenomenal position to finish in the top 3.
Click to expand...

Let’s be brutally honest, too. We could lose every league game until the end of the season and we’re probably going to go out and buy who we want in the summer anyway.

Folk are (understandably) whinging about the game being gone and potentially withdrawing support in the event of a Qatari takeover. At least a win next weekend will be genuine and without that influence.

As you say, this team needs the monkey off its back. Not doing so killed Ole that summer.
 
Scorpy said:
1. Newcastle - ending the trophy drought is absolutely essential for this team.
2. Barcelona - it's time to show we're once again a force in Europe and eliminating the runaway La Liga leaders would be fantastic. Besides, I absolutely despise the cnuts.
3. Leicester - even if we don't win, we're still in a phenomenal position to finish in the top 3.
Click to expand...
Yes, I’m closest to this.
We really do need to get some silverware done, so that’s the priority.
Second, I think if we beat Barca we can win EUFA too. I’m not saying it will be easy but we’re good enough if we don’t get many injuries.
Third is Leicester. I really do want us to beat them, but fear a little post-European night weariness. That said, I’m developing a deep trust in ETH and we’re certainly capable of smashing them.
I think we’ll get top four even if we drop points today. So let’s go for a couple of trophies. Its been a long time!
 
Scorpy said:
1. Newcastle - ending the trophy drought is absolutely essential for this team.
2. Barcelona - it's time to show we're once again a force in Europe and eliminating the runaway La Liga leaders would be fantastic. Besides, I absolutely despise the cnuts.
3. Leicester - even if we don't win, we're still in a phenomenal position to finish in the top 3.
Click to expand...

This
 
We need to win a prize, it’s so important for Ten Hag to show his hard work and tactics work and for the players to get motivated to win more and work even harder for the manager. A prize could really be a starting point for something great, it will lift everyone and give confidence.

so for me:
1 - Newcastle - we need a prize
2 - Barcelona - see how far we can go in Europe
3 - Leicester - title race is still far away, top 4 is most important now

although I really want to win today as well and see if we can put some extra pressure on Arsenal and City.
 
Newcastle the most important for me. 5 (or is it 6) years without a trophy, that cannot continue for a club like ours. Get that league cup won, that's all I care about right now.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Which one do you most badly want to win?

For me it’s:

1. Leicester
2. Newcastle
3. Barca

I’ve always maintained the league and Europa cups are fairly tinpot trophies so it would be hypocritical to put them on a pedestal now. With Liverpool potentially on a charge and the change to put a hefty gap between us and Newcastle I’m going with 3 points today as my number one priority. Especially as Casemiro being out and Leicester in such great form making it possibly the trickiest fixture of the three.

Other opinions are available.
Click to expand...
After 6 years without a trophy the Newcastle game is easily the biggest game
 
1. Newcastle - The momentum off winning this would be huge for either side. We need to stop the rot from cup finals and semi finals and it would be great for Ten Hag to win a trophy in his first season.
2. Leicester - I don't care as much individually about this game as Barcelona, but I'd like us to be in the mix at the top if Arsenal and/or Man City continue to drop points.
3. Barcelona - It'd be a nice game to win but also makes our calendar that bit more hectic. Europa brings loads of 2 leg games with it when we already have a thin squad. If we are going to get knocked out of it, it's better to do so early and there's no shame in losing to Barcelona.
 
On the other thread ranking the importance of the next 5 I put Leicester bottom. That's because I'm confident of winning this one anyway and of our chances of top 4 while I don't see us winning the league. It's important to win today, but I wasn't seeing it as a big match or occasion compared to the others.That's how I was viewing the word "importance".

If we could only win 1 of the next 3 then Barcelona definitely bottom. Still a long way to go in that competition if we beat them.

I'd take a draw Vs. Leicester and beating Newcastle over winning Vs. Leicester and losing to Newcastle if I can have that?

If we lost today that would be a shock to my system because I am confident. Might make feel nervous for the rest. For my peace of mind I hope we don't and I wouldn't want the players getting the jitters either of course.

Still, I do put importance on winning a trophy, and even if it's the least prestigious trophy we are competing for think it would do the squad a lot of good. We have many who have never won a trophy with United and it's good to get into winning ways. It was often said that the 1990 FA Cup was a catalyst for what came after and I'm hoping something similar would happen again. Think Newcastle edges it for me as the one I want most.

Newcastle
Leicester
Barcelona
 
Chipper said:
On the other thread ranking the importance of the next 5 I put Leicester bottom. That's because I'm confident of winning this one anyway and of our chances of top 4 while I don't see us winning the league. It's important to win today, but I wasn't seeing it as a big match or occasion compared to the others.That's how I was viewing the word "importance".

If we could only win 1 of the next 3 then Barcelona definitely bottom. Still a long way to go in that competition if we beat them.

I'd take a draw Vs. Leicester and beating Newcastle over winning Vs. Leicester and losing to Newcastle if I can have that?

If we lost today that would be a shock to my system because I am confident. Might make feel nervous for the rest. For my peace of mind I hope we don't and I wouldn't want the players getting the jitters either of course.

Still, I do put importance on winning a trophy, and even if it's the least prestigious trophy we are competing for think it would do the squad a lot of good. We have many who have never won a trophy with United and it's good to get into winning ways. It was often said that the 1990 FA Cup was a catalyst for what came after and I'm hoping something similar would happen again. Think Newcastle edges it for me.

Newcastle
Leicester
Barcelona
Click to expand...

Actually, yeah, that would work for me too.
 
I want to win every game,(obviously)to keep the momentum,but to answer honestly then

1.Cup final - It's a trophy so....
2.Get past Barca - would be a huge statement of where we are and where we're going.
3.I suppose not winning today wouldn't be the end of the world but like I said - I want to win every game :devil:
 
1. Barcelona. Want to knock them out and go into the Carabao Cup with confidence and put doubt into the Newcastle players heads about who they are facing.
2. Newcastle. Get the first trophy for ETH. With this manager could be the start of something big.
3. Leicester. Still think we will win this game anyway, but even a draw would not be disastrous as the teams around us are so inconsistent.
 
1. Newcastle - big chance for a trophy which would be a good boost for the team and ETH
2. Barcelona - I feel that if we beat them we have a very good chance of going all the way for another trophy
3. Leceister - We have a 5 point buffer so won’t be a big deal if we drop some points here although a win would be nice to extend the buffer
 
Newcastle > Barcelona > Leicester
 
I would be gutted if we drop points today. If we go out against Barcelona I can live with it as Barcelona are a pretty good side.

Leicester
Newcastle
Barcelona
 
1. Newcastle
2. Barcelona
3. Leicester

They’re actually nearly as important as one another to be honest. I really want to knock Barcelona out of Europe at long last, and we’ve got an outside chance at the league as long as we keep our hand in. The Newcastle game has to be at the top though - we haven’t won a trophy for 6 years and they're being forced to play a goalkeeper who was last seen suffering a head injury so bad it makes him give away free goals. It’s all there for us as long as we turn up.
 
CM10 said:
1. Newcastle - The momentum off winning this would be huge for either side. We need to stop the rot from cup finals and semi finals and it would be great for Ten Hag to win a trophy in his first season.
2. Leicester - I don't care as much individually about this game as Barcelona, but I'd like us to be in the mix at the top if Arsenal and/or Man City continue to drop points.
3. Barcelona - It'd be a nice game to win but also makes our calendar that bit more hectic. Europa brings loads of 2 leg games with it when we already have a thin squad. If we are going to get knocked out of it, it's better to do so early and there's no shame in losing to Barcelona.
Click to expand...
Agree with these priorities.

Though i expect (and hope) for EtH to always proclaim that the next game is the most important. That is the only way to win them all.

That the manager needs to make some priorities behind the scenes is obvious though, and as such i’d value LC final-> League-> EL. Partly because there are still a lot of games left in the EL before it brings a trophy.
 
The next game is always the most important. Who knows what is going to happen in any given game or period between games. Prioritising games is very dangerous. Losing one game can have a domino effect in the short term.
 
Anyone who doesn’t think the cup final is our most important upcoming game is off their rocker.

It’s fine devaluing the league cup when you’re hoovering up other trophies for fun like we did for years under Fergie, but winning any trophy after 6 years in the wilderness is critically important to our future success.

ETH, the players and us fans all need to experience success again as soon as possible - it fosters belief, togetherness and sets a healthy habit of wanting to win more and more, not to mention the message it sends to everyone else.
 
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I can't put it above a cup final but a win today is vital ahead of a nasty run of fixtures in the league (Away at Liverpool, Brighton and Newcastle in our next 4).

Win today and the Barcelona, West Ham (FA Cup) and Liverpool games would be a nice bonus but not a disaster if we lose.

Lose today and the Liverpool game becomes a high pressure game where they may have the chance to get within 2 points of us.
 
We’re in a cup final now, let’s win it. First silverware in a few years, validation to the players of ETHs methods and a real morale boost.

after that, toss up but I think finishing Barca off at OT would be something, another morale boost
 
I don't understand how anyone could not have the cup final as the one they most want to win.

I'd take losing to Leicester and Barcelona if it meant winning the final.
 
1. Newcastle
2. Leicester
3. Barcelona

Let’s get a trophy in the cabinet! Then the Europa won’t matter.
 
Barcelona
Leicester
Newcastle

It would have been different if you had asked me on Wednesday but after the performance at the Camp Nou I'm itching to finally beat Barcelona. Our record against the Spanish big two sucks and we rarely manage to overcome other European heavyweights in general.

Three points against Leicester is very important in the top 4 race because we have some really difficult games coming up and we need the cushion.

I struggle to truly give a shit about the League Cup. Sure, it's a trophy but for example, knocking out PSG in 2019 is a sweeter memory than beating Southampton in 2017. I still want to win it but I'm not that bothered.
 
Cup final easily, about time we got our hands on some silverware.

Leicester next as I think we have a real shot at a surprise title and confident we can win that.
 
Kag said:
We’re in a cup final next week for Christ sake. We haven’t won a bean in five years.

Anything answer other than the cup final is completely mental at best, or horribly spoiled and entitled at worst.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
Newcastle is the most important game to win.

Leicester and Barca are "nice to win" games.
 
Newcastle is the most important game on the horizon. We're already in enough rhythm to practically ensure top 4. A trophy early on is the perfect tonic to further progress the Ten Hag revolution. Especially with new owners around the corner. With Citeh and Pool potentially at the end of a natural cycle, this could be our time to rule the roost again.
 
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