Race for top 4 | Finito.

TheNewEra said:
Newcastle could do it purely on momentum, unless someone like Almiron gets injured.

I think City and Arsenal are 100% top 4, maybe Spurs then Newcastle or Chelsea.

I think United don't have a good enough squad.

United have to play 2 games a week for the rest of the season.
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You think Newcastle have a better squad than us?!? What?
 
Andycoleno9 said:
Murtough said no business in this window. If Ronnie leaves, maybe some backup striker and that will be max which we will do
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I think they also said they would be alerted to possibilities. Also they now know more than before the season. Ronaldo is having a mare of a season and we are not finding anyone to be consistent goal scorers. It’s going to be really hard to get top 4 with our current attacking options.
 
Wait until the halfway mark...19 games

I would expect United to be in the Top 4 by then.
 
OrcaFat said:
It’s kind of shocking that a third of the way through the season we have a negative goal difference.

All this talk about how bad Liv, Spurs and Chelsea are, I mean, it’s sort of true and is a lot of fun but I can see all of them getting their shit together at some point. 4th would be a good achievement for us this year, depressing as that sounds.

We’re evidently working through a few issues this year. Consolidate and aim higher next year.
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Goal difference is usually a pretty good indicator with the top 4 at the end of the season having the best. Our results have been better than our performances so far.
 
Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool are not having great seasons and we have a decent chance to finish ahead at least two of them and Newcastle. But we can't afford injuries to key players such as Varane. If we do not sign anyone in January I would rate our chances at 50%. A major issue is that our squad players are really poor as witnessed today.
 
Andycoleno9 said:
Just a reminder. We are only 3 points from 4th spot (with game in hand).
2 points above Celski and 4 above Pool.
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That's the positives but the negatives is 11 points off an Arsenal side many thought was around the same level as United and have a -1 goal difference after 13 games.

Can Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham remain as mediocre as they have been in the opening 13/14 games?
 
always_hoping said:
That's the positives but the negatives is 11 points off an Arsenal side many thought was around the same level as United and have a -1 goal difference after 13 games.

Can Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham remain as mediocre as they have been in the opening 13/14 games?
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Can we?
 
George The Best said:
They are certainly playing better than us. Think they’ve got a great chance of top 4
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Newcastle don't have a better squad - they're benefitting from no Euro competition involvement meaning the players they have are remaining more energetic.
 
Smores said:
You think Newcastle have a better squad than us?!? What?
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No I said with Newcastle I think momentum might get them there. Unless the world cup really ruined their form.

Almiron gets to chill for a few weeks for example and he's arguably their best player now, he should hit the ground running again when they start the season again.

Newcastle seem to just be scoring for fun, they're a big question mark for me. I think they could take a top 4 spot but I think they might drop out too because they could drop a lot of points to currently "bigger teams" but they are well coached under Howe.
 
Really hard to tell. I don't feel we have the squad depth to make top 4 but it's again not looking like a strong race. We did speculate it would be much tougher at the start but will probably be another parents sack race stumble over the line in the 60-70 point range.

Think I had us 5th to 6th at the start but even with the loss today we have a chance such is the poor quality around us and how a couple of players out can upset things.

We need a Jan signing to really help.
 
We can't score frcking goals. It's been a problem not enough. Even when we've been on top In games haven't scored enough.

Unless we get a striker or Martial, Rashford, Antony, Sancho all stay fit top 4 is a slog, Ronny cannot play 2 games a week, the last week and a half has shown that. Striker in Jan needed
 
I think City are certs, Arsenal near certs, then it gets tougher. Could be any two from five after that, and Brighton are just about still in the race too. I suspect Liverpool will find their groove though, and Brighton will fall away.

Spurs, Newcastle, United and Chelsea are tough to decide between, especially as the World Cup is coming at a good time for United and Chelsea, who both look a little lost and would hopefully get a little more acquainted with their manager during the break where possible.

If I had to pick now, I’d guess City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs in that order, followed by United, Newcastle and Chelsea.

Missing out on top 4 wouldn’t be the end of the world for Ten Hag, but not being competitive for it would be. No shame in finishing fifth or even sixth if sides go on runs and it is a higher than average total to get CL football, but anything less than being competitive would undermine his position. We have to have a better season than last year.
 
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That Garnacho goal was massive in terms of our top four chances. We are still in the mix, but it’s going to be a big challenge.
 
It would be kinda funny if us, Chelsea and Liverpool all missed out for Arsenal, Spurs and Newcastle (the perennial bottlejobs)
 
So much fear.

We're in this. Sched after the break favors us, as we have played a lot of tough ones already. We may get a striker in Jan. I like our team and not ready to concede a damn thing.
 
We’ll finish 3rd with Liverpool 4th in my opinion.
 
We have an outside chance. I still wouldn't consider us favourites or pin my hopes on us but you never know.
 
Boondog said:
So much fear.

We're in this. Sched after the break favors us, as we have played a lot of tough ones already. We may get a striker in Jan. I like our team and not ready to concede a damn thing.
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I think a top class striker in January would probably make the difference for us to clinch top four. But will we invest?
 
Sparky Rhiwabon said:
I think a top class striker in January would probably make the difference for us to clinch top four. But will we invest?
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Hard to imagine them not adding someone when they have an opportunity to finish top four. So I think we see a striker alone in January. Then the summer will be the retool on what they need to change.
 
If we can keep our first XI fit we have a good chance, but they’re already looking knackered. We also need to shift a few players on which leaves us even more depleted without recruitment.

Don’t Brentford want £40m for Toney? Cheap.
 
Re: cheap strikers one they've been linked to before is Diaz (Rovers). Can get him sub 20M and he adds some air game and presence in the box.

 
Arsenal and City guaranteed while it's between Newcastle, Spurs, United, Liverpool and Chelsea for other 2 spots. January transfer window might be crucial.
 
The problem is we’ve got some obvious issues in the team

The great thing is we’ve got some obvious issues in the team
 
A 6-week break will change everything...it will almost be like a new season come the new year.

Who can get back up to speed the quickest will have a massive advantage.

I'm hoping EtH can recharge too.
 
We've got a great chance.

If we can flog off Ronaldo in January and bring in a decent replacement, I like our chances.
 
Eddy_JukeZ said:
We've got a great chance.

If we can flog off Ronaldo in January and bring in a decent replacement, I like our chances.
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We need to get the right player in. Someone who can step in for Martial anytime (without needing much of an orientation to English football) and provide competition for places.
 
Boondog said:
So much fear.

We're in this. Sched after the break favors us, as we have played a lot of tough ones already. We may get a striker in Jan. I like our team and not ready to concede a damn thing.
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Still say more of a fluid forward,only because the likes of Osimhen/Toney won't be available then
 
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GregM40 said:
If we can keep our first XI fit we have a good chance, but they’re already looking knackered. We also need to shift a few players on which leaves us even more depleted without recruitment.

Don’t Brentford want £40m for Toney? Cheap.
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Should be all over this IF it was true,however be very surprised to see them let him go for that sort of fee when you think what others went for.
 
croadyman said:
Still say more of a fluid forward,only because the likes of Osimhen/Toney won't be available then
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I would like to see them add a young CF. Take a shot on a guy with high upside who is very young and grow him with Antony/Garnacho under ten Hag's baleful eye.

Youth development is going to be a big deal for us I think. It is undoubtedly a big part of the model and I think this staff will do very well with it.
 
Boondog said:
I would like to see them add a young CF. Take a shot on a guy with high upside who is very young and grow him with Antony/Garnacho under ten Hag's baleful eye.

Youth development is going to be a big deal for us I think. It is undoubtedly a big part of the model and I think this staff will do very well with it.
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Got any names in mind?
 
I'm pretty confident. Think it'll be 2 of United, Newcastle and Liverpool. I feel like Newcastle will fall away, the world Cup break can easily see them lose form once the pressure ramps up. Long way to go. Liverpool you'd guess will sort themselves out. And United I think will really pick it up, Ronaldo being gone, and hopefully we don't pick up any injuries in the next month so we can go into the new year with our actual important attackers all fit for once.
 
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