Top 4 Race 19/20 | duffer: "We [Chelsea] are getting 3rd. Despite what the lunatics in here think, Man United are not all that."

Gasolin said:
We’ve been preparing for Bruno though, see how we compensate for his attacking mindset by constantly recreating the defensive shape. Bruno was just a last piece but we needed to stabilize the defense!

Lampard was a smart player, I’m sure he’s trying to understand but as of now, I think he completely underestimated how far behind they are in reality compared to United. If he is not careful, next season, the gap might further. Cause we won’t be conceding too much. And we will be scoring more.

Chelsea has been in free fall, we closed a 12 pts gap with 3rd and made it a 2 pts gap I think in the last 10 games? Yet people are stuck with the ranking. The upward trend we are on clearly shows who got it and who is still naive.
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Yeah you're right, a lot of people have been blindsided by the league table, and it's mad it's only this Monday we can finally overtake them again with a win.

It'll be good to play Chelsea though, as while we look superb, it'll be good to test it against a team nearer the top than bottom.
 
Shiva87 said:
I think we should get into top 4, and then have a go at Europa with our talented youngsters. Give Pogba, Bruno, Rashford, Martial, Maguire a rest for the tournament.

We could stink up the place, but we have a very good chance of getting to the final. I'd like to see Mangi, Brandon, Chong, Mason, Garner get a crack at this. It's fanciful thinking as I don't think Ole will see it like that. He'll want this squad to win a European competition for their confidence!
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That would effectively be throwing in the towel. Would make zero sense. The only way you do that in Europa is from the start of the group stages if you've decided that you want your first XI fresh for the league (which would always be my preference). Ole will want to win this cup and I think - given how we're playing - we should be the favourites.
 
Bastian said:
That would effectively be throwing in the towel. Would make zero sense. The only way you do that in Europa is from the start of the group stages if you've decided that you want your first XI fresh for the league (which would always be my preference). Ole will want to win this cup and I think - given how we're playing - we should be the favourites.
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Even if we win the FA cup and get top 4, we should go for it in the Europa.

The round of 16 is a game we can mess with the lineup, being 5-0 up, for sure.
But then it's 3 games to win another trophy!

You won't get a better chance to win this one, then a shortened tournament.
Yes, not the big Euro cup, but it's certainly worth winning it now we've got to this stage.
 
Sandikan said:
Even if we win the FA cup and get top 4, we should go for it in the Europa.

The round of 16 is a game we can mess with the lineup, being 5-0 up, for sure.
But then it's 3 games to win another trophy!

You won't get a better chance to win this one, then a shortened tournament.
Yes, not the big Euro cup, but it's certainly worth winning it now we've got to this stage.
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Absolutely. If this team can leapfrog both Chelsea and Leicester for 3rd and/or win a cup or two it will set a great foundation. Hopefully the first XI can keep fit for it all.
 
Shiva87 said:
I think we should get into top 4, and then have a go at Europa with our talented youngsters. Give Pogba, Bruno, Rashford, Martial, Maguire a rest for the tournament.

We could stink up the place, but we have a very good chance of getting to the final. I'd like to see Mangi, Brandon, Chong, Mason, Garner get a crack at this. It's fanciful thinking as I don't think Ole will see it like that. He'll want this squad to win a European competition for their confidence!
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On the contrary I think we should go all out with our best team (though the LASK game has us so far up that its an exception). If we want to go into next season at our best, having a Trophy or even two under our belts gives us the real confidence to keep our swagger going into the next season, really lay down a marker that we are back
 
duffer said:
I'm kidding really, the way we're playing this season getting 9 points or 0 points would not be a surprise.

We might finish 6th, lose in the FA Cup and win the Champions League.
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The most chelsea thing ever :lol: it is madness you won the champions league when you did, years of being really strong and unlucky and you win it at your weakest, you weirdos.
 
This is a crazy top 4 fight, but we have been so bad since December last year, I don't know what to expect against Bournemouth, I feel we just as likely to lose as to win.

Sheffield United, clearly will be a very tough game.
 
Sandikan said:
We've certainly had some crap seasons to compare recently haven't we!

Nothing beats Moyes for crapness overall, but Van Gaal's football was arguably the worst, entertainment wise. When your philosophy is aimless keep ball, no risks, and not allowing players to shoot unless there's a high chance of a goal, what else can you expect?!

Jose's worst wasn't much better though.

I'll always want to know with Jose though, why did he go for defenders like Bailly and Lindelof, both of whom are weak in the air, and not his standard type of defender? Were they club calls, and he'd prefer them over no-one?
Maybe we'll find out one day - though I expect it'd always have his spin on the story.
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The Moyes season was tough, but I was doing my Masters at the time so was suitably distracted for a decent chunk of that season, so it didn't weigh as heavy on me as it could have done.

I liked LvG and was backing him all the way, even in that second season. But understandably, he had to go as so much of the matchgoing fanbase had reached the end of their tether with him.

Mourinho, for me, was the worst. Even in that second season where we were winning 4-0 at the beginning, I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much. If it wasn't for the disabled season tickets finally becoming available at the end of that first Jose season, I'd have probably gone off the sport entirely. Re his signings, I honestly think they were his. The problem he has is that his brand of football just doesn't exist anymore. You can blame the board for a lot of egregious things over the years, but financially backing managers has never been their issue. They just haven't got a clue how to run a football club. Finally, it seems with Ole we're properly modernising our approach, and there is a proper focus on every aspect of the player, as opposed to the shiniest name, or the player that the manager wants.

I've loved the Ole tenure, even including the bad times. There hasn't been one occasion this season where we haven't tried to play the proper, Utd way, even when we were at our lowest ebb (e.g. Burnley at home - we should have been out of sight in the first 30 mins, which a lot of people forget when they conduct their analysis of that match), and now that we have Bruno everything seems to be clicking in to place. Get Top 4, get Sancho and get Pogba signed up to a long-term contract and we will be well and truly going places under Ole.

If he wins that first title in the post-SAF era, it will be the sweetest victory for me, as someone who loved him as a player and as a bloke, and someone who backed him every step of the way, even when it was at its most difficult.
 
Sandikan said:
Even if we win the FA cup and get top 4, we should go for it in the Europa.

The round of 16 is a game we can mess with the lineup, being 5-0 up, for sure.
But then it's 3 games to win another trophy!

You won't get a better chance to win this one, then a shortened tournament.
Yes, not the big Euro cup, but it's certainly worth winning it now we've got to this stage.
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I want both trophies this year. We're Man Utd, winning is in the DNA here, ffs! Plus, we haven't won the FA Cup in 5 years and we need to get back our most trophies won record.
 
loki said:
On the contrary I think we should go all out with our best team (though the LASK game has us so far up that its an exception). If we want to go into next season at our best, having a Trophy or even two under our belts gives us the real confidence to keep our swagger going into the next season, really lay down a marker that we are back
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That's how most people will look at it, including Ole I'm afraid. But, I think fitness wise our squad will benefit more next season with a break in August, instead of a Europa tournament resulting in a max 3 week break.

It's a tough call and not very likely to happen. Ole will want to shut down his critics by winning Europa! He'll match Jose's season, and will win
more than Poch if he can achieve this.
 
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rotherham_red said:
I want both trophies this year. We're Man Utd, winning is in the DNA here, ffs! Plus, we haven't won the FA Cup in 5 years and we need to get back our most trophies won record.
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Agreed, finishing top 4 is one thing Wenger and Poch made a career on doing it (Arsenal went what 10 years without winning a trophy under Wenger after the invincibles) but winning trophies is what elevates a top 4 side to the next level

I'm still scarred by all the false dawns over recent years so even if I did believe we could finish top 4 I definitely need convincing that this is a team of winners. The FA Cup admittedly will be tough if we have to play City but there really shouldn't be any excuses with the EL
 
You've got to think Bournemouth will be absolutely desperate for a result tomorrow. Anything but a win and they're toast. I've been worried about the Saints game for ages but if we have a chance to go third on Monday night, I reckon the lads will take it with both hands.
 
Since start of the December, we have been the second best team in the league despite our struggles at certain point during this time.
 
duffer said:
I'm kidding really, the way we're playing this season getting 9 points or 0 points would not be a surprise.

We might finish 6th, lose in the FA Cup and win the Champions League.
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Got to be happy with that outcome!

see you in the super cup final :)
 
Just remembered I threw a tenner on Sheffield United at 13/2 on Wednesday! Happy days!
 
Shiva87 said:
That's how most people will look at it, including Ole I'm afraid. But, I think fitness wise our squad will benefit more next season with a break in August, instead of a Europa tournament resulting in a max 3 week break.

It's a tough call and not very unlikely to happen. Ole will want to shut down his critics by winning Europa! He'll match Jose's season, and will win
more than Poch if he can achieve this.
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Forget the brake, it's a trophy and we should go all in to get it.
 
rotherham_red said:
The Moyes season was tough, but I was doing my Masters at the time so was suitably distracted for a decent chunk of that season, so it didn't weigh as heavy on me as it could have done.

I liked LvG and was backing him all the way, even in that second season. But understandably, he had to go as so much of the matchgoing fanbase had reached the end of their tether with him.

Mourinho, for me, was the worst. Even in that second season where we were winning 4-0 at the beginning, I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much. If it wasn't for the disabled season tickets finally becoming available at the end of that first Jose season, I'd have probably gone off the sport entirely. Re his signings, I honestly think they were his. The problem he has is that his brand of football just doesn't exist anymore. You can blame the board for a lot of egregious things over the years, but financially backing managers has never been their issue. They just haven't got a clue how to run a football club. Finally, it seems with Ole we're properly modernising our approach, and there is a proper focus on every aspect of the player, as opposed to the shiniest name, or the player that the manager wants.

I've loved the Ole tenure, even including the bad times. There hasn't been one occasion this season where we haven't tried to play the proper, Utd way, even when we were at our lowest ebb (e.g. Burnley at home - we should have been out of sight in the first 30 mins, which a lot of people forget when they conduct their analysis of that match), and now that we have Bruno everything seems to be clicking in to place. Get Top 4, get Sancho and get Pogba signed up to a long-term contract and we will be well and truly going places under Ole.

If he wins that first title in the post-SAF era, it will be the sweetest victory for me, as someone who loved him as a player and as a bloke, and someone who backed him every step of the way, even when it was at its most difficult.
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I've had season tickets for 7 years now - the epic timing!!

It's probably no surprise that we look for a real exciting season next year - just as I was about 95% sure I was sacking them off!
 
It’s cliche, but we really do just need to take it one game at a time. That seems to be the message coming from Ole and the players

But forgetting that for just a second...

I think if we do that and we can win our next 3, then top 4 will be wrapped up by the Leicester game
 
Shiva87 said:
That's how most people will look at it, including Ole I'm afraid. But, I think fitness wise our squad will benefit more next season with a break in August, instead of a Europa tournament resulting in a max 3 week break.

It's a tough call and not very likely to happen. Ole will want to shut down his critics by winning Europa! He'll match Jose's season, and will win
more than Poch if he can achieve this.
Click to expand...

We'll rest our players for the LASK return leg then it's just three games, 270 minutes of football. Definitely worth going for it.
 
I just completed one of those predictors for the remaining games and this is the table it chucked out. I went for a draw with Leicester on the final day...

fB8HByN.jpg
 
RedPed said:
I just completed one of those predictors for the remaining games and this is the table it chucked out. I went for a draw with Leicester on the final day...

fB8HByN.jpg
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I've just done it myself. I've done it with a pessimistic mindset, so I have us drawing twice - against Southampton and Leicester. Chelsea drawing their games against Liverpool and Wolves, and Leicester drawing against Sheffield Utd, and us, and beating Spurs.

On that basis, the table has Leicester 3rd (67 points) and us 4th (66), with Chelsea being 5th (66).

However, if I'm being honest, I do see us at worst, drawing once and winning the rest of our games. I see Leicester drawing in their games against Sheffield Utd and Spurs, and Liverpool beating Chelsea and Wolves drawing against them on the final day.

Right now, we're definitely in the driving seat and should be able to close this out by the time we play West Ham.
 
It’s crazy that after how inconsistent we were early on in the season that we now have a good chance of finishing third
 
Ahhhh, everything going as predicted, Mwahahahaaa.

Seriously though, no feck ups can be given, next 4 games we need to carry on being ruthless. I expect nothing but 12 points! Let's end the league on a high lads. :devil:
 
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