Top 4 race 2016/17
- Thread starter Yorkeontop
- Start date
Should have beat Arsenal and Liverpool... City don't look impressive now and we haven't played Spurs. Chelsea are the only team that look above the pack. Top 4 is very much up for grabs.
I'm sorry, but that genuinely made me laugh out loud!
Not sure why, but fair enough.
Should have beat Liverpool? Based on...
I get the idea that United have been playing well but so have a number of other teams above United. Spurs have been playing well but have looked blunt. Liverpool have been playing very well for 3 months but aren't blunt so win most games, Arsenal aren't budging and look strong, Chelsea are playing excellently and City are still very strong despite certain vulnerabilities.
I'm not seeing how United are playing any better than the 5 above them.
If you can win tomorrow, you'll be 7 behind City and they have three genuinely tough matches left before New Years and will play most of that stretch without Aguero and Fernandinho. They go to Leicester who have been absolutely shocking away but pretty good at home (only one home loss this year), they have Arsenal at the Etihad, and they go to Anfield. I really doubt they end up with more than 10/15 in those last five matches.
IMO, its still up to United. Win tomorrow then go on a decent run and get like 13/15 in your last five matches and you'll be within 3-4 points of City for fourth to start the second half (and maybe Arsenal or Spurs too). The key thing is your own form.
IMO, its still up to United. Win tomorrow then go on a decent run and get like 13/15 in your last five matches and you'll be within 3-4 points of City for fourth to start the second half (and maybe Arsenal or Spurs too). The key thing is your own form.
It's definitely not impossible, Chelsea have won 8 on the bounce since they got hammered by arsenal at which point they were well off the pace, now they're favourites.
Put a decent run together over Christmas and it could all change.
Not impossible as I say, but looking unlikely given our recent form.
Put a decent run together over Christmas and it could all change.
Not impossible as I say, but looking unlikely given our recent form.
Chelsea has no European competition and has won 100% of all their games ever since they changed their formation. So that's pretty much saying we need to win 90% of our matches from now on.
United will go 8th with defeat today.
I don't actually think a draw today would be a bad result. Get a meh draw today and then beat Spurs on our own turf (easier said than done admittedly)
I don't actually think a draw today would be a bad result. Get a meh draw today and then beat Spurs on our own turf (easier said than done admittedly)
Yep - as i say, not impossible just unlikely.
you should start an alternative league table, where the teams get points based on what "should have" happened. It will be a hit.
Liverpool have topped it for the last 20 odd year!
A draw indeed would be a good result if our expectations are to try and secure a top 6 place this season.
If we want to keep any momentum going we really need to win today....winning well would be nice also
I think a draw today and beating Spurs in a week would keep us there abouts and in contention. A loss would be very bad
I think we really need to go on a 5 game minimum winning streak to get back in. We finally have a bit of momentum, albeit built on a two good performances against very weak teams.
A draw and we have stalled again.
We really need to win today, 10+ points to make up will be really really tough.
For me the last chance was last week, we're not getting in to top 4 this season. We should do everything to win Europa League and go for the League Cup and FA Cup.
It's just too much damage done at this stage to reach top 4.
It's just too much damage done at this stage to reach top 4.
Even if we won last week, it would still have been a tall order. We'd still have been 8 points behind.
Because the assumption that we can string together a significant number of wins is so far removed from the Post Fergie reality we currently find ourselves living in
Completely agree with this. It's achievable but United really need to get a run of wins together. If we can do our part right, we can gain ground on that 4th spot. City have a tough run of games coming up and losing Aguero and Fernandinho won't help them.
Just saw that United have a lower goal difference and points now total than we did at this stage under Moyes and both of LVG's seasons:
I still think we'll get top 4 (4th) there are plenty of games left, but we must win today and have a strong December. I think we're right on the brink now.
Yeah I posted this last week:Just saw that United have a lower goal difference and points now total than we did at this stage under Moyes and both of LVG's seasons:
Lowest points and GD after 13 games since the PL became 38 games.
feck, I didn't know we were that bad this season, it seems like we're playing our best football in years!
Ultimately it doesn't matter how well you play, just the points on the table. Usually how well a team plays and points are linked but we struggle to put away chances (scored more in the other seasons in your screenshot) and concede from the few shots the opponents have on goal. I posted in the De Gea thread that De Gea has been making less saves for every goal conceded this season compared to previous ones.
Yeah, feeling more and more like for a top four finish we're relying on one of the current top four struggling and hitting poor form. If they continue at their current pace we'll pretty much have to hit title winning form from now till the end of the season to have a strong chance.
I'd argue there has been a general improvement but it really needs to translate into results and wins very soon.
On average (last 6 seasons) you need about 71 points to finish 4th. There is a lot of fluctuation and indicators suggest that this season the 4th will finish around 80-75 points.
To reach 71 points, which will probably be not enough, we'd need to get more than 2ppg for the rest of the season. If we need to reach 75points+, we'd need to gain 2,2ppg+. In the post SAF era we never got close to either average.
At the moment we have 20 points after 13 games, which equals 1,54 ppg. To win 2ppg over an extended period of time, we'd need to be extremely consistent and that is something that we are not.
To reach 71 points, which will probably be not enough, we'd need to get more than 2ppg for the rest of the season. If we need to reach 75points+, we'd need to gain 2,2ppg+. In the post SAF era we never got close to either average.
At the moment we have 20 points after 13 games, which equals 1,54 ppg. To win 2ppg over an extended period of time, we'd need to be extremely consistent and that is something that we are not.
Well we are not going to catch Liverpool watching them today. Still can't believe we didn't get Mane. They have unbelievable pace up front and out wide. They remind me off how we used to play in Fergusons glory years. I am getting really worried to be honest now
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We're not catching Chelsea or Liverpool. Not beating arsenal and getting nothing out of city will hurt us in the end game.
Worrying. Our chances look awful.
Don't think we've ever asked them to switch the horse racing on instead of football that quick, they might play very exciting football but we won't be watching them.
Liverpool are nailed on. I actually think it's City we need to chase.
What website can you do that on? I quite often try finding league tables on certain days but can't find howJust saw that United have a lower goal difference and points now total than we did at this stage under Moyes and both of LVG's seasons:
You know like a post-traumatic event, I can't take my eyes off them.... that could have been us. That could have been our manager!
The realistic thing to shoot for would be to catch Spurs for 5th.
Top 4 is a pipedream at this point
Top 4 is a pipedream at this point
One or two of the top 5 will inevitably drop of sooner or later. It could be anyone of City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool. If we do start getting the results, and everything points to us getting better and better, then we could get to 4th.
We're only into a third of the season, alot can still change. But the onus is on us to take the opportunity if it comes.
It does look like it now but alot can change during the season.
The current top 4 just look way ahead of us. When one team looks bad for a while, we all say how we can catch up to them while the other 3 continue to get results. Then when that team starts getting good results again, we look at another team and think we can catch them.
Europa just seems to be our best option now. We took too much of a hit with these home draws.
Europa just seems to be our best option now. We took too much of a hit with these home draws.
Thanks! Excellent stuff