We were top until April on merit, not because anyone else was shit. City were having about as good a season as they typically do, yet we were top. Man U/Chelsea/Liverpool could all be vastly improved next season but none of that means we couldn’t still find ourselves where we were this season if we perform similarly.
It’s within our control, it doesn’t depend on others being shit. Man U, Liverpool and Chelsea need to improve by a huge margin to get back to the level we are at. We’ll be strengthening significantly this summer and improving too.
It’s gutting to fall short and bottle it, but I see no reason to have such a gloomy outlook on next season really.
At least we know what our problem is, unlike other teams, they may spend billions on next season(s) but still probably don’t know the right ingredients to make them strong and relevant again.
I also don’t like the comparison to the Leicester winning season.
That one, all teams faltered, including us and made way for them to win.
This season, we are getting close to 90 points. If not able to take the title, because the winning team is getting their usual 90+ points season.
A much better team to win it, not the one off Leicester City.
Hard enough to achieve near 90 points once, it’ll take that again next season to win it and I don’t think we’ll keep the same level as this season for as long of a stretch.
I mean united finished second with Ole and dipped.
Liverpool did last season and we know how that’s gone.
Not saying that happens here but it’s an over simplified look if we finish second that we just buy a couple of players and have this chance again.
Don’t agree with this. Who do you think will improve so much to challenge for the title next season? Chelsea maybe cause they have all the players except a striker and if they get a proper manager, they could mount a challenge. But Liverpool are very much in transition, Spurs are dead, and United are over hyped beyond belief. If we maintain the standard we showed this season, I think we can be in the mix again. And I expect us to add smartly to this squad in the summer.
Yeah if it was Liverpool, Newcastle and City games that cost us our advantage and the title it’s almost like fair enough. But you don’t drop 4 points against relegation fodder in a title run in.
They’ll be better than this season but they have an aging midfield, a shaky defence, and a frontline that has Jota and Gakpo who are good but not great, Nunez who is still a bit raw and Salah whose powers are clearly on the decline, but still is their biggest goal threat. Too many areas for Klopp to fix I feel before they’ll be back competing at the top.
If we’d won the last two games, we’d be going to the Etihad with a 9 point lead having played two games more. Now we go there with things out of our hands unless we get nothing other than a win. And even if we win, things will still be tricky.
I think we could all just about take blowing the title through dropped points against Liverpool and City, but the way we’ve collapsed three week’s running is unforgivable. Big questions about squad construction, rotation and in-game management alongside questions over some of our most experienced players and supposed leaders going missing at the same time.
It’s unlikely we win at City given how bad we look right now but even if we did I just don’t trust this team to do what’s necessary in other matches to make any result against City matter.
Big question mark on not buying players over a certain age too.
Experience is our biggest miss at the moment. A couple of older heads last few games.
Analysts and accountants and projects ignore this stuff.
We’ve fucked it up is what we’ve done. But maybe, given that City are the favourites now, perhaps that takes away a bit of the pressure from our young players, and they can play more freely. Maybe I am wishing for too much.
Just looking at the form and confidence of the two sides going into this game, I cannot see anything but a City win. I just hope we don’t get humbled, which is very likely.
I’d like us to approach this game the same way we have played most of our games this season but given how many goals we have been conceding at home even with Saliba, I fear we’ll get hammered. Will be interesting to see what Mikel does. This is perhaps the biggest test Mikel has had this season.
There is enough experience in the team. Not every title winning team is full of old players.
Plus the club got two experienced pros in Jorginho and Skinny Uncle Fester during the January window. But Arteta made some huge mistakes when it came to team selection and substitutes.
I get that you don’t like the idea of a project and I probably would have overpaid for a guy like Joao Felix in January because you just never know if that opportunity to win a title will be there again but I’m not sure the issue is not having enough experience.
One our most experienced players and a guy who literally has a position in Arteta’s system named after him was bypassed by Fabio Vieira in the XI on Friday. That’s on the coach.
It’s not about the so called project. It’s about setting parameters that rule out options.
Let’s take Klopp signings of Matip and Milner on free transfers.
We wouldn’t look at that as an option on age alone but how valuable have they been in squad building in this period.
City came to the fore as a Club with the signing of Yaya.
Our improvement this season has come from 2 ex city players with winning experience.
