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Race for the Top 4 - 2017/18

dontcallme

SC Supporter
Mar 18, 2005
33,988
81,925
I know this but factor in that we will now be playing there at least every two weeks will give us the familiarity edge over our visiting opponents. I am confident that I will be proved to be the correct! ;)
Last season we had the best home form in the league and got 8 points more than the team in 3rd.

How do you think we'll do next season in comparison to our rivals.?
 

THFCjosh

Well-Known Member
Aug 22, 2013
632
2,229
The title is in our hands... all we have to do is win our remaining fixtures and it's ours.

Seriously though, not sure we will be as competitive on the title front as the last 2 seasons.

City firm favourites in my eyes, however, Pep has still yet to convince me he is a good manager so a flop of a season is not out of the question for City regardless of the players they have brought in.

Chelsea should be up there, but the lead up to this season seems awfully familiar to that of 2 season ago when they finished 9th. Conte appears unhappy and the squad appeared rather lethargic on Sunday. Not convinced by their summer business either.

Liverpool, great going forward, awful in defense. Need I say more can't win the league solely by attacking.

United were up there for me before last night's performance. However, after watching them get battered by Madrid I'm not so sure. They got torn apart by Madrid multiple times last night. Their defense looks shaky. Lukaku is inconsistent to say the least as is Pogba.

Arsenal, LOL. Their team looks the weakest I've seen from then in years. Not sure they will be challenging for the top 4 this year let alone the title.

We shouldn't be up there, but then again Leicester shouldn't have won the league but they and shouldn't have been anywhere near the title last season, but we were. Stranger things have happened.
 

jurgen

Busy ****
Jul 5, 2008
6,711
17,170
It's going to be an interesting year. The last two seasons the title winners took full advantage of no European football.

This season the expected top 6 are all in Europe. I don't see another Leicester situation occurring.

Winning the league is about fine margins. I think playing at Wembley is our margin and will cost us a title shot.

But we have a strong, together side and can be a threat.

I think City will win it.

In that respect we have reason to be positive. Having said that, we also bombed so badly in Europe, with our small squad, that it didn't impact us for the whole year in quite the way it might have done. I guess all the other big clubs would be anticipating going deep into the competition with their squads and so we might be able to take advantage of that if the same fate befalls us this year, or at least operate on a more even playing field regarding fixtures.

We still have great players and a wonderful manager, even if he seems to be operating with his hands tied behind his back by those upstairs these days. So if we aren't too buggered with injuries, we could still be in the mix. We still look too light in certain positions, but what can Poch do about that.

Agree about the OP point on high press, hopefully we have worked on that over the summer as that was our one big weakness last year, and teams that worked it out had a very good degree of success against us.
 

StartingPrice

Chief Sardonicus Hyperlip
Feb 13, 2004
32,568
10,280
Chelsea - have replaced Zouma with Ruddiger, might be an upgrade but unclear, replaced Matic with Bakoyoko, unclear this is much of an upgrade, and Costa with Morata, I actually think this is a backward step as Costa has been so important to Chelsea. However, I very much doubt they are done and if they add then I expect them to be the main challengers for the title.

City - can't argue with the quality of their acquisitions but they still have a weak spine, particularly if Kompany gets injured. Their problem last year was defending and while they have improved their FBs I still think they will be suspect defensively.
COYS !!!

I pretty much agree with your analysis, but for one thing. I think the scope for chaos to strike at Chelsea again is stronger than most are allowing. They could get off to a poor start, what with no Hazard, a new striker who allegedly has confidence issues having to contend in his head with the Charity Shield penalty miss and the seeming slight on him by Conte, Conte's general gurning about transfers, and a lot of the Chelsea players being survivals from failing to perform for Mourinho the season after he led them to the title. They have European football to contend with, too. Imagine they get a poor start? What if Morata's confidence goes and they've allowed Costa to leave? Everyone is talking about us at Wembley, but what if give them the run-around in the second game? What if Bakoyoko doesn't adjust to English football after they let a proven performer like Matic leave? Of course, it could all go exactly the opposite this and they could have a perfect storm in the positive sense. But there is nothing I have said that isn't either a fact or something that is at least possible. What if they get a perfect storm in the negative?

I agree with you about City, though. Everyone is fapping about Guardiola, but I haven't seen anything yet to convince me about their defence. Their attack was good last season, and will be good this season - but, hey, so was ours. But their defence wasn't. And what I saw in the States looked to me pretty much like a team doing a lot of the things in defence that got them into trouble, it was just that our players were clearly knackered and not harassing, closing-down and playing with the intensity that we normally do. I will hold off my judgement on just how much their defence has improved until I have seen them in a few BPL full-throttle blood-and-thunder league games.
 

StevePil

Well-Known Member
Dec 30, 2006
2,963
3,735
Seriously!!!

4th would be a great season, but think we will finish 5th, if not 6th.

Just hope we can get a cup
 

am_yisrael_chai

Well-Known Member
Feb 18, 2006
6,409
10,931
I pretty much agree with your analysis, but for one thing. I think the scope for chaos to strike at Chelsea again is stronger than most are allowing. They could get off to a poor start, what with no Hazard, a new striker who allegedly has confidence issues having to contend in his head with the Charity Shield penalty miss and the seeming slight on him by Conte, Conte's general gurning about transfers, and a lot of the Chelsea players being survivals from failing to perform for Mourinho the season after he led them to the title. They have European football to contend with, too. Imagine they get a poor start? What if Morata's confidence goes and they've allowed Costa to leave? Everyone is talking about us at Wembley, but what if give them the run-around in the second game? What if Bakoyoko doesn't adjust to English football after they let a proven performer like Matic leave? Of course, it could all go exactly the opposite this and they could have a perfect storm in the positive sense. But there is nothing I have said that isn't either a fact or something that is at least possible. What if they get a perfect storm in the negative?

I agree with you about City, though. Everyone is fapping about Guardiola, but I haven't seen anything yet to convince me about their defence. Their attack was good last season, and will be good this season - but, hey, so was ours. But their defence wasn't. And what I saw in the States looked to me pretty much like a team doing a lot of the things in defence that got them into trouble, it was just that our players were clearly knackered and not harassing, closing-down and playing with the intensity that we normally do. I will hold off my judgement on just how much their defence has improved until I have seen them in a few BPL full-throttle blood-and-thunder league games.
Agree with you in Chelsea, seems like Conte is hitting self destruct but much like us a lot will depend on what happens in the rest of the window.
 

StartingPrice

Chief Sardonicus Hyperlip
Feb 13, 2004
32,568
10,280
Unfortunately I think we're going to have a very slow start.

We already had the obstacle of Wembley to deal with, and now we're going into the start of the season with 4 or 5 key players all injured.

We may still bring in a few players (although I'm becoming increasingly pessimistic about that) but even if we do they'll take a while to bed in, so I just don't see us hitting the ground running.

If that is the case, it's likely that at least one of the mega-bucks sides is going to put a run together early-doors, and from there any title bid would be very tricky.

Based on our lack of spending, and the colossal spending of our rivals, I think top 4 is a reasonable aim this year.

It's just a shame that we haven't been able to deliver the few players we potentially needed to make a title bid a bit more realistic.

Dunno about the slow start...this is the first summer Kane has had a proper break in three, and he is improving. Our starts in the last two seasons have been influenced by that and injury to him shortly thereafter. And he is improving all the time (and not only him). If he starts off all guns blazing, and we can get off to a good start at Wembley, who knows.

In regard to Wembley, I think folk are treating it to much like its a fact and not that it is a possibility that we will struggle there. I know there is a whole thread on the subject, so I won't rehears all of the arguments, but there are several factors that are going to be very different to how it was last season. ATM I don't believe anyone really knows if Wembley will be a help or a hindrance.
 

scat1620

L'espion mal fait
May 11, 2008
16,285
52,505
I don't know where we will finish this season.
As an update to this informative post, I've just put £50 on us to win the league this season. I don't think we will win the league, but it was 10-1 odds and got a matched bet offer from Ladbrokes as a new customer so my greed overrode whatever little rationality I have.

The moral of this story is that I'm an idiot. Don't be an idiot.
 

Lilbaz

Just call me Baz
Apr 1, 2005
41,363
74,893
As an update to this informative post, I've just put £50 on us to win the league this season. I don't think we will win the league, but it was 10-1 odds and got a matched bet offer from Ladbrokes as a new customer so my greed overrode whatever little rationality I have.

The moral of this story is that I'm an idiot. Don't be an idiot.

Should have writ "spurs to win the league 2018" on the betting slip. San Antonio Spurs have won the NBA the last couple of years i believe.
 

Adam456

Well-Known Member
Jul 1, 2005
4,453
3,117
Cahill has just been sent off for Chelsea so I guess that means he misses our game next week. Not to mention that they will struggle to win today. First thing to go out way this season
 
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