Keegans comments

[PT]

The millions that EUFA have flung at their participants of the Champions League has made a divide in the respective European Leagues even wider. For example just for qualifying for the Group stages there is a windfall of in excess of ten million pounds.

Therefore, that is already one decent player, that one of the top four squads can go and get which the second tier can't without a minted Chairman dipping deep in to his / her pockets.

 

[SpurSince57]

The other thing people are forgetting is that when Everton got fourth it was not because they played well, but because Liverpool had a poor season; they only got fifth on GD ahead of Bolton, and were just three points ahead of Boro in seventh. What would have happened if Milan hadn't imploded in the CL Final, and Liverpool had been deprived of CL income the following season and had to make do with UEFA instead?

 

[sloth]

Keegan's well known for his over-emotional out-bursts. He's not a particularly insightful-man, he's all about signing obvious players he's seen on MotD and then motivating them.

His outburst must also been seen in the context of his internal club politics. Someone (Ashley probably) has clearly been putting the pressure on. "We want you to shoot for fourth next year Kev, we feel you've a squad to challenge. No, there's not going to be a shed-load more money. Look at our goddamn wages..."

And if you look at their debt and their ridiculous wage policy (£100,000 p/w for Owen anybody? Or £40,000p/w for berbatov, lol) then it's clear they're suffering for the years of over-spend under Freddy.

Keegan's a bit of a prat if you ask me - a perfect match for the barcodes then!!

 

[Tequila]

its not impossible at all, but it requires stupid amounts of money invested. Im talking doing a chelsea, investing close to 200 million in the summer, smashing our wage bill and structure to that it at least breaks the 100k mark for the top players and the top players will come to us, or at least we will get our fair share of them. Getting a real sugar daddy is the only way we can catch and stay in the top 4 anytime soon.

London, well respected manager,100k a week, prem league, Uefa cup (champs league better) and each player being 15 to 20 million of value and then theres a chance.

Keegan smartly used the words " with these owners" which means that even though he may get money, Ashley aint Roman, and will all due respect to Levy though we have invested quite a bit, we will not be spending what will be required to get close.

The other route is the assnal route, but quite frankly, and i fele ill saying this, only Wenger can pull that off. He spends so little, but his teams are so good, thats the only route open to us but i think that really takes years and years to put into place, and we aint that patient anymore and neither is the board.

IMO

Really dont want to go Chelsea route though, yukky

 

[Tequila]

no, Levy said we already had a squad good enough for top 4 last summer, man thats some funny shit right there.

 

[sloth]

its not impossible at all, but it requires stupid amounts of money invested. Im talking doing a chelsea, investing close to 200 million in the summer, smashing our wage bill and structure to that it at least breaks the 100k mark for the top players and the top players will come to us, or at least we will get our fair share of them. Getting a real sugar daddy is the only way we can catch the top 4 anytime soon.

London, well respected manager,100k a week, prem league, Uefa cup (champs league better) and each player being 15 to 20 million of value and then theres a chance.

Keegan smartly used the words " with these owners" which means that even though he may get money, Ashley aint Roman, and will all due respect to Levy though we have invested quite a bit, we will not be spending what will be required to get close.

The other route is the assnal route, but quite frankly, and i fele ill saying this, only Wenger can pull that off. He spends so little, but his teams are so good, thats the only route open to us but i think that really takes years and years to put into place, and we aint that patient anymore and neither is the board.

IMO

Really dont want to go Chelsea route though, yukky

Absolute rubbish (I'm sorry to be rude) but that's complete tosh.

 

[Tequila]

Absolute rubbish (I'm sorry to be rude) but that's complete tosh.

each to their own. and yes it was a bit rude.

 

[jimmy-jojo]

Perhaps we can take a leaf out of Dutch football...

How about the teams who finish is positions 4-7 play-off for the last CL spot?

 

[hellava_tough]

It's not impossible to break into the top four:

38 games.

30 games if you exclude the 8 games against the top four

30 x 3pts = 90pts :grin:

Shit, we've just won the league!! mg:


Seriously though, if we establish ourselves as the 5th best team in the league, then there's no reason why we shouldn't have a really good chance of beating the 15 teams below us.

If we do that, then there's a really good chance of breaking into the top 4.

Ironically, you don't have to beat the top four to beat the top four!

 

[Tequila]

weird, someone must have spliced topics here, whats my levy comment doing in this thread, dang

 

[Tequila]

It's not impossible to break into the top four:

38 games.

30 games if you exclude the 8 games against the top four

30 x 3pts = 90pts :grin:

Shit, we've just won the league!! mg:


Seriously though, if we establish ourselves as the 5th best team in the league, then there's no reason why we shouldn't have a really good chance of beating the 15 teams below us.

If we do that, then there's a really good chance of breaking into the top 4.

Ironically, you don't have to beat the top four to beat the top four!

Everton done it few years back, and if i remember so did Newcastle under Sir Bobby, but in order to break the top 4 and stay in it, be damn hard without a sugar daddy, i think Keegan is right and i think thats first time ive ever thought that about him.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

It's not impossible to break into the top four:

38 games.

30 games if you exclude the 8 games against the top four

30 x 3pts = 90pts :grin:

Shit, we've just won the league!! mg:


Seriously though, if we establish ourselves as the 5th best team in the league, then there's no reason why we shouldn't have a really good chance of beating the 15 teams below us.

If we do that, then there's a really good chance of breaking into the top 4.

Ironically, you don't have to beat the top four to beat the top four!

I think you do.

If during any of our 5th place seasons, we had anything like a reasonable record against the top four, we'd have claimed fourth. Last year we were something like 8pts behind both Liverpool and Arsenal but only got 4pts from the top four, the year before we were 2pts off and again only got 4pts from the top four.

If we improve our record against the top four teams we stand a much stronger chance of achieving 4th.

 

[hellava_tough]

I think you do.

If during any of our 5th place seasons, we had anything like a reasonable record against the top four, we'd have claimed fourth. Last year we were something like 8pts behind both Liverpool and Arsenal but only got 4pts from the top four, the year before we were 2pts off and again only got 4pts from the top four.

If we improve our record against the top four teams we stand a much stronger chance of achieving 4th.

Good point, but there's a flip-side; namely, if we improve our form against lower teams, we'd have a better chance of beating the top four.

And it'd be easier to do!

 

[idlepete]

It's impossible if King Kev is your manager.

 

[sloth]

It's impossible if King Kev is your manager.

Quite right Idle.

It's also impossible if you think it's impossible!! For whoever it was who was applauding Kevin's honesty, i would want a coach sacked if he came out and said the same thing here. It's disgracefully defeatest. Not to mention whiney. Plus it includes the lie that spending is what it takes to get to the top. Have Arsenal done it by spending? Liverpool even? Compared to Newcastle, I mean, who must be the third or fourth biggest Premier League spenders.

Finally, I'm sure some people said the same about Sevilla. OK the top four is not as much as a cartel in Spain as it is is here, but similarly Sevilla aren't anywhere near as well resourced as we are.

 

[hellava_tough]

Quite right Idle.

It's also impossible if you think it's impossible!! For whoever it was who was applauding Kevin's honesty, i would want a coach sacked if he came out and said the same thing here. It's disgracefully defeatest. Not to mention whiney. Plus it includes the lie that spending is what it takes to get to the top. Have Arsenal done it by spending? Liverpool even? Compared to Newcastle, I mean, who must be the third or fourth biggest Premier League spenders.

Finally, I'm sure some people said the same about Sevilla. OK the top four is not as much as a cartel in Spain as it is is here, but similarly Sevilla aren't anywhere near as well resourced as we are.

Some good points guys.

I can't imagine the Geordies will be happy with his comments; afterall, they crave success so badly, and King Kev was hired as the messiah who could bring home the bacon!

Looks like they'll have to be content with a bacon-flavoured substitute.

 

[llamafarmer]

The CL has caused the gap and will continue to do so. The financial advantage it gives is big, but I don't think that's the problem - it's the fact that the top players will only go to a CL team. The top 4 have themselves a nice secure little nest in the CL and, with the 2 group stages, are given every helping hand possible to ensure they make the knockout stages every year.

I think there's a lot of truth in what Keegan says. I honestly think at the moment we're the only team likely to be able to hold down a CL place - we have as good a squad as any outside the top 4, plus the draw of London and a coach who knows his way into the latter stages of European competition. Everton are the 5th best in the country right now, but I don't see them going any further.

 

[stemark44]

Two things I would say about breaking into the top 4 - Quality manager/Quality players.
To be honest I don't think the players we have are good enough,our transfer dealings in the past few years have been pretty poor and we need at least 4 more very good players - Goalkeeper,2 Midfielders and a Striker!
I do believe that we have finally got the right manager in place and given time he will make this club successful.
However the manager is also under immense pressure in this league because he has really only 2 years to massively improve the team - 5 year plans are absolutely useless.The reason for this - if we don't reach the top 4 places by then what happens?The big sides make a bid,our best players leave and we have to start all over again!

 

[van_Pommel]

Perhaps we can take a leaf out of Dutch football...

How about the teams who finish is positions 4-7 play-off for the last CL spot?

Loving this idea. Can you imagine how the big 4 would react if this was to be put into place? Prams would be lacking toys.

 

[SpurOfGlory]

Loving this idea. Can you imagine how the big 4 would react if this was to be put into place? Prams would be lacking toys.

There was a plan under G12 to have a big club rule where they could guarantee champions league footy if they finished outside the top four,it didn't matter where they came because the fourth spot could be given to a side with higher turnover and various other financial benefits menaing a side finishing 4th would be replaced unless they had better finances which doesn't apply to anyone outside the top four.
You wouldn't of got them to welcome play offs that risked their spot but they did discuss this guarantee for their CL footy ever year,thank god they disbanded and were not favoured by fifa or it would be a closed shop as regard to europe's biggest prize.