Race for the Top 4 - 2017/18

[homer hotspur]

I wanted Man utd to win as I think our only hope of top 4 will be to finish above Arsenal or Liverpool , but I was rather disheartened to see just how many chances Arsenal created/ missed/had amazingly saved/ penalties denied and didn't come away feeling that positive about the situation going forward-and that's before getting on to Liverpool's goalscoring prowess. At the end Arsenal had Sanchez, Lacazette, Welbeck and GIroud on- If it had been us we would have had, potentially, Kane, Son and Llorente- I really don't think its enough to sustain a realistic challenge this season.

 

[shelfboy68]

How are we only 7 points above Everton?? That's shocking. Watford have scored more goals than us. The top 5 have also scored much more than us. Arsenal have the least and they have 6 more. We need to up our level and quick.

It certainly isn't good viewing but we have to remember the other five have better and more quality to choose from compared with us, so we are always at a disadvantage in comparison to them.

 

[St José Dominguez]

Said it before Watford game but to have a chance of top 4 from now until the Utd home game we need to go on a serious run. Ignoring the City away game this spell is where we have to collect serious points. If our form doesn't pick up we could find ourselves way off pace before we start hitting a period of really difficult looking games.

 

[ljinko888]

We have to win all our games until New Year and assess it from there. City away could make or break the league season. If we win then we should push on but if we lose - baring in mind Chelsea and Liverpool's fixtures - that could be ominous.

 

[djee]

No point dwelling too much on what has happened over the past month other than to say that we would have expected a dip in form at some stage this season. All sides - even City will go through a bad patch. The result today was a tad disappointing but I was extremely encouraged that the previous 3 hadn't looked as though it had affected confidence as much as I had feared. We came up against an aggressive side and showed good character to restrict Watford to precious little even with a man down for over half an hour.

What the last sequence of results I think may have done is ground the players and provided a needed kick up the backside. Our arrogance going into the Arsenal game was astonishing whilst we thought we could rely on talent alone to beat technically interior sides. As Poch said, the prerequisite for this league is to 'compete' - an almost superhuman effort week in, week out had helped propel us up the league and provided a platform for the quality to shine.

In more barren times it is tempting to look around and start doubting the players at the club. Yes, they have underperformed but this is still a hugely exciting a talented group. I genuinely feel the worm is turning and we will see a more ruthless Spurs converting the many chances we are creating and really stuffing a side. 3 consecutive home fixtures offer the perfect opportunity. If we can be within touching distance of top 4 by the end of the year, a returning Toby and Victor will be an incredible shot in the arm and give us a serious chance of making the CL spaces.

 

[DEFchenkOE]

It certainly isn't good viewing but we have to remember the other five have better and more quality to choose from compared with us, so we are always at a disadvantage in comparison to them.

Pretty much everyone was saying how much better we was than arsenal before we played them though. People saying only Alexis would get in our team.

 

[homer hotspur]

Pretty much everyone was saying how much better we was than arsenal before we played them though. People saying only Alexis would get in our team.

yes,rather too many pundits were spinning that line and I don't think it did us any favours at all. There really isn't much between our squads - it is very much 'on their day' either could beat the other. If Liverpool were to get a couple of decent defenders in January, they would probably have the edge on both of us.(if they don't already)

 

[rossdapep]

yes,rather too many pundits were spinning that line and I don't think it did us any favours at all. There really isn't much between our squads - it is very much 'on their day' either could beat the other. If Liverpool were to get a couple of decent defenders in January, they would probably have the edge on both of us.(if they don't already)

There is a difference. Defensively and central midfield wise we are stronger. Unfortunately we have injuries to two of the most important contributors and I still think Aurier and Rose need to be given time to settle. After all Walker and Rose played the majority of our games last season and looked so strong.

 

[shelfboy68]

Pretty much everyone was saying how much better we was than arsenal before we played them though. People saying only Alexis would get in our team.

I think the media drove a lot of that as personally I never believed that knowing the depth and quality of our squad, but that attitude the players took into the NLD and look how that ended up.

 

[StevePil]

After the Tues night performance which I was at, could not make yesterday due to Christmas family shoot ( great as my wife is a Watford fan!) but anyway looked at the performance this morning in more detail and then got into reflection of this time last year. Yes we still have to play City away whereas this time last year we had played all the big guns (so to speak)

But last year after 15 games we were 5th on 27 points. The league looked like below

1. Chelsea - 37 points
2. Arsenal - 34 points
3. Liverpool - 31 points
4. Man City - 30 points

So we were 3 points off top 4 back then and 7 behind Arsenal who as we know ended up well clear of them in 2nd come end of season...

So, in summary I am not as doom and gloom, yes we had an amazing Christmas and finish last year, hardly dropping any points home or away and we know we wont repeat this but this has given me hope we can still get top 4, even 3rd given we are 2 down on last year but finished 2nd last year clear of 3rd placed City yet at this same time in the season we were 7 away from 2nd.

We just have to believe, but have to start by winning the next 2 as dropping any points in those 2 home games before City, I think will put us too far behind as Arse/Pool have none of the big teams to still play before the turn of the year and we start the 2nd set of fixtures.

 

[Lighty64]

It certainly isn't good viewing but we have to remember the other five have better and more quality to choose from compared with us, so we are always at a disadvantage in comparison to them.

we was at a disadvantage last season, but were top scorers. this season we just can't find the net early that opens up the opposition. weird thing is we have the same amount after 15 games last season.

 

[Mr Pink]

For me it's last chance saloon for a realistic top 4 finish.

Absolute no excuses now, we must win the next two games before City. Our competitors have improved and we've already flushed too many points down the bog.

Fail to win the next two and top four will be very unlikely.

Barring City away, we need to go on a big run now.

 

[Hazardousman]

For me it's last chance saloon for a realistic top 4 finish.

Absolute no excuses now, we must win the next two games before City. Our competitors have improved and we've already flushed too many points down the bog.

Fail to win the next two and top four will be very unlikely.

Barring City away, we need to go on a big run now.

We need to replicate our form around this time last season, if we can start with a big win against Stoke then we could hopefully take that mentality into the next game, if we can win the next two games and then go into City full of confidence we could end up beating them as I think they will come into the game cocky and arrogant.

 

[Thewobbler]

Arsene has a dig at poch:

When asked if he’d written off lifting the Premier League trophy, like the Spurs boss had, he snapped: ‘I am not Pochettino, I am Arsene Wenger. ‘I am here to fight as long as I can, as long as mathematically it’s possible you have to fight, you cannot give any other message out.’

 

[tiger666]

Arsene has a dig at poch:

When asked if he’d written off lifting the Premier League trophy, like the Spurs boss had, he snapped: ‘I am not Pochettino, I am Arsene Wenger. ‘I am here to fight as long as I can, as long as mathematically it’s possible you have to fight, you cannot give any other message out.’

That's not a dig.

 

[kr1978]

Arsene has a dig at poch:

When asked if he’d written off lifting the Premier League trophy, like the Spurs boss had, he snapped: ‘I am not Pochettino, I am Arsene Wenger. ‘I am here to fight as long as I can, as long as mathematically it’s possible you have to fight, you cannot give any other message out.’

I agree with him

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

To be honest, it is impossible for us mer forum using fans to establish absolute facts about what we must do in order to reach top 4. The scenarios are plenty, and I still think it's reasonably possible to finish top 4.

 

[Hazardousman]

That's not a dig.

It's the truth, that's what it is.

 

[topper]

Arsene has a dig at poch:

When asked if he’d written off lifting the Premier League trophy, like the Spurs boss had, he snapped: ‘I am not Pochettino, I am Arsene Wenger. ‘I am here to fight as long as I can, as long as mathematically it’s possible you have to fight, you cannot give any other message out.’

Wenger knows Arse have no chance - he's merely playing to an audience

 

[coys200]

It certainly isn't good viewing but we have to remember the other five have better and more quality to choose from compared with us, so we are always at a disadvantage in comparison to them.

What Liverpool and Arsenal have better defenders than us ? Not one Liverpool defender would get in our squad let alone our team.