Do you think challenging for the top 4, this season, is realistic?

[CWD82]

Wenger to win it in the season Mourinho finishes mid table would be superb.

 

I think Mourinho would self-combust

[Jairzinho]

I'd like United to slip up, but 30 years of conditioning to expect them to scrape countless wins is hard to get past. 

i think Spurs will dip and LIverpool's shot in the arm from Klopp will see them neck and neck.

 

Arsenal

City

United

Liverpool

Spurs

 

For fuck sake, Arsenal are not going to win the league. You're level with them now, playing without your two best players, and we haven't even got to Arsenal's annual "Bottle everything" month.

[magicrat]

I'd like United to slip up, but 30 years of conditioning to expect them to scrape countless wins is hard to get past. 

i think Spurs will dip and LIverpool's shot in the arm from Klopp will see them neck and neck.

 

Arsenal

City

United

Liverpool

Spurs

 

I agree Arse will in it and would go along with this except Spurs will get 4th and not crumble. They are much more solid now and they have a decent manager 

 

We will be 5th and the Bitters 6th

[FanchesterCity]

For fuck sake, Arsenal are not going to win the league. You're level with them now, playing without your two best players, and we haven't even got to Arsenal's annual "Bottle everything" month.

 

Obviously I hope you're right, but they seem to be playing with a lot more confidence these days. We'll have a slip along the way too, and CL / League Cup might distract us. I think it's the best chance of the PL the Arse have had in recent years (and I don't like jinxing it for City!)

[Byrnie]

Plucky City have an outside chance.

[INTORRESTING]

Definitely , we have city away left and that will be all of the top teams out of the way

[AngryOfTuebrook]

The question is whether we have a chance of finishing three places higher than we did in one of the most miserable seasons in a generation, now that we have a better manager, better strikers and a better right back.

 

I think the answer is yes.

[Ne Moe Imya]

Two from Spurs, United, and us will make top 4.  

 

I actually think Spurs look very strong, their results are good but the underlying stats are even better.  I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them 3rd as Jose suggested above.  So we need either them to fade badly at the end of the season, which, being Spurs, is certainly possible.  Or we need United to drop enough points through their utter lack of a cutting edge to drop to 70 points, leaving us a chance to sneak in and nick fourth.

 

I wouldn't want to bet too much on us making top 4 right now, as the hole Rodgers left us in is going to be hard to dig out of, but Chelsea are not going to get there in my opinion.  I'd be surprised if they got to 67 or so, actually.

 

The thing we do have going for us is that we have played most of our tough away games already and have some players coming back from injury.  It's far from a certainty but there's certainly at least a chance that we get past City away and then go on a bit of a run with Sturridge and Henderson back.  Do that and we can maybe start to feel a bit more confident of a CL place next season.

[stringvest]

I think we should just concentrate on winning the next game week in week out and see where that takes us.  Despite the Kloppmania I don't have enough faith in this team to believe they can put a sustained run of good results together.  Right now there is no evidence to suggest they can.  

 

*cue the Hovis music* I long for the days when you could rely on the team to win a number of games on the bounce.  

[VladimirIlyich]

I think we should just concentrate on winning the next game week in week out and see where that takes us. Despite the Kloppmania I don't have enough faith in this team to believe they can put a sustained run of good results together. Right now there is no evidence to suggest they can.

 

*cue the Hovis music* I long for the days when you could rely on the team to win a number of games on the bounce.

Can you please stop it with your logic and common sense,thank you.

You are absolutely correct,of course.

[Ne Moe Imya]

I think we should just concentrate on winning the next game week in week out and see where that takes us.

 

I always like when a discussion on fans about our long-term potential turns into someone saying "we should just concentrate on winning the next game."

 

Of fucking course the players and the manager should concentrate on winning the next game and see where it takes us.  However, what on earth is wrong with fans discussing where we are and where we think we can get this season?  It's like somehow a conversation on an online forum is going to bleed over into the players getting overconfident or not taking a game against a poor team seriously or something.

[El Dangerous]

Pfft yeah, its not like we're tweeting it them is it.

[FanchesterCity]

I always like when a discussion on fans about our long-term potential turns into someone saying "we should just concentrate on winning the next game."

 

Of fucking course the players and the manager should concentrate on winning the next game and see where it takes us.  However, what on earth is wrong with fans discussing where we are and where we think we can get this season?  It's like somehow a conversation on an online forum is going to bleed over into the players getting overconfident or not taking a game against a poor team seriously or something.

 

No successful club really plans from game to game - they have to plan long term too. It's just a soundbite this 'one game at a time' nonsense. If a manager truly only thought about one game at a time, he'd be playing the same 11 week in week out, and rotation would never happen.

 

Isn't buying a season ticket a form of looking across a whole season and investing in the ticket accordingly?

[KopOut]

Exactly the same conditions are present as two seasons ago.

 

We're going to fucking WIN IT.

[ZonkoVille77]

No. No we're not.

[VladimirIlyich]

No successful club really plans from game to game - they have to plan long term too. It's just a soundbite this 'one game at a time' nonsense. If a manager truly only thought about one game at a time, he'd be playing the same 11 week in week out, and rotation would never happen.

 

Isn't buying a season ticket a form of looking across a whole season and investing in the ticket accordingly?

Klopp has said this himself. He says he has future games on his mind but he has no real control over those games due to things like injuries etc,so he sticks to the next game as this is where he influences things most of all.

I dont think its bullshit because with so many staff the manager doesnt need to concern himself with all of the things lesser clubs do.

From a footballing perspective,clubs looking too far ahead tend to come a cropper,'Ten games from greatness' and so on.

[The Golden Eel]

Exactly the same conditions are present as two seasons ago.

 

We're going to fucking WIN IT.

 

Well except that guy Suarez, who played arguably the best season the world has ever seen from any player. 

[deiseach]

Isn't buying a season ticket a form of looking across a couple of decades and investing in the ticket accordingly?

Fixed that for you.

[G Richards]

I think we'll finish third. Arsenal and Man City first and second, not sure what order. Man Utd have spent a fortune but I don't see a great team. They play turgid stuff under Van Gaal and I think the natives will grow restless there as the season wears on. Spurs look like they are getting stronger so they will be in the mix.

 

We've got a bit of catching up to do but we've already played a lot of difficult games, we have players to come back in, and the whole team just looks more solid as Klopp's methods are starting to take hold. (There's more to come on that, as more training and new players are added, but even at this early stage we feel like a different club).

 

We're finishing third this season, plus a trophy.

[clangers]

Genuinely think we'll finish 3rd or 4th now, don't mind if not as it's his first season. It's just nice to see progress.

[an tha]

Dose of reality today.

 

Gonna take a minor miracle from where we are right now with this squad.

 

Man Utd are already 7 points better off than us and they are shite.

 

17 points from 12 games. I doubt a team has made top 4 from that kind of position before. Man City away next so highly likely 17 from 13. We would need league winning form to get to 73 points from there.

 

Our world class manager has his work cut out with this squad. We will have days like last week but more days like today.

[Grinch]

Whoever decided to give Rodgers a huge summer budget and first few months of the season needs shooting.  He was a dead man walking with no chance of turning it around, that decision has cost us dearly.

[ZonkoVille77]

I'd settle for a Europa place again to be honest. We are still miles off CL quality.

[King Emlyn]

Whoever decided to give Rodgers a huge summer budget and first few months of the season needs shooting.  He was a dead man walking with no chance of turning it around, that decision has cost us dearly.

Agree with the letting him spend money bit but I reckon they were just waiting for Klopp to let them know he was ready.

[PestiRed]

City and Arsenals are shoe-ins, Van Gaal will grind out a place and Spurs are better than us. Even Chelsea could start to put together a run if they get their squad playing right. Klopp is good but only an unexpected implosion from another team will get us in the top four, the squad isn't good or fit enough.