The race for 86 points

[Jurgen the German]

Who do you want to finish in the top 4? Obviously Spurs and, although I'm not taking it for granted, we're in a strong position to do so. Whether you want them to or not it' s inevitable that Chelsea will and we can probably assume that Everton won't. Of the other 4 teams in contention which would you prefer to see take the other 2 places?

Arsenal and Liverpool to miss out. United and Emirates Marketing Project have much greater resources and won't be affected that much either way. Scum and Liverpool need the CL to attract the best players more than the Manchester clubs.

 

[Jurgen the German]

I desperately want the dippers to drop out of it

I want them and Arsenal both in the Europa League with plenty of Thursday night trips to Qarabag and Russia followed by Sunday games against United and us away.

 

[billyiddo]

Arsenal and Liverpool to miss out. United and Emirates Marketing Project have much greater resources and won't be affected that much either way. Scum and Liverpool need the CL to attract the best players more than the Manchester clubs.

Yeah a few years out of the CL for those two will give us a good chance to cement ourselves above them, for the short term at least

 

[jaysea67]

I'd want United to pip Arse and Pool. United will always have the resources to buy themselves into the CL, and will always attract players. If Arse and Pool miss out on CL for a couple of seasons, they won't be as attractive to players, and we'll overtake them. Without CL, they don't have the massive resources and pull that United will always have. I can see Arse having a bit of a crisis if they don't get into the CL now.

If we're in the CL group stage draw then having Liverpool (ranked below us) in the draw too might help us into a higher pot. I'd also enjoy seeing Mourinho miss out but overall I agree it would do more damage to Liverpool & Arsenal not to have CL football than the Manchesters therefore that's my preference.

Am I right in thinking that, if ManU and Leicester win the Europa and CL but both finish outside the top 4, it'd mean 4th place not getting CL football?

Yes

 

[Gutter Boy]

Who do you want to finish in the top 4? Obviously Spurs and, although I'm not taking it for granted, we're in a strong position to do so. Whether you want them to or not it' s inevitable that Chelsea will and we can probably assume that Everton won't. Of the other 4 teams in contention which would you prefer to see take the other 2 places?

Arsenal, United and Liverpool (which could happen if Leicester win the CL).

 

[paxtonwolf]

With their run-in Liverpool are still in with a big shout for 2nd

 

[Hotshot-Tottenham]

With their run-in Liverpool are still in with a big shout for 2nd

Dunno, they're 6 points behind (effectively) with only 6 to play. That's a tough ask, especially with their defence. Plus the 3 closest behind them all have games in hand... I'd guess they're looking over their shoulder than at us.

 

[Baleforce]

With their run-in Liverpool are still in with a big shout for 2nd

on paper yes, but it's the same type of opposition that they struggled against at the start of the year, and they don't have mane...

 

[harr1984]

With their run-in Liverpool are still in with a big shout for 2nd

No they aren't - They are poor against teams they're expected to beat.....

 

[Lemonade Money]

Arsenal, United and Liverpool (which could happen if Leicester win the CL).

No it couldn't, Bassong's not suspended, and the Belgians aren't Dutch.

 

[Gutter Boy]

No it couldn't, Bassong's not suspended, and the Belgian's aren't Dutch.

They can if United win the EL (which is fairly likely).

The rule is that you can only have 5 places maximum per country. So if English teams win both European competitions with neither finishing in the top 4, 4th in the league will miss out.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...league-spot&num=1&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0

 

[Lemonade Money]

They can if United win the EL (which is fairly likely).

The rule is that you can only have 5 places maximum per country. So if English teams win both European competitions with neither finishing in the top 4, 4th in the league will miss out.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...league-spot&num=1&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0

No, you're still wrong, because Utd wouldn't miss out.

 

[Gutter Boy]

No, you're still wrong, because Utd wouldn't miss out.

Ah yeah - good point

But City or Liverpool could miss out that way. If the league finished as it is now, the qualifiers would be Chelsea, us, Liverpool, Leicester and United; with City in 4th missing out as well as Arsenal

 

[ricky2tricky4city]

I have complete faith in us but after Bournemouth we do on paper have a tough run. I think Man Utd (h) and Leicester(a) will be our toughest games.

If we have eyes on the title something has got to happen in the Man Utd and Everton games coming up for Chelsea. They have easier games after that so a shrinking of the points gap may apply some pressure and plant a seed of doubt. Failing that it's just the reducer option (as discussed earlier) in the wembley semi.......that's the only other way we can affect their hopes.

 

[Libero]

Liverpool and Arsenal to miss out for me. Would be the best case scenario going forward in terms of damage to them having no CL but EL instead, especially Liverpool who need much more of a squad.

As for the chances, title is gone imo although I think the gap will reduce to 5 this weekend. I actually think that Leicester, Man Utd and West Ham will be nailed on for taking points. Leicester will want to return the favour for their new best buddies, West Ham will play like they have never played all season just to say they won this one game and Man Utd will come and sit in, be difficult to break down and just make the game brick although if they have a Europa League Semi to consider then he might play a slightly weaker side especially if their chances of top 4 have gone.

I would take a point from each of those games if we could beat Arsenal and Bournemouth which would leave us on 77 points without taking into consideration the results against Palace and Hull. I would think that would more or less guarantee 2nd place without those two fixtures.

 

[paxtonwolf]

With our GD I am convinced 77pts will secure 2nd place. I have mentioned a few times, the key for me is winning our last 4 home games. 1 down 3 to go, then another away from home is just bonus pts in my eyes

 

[afsoc4life]

With their run-in Liverpool are still in with a big shout for 2nd

Agreed. I was thinking the loss of Mane would cripple them against Stoke but their confidence will be sky high due to that result.

 

[Grays_1890]

I think we are pretty much home and hosed for CL

 

[Modric THFC]

I can't believe so many people are still buying into the ridiculous Manchester United unbeaten run hype.

They are 6 points behind Liverpool with 2 games in hand but have a ridiculously hard run in.

Chelsea h
Burnley a
City a
Arsenal a
Tottenham a

They do well to get 5 points out of those 5 and they have 3 other games they should win.

But they are gonna end up with fixtures being moved and and having to play 3 games in a week because of the Europa League.


Liverpool on the other hand have to play 4 teams with nothing left to play for this season and crystal palace.

 

[Daisuk]

Not sure if this has been posted yet. It's almost a shame we're leaving White Hart Lane this season. I fear we'll lose some momentum having to play at Wembley. Oh, well, hopefully we'll adopt quickly.