points tally is nice, but it has to correspond to a top 4 spot. I'd love to see us at least push Chelsea, no matter that it would hurt at the end that the combination of us ballsing it up and refs screwing us stopped us winning it, but at least then we'll have the momentum to push on next season, too many recent seasons we've crawled over the line at the end of the season with nothing to play for.
To beat 2 of Arsenal, Spurs or Chelsea to win the FA Cup would be hugely important for the club, Pep and the players staying next season imo. It would be nice to win a Wembley final, it will be nice to add another FA Cup to the haul and give Pep a first season trophy, 2 Wembley wins against his main rivals and inspire the squad on to better things much like Mancini's cup win.
Obviously if we could win 11 games in a row and somehow nick the title that'd be great, but realistically at least keep Chelsea having to win it at the end of the season, and winning the big matches now which we have a tendency to fall apart in, would be huge for this squad.
So for me the priority is top 4, win tomorrow, win at Arsenal, win at Chelsea, win against the rags, and win the FA Cup. It sounds monumental and overly ambitious, but it's where this side has continually failed to get to and we need to make that step where we beat all the big teams on a regular basis and move into that #1 spot. At some point we need to shift gears and take that step because for the past 5 years we've been muddling about in the mix with no really clear direction or elite identity.
I want to see something tangibly different in Pep's City, not just in style, but in substance. The wasted chances sum up our season, I want to see the evolution. Doing the things we struggle to do (regularly actively challenge for the title if not win it multiple seasons in a row), consistently beating teams we struggle against, particularly big games and being ruthlessly clinical in our performances. If I look back on Pep's tenure that's what I would like to see, and now we have a run of big games and the chance to make the first steps of building a new City, I'd like to Pep lay down that marker by the end of the season.
If we fail, we fail, but I want us to at least actively try and I want to see Pep make those calls and be bold and ambitious. So far, I feel he's playing it a little safe relying on players he doesn't want to keep instead of making a statement that reverberates and puts a different spin on the same old City we've seen since Pellegrini. Same players no matter what.
