The battle for 4th place

[cmcm0808]

16th in the form table, just like the good old days.

lhttp://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/matchday/form-guide.html

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

16th in the form table, just like the good old days.

lhttp://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/matchday/form-guide.html

Stunning...

 

[alib]

and to think we won the first 5 games of the season scoring 10 and conceding 0 - how has it come to this?

 

[markbmcfc]

The same way the title was gone when we were 2nd/3rd with however many games left. Because we're on a huge downward spiral and other teams are flying. That's been the case since September time.

Fighting for first place when you're second/third isn't really the same as fighting for fourth when you're....fourth though is it? Not to sound a condescending douche but it's madness to suggest a finishing place is out of our grasp when we're currently in that position.

Over the last 25 games we've averaged 1.4 points per game. There's not much evidence to point towards that getting any better, so if we carry on as we have been were heading for something like 61 points.

I genuinely don't know the answer to this as can't be arsed checking, but has this ever been enough for CL qualification?

I don't know and can't be arsed either.

FWIW I agree with you both in what you are saying, form/performances put us in a real battle for fourth but as I've just said above, It's madness to write off finishing fourth when we are in fact, fourth, which is what the thread title is saying.

We just have to hope a few returning players after the international break can give the team a boost until the end of the season.

 

[East Level 2]

We are 15 points behind Leicester.
I'll pause for a moment whilst you just sit and let thank sink in. 15 points behind Leicester.

It's depressing obviously, but Leicester have played just six cup ties this season while we've played seventeen with at least two more to play; so that's at least thirteen more games. Then we have the simple fact that we have more international players so fewer get a rest during international breaks.
And ignoring injuries in internationals (eg Silva) and cup games (KDB) we still get too many knocks in training or recurrences during the recovery phase. As for Vincent........ We're not in the Paul Lake/Peter Swales era of third rate treatment yet we still can't keep the bugger fit for ten minutes. Why the fuck did we play him in a dead game against Kiev with the derby coming up?
There's also the possibility Leicester's style is easier to maintain when energy levels are low. They can grind out 1-0 wins as Chelsea did last season.
But 15 points uses up a lot of excuses.

 

[Father Paul]

I'm afraid that winning the League Cup, whilst 'a trophy', cannot compensate for the unmitigated disaster that this season has turned in to. Not finishing in the top 4 will hold us back for 3 years, largely down to the effect it will have on transfer dealings and the possibility that it will put the cross hairs even more firmly on Aguero from Real and Barca - and who would blame him if he wanted to go?

Fully agree with this. We will end up like paying crazy money for average players. Hey. But has that not happened already anyway!!!

 

[Father Paul]

How can it be gone when we're currently sat in 4th with 8 games left?

Agree it is not gone. But I have lost track of the number of desperation Monday's around here of late. We are in roughly the same position as last year but I fear the task is much more difficult. I really think we must win the next two games which we could do if we apply ourselves. However, I believe the boss will prioritise the CL tie( a tie I believe we have only an outside chance of winning) and we may be faced with a mountain to climb in the league. It should never of got to this imo and apart from a fairly crap manager and bad luck with injuries blame should also be pointed in the direction of a lot of faces in the background.

 

[Father Paul]

Fighting for first place when you're second/third isn't really the same as fighting for fourth when you're....fourth though is it? Not to sound a condescending douche but it's madness to suggest a finishing place is out of our grasp when we're currently in that position.




I don't know and can't be arsed either.

FWIW I agree with you both in what you are saying, form/performances put us in a real battle for fourth but as I've just said above, It's madness to write off finishing fourth when we are in fact, fourth, which is what the thread title is saying.

We just have to hope a few returning players after the international break can give the team a boost until the end of the season.

Kind of feel the same. We have been so awful in the league most of the season that deep down a lot of us believe that we don't really deserve to be in the CL next year. Perhaps the Thursday night cup is where we rightfully belong. The sense of drift is palpable and somewhat distressing and at this stage a lot of us just want to be put out of our agony and move on. Hopefully in three years time we will be in a much better place or as a lot of overseas managers say a much better "moment".Keep the faith

 

[gio's side step]

This is as dated as the we can still win the title thread which has lingered with a stench on here far too long.

4th? No, we will finish around 6th based on the logical trajectory of results

 

[el blue]

Over the last 25 games we've averaged 1.4 points per game. There's not much evidence to point towards that getting any better, so if we carry on as we have been were heading for something like 61 points.

I genuinely don't know the answer to this as can't be arsed checking, but has this ever been enough for CL qualification?

2003/4 Liverpool qualified with 60pts


2004/5 Everton finished 4th with 61pts but Liverpool won the CL and they lost their spot anyway.