What If The Unthinkable Becomes Reality......

[BlueAnorak]

You all realise that FFP still applies when you qualify for the EL in 5th or 6th spot...

 

[Charley Farley]

It wont happen

 

[kiam06]

The rebuilding of the squad is the same regardless of getting top 4 but I think the money and prestige of reaching the CL is needed if we are to progress the global brand.

I'm still hopeful of 3rd to be honest I don't think the rags have it nailed on and it would be sweet to overtake them after the derby.

 

[DD]

You're certain of a 4th place spot.


Any talk of you guys finishing outside top four is a knee jerk, and a reaction to the derby loss.

No it isn't. It's the fact that our form since the New Year is mid-table at best and if that sequence continues, we won't make it.

Either way, the question is "what if?" Retorts of "it won't happen" are pointless additions to the thread, because the question isn't about probables it's about the possibility.

Personally, I think we'd be in a very, very difficult place if it happened.

Thanks to the clowns in charge of transfers, we've decided to do things on a cylic basis rather than replace gradually. This means that we need to be in a good bargaining position at the end of the cycle.

This isn't 2009/10 when we had stashes more cash to spend than our rivals. Masses of TV money and FFPR means that we have a more level playing field to deal with this time.

If we finish outside of the top four, this will not be like the time when Silva, Aguero, Toure, Tevez, Nasri et al all wanted to come and be part of the 'project'. We won't be front runners but likely much behind United, Chelsea and Arsenal (and maybe Liverpool, if they finish 4th) in our pulling power. We are going to find it extremely difficult to attract the calibre of player we need as, if those players are available, there are much more attractive places to play than in front of an 80% full, disinterested, cardboard cut-out of a crowd like ours, for a team who is playing Thursday night football in the Europa.

That's the reason why people are typing "it won't happen" on here, not because they are certain it won't, but because they daren't think of the consequences of us not finishing in that four. It wouldn't just be unthinkable, it would be catastrophic.

 

[Latics Fan SJK]

There's very little doubt in my mind that you'll finish outside the top 4.

Liverpool's run in, IMO, is tricky. Can certainly see them losing 2 of their remaining games. Those saying the Chelsea game may be a dead rubber as far as Chelsea are concerned are ignoring the fact that Mourinho probably enjoys getting one over Liverpool above any other side bar Arsenal (Wenger), so he'll have them up for it regardless of their position at the time.

Hull are battling for their lives at the moment, and Stoke away will be far from easy.

You'll finish in the top 4, I'm very confident of that. However, I'm not totally confident you'd get past whatever tricky CL qualifier you end up having to deal with.

 

[FanchesterCity]

I can't imagine the unthinkable.
Professor Brian Cox agrees with me, but wants to know if it's still true when I'm placed in a box with no observers.

 

[skybluepete]

Not too fussed if we finished outside the top 4 or 6 for that matter.

We have the buying power to get back on track despite the setback it would be.

What's more important is we get better in the transfer market and continue with youth investment even though we haven't seen the results of this at the highest level yet.

If we stick with MP I think we will finish lower than 4th for sure and we may still if PV comes in for the last 6 games or so such is the players attitude to their game day approach for much of the season.

When Yaya , VK , Zabba, Hart, Silva and a couple of others are down on form confidence and quite likely all well past their best at this club then a result like this is more likely than not.

We haven't addressed an aging squad and a squad that cannot to a man take us to where we need to go in Europe.

Its accelerates the fact that VK , Zabba, MDM , Clichy, Sagna, Navas, Kolorov, Dzeko, Nasri to name but a few will play no real part in our future beyond this season.

Those players need to be replaced over the next couple of windows or at best have their roles redefined.

We have been in free fall for a sustained period of time with the odd blip to mask the obvious.

None of our squads have been within a bulls roar of what is required in Europe and we need to step up a huge gear in future investment in the open market and in our acedemy.

Any body who thinks and I will go so far as to say any of our current squad will be representing us when we play in the Chumps League final is deluding themselves.

Some decisions on the futures of players like Zabba and VK have to made in the summer.

Personally I wouldn't be fussed if we sold both in the next window although I think both are loyal enough and stern enough to fight for their place next season although I don't think either have much a future in the NEW AGE CITY to come.

Fight they will have to because we need much better than them now at their stage of their careers to step up to next level.

Fuck me - vinnies just turned 29 on Friday not fucking 39 !!
The modern day footballer is supposedly just hitting his peak about that age , stop being a drama queen - finished and on the scrap heap at 29 , terry , lampard, drogba etc.. All done/doing a decent job well beyond their 30th !
Get a manager in who can organize a team to defend first and foremostly and all of a sudden Vinnie and zab look top drawer again.
This manager has turned the premier leagues best defence for 3 or 4 years on the bounce into a soft touch in one season- he's got to go and clear his desk asap

 

[DenisLawBackHeel74]

We will still finish second or third.

None of the current evidence supports this view

Arsenal on a run of good form
Rags on a run of good form
MP still trying to figure out what's wrong (same as Jan)
City plumbing new depths every game

 

[Ducado]

We will still finish second or third.

None of the current evidence supports this view

Arsenal on a run of good form
Rags on a run of good form
MP still trying to figure out what's wrong (same as Jan)
City plumbing new depths every game

None of the current evidence supported the fact that we won the first title and if you read back on here people were saying the same thing, sure we are in the mire but let's just wait and see what transpires over the next couple of games

 

[adrianr]

We will still finish second or third.

We better, because a CL qualifier is just the sort of thing we would underestimate and fuck up spectacularly.