2010 - What league placing is acceptable?

[TRO]

on the basis of how we have finished.... 6th will be a fantastic achievement.

I too would like to see an improvement in the play i.e passing and moving.... more comfort on the ball.

[mykeyb]

4th or higher, it is possible if you take advantage of situations, lets hope for once we dont **** up in the transfer market.

oh and also i also expect any competition we go in for to **** play to win rather than treat the fans like shit by using a team of reserves and then use excuses such as tired squad when a transfer window has just ended and we sign **** all apart from a fat useless twonk

So top 4 and do well in all competitions.

You'll be depressed next season.

Top 4 are different graaavy.

What did we finish behind Arsenal 10 points about and we finished the season with 2 wins in 16 - its not impossible for the top 4 to be caught if we buy well in the transfer window.

[PB]

4th or higher, it is possible if you take advantage of situations, lets hope for once we dont **** up in the transfer market.

oh and also i also expect any competition we go in for to **** play to win rather than treat the fans like shit by using a team of reserves and then use excuses such as tired squad when a transfer window has just ended and we sign **** all apart from a fat useless twonk

So top 4 and do well in all competitions.

You'll be depressed next season.

Top 4 are different graaavy.

What did we finish behind Arsenal 10 points about and we finished the season with 2 wins in 16 - its not impossible for the top 4 to be caught if we buy well in the transfer window.

martin O'Neill said in early February when we were at our peak that he'd gladly take 69 or 70 points as the final tally, as it was believed that would be enough,easily enough, to finish fourth

Even had we got those points, we would still have only been fifth

The top four are so far ahead its not true, and despite us closing the gap a little this season it is still a huge gap. Look how we have struggled to add two points - imagine how hard the next eight or ten are given that each 'extra' point is exponentially more difficult to acquire than the one before

IN fact, this season we actually did worse in matches against the big four than the year before, suggesting that actually we havent closed the gap at all

[Jez]

IN fact, this season we actually did worse in matches against the big four than the year before, suggesting that actually we havent closed the gap at all

Oh dear, dont point that out.

[Wuo]

I thought we did better, perhaps not in points, but definatly in performance. Won away against Arsenal. Should have won home against United. In fact with the exception of the trashing Chelsea and RS gave us away, I thought we looked decent. Deserved a win away against United as well, but we lack a bit of experience it seems.

[PB]

I thought we did better, perhaps not in points, but definatly in performance. Won away against Arsenal. Should have won home against United. In fact with the exception of the trashing Chelsea and RS gave us away, I thought we looked decent. Deserved a win away against United as well, but we lack a bit of experience it seems.

In fact I'm wrong, the points tally was the same in the end, apologies

but still, 6 points from 8 games isnt anything like good enough for a team with any kind of top four aspirations. Needs to be double that imo.

You dont get points for performances, ask Tony Mowbray

[LondonLax]

I thought we did better, perhaps not in points, but definatly in performance. Won away against Arsenal. Should have won home against United. In fact with the exception of the trashing Chelsea and RS gave us away, I thought we looked decent. Deserved a win away against United as well, but we lack a bit of experience it seems.

In fact I'm wrong, the points tally was the same in the end, apologies

but still, 6 points from 8 games isnt anything like good enough for a team with any kind of top four aspirations. Needs to be double that imo.

You dont get points for performances, ask Tony Mowbray

Yes I didn't think we did worse against them this season because with the exception of Liverpool and Chelsea away all the others were very tight games that could have gone either way.

[BOF]

I thought we did better, perhaps not in points, but definatly in performance. Won away against Arsenal. Should have won home against United. In fact with the exception of the trashing Chelsea and RS gave us away, I thought we looked decent. Deserved a win away against United as well, but we lack a bit of experience it seems.

In fact I'm wrong, the points tally was the same in the end, apologies

Oh dear, dont point that out

but still, 6 points from 8 games isnt anything like good enough for a team with any kind of top four aspirations. Needs to be double that imo.

You dont get points for performances, ask Tony Mowbray

I believe Man Utd only won 1 game against the other top 4 in the league this season? And you'd hardly say they went backwards. The point being that it is patently wrong to gauge a season against such a small cross-section of a league. The league is against 19 teams, not 4. And we did improve points-wise against the league, so we have improved. Though as Jez pointed out just above, regardless of what gets pointed out, certain people get offended and I apologise to anyone who gets offended by the fact we have improved this season if it goes against their beliefs or their agenda.

[Wuo]

Can't remember who posted this, but someone said we were thrilled to get UEFA last season, while this season it's "meh". And this indicates progress.

Same goes for our matches against the top 4. We actually feel we should have beaten United twice, something I haven't thought for as long as I can remember.

[blandy]

I dont think it is possible for us to finish any higher than fifth barring some collapse from one of the Big 4, a collapse that gets less likely with every passing year

So we are in a race for fifth. My excitement knows no bounds

Would be nice if we took our cup football seriously too, but thats not likely either is it?

I agree the Sky 4 are a long, long way ahead of everyone else. I don't, now, however think it gets "less likely with every passing year" that anyone could catch them.

I think the gap was established and sustained a while back, but there are money issues at Liverpool, there is a succession issue to come at Man U, Chelsea there's always a concern that Abramovic might have to do one, or they might appoint another Scholari, and the likes of Terry and Co. are on the older side for a Prem squad. Arsenal have a dodgy defence and Wenger has not really excelled at Centre back recruitment.. In other words, I don't think it's a case of "abandon all hope".

As to Villa, well, I don't really have an "acceptable" - I just want to enjoy going to the games. finishing say, 8th, isn't going to have me throwing teddy were I to have decided that only top 6 is "acceptable".

What would I like next season? - More home wins, for sure.

I also hope that the squad is improved in terms of quality - not just in players, but in terms of the way we sometimes play. At our best we're a sort of torrent of fast breaking verve, but if we don't manage that, as we can't do all the time, there's a bit of a tendency to revert either to a very ponderous slow style of play, or to a bit of hit and chase.

So I want to see an evolution in the way we play, so that there is more than one string to our attacking bow, so that when as has become the norm, teams sit back against us, we can still play through them.

Looking at that, then players like NRC, Heskey, Cuellar, Sidwell possibly - they're not really capable of the level of passing required.

So what I'd like is a little more solidity and stability at the back, a developing growth to our collective nous and I'll take wherever that would lead us.

[AVFC-Prideofbrum]

I don't see how anyone can put "want a trophy"

in there, let's face it. If were drawn United in the league and fa cup and they put a strong side out and beat us on the day, you can hardly be angry.

I think we should aim for 60+ points, top 6 finish and to TRY and go on a good cup run.

[Hanky]

I don't see how anyone can put "want a trophy"

in there, let's face it. If were drawn United in the league and fa cup and they put a strong side out and beat us on the day, you can hardly be angry.

I think we should aim for 60+ points, top 6 finish and to TRY and go on a good cup run.

Yes but we threw away two trophies without an attempt last season IMO.

[onmeedson]

Not a repeat of this season.

[JohnnyM]

I went 5th/6th with a trophy as the question said 'happy', but I'd also be content if we stayed top 6 and didn't win anything.

If we do keep being top 6 then there will come a time when we will need to actually break the top 4 or what's the point? But that's a few seasons off yet!!

[sting]

I dont think it is possible for us to finish any higher than fifth barring some collapse from one of the Big 4, a collapse that gets less likely with every passing year

So we are in a race for fifth. My excitement knows no bounds

Would be nice if we took our cup football seriously too, but thats not likely either is it?

I agree the Sky 4 are a long, long way ahead of everyone else. I don't, now, however think it gets "less likely with every passing year" that anyone could catch them.

I think the gap was established and sustained a while back, but there are money issues at Liverpool, there is a succession issue to come at Man U, Chelsea there's always a concern that Abramovic might have to do one, or they might appoint another Scholari, and the likes of Terry and Co. are on the older side for a Prem squad. Arsenal have a dodgy defence and Wenger has not really excelled at Centre back recruitment.. In other words, I don't think it's a case of "abandon all hope".

As to Villa, well, I don't really have an "acceptable" - I just want to enjoy going to the games. finishing say, 8th, isn't going to have me throwing teddy were I to have decided that only top 6 is "acceptable".

What would I like next season? - More home wins, for sure.

I also hope that the squad is improved in terms of quality - not just in players, but in terms of the way we sometimes play. At our best we're a sort of torrent of fast breaking verve, but if we don't manage that, as we can't do all the time, there's a bit of a tendency to revert either to a very ponderous slow style of play, or to a bit of hit and chase.

So I want to see an evolution in the way we play, so that there is more than one string to our attacking bow, so that when as has become the norm, teams sit back against us, we can still play through them.

Looking at that, then players like NRC, Heskey, Cuellar, Sidwell possibly - they're not really capable of the level of passing required.

So what I'd like is a little more solidity and stability at the back, a developing growth to our collective nous and I'll take wherever that would lead us.

Cracking post Blandy and one which i wholeheartly agree with!