Champions League Contention

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I mean, they've only dropped points at Man City away so far this year, let's not undermine what we did yesterday by going overboard. They just got beat by the 4th best side in the league, who happen to be very good unsurprisingly.

[Demitri_C]

Looking at the title run in it does look like this weekend has given it to cIteh.
We do need one of Arse or Pool to stay in it so that Citeh go into the Spurs game needing a result.

I think arsenal will drop off now looking at their games chelsea spurs and manure not easy. Just hoping liverpool can go on a run and keep pressure on city for that game.

Looks like we have exposed their soft underbelly.
Those doubts about the temperament to go all the way will resurface , it was a terrible result for them and worse is the fact that they know their crowd ain’t up for the fight.

I thought artetas subs were awful. Jorginho when he came on was terrible and helped us with the 2nd goal 😂

I dont think artetas a top manager tbh.

[Risso]

I mean, they've only dropped points at Man City away so far this year, let's not undermine what we did yesterday by going overboard. They just got beat by the 4th best side in the league, who happen to be very good unsurprisingly.

Agreed. On another day against another team they could have been two or three up at half time.

[Dave]

I mean, they've only dropped points at Man City away so far this year, let's not undermine what we did yesterday by going overboard. They just got beat by the 4th best side in the league, who happen to be very good unsurprisingly.

Yup. They played fine yesterday, they were just unlucky to come up against a team that when it clicks is really good. And they played them on a day when it clicked.

They'll still win most of their rest of their games this season. And even if they finish third, it's still been a great season for them.

[pablo_picasso]

Sky Sports News waffling on about the title & very little talk of the Champions League chase. If it was ManU in our position we would need brollies for the torrential down-pouring of media spunk that would be moving in from the Sky Sports studio...

[chrisw1]

https://thefightingcock.co.uk/forum/threads/top-4-struggling-to-care.49116/

I get where they're coming from. 

I am absolutely desperate for us to qualify because it's the only possible way that we can even begin to start bridging the financial gap.  That's less important to Spurs as they have such a strong commercial operation.  Having failed to progress in the CL so often, I can see why going deeper into the UEFA cup for a season or two could be quite appealing to their fans.

I think Spurs are progressing pretty well, they've got a good squad, are having a love affair with their manager and financially they can cope with not being in the CL next season.  For us, I feel it could be a transformative lifeline in terms of finance, retaining our best players and being taken more seriously as a top club.

[Rigadon]

https://thefightingcock.co.uk/forum/threads/top-4-struggling-to-care.49116/

I get where they're coming from. 

I am absolutely desperate for us to qualify because it's the only possible way that we can even begin to start bridging the financial gap.  That's less important to Spurs as they have such a strong commercial operation.  Having failed to progress in the CL so often, I can see why going deeper into the UEFA cup for a season or two could be quite appealing to their fans.

I think Spurs are progressing pretty well, they've got a good squad, are having a love affair with their manager and financially they can cope with not being in the CL next season.  For us, I feel it could be a transformative lifeline in terms of finance, retaining our best players and being taken more seriously as a top club.

I can understand that the novelty of playing in the CL wears off after a while.  We are the only big English club to have not qualified for it (in its modern form) and that has to be out straight.  It alone wouldn't transform the club - look at Newcastle - but it'd give us the chance to build rather than rebuild. 

[cdward]

Interesting that Liverpool and Arsenal failed to win their mid week euro games, we won ours and took that confidence into the game yesterday.
Momentum is massive at this stage of the season.
We really needed that style of win, to remind us of how good we have been this season, and how good we can still be.
Sets us up nicely for a clean sheet on Thursday.
Thank you Unai,  for us to be even talking about qualifying for CL football, let alone be in with a real chance is brilliant.

[caster troy]

Bournemouth have had a good season but their away form hasn't been great lately. You could say the same about Brentford though, and we have a very difficult game on Thursday that could go to extra time. Then Chelsea who are unbeaten in the league for quite a while now I think. It feels like we need 4 points to put pressure on Spurs.

[Drummond]

Form over the last 5 games is such that teams have garnered the following points out of possible 15:

ManC   11
Arse      10
Newc   10
B'Mouth   10
Chelsea   9
L'Pool        8
Villa           8
Spuds   7
Fulham   7
ManU   6
Brentford   6
Forest   6
Burnley   6
WetSpam   5
Brighton   5
Wulves   5
Palace   5
Everton   4
Luton   4
Sheff U   3


Chelsea and ManC are undefeated in 5.

Arse, L'Pool, Villa, Newcastle, ManU, B'mouth, Forest, Burnley have only lost once in those games.

So the games v Bournemouth and Chelsea especially require us to be on our guard, L'pool are obviously decent, Palace on their day are a really potent threat so we've a tough few games and the everyone needs to be on form.

[Drummond]

So, over 5 games Newcastle have got 2 more points than us, Spuds a point less (with far tougher games to come) and ManU 2 less.

We're in a good place.

[eamonn]

Trying to think of the unfancied English teams who have made it into the CL since football began.

From memory, Blackburn never made much of a dent - my only recollection from their campaigns is Batty and Le Saux having a punch-up on the pitch in Moscow or somewhere.

Everton in the mid-00s... exited immediately after a tough preliminary tie against Villareal who went all the way to the semi-finals before narrowly losing to Arsenal.

Newcastle in the late-90s and early 00s...a memorable Keith Gillespie-inspired win at home to Barca but not sure they got to the knock-outs at all.

Surprisingly, then, Leicester did really well in their one and only campaign, narrowly losing to Atleti in the quarter-finals in 2017.

[Demitri_C]

Sky Sports News waffling on about the title & very little talk of the Champions League chase. If it was ManU in our position we would need brollies for the torrential down-pouring of media spunk that would be moving in from the Sky Sports studio...

I personally love it PP when they dont talk about us. Its when we are at our best and play without pressure.

We dont need anyones plaudits just us vs the world. We can all see the unbelievable job emery is doing. Dont care what the biased clowns at sky think

[Dave]

From memory, Blackburn never made much of a dent - my only recollection from their campaigns is Batty and Le Saux having a punch-up on the pitch in Moscow or somewhere.

Also the answer to the quiz question of the first English player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League.

[curiousorange]

It's not just the financial gap, it avoids a rebuild at a key time. Your Watkins, Luiz and Martinez will want to play at elite level for most of their career, and if you can legitimately claim by staying at Villa they will do so, that keeps the spine of the side intact.