Kanj Posted Thursday at 11:55 Share Posted Thursday at 11:55 2 hours ago, The College Dropout said: I'm telling you man. We are winners. Get us a couple more and we can win the league. Or at least do what Villa have done in the CL. We'd beat this version of Real Madrid IMO. Too lazy, open and disjointed for us. Yep, this is where I am right now too. I assume we will get CL and we may have a few wobbles before end of the season in the run-in but I think there is a club, coaching and player shift in mentality that will carry us upward next season. Nail the summer window (Back Howe, Nickson, Andy Howe’s choices for first team PLEASE) and we will title charge next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
r0cafella Posted Thursday at 11:58 Share Posted Thursday at 11:58 Winning the league next season is too much of a ask imo. These cartel clubs have so much money to throw year after year. I think our goals have to be just keep increasing our points totals until we can close the financial gap. Even that is a big ask but it's more attainable than a title challenge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted Thursday at 12:46 Share Posted Thursday at 12:46 (edited) 48 minutes ago, r0cafella said: Winning the league next season is too much of a ask imo. These cartel clubs have so much money to throw year after year. I think our goals have to be just keep increasing our points totals until we can close the financial gap. Even that is a big ask but it's more attainable than a title challenge. I'm being hyperbolic, but we are another couple of players and some depth away from going up another level. That 76-85 point range, depending on the season, is a title challenge. We speak about the cartel. Only three of them are capable of exceeding 85 points next season, and only one will do that this season. There's no point in having players like Isak and Tonali, then targeting finishing 4th or 5th for the prime years of their career. We can target a 76-85 point season next year, if we achieve that, can that unlock finances to go 85+ points? Edited Thursday at 12:58 by The College Dropout Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted Thursday at 12:50 Share Posted Thursday at 12:50 I think without Europe and with 3-4 top signings we could genuinely mount a title challenge. Doing it with the current bloated European format to deal with as well is almost impossible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
t00nt00n313 Posted Thursday at 12:54 Share Posted Thursday at 12:54 2 minutes ago, ponsaelius said: I think without Europe and with 3-4 top signings we could genuinely mount a title challenge. Doing it with the current bloated European format to deal with as well is almost impossible. You have to think long term, the money we get just from being in the CL is huge and also it massive increases the power of our brand worldwide which will allow for us to get better players and also increase commercia revenue even more going forwards. And yes I wish football wasn't all about money but unfortunately it is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted Thursday at 12:58 Share Posted Thursday at 12:58 Just looking back at the thread from after the 32nd game in 2022/23. We were similarly confident then but inevitably it took another five games to secure it. Given the additional place it probably won't be like that this time but I'm not gonna count my chickens just yet. We need to see how we respond to a result we'd have expected to have done better in. Very confident obviously, but want Howe back asap so he can navigate that moment when it inevitably comes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted Thursday at 13:02 Share Posted Thursday at 13:02 7 minutes ago, ponsaelius said: I think without Europe and with 3-4 top signings we could genuinely mount a title challenge. Doing it with the current bloated European format to deal with as well is almost impossible. I agree with this. I genuinely think, if Villa had this squad at the start of the season, they would have another 6-8 points. That takes them from the bottom end of the CL battle, to pushing hard for 3 major competitions and getting CL football fairly comfortably. We can get there with 1 good window and a bit of luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted Thursday at 13:07 Share Posted Thursday at 13:07 6 minutes ago, Yorkie said: Just looking back at the thread from after the 32nd game in 2022/23. We were similarly confident then but inevitably it took another five games to secure it. Given the additional place it probably won't be like that this time but I'm not gonna count my chickens just yet. We need to see how we respond to a result we'd have expected to have done better in. Very confident obviously, but want Howe back asap so he can navigate that moment when it inevitably comes. Aye, it looks good at the moment but it can soon swing the other way with a couple of negative results or key injuries. We are capable of losing form. The benefit for us compared to 22/23 is that we've been in this position before and done it, with largely the same set of players. The other advantage we have is the traffic between us and 6th. I'd say we're favourites, but with a cautionary asterix to say that there's still a lot of work to be done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted Thursday at 13:08 Share Posted Thursday at 13:08 btw with this new CL format, I think 90+ point seasons will be harder for even the cartel clubs until they can all get tremendous strength in-depth. The PL is too tough. The semi-perm 16 teams, are all pretty good. They can't give Darron Gibson's 15 pl games a season anymore Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted Thursday at 13:10 Share Posted Thursday at 13:10 We’ve still got Villa (a) Chelsea and Arsenal (a) to come. I’m not assuming anything until 5th is mathematically certain. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
t00nt00n313 Posted Thursday at 13:13 Share Posted Thursday at 13:13 2 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said: We’ve still got Villa (a) Chelsea and Arsenal (a) to come. I’m not assuming anything until 5th is mathematically certain. Would count Brighton away as another very difficult game, and tbh everton at home wont necessarily be a breeze either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted Thursday at 13:18 Share Posted Thursday at 13:18 4 minutes ago, t00nt00n313 said: Would count Brighton away as another very difficult game, and tbh everton at home wont necessarily be a breeze either. 100% Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted Thursday at 13:24 Share Posted Thursday at 13:24 13 hours ago, Kanj said: The mentality in this team is growing, it’s really exciting lads. Switch has clicked. Winning silverware is the final piece. Anyone involved in the final, including players who have been rubbished previously now think of themselves as winners. Keegan always said that first trophy would have made all the difference to his teams. You can see the belief in all the players now, they trust each other as well, which is massive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Prophet Posted Thursday at 13:27 Share Posted Thursday at 13:27 Win our home games and we should be alright. Anything away from home is a bonus and takes the pressure off those matches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
timeEd32 Posted Thursday at 13:39 Share Posted Thursday at 13:39 It's not just that we won a trophy either. We thoroughly outplayed the top two teams in the country over three games to do it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted Thursday at 13:43 Share Posted Thursday at 13:43 3 minutes ago, timeEd32 said: It's not just that we won a trophy either. We thoroughly outplayed the top two teams in the country over three games to do it. Yeah there wasn't much luck involved. We schooled them both. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted Thursday at 13:49 Share Posted Thursday at 13:49 (edited) On our day we can match any team in the country, we've beaten Arsenal 3 times which is a fair basis to judge any side on. We've had consistency issues, which related firstly to finding the midfield balance and secondly our inability to rotate players when they needed a rest after a long spell in the side. The first part is already fixed, we know our best midfield and the chemistry is perfect. The second part requires two things, firstly a squad of sufficient depth to rotate players in and out. For example, we can't mount a title challenge when in order to give Bruno a rest we bring Longstaff on in his place. Secondly, Eddie has to bite the bullet at times and show he's willing to rest the odd player who is in a performing side before they get jaded. This isnt a criticism of Howe, it's just something new he's going to have to think about. If next season, we can come off a win and have the bravery to, let's say rest Gordon and bring Barnes in, rest Botman and bring Burn in or even rest a fundamental player like Isak/Tonali, only then will we have the capacity to mount a serious threat. Our first team players are going to have to quickly realise that they are going to have to sit on the bench and be rested from time to time. This will prevent injuries and allow us to keep our levels up. .... Anyway, I'd be shocked if we didn't get CL from this point. It would also be nice to get 3rd or 4th too. Edited Thursday at 13:50 by STM Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanj Posted Thursday at 13:58 Share Posted Thursday at 13:58 (edited) I am making no assumptions or saying anything is a certain done deal until mathematically it is. I just truly have more confidence in this team now than I ever have. We have come away with max points or big results when its mattered the most this season more often than not, particularly in calendar yr 2025; so I am backing that form. I am truly gobsmacked by the well oiled machine of the coaching staff (JT + co) and the on-field leadership of Trippier, Burn, Bruno and the quiet leaders in Schar, Tonali, our beast Joelinton and our 3 attacking assassins in Isak, Barnes and Murphy front. You have Pope who is making key saves when needed and then Tino genuinely looks the best left back in the country right now. You could easily have given them a pass when Howe took ill, but instead 6 points, 9 goals scored and 1 conceded. Bring on Villa. Fucking bring on Villa. I can’t wait. Anything can happen, but that’s football. How great does it feel being a supporter of this football club at the moment? All the pain seems totally worth how it feels right now. Edited Thursday at 14:00 by Kanj Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fountain Posted Thursday at 14:02 Share Posted Thursday at 14:02 5pts clear with 6 games remaining and people are still pissing themselves. As I'm 55 years old I can understand the worry, however this management and team are different. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted Thursday at 14:08 Share Posted Thursday at 14:08 I've never trusted a team as much in my life. Even if we slip up against Villa, we will smash Ipswich. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cf Posted Thursday at 14:10 Share Posted Thursday at 14:10 4 hours ago, Decky said: Imagine we were the runners up in the league this year. Been a great season this, and that's even with our huge dip in form earlier. Imagine we finish 2nd and all those posts in the Eddie Howe thread existing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted Thursday at 14:16 Share Posted Thursday at 14:16 14 minutes ago, The Fountain said: 5pts clear with 6 games remaining and people are still pissing themselves. As I'm 55 years old I can understand the worry, however this management and team are different. I’m not pissing myself, no wet blankets here. I just don’t celebrate before we’ve crossed the finish line, and one of the best things about football is its unpredictability. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBottle Posted Thursday at 14:17 Share Posted Thursday at 14:17 6 minutes ago, Cf said: Imagine we finish 2nd and all those posts in the Eddie Howe thread existing. Yep. Especially the ones which pointed out that the team was far more capable than what it was showing during that period. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_n_white Posted Thursday at 14:38 Share Posted Thursday at 14:38 Even if we finish 6th it would have been a fantastic season, arguably the best ever. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted Thursday at 14:45 Share Posted Thursday at 14:45 40 minutes ago, The Fountain said: 5pts clear with 6 games remaining and people are still pissing themselves. As I'm 55 years old I can understand the worry, however this management and team are different. I don't think people are pissing themselves, it's reasonable to be cautious about getting overly carried away when half of our remaining games are against the current top 7. We're in the box seat, but it's by no means a foregone conclusion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now