Investment in the playing stock (for want of a better term) is different to overpaying the dross we had left once we'd sold off pretty much every saleable asset on the team.
Printable View
Beat Chelsea next week and we will be up there challenging.. draw and/or lose, then we can welcome 4th place trophy again!
Yeah if we win, we get 57 points and if we draw/lose we get -68/-96 points.
I don't understand where this thought comes from that this season is our big chance.
The last 3 seasons we've finished 12, 19 and 16 points off the champions.
We have kept our squad together but only because we didn't have any truly top players left that anyone would come in for. We did make one big signing but did you really think that would be enough to turn us from a side who have struggled to stay in the top 4 the last 2 seasons into champions elect? You say our 'major competitors' are in flux, I'm not sure they'd see us as competitors, we haven't challenged for the title in years.
Out of last season's top 3 only one club has been seriously disrupted by change and that's Utd - losing Fergie, surely the GOAT, was always going to affect them and it's showing. City and Chelsea are surely thr more likely beneficiaries of that. Both have got better managers than last season, one of whom has won the PL for his club before, and both have very expensively assembled squads.
We've looked a lot better than last season so far but IMO the title is beyond us this year and I don't see how after the struggles over the last two seasons to stay in the top 4, let alone mount a title challenge, we could be expected to win the title this year. We've made progress, we seem to be heading in the right direction, but there's a way to go yet and it's always going to be difficult competing with the 2 billionaire-fuelled clubs.
We'll see what happens in the spring. There's too much speculation involved at the moment.
If we fade away like we have done when we've previously challenged, then it would be terribly disappointing. If we can stay competitive and take it to the wire, even have a good cup run, then I'll consider this season as good progress.
i know there is the question that if arsenal can't beat the big teams can they really win the league?
but after tonight and previous results, why isn't the question to chelsea and city, if they can't beat the small teams, can they really win the league?