Ah, the D word. I agree with MO, there has been a clear decline in terms of quality an enjoyability of our play. In terms of end result though. Here are our position, points total and points off the top since 2004
2005 2nd 83 8
2006 4th 67 24
2007 4th 68 21
2008 3rd 83 4
2009 4th 72 18
2010 3rd 75 11
2011 4th 68 12
2012 3rd 70 19
2013 4th 73 16
2014 4th 79 7
2015 3rd 75 12
2016 2nd 71 10
2017 5th 75 18
I defy you to draw a graph of any of that and draw a line which shows a clear decline.. Since 2008 we haven't got over 80 points. Only once have we got within 10 points of the eventual champions. It's 10 years of bumbling around in the top 4, neither progress nor decline, stagnation. Last year was the first time we dropped out of the top 4 and that was only by 2 points. Those high fiving themselves and saying "told you so"...I'd suggest that you can make almost any prediction in a sport where fortunes fluctuate so much and if you keep repeating it you'll be "right" eventually. And will it be a one off slip out of the top 4? Impossible to say right now. We are 7th right now but only a point off 4th.
NQ made the point that we have gone from a "top 2" side to a "top 4" one and now a "top 6" side. My take on that is that there isn't a "top 2" any more. Chelsea and City have bought their way in. Spurs and Liverpool have done better the last couple of years, hence the top 6, but both are only a point above us right now. And actually it's only one year that both finished above us. I'll judge whether they finish above us this year in May
. I don't believe any manager will come in and we will be regularly top 2, I don't think that's possible any more, none of the other usual suspects have managed it consistently. But I do believe another manager would get us challenging and even if they didn't it would at least be
different, and it's getting to the point where that in itself would be a good thing.
Looking at the actual standings, points totals and gap off the top the last 10 years have been one of stagnation, not decline. It's too early to say whether last year's 5th place was a one off or the start of a trend. I'd say we are in real danger of decline if we lose both Ozil and Sanchez and don't find adequate replacements.