Easy to be downbeat but maybe next season can be our season? Juventus were relegated to Serie B 7 years ago, and finished 7th in the past 2 seasons. This season, with some shrewd business, they won the league and finished undefeated.
just need to get some shrewd business done this summer then! no overrated English players please kk!!
2 or 3 quality signings and we would be on the right track. Finding the players is the difficult part.
Juventus aren't competing with oil barons who buy titles and trophies, makes it a bit easier for them. We'll deffo compete for top 4 with 2/3 of the right signings in the right places. We're honestly not a million miles away from being a good team. The best team though? Depends whether City's money darts land on the right players over the next few years.
Wait wait, not going with that first sentence. Have you seen the Serie A? Up and back all season. Top 7 - Juve, AC, Udinese, Inter, Napoli, Roma, Lazio then you throw in Palermo who love to leave a spanner out there for teams and it is not as easy as you think. They made good buys in positions that needed to be fielded. They bought the creator in Pirlo, box to box in Vidal ( best bit of business in the summer btw), Lichtenshteiner (sp) at RB, caceras who can play either. Vucinic up top to add experience to a line so that the likes of matri could come good and simone pepe is kind of like our Kuyt, everyone loves him for the graft he puts in. They bought well, smart, and efficeintly for what they needed.
Wasn't suggesting that we would be winning the league any time soon ;-) But as Bluff mentioned, it's amazing what a few changes can do if you get it right. We only have to look at Newcastle to see the impact. It is key that we sign the right players this summer and I think it's easily as important that they are able to adapt quickly and settle down, who can then make an impact. I think we should always be challenging for the title and that it is never out of our reach. A more realistic objective is to qualify for the Champions League and we are not that far from it. We suffered some injuries to key players at the wrong time, as well as the Suarez/Evra incident. A few more additions to the first team, and not just some stop gaps, then we could definately compete.
I would group (for next season) Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, United (possibly, depending on their summer) and Newcastle (possibly, again depending on summer) all miles behind City. If (when) City win their first title, they'll run off and dominate for several years because they can. Serie A has no clear out runner, it's a tight league with teams who are all fairly equal. Juve did great to pull themselves back up there, but if they were in the PL, they'd never pull up to what United or City did this year. I don't disagree with any of your second part.
The same could have been said for Chelsea when Roman first emerged but they couldn't quite sustain it, which shows that it's not an easy task.
Oh I forgot, If Juve win the Coap italia they will have gone the entire season undefeated, I think in everything they par-took in
That's because A, Roman is an idiot, and B, Mourinho ****ed off to Italy. Best thing City can do is to keep Mancini and role with the tide for a few years. City are also a little different because they've, probably, done the bulk of their spending before the FFP kicks in properly, meaning it'll be harder to catch up once they get ahead - hence if they win their first, they'll stay top as long as they're not stupid.
Agree with you they done it all before the rules change,And yes they have to stick with Mancini not just because what he done this year he suits the team
You'd group City on their own despite the fact that when they lift the trophy this weekend it's likely going to be on goal difference? It's that close yet you put us in the same group as Liverpool, who have been beaten by just about every club in the division...that's not biased at all. Here's my groups... City & United Chelsea & Arsenal Spurs, Newcastle & Everton Fulham, Liverpool, Sunderland, Villa. I will hold my hands up for certain if and when City leave United for dead in the title race, I have no qualms over admitting who has the better team. In fact, I feel a bit harsh on Chelsea for sticking them outside of the top group considering how well they've played under Di Matteo, but Liverpool are not to be mentioned amongst the elite, no matter how many of your ex players manage to make it on to a BBC panel or the Soccer Saturday panel, you don't deserve any credit for what you have achieved, sorry but the holders of that trophy before you lot got your hands on it, played Championship football this season. Just like United have proved, we have no right to win that League Title, it has to be earned. You lot have to earn your place amongst the elite again, you have no divine right to be there.
"..you don't deserve any credit for what you have achieved," Not giving credit for the achievements of others, smacks of having no class whatsoever!
No really Lfc should be given credit for winning the CC. From the first round they could play in the cup, KK fielded a full strength side, he made a statement and followed through. I think by the time the CC started KK realised he had an ineffectual team in the League and his only hope of keeping his job was to win a cup. Like i say well done and all due credit.
Thing is every game we played in both cups was against full strength opposition including Utd and City.
You didn`t have to play an away game in the FAC but you can only play where you are drawn. Anyway as i admitted it was a bit tongue in cheek.
I'm talking about next season, not this season. So enough of your 'devine right' **** or 'we'll lose only on goal difference' crap. Like I said earlier, you NEED To buy significantly to compete with City next year because they WILL be doing that. Hence my very obvious point it "possibly, depending on their summer". Want to read that again? "possibly, depending on their summer". Meaning, you'll be grouped with City IF you buy heavily and properly in the summer because even your own fans admit you're miles behind where you should be. If you don't, then yes, you'll be sitting pretty with the other guys like I said. So before you talk about MY bias, worry about your own club and your own bias about where you'll be. You're not great because you're losing on GD, you're a great club because Fergie has dragged an average squad (bar a few) up way above their level. Your failings in Europe show how poor you are. City's team is way beyond yours and your concern should be that they keep Mancini, who with a full season under his belt and his first trophy, will continue to improve and learn how the PL works. I'll expect the usual reply of, "if we're average and poor, what about you? LOL"... The difference is that I accept where our squad failings are and what we need, United fans usually just say how **** we are in an attempt to make themselves feel better about their problems.
