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littleDinosaurLuke said:
I see the pundits are swooning over a Cazorla pass, but still don't see how Arsenal are far too inconsistent in both attack and defence to be racking up the 85-90 points needed to be title challengers. 4th is the best Arsenal can hope for- along with Spurs and Everton- and I wouldn't like to predict who will win that battle. Everton look favourites at present, but their squad isn't big enough.

Yes, DL, Utd didn't win anything last season, but coming 2nd with a massive 89 points is hardly failure- especially when we were champions up until the 92nd minute of the last game of the season!! Had SAF rested players for the PL, rather than the CL, then we might have emulated you achievements last season by doing well in the knockout comps, but being miles off the pace in the league.
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For a club of United's stature and recent success, 2nd is failure Luke, let's consider you had an 8 point lead 6 weeks before and were already printing and selling "20" and "Why always us?" T-shirts.

I do agree with you though on the first paragraph but I wouldn't rule Chelsea or United out in terms of the battle for 4th yet. Chelsea and United should be okay but I've said and I'll continue to say the only team guaranteed to finish top 3 is City.

I actually think we could cope with the loss of Hazard but if we were to lose Oscar or more importantly Mata long term that's our season done. Mata is getting the plaudits now and rightly so but most Chelsea fans including myself will tell you he's been awesome since he arrived, he only looks better now as he's around like minded players.

Cazorla looks a great player but he cannot carry Arsenal single handedly in the way RVP could. Giroud won't get the goals for Arsenal so unless Gervinho and Podolski start to hit form and Arsenal get top 4 I think Wenger's position becomes untenable, if not with the board then the fans who will surely have had enough if they haven't already.

Injuries permitting, I'd say Everton probably have a better first Xi than Spurs or Arsenal but take one or two players out the Everton side then they aren't near as strong as Arsenal or Spurs for me.
 
Chelsea look the best team right now, but they are the most vulnerable of the top three to injury. Mata would be bad, but what about Torres getting hurt? Arsenal look to be okay as long as Cazorla stays healthy, but you never know. I'm afraid we're f*cked if Dembele is out for a long time, though I hope I'm wrong. Oddly enough, missing Lennon seems to hurt us more than missing Bale. On the other hand, an injury to Defoe could be a blessing in disguise by relieving us of a controversy.

I also don't understand why people have been talking about Arsenal as title contenders. They've been doing it so long they can't stop, maybe? Both Spurs and Arsenal have starting elevens that at their best can compete with the top three. But the squad strength isn't comparable, and that does make the difference. Spurs now have our best defender, our left back, our best defensive mid last year (though Sandro is probably better this year), and our playmaker out, while our best striker is just coming back from injury. Consider the sorts of players the richest clubs could run out in situations like that, versus who we have.
 
redwhiteandermblue said:
I also don't understand why people have been talking about Arsenal as title contenders. They've been doing it so long they can't stop, maybe? Both Spurs and Arsenal have starting elevens that at their best can compete with the top three. But the squad strength isn't comparable, and that does make the difference. Spurs now have our best defender, our left back, our best defensive mid last year (though Sandro is probably better this year), and our playmaker out, while our best striker is just coming back from injury. Consider the sorts of players the richest clubs could run out in situations like that, versus who we have.
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Exactly RWB, I haven't rated Arsenal as title contenders this season, nor for a few seasons now. A lot of people seriously under-rated City and Chelsea this season, which I didn't get, but hey it's all about opinions, etc.
 
Opinions, idle speculation...pleasant excuses to excercise your mind (not very hard!) while thinking about a favorite topic.

One thing I like about us is that we look like we can score. Shooting first and asking questions later (23 shots against Chelsea, 10-13 on target) has been working pretty well.
 
Chelsea have escaped going in at half time not being 3-0 down. Donetsk need that second goal. So far Juve haven't scored at where is it which surprises me as they scored two at The Bridge. Are Utd finally slowing down? Cech's a saviour but he's doing his job. If it stays 1-0 then Chelsea shouldn't be too aggrieved.
 
The Mighty Thor said:
Chelsea have escaped going in at half time not being 3-0 down. Donetsk need that second goal. So far Juve haven't scored at where is it which surprises me as they scored two at The Bridge. Are Utd finally slowing down? Cech's a saviour but he's doing his job. If it stays 1-0 then Chelsea shouldn't be too aggrieved.
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United should be level to be fair but the linesman got a tough call wrong. They're going to rely on knocking teams onto the back foot as their Defence and midfield are suspect whilst their attack is exceptional.
 
Fair comments Yid. If both Utd and Chelsea concede again though it's curtains. If Juve win away that puts Chelsea third in their group and still to visit Juve whom I would bet on winning it. I'm actually watching Lille Bayern and I'm not impressed.
 
Shakhtar look superb. They've dominated the entire game and Willian (sp) has been outstanding. I'd love to have him, but can't see us outbidding Shakhtar and Chelsea for him. It's funny how the best EPL teams have mostly done poorly in the CL in the last couple of years. Maybe it's Chelsea's turn now.
 
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