Pretenders to the throne.

[Pesam]

Hate to say it but I think Man U will be challenging next season. If they can keep Pogba, and build on the team they've got, they can definitely do it.
Greenwood looks like a star in the making.
Martial looks revitalised.
Rashford just got back from a long injury lay off but he'll start performing at his best soon enough.
Then there's Fernandes who has been a superb acquisition so far.
So their attack is sorted. Their only weakness is their defence. Can't say anything bad about Wan-Bissaka but the three others aren't top class imo. It's scary to see them playing with confidence.
I hope none of the Manchester teams manage to get Koulibaly.

I agree with pretty much all that. Greenwood looks exceptional unfortunately. They'll certainly be closer to us next season. It's hard to see them finishing outside the top 4 now given the fact Chelsea and Leicester have tougher fixtures and are in worse form.

As I've said before, the United fans I know are convinced Jadon Sancho is signing, that will give them ridiculous strength going forward (Greenwood, Martial, Rashford, Sancho, Fernandes) but thankfully their defence still looks suspect. If they get Sancho hopefully they won't have the funds for Koulibaly etc.

If they get Sancho and don't strengthen their defence then they'll be a bit like us under Brendan Rodgers i.e. can beat anyone on their day and capable of destroying teams but also suspect to drawing 3-3 at Palace and other similar acts of Hari-Kari.

 

[Rosco]

@Rosco had an interesting theory on keepers when they hit a certain age. Can't remember if it applies to De Gea, though.

I wouldn't do it justice though since I can only half remember it.

I have a couple of theories that overlap on this.

First one is everyone has a limited amount of games at the top. The earlier they star, the earlier they finish - see Owen, Rooney , Lukaku. If you burst on the scene at 17 and play loads of games early you generally are past your best by the time you hit 27.

Like everything there are exceptions, and ways you can elongate your career.

Secondly, studies on infielder defence in baseball (which is not dissimilar to goalkeeping) showed that agility peaks at 25 typically. So after that you need something else if you are to stay at the top i.e. anticipation, positioning - your knowledge and experience needs to make up for the agility waning.

 

[MomoWASright]

And to lay off the chorros.

 

[Frogfish]

Can we keep up the level of the past 2-3 seasons ? The lads only have so many seasons in them at the highest level without sufficient depth to the squad to rest them when necessary. Hopefully the 4 months off during the lockdown will have given them time to recuperate and now it's just a case of honing them for the new season.

Come down off our highest level however and we have already seen from the restart that we are far from the team that steamrollered the league and made two consecutive CL finals. United & Chelsea may not have Klopp at the helm but they can and will throw money at putting together title challenging squads, never mind City (who have likely only not yet gone into the market due to CAS and are waiting to find out the result of the hearing).

We saw ourselves how just 2-3 top players (VvD, Alisson & Fabs) can totally transform the team. Chelsea are getting there, United not far off and City again just those 2-3 players to take them back to their previous levels

 

[Dreambeliever]

That Greenwood is really a special talent, though.

If they got Sancho as well...

I mean, they're not going to win it next year, but they'd have a truly brilliant attack for the next decade. They'd be back challenging sooner or later.

He looks superb but a lot can happen before he’s as good as he’s made out to be.
Doing it year in year out to the level ourselves and City have done takes incredible professionalism.

I don’t see at Utd yet.

 

[the count]

He looks superb but a lot can happen before he’s as good as he’s made out to be.
Doing it year in year out to the level ourselves and City have done takes incredible professionalism.

I don’t see at Utd yet.

He could end up being one of those "one season wonders" like Harry Kane

 

[SummerOnions]

Im looking forward to Leeds being the surprise early challengers

 

[MomoWASright]

He could end up being one of those "one season wonders" like Mo Salah

Fixed for fumers.

 

[Dreambeliever]

He could end up being one of those "one season wonders" like Harry Kane

Ha. He could get injured, he could stall. He could lose confidence. He looks the real deal but it’s one season and people are talking like he’s a world beater.

 

[Dreambeliever]

Im looking forward to Leeds being the surprise early challengers

Even Leeds can stuff up this lead.

Will be interesting to see if they invest.

 

[the count]

Ha. He could get injured, he could stall. He could lose confidence. He looks the real deal but it’s one season and people are talking like he’s a world beater.

Let me guess. These "people" are Manc supporters?

 

[Dreambeliever]

Let me guess. These "people" are Manc supporters?

Coming from all angles on SM

 

[the count]

Coming from all angles on SM

Ahhhh social media.
The fount of all knowledge

 

[Dreambeliever]

Ahhhh social media.
The fount of all knowledge

Utd fans deserve a boom bust cycle after all RV’s rubbish after their Villa game.

 

[Halmeister]

In fairness, I think Greenwood will be special, unfortunately.

 

[mom]

I love how Utd fans are getting excited by a strong end to the season and saying it points to a good season next .... reminds me of us every other season over the last 30 years. Easy to have a strong finish when there is f'ck all to play for

The stronger the better. Less chance of a top top manager coming in for them.

 

[Hansern]

Interesting regarding the title challenge next season is the amount of the rest the teams get this summer.
After our game against Newcastle we’ve got about 6 weeks before the new campaign starts.
If Utd and City make it all the way to the semi finals or the final in the Euro comps, they will get 3 weeks.

Over the course of next seaon that difference could be massive for us towards City.

 

[FoxForceFive]

I think it actually makes it harder for us & city, & more likely that it will be a much closer league, with lower points totals, & a few challengers.

 

[MomoWASright]

We’ve effectively been champions since lockdown started. I hope the club looked at our training schedule with a view of being ready for next season. Those who’ve needed to work for points and been in Europe could hit a brick wall come February. We could be relatively fresh at that point.

 

[Woland]

Bluemoon seem to think Citeh losing yesterday will herald another billion quid summer. I think that's fine, most of Peps recent signings have been shite, or at the least haven't settled. If we can incrementally improve while they're turning into the Gaspasticos we'll win it with 80 points

 

[MomoWASright]

The good old fume. City looked drained yesterday. There didn’t seem any pace to their play and just kept passing for passings sake. Hopefully they fully implode next season.

 

[Dreambeliever]

The good old fume. City looked drained yesterday. There didn’t seem any pace to their play and just kept passing for passings sake. Hopefully they fully implode next season.

Next season?

They are in full implosion mode this season.

20 odd points behind the champions, dumped out of the FA Cup. If they lose in the CL it’ll be a huge implosion

 

[MomoWASright]

Next season?

They are in full implosion mode this season.

20 odd points behind the champions, dumped out of the FA Cup. If they lose in the CL it’ll be a huge implosion

Safe in second place, semi final of the FA cup, league cup winners and possible champions league. Not quite what i had in mind for an all out implosion.

 

[Hansern]

Would be well funny if Real turn it around in the second leg in the CL

 

[FoxForceFive]

We’ve effectively been champions since lockdown started. I hope the club looked at our training schedule with a view of being ready for next season. Those who’ve needed to work for points and been in Europe could hit a brick wall come February. We could be relatively fresh at that point.

That's exactly what they've been doing imo.

However, the side have still had to stay mentally switched on during lockdown, plus we have a smaller squad than city, & we saw how they fared last season after two seasons of pushing for 100 points.

I have no doubt we'll hit some kind of stride again, (esp relative to our recent form) but I worry that to try to last the season we'll try to repeat a similar strategy as this season, it's less effective than it was for a number of reasons, & I think we need a return to to a more aggressive tactic, but that has obvious physical/fitness implications.

I think we do need some fresh faces in, for psychological, tactical, & fitness reasons, it's small potatoes compared to so many deaths worldwide, but this pandemic could have huge implications on our side, whether they're just short term, or long term, we will not know for a long time yet.

 

[Hyena]

United have some challenges yet.
Teenwolf has morphed into something like an italian keeper with sweatpants who misses his mama.

Pogba is diva and a rotten egg.
Martial is a lazy baby and not as half as good as he thinks.

Their manager is a petulant little weasel.
He used to be a Liverpool fan, but now he puts on an evident and embarrassing pretense of hating everything Liverpool.
He adopted everything he is from Slur, because he didn't have the confidence to be his own man.

Rashford and Fernandez are top.
Greenwood looks a real talent.

I've watched almost every Utd goal since the restart. I hate to say it but Martial is pretty damn good. Better than Rashford even. And Greenwood may have the highest ceiling of the three. Pogba will be less of a diva now that he's only the fifth best player in the squad, and Henderson is a top top keeper. Maguire is still shit but you know that's just another mega signing away from being resolved.

Chelsea will be almost a brand new team next season, and who knows who else they will buy.

It's a pity we have no money, because we do need to strengthen.

 

[Dreambeliever]

Would be well funny if Real turn it around in the second leg in the CL

would be epic

 

[Dreambeliever]

Safe in second place, semi final of the FA cup, league cup winners and possible champions league. Not quite what i had in mind for an all out implosion.

from where they were for the last 2 years I’ll take it

 

[MomoWASright]

It’s a downward trend and long may it continue.

 

[Judge Jules]

The teams that have beaten Citeh lately have had the courage to go at them when the opportunities arise, even when they've had only a small minority of possession. I hope the rest learn from that for next season - Laporte aside, they're very average indeed at the back. They're so brilliant going forward that you have to be extremely careful how you set about attacking them but, in the immortal words of Corporal Jones, "they don't like it up 'em".

United and Solskjaer have settled down better than I anticipated, but they're still not right at the back. There's a fair bit of talk about Koulibaly but I don't think signing just him would be enough, and overall I don't think Solskjaer has the stature or tactical nous to take them to the top. They'll be dangerous all right and I expect them to occupy one of the European spots, but I don't see them as title challengers yet awhile.