[quote author=spider-neil link=topic=33626.msg871607#msg871607 date=1242857996]
[quote author=Wizardry link=topic=33626.msg871585#msg871585 date=1242856410]
[quote author=spider-neil link=topic=33626.msg871431#msg871431 date=1242834564]
[quote author=Wizardry link=topic=33626.msg871422#msg871422 date=1242833632]
[quote author=Sunny link=topic=33626.msg871028#msg871028 date=1242808627]
[quote author=Wizardry link=topic=33626.msg870884#msg870884 date=1242790025]
Ferguson has not outspend us in gross or net terms since Rafa arrived so for him to start pulling this up now really grates. They haven't been spending "40m or 50m on other players" for a long time and trying to prolong that myth is a joke. He's formed a very good team which could really take them on next season and this kind of muck just detracts from what he's done so far.
Friendly note to Rafa: "Suck it in princess."
[/quote]
That's an irrelevant point - when Rafa first arrived Ferguson had a much better squad to start with and thus, if anything, it needed less investment.
[/quote]
Right, so the fact that we finished a single point behind the mancs a few seasons ago and have spent more than them since then in order to finish further behind them in each of the next three seasons is just evidence that they've always had a much better squad.
Riigght!! :🙂
[/quote]
all you have to do is look at the previous three seasons before we finished a point behind the mancs to see we overachieved whilst they underachieved, that was a false picture of the two teams relative strength.
[/quote]
LOL - that is blatantly false. Over achieved!! We under achieved in the last two seasons is what we did unless you're going to say we over achieved this season. You were one of the posters I argued with on this constantly Spider; you kept pointing at our first 11 and saying that was all the evidence we needed as to why we were so far behind. I kept saying that was rubbish - there was plenty of attacking talent and potency in that team but it was either not playing to its potential or being forced to play to its weaknesses.
This season with, if anything, a negative transfer window in the summer we have come forward remarkably. The majority can see why that is - the team has been playing to its strengths and largely to its potential. The only really significant additions to that team are Torres and Mascher - neither of whom featured as prominently this season as last season.
The title is ours - and Rafa's - to win next season IMO. It won't take much improvement in the team and Rafa is one of the few managers in the world who could have done it so major kudo's to him but it'll be one year later than it should have been for mine. The right signings and an approach that played to the teams strengths after the 82 points and we'd have won it by now instead of going backwards.
I've waited a long time so this delay isn't going to kill me - the only one I feel sorry for is Sami because that would have completed his cabinet. It will, however, make it all the sweeter to stop the mancs when they've gotten so close to being the most successful team in history.
[/quote]
in the past two season we've added genuine class players in the form of masherano and torres and a season after we landed 82 points we purchased kuyt. we have a very strong tem now but as I said earlier two seasons before securing 82 points we were woefully off the pace of manu, whilst manu if not exactly challenging themsleves for the title were certainly closer to the champions than we were. It can be argued that manu were in transition but we were in the process of having the entire squad overhauled, therefore manu were in a stronger position to consiolidate and grow than we were.
05/06
chelsea 91 (C)
manu 83
liverpool 82
04/05
chelsea 95 (C)
manu 77
liverpool 58
03/04
arsenal 90 (C)
manu 75
liverpool 60
look at the jump manu made in 05/06 compared to the jump we made, we made a massive jump but manu made a small increase. I think now we are in the position manu were in two season ago, a strong settled squad with fine tuning needed rather than major body work.
[/quote]
So just to summarise;
We finish on 82 points - third place at 1 pont behind manu and 15 points ahead of Arsenal. We then sign Kuyt prior to the new season and then Mascher half way through the season.
We finish on 68 points - equal third with Arsenal and 21 points behind manu. We then sign Ryan Babbel and Fernando Torres.
We finish on 76 points - fourth at 7 points behind Arsenal and 13 points behind manu. We then sign - practically no one.
We finish on 86(?) points - second at 4 points behind manu and 14 points ahead of Arsenal; but we didn't under achieve in those intervening two years. ???
We finish
[quote author=Wizardry link=topic=33626.msg871585#msg871585 date=1242856410]
[quote author=spider-neil link=topic=33626.msg871431#msg871431 date=1242834564]
[quote author=Wizardry link=topic=33626.msg871422#msg871422 date=1242833632]
[quote author=Sunny link=topic=33626.msg871028#msg871028 date=1242808627]
[quote author=Wizardry link=topic=33626.msg870884#msg870884 date=1242790025]
Ferguson has not outspend us in gross or net terms since Rafa arrived so for him to start pulling this up now really grates. They haven't been spending "40m or 50m on other players" for a long time and trying to prolong that myth is a joke. He's formed a very good team which could really take them on next season and this kind of muck just detracts from what he's done so far.
Friendly note to Rafa: "Suck it in princess."
[/quote]
That's an irrelevant point - when Rafa first arrived Ferguson had a much better squad to start with and thus, if anything, it needed less investment.
[/quote]
Right, so the fact that we finished a single point behind the mancs a few seasons ago and have spent more than them since then in order to finish further behind them in each of the next three seasons is just evidence that they've always had a much better squad.
Riigght!! :🙂
[/quote]
all you have to do is look at the previous three seasons before we finished a point behind the mancs to see we overachieved whilst they underachieved, that was a false picture of the two teams relative strength.
[/quote]
LOL - that is blatantly false. Over achieved!! We under achieved in the last two seasons is what we did unless you're going to say we over achieved this season. You were one of the posters I argued with on this constantly Spider; you kept pointing at our first 11 and saying that was all the evidence we needed as to why we were so far behind. I kept saying that was rubbish - there was plenty of attacking talent and potency in that team but it was either not playing to its potential or being forced to play to its weaknesses.
This season with, if anything, a negative transfer window in the summer we have come forward remarkably. The majority can see why that is - the team has been playing to its strengths and largely to its potential. The only really significant additions to that team are Torres and Mascher - neither of whom featured as prominently this season as last season.
The title is ours - and Rafa's - to win next season IMO. It won't take much improvement in the team and Rafa is one of the few managers in the world who could have done it so major kudo's to him but it'll be one year later than it should have been for mine. The right signings and an approach that played to the teams strengths after the 82 points and we'd have won it by now instead of going backwards.
I've waited a long time so this delay isn't going to kill me - the only one I feel sorry for is Sami because that would have completed his cabinet. It will, however, make it all the sweeter to stop the mancs when they've gotten so close to being the most successful team in history.
[/quote]
in the past two season we've added genuine class players in the form of masherano and torres and a season after we landed 82 points we purchased kuyt. we have a very strong tem now but as I said earlier two seasons before securing 82 points we were woefully off the pace of manu, whilst manu if not exactly challenging themsleves for the title were certainly closer to the champions than we were. It can be argued that manu were in transition but we were in the process of having the entire squad overhauled, therefore manu were in a stronger position to consiolidate and grow than we were.
05/06
chelsea 91 (C)
manu 83
liverpool 82
04/05
chelsea 95 (C)
manu 77
liverpool 58
03/04
arsenal 90 (C)
manu 75
liverpool 60
look at the jump manu made in 05/06 compared to the jump we made, we made a massive jump but manu made a small increase. I think now we are in the position manu were in two season ago, a strong settled squad with fine tuning needed rather than major body work.
[/quote]
So just to summarise;
We finish on 82 points - third place at 1 pont behind manu and 15 points ahead of Arsenal. We then sign Kuyt prior to the new season and then Mascher half way through the season.
We finish on 68 points - equal third with Arsenal and 21 points behind manu. We then sign Ryan Babbel and Fernando Torres.
We finish on 76 points - fourth at 7 points behind Arsenal and 13 points behind manu. We then sign - practically no one.
We finish on 86(?) points - second at 4 points behind manu and 14 points ahead of Arsenal; but we didn't under achieve in those intervening two years. ???
We finish
