Ok.. we’ve had a very bad fortnight in terms of football and results. The European games were nothing to write home about and in the PL, we lost 5 out of very winnable 6 points. Europe is looking tough, let alone Champions League. Chelsea won last night to go further ahead but the title chances of MU getting 19th depend on a very inconsistent Arsenal. Tonio has had some thought provoking conversations about it all and I would not try to recreate all that text here.
Let’s talk about the worst case and then I will try to create a good case.
What’s the worst that could happen? Maybe that we finish 6th or may be further down in 7th. We miss Europe. That’s obviously not the end of the world. FSG came in in mid-season, so did KK. The damage had already been done and we never thought we would get 6th in the first place. We always knew that rebuilding would take longer. While there’s no Europe, I’m not going to miss Europa too much to be honest. The competition is second rate and does make you feel it’s second rate. The logo, the colors, the anthem, the days, the structure, the participants.. I mean I’d rather not play. It’s money for sure, but then as a fan, it’s not my place to worry about it. I hope FSG get that sort of money and more with new sponsorship deals. And then comes summer. We sign a few more people. Some deadwood is shipped out. Some stars come in. And we look like a good side. Champion side! Would that take away this season’s misery? Hell Yeah! Moreover, no Europe would keep our team fresher and less injury prone and I’d say it’d be a good time to get the 19th. Not all gloom, eh?
To talk about a good ending to this season as well, here are the remaining PL fixtures of the teams 3-6 (format – versus, home/away, expected points). Of course these are a little optimistic but you have to be optimistic if you need to cover 10-11 points in as many games.
Manchester City- P 28 | 50 points
WAFC, h, 3 | CFC, a, 1 | SAFC, h, 3 | LFC, a, 0 | THFC, h, 1 | BRFC, a, 0 | WHU, h, 3 | EFC, a, 3 | SCFC, h, 1 | BWFC, a, 0
Final points: 65
Tottenham Hotspurs – P 27 | 47 points
WW, a, 3 | WHU, h, 3 | WAFC, a, 3 | SCFC, h, 1 | MCFC, a, 1 | AFC, h, 0 | WBA, h, 3 | CFC, a, 1 | BFC, h, 3 | LFC, a, 0 | BCFC, h, 1
Final Points: 66
Chelsea – P 27 | 48 points
BFC, a, 0 | MCFC, h, 1 | SCFC, a, 3 | WAFC, h, 3 | WBA, a, 1 | BCFC, h, 3 | WHU, h, 3 | THFC, h, 1 | MUFC, a 0 | NUFC, h, 0 | EFC, a, 1
Final Points: 64
Liverpool – P 28 | 39 points
MUFC(h), SAFC (a), WBA(a), MCFC(h), AFC(a), BCFC(h), NUFC(h), FFC(a), THFC(h), AVFC(a) – may be drop a couple of points against Arsenal at Emirates but win all others. All are winnable since the tougher opponents would be playing at Anfield. For some like ManCity and Newcastle, we ought to win considering what happened in the reverse fixtures. We’ll ofcourse win on Sunday the only problem is that Vidic would not be playing for us. Anyway, the point is to make atleast 27 points out of the remaining 30.
This is just one of the hundreds of scenarios. I didn’t post them here to bring debate on individual games. I know some of it is optimistic, but not unfathomable. Winning 9/10 is quite an ask but what the hell, I’m not talking about Fulham or West Brom; it’s Liverpool!!
Another pertinent factor here would be for teams like Spurs and Chelsea to keep playing in other competitions like the more exacting Champions League. I certainly don’t want them to win but the more they play, the more their players tire and more chances of injury (and no, I’m not a sadist).
Finally, what if all this would mean that ManU would win the 19th? I’d say – Big F**king Deal! We’ll just go ahead and win the next two.