Kendal Fox

Well, someone needs to teach a lot of people, particularly footballers, what the word INTEGRITY means. I mean, where are we when people can be absolutely devoid of it and still be rewarded?

This is what frustrates me. It doesn't matter that they are a 90% different set of players to the ones who downed tools for Ranieri or Puel, there is an obvious pattern that keeps repeating. Also, players downing tools because they want to move to a bigger club, then, they suddenly play their hearts out once they get there. Top should not be allowing any of this to happen. Not the manager, nor the players.

Mostly different but they are using the same, prima donna approach and it is disgusting.

The problem is that, although a new manager might yield the bounce effect for a while, eventually the players will just down tools as they have done ever since things started going wrong with Ranieri. Sure, I am disappointed in Rodgers but there is a pattern here with the players holding managers and ultimately, the fans hostage. I find that more insulting to the club.

Gosh that's depressing. And Sherwood has never had anything kind to say about LCFC. I get the sense that some of these people are trying to speak it into existence for us!!!? It's going to be a long, hard slog, but I hope we can make fools of them.

Think if he can get another 4 or 5 goals in these last few games, he'll be into the teens and suddenly, the target looks very doable, at the start of next season. So, yes, I think he will.

Exactly. People saying that Chelsea and Liverpool were always going to finish above us are saying that very much in hindsight. And it wasn't anything to do with what those teams did, it was very much us blowing it because we couldn't keep it together mentally, for whatever reason, some of it being inexperience of course. Let's not kid ourselves, other teams with less talented players would have held on to that lead yesterday, knowing the significance of what it would have brought.

Despite injuries to key players throughout the year and to Fofana yesterday, it would have filtered through to the ground that Villa were winning and they were in a winning position against Spurs and couldn't keep it together for less than a third remaining of the last game of the season. I'm sorry but that is unacceptable. We might still have Albrighton, Smeichel and Vardy. But collectively, they don't even have 25% of the mental toughness of the 2015/16 title winners.

But financial disadvantage or not, we should have had enough to drive us over the finish line to the Champions League. And that would have helped forge a financial pathway to us attracting some elite level additions to the squad. I honestly believe we blew it more than it simply being us not having the finances.

But we shouldn't have to say this in hindsight. These things should be anticipated beforehand and after the mistakes we've made this past 2 seasons, I'm disturbed that we keep repeating them.

Yes, but if we had strength in depth that wouldn't have been an issue.

Well obviously I don't want that to be the case and I'm hoping we win and Villa hold or beat Chelsea.

If Villa hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw and we are able to win 1-0......Sounds so simple I know!

That's called a strawman.

Well, perhaps some of their fan are a little over-zealous, but I still think they might have the edge on us at least. But when you put it like that, I feel a little more confident!

That's a little unfriendly. Just fearing the worst and you can't deny Arsenal have been watching BR. I hope he stays, and he might do. But if a club with the 3rd biggest trophy haul in English football history and with the financial muscle to easily negate us makes him an offer this Summer, would you be confident he stays? Had we clinched CL football (which would no doubt have led to Tielemans renewing) as well as the Cup win, I'd be far less anxious.

Ultimately, it probably does. Although it's the 2 fingers up to the football establishment bit by virtue of us not having the revenue the big clubs have that I think gives our campaigns much more meaning than the usual suspects if we do finish in the top 4 or like when we won the league. Yet we get jeered by fans of those clubs, who fail to take those considerations into account. Just that bit more effort against the likes of Newcastle would have done it and like TrentFox says, it's bitter-sweet to not be able to have done both the Cup and CL qualification in one go especially when it was in our hands during the run-in. And for those saying we should be "happy with the Cup and shut up otherwise you're shallow...". I just think it's disingenuous and an over-simplification to say that given we crashed out of the CL at the 11th hour.

Oh absolutely. I just feel we should have had enough to drive ourselves over the finish-line to CL football. this time. And whilst the team is 60% plus different to the title winning side of 2016, it is very worrying to me that we don't seem to have even 25% of the mental toughness we had that year. I really thought we'd turned the corner earlier this year but no. Nobody is more angry about the almost illegal amounts of money that the bought teams are allowed to get away with, the obvious bias in favour of them by the media and referees, etc. It is so unspontaneous when they fill the top spots and they will never understand the essence of the meaning we created when we won in 2016. But the fact is we have the most technically proficient manager in our history and technically, much more gifted players, if a little selfish, than 5 years ago, so we should be at least securing 4th place by now.

My bad, I've acknowledged my satisfaction with the Cup win on several other threads if you want to check. But I'm just not sure that Cup win won't be a slight consolation/excuse for Brendan to get out if the likes of Arsenal offer him a huge deal, with the kind of financial muscle you allude to that we don't have. As for what people had in mind, I'd say at least a sizeable amount thought that if we spent 90% of the time in the Top 4, 2 seasons in a row, we'd at least have the drive to get ourselves over the finish line, the 2nd time of asking, especially with Rodgers at the helm. I agree we don't have the strength in depth of the trad, top 6, but we already proved the mental toughness aspect of the game is just as important when we won the league with a modicum of the value of players we have now. So, we should have at least been able to clinch top 4 this time and I don't think that should be viewed as ungrateful or unrealistic.

Well, you get the feeling the fans want rid of Arteta and I'm sure they've been bandying about BR's name for a while now.

Yes, but with the history of a club like Arsenal, who you have to believe will be able to not just offer him a better financial package, but more money to make exciting signings, is he going to ruminate over the Deja Vu scenario with us, knowing we just don't have the strength in depth to compete with the bigger clubs and certain players just not being up to it mentally, and the possibility of being the next Arsenal manager to deliver them glory again after Wenger?

Spurs/Arsenal?

This is it for me too. The reason we appointed Rodgers was so we could treat the various competitions separately and with the consideration required to succeed as a legit, top-flight team, capable of winning things on a routine basis. I'm not sure finishing 5th, 2 years in a row, after almost 3 seasons with him is what most had in mind (if they are being honest) when he was first appointed. It's very frustrating and given the fact we won the PL, just 3 years before he arrived, I don't think it's being ungrateful or unrealistic to expect better by now.

Serious question. Do you see Rodgers hanging around to get those new signings assuming we finish 5th?

Yes, I guess I was being a little facetious and don't really think the majority of the team were satisfied with 5th place and the Cup. But reports - presumably from some local journalists and some on the ground/players social media, etc - didn't look good in terms of some of the key players just settling for being a little merry then early to bed with the view to a piss-up once the season had concluded. Like you say, elite level athletes have such honed and finely tuned bodies that they need more than the average beer bellied guy in terms of recovery time. Would they have trained hung over on Sunday, with Monday off and then light training Tuesday morning before the coach in the afternoon? Or would they have trained both Sunday and Monday with no recovery time at all? Either way that's just ridiculous if they seriously expected to be at their best last night. Yes, it's a hard slog but hey, the money's not bad and to clinch that CL place would hardly have been a slight consolation for them being knackered. I get that we have thrown points away throughout the season, but you just feel there were mistakes that could have been avoided and I question just how committed some of the team are. Mentally, we've struggled since winning the league and even Rodgers can't seem to stop us from drifting out of games altogether and now, 2 seasons in a row, we've again drifted out of the CL places at the 11th hour. Also, hope I'm wrong but assuming we lose or even win on Sunday but GD is not good enough, Will Rodgers and Tielemans hang around? Not so sure. Tielemans is now just about in his prime and the trad Top 6 clubs will no doubt be planning a swoop for him, knowing he has not signed a new contract. He will probably get the chance to play CL football with one of them, have a better financial package and also a genuine chance to win the PL. And with Rodgers being with us almost 3 seasons but dropping out of the CL places for 2 consecutive seasons, he might be tempted to get out with the Cup win softening the blow a little. Don't get me wrong, he's clearly the best technician we've had and we've seen more than a glimpse of the quality he can deliver. But one Cup win and 5th place twice in a row is not actually that good for a bona fide top-flight manager. But it's clear he just doesn't have the strength in depth of the other big boys when injuries start mounting, which they have yet again throughout this season. That coupled with the somewhat erratic nature of some of the players probably spells out Deja Vu yet again and you have to imagine he'll be ruminating over that if he is indeed head hunted this Summer. I'm thrilled with the Cup win, but as the days go by, think it's papered over the cracks a little and it is very frustrating.