Would you have taken 5th at the start of the season

[jim5000]

Forgetting everything we've been through this season, as fans as well as the club, the massive highs, and the disappointing lows, the crazy lock format of the season, looking back, would you have taken a 5th place finish if offered it at the start of the season in August 2019?

[Beechey]

I'd have snapped your hand off

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

Yeah course - but I wouldn't have taken it from about November onwards.

[An Away Move]

Of course! But it’s also gutting if we don’t end up top 4 considering we’ve been there virtually all season. I don’t think we should console ourselves and accept it. This club has done tremendous things in must win situations. I like to think we have the mentality and the experience to pull this off. Come on Leicester!!! 

[don_danbury]

no. i wanted 15th

[deanolegend1989]

Maybe at the very start until Bournemouth. 8 points out of 4 games, teams were struggling. Chelsea were already being touted by pundits as a team who would struggle, as were Utd.

Spurs were the suprise, as soon as we beat Bournemouth I remember thinking too 4 is a chance.

Before the seasons started I thought 5-7th range but a few games in it was top 4.

No matter how we dress it up the facts are these - we have blown away a huge chance to cement our progress.

[Finnegan]

No. 

 

I've joked about "doing a Col" before but I absolutely know I'll come across like a bit of a knob here.

 

I was quite vocal at the start of the season arguing with people both on here and with a couple of mates of mine at work who are United fans. I said that Leicester and Wolves were both in a genuine competition for the top four and that Arsenal, Chelsea and United were all poor and there for the taking. 

 

The one thing I'll put my hand up and happily admit I got wrong is I thought Spurs were completely nailed on for third. I think the actual phrasing I used was that of all the positions in all of England's top leagues, the most guaranteed was Tottenham finishing third. That's how sure I was. 

 

So clearly I'm not suggesting I know everything. 

 

But I was extremely confident in our likely starting eleven then compared to what United, Arsenal and Chelsea could field and I feel pretty justified in that in hindsight. It wasn't a fluke or some freak form that saw us top three at Christmas just as it wasn't a fairytale or miracle that saw us win the league. 

 

We had a very good team then and a very good team now. 

 

Obviously nobody could have predicted coronavirus and it was obvious right from September that we had no depth and that injuries would play a part. Even before lockdown we were struggling with having to rotate and face absence from Vardy, Ndidi, etc so it was always going to be tough. But there's quality there that should have seen us through. It's extremely disappointing to be facing losing it now. 

 

I wouldn't have settled for fifth in August last year, would definitely not have settled for fifth in January or March and won't even settle for it now. 

 

We CAN win tomorrow, we ARE better than them in a lot of positions but we have to turn up and show some self belief because United are confident, United think they deserve it, we've got to show that we believe it too. And we should. We were fourteen points clear of these chumps on merit. Big woop, Martial can show up and find some bottle when the stadium is empty and nobody's watching to see how bang average he is. 

 

This is Vardy's chance to show him he's golden boot for a reason. 

 

Carpe diem, Leicester. Seize the day. 

 

[Nick]

3 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

No. 

 

I've joked about "doing a Col" before but I absolutely know I'll come across like a bit of a knob here.

 

I was quite vocal at the start of the season arguing with people both on here and with a couple of mates of mine at work who are United fans. I said that Leicester and Wolves were both in a genuine competition for the top four and that Arsenal, Chelsea and United were all poor and there for the taking. 

 

The one thing I'll put my hand up and happily admit I got wrong is I thought Spurs were completely nailed on for third. I think the actual phrasing I used was that of all the positions in all of England's top leagues, the most guaranteed was Tottenham finishing third. That's how sure I was. 

 

So clearly I'm not suggesting I know everything. 

 

But I was extremely confident in our likely starting eleven then compared to what United, Arsenal and Chelsea could field and I feel pretty justified in that in hindsight. It wasn't a fluke or some freak form that saw us top three at Christmas just as it wasn't a fairytale or miracle that saw us win the league. 

 

We had a very good team then and a very good team now. 

 

Obviously nobody could have predicted coronavirus and it was obvious right from September that we had no depth and that injuries would play a part. Even before lockdown we were struggling with having to rotate and face absence from Vardy, Ndidi, etc so it was always going to be tough. But there's quality there that should have seen us through. It's extremely disappointing to be facing losing it now. 

 

I wouldn't have settled for fifth in August last year, would definitely not have settled for fifth in January or March and won't even settle for it now. 

 

We CAN win tomorrow, we ARE better than them in a lot of positions but we have to turn up and show some self belief because United are confident, United think they deserve it, we've got to show that we believe it too. And we should. We were fourteen points clear of these chumps on merit. Big woop, Martial can show up and find some bottle when the stadium is empty and nobody's watching to see how bang average he is. 

 

This is Vardy's chance to show him he's golden boot for a reason. 

 

Carpe diem, Leicester. Seize the day. 

 

 

 

Who are you and what have you done with Finnegan?

[Matt]

5th was the minimum aim but I felt we had a good chance of top 4, I felt we had a good chance to be ahead of Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea.

 

Taken from a similar thread the other week;

On 11/07/2020 at 16:28, Matt said:

Not at all.

 

As I said yesterday in the Man City CAS thread, 5th in my view is a failure.

 

We went into this season with top 4 - 6 the aim, if we get 5th we've got to our aim, however personally my view pre season looking at our team and squad compared to other teams in this league were capable of top 4.

 

Chelsea have done better than I expected and fair play to them and Lampard - it'll be interesting how it goes at Chelsea now they're splashing the cash again and I always said that, I'd hoped for future youths sake it'd open Chelsea eyes to use and develop their young players as they have this season, I have questions over that now their chequebook is open again.

 

Man Utd were poor for alot of the season, I expected that, I didn't expect their turn around.

 

Anyway, i'm going off track, I felt pre season out team/squad was capable of doing better than those two.

 

Given where we were and the gap we had to finish 5th would be failure - even if 5th turns out to be a CL place it'll be tainted with abit of disappointment and feeling of failure.

 

Our form and performances since Christmas has been nothing short of disgusting and mid table fodder.

 

The fact we've been 3rd for so long, even now 4th, just shows how poor the league is, but don't let Liverpool fans hear you say that.

 

It's still in our hands though so let's have no more excuses, finish the job.

 

 

 

Edited 25 July 2020 by Matt

[SheppyFox]

Yes ofcourse. It’s been a successful season regardless of tomorrow. It’s only going to feel disappointing if we don’t manage top 4 because we all thought we’d already achieved it.

[Corky]

Yes, I thought the top two would remain the same, Arsenal looked settled under Emery, Tottenham were still a strong outfit under Pochettino and that maybe we'd be competing with Chelsea under Lampard for sixth.

 

Getting any sort of European football this season would've justified Rodgers move.

[Collymore]

Remember the days when the only worry was finishing 2nd or 3rd.... ?

[splinterdream]

I expected top 6, anything less I'd have been disappointed. I know we have the side, obviously top 4 is beyond expectation. So if we don't make it I'll be dissapointed but can't be angry about it despite the capitulation. It's a sport and we just need to learn from it and move on if we don't make it

[SecretPro]

No. Everything but champions is a loss. 

[Gamble92]

I never like these hypothetical questions because they're almost always to cover up deficiencies.

 

Rodgers has used all the PR spin he has with this kind of talk for the past few months as we've got worse. 

 

Where does it end? Do we ride this shit storm all the way until we're relegated and we get questions like "would you have taken going up and winning the premier league then getting relegated a few years later?"

[420Hashish]

I expected to finish 20th with 0 points if that's any consolation 

[MPH]

2 hours ago, Finnegan said:

No. 

 

I've joked about "doing a Col" before but I absolutely know I'll come across like a bit of a knob here.

 

I was quite vocal at the start of the season arguing with people both on here and with a couple of mates of mine at work who are United fans. I said that Leicester and Wolves were both in a genuine competition for the top four and that Arsenal, Chelsea and United were all poor and there for the taking. 

 

The one thing I'll put my hand up and happily admit I got wrong is I thought Spurs were completely nailed on for third. I think the actual phrasing I used was that of all the positions in all of England's top leagues, the most guaranteed was Tottenham finishing third. That's how sure I was. 

 

So clearly I'm not suggesting I know everything. 

 

But I was extremely confident in our likely starting eleven then compared to what United, Arsenal and Chelsea could field and I feel pretty justified in that in hindsight. It wasn't a fluke or some freak form that saw us top three at Christmas just as it wasn't a fairytale or miracle that saw us win the league. 

 

We had a very good team then and a very good team now. 

 

Obviously nobody could have predicted coronavirus and it was obvious right from September that we had no depth and that injuries would play a part. Even before lockdown we were struggling with having to rotate and face absence from Vardy, Ndidi, etc so it was always going to be tough. But there's quality there that should have seen us through. It's extremely disappointing to be facing losing it now. 

 

I wouldn't have settled for fifth in August last year, would definitely not have settled for fifth in January or March and won't even settle for it now. 

 

We CAN win tomorrow, we ARE better than them in a lot of positions but we have to turn up and show some self belief because United are confident, United think they deserve it, we've got to show that we believe it too. And we should. We were fourteen points clear of these chumps on merit. Big woop, Martial can show up and find some bottle when the stadium is empty and nobody's watching to see how bang average he is. 

 

This is Vardy's chance to show him he's golden boot for a reason. 

 

Carpe diem, Leicester. Seize the day. 

 

 

 

I agree with everything you’ve said. Well written.

 

Iwill add however that Solskaer, Arteta  and Lampard have all impressed me with how they seem to be taking steps in the right direction. 

[gw_leics772]

No! Not in answer to the op question, but in answer to what I have read in the build up. 

 

No! I will not accept that this is all over bar the shouting! 

I will not accept that we have blown it and hark back to points thrown away. I also read red cafe and everyone has the same points. 

I will not console myself in advance or resign myself to defeat. 

I will retain hope up until the last. I will enjoy this moment for what it is!

I will however accept that Leicester never do anything the easy way, and that this is the way we can inflict the most damage on whoever misses out, out of man u and Chelsea. 

It is a short pre season and momentum from this will knock whoever loses out of next seasons top 4 as well, helping us to further cement our place on merit, and not by money alone! 

Maddison believes in us. Now it's our turn! 

Seize the day! 

Come on you ****ers! 

Edited 26 July 2020 by gw_leics772

[gw_leics772]

2 hours ago, Collymore said:

Remember the days when the only worry was finishing 2nd or 3rd.... ?

Yes, we won the league. 

Now enough of the negatives. 

This ain't over! 

[lildave3]

2 hours ago, Finnegan said:

No. 

 

I've joked about "doing a Col" before but I absolutely know I'll come across like a bit of a knob here.

 

I was quite vocal at the start of the season arguing with people both on here and with a couple of mates of mine at work who are United fans. I said that Leicester and Wolves were both in a genuine competition for the top four and that Arsenal, Chelsea and United were all poor and there for the taking. 

 

The one thing I'll put my hand up and happily admit I got wrong is I thought Spurs were completely nailed on for third. I think the actual phrasing I used was that of all the positions in all of England's top leagues, the most guaranteed was Tottenham finishing third. That's how sure I was. 

 

So clearly I'm not suggesting I know everything. 

 

But I was extremely confident in our likely starting eleven then compared to what United, Arsenal and Chelsea could field and I feel pretty justified in that in hindsight. It wasn't a fluke or some freak form that saw us top three at Christmas just as it wasn't a fairytale or miracle that saw us win the league. 

 

We had a very good team then and a very good team now. 

 

Obviously nobody could have predicted coronavirus and it was obvious right from September that we had no depth and that injuries would play a part. Even before lockdown we were struggling with having to rotate and face absence from Vardy, Ndidi, etc so it was always going to be tough. But there's quality there that should have seen us through. It's extremely disappointing to be facing losing it now. 

 

I wouldn't have settled for fifth in August last year, would definitely not have settled for fifth in January or March and won't even settle for it now. 

 

We CAN win tomorrow, we ARE better than them in a lot of positions but we have to turn up and show some self belief because United are confident, United think they deserve it, we've got to show that we believe it too. And we should. We were fourteen points clear of these chumps on merit. Big woop, Martial can show up and find some bottle when the stadium is empty and nobody's watching to see how bang average he is. 

 

This is Vardy's chance to show him he's golden boot for a reason. 

 

Carpe diem, Leicester. Seize the day. 

 

Not sure what Finners has been drinking but yeah pretty much. Only difference is I’d probably have taken 5th at the start of the season but I fully expected Spurs to be third and us and Wolves and maybe even Everton to be battling with Man United/Chelsea to be 4th. 
 

I thought we were a lock months ago for champions league and I was confused when people wanted the season halted because I thought there wasn’t a chance we didn’t make it if we finished the season. But it’s still in our hands despite being absolutely garbage for months, which in a weird way shows that we are more than capable of winning against United and making the top 4. 
 

End of the day europe is a fantastic achievement but let’s just finish in the top 4 and make everyone who’s been wanking off Man United since the restart look like a twat. 

[OntarioFox]

ye

[Cadno'r Cymoedd]

Yes then, no now. 

[Stephen Hughes]

The 5th best team in England, I would have taken that without a doubt. 

[shailen]

 

[CloudFox]

"Leicester’s labours must not cloud verdict on Brendan Rodgers' high-flyers"

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/jul/25/leicesters-labours-must-not-cloud-verdict-on-brendan-rodgers-high-flyers