2020/21 - The Run In and Top 4 chances - an Ongoing Analysis

[STUHILL]

6 minutes ago, chapero82 said:

Our squad isn’t strong enough make top four unfortunately and I think we will fall at the final hurdle, it’s been a great season especially with our injuries 

it's not about the squad now or our injuries. It just comes down to 90minutes + stoppage time on Tues. 1 win is all we need with the same heroes that won us the FA Cup. I believe 

[chapero82]

2 minutes ago, mozartfox said:

I think a job with the Samaritans is probably not for you.

It’s a good job I’m not applying for it then 😂

[chapero82]

1 minute ago, STUHILL said:

it's not about the squad now or our injuries. It just comes down to 90minutes + stoppage time on Tues. 1 win is all we need with the same heroes that won us the FA Cup. I believe 

It would be amazing if we pull it off but if we had more depth I think we would be well ahead by now in points 

[BoyJones]

4 minutes ago, UpTheLeagueFox said:

I would've taken it before kick off at Wembley on Saturday let alone at the start of the season.

Successive top five finishes AND an FA Cup is serious dreamland for us.

100% nail on head. 
 

I don’t get this constant fixation on CL and money. Obviously I want the team to finish as high as possible and money is needed to continue to improve, but a lot of our fans seem to talk about money and CL as the be all and end all. They sound exactly like the entitled supporters of the so called “Big 6” whose teams are run purely on commercial grounds with little thought for the hopes and aspirations of their supporters and fan base. 
 

Having seen Leicester get knocked out of the FA Cup 58 times, yesterday was simply an amazing day and one that I prayed I would witness before I popped my clogs. Vardy apparently slept with his winning medal around his neck; he understands the historic nature of that win. In 20 years time no doubt they will have a reunion dinner and be feted everywhere they go - would this ever happen because they finished 4th one year?

 

Like all our fans, I would enjoy a CL run next year, but if it’s to be the Europa League, then so be it. I for one won’t be slagging off the team because they’ve come 5th again. But knowing our fan base, the team will get plenty of stick from some of our extremely critical FT members.

[Corky]

I wouldn't mind another go at the Champions League but I don't think it will be the fun ride we had last time. The nature of the draw may give us glamour ties but I believe we'll be in the Europa League come the New Year in any case.

 

The money is great, there is some prestige and it should help to keep players happy but some will always see their future elsewhere regardless of how well we do. I just think our set-up presently won't lead to the consistent Champions League football we'd probably need to establish ourselves (not that I'm against it, I enjoy the fact we have some jeopardy in our business and we work to convince people we're a good place to be at).

 

I hope we complete the job in the next week because I feel we've done incredibly well in a tough season to remain competitive and consistent enough but, even if we miss out again, it feels different to last year.

[jim5000]

4 hours ago, Nod.E said:

Liverpool won't win both their games. No chance. 

 

We won't lose both ours either. 

Of course Liverpool will win both their games.

[Flappit]

22 minutes ago, BoyJones said:

100% nail on head. 
 

I don’t get this constant fixation on CL and money. Obviously I want the team to finish as high as possible and money is needed to continue to improve, but a lot of our fans seem to talk about money and CL as the be all and end all. They sound exactly like the entitled supporters of the so called “Big 6” whose teams are run purely on commercial grounds with little thought for the hopes and aspirations of their supporters and fan base. 
 

Having seen Leicester get knocked out of the FA Cup 58 times, yesterday was simply an amazing day and one that I prayed I would witness before I popped my clogs. Vardy apparently slept with his winning medal around his neck; he understands the historic nature of that win. In 20 years time no doubt they will have a reunion dinner and be feted everywhere they go - would this ever happen because they finished 4th one year?

 

Like all our fans, I would enjoy a CL run next year, but if it’s to be the Europa League, then so be it. I for one won’t be slagging off the team because they’ve come 5th again. But knowing our fan base, the team will get plenty of stick from some of our extremely critical FT members.

I think this misses the point that for us to step up and do more of what we've already been doing, we need that leg up that the CL provides. It's not just money, although that is a big part of it, it's the star player attraction and, just as importantly, retention. 

 

Like it or not, CL qualification helps us progress that bit further, add that extra quality, retain Tielemans and Ndidi and be even more visible as a viable alternative for top quality players. Without qualification, we drop back that little bit and next year finish 7th. More players leave, we don't get lucky with finding hidden gems and, oops, next season we finish 13th. We're on the slippery slope. Older players retire, the new crop aren't as good and we're in a relegation battle. 

 

Yes, it's all conjecture, but it's how the game works for gatecrashers like us. CL this year sees us taking a giant step forward in achieving amazing things without being one of "those" clubs. 

[HighPeakFox]

For me, it's ever so simple. The FA Cup is the best thing that could have happened on so many levels. I'd also quite like to see us play in the ECL again. The money is only relevant to me inasmuch as it might allow the better players persuaded to sign to become more affordable.

 

 

[SixtiesFox]

What happened at West Brom today was incredibly cruel. The football gods, or perhaps more accurately the major power brokers at the top of the game, have ordained that Liverpool must qualify for the Champions League. Sure we can still do it if we beat Chelsea but that will be a very tough ask with their fully fit squad against ours still ravaged by injuries. Despite this I feel elated and not simply because a long held dream came true in such dramatic fashion yesterday. This is why. 

 

Previously I thought immediate qualification for the CL was crucial to our development as a club, but Brendan's comment yesterday about putting ourselves in a position to 'compete' with the elite of English football consistently was illuminating. Our model of bringing in top young talent from around the world is sustainable even if we miss out on CL qualification again. We will have learned from last year not to base our transfer strategy too heavily on CL qualification and then have to switch, belatedly, to plan B. The signing of Under is an example of that; a gamble that didn't pay off. Signs are this year that we are doing our business early and securing transfer targets that will significantly strengthen our squad regardless of whether we make the CL or not (admittedly we may miss out on Goosens but JJ and Thomas aint bad are they?). As a result we'll be well placed to 'compete' at the top level again and, when we eventually do qualify for the CL we'll be better equipped to cope with the rigors of competing on multiple fronts at the highest level.

 

For me the main reason we didn't qualify last year was because our squad lacked sufficient depth and, given our horrendous injury record this year, it will be the same reason again. We are not bottlers. That tag can no longer be leveled at us - we won the FA Cup for God's sake! What we are is an incredibly well run club that is being built to compete consistently with the "shameless six" despite their enormous financial advantages. 

 

All football fans from around the world tuned into the Final yesterday would have been envious of us Leicester fans as they watched our players, fans, owner, management, backroom staff celebrating our FA Cup triumph together as one. The likes of Chelsea, Man U, Liverpool et al will never have the privilege of experiencing that no matter how many trophies they buy!    

[enmac]

Don't forget that Craig Shakespeare is a coach at Villa and they play both Chelsea and Spurs. I'm sure they'll be motivated and let's hope Grealish is back to form. 

[Lambert09]

1 hour ago, SixtiesFox said:

What happened at West Brom today was incredibly cruel. The football gods, or perhaps more accurately the major power brokers at the top of the game, have ordained that Liverpool must qualify for the Champions League. Sure we can still do it if we beat Chelsea but that will be a very tough ask with their fully fit squad against ours still ravaged by injuries. Despite this I feel elated and not simply because a long held dream came true in such dramatic fashion yesterday. This is why. 

 

Previously I thought immediate qualification for the CL was crucial to our development as a club, but Brendan's comment yesterday about putting ourselves in a position to 'compete' with the elite of English football consistently was illuminating. Our model of bringing in top young talent from around the world is sustainable even if we miss out on CL qualification again. We will have learned from last year not to base our transfer strategy too heavily on CL qualification and then have to switch, belatedly, to plan B. The signing of Under is an example of that; a gamble that didn't pay off. Signs are this year that we are doing our business early and securing transfer targets that will significantly strengthen our squad regardless of whether we make the CL or not (admittedly we may miss out on Goosens but JJ and Thomas aint bad are they?). As a result we'll be well placed to 'compete' at the top level again and, when we eventually do qualify for the CL we'll be better equipped to cope with the rigors of competing on multiple fronts at the highest level.

 

For me the main reason we didn't qualify last year was because our squad lacked sufficient depth and, given our horrendous injury record this year, it will be the same reason again. We are not bottlers. That tag can no longer be leveled at us - we won the FA Cup for God's sake! What we are is an incredibly well run club that is being built to compete consistently with the "shameless six" despite their enormous financial advantages. 

 

All football fans from around the world tuned into the Final yesterday would have been envious of us Leicester fans as they watched our players, fans, owner, management, backroom staff celebrating our FA Cup triumph together as one. The likes of Chelsea, Man U, Liverpool et al will never have the privilege of experiencing that no matter how many trophies they buy!    

I don’t doubt our ability to find talent wherever we finish but the issue I’m worried about is keeping Youri. The hold up in his contract is making me worry he might want to see if we make the champions league first. If we don’t, I’m seriously terrified we will have to cash in before his contract runs down 

Edited 16 May 2021 by Lambert09

[TonyN11]

4 minutes ago, Lambert09 said:

I don’t doubt our ability to find talent wherever we finish but the issue I’m worried about is keeping Youri. The hold up in his contract is making me worry he might want to see if we make the champion league first, if we don’t I’m seriously terrified we have to cash in before his contract runs down 

Shhhhh.

He ain't that good.

In fact he's .... RUBBISH

[King of Gipsy Lane]

At this stage I couldn’t give a flying hornets about champions league ! 
 

we won the cup 

 

we will be in Europe 

 

What a season ! 

[Twitcher]

Not getting down about the Liverpool win. It doesn't change anything for me, other than it gives them more momentum. If they'd drawn, we'd still have needed to draw the last two, or win one, assuming they'd go on to win their last two.

[King of Gipsy Lane]

7 hours ago, enmac said:

Don't forget that Craig Shakespeare is a coach at Villa and they play both Chelsea and Spurs. I'm sure they'll be motivated and let's hope Grealish is back to form. 

Grealish needs two huge games to get back in England picture and also get his move to one of the Big boys like LESTAH ! 

[lcfcfoz]

Could be his final game v Chelsea in front of 10k fans he will be up for it no doubt. I think minimum draw so regardless if we lose at Chelsea, beating spurs would then be fine

[lcfcfoz]

And if liverpool best burnley spurs are officially out of top 4 race, and would be happy for chelsea to miss out I'm sure, so that was 1 positive with liverpool winning

[coolhandfox]

There a decent chance Spurs have nothing to play for in the last game if they win their next game and West Ham lose at West Brom 

[Cropwellfox]

Head says even if we finish 5th we’ve got European football again and some additional revenue on top of our prem prize money, we’ve got a community shield to look forward to, we’ve out performed Spursy, Arsenal and all of the other top 6 wannabes Everton West Ham Villa and Leeds, and can offer new signings more than them with europe and our training ground, which is key as our recruitment strategy doesn’t see us go toe to toe with the ‘established’ big 4.

Heart says no way man I will be absolutely gutted on Sunday if we finish 5th 

 

[mozartfox]

8 hours ago, jim5000 said:

Of course Liverpool will win both their games.

100% agree. It is pay back for dropping out of the ESL.  Was iT fixed yesterday?   Referee from the Wirral officiating a Liverpool game - really.....  Who was on VAR -  Carragher?

 

Winning the Cup means they will all be out to shaft little of LCFC even more going forward.

[Pliskin]

8 hours ago, BoyJones said:

100% nail on head. 
 

I don’t get this constant fixation on CL and money. Obviously I want the team to finish as high as possible and money is needed to continue to improve, but a lot of our fans seem to talk about money and CL as the be all and end all. They sound exactly like the entitled supporters of the so called “Big 6” whose teams are run purely on commercial grounds with little thought for the hopes and aspirations of their supporters and fan base. 
 

Having seen Leicester get knocked out of the FA Cup 58 times, yesterday was simply an amazing day and one that I prayed I would witness before I popped my clogs. Vardy apparently slept with his winning medal around his neck; he understands the historic nature of that win. In 20 years time no doubt they will have a reunion dinner and be feted everywhere they go - would this ever happen because they finished 4th one year?

 

Like all our fans, I would enjoy a CL run next year, but if it’s to be the Europa League, then so be it. I for one won’t be slagging off the team because they’ve come 5th again. But knowing our fan base, the team will get plenty of stick from some of our extremely critical FT members.

UL is a competition we can realistically win too. 
 

I mean, head to head shootout I think on our day we can beat anyone. But, slow and steady wins the race. If we drop into the UL it will be a shame, but I think it’s a competition we can all try and compete for.

 

The only thing that does concern me is retention of players, players like Youri belong at the very top of football, it concerns me that the type of players we are attracting could become disinterested if we keep getting UL over the CL. But that’s down to the club in trying to convince them that this is the place to be. 

[rachhere]

I really can't call this now. Liverpool didn't look too convincing against West Brom, and against the wall that is Burnley. they might struggle to create anything. Chelsea though are the interesting ones for me... They are in danger of their season completely derailing - already lost the FA cup, underdogs against Man City in the UCL final and if they don't get a result against us on Tuesday, very much in danger of not finishing Top 5. In contrast for us the narrative will be far more favourable since we won the FA cup, even if we do slip out of the Top 4. That removal of pressure and expectation will be so liberating for all the players. If I had to bet on it right now I would go for us and Liverpool to finish Top 4 and for Chelsea to miss out. 

 

[fox_up_north]

It comes down to this, for me - would I cheer more if we win on Tues than I did at Youri's goal?

 

Not a chance. Yes, UCL is nice for the money but I won't remember every single moment of the games like I did Saturday. 

[filbertway]

I think it's entirely conceivable that Liverpool fail to win their next two games, they're really struggling against teams that set deep and can counter attack well. I'm still convinced a win against Spurs is more than enough. I really hope we do qualify for the champions league. If we want to hold onto our better players, it's imperative that we give them the best platform to play on. The FA Cup win is important for fans but playing at the very highest level is important to the best players. The extra 50-60 million from the CL is very nice, but so is the ability to offer playing in the top club competition in Europe is much more important.

 

It's much easier to get Youri to sign an extension if we qualify for top 4 and he believes we have the desire to stick in their rather than simply be happy to keep missing out because we got close.

 

I may be a negative nancy when talking about our form and the way we play recently, but I'm still very confident that one way or another, we will get over the line this year and be playing Champions League football next season

 

[moore_94]

9 hours ago, jim5000 said:

Of course Liverpool will win both their games.

I still think they will drop points in at least one of their last 2 games

 

Defensive shambles from West Brom for their 1st goal and needed a very last minute header from their goalkeeper to beat an already relegated West Brom

 

I can see Burnley or Palace getting a draw out of them

 

Sean Dyche brexit masterclass coming up!

Edited 17 May 2021 by moore_94