Where will we finish in the Premier League?

[AdelaideToffee]

will be about 9th. Our performances have deserved top 4 imo but i suppose shoddy defence counts as part of our performances. If we held on v west ham, we could have still got 7th. Anyway, time to solely focus on the FA Cup, niasse can get a start or two before the FA Cup semi hopefully.

I like this thinking, but I'm torn between two schools of thought. As much as the doomsayers bring out the "we're in a relegation scrap" like every time we lose in the league, that isn't going to happen... so what's the difference between finishing 8th or 17th? Maybe we should keep the first team squad on ice for the FA Cup semi. Gives a good chance to see Niasse in a full game, and get some game time into the likes of Del, Galloway, Stones, etc.

On the other hand, given the teams left in the cup, it's more than likely 7th place will get European football. We're only 6 points off 7th with 2 games in hand! We should keep our hats in two rings for European football (via the league and cup). With the new investment, European football should be the norm and not an aspiration... the workload of European football shouldn't be an excuse for league form, so let's put it to the test next year. Plus, it's good to keep an in form team on the park... we've seen what Rom can do when he gets on a run and he looks set to get on a good one now!

 

[toffeejack]

I like this thinking, but I'm torn between two schools of thought. As much as the doomsayers bring out the "we're in a relegation scrap" like every time we lose in the league, that isn't going to happen... so what's the difference between finishing 8th or 17th? Maybe we should keep the first team squad on ice for the FA Cup semi. Gives a good chance to see Niasse in a full game, and get some game time into the likes of Del, Galloway, Stones, etc.

On the other hand, given the teams left in the cup, it's more than likely 7th place will get European football. We're only 6 points off 7th with 2 games in hand! We should keep our hats in two rings for European football (via the league and cup). With the new investment, European football should be the norm and not an aspiration... the workload of European football shouldn't be an excuse for league form, so let's put it to the test next year. Plus, it's good to keep an in form team on the park... we've seen what Rom can do when he gets on a run and he looks set to get on a good one now!

Yeah, if we got to the final vs Arsenal, or maybe United/West Ham we could get europe through that avenue? How does it work again, do they have to be a champions league spot or europa league?

 

[AdelaideToffee]

Yeah, if we got to the final vs Arsenal, or maybe United/West Ham we could get europe through that avenue? How does it work again, do they have to be a champions league spot or europa league?

Only way we can get to Europe via the FA cup is by winning it. If we don't and the winner qualifies for Europe by other means (eg: league position), the Europa league spot goes to the highest placed finisher in the league not yet qualified for Europe (7th spot, because this already happened to 6th spot with Man City winning the League Cup, assuming they stay in the top 5). Not sure what happens with trickier situations (eg: if ManU win the Europa league this year, they get a Champions League spot... is that in place of 4th place and all the other European spots shift up one place, or do England get 5 CL spots? Too confusing, probably for another thread!)