05 Feb 2022 10:16:51
Agree with those who thought the performance was very good for about 60 mins, we passed quickly, our counter moves were fast and direct. But for some reason maybe a change by Middlesbrough but we just drifted back into Ole ball near the end. I don't buy this week off nonsense, they got a break and were back all week. So, disappointed to be out but need to play the full game at that pace and skill level. Top four is a must.

1.) 05 Feb 2022
05 Feb 2022 12:55:00
Top 4 is a pipe dream.

Whole place needs a reset and start again. I hate what our club is right now top to bottom.

2.) 05 Feb 2022
05 Feb 2022 13:27:28
Eric, we are 4th at the moment, not sure how that's a pipe dream.

3.) 05 Feb 2022
05 Feb 2022 14:01:59
Its a fitness issue. We look broke after an hour almost every game and the opposition picks us apart.

4.) 05 Feb 2022
05 Feb 2022 14:15:59
Why are we so concerned about finishing 4th. We’ve been brainwashed. It doesn’t and never will constitute success and this season will not be salvaged by finishing 4th.

How have we benefited from finishing 4th over the last decade? Has it led to a title challenge? Have we ever got near to winning the Champions League. I don’t think we’ve got further than the QF’s.

In footballing terms it’s means nothing. I don’t fall for the nonsense that the Club needs top 4 to attract players. Maybe the best ones, the players that have better options than Man Utd anyway. The world is full of talented footballers. We need to get out and find them. Haaland is not the only CF. Declan Rice is not the only DM. Players exists beyond the obvious. Once we stop buying into this ridiculous top 4 narrative we might actually get somewhere! Do you really want to be in the Champions League just to make up the numbers, increase the share price and safeguard dividends for disinterested owners on the other side of the Atlantic?!

5.) 05 Feb 2022
05 Feb 2022 14:32:13
It is a confidence issue. We lack self belief.

6.) 05 Feb 2022
05 Feb 2022 15:12:12
Agreed DLIB. It’s a pipe dream- and if we do finish fourth it just perpetuates what is happening and justifies this lot running the club in the way they do. I’ve never felt more detached from and apathy towards our club in my 40 years following them.

7.) 05 Feb 2022
05 Feb 2022 15:45:24
In theory top 4 gives you a better chance of recruiting players - harder to sell playimg in the Europa league to someoen with aspirations or experience of the CL.

8.) 05 Feb 2022
05 Feb 2022 19:19:19
But Eric, we won't finish 4th ? Now there's an 'IF'. Make up your mind!

9.) 05 Feb 2022
05 Feb 2022 19:51:17
Success is relative. Should top 4 be the aim? Absolutely not.

Yet given the circumstances top four is probably the best we can hope for from this season as it stands right now. Unless you're expecting a UCL title win?

We are out of both domestic cups, and in truth too far behind the other sides in Europe to have a realistic chance in the UCL.

Thus the aim for the rest of this season should be to finish as high as possible in the league. Lay down a market for next season, get UCL qualification to make recruitment easier in the summer, and build on a style of play progressing as a team.

10.) 05 Feb 2022
05 Feb 2022 20:38:58
We won’t Angel.

11.) 05 Feb 2022
05 Feb 2022 22:56:18
Top four constitutes qualification to the CL, and obviously comes with the sporting merit that comes with playing in elite completion. We are a more attractive proposition to players, we play on a better Wednesday-Saturday schedule, we as fans get to see us playing clubs that we should be aiming to rub shoulders with. There is also a degree of symbolism with top 4 that still gives an aura of elitism.

Not only this, there are a multitude of financial benefits too. Historically our sponsors have had UCL clauses in the contracts, playing the UCL also helps to attract sponsors. This is aside from the revenue generated by playing in the competition.

No, top 4 should not be our target - anything less than first ultimately constitutes a failure. However, failing to reach top four even is a disgrace for a club with the finances and wage structure we do. It shouldn't happen and the absolute minimum attained should be qualification to the UCL.

12.) 06 Feb 2022
06 Feb 2022 21:04:44
Eric and his crystal ball ?.