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Posted:
Sat Dec 10, 2005 5:21 pmby tubby
I think Chelsea will win the league but if we had played like we are now from day 1 we could be in a different boat right now.
I think we can realistically finish 2nd or 3rd.
Posted:
Sat Dec 10, 2005 8:31 pmby Hotrod
i think all of us would want to win the league and if we carry on this run we have a good chance but we have to look at the big picture we are doin brill so far but its fair to say we are not going to be on this runa ll season i am not being negative just realistic we will lose a few game sthis eason and raffa knows that beacuse we still dont have the strength in depth our starting team is as good as any but our squad does need alot of tweaking
Posted:
Sat Dec 10, 2005 10:08 pmby A.B.
Arsenal lose again and that sums up their season. Their away record has been terrible, they've lost 5 games already on the road.[resembles our poor away record from last season].
I doubt that they will have a chance of winning the league with that kind of record. They are there for the taking, so I would be disappointed if we didn't finish above them.
Posted:
Sun Dec 11, 2005 8:01 pmby JBG
The Sunday Times has started to talk us up as being genuine championship contenders, but I don't see that.
We have a genuine chance of finishing in the top 3, as Man UTD and Arsenal are struggeling, although I think Man UTD will keep putting points on the board to finish in the Champions League positions and Arsenal will put together a late surge to bring them up near the top again.
Posted:
Sun Dec 11, 2005 8:36 pmby 7_Kewell
Chelski to win the league and us to finish 2nd. Manure 3rd and Arsenal 4th.
Posted:
Sun Dec 11, 2005 8:43 pmby Scottbot
I guess the manager's goal has always been to finish in the top four but close the gap on the leaders. It certainly looks like we will manage to do that.
As for the title. Who knows, anything can happen. The mancs and Arsenal have some problems and Chelsea (despite winning so many) have failed to really hit the heights of last season when they were putting four past everyone at one stage.
It will be easier to gage it once the christmas period is over. Four games in eight days on the back of a jetlagging, energy sapping trip to Japan is gonna be tough. If we can take 9 points from those games i will start to get really excited!
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:17 amby bring_back_biscan
Few good signings in January, and we can get 2nd.
Once we start playing well we'll be dangerous.
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:39 amby ivor_the_injun
I'd like to see us maintain our form over months as opposed to weeks before we get too carried away, and at the moment we're on the right lines. We got a few duff results early on this season, and they've all but made a Championship challenge a non-starter this time round.
If we go unbeaten through periods when we're playing Chelsea, Man U and Arsenal, we're in with a chance. What we've been hopeless at in recent years is putting in consistent performances, and what I'm looking for this season is making winning a habit as opposed to a pleasant surprise.
I can definitely see us finishing 2nd this season, and I'd love for us to be going into the closing months of the season making Chelsea look over their shoulders all the way. NEXT year, I think Rafa will finally have his team, and we'll be in a position to mount a serious title challenge.
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:50 amby A.B.
It will be a test this month after Japan.
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:58 amby neil
we'll finish 1st, we have a massive game at goodison the one after next(newcastle), assuming we beat the barcodes and a win away against the blue. 
i reckon this would really propel us into a serious title challenge. I do believe we will win the league this year. All the negative reaction to this post will be duly noted and thrown back into the respected members faces come may.
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 2:22 amby Gaunt
I think there is a good chance we might win the league but thinking it all out carefully and not just hoping for things to happen to Chelsea i think we will finish 2nd come the end of the season and will be serious contenders next season for the title. All in all im happy with that and the progress being made. 
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 5:31 amby hobbes
Look at the big pic out of the 13 points difference between Chelsea and us.
Chelsea has a good at least 3 big games left. For a club of invincible record. it still has to play MU, Arsenal and Liverpool ( a match each). Besides, some boogy clubs like Everton, and Bolton would be a prob. So dont loose hope.
MU is out of the Championship and UEFA Cup. They will be aiming for the Premiership now as they are tailing Chelsea along with us.
It is nice to see the race is ongoing where anything can happen.
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 9:20 amby bigmick
I think Chelsea will win the league by around 15 points or so, with oursleves, Manure and Arsenal in a heap for the next three spots. We are doing brilliant at the moment and are currently the best team in the League in my view, but an injury to any one of Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyppia, Alonso, Gerrard and possibly Crouch would significantly diminish the standing of our team. Obviously, an injury to Gerrard would be absolutely catastrophic. Chelsea on the other hand could cope with an injury to absolutely anybody, with only Lampard and Terry being big misses if out.
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 2:11 pmby stmichael
bigmick wrote:I think Chelsea will win the league by around 15 points or so, with oursleves, Manure and Arsenal in a heap for the next three spots. We are doing brilliant at the moment and are currently the best team in the League in my view, but an injury to any one of Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyppia, Alonso, Gerrard and possibly Crouch would significantly diminish the standing of our team. Obviously, an injury to Gerrard would be absolutely catastrophic. Chelsea on the other hand could cope with an injury to absolutely anybody, with only Lampard and Terry being big misses if out.
Can we theoretically catch them? Of course. We're not halfway through the season yet.
Do I believe we will catch them? Not a chance.
The problem is, the days of winning the league with less than 80 points are gone. The league now has a few elite teams which regularly beat the also rans. This means that the matches between the title contenders themselves take on a huge importance, much more so than previously when you could win it with 78 points.
We lost at home to Chelsea and got a draw with Man U. That defeat to Chelsea cost us dearly.
Terry being injured would make them significantly weaker? Forget it. They have three very good centre backs in Terry, Carvalho and Gallas. However I agree that if they were missing Lampard along with Terry then you might see them wobbling. As long as Chelsea don't suffer serious injuries, we will not catch them. Nor will anyone else.
Chelsea won it with 95 points last season. They are currently on target for surpassing that points total. If we win all our remaining games we'll end up with 100 points. The chances of us dropping less than 10 points for the rest of the season are extremely slim.
If Chelsea lose to Arsenal and we beat them at Stamford Bridge February 5th we have a fighting chance. If we keep our run going until then and pick up as many points as Chelsea until we get there, that is. Until that happens, I'm going to do as Rafa does: Concentrate on winning the next game.
I am honestly not thinking much about winning the title this season. Our team clicked into gear too late for that. We struggled early on in the season with strikers not finding the net and dropping points because of it. We also were unlucky that Sami was ill when we played Chelsea at Anfield.
If we can perform well for the rest of the season, that will give us a great platform to launch a serious title bid next season. Bring in that centre back, winger and striker and the platform will be there. Then all we need is a little luck with injuries and no. 19 is up for grabs.
For now I'm just enjoying us sitting pretty above the mancs in the table, having few injuries and our team playing well. The players have finally come around to Rafa's style in the league. We are actually doing better in the Champions League than last year, so God only knows where that will end. Come to think of it, probably in Paris.
Happy days indeed. 
Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 2:13 pmby dawson99
you know what annoys me most? im a bookie. thats not the bit that annoys me. its when people mention betting without the big 3. Liverpool are still not named as one fo the big three. That just annoys me. I want second this year, and one better next season.