Is It Possible To Go For The Title And Champions League?

[RafaShanks]

I've heard few so called experts over the past couple of days saying that us and Milan's failures in our respective leagues played it's part in us and Milan getting past the Chelsea and the Mancs, allowing us both to rest players at vital times, while the Mancs and Chelsea couldn't afford to do so (b******s argument I know) with their battle for the Premiership with a "cup finals" every game.

 

Hopefully next season, we'll be up there in the saying of the title with some quality additions in the summer to take us to the next level.

 

Wonder how Rafa will play this if we're locked in a tight battle for the Premiership and also involved in the latter stages of the Champions league.

 

Can you go hell for leather with both and with the addition of the FA cup?

 

Guess we'll have to get the title sewn up by February to avoid this.

[floyd]

I've heard few so called experts over the past couple of days saying that us and Milan's failures in our respective leagues played it's part in us and Milan getting past the Chelsea and the Mancs, allowing us both to rest players at vital times, while the Mancs and Chelsea couldn't afford to do so (b******s argument I know) with their battle for the Premiership with a "cup finals" every game.

Richard Keys

[johngibo YPC]

Rafa rotates early on in the season so everyone is at their peak at the end of the season

I think its possible to do both as long as your squad is strong enough

Hopefully next season it will be

[Benzo-13]

Yes, it's simple really.

 

Have a quality squad and rotate. The Mancs and Chelski paid for not resting their big players against the lower sides. Moaninho especially player his first eleven at nearly every opportunity.

 

Rafa has it right but we were too slow outta the blocks this season.

[RafaShanks]

Richard Keys

 

I would never refer to him as an expert, a clueless gorilla definitely.

[Rimbeux]

It's an easy out. The simple truth is that of course it's possible. The very fact that Man U and Chelsea have come within a game of the final shows that to be true.

 

The whole fighting for the league, every game a cup final is nonsense too, so many of the games are cakewalks, and even coming to the end of the season, the relegation sides have been putting out second strings against the top teams to save the first team for 'six pointers' and 'winnable games'.

 

What you need to be able to do, is both keep out and score gainst very good teams in the CL, something that you dont often have to do in the PL, where being great at either, not so good at the other can get you a long way.

[floyd the barber]

2 managers and 2 teams....easy

 

for the league

 

---------------carson--------------

arebola---hyypia-hobbs--aurillo

------------------------------------

pennant--zenden-sissoko-garcia

------------fowler--bellamy------

 

manager - gary mcallister

 

 

champs league

 

------------reina--------------

finnan----carra-agger--riise

-------------------------------

gerrard-alonso-masch-kewell

---------kuyt-crouch---------

 

manager - Benitez

 

see easy! and thats just with the players we have in our squad right now...bring in some more quality and BANG..!!! theres ya two sides to win both the premiership and champs league....................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 3, 2007 by Winding Wheel

[Magic8Ball]

Barcelona did it only last year - so yes

[Earl Hafler]

Of course it's possible. Chelsea and Man Utd have come close when going for the two biggest domestic comps, Man Utd did the treble 8 years ago

 

You need luck but also a well managed squad. I think Rafa has made mistakes with his this year - mostly in the league - and next season hopefully he'll be more adventurous against sides we should be beating.

[Billy Dane]

This argument only surfaces when Utd/Chelsea lose a game. Can't remember it being mentioned in 99 for example.

When we were winning everything in the 70's and 80's the more games you were involved in, the better it was, meant you were winning more trophies.

 

and as has been mentioned already nobody was saying how tough it was for Barca last year.

[Nebraska Red]

Rafa has it right but we were too slow outta the blocks this season.

 

this is the big thing we have to correct if we are to mount a challenge.

 

we have to come out firing at the start of the season and keep in touch, or ahead of, the usual challengers.

 

if we win the CL, am I right in assuming we do not have to qualify? if we don't have to qualify, that will help.

 

 

When we were winning everything in the 70's and 80's the more games you were involved in, the better it was, meant you were winning more trophies.

 

I don't think today's players are made of the same stuff as the players of the 70's and 80's.

 

There is also alot more pressure on the players of today, 24 hour sports media, agents who get involved in everything, the internet and every game on TV.

 

What I see is that it is almost impossible to go for everything in the same season.

 

The teams and managers who can get the balance right will be the ones to succeed.

[Billy Dane]

I take your point about pressure today etc, but equally squads are bigger now.

 

When Chelsea, and Utd to a lesser degree, are able to spend the kind of money they are today I thought the idea was that they were building squads big enough to compete in all comps. This has been Rafa's argument since he got here.

 

I think it is this attitude towards building big(ger) squads which is driving the trophies out of reach of most teams, unfortunately.

[Nebraska Red]

I take your point about pressure today etc, but equally squads are bigger now.

 

When Chelsea, and Utd to a lesser degree, are able to spend the kind of money they are today I thought the idea was that they were building squads big enough to compete in all comps. This has been Rafa's argument since he got here.

 

I think it is this attitude towards building big(ger) squads which is driving the trophies out of reach of most teams, unfortunately.

 

squads are bigger, but the pressure on the big 4 clubs is immense right now.

 

Wenger screwed up by playing his kids just a bit too often and his start player was hurt and irreplaceable.

 

Maureen and Ferguson have played their stars too often and this may come back to haunt them, if it already hasn't.

 

Rafa did not get the balance right early on in the season, and when we got started , we were too far back to mount a decent challenge.

 

What we are seeing is a 4 team super Premier league and the rest scrapping for UEFA Cup spots and survival.

 

Unless some of the other clubs can get in on the money, this is not going to change any time soon.

[hagi_complex]

It's completely possible. Fecking difficult, though.

[Cooldude]

Completely possible

 

People keep slamming rotation this season, bur rotate is one of the reasons why we're so strong late in the season. Plus, rotation hardly costed us any games early in the season. Every side Rafa put out on the park back then was more than good enough to get 3 points, but they didn't. That was the players' fault

[John am Rhein]

When we were winning everything in the 70's and 80's the more games you were involved in, the better it was, meant you were winning more trophies.

 

Significantly, some of our best League seasons coincided with us going out early in Europe. And of course, in our double year of 1985/86 we weren't even IN europe.

[downunder]

I think it was harder years ago (42 league games and replays all the time) TBH, travelling to Eastern Europe, Tblisi etc was harder, no chartered flights and people pampering you all the time.

 

 

Players have it simple in my view, they are paid heaps of money and everything is done for them. They should all be able to play 2 games every week.

[John am Rhein]

Players have it simple in my view, they are paid heaps of money and everything is done for them. They should all be able to play 2 games every week.

 

They can play 5 games a week, but if their opponents are better rested than they are then it'll still be harder for them to get the points.

[Gilps]

Barcelona did it last year.

 

Chelsea have made the semis in 3 out of the past 4 seasons whilst challenging for the league.

 

Suggests there's not a big problem.

[Rich Gobey]

Barcelona did it last year.

 

Chelsea have made the semis in 3 out of the past 4 seasons whilst challenging for the league.

 

Suggests there's not a big problem.

 

as well as the fa cup and carling cup finals this year.

 

it's just a silly excuse.

[Swan Red]

Significantly, some of our best League seasons coincided with us going out early in Europe. And of course, in our double year of 1985/86 we weren't even IN europe.

 

but in two of the years we won the European Cup we also won the league both years making a domestic cup appearacnce as well

[Mike]

robbed from doing the treble in 77 after battering the mancs in the fa cup final and they got a spawny deflelected goal.

[John am Rhein]

but in two of the years we won the European Cup we also won the league both years making a domestic cup appearacnce as well

 

Yeah, it CAN be done - even Man U did it in 1999 - but it's very difficult. And it always was very difficult.