GMorrison183 Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 I agree, unless we increase our squad size substantially (and with quality) soon, then I'd seriously consider playing the reserves/youngsters in the early rounds of the League Cup as well, I know it may not be a popular opinion but we just don't have the resources to play so many games. As you said, getting knocked out of the UEFA may have been one of the best things to happen to us this season and I wouldn't be devastated if we didn't qualify for next years as I think that will give us more chance of aiming for 4th, which I think is a realistic target should players stay fit and we add one or two more quality players in the Summer. Jamie, I think it all depends on this weekend, if we beat Stoke and Villa don't beat Tottenham then I think we COULD realistically be above them in 3 games, it's a big ask but it's not impossible. Aston Villa aren't very good, they're a decent team but nothing special, they've fluked a lot of wins and now FINALLY their luck is running out. I just hope we don't get too focused on the cup. I disagree 100%. The fact is, We are not a top 4 team right now. Villa isn't either. Neither squad is deep enough. I WOULD be devastated if we didn't qualify for Europe next year. It means we would have suffered a major collapse to some mediocre teams down the stretch. The best thing for us is to keep qualifying for Europe, and to do well. It gets the Everton name out there, quality players from different countries (like an Andrei Arshavin) become open to playing for Everton. That is what will grow the squad. Remember what you thought when you heard Bolton were in for Miguel Veloso. If we aren't qualifying for Europe, we are not much better than those thoughts. What is the point of playing Youngsters in a league cup if we get bounced out the 1st game? When we want to loan out our youngsters, Championship teams aren't calling for them. League 2 sides are. Sure, maybe we should give players like Valente, VDMeyde, Anichebe a go just so they can maintain some decent form in case of injury. Our side lacks the midfield quality to sit out the likes of Arteta, Pienaar and Cahill though. With our current form, I expect us to only pick up a point on Villa during this 4 game stretch. Arsenal will pass Villa, and we will finish 6th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuffRob Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 I think I would rather be in Villa's position with the points on the board. I think we will be reasonabley secure in 6th and a cup Semi to look forward so I think the squad are really chilled at the moment, Villa will be under pressure to keep that 4th place. I would say it is Villa's to loose, and that pressure could work in our favor It would be really good to go in to our match against Villa within striking distance of them, especially when in reality they mugged us somewhat at Goodison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 I think I would rather be in Villa's position with the points on the board. Really? They're looking like losing to Spurs which means we'll have picked up six points on them in the last six games (11 to 5). They'll be four points ahead of us with a very slightly better goal difference and trips to Anfield and Old Trafford in their next two games....while we play at Pompey and at home to Wigan. Given current form they're going to pick up a big fat zero from their next two so, if we can pick up four points, we'll be ahead of them on gd. Seemed unlikely on Friday but all of a sudden it's a big possibility imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFC-Paul Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 (edited) To be honest i would rather be in our position at present we will be after the Spurs game has finished four points behind and its always tougher on the team just infront as they have alot of pressure on there shoulders, they have been up there for some time and have let it be known now they have a huge battle on their hands to stay in the top five. We have a massive chance now of catching them with them having to face Liverpool away who will be more then up for it now the title race is back on and then they play United who again will go out all guns blazing and we have to face Portsmouth and Wigan not easy games i know but its pretty obvious Villa have a far tougher task then we do and if we beat Pompy and Wigan and they lose to United and Liverpool which is what i would expect to happen we would be two points infront then the game against Villa could put some light between us if things pan out the way i hope In saying that i know Arsenal have started to play football again but they still have to face United Liverpool and Chelsea so it makes it that bit more interesting. I would be over the moon if we managed to pince 5th from Villa. Edited March 15, 2009 by EFC-Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy the blue Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 i've said it before and I'll say it again Villa are not a good side http://www.toffeetalk.com/forums/index.php...15522&st=20. We will get fifth spot at least and whether we are good enough or not bring on the C/L as well, just think lads we need a buyer.............................C/L sides are a far better commercial proposition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse11 Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 I believe we will be equal on points by time we meet them. They will lose their next two and we will win one and draw one. Then roll them over and go on to claim 4th Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevO Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 i think we'll go into the villa game 2point ahead of them now, and i think we'll come away 5 points clear of them. coyb - ive not felt this positive for a long time, even with out yak and arteta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holystove Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 imagine if they hadn't stolen the win at goodison ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFC-Paul Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 (edited) i think we'll go into the villa game 2point ahead of them now, and i think we'll come away 5 points clear of them. coyb - ive not felt this positive for a long time, even with out yak and arteta Thats what i think will happen aswell mate it would be a massive suprise if we could pull it off with the shite hand we have been dealt this season it would be our best season so far under Moyes considering the circumstances Edited March 15, 2009 by EFC-Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonKey Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 imagine if they hadn't stolen the win at goodison ... Never mind that one game... Just imagine if we hadn't been shit for the first part of the season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprooly Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 alot of negativity on tt but of course we can pas them we i truly believe we can finish 5th but arsenal weill probs get 4th now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Arsenal will hold out for the 4th place and we will over-take Aston Villa. They have had poor form of late and will be throwing anything at it to get back to the Champions League spots, this will mean that more bad results will come their way and contribute to a messy end to the season. Like Jimmy has been saying they arn't a good side, they need to be treated like a team that we can beat. Teams should be able to beat them and they will, I would be slightly surprised if they muscled Arsenal out of the way and clung onto the 4th place. We are in good form - maybe not playing the best football - but are in good form and should be looking at some more wins. Portsmouth & Wigan should bring points at least, all three can be achieved. If we do get those three points from both games (6) then we will be well on our way to putting Aston Villa behind us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Churinga2 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Nice, villa lost! i think this can be a turning point for them getting 0 out of 9 against tot, liv and mnu (probably) For arsenal, they still have to face the top 3, and if we can keep our winning up, we still have a chance at 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMONEYone Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Heart says 4th but my Head says 5th. TBH I think we would all take 5th as a great performance this season especially considering the amount of money spent by the teams around us and also the awful injuries our tiny squad has had to endure this season. I just hope that at the end of the season we are able to find the money to go out and purchase 3 or 4 top quality players and try to push on and catch the top 4 next season, personally I dont think we are that far away from them now. In moyes we trust COYB'S!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlmc25 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 MikeO, am I missing something, we're 5 points behind Villa so if we win and draw our next 2 games that would still leave us 1 point behind even if they lost to both Liverpool and Utd! The results couldn't have gone much better for us at the weekend, I know Arsenal won but I think we needed them to keep winning to put the pressure on Villa which has now made them crumble, both teams have a difficult run in, particularly Arsenal so I definitely think we can get this 4th spot IF we can win these next 2 or 3 games. We have to go for broke now, getting in the UEFA Cup made us something like 250k, getting in the Champions League could make us £10-20m, that is the difference. As much as I'd like the glory of the FA Cup, qualifying for the Champions League could transform the club and would make the biggest difference possible, as long as we didn't get knocked out in qualifying again! Liverpool's result really helps us too, both they and United will have to beat Villa now so no one will be resting any players. As for Arsenal, yes they look like they're back in a bit of form but let's remember that they've just played some poor teams recently that's all, Fabregas will be back soon (one of my favourite players) but he had been poor earlier in the season so who knows how he'll be performing. We are the underdogs but every single win we can get at the moment will enhance the pressure on those above, we just need to keep picking up results and the rest will take care of it itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 MikeO, am I missing something, we're 5 points behind Villa... We're four points behind them . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy the blue Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 MikeO, am I missing something, we're 5 points behind Villa so if we win and draw our next 2 games that would still leave us 1 point behind even if they lost to both Liverpool and Utd! The results couldn't have gone much better for us at the weekend, I know Arsenal won but I think we needed them to keep winning to put the pressure on Villa which has now made them crumble, both teams have a difficult run in, particularly Arsenal so I definitely think we can get this 4th spot IF we can win these next 2 or 3 games. We have to go for broke now, getting in the UEFA Cup made us something like 250k, getting in the Champions League could make us £10-20m, that is the difference. As much as I'd like the glory of the FA Cup, qualifying for the Champions League could transform the club and would make the biggest difference possible, as long as we didn't get knocked out in qualifying again! Liverpool's result really helps us too, both they and United will have to beat Villa now so no one will be resting any players. As for Arsenal, yes they look like they're back in a bit of form but let's remember that they've just played some poor teams recently that's all, Fabregas will be back soon (one of my favourite players) but he had been poor earlier in the season so who knows how he'll be performing. We are the underdogs but every single win we can get at the moment will enhance the pressure on those above, we just need to keep picking up results and the rest will take care of it itself. Carl, we are just four points behing them and Arsenal mate! Our odds for finishing fourth have been slashed this morning from 50/1 to 10/1 COYB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFC-Paul Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 (edited) MikeO, am I missing something, we're 5 points behind Villa so if we win and draw our next 2 games that would still leave us 1 point behind even if they lost to both Liverpool and Utd! The results couldn't have gone much better for us at the weekend, I know Arsenal won but I think we needed them to keep winning to put the pressure on Villa which has now made them crumble, both teams have a difficult run in, particularly Arsenal so I definitely think we can get this 4th spot IF we can win these next 2 or 3 games. We have to go for broke now, getting in the UEFA Cup made us something like 250k, getting in the Champions League could make us £10-20m, that is the difference. As much as I'd like the glory of the FA Cup, qualifying for the Champions League could transform the club and would make the biggest difference possible, as long as we didn't get knocked out in qualifying again! Liverpool's result really helps us too, both they and United will have to beat Villa now so no one will be resting any players. As for Arsenal, yes they look like they're back in a bit of form but let's remember that they've just played some poor teams recently that's all, Fabregas will be back soon (one of my favourite players) but he had been poor earlier in the season so who knows how he'll be performing. We are the underdogs but every single win we can get at the moment will enhance the pressure on those above, we just need to keep picking up results and the rest will take care of it itself. There is four points between us and Villa now mate Edited March 16, 2009 by EFC-Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlmc25 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 my mistake! I thought we were 5 points behind and when I saw MikeO's earlier post saying we had cut the difference down from 11 to 5 it confirmed my suspicions! oh well, I can't believe we are only 4 points behind, if only we'd had Arteta for those matches against Newcastle and Blackburn, if only we hadn't conceded from the last kick of the game against Arsenal and Villa! oh well, we are definitely in the hunt now. 4 points is do-able. Villa must be packing it now, a few weeks ago if they had've won they would have been virtually out of sight, since that time they can't buy a win. O'Neill will look a right tit if they only qualify for the EUFA again after he treated it with such disdain this time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy the blue Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 my mistake! I thought we were 5 points behind and when I saw MikeO's earlier post saying we had cut the difference down from 11 to 5 it confirmed my suspicions! oh well, I can't believe we are only 4 points behind, if only we'd had Arteta for those matches against Newcastle and Blackburn, if only we hadn't conceded from the last kick of the game against Arsenal and Villa! oh well, we are definitely in the hunt now. 4 points is do-able. Villa must be packing it now, a few weeks ago if they had've won they would have been virtually out of sight, since that time they can't buy a win. O'Neill will look a right tit if they only qualify for the EUFA again after he treated it with such disdain this time! That little gnome who hailed his team as world beaters when they grabbed a lucky win on our patch is now moaning because Villian fans are booing Gabby the goat..........................his world class player...........tosser or what Just think if we'd held out for a draw against them, beaten the Gooners which we should have done and won at Newcastle we'd have been odds on for the C/L by now when looking at the remaining games for A/V Gooners and ourselves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiemaher85 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 my mistake! I thought we were 5 points behind and when I saw MikeO's earlier post saying we had cut the difference down from 11 to 5 it confirmed my suspicions! oh well, I can't believe we are only 4 points behind, if only we'd had Arteta for those matches against Newcastle and Blackburn, if only we hadn't conceded from the last kick of the game against Arsenal and Villa! oh well, we are definitely in the hunt now. 4 points is do-able. Villa must be packing it now, a few weeks ago if they had've won they would have been virtually out of sight, since that time they can't buy a win. O'Neill will look a right tit if they only qualify for the EUFA again after he treated it with such disdain this time! I really hope that they don't get europe now. I think it would be very funny. To treat europe the way they did, i think they deserve to drop away. I had wanted them to do well but now I just want them to drop away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlmc25 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 That little gnome who hailed his team as world beaters when they grabbed a lucky win on our patch is now moaning because Villian fans are booing Gabby the goat..........................his world class player...........tosser or what Just think if we'd held out for a draw against them, beaten the Gooners which we should have done and won at Newcastle we'd have been odds on for the C/L by now when looking at the remaining games for A/V Gooners and ourselves Yeah I used to like O'Neill until he stood there with a straight face and actually claimed that his side deserved to win that 3-2 match earlier in the season, you could even hear the increduility in the interviewers voice. Then the whole thing with the UEFA Cup and inviting the fans for a meal seemed pretty desperate imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 when I saw MikeO's earlier post saying we had cut the difference down from 11 to 5 it confirmed my suspicions! What I said was that during the last six games we'd made up six points on them by getting eleven to their five . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubecula Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 In sixth with Villa and Arsenal on same points as each other above us. So in the last part of the season we need to get 5 points more than at least one of them to pick up a place. I honestly think we can do it, in fact I do not think it is that improbable that we overtake both of them. Ok it may not happen, but it is not so unlikely as some make out. Fingers crossed. It is numerically possible we can win the league. Now that is improbable. But getting fourth place? We have a fair chance of that. Lets be optimistic here guys, glass half full and not half empty for once eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Regulator Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Villa are shit. They've run out of steam and apart from young barry and friedel they're distinctly average. They'll lose to Liverpool, Manure and us, while we'll beat Pompey and could beat Wigan. we could get 9 points in the next 3 weeks, while they could get none, and Arsenal have 2 away games...I reckon this could be a very important spell of games for us, 4th isn't as far away as most think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMorrison183 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Villa are shit. They've run out of steam and apart from young barry and friedel they're distinctly average. They'll lose to Liverpool, Manure and us, while we'll beat Pompey and could beat Wigan. we could get 9 points in the next 3 weeks, while they could get none, and Arsenal have 2 away games...I reckon this could be a very important spell of games for us, 4th isn't as far away as most think. With our current form, I disagree. 4th is as far away as we think. We heavily rely on Arteta to give us some quality in passing the ball. Peanuts is decent at it, Osman is average, but there is no one close to Arteta in that regard. Villa dropping 3 points yesterday was a huge loss for them. Perhaps we could pull out 5th; I'd say the odds are against us even for that. Just trying to be realistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Regulator Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 With our current form, I disagree. 4th is as far away as we think. We heavily rely on Arteta to give us some quality in passing the ball. Peanuts is decent at it, Osman is average, but there is no one close to Arteta in that regard. Villa dropping 3 points yesterday was a huge loss for them. Perhaps we could pull out 5th; I'd say the odds are against us even for that. Just trying to be realistic. Granted against Newcastle and Blackburn we were abysmal but people forget that they are hard places to go to anyway, we never do well against them normally and even when we were playing terrible we beat west brom and stoke, scoring 5 goals and conceeding 1. I think optimism is a big part of it, and recognising that we played really well in the first half against stoke despite our second half is important too. We haven't played a right back since hibbert got injured (jacobsen is either terrible or Moyes is scared to play him, either way looks liek a pointless acquisition by us unless another defender gets injured), and we have lost our key playmaker. But we can still field a side strong enough to take on pompey, wigan, west ham, sunderland etc and villa have a very tough run of games coming up. I think we need to let our guys get on with it and hope for the best, granted 4th is a mountain to climb but there's nothing to say we can't do it. Especially when results fall into our favour like this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 No . But as they're 3-0 down at half time at Anfield we may get them on the run-in . In free-fall by the look of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romey 1878 Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 The implosion of Villa is very funny to watch even if it is to them lot over the park Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 I'll look forward to Martin O'Neill's post match interview. They've probably been the better side I should think.....like they were at Goodison in the cup . The change in GD may come in useful for us....almost like we've gained a point on them . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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