If we win the league this year, what will give you the greatest pleasure?

Originally Posted by jem

anyone who thinks we can't lose a couple of games to the likes of everton is deluded.

We can't. We only play them once.

In all seriousityness, they are a form team and that will be a very difficult game.

Not too many other sides left are on form though. We are going to catch Pompey at a good time it appears.

I have a bad feeling about everton, they're gonna put everyone behind the ball and 8 men around their box like they did vs Arsenal.

We also have a pretty bad record against the top teams this season, not doing ourselves justice - even if we do get results. Liverpool and Arsenal for example.

but none of it matters if Rooney comes into some semblence of his usual self which look quite promising after the last couple of games.

tbh if we win it, it will feel like all is going as planned. I expected the team to flourish this season, and feel its on track to fulfil its potential in the next 2 seasons. I've said that fergie has a masterplan for his final team and it'll see us become the most exciting team in European football. Nearly there now, maybe next season will see it come to fruition. If not the season after that unless something disastrous happens.

I wont feel its "mission accomplished" until that dream team is assembled. Any victories between now and then will simply feel like stepping stones to more confidence/experience/justification/attracting players etc.

Originally Posted by Luffy

I've said that fergie has a masterplan for his final team and it'll see us become the most exciting team in European football. Nearly there now, maybe next season will see it come to fruition.

It will only come to fruition if we take the shackles off in Europe and decide to have a go at any European side with the confidence that we can play them off the park. Hopefully that will start against Roma.

Going back to the spite angle, if we win the league this season it will be funny listening to people scrambling around questioning our squad, our tactics in Europe and other such off topicnesses in an effort to rationalise said event not exactly fitting in with expectations - particularly if Chelsea continue to accumulate points at the rate they are doing, and if our 'goals for' column continues to grow (70 from 30 games so far )

when we had threads at the beginning of the season, pretty much everyone agreed that we had a team capable of winning of the title. the problem was always going to be putting that team out every week and maintaining form. in europe, we have always known we could beat anyone. the problem there has been fergie's reluctance to let the team go out and play. we all know we have a potential weakness in midfield defensively when we play ronaldo - carrick - scholes - giggs too. we haven't actually played a good team in europe (and there may not be one!).

if (and it's still a big if) we win the title, it will just mean fergie's gambles paid off. it won't change the nature of the gamble.

we could finish the season with a record points haul. but we all know that would be a bit of a joke.

At the beginning of the season I didn't give us a hope of winning the league. I think I said we would finish 4th.

I thought Ronaldo would leave.
I would never have believed that Giggs and Scholes would have had such a resurgence in form.
I thought that Chelsea's squad strength meant they couldn't fail.
I couldn't see how United could suddenly return to playing exciting football after the last 2 or 3 seasons.

As far as winning the league goes, my greatest pleasure will be for Giggs who will have 9 league titles.

Originally Posted by jem

when we had threads at the beginning of the season, pretty much everyone agreed that we had a team capable of winning of the title. the problem was always going to be putting that team out every week and maintaining form. in europe, we have always known we could beat anyone. the problem there has been fergie's reluctance to let the team go out and play. we all know we have a potential weakness in midfield defensively when we play ronaldo - carrick - scholes - giggs too. we haven't actually played a good team in europe (and there may not be one!).

if (and it's still a big if) we win the title, it will just mean fergie's gambles paid off. it won't change the nature of the gamble.

we could finish the season with a record points haul. but we all know that would be a bit of a joke.

Hold up Jem, I didn't think we could win a league title because of the weakness defensively in that midfield. Arch-heresy here but, for me, we've played our best football since Scholes got suspended because what we lose from him we gain in terms of the more solid platform Carrick & O'Shea's less than stellar partnership provides.

I'm inclined to think that if we'd also secured Hargreaves in the summer we'd really be romping away with it because those problems have cost us in the games against Arsenal and against Chelsea at home (and might cost us yet when it comes to Chelsea away).

The reason we've got away with it is because not enough Premiership teams do what Fulham did a few weeks back and have a real go off the top clubs. We could still have rotated Scholes in and out of the team for those games but we're still losing midfield battles with him in there, his unquestionable bravery and commitment not withstanding.