A chance

[destinydude]

Nice post Craig was willing to see something like this. Our next 3-4 fixtures along with Spurs' and Villa's.

Great job there adding all of it. I agree our next three games are definitely winnable and Spurs playing Villa somewhere in the next three games would mean one of them will surely drop points.

[Exiled_red]

When i saw the table last night, i saw 11 points and though the same to be honest. I was thinking - "feck it - stranger things have happened"

I can see a fair few draws between the other teams. Put it this way, it's not beyond the possibilities for Arsenal to draw with both ManU and Chelsea in the next few weeks. A lot can change in the space of 3 or 4 weeks in football and who feckin knows!!!

What would be brilliant for us would be for Arsenal to draw Spurs in the 5th round of the FA Cup and for chelsea and mancs to draw each other as well. Then throw in a few replays for those teams and all of a sudden little niggely injuries start to kick in and who knows, we could have a sneak at it late on - especially when you also consider that there will be tough champions league games, and hopefully a carling cup final where Villa and United kick lumps out of each other......

We have the Europa Cup to look at only apart from the league. Obviously, we would prefer to still be in the CL and the FA Cup but it is up to us to make the most of our situation.....

You never feckin know!!!!

In reality, it is unlikely that Arsenal, Chelsea AND Man United will fall to pieces but then again you never know!!!!

That's the problem, if we were sat in second place with a gap of 11 points we'd still have a chance but being 11 points off the top and 10 points off 3rd place chances of winning the title are really slim, I think at the moment 3rd is still a reasonable possibility with one of the top 3 going on a bad run, but for 2 or 3 of them to fall to pieces is extremely unlikely.

[destinydude]

It would be a massive achievement if we could finish 3rd.

Very difficult BUT not impossible. We'll have to win away at OT and emirates for this to be possible and IF Arsenal win at OT it will boost their title hopes and our 3rd spot hopes

[PTP]

We have too get another Striking option in!!! we are desperate for it imo - if we sign a decent enough striker capable of say chipping in with 5-10 goals between now and the end of the season, easing the burden off kuyt/ngog - we will make 4th.

If we don't sign another striker though - i really fear that six weeks(maybe more, lets face it any player out for 6 weeks won't be coming back 100% until he has a few games under his belt) without torres is asking an awful lot of kuyt and ngog, and by time torres gets back to full fitness it could be too late.

[S-RED]

http://weekendfootball.co.uk/statistics/form.asp

Cutrrent form stats, the gooners, mancs & Roms mob all in the top 5

[Craig_H]

I'm game if you are. What are the odds? I want to know if this will pay for my holiday this year.

And I disagree about winning all of our games. I think there will be sufficient ****-uppery in Manchester and London to enable us to draw a couple. We just need to make sure we take points off Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea and City.

Well if we win them all, we finish on 85. If we draw two and win the rest, it'll be 81.

Do you think 81 would win us the league?

I think it could be close to that, but i'm reckoning on a couple more. Maybe 84.

I stand by my view that we'll need to win every single game. And we wont do that IMO.

[Tee]

Well if we win them all, we finish on 85. If we draw two and win the rest, it'll be 81.

Do you think 81 would win us the league?

I think it could be close to that, but i'm reckoning on a couple more. Maybe 84.

I stand by my view that we'll need to win every single game. And we wont do that IMO.

What does Pele think?

[Ben_Itez]

[Craig_H]

That's the problem, if we were sat in second place with a gap of 11 points we'd still have a chance but being 11 points off the top and 10 points off 3rd place chances of winning the title are really slim, I think at the moment 3rd is still a reasonable possibility with one of the top 3 going on a bad run, but for 2 or 3 of them to fall to pieces is extremely unlikely.

I think the bigger problem is us needing to win practically every game, which wont happen. That's the frustation of letting ourselves fall so far behind. The top 3 are ALL vulnerable and will drop points. We've just allowed too big a gap to develop and we're in a position whereby they'd probably drop just enough points for us to win it, IF we won every game. And we wont.

If we currently had, say 4 more points than we do, then it'd possibly be on.

[Craig_H]

What does Pele think?

He's put the entire fee from his Viagra commercials on us

[calvoboy]

Hmm....and after Wolves and Bolton we've got the home derby, Arsenal away, then Man City at home as our next three games. I wouldn't be too confident of 9 points from those three games if we were playing great football with a fully fit side, never mind our current situation. Mind you, if we DID win all five of these games then I'd be straight down the bookies!

[Tee]

He's put the entire fee from his Viagra commercials on us

We're ****ed then.

[Craig_H]

Hmm....and after Wolves and Bolton we've got the home derby, Arsenal away, then Man City at home as our next three games. I wouldn't be too confident of 9 points from those three games if we were playing great football with a fully fit side, never mind our current situation. Mind you, if we DID win all five of these games then I'd be straight down the bookies!

Sadly it's Man City away mate.

That's the problem. Of our remaining games, we've still got to go to Arsenal, City and Man Utd. Very difficult games.

[barnes10]

Sadly it's Man City away mate.

That's the problem. Of our remaining games, we've still got to go to Arsenal, City and Man Utd. Very difficult games.

you're spot on. they are the cup finals. but ...

arsenal hauled chelsea and man u in over 6 weeks. 11 points i believe was the gap.

we can beat anyone on our day so the question is about consistency and in fact, how long it will actually take to do it.

IMO If we went unbeaten for 2 months then we are likely to be within 3 or 4points of the top. squeaky bum time? especially given how we ended last season and the fact that there are 3 teams fighting for the title (more chance of them taking points off each other).

believe? I would if we had torres back sooner. i think its too much to ask of last nights team to go unbeaten for the next month unfortunately... stranger things have happened tho havent they...

[Paul12]

If we maintain this " rich vein of form " they won't make the starting X1 mate

Of course, under Paisley if you got into the side through injury but then performed, you kept your place. (Ronnie Whelan played in midfield with 5 on his back because, when Larry Llyod was injured, they brought Peter Cormack into the midfield (and gave him the number 5 shirt) and moved Phil Thompson from midfierld to defence); Ray Kennedy replaced Cormack, and Whelan replaced Cormack.) Maybe we should do that a bit more.

A little more seriously, it has been really making me cross that Rafa thought playing a patently unfit Gerrard and Torres was better than the next best alternative. He had never done it before this season and I felt that by doing is this season he was damaging the confidence of those 'next best alternatives'. Now, we should not get too carried away by yesterday, but for the first time for ages we had 10 fit players on the pitch (Riera didn't look match fit) and hopefully a lesson has been learnt.