Stumbled over the line..

Finishing 4th is more of an achievement than finishing 5th or 6th.

I'm sure Hafi will prove me wrong though.

Leicester city finished 15pts higher than 4th so it certainly isn't an achievement. Truth is both teams are average as hell but both been miss managed.

Finishing outside the top 4 gives you a disadvantage in the transfer market though, despite what their fans think United just cant attract top talent like they used to and without CL football to offer it will be tougher, plus teams will sniff your desperation and hike the prices up.

The MEN ran an article saying "City set to lose out on £100m" just before you played West Ham so finishing 4th can't be that bad.

I assume that United will lose more than that.

City are in danger of losing out to Manchester United in the battle for the top four.

They sit fourth with one game to play, two points clear of fifth-placed United, who have a game in hand.

If United win their remaining two games against West Ham and Bournemouth they will secure a spot in Europe’s leading competition next season.

Sheffield Hallam University's football finance expert Rob Wilson said: "I would say it is two-pronged.

"You lose out on the Champions League revenue - about a £50m reduction, based on how City have fared this season in the Champions League (they reached the semi-finals).

"They would get a little bit from the Europa League, but nothing like the amounts they would get from the Champions League.

"The other impact we see with bigger teams that don't qualify for the Champions League is the additional transfer fees and player wage packages they have to pay out.

"If you think back to when Manchester United missed out under David Moyes, they went and spent around £60m on Angel Di Maria with a big wage package, and got Radamel Falcao in as well on big wages.

"What you tend to find is there is an inflation to get those type of players to join you when you can't offer them Champions League football.

"That could be another £50m, if they try to recruit four or five players over the summer - a prudent estimate is £10m per player."

But Wilson feels the Etihad outfit, who have Pep Guardiola coming in to replace Pellegrini as manager, can cope with the situation should it occur.

He added: "They are well-insulated against what we would call in accounting downturns in trade - they should be able to ride out that storm.

"And I think a saving grace for them in some ways is the fact that Guardiola is coming in.

"I think if that was not happening and they were out of the Champions League, they would find the player recruitment side of things that bit more challenging.

"But there will be players out there in that elite group who want to play under Guardiola, so that will help City along and means you shouldn't see a big drop off in performance level."

We make shed loads of cash. We'll be fine.

Having cash and attracting the best players are two different things

"Finishing 4th isn't an achievement. Winning the cup is and we have to ensure we do now."

not what you rags were saying a few year back when we beat you at Wembley and you were all saying it didn't matter because you "had bigger fish to fry" in Europe.

I still think winning a cup AND finishing 4th is better...


...that's just me though.

comment by Boris 'Inky' Gibson (U5901)
posted 9 hours, 47 minutes ago
I still think winning a cup AND finishing 4th is better...


...that's just me though.
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picky picky picky