I'm liking the confidence in here, though I'm not sure I necessarily share it. We certainly could challenge for the title, but I think we'd have to be very lucky with injuries, and hope that things go well for us elsewhere. We've got a stunning attack and, provided we defend better as a team and Coutinho knuckles down and stops dreaming of Gaudi and tapas, anything's possible.
Ultimately though, I think we'll fall short of the very highest echelons of the league. I think I put 3rd or 4th in the preseason round table, and I'm going to stick with that. We're a very good team in full flow, particularly in an attacking sense, but I just think the lack of a truly top quality aerially dominant centre half will see us drop a few silly points over the ourselves of the season. I'd be quite happy with anywhere in the top four mind, as I think it's going to be very competitive this year, even with most of our rivals missing out on key signings in similar ways to us.
Regarding the cups, I've no idea. Any silverware would be fantastic, of course it would, but I hope we concentrate on the league as that's the most important competition for our continued development. Becoming a team that gets into the top four consistently, and is perceived as getting into the top four consistently, is crucial, not only for player recruitment but also for keeping the stars that we are creating. The draw for the group stage was very kind to us, so hopefully we get into the knockout stages at least but after that, it is quite literally a case of luck of the draw. I can see us us getting to the final or getting knocked out in the first round. Either way I'm not hugely bothered, it's just nice to be back with the big boys.
So yeah, 3rd or 4th in the league, anything else is a bonus. Whatever happens we'll be seeing some of the best attacking football played anywhere on earth and I find it hard to be upset with that.
