Like others I am more concerned with the amount of points we get because there is little we can do about other team's tallies. Although we finished 4th 60 points is not satisfactory for this club and was, I believe, ultimately the reason it was decided Gerard had taken the club as far as he could.
I've theorised on another thread about whether having a fit Baros might have meant another 10 points. We would still have finished 4th with 70 but I think that would have been seen as a marginally more acceptable season and I think Gerard would have been given his final year.
So 70-75 points is my standard for next season. Hopefully that will achieve the following objectives anyway.
1) Stay ahead of Newcastle (and obliterate the ignominy of pacing ourselves against Charlton & Aston Villa.
2) Challenge the Mancs and possibly overtake them.
3) Move onto the shoulders of Arsenal & Chelsea ready for a challenge the season after next.
As regards the cup competitions again the round you go out in often depends on how soon you meet a team at your level. I would hope though that if we are knocked out of a competition it is not by the likes of Portsmouth (who were duly thrashed in the next round by Arsenal). (I was going to mention Bolton in that line but it has to be acknowledged that they punched above their weight in the League Cup last season. Our problem was we punched below.)
And having typed the above I am reminded of what must be our first immediate objective. We must avoid doing a Newcastle and make sure that we qualify for the Champions League proper. We will be seeded but we must hit the floor running.
