Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15 ed

[SA Gunner]

Here we go again.

I season or two ago, I posted a similar thread, asking Gooners to put forward their minimal requirements which deems this season a success, relatively speaking and all things considered.

For me, Ill say.

A defensive mid in January
3rd placed finish
Quarter final in the Champions League

Anything more than this, for me and we into bonus territory.

Edit. DF to DM for me actually.

 

[Jury]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

For me, a legit title challenge was minimal. Anything without that was failure, unless we won the CL.

3rd and a CL QF surely can not be seen as a successful season how ever which way you look at it.

 

[truth_hurts]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

3rd place or higher is progress although the points gap is unforgivable.

QF minimum of the champions league.

at least SF of FA cup.

I've wrote off this season to be honest.

 

[Toast]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

Before the season started I had defined our mininum target for the season as 'genuine improvement'. I find it a bit difficult to define it in terms of trophies / league table spots alone because a big part of it all is improvements on the pitch in the style and quality of our play. That includes tactical improvments, improved rotation/squad management etc. That all hasn't happened, unfortunately.
Purely in terms of trophies the minimum for me would still simply be 'genuine improvement'. So '3rd + League Cup final + F.A. Cup final' or a genuine title challenge all the way till the end of the season. A CL final would do.

It saddens me that the club's rhetoric is all about achieving 'top four', when van Gaal at Man United, for example, is talking about wanting to win the title this season - despite the top four target set by the club. They, like us, don't have a snowball's chance in hell at the title, but at least they're aiming for it.

 

[SA Gunner]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

For me, a legit title challenge was minimal. Anything without that was failure, unless we won the CL.

3rd and a CL QF surely can not be seen as a successful season how ever which way you look at it.

Thus relatively speaking Jury, what the **** did you expect when you saw Wenger failing in key areas in our transfer market? Revamping our successful playing formation and style from last season. A title challenge?

Of course our season targets needed readjusting.

With that being said, we still only 12 points off the top, 3 points off third with our injury situation potentially giving us a fresh Özil, Walcott, Ramsey, Wilshere, Kos and (surprisingly) Giroud for the second half of the season. In short, there are enough ****ups happening around us to give us a shout at a respective finish.

 

[Anzac]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

For me, a legit title challenge was minimal. Anything without that was failure, unless we won the CL.

3rd and a CL QF surely can not be seen as a successful season how ever which way you look at it.

Thus relatively speaking Jury, what the **** did you expect when you saw Wenger failing in key areas in our transfer market? Revamping our successful playing formation and style from last season. A title challenge?

Of course our season targets needed readjusting.

With that being said, we still only 12 points off the top, 3 points off third with our injury situation potentially giving us a fresh Özil, Walcott, Ramsey, Wilshere, Kos and (surprisingly) Giroud for the second half of the season. In short, there are enough ****ups happening around us to give us a shout at a respective finish.

For mind that would see us retaining the status quo = top4.

 

[ArsenesNO1Fan]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

A very successful season would be a title challenge or a real CL challenge/run

Decent level of success is still 4th even if no one likes it and it sounds boring. When you look at what Liverpool and United spent and the fact that Sp**s signings have had a year to bed in it is/was still a potential year to drop out of the top 4

 

[SA Gunner]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

For mind that would see us retaining the status quo = top4.

And exactly what Wenger would say in May, when its time to judge. Conveniently shifting away from the transfer window, Özil's injury, our 4141 tampering.

Ive come to accept that this is as good as it gets under Arsène. Maybe we can get some good fortune in the cup runs (including the CL), but the league? Forget it.

4th would be status quo, 3rd would equal a little icing, I want that. Of course the added bonus of United having to struggle in a qualifier or worse is also sweet consolation.

 

[Anzac]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

3rd place or higher is progress although the points gap is unforgivable.

QF minimum of the champions league.

at least SF of FA cup.

I've wrote off this season to be honest.

This for me.

In addition I wanted us to establish ourselves in a clear top3 fighting for the title and clearing away from the rest.

I wanted AW to directly address the squad and team issues, and to sort the on pitch tactics.

He can still achieve this but not if he retains HIS status quo.

 

[Hunta]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

3rd in the league, SF's of the CL and FA Cup.

Wenger should have built a team to challenge with the money he had available, our league form has been shocking.

 

[CurryFlavoured]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

We should be challenging better, not necessarily winning the title but not the fade we saw last season. Position inside the top 2-4 doesn't matter that much, we could come 3rd this season and still be miles behind City and Chelsea. It's the points gap and how long we sustain touching distance that matters.

QF or further in CL and a strong defence of the FA Cup. Better performance/tactics in big games and better squad management, in other words learning from last seasons massive errors.

 

[SiMamu]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

The season's definitely a write off now, but the minimum for it to be acceptable as a platform to build on next season:
- 3rd placed finish - no more qualifiers in August.
- Quarter Final in CL - haven't done that in a while, progress in a way.
- Cup run in FA Cup - not necessarily win it, but something to perk the interest.

 

[Mastadon]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

Mine would be the same as simamu. I'm hoping for a good run and draws in the CL cos you never know what can happen in a k/o competition. FA Cup again maybe?

 

[bingobob]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

I'm not sure but I'd say it's a minimum forth place finish with a cup in the bag.

I genuinely saw us as contenders this year our squad is good enough but we use it in the wrong way.

 

[redanddread]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

* Top 4 minimum and at least a realistic battle with UTD for 3rd.

* SF of the CL - If we were able to achieve this then it would be a big confidence boost for the club

* A long run in the FA Cup

* Win a couple of games against UTD, Liverpool, City & Chelsea before the end of the season


All of these targets are achievable but tough and as such the club will hopefully not "settle" for our customary 4th place trophy, a bashing by the big boys in the CL and a stuttering run in the domestic cups.

Regardless of injuries, missing DM's & missing CB's, this team (manager included) needs to show that they aren't flat track bullies and actually have the belief and know how to beat the big boys, occasionally

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

Visible signs of progress in the second half of the season basically.

I'd take CL quarter finals as a minimum but should be aiming for Semis.

FA Cup, I wouldn't say retaining it is a requirement but taking it seriously.

3rd would be great.

 

[Anzac]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

Question - are these requirements the same as what was held at the start of the season?
and if not then why have they changed & should they have?
Should the requirements be the same?

 

[Iceman10]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

Question - are these requirements the same as what was held at the start of the season?
and if not then why have they changed & should they have?
Should the requirements be the same?

As far as the PL is concerned I said before the season started that top 3 would be nice as progress, top 4 would be minimum. The reason being that although we are in a new era (of spending power) our net spending 2008 until summer 2013 (pre-Özil) was near zero when City and Chelsea had both spent hundreds of millions on their squads so there is time required for catch up and I expect a legitimate challenge for the PL come the 2015/16 season. There was also consideration of losing Sagna and the issue of having to replace before getting to add and that was a setback which slowed things down, as it is we made five signings last summer.

In terms of assessing my pre-season top 3 target - there is no doubt we have underperformed so far this season and it will be a struggle now to displace United. In that sense there is no doubt a situation of where we are currently being behind where we should be and to a certain extent we have actually been lucky staying in touch with top 4 in that many other teams have unexpectedly dropped more points than normal. The situation with lack of depth of CB's is perhaps the biggest negative for me, as it is indefensible, a risk that was taken and backfired spectacularly with Kos/Debuchy injuries.

 

[halfvolley]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

If at the end of this season I'm feeling genuinely optimistic for next season, I'll be happy.

I had, just like every other Gooner, hoped for better than this. Actually winning the title was always going to be a long shot, but I really thought we might put in a decent challenge this year at least.

What I want is a spring that makes me feel like there's hope next year, that's more important than whether we end up in third or fourth or whatever.

Saying that though, a nice cup run would be great fun, and I expect us to at least reach the QFs in the CL.

 

[GDeep™]

Re: Your minimal requirements for a successful season 14/15

You look at the squad at the start of the season and estimate from there after comparing with your competition.

We had the third best squad I felt, but a distant third, we're not on the same planet as Chelsea and City - so top four was minimal.

Said the same at the start of the season. I'm one of the few realistic people on this forum.