Can we stay at sixth

It looks like a scrap is going to develop between ourselves and Liverpool for sixth place.

The big question is can we stay there.

Answer quite possibly but it it'll be a hard scrap and the decisive factor could be Sunderland V Live pool at the Stadium of light.

Quite honestly I didn't think we would have been here. Nor did I think we would stay there so long but now that we are I'm sure every one of our players will want to hang on in there.

Looking at the remaining fixtures I think the run in is pretty even in terms of possible points. We have some difficult games and so do they so it will be interesting.

If the worst comes to the worst 7th or at a push 8th will be a respectable finish to the season and keeps us on target, but wouldn't it be nice to get a feel of European football, even for a short time.

 

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I'm not sure who Liverpool are at the moment... they looked like a team of misfits for the first half of the season but now with 'King Kenny' their confidence seems to be sky high and that counts for a lot. However I'm not convinced... none of their last three wins were against teams playing at their best or challenging for Europe.

There's no reason to be daunted by the likes of Liverpool; our squad is looking like the real deal (although I do think we lack depth - stating the obvious there probably) and in future seasons I think we should be believing that 5 or 6 should be our target.

At the begining of the season I think there was a consensus that 'top 10' was our target whereas now I do believe most of us are looking for more... that said (and I would love to see us in Europe) I honestly worry that it would be at least a season too soon and the strain on our squad could be damaging; I think Fulham are a good example of how European footy probably did them no good in the Prem.

 

The fact that we sit in February talking about it is unbelievable to me. First thought is no, we cant finish above Liverpool, then you look at our team, who is still to come in, the improvement we keep showing and you think, why not.

 

We have been very unlucky with injuries this season otherwise we may have been placed even higher in the league - we have also given away a lot of points in games we should have won (then again I guess most teams can say that). I am optimistic about our chances of a top 7 finish this season but I still think we need more depth in the squad if we are to play in Europe. Rome wasnt built in a day - I am sure this concern is even now being addressed by the the holy trinity.
We also need to tap into other income streams for the club so we can afford the expnsion that is to come. With the recession it is going to be hard for supporters around Sunderland to afford to attend matches - as usual the North East is bearing the worst of the recession. I have seen threads worrying about lower attendances, one problem is showing the games in pubs near the ground and another is live internet streams. The club needs to tap into the earning potential of live streams - I dont have the answer of how to set this up as the downside of live streams would be to errode match attendance but I can see this being the future of how at least some supporters will watch matches, though to me it can never replace actually being there. Internet streams would be a good way of increasing the fan base and to attract supporters from around the world. There would be some money to be made if streams were made available post match (as long as the match is not being braodcast on TV) - I would certainly buy into that.

 

I would be happy with a top 10 that is a massive improvement.

I cant see us staying 6th, to many injuries to key players now.

Im just happy we are not in our usual relegation battle

 

I think it will be tough for us to do that now, Liverpool are the danger IMO

I suppose the game against them in a few weeks might be important if we can sneak a win??

 

Liverpool are on a roll, Kenny has got the spirit back in the team, I fear we will lose 6th to them sooner rather than later, but I do think we will hold onto 7th, I cant see any other team challenging for that 7th spot.

 

7th I think will be where we will probably end up though if we can win on saturday and liverpool lose to Chelsea it gives us a nice gap. Brilliant season so far regardless and we have the scousers at home which is important.

 

I agree...but in a way i would rather lose 6th spot sooner rather than later...it would be gutting to lose it with 2/3 games to go in the season.....i feel there is no other risk below us to battle for 7th and we have the quality and in a few weeks will have the depth to sustain our position.

 

well i personally think we wil win saturday, liverpool will lose against chelsea on sunday. a 5 point gap again. then we play them 3 weeks later

 

For once, I agree with you Chris

 

We are sixth on merit after 25 games. I can't see any reason why we can't maintain our position over the next few months.
Liverpool are closing mainly due to the fact they have had a fantastic run of fixtures.
We'll see this weekend if Liverpool have improved or as I expect just flattered to deceive.

 

I think Liverpool will be without Carroll for a few more weeks yet which helps our cause. I know Suarez scored last night but if he took time to settle to the pace of the Premier League I think we still have a decent chance of hanging on to sixth spot. I don't rate the Liverpool strikers who are still there, Ngog and Kuyt, in terms of being consistent scorers. If Carroll and Suarez are not contributing then Liverpool may suffer a dip in form. Time will tell.

 

I hope the team are mentally aiming for 5th or higher! Aim high to gurantee we are still fighting for that 6th place come the end of the season.

I am just so pleased to be talking about this possibilty than worrying from match to match about who is going to finish beneath us in the relegation places.

 

It’s absolutely amazing, I’m a sunderland supporter ….everyone is talking about the possibility of european football….....Stunned, usually talking about the R word, who is below us who do they have to play, how can we scrape enough points. It’s brilliant, competing with the so called big four, and giving pretty much as good as we get. I’m sure we can hold on to 6th, it just depends on the games against the bottom teams…the one’s we should win. That’s where we often come unstuck.
A quick question, if one of the top four win the FA cup, how does that affect the european places?

 

The Sunderland V Liverpool game is a must win but i'm not concerned at all, we have the team to beat anyone at home, well almost anyone, Chelsea excluded.

 

Well i'm just hoping arsenal win the Carling Cup and another team who finish in CL places win FA cup cos then there will be 2 extra europa league places i think which means 7th would still equal europe XD

 

if we had catts welbeck turner back i would say we might but i think we want them back sooner rather than later and thats including sess and muntari, the news that catts is out for another month is a big blow we just cant seem to get a settled team this season and i think weve done fantastic to be in the position we are with the injuries weve had so it will be a big ask but who knows depends what muntari and sess are like for us and how well they settle in and the liverpool game and spurs are going to be massive to us

 

Can we finish 6th ? Well, call me a "Glass half empty" kind of bloke but 45 years of supporting Sunderland suggests that disappointment is just around the corner !

Yes we could finish 6th but I think it's unlikely. 7th seems more achievable to me - something I'd be more than happy about ! I just think the lack of fit strikers is a worry as is the usual Sunderland trait of building up expectation only to disappoint !

Anything top 10 is a big improvement - as long as we finish above the skunks that is !

 

Understand your sentiments Exile but you have to admit, in the 45 years you've followed the lads, we've never had a team or management structure in place like we do now so i'm going with "Glass half full" we will finish top 6.