What does it take to finish top 4 or win the league?

Someone has to break the mould.

And Barce do alright bringing there own lads through do they not?

They do - but they have some very very special players.

They also aren't afraid to spend when needed.

They do - but they have some very very special players.

They also aren't afraid to spend when needed.

But they only in the past couple of seasons Barca have had the money to spend it!

Missed 80 something percent of penalties? Does anyone have the exact penalties made/penalties taken stat?

We missed 5 of 6 in the league. Three of the misses came in games we didn't win - one of them a loss, two of them draws. Could've been the difference between five points last season.

Remain solid at the back.

Control the midfield.

Be clinical up front.

Manage all three and you'll have a good chance.

Posted this in the Carrol transfer thread, but I think we are 1 player away from having a devastating starting 11.  I think Thomas Muller (as a replacement for AC) would give us a starting 11 on par or better than that of Tottenham, Newcastle, and Arsenal.  We would still be behind the likes of United, City and Chelsea's first 11 though.  However, as mentioned by BBB and PD we are still well short of quality depth.  We have a few decent backups in Shelvey, Hendo, Downing, and Kelly, but beyond that we do not really have any squad players who would really push themselves into the picture at any of the other top clubs in England. 

Reina,Johnson,Agger,Skyrtl,Enrique,Lucas,Gerrard,Suarez.
These are players I believe would fit into any CL team.I haven't included Joe Allen as we, havent seen him in a red shirt.
Downing,Borini,Henderson,Carragher,Carrol,Shelvey,Spearing,Adam,Kelly,Flanagan,Sterling et al would struggle to get into a top 4 team.
I think it leaves us way short of quality in the "squad" so to let anyone go just yet without a better replacement would be madness.
So top 4 for me would need at least one more goal scorer and one more wide player.
Sterling may improve but he is still young and I cannot see Borini getting 20 league goals.
We have the basis of a great side and a couple more "QUALITY" signings could just do get us back into contention.
Oh and for F**k sake can we win our home games this season.

But they only in the past couple of seasons Barca have had the money to spend it!

Barce have always been able to spend money - going back to the 90's when they were getting Ronaldo for 10mil plus. Then they spent fortunes on Dutch players. They never spend as much as Madrid but they aren't shy about putting their hand in their pocket

A central line that is delivering. We need Reina to do a 2009-10 season again (return to top-class form), we need Skrtel-Agger-Lucas to first stay put (Agger) then stay fit (Agger and Lucas). If Agger goes we'd better buy a proper replacement for him. Then we could do with Gerrard and Suárez having a full season together. Seeing the rare glimpses of those two brings a smile to my face (the Everton hat trick, the Gomel match et cetera). To have these key men fit for fight maintaining their composure and showing all their skill we could surprise a few people this season. To sign a goalscoring winger would help too 

Lot of great points made in here. Agree with a lot of them, especially quality depth.

I think something like self-belief and having a swagger about yourself is key as well. Hate United, but you gotta give them credit. They go out for each match believing they can win and they always give it a go. That sort of mentality is crucial for a side. I'm sure we had that swagger about ourselves in the 70s and 80s, thanks in part to Shanks and Bob of course.

One more thing to consider as well: Sometimes you just need a little bit of luck. Obviously you need more important things, but occasionally ya just need a rub of the green.

They go out for each match believing they can win and they always give it a go.

I watch them come to Anfield annually and play like a bunch of F***ing cowards.

I watch them come to Anfield annually and play like a bunch of f**king cowards.

That's true. But at Anfield is the only exception though, isn't it? I don't see them really going out afraid against anyone else in the league.

The point is, they go into every match with a sense of self-belief (arrogance?) and that's often why you see them pull out points late in matches that they don't deserve.

Big thing for me is to be solid at the back. If you don't concede goals then you don't lose. If you don't lose, then you will have a point on the board and with every point, you can build on it and aim for a win.

The next important element is to take your chances infront of goal. Last season we were pretty solid at the back but, going forward, as we all know, we had a few issues, not for the want of trying.

Belief is the next element. Without belief in your own ability as a team, you may as well not show up.

Last, but by no means least, avoid injuries and suspensions. Last season we were let down by injuries to Lucas and Gerrard, as well as the lengthy suspension to Suarez. Had even one of them not taken place, we may have finished higher up.

Missed 80 something percent of penalties? Does anyone have the exact penalties made/penalties taken stat?

All other things being the same this was the net loss:

Sunderland (H) Suárez miss 2 pts
Everton (A) Kuyt miss 0 pts
Arsenal (H) Kuyt miss 1 pt
Chelsea (H) Downing miss 0 pts

So in total we just lost three points from the spot, but we need to win those back this year, absolutely!