With the obvious revenue stream together with the global status of the tournament, The Champions league becomes more and more valuable season on season. We can say the top 6 is now a top 7, therefore it's evidently harder to get into a top 4 spot. I suspect it's dawned on the players that the fight for it is going to be considerable, not just this season, but every season, and the slow start (Pre WC) has made that already hard job even harder. If we are to attract top ranked talent, then securing a place in CL is paramount, no superstar will want, or accept anything less. The first and most important issue towards giving us a chance of top 4 is tightening up at the back, the defensive high-line has been found wanting and we are gifting chances/goals to the opposition far too easily. Concentration and reading the game needs to improve, also, being aggressive and on the front foot.... again, we have been far too lax in the tackle, with opposition getting shots off at will.
By the end of the season 3 of the big teams will not qualify for Europe's elite competition...let's not be one of them
Happy New Year
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