Title Run In

[The only place to be 11,313]

Not a bad season when Liverpool fans come so close....yet so far.

And Stevie G you cost them the league.

[Milan 17,959]

[cosmicway 1,333]

We parked the bus against MU (the 0-0), Arsenal a little (the 0-0), Atletico (0-0 again) and the strange Enfield match (2-0).

That's 4 out of of 50.

Would someone be happier if we had gone down 2-0 at Vicente Kalderon ? The Atletico fans ?

In the other matches there were some terrible performences (Basel-Palace-Sunderland-Norwich) and even in some matches that were won we did n't play well. But the reasons were other.

If you go to Atletico and don't play park the bus and still have a chance to stay alive you must have a team like Ajax 1972 ++ (*).
Those who criticise Mourinho on such grounds are therefore either football illiterate or trolls.

(*) one of the world's wonder teams made up from just local talent as well, plus a Jugoslav defender they had

[Special Juan 28,140]

Probably his first ever City match.

[BleedsBlue 1,549]

The title was in our own hands and we simply just bottled it. There is no point giving excuses, we just have to deal with it and move on.

The positive side for next season is that we will have a better side than this season and so the chances of us coming close to winning a major trophy will be higher.

[The only place to be 11,313]

The title was in our own hands and we simply just bottled it. There is no point giving excuses, we just have to deal with it and move on.

The positive side for next season is that we will have a better side than this season and so the chances of us coming close to winning a major trophy will be higher.

It's not as simple as saying we bottled it. I think what sets a league apart from a cup competition is that over 38 games, any deficiencies will be exposed. In a cup game you can maybe go 90 minutes without these being exposed if the luck goes your way. But the simple fact is that we knew we were missing quality up front and Liverpool knew they were weak in defence and the 'beauty' of this league campaign is that those weaknesses are ultimately what cost it for both teams.

Man City were by far the team with fewest weaknesses in their side which you'd expect because they are further along in their development. Toure, Hart, Kompany, Silva, Nasri, Aguero, Clichy, Kolarov and Dzeko were all part of the team which won in 2012 and are still key players in their first team. The addition of Fernandinho was probably that extra piece they needed to push them over the top even when they were missing Aguero for almost half the season.

So I don't think bottle has much to do with it.

[Madmax 9,219]

The title was in our own hands and we simply just bottled it. There is no point giving excuses, we just have to deal with it and move on.

If you're talking about the Sunderland game, that was stolen from us.

Other matches (Villa, Palace, Norwich etc), I agree.

[BleedsBlue 1,549]

It's not as simple as saying we bottled it. I think what sets a league apart from a cup competition is that over 38 games, any deficiencies will be exposed. In a cup game you can maybe go 90 minutes without these being exposed if the luck goes your way. But the simple fact is that we knew we were missing quality up front and Liverpool knew they were weak in defence and the 'beauty' of this league campaign is that those weaknesses are ultimately what cost it for both teams.

Man City were by far the team with fewest weaknesses in their side which you'd expect because they are further along in their development. Toure, Hart, Kompany, Silva, Nasri, Aguero, Clichy, Kolarov and Dzeko were all part of the team which won in 2012 and are still key players in their first team. The addition of Fernandinho was probably that extra piece they needed to push them over the top even when they were missing Aguero for almost half the season.

So I don't think bottle has much to do with it.

well we came very close to winning it without a well known striker and we just needed to win 2 crucial games(Norwich and Palace) but sadly could not. I understand we played a lot of football and unlike the other title contenders our attention wasn't fully on the league but still part of you has to agree that the team should have done better because we managed to come so far.

[Jase 43,479]

The title was in our own hands and we simply just bottled it. There is no point giving excuses, we just have to deal with it and move on.

Inclined to agree. Yes, it was incredibly frustrating and annoying that we've dropped lots of points against the lesser sides but what's even more painful, especially in our run-in, was the 2 games against Sunderland and Norwich. Can take those defeats to Palace and Villa to a certain extent but the other 2 results can make one's bloody boil given that there were home games! Looking on paper now, with those 5 extra points, we would have won the league!

[kellzfresh 7,229]

02

Inclined to agree. Yes, it was incredibly frustrating and annoying that we've dropped lots of points against the lesser sides but what's even more painful, especially in our run-in, was the 2 games against Sunderland and Norwich. Can take those defeats to Palace and Villa to a certain extent but the other 2 results can make one's bloody boil given that there were home games! Looking on paper now, with those 5 extra points, we would have won the league!

Exactly. Forget the astonvilla and palace.... Norwich and sunderland were our home games!!

We should have gotten 87points with 2 home wins and we didn't.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Exactly. Forget the astonvilla and palace.... Norwich and sunderland were our home games!!

We should have gotten 87points with 2 home wins and we didn't.

And we should've dropped a point against West Brom at home. But we should've gone more attacking at Old Trafford. And what if Lamps shot was an inch lower at Arsenal. But what if Aguero hadn't have been injured and Liverpool shut up shop against us and Palace. And if Torres had been a few feet further forward at Palace. Or Cech hadn't have gotten injured in Madrid.

Ifs and buts can drive you crazy, but the best team probably won the league this year as they do most years. Talk about us bottling it is a little harsh when the reality is that we didn't have a decent striker up top.

[The Mak 4,459]

That picture just sums this season up, disappointing.

City never really 'won' it, they sort of got the league by default. They have the better overall squad than both us and Liverpool, but they still had to rely on both of us slipping up ( :ph34r2:) and until the very last day. Sure if you're a City fan you're delighted that your team has won the league, but in no way would I be thoroughly convinced by them or particularly the manager. In all honesty, with that squad compared to everyone else's, City should be winning the league comfortably.

So that's why I couldn't disagree more when people (in general) say 'this has been the best PL season ever'. Maybe I'm just biased because we threw it away, but so did Liverpool. When two teams do that it makes for an anti-climatic end to say the least.

The simple fact of the matter is, the dynamic of this team changes as soon as we get a top striker, nevermind other targets. So I've no doubts that if City want to win it next year they'll have to thoroughly earn it, and not rely on others to hand it to them (which is what the fan in the picture is admitting to).

[lionsden 4,689]

We did well to even challenge for the title to be fair as our squad , as I have been saying all along, was no where near good enough and massively overrated. The quality of our football,lack of youth transition into the first team and Jose's antics were my main issue with the season. while we weren't good enough to finish above city, I thought we should have done much better in terms of transitioning.

at the current pace of development, next season will be yet another transitional season as I expect to see plenty of deadwood shifting, player acquisition and hopefully youth integration and implementation of a new philosophy.

So 2016/17 season is when the manager will have absolutely no excuse to not win the league.

[bushman 2,043]

Citeh will be a tough team to dethrone next season. I am almost certain that Citeh are adding a player or two in the summer.
Jose has got to capitalize on the next season or Roman is ready to send him home.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

02

And we should've dropped a point against West Brom at home. But we should've gone more attacking at Old Trafford. And what if Lamps shot was an inch lower at Arsenal. But what if Aguero hadn't have been injured and Liverpool shut up shop against us and Palace. And if Torres had been a few feet further forward at Palace. Or Cech hadn't have gotten injured in Madrid.

02

Ifs and buts can drive you crazy, but the best team probably won the league this year as they do most years. Talk about us bottling it is a little harsh when the reality is that we didn't have a decent striker up top.

We don't have the best strike force as the best strikers always seem to top the premier league in the past 10 years, but we were almost there and should have done better at the last games in the bridge.

[LAB 1,030]

Citeh will be a tough team to dethrone next season. I am almost certain that Citeh are adding a player or two in the summer.

Jose has got to capitalize on the next season or Roman is ready to send him home.

You have the sight now Neo!

[bushman 2,043]

You have the sight now Neo!

Stick around, I may even send you a bottle of ouzo.

[Ledg 643]

With their fine and 21-man squad (if i'm not mistaken) next season it's gonna be really tough for them.

We know what we need to do next season. Play the big matches the same way as this season and find a way to beat the smaller teams.

[LAB 1,030]

Stick around, I may even send you a bottle of ouzo.

I am definitely sticking around but don't bother. I produce my own.

[bushman 2,043]

Citeh fine is peanuts. Am I missing something, I thought their squad is limited for the CL competition only or isn't it?