Hull City
Man United
Manchester United’s 1-0 loss at West Ham on Sunday means we are just one point above fifth-placed Liverpool – with a game in hand on our rivals.
After the last-gasp defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday, the reverse a the weekend increased the pressure on our top-four aspirations.
There are now just four matches to go until the end of the Premier League campaign, with an Emirates FA Cup final after that to follow, against Manchester City.
On this week’s episode of The Debate, our panellists discussed whether the Reds could earn Champions League football for next season, as the conclusion of the current one fast approaches, and whether they would prefer to sacrifice a top-four slot if it meant they stopped City’s hopes of a possible Treble.
“I think if you ask anyone to do with the club, you need to be in the Champions League next season,” said former United Women goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain.
“Financially, it’s really important. Transfer business over the summer is really important.”
Neil Custis, of The Sun, agreed with Chamberlain, citing Champions League qualification as a catalyst for the Reds ultimately closing the gap at the top of the Premier League.
“I think they have to be back in the Champions League and I think you’d have to take the Champions League [over the FA Cup],” he said.
“You look at the league, [we can see] how far the club is progressing as a whole. And if it flops outside the top four, you think it yourself, ‘we’re still miles behind. we’re still miles behind the top.’
“We haven’t had a title challenge here for 10 years and not being in that top four really starts to hit home when you end up in the Europa League.
“Big nights like being in the Bernabeu, being in the Nou Camp, being in the San Siro is what this club was about and, you know, what the fans love and what keeps them at the top table. And it’s important that they get back up there.”
Wes Brown, who played in United’s Treble-winning team in 1999, says that both preventing Manchester City from emulating that success and earning a top-four finish is ‘in United’s hands.’
“I would want to be in the Champions League,” he said. “I think it’s been too long. You know, it’s a place where the club needs to be and we’ve done so well this season.
“Obviously, we wouldn’t want them to do the Treble, but, ultimately, we have to be in the Champions League.
“It’s in Manchester United’s hands, for me. We can prevent it from happening in that FA Cup final, let’s hope that is exactly what happens.”
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