3 games in, the depths of a crisis reached already, the transfer window is shut, no cavalry until January (if any) Can Bruce survive it all. I do however detect a sense of optimism creeping back in. I'm happy with Bentdner would have liked niko but you can't always get what you want. I do wonder if the people are only being optimistic as we don't play again for a little while (that's when the **** seems to hit the fans) pardon the pun! So looking at the strength of the premier now the window has closed, how some of our rivals have strenghtened and some weakened looking at ourselves can we break the top 10 and make top 9. I'm still undecided I think we could get a lot of clean sheets but it's all about putting the ball in the net. I'm going to say we can get there or there abouts, avoiding injury with luck this season.
I think we will be around 10th, can't see us going much above that. Stoke and Fulham are very good sides now, hopefully the Europa distracts them.
Expecting 7th or 8th. Get this end of season slump out of the way early then a continual onward & upward march to the higher echelons of the premier league.
Being the eternal optimist, I still think we have enough in our locker to improve on last seasons 47 points. 55 - 60 points is what I think we'll be looking at, with a top 8 finish!
I agree that our points tally will be improved, but i do think the league is stronger this year, and the extra points may not improve the position. I'd see a higher tally as progress though, for sure.
If i had to put my life on it, i'd say we won't improve on last year's position. I think we have to potential within the squad to improve, but i can't see Bruce picking teams that will give me confidence. I think Man United will win the league, then probably City. Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs will all be sure to finish ahead of us, although Spurs and Arsenal are there for the taking this year just can't see anyone taking advantage. It's tough after that. I'm not too thrilled with ourselves but Villa and Everton, two clubs that would usually finish ahead of us, don't look too good, either. Stoke, Fulham, Newcastle, Bolton...could all finish ahead of us if things don't improve. Think i'll see how Bruce lines us up before i say anything definite.
The SCUM have got off to a good start - IMO this will not last as their squad is paper thin, worse than last seasons. I would put my house on us being NE Top Dogs again, finishing 8th at best and no lower than 12th. We should be aiming to break the 50 point barrier. As for the SCUM - if they are in the bottom 6 at xmas, they will gan doon, and I would just "Love IT" if that happened. Hate the t w a t s. Bart PS - lets see what the chppaz c u n t has to say about that.
Concrete... I agree with regards to the clean sheets, I think this season we will be hard to beat, it will all depend on or if the strikers/midfield wade in with the goals and hopefully Bendtner will be the spark we need. Those in the Eurpoa league could struggle in the league and I have a feeling that all not well with Spurs and Arsenal, and I defo think Everton have gone one season too many without investment especially now they have lost Arteta. I also think Villas result against Wolves also points to them struggling without Downing and Young. So is 10th possible, I think so providing our FIVE strikers now start to do the business.
I think it will be very close, pretty much agree with what KPTG said.. Utd, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs will be the top 6 again. Everton and Villa should be 7th and 8th, however they both have rather thin squads so if they suffer with injuries either are there for the taking. I think Fulham and Stoke are probably marginally stronger than us, but they have europe to distract them so again we could easily finish above them. Bolton and ourselves are pretty much on a par, but I think our squad is slightly stronger. The scum are similar to Bolton, I think our goalies, defence and midfield are quite evenly matched. I would say I think our front line is stronger but so far this season their strikers have scored a combined 2 goals and ours have got... zero so I'll keep my mouth shut. Wolves and WBA I believe we should finish above, however neither are pushovers and if we suffer injuries to key players with no backup (i.e. Bardo, Sess, Gyan) they could pip us. I am confident we will finish above Norwich, QPR, Swansea, Wigan and Blackburn. Summary: We will finish anywhere between 7th and 15th, but if I had to put money on it, I would go for 9th.