Play offs imo. Leeds, Sheff Utd and Burnley will be up there. After those three I don’t think there’s a better team than us. Burnley have started really poorly, their xG so far this season is shocking - only Plymouth, Cardiff and Preston lower. I expect them to improve and they’ve some good players returning from injury soon so they’ll only get better imo. Those 3 plus us, boro and one more will make up the top 6.
I'm going 1 of those 2 options. If we continue as we are, there's no reason we can't stay in the top 2. I was listening to Gary Bennett on TotalSport on the way home from work on Friday night and he brought up Ipswich last season. Everyone expected them to fall away after a good start but they never did, who's to say we can't do the same? Saying that, I've told the missus to keep May free just in case!
Just playing devil's advocate mate but we've got good players to come back from injury, 2 have yet to make their debut.
Yeh I’m excited to see Samed play but think we’ve been doing pretty well without him whereas Burnley have been dreadful so far yet still up the top end of the table somehow. It’s a real shame Huggins can’t stay fit because with him and a few others ie Samed, Alese back from injury we’d have a real strong bench.
Then who's to say we can't step up and do even better than we are at the moment? I'm not saying that we're gonna romp the league but we're playing good football and it's not lucky that we're still top after 9 games - that's a sign of a bloody good side. Let Burnley fans worry about their side, I'm seriously enjoying things at the minute and I reckon it can get better
We defo can in my opinion, Samed will be better than Neil as the 6. But I guess it’s like asking if you think Liverpool will win the league because they’re top at the minute. You’d still fancy City and Arsenal to finish above them. Sometimes teams don’t start too well but the performances are there whilst others pick up results and the performances aren’t quite as good ie Preston last season. Top at this stage iirc. We’re much better than them though so be good to see how we go, exciting season ahead hopefully.
Play offs and finishing the season above the Boro, is all I ask . They are the benchmark for me still.
Sheff Utd and Leeds will be top 2. If we finish in top 6 I'll be very happy. Can see the final table being Sheff Utd Leeds --- Burnley West Brom Norwich Sunderland
Been a fantastic start really. Beyond my expectations for sure. I had a look back at my post earlier and was keen on a CB coming in and sorting the striker. Well Mayenda did that, and maybe Connelly will take us further. However, Mepham for me has transformed my thinking. I didnt anticipate being able to attract a player that good at CB. He is so good for this level. And seems a perfect fit with us. We are top of the league and still fans want change. Neil should be dropped and it was a mistake giving him the captaincy. Hume is too slow and playing like he is scared of a tackle. Mundles decision making needs to improve (I said that ), Roberts end product needs to improve. I reckon we all need to just enjoy what the players and coaches are producing for us. I said a while ago we wont really gel until after Christmas. I still thank that may be true. Imagine! Aim high I say. Top 2. Us and Sheff Utd battling it out for the title.
I'd snap your hand off for 6th. That isn't being negative either, 6th would be a great result after last season and would be a real sign of progress. We've had a great start and I was thinking yesterday that I probably would've been content if we were just in the top half going into the 2nd international break so to be top is excellent. Leeds will win the league I'm pretty confident of that. 2nd could turn into a right scrap between numerous clubs. I think Burnley haven't been great but aren't losing games (apart from against us), Sheff Utd are getting results but I don't think they've played all that well so they'll either improve the performances and keep up the results or the results will drop off if the performances remain as they are, only conceding 3 goals in 9 games is impressive mind. WBA have a great coach but their squad is lacking and their financial situation means I don't think that squad will improve in January. Norwich started poor but have really impressed in recent weeks. Boro will start to pick up wins otherwise Carrick will be out of a job. If before the start of the season you offered me 7 points from Burnley, Boro and Leeds at home I absolutely would've taken it. I would like to see some improvements in terms of dominating games and having more control. We have the players to do it. Games against the weaker sides in the league we should be dominating the ball and creating numerous big chances, at home especially. Feeling pretty confident about us being in and around the promotion race though. We still have some pretty good players who haven't featured yet or have only played a handful of minutes.
Bookies rarely get it wrong. I'll remind you all of BetVictor 28th July 2024... (apologies for the long article)... 1st – Sunderland The common approach to judging teams ahead of a new season is looking at where they finished in the previous campaign as a benchmark, before making a prediction based upon improvements made through positive recruitment or a managerial appointment. In this case, Sunderland finished 16th last year. Nevertheless, our prediction isn’t primarily based on signings nor, especially, the appointment of Régis Le Bris as head coach. So, why do we have them as our Championship title-winners? The answer: the anticipation of rapid, seismic developmental growth. Let us explain. Under the ownership of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, and the guidance of technical director Kristjaan Speakman, the Black Cats have adopted black kittens, employing an uncompromisingly youth-led recruitment and strategic policy. This policy has helped them attain, and retain, the prodigious talents of Dan Neil, Jobe Bellingham, and Chris Rigg. Neil has recently added a defensive reliability to the control and creativity he’s demonstrated since coming into the side as a teenager. Jobe is making a name for himself in his own right after snubbing Spurs, while Rigg plays with a fearlessness that suggests the 17-year-old could become anything he wants. Furthermore, Sunderland also boast recent France U20s prospects in Pierre Ekwah and Adil Aouchiche, both now 22. The former brings an infectious energy while the latter possesses stunning vision. And that’s just in midfield! The Wearsiders also possess two of the best wingers in the Championship in Patrick Roberts and Jack Clarke, if the latter were to stay. They equally boast one of the top right-backs in the tenacious Trai Hume, who also has the intelligence to invert into midfield. The potential in this squad is through the roof, to the extent that it might only take a few subtle tweaks and shifts for them to go from being bottom half dwellers to one of the greatest second-tier sides of all time. One of those tweaks is having a more settled environment under a good coach. After the chaos caused last season by Tony Mowbray’s dismissal and Michael Beale’s appointment, perhaps Le Bris can live up to his reputation in France as a respected developer of talent. A second can be the young players, themselves, having had a couple of seasons of development under their belts, beginning to learn how to translate their glowing youth reputations into the senior game. It’s common for elite youth talents to underwhelm in men’s football in their first season or two, but to then enjoy an enormous spike in their progress. In Sunderland’s case, just three teenagers remain in their 27-man first-team squad. 17 are now into their early 20s, at an age where they can be relied on to consistently influence games at Championship level. The third is the influence of Luke O’Nien, who’ll be their most important player: even if he doesn’t start a single game. The 29-year-old never had the natural ability most of Sunderland’s squad possesses, but he’s overcome his technical limitations – and every other challenge that’s come his way – with the same relentless positivity, infectious exuberance and sheer determination. Having signed as a midfielder in 2018, the utility man has also filled in at both full-back and wing-back spots, operated as a pressing #10. More recently, he has established himself at centre-back in the last two seasons. In fact, O’Nien initially covered central defence in 2022-23 due to injuries, but he played so well there that he started 43 league games in that position last season: an extraordinary mentality. So, if the former Wycombe man can rub off on natural centre-backs like key man Dan Ballard, who himself has now played 61 games for Sunderland, Nectarios Triantis and Jensen Seelt, as well as the rest of the squad, that will make a transformative difference. If this young group adopt that same mentality as O’Nien, with greater ability, they’ll improve exponentially and hit some incredible heights. The O’Nienification process will be helped, further, by the addition of midfielder Alan Browne, who plays every game with a unique urgency. Browne is 29, while Simon Moore has signed at 34 to back-up an outstanding goalkeeper in Anthony Patterson. Evidently, Sunderland have been prepared to compromise their policy this summer to fine-tune the balance between youth and experience. So, why do we have Sunderland as champions? This is the highest-potential squad in the league by a country mile. The Black Cats have already had two years of exposure, with most players about to hit their peak. This, alongside a few experienced heads now to lean on, with perhaps a more stable coaching regime for guidance. Add the right striker and it could be a perfect storm…
My badly worded response was meant to ask who drops out to make way for injured and or yet untried good players.
Very interesting thread this and shows how little we actually know collectively. Of course we can improve and of course we may well lose top spot. But the fears about not being able to score goals, too vulnerable in defence, no strikers, etc, aren't necessarily correct ... we've had periods of conceding no goals and others where we seem to be able to score at will. This will change, in different periods of the season, so you can always find one to prove or disprove a point. Players will have good, bad and ugly spells. What stands out, for me, is that the fears about 'RLB's style of play' were pretty pointless. He doesn't have a style of play, he has basic building blocks upon which the players construct a match depending on the way the opposition play and how the game is going. In other words, totally unpredictable ... ... as things stand we might finish almost anywhere, and we still have new players to field who may be better than anything we currently have, not to mention injuries to come back. I'm loving it all, even when the players fail to work things out quickly enough and lose. For the cost of this squad, the age of them and the way most have been written off, at times, it's little short of incredible imo.
19 points just isn’t enough to stay up. Need to more than double that by end of season to be sure of safety. Honestly, the club really need to get their act together
Feeling great about this season. Doing better than expected and still lots of room for improvement. Feels like we’re playing within ourselves at times but confidence will keep growing. We’ll have a dip, but not by much/for long. KTF and let’s gan up all guns blazing
