I've predicted Swansea to finish 4th in one of the other threads (seasons predictions or something) so I don't think that would be a shock If the mousers stage a top 4 challenge that would be a surprise though, I would be amazed. I would also be surprised if the goons finish in the top 6 unless they make a couple of decent signings. In fact, if they were to suffer a few serious injuries I think they could struggle, their squad is the thinnest it's been for years. Take out Carzola, Walnut and Jack Wheelchair and they could be looking at the bottom half. I also think Everton will struggle with the management changes which might shock a few and if Palace stay up I will be amazed. However, the biggest shock would be if Man U finished outside the top 4, which I think there is a fair chance of happening.
Bottom half for Arsenal??? Uh-oh, there will be backlash for that, and rightly so (sorry). I will be amazed if Arsenal finish below 5th let alone bottom half. They could lose their first XI to season long injuries and i still think they'd come top half You know that teams Wenger puts out will play nearly as well or better on grass than they do on paper, which is the opposite to virtually all other teams. He's a fantastic manager, but bloody annoying person
Their squad is currently very thin, they've cleared out some dead wood (Arshavin, Chamack and Jeronimo) but have yet to replace them. They may have been dead wood but they were useful to have as back-up. To finish bottom half they would need bad luck with injuries but if they do get injuries there's not much in reserve. Wenger might be a bloody good manager but I think the water bottles might be in for a thrashing this season.
They've got injuries now. They cleared out a bunch of their youth and squad players, too. Things are looking a bit lean at the Emirates right now. Talk of bottom half is pushing it dramatically though, in my opinion. I'd be extremely shocked if they finished outside the top 6. I expect top 5.
I hope you're right but I won't hold my breath. It would have to be some sort of biblical injury crisis to knock them out the top half, imo
Boss beat me to saying "Southampton." I tend to pair them in my mind with Swansea for having a bunch of talented young players. Things are going in the right direction, the fans are ecstatic, and Lambert may be better than ever. I also think Newcastle will bounce back, but I'm not sure that's a surprise. DeeDub, you get the coveted "going out on a limb" aka "gunning to be signature material" award.
I never visit the goons board so they can use it how they like. History is not on my side though, I didn't fancy their chances last year.
I keep refusing to make optimistic predictions, on the grounds that the God of juju will make it not happen just to spite me. My logic seems to be so well-founded I can't understand why things haven't worked out better.
Similar logic to me, I used to have a weekly bet of 10p on the goons to win hoping the god of juju would spite me.
Utd were going to drop out of the top four last season, but won the title at a canter. Arsenal would be lucky to be top six without RvP, but still made top four. I'd be careful of writing off players who have been the distance before in favour of newly assembled teams of players with big price tags on the assumption that they will gel from the start.
My major concern as well Luke, if we go into the NLD with nil points it will be bloody awful. However, fortunately we start with an away fixture so our team can get introduced to each other on the coach rather than the dressing room, so we do have a bit of pre season time.
Fulham might surprise people this season - by having a billionaire owner yet going down. Well, it would be a surprise if another West London club with a billionaire owner didn't beat them to it last season...
It's not how you've started, but how you've finished which has been decisive in the last two seasons. You've been comfortably in the top three or four going into the last 10 games. The combination of a Spurs stutter and a very strong Arsenal finish is what has done for you both times. Ironically, it's been a weak finish which has ruined a fair few title challenges for them in the past few years!
Just coincidence. If you transplanted our 10wins and a draw run to the end of the season from the beginning and transferred another 11 results back the other way we would have ended up with the same number of points. The year we stuttered it was more mid-late season and it was Harry's fault (IMO). We didn't stutter last year and if arsenal had gone purple at the beginning and not the end the result would be the same
We've always been weak in squad depth, which meant come the end of the season tiredness and injuries resulted in us bottling it. Hopefully we have addressed the issues this transfer window. At the moment unless the goons strengthen they look a little light.
Oh, come on! You're saying that it wouldn't universally be seen as a surprise if Swansea finished 4th? To do that, they have to get past Arsenal, Spurs, Everton and Liverpool, plus hold their own against the likes of WBA, Fulham, Newcastle (who surely won't be as dreadful as last season), and Sunderland (who I expect to be very difficult to beat under Di Caneo). I'm not convinced that anyone can reasonably "expect" Swansea to finish 4th.
Wouldn't surprise me, top manager, he made 8 changes for the second leg of the Ropey when 4 up from the first leg, resting players at this stage of the season is pretty cool. They are a stable team with improvements over the summer. Difficult to beat, they play great football. Their only disadvantage is Thursday nights like us. I think they will be up there or there abouts. You can still get 80:1 on the finishing in the top four so I guess it would be a surprise to many. Having said that, Gareth Bale is second favourite to be the prems top goal scorer at 16:1, now that would be a pleasant surprise wouldn't it?
