Personally i think our main threats will come from West Ham and Birmigham who should still have a decent squads available, Middlesboro could surprise a few, Brighton will have the momentum of promotion and a new stadium to play in (just like we had) and could be dark horse, Leicester, Forest and Burnley will be there or thereabouts. Cardiff without Dave Jones and Leeds who will probably lose Snodgrass, Johnsson and Gradel in the summer, i would expect to be mid table at best. Of the rest i think therer all much of a muchness and if we can back up our away from with decent results at home, there is no reason why we cant be in the play offs come next May
I think it's still too early to tell so a lot of this is hypothetical, but as things stand i would agree with most of what you said, though it really does depend on who WHU and Brum keep hold of and in the Hammers case how things ppan out financially. The way Boro finished this season you'd expect them to be up there, Leicester can throw the cash about, Brizzle improved in the later part of the season and then you've got your usual suspects of forest, reading, burnley, watford, tws and ourselves. Peterborough will be in a relegation fight for me, but i expect brighton and southampton to do well next season. Then chances are we'll see a suprise package from somewhere, Coventry/Derby maybe? Could be a hard season ahead for Cardiff i think. Like i say, all hypothetical at this moment in time but you can see already that unless we draw in some signings that will make everyone sit up and take notice we aren't going to be favourites to go up, and will be merely drark horses. And tbh, being discounted and unnoticed suits us fine! For what it's worth, i'll back us to finish in the top 6 next season.
I doubt west ham will be that much of a threat. They're going to have to offload most of their first team squad as they're buggered financially and they're all on silly wages. They will however be able to attract a lot of good players there seeing as though they are a big club with a good manager. Same with birmingham I think. They'll have to ship a few first teamers out. I think our biggest threat will come from burnley and leicester. Two good championship sides with good managers and a sturdy financial foundation to build upon. I reckon anywhere from 12th to 8th for us next season (I was right last season!).
We shouldn't fear anybody as we will be starting the season on a solid footing with all of the players fully committed to us, unlike last year when the club was dangling by a thread with all the Premiership deadwood weighing us down. Only Jimmy to go and the ginger madman in defence and then it's a new slate for the club. Top 6, and if we get a creative player or two, then pushing for the automatic, and I'm not getting carried away either.
Fear everyone. We're not very good, a lot of people have fooled themselves into thinking we are. We've got a manager who's average at best, and a team full of young kids who've yet to prove themselves, but are classed as "young and hungry" because they've come from Man Utd and they're under 23. We'll languish in the bottom half of table all season. Get real.
the reaper? don't fear but surely WHU will be favs, Boro, Leicester, Forest to do well, we'll be in a fight hopefully top 6 but progress all the same will be top 8 and in the hunt.
The same "not very good" young players who up until the last few weeks of the season were in with a chance of the play-offs! I think you previously (rightly) said in a thread that last season we were lacking in midfield. With a couple of decent acquisitions there I don't see any reason why we can't be in the play offs or thereabouts. And to answer the thread, fear no-one. Respect them - yes, but fear them - no
We've already lost Johnson who's an average Championship player who wasn't good enough. Lose both Snodgrass and Gradel? Don't make me laugh. And people are very quick to write off Cardiff this season - they aren't in financial doodoo as far as I can tell, still have plenty of quality in their squad and a new and improved manager could be just the breath of fresh air they need.
If Ipswich get Chopra and a few other half-decent signings, I can see them doing well. Jewell may think he's a pornstar, but he's not that bad a manager.
Well said, we should respect our opponents but certainly not fear them. That's the philosophy of most championship teams, hence why it's so competative! I still think it'll be a close league again with not much between most teams, it's just a case of who can put a good run of form together and be consistent over the season. As for Percival, if that really is your outlook for the season then don't bother turning up to games!
It's just a realistic statement, everybody on here is fooling themselves into thinking we have a chance, we don't. We're not good enough, and for the foreseeable future we won't be good enough to go up. Look at our players, what have any of them ever done? What has the manager ever done? A play-off finish with Leicester, yet some on here act like he was sent by God to show the world football management. When in fact all he is is a manager who took a job knowing he couldn't fail, with a chairman who is far too stubborn to admit he's got yet another managerial appointment wrong. They say the table never lies, well it ****ing did last season, 11th? We deserved nowhere near that, our football was awful, and quite frankly, we rode our luck last year and ended up with a league position far higher than our football deserved. I hope I'm wrong, but as I ne-he-eeeever am, we're gonna have a long hard, probably worse, season season next season. Stop kidding yourselves.
Fair do's, that's your opinion. I think you'll find most of us are cautiously optomistic for the coming season, with it still been early June we have no idea how oursleves or our rivals will shape up. I won't 100% say we'll go up, there's too many teams going for those 6 places for probably any team to say they can be nailed on certs for promotion. For you that might be realistic, but for the rest of us it's nothing short of pessimism. NP might not have us playing like Barcelona but we aren't a team that should be in the bottom half by any means. When Cameron Stewart comes back we should have more of a cutting edge, plus any new recruits we get will surely improve the team. Add in the likes of Rosenior, Fryatt, Chester, Simpson, Koren, Evans etc you have the makings of a decent squad who should be competing at the right end of the league. NP is no Mourinhio, but he steadied a sinking ship last season and is a good manager who gets the best out his teams. There was a reason Leicester wanted to keep him last summer and eyebrows were raised when he came here. Southampton fans also speak highly of him. Of course, it what he does here that counts but we're heading in the right direction with NP finally putting together the team he wants. We got the results to get us where we did, it didn't happen by accident and we got the points on our own merit. You finish where you deserve to, QPR were the best team in the league, Scunny the worst, us 11th. You seem like one of those people who is never happy/satisfied unless they're complaining! Nobody is kidding themselves, most people are optomistic with good reason, it's a shame you can't look beyond your prejudice of the management team to see that the season isn't potentially going to be the write off you forsee it to be. Oh and you're never wrong are you? Not one to blow your own trumpet are you Percy?!
Percival is Troj and I claim my five pounds and will take it in beer at the eagle before the first game of the season whoever that may be against
