The hypothetical thread looking forward to next season.....

Ok.... leap of faith time here chaps....

We survive.... Pards stays...... we strengthen reasonably well next season.... and our injury record improves.......

What do you see as a reasonable and achievable league position for us to aim for next year?

For me, I'd say 8th position and anything after that is a bonus.

 

agreed, the top 5 are strong, i assume Liverpool will strengthen, Everton may begin to fall away if Moyes leaves.

We should put everything into the League Cup next season and just win something for a change.

 

Wouldn't mind winning the league cup like!

If Pardew get's his targets AND sorts out his tactical issues over the summer, we stand a chance. But there are too many variables for me to make a guess.

 

I think we have to look top 10. If you look at the likes of WBA and Swansea who are considered to be this seasons over achievers, then it shows how difficult it is becoming to jump much higher. I think we need to have a proper go at the league cup.

 

I reckon Pardew will learn from this season's mistakes, reinforce where necessary and we'll finish top 6, there will be a mass arse showing in Fenwicks window by 95% of not606ers and humble pie sales will go through the roof.

 

Pardew proving me wrong and delivering a good season with a top 6 finish is the kind of humble I'd enjoy eating!

 

Top half finish and a sincere attempt at one of, if not both cups

 

I think you'll come straight back up

 

Has to be top 8 for me. Both the Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton are further advanced than us. But then we need to be top of that next group. So top 8 for me with us always comfortbably away from the bottom 4/5 in the league.

Other than the 7 clubs I've just named there is no other clubs squad that i'd rather have than ours. So finishing outside the top 8 would be another under achievement.

A cup run would be nice, but it's all about the luck of the draw. Draw Man Utd away again and you're out first round pretty much.

 

Its difficult to know really isn't it. We can compare our squad with others now but everything will change this summer. Every club that is PL has significant funds coming their way, some may choose to invest heavily which changes the landscape again. With us I think much will depend on how we balance our squad out.

Whereas overall we have a better squad in a lot of ways than say a WBA, their striking options are far far superior to ours. That counts for a lot in the PL where defences are not great. We have Cisse and er Shola as central options. We have The Gouf and Benni too but they have played the majority of their football here and in France out wide. We have young Campbell too but he is very raw. WBA have Long, Odemwingie, Lukaku, Fortune, Rosenburg. Liverpool have Suarez, Borini, Sturridge, number 10 in Coutinho, attacking wide options in Sterling, Suso, Assaidi, and obviously Carroll to come back/be replaced. Fulham have Berbatov, Rodallega, Ruiz, Petric aswell as Frei as an attacking wide option.

So I think before we can even think about progressing up the league and looking to a top 8 we'd have invest quite heavily in some artillery or we can forget it.

 

And fast no waiting around plan early
Unlike normal the end if the summer


QUOTE=Norma Snockers;4626164]Its difficult to know really isn't it. We can compare our squad with others now but everything will change this summer. Every club that is PL has significant funds coming their way, some may choose to invest heavily which changes the landscape again. With us I think much will depend on how we balance our squad out.

Whereas overall we have a better squad in a lot of ways than say a WBA, their striking options are far far superior to ours. That counts for a lot in the PL where defences are not great. We have Cisse and er Shola as central options. We have The Gouf and Benni too but they have played the majority of their football here and in France out wide. We have young Campbell too but he is very raw. WBA have Long, Odemwingie, Lukaku, Fortune, Rosenburg. Liverpool have Suarez, Borini, Sturridge, number 10 in Coutinho, attacking wide options in Sterling, Suso, Assaidi, and obviously Carroll to come back/be replaced. Fulham have Berbatov, Rodallega, Ruiz, Petric aswell as Frei as an attacking wide option.

So I think before we can even think about progressing up the league and looking to a top 8 we'd have invest quite heavily in some artillery or we can forget it.[/QUOTE]

 

Timing is undoubtedly crucial. The best clubs tie up their business early wherever possible. Obviously sometimes it can't be helped because of agents getting involved and stalling things for monetary reasons. Ideally though you want everyone there on the first day of pre season.

 

I don't think you can look beyond the top 8. Every other team currently in the top 7 would feel that they belong there. Nobody, including us, has a right to be at the top. Anything that starts breaking up that top 7 is CURRENTLY overachieving. We wont be the only club looking to break into that top 8 either. I expect quite a few other teams to spend very heavily this summer with the new TV money on the horizon.

Another thing to remember is that we wont be the only club focusing on the league and not worrying about Europe. With Swansea and in all probability Wigan taking two Europa places there will be a lot of teams hungry to qualify for Europe.

As for the cups, then I'd love to see us go on a good cup run, but we can't predict who we will be drawn against. Get Man Utd away in our first league cup game and we can't really complain at going out. Get Brighton away in the third round of the FA Cup and we have every right to expect to progress. We all crave silverware and the cups offer our best chance. I'd love to see us lift the FA Cup as it has such a special place in our history.

Most of all - win, lose or draw - I want us to come away from each game feeling like we did after the Benfica game and not after the Sunderland game, knowing the lads fought for the shirts rather than rolling over to be tickled.