They have a very strong squad not just a strong starting 11. If they are not in the play offs it will be a huge disaster.
We had a very strong squad in 15/16, finishing in the playoffs was a huge disaster. And our squad was stronger than theirs. Their weaker squad finished above us.
They signed loads of players last summer too and it didn't work out so I think you may be right, Fez.
The first game played last night, Sunderland v Derby was woeful. Hardly tough at all. Sunderland's best player was Cattermole and he hadn't played a full 90 minutes since 2016. Curtis Davis was probably the best player on the field and he couldn't get in our team for most of last season. Big Tom Huddleston looked decent for Derby but he didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Sunderland's equaliser was from a fortunate penalty decision, and beside the early Derby goal the game was terrible compared to what we have been watching last season. If those two are considered to be amongst the heavy weights in the Championship I think with a couple of more additions City could still surprise a few this season. I don't count today in that because I see us getting nothing a but a tonking at Villa. But stranger things have happened.
We're going into the unknown today. We have absolutely no idea how the team can perform and I doubt Slutski knows either. After a couple of games we'll have a good idea of our level in this division. It's possible that with a few additions out wide and a left back or 2 we could make top 6. There's some poor teams in the Championship and often the "big" teams dont perform. Look at Newcastle last season, hardly pissed the league..
