I've been seeing a lot of articles on the net many of which suggesting that we are going to struggle this season - badly. Quite a few are even predicting that we'll finish bottom. Now, while it might be difficult for us to achieve our position of last season, I think this is a load of cobblers and I think we will get 14th or 15th spot in the table. I took a quick look at the consensus on oddschecker and they have it as follows:- 20 Southampton 19 Reading 18 Norwich 17 Wigan 16 Swans 15 West Ham I don't think that this is too far off the mark, to be honest, although I think that WBA and maybe Fulham (lacking Dempsey) might be in there as well. I think Villa will improve under Lambert with Stoke and Sunderland somewhere about our standard. Anyway, I'd grab 16th if it was offered now so what do you guys think?
Judging by what other teams have bought (or not), I can't see us coming lower than we did last year. Hopefully we will have a more complete squad, with subs that will challenge to get on the park rather than keep the seats warm. Yes it is a big unknown. How will the team gell? How will the others play against us now they know how we play? We will keep a step ahead, but more importantly, we will be steps ahead of 6/7 other teams in the league. Have faith, even if ML is in the first 3 managers to be sacked!! Where did they get that from? I reckon BR will go before ML, I think he (BR) will be gone by Xmas. Spent last weekend in 'Pool, the locals are not convinced - especially with their first 6 games. Could be fun and laughter on the Mersey!!!!!
Well if i,m honest i dont have the same confidence as i did for last season but hopefully i,m wrong and we'll end up in mid table security again..
Ok you cant say never but its highly unlikely that we will. If we do fall short because ML is playing with a squad of just 23 players and we are unfortunate to get key players injured at the same time then it will be his fault....But we have a good enough team bar injuries to comfortably be safe...
These so called experts said we'd go down last season. We finished 11th and these same people somehow think we'll go down again. It's just lazy journalism yet again. Looking at the teams the promoted sides look weaker for starters as do West Brom and Wigan, I'm not concerned on the slightest what these people think.
Well if what some of our fans are saying about our style of play changing then in reality this is our first season and therefore other teams will take another season to work us out. Happy days 10th place will do me fine and leave relegation and our 2nd season syndrome to next year. Sarcasm really doesnt come across well in the writen word
These are only opinions,and count for nothing. There is,however,bound to be some concern by Swans' fans,in as much as we now have a new untried Manager,several new players who need bedding in,and we've lost one of our top performers. So last seasons comfort zone has become one of uncertainty. I can see why we have,yet again,become favourites for the drop. Let us hope that, yet again, we prove all the doubters wrong.
The Guardian are doing a pre-season analysis of each team (one a day). It should be our turn tomorrow. Maybe I'll post it as a thread.
I don't know that we're favourites Vetch. The average of over 20 bookies suggests Southampton as favourites followed by Reading and Norwich. I know bookies notoriously can be wrong but I was looking for something positive to redress the doom and gloom forecasts I had been seeing.
Our squad is stronger than last season, we have one year under our belt. Last season we were the youngest least experienced team and squad in the league. All of the younger players gained a huge amount of experience from last season. Last season all of our players we're struggling a little bit with confidence and belief indicated by our performances against Chelsea away, Man Utd at home and so on. This season we know we belong, we are not going to be overawed going up against the top 4 home or away. I expect us to do as well if not better. Injuries and suspensions are the only thing that can derail our season and these can happen to any club.
"favourites" with some that I have read,ivor,but I take it all with a pinch of salt. We'll all be a lot wiser next May. It's only "doom and gloom" if you take it on board. I don't.
I think most people will have us in the relegation mix at the end of the season but I think we will end up around 13th. For what its worth I think Brendan will do well with Liverpool and would expect them to be just outside the top 4. My candidates for drop are Southampton, Wigan (he cant escape again can he!) and one from Norwich, Reading and WBA with Man Utd reclaiming the title.
I was going to post a similar thread yesterday but kept getting distracted in work (I know, disgraceful) There are plenty of others who are going to struggle this season. I think Wigan have rode their luck too long, I can't see all 3 promoted sides staying up again when it's only been done twice in premier league history, and there are plenty of other teams going into the season with the unknown of a new manager. I think Norwich should be ok with Houghton, who is a good manager and I think will suit them. West Brom could struggle with a new inexperienced manager, I'm not convinced that Villa are going to flourish under Lambert. Of the teams with new managers, I think ours will fit in best as he's been specifically cherry picked to do so. Another thing to take into account is that if we're being tipped to struggle, what chance is there for our reserve team on Merseyside? My predictions for the drop are Wigan, West Brom and Reading. My preference for the drop are Wigan (have it Roberto) QPR (really don't like them) and West Brom (still can't forgive them for chanting through the minute silence for the miners - one of which was a very good friend of mine) but at the end of the day I really don't care as long as at least 3 finish below us
Ive just been reading it aswan, interesting stuff, i ll stick it up as a thread now. also regarding the relegation issue im copying and posting one of the comments from the article from Rodger the Dodger (hope he doesnt mind!) - good analysis about why we shouldnt be too worried being relegation favorites again (though the Guardian has us as 16th): Strewth ! Now I am worried for Swansea. A season when they aren't expected to get relegated! Looking back over Swansea's recent past, every season they have either been promoted to a new divison and so been dead certs for relegation, or their manager has gone on to higher things (usually taking players with him) and ... they have been dead certs for relegation. 2006/07 Kenny Jacket left near the end of the season. Martinez, with no management experience, was brought back from non-league Crewe to be manager. 2007/08 New totally inexperienced manager in charge, League 2 squad. Dead certs for relegation. Result, League 1 champions. 2008/09 New to the Championship, didn't bring in experienced players. Dead certs for relegation (even Toshack ex Swansea said 'they will struggle'). Result 8th. At the end of the season Martinez was enticed to Wigan, took most of the playing staff with him and players with 20 goals between them in the season. 2009/10 In came Sousa to help defend a damaged and stripped out club. Dead certs for relgation again. Sousa tightened the defence, made them stingy. And boring, very very boring. Result 7th. Sousa was enticed away by Leicester at the end of the season (to the great relief of the Swansea players by all accounts). 2010/11 In came Rodgers, he was the fourth choice of the Swansea board (after Gary Speed, Graham Jones and someone else). The fans were very worried, some called him Brenda the tea lady, the pre-season games were a joke. Dead certs for relegation again. Result, 3rd and won the playoffs. 2011/12 First season in the Premier League. Didn't bring in any established players. Couldn't afford established Premiership players, it's not a rich club. Guardian predicted 20th, and few disagreed. Result 11th, and top of the newly promoted clubs (just). Rodgers was enticed to Liverpool at the end of the season and took Joe Allen with him. Loan spells of Sigurdsson and Caulker came to an end and they were both important players. 2012/13 New manager Laudrup with a sparkling European heritage comes in and has signed some obviously very talented Spanish players. Shows signs of giving game time to players that many fans rated highly but Rodgers didn't (Augustien, Orlandi). He will change the style of play a bit, as Rodgers did. Or perhaps more than a bit. I think he will need to. The fans were sorry to see Rodgers go. They were deeply grateful for what he had achieved for the club and that will never be forgotten, but, just a personal view here ... It was noticeable that results tailed off at the end of the season. Was that due to players getting tired or had other management teams sussed him out? Or was it just bad tactics with no service to Graham and too much reliance on Sigurdsson who defences had already learned how to shut down? He was definitely trounced by the opposing management in some games. Rather than the QPR game I would pick Norwich(H), Sunderland(A) and two total lock outs by Everton who simply pressed the Swansea 'off' switch according to reports (How did they do that?). Also the fans never rated his substitutions. To me that is important, because that is when a manager thinks on his feet and it reflects his depth of tactical perception. My opinion was that the 2nd season was going to be a lot more bloody than the first, but then, even I don't pay any attention to my opinions.
We are not as strong as last season as we have seen in pre-season and we will probably will be one of the teams in the relegation dog fight, we have lost some key players in caulks,siggs and allen plus our manager and that is bound to unsettle the team quite a lot, It dont help when the new manager says he wants to cut down the squad drastically and we all moaned about Rodgers letting Dobbie go out on loan but ML has got rid of him altogether. should we lose sinclair and big ash then we have to rely on ML skill as a manager to keep us up, It is worrying for sure when you think he has not managed a British club let alone a premiership club before and could be out of his depth......so i can understand why the bookies and football pundits have us down as certain relegation and they may well be right, .......Me well i think that there are half a dozen teams in the same boat and as long as three have a worse season than us which i think they will we will finish comfortably in 15th -16th place, should we get plagued by injuries then it will be too tough for us and relegation will probably happen....
"We are not as strong as last season as we have seen in pre-season" We lost to Neath before the start of last season and still finished mid-table. Please don't call call me an idiot.
do you think we are as strong as last season kangaroo because i dont think we are....YET...i hope we can get stronger but from what i have seen i really dont think we are ...
Dai, I think player-wise we are about the same but we will be better when the new additions arrive. What will take time is for the players to adapt to each other and for them all to adapt to Laudrup's new system: and providing we are not relegation fodder by Xmas, I believe we will strengthen even further in pursuit of that pot of gold ie £60 million.
