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Crabbycanary3

Top 6 finish

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I have seen a few people, on here, say that Top 6 would be tough to finish in come the end of the season.

Which teams, in no particular order necessarily, do PinkUnites think will finish in the Top 6?

Are the Happy Clappers too excited that the new system will (eventually, after ''bedding'' in?) reap rewards, and we will indeed have one of those positions, or are fans being realistic with their opinions of other teams squad strength/coaching/team etc?

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The Championship is always a nightmare to predict - who had Reading in the top 6 at the beginning of last season?

I think the clubs who will be around the top 6-10 (in no particular order) are;

Boro, Villa, Norwich, Wolves, Brentford, Fulham, Derby and Wednesday.

I don''t think it is a particularly tough season this year, Sunderland and Hull are both in serious trouble and look like they will hover around mid-table. Although I''ve included them above Derby really need to replace players like Ince, Hughes and Christie and seem to be struggling in the market at the moment and the Wolves experiment could be brilliant or could be a disaster (it really reminds me of West Ham when they brought in Tevez and Mascherano).

Boro should smash the league but there have been many teams that has been said of in the league before.

Teams like Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Reading could be up near the top but I''d consider them outsiders this season.

Norwich have some leading Championship players in the squad and should be in the top 10. I don''t get a lot of the pessimism coming from some fans.

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@BYG "I don''t get a lot of the pessimism coming from some fans"

Are you kidding?! How long you been a NCFC fan?! The membership pack comes with a free sachet of powdered pessimism...

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in 11 of the last 12 seasons a team priced 20-1+ HAS been promoted - just shows that its an unpredictable and highly competitive league where a good start to boost confidence can take you a very long way.

For me there are a lot of unknowns this year and I can see some teams struggling to meet their potential. I also think there is a more even balance that last year when it was clear that Brighton & Toon were the pace setters.

For me my best guess is Fulham and Boro taking the auto slots I have predicted Fulham as champs as predicted in the CSF competition last week. I wonder (hope?) that Boro struggle to adapt as villa did after their spending splurge last summer, but think the core is championship savvy enough to make the transition better.

For the play offs I have us, Villa (that squad must click at some stage mustn''t they, although they showed nothing last season) & Brentford in place (their attack of Vibe and Jota is superb, supported by Canos) - and we were all teams who looked better in the second half of last season.

The last spot has teams with even more question marks . could be Wolves (see Villa/Boro spending and making it work), Weds (2 close seasons, now going off the boil having over spent on a poor Rhodes attack), Derby (lost & not replaced key players), Reading (Stam IS a genius if he gets that squad that far again) & Cardiff (solely based on the Warnock effect)

As for who goes down I think it will be 3 from Bolton, Millwall, Ipswich & QPR

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With the choice and quality available in midfield and with two of the better strikers in the league anything in an upward trajectory could happen.

The defence could remain our Achilles Heel as our main ''keeper is relatively untested and I feel we are may be one short in the centre of it, but there is encouragement to be gained from the new boys and Reed in support seems as good an acquisition as we could expect.

I think a lot might well depend upon how Tim Klose adapts himself to the new set-up. His long predicted exit has failed to transpire so with this class act fit and up for it our defence could well become a strength as the season unfolds.

We also have some money for necessary remedial measures during the Winter window.

Throw in the adoption of the German model, in the hands of the hitherto impressive Daniel Farke, and the consequent innovative nature of our new style of play and there seems every chance that we could do very well.

If I were a betting man (mmm) I would rather put my wedge on NCFC finishing within the top six than without it this coming season.

Despite a lot of excessive expenditure by some of our rivals it is only ''Boro who genuinely cause concern at this early stage and teams like Wolves and Villa would still seem to need a lot of gel to effect their influence upon proceedings.

Stalwarts like Wednesday will likely rumble on but both Hull and Sunderland seem in some disarray.

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I was very impressed with our performance on Saturday, the whole team seem to have bought into the system, lovely quick sharp passing and movement and I thought that we closed them down very quickly. I''ll be very disappointed if we don''t finish in the top six.

really looking forward to the season starting

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Very optimistic we can make top 6. Slight concern over Gunn''s lack of experience and lack of striking depth, should we get any injuries. On the whole though happy with strength of team and new battling philosophy.

Middlesbrough, Derby, Fulham and Villa, should all be up there.

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Definitely top six for us and probably higher,  and I don''t see Derby or Fulham doing as well as some believe as they''ve lost some of their ''star'' players from last season.   

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While I said 8th a couple of weeks ago, my naive pre-season optimism just bumped us up to fifth. We still have a potent-looking attack, Reed could be a huge player if he stays injury free, Watkins looks the part, Josh should see plenty of game time, Wildschut gives some flexibility, we still have Wes, Maddison could step up, Naismith might deliver, Pritchard will hopefully be prominent and Vrancic gives us a whole new mentality around the middle. A 3 centre-back formation could really suit the current set of players at appropriate times, we''ve seen some defensive acquisitions (perhaps one more?) and there are some good young players pushing for game time - lots of reasons for optimism.

January window could be hugely important this year as we look to be gambling with a trimmed squad. Injuries & suspensions could prove detrimental but in general the balance of the squad looks good, backed up by u23s.

Despite goals leaked last year and the away record, we still were only two spots off the top six. Tighten up at the back, track runners, defend crosses & set-pieces better, keep the heads up when behind, chalk errors down to experience and maybe stick a few late goals. Nothing like late goals to raise spirits!

Roll on Fulham!

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[quote user="ec-p"]Very optimistic we can make top 6. Slight concern over Gunn''s lack of experience and lack of striking depth, should we get any injuries. On the whole though happy with strength of team and new battling philosophy.

Middlesbrough, Derby, Fulham and Villa, should all be up there.[/quote]Agree re Gunn... Have we even seen him stop a shot yet? Aside from that last minute tip over the bar in one of the friendlies? He is excellent with his feet, but I''ve not seen him particularly tested. That could be a good omen, of course, as it means our defence are doing their jobs properly!

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Have no idea and no predictions for a top 6 this season, other than its a good bet Boro will be in the mix for sure. Have been spot on with my predictions for City last couple of seasons, but have zero idea this time, due to the big changes at the club in both playing and managerial staff. We must remember we are a very very early Work In Progress, so on that basis, i would accept  us being out of the bottom 3 and above the Binners come end of season.Having said that, i have well and truly bought into the DF vision for the future, dont think we could have chosen a better way to both downsize, which was a necessity, yet same give us a complete new vision and new chapter  in the history of our club. For sure one thing is certain, the AN era has been completely blown away in a very small space of time, and that for me, is a huge positive,For what its worth, as last season, 8th to 12th for me, not a prediction, just a safe bet. If any stat interests me, its the goals against column, really hoping we improve there.

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This does seem like the most open season in recent memory. Hull and Sunderland look as likely to go down as go straight back up.

I wonder if Villa are being overrated by some- their squad looks bloated and imbalanced to me. Terry and Samba might be the slowest centre back partnership going.

I have no idea how we''ll do though. The big question is how does the defence look this season and Gunn, Franke, Zimmerman and Husbands are all unknowns to a greater or lesser extent.

I can see us finishing anywhere from 1st to 14th.

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Three possiblilites:1) We blow the division away and stay top two all season2) We make steady progress through the season and finish well, anywhere from 3-103) We struggle to impose our new style and fnish lower half.Most likely?  Number two, with a  real prospect by the end of the season of finishing in the top six.Fascinating season ahead.

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Agree with LDC''s assessment

And deeply impressed with Paul Moy''s "higher than top 6" scenario. (Thought we''d missed that boat by failing to get promoted this season just gone)

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My very loose top of the table - as it''s probably one of the toughest league in the world:

Boro - strong squad

Wolves - looked good pre-Season

Norwich

Wednesday

Villa

Hull

Derby

Probably well off but good fun predicting the outcome. I''m normally wrong!

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Agree with LDC, and who knows how the new style will affect the overall Season. It could be a ''Huddersfield'' type masterstroke, or it could take too long to bed in, and ultimately cost us a top 6 position.

Bring it on!

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Assuming no more departures up front and one more quality CB, I''m confident of a top six finish and believe we''ll be in the mix all season.

I think our attack is stronger than last season and if we tighten up at the back we''ll do better than some people think.

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Well, we are not the only ones to lose a key player to long term injury, plus they are almost at their limit due to FFP;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40795741

They seemed to have well and truly, put all their eggs in this season''s basket, and if it were to go wrong............

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No chance of top six.

Defence has barely been improved, and will be our Achilles heel again.

We''re also a bit lightweight too, particularity in midfield. I can see us playing some attractive football, but I can also see us being bullied by physically stronger sides. Particularly away from home, therefore i see us struggling on our travels again.

Factor in the level of change at Carrow Road, unfortunately I see a mid table finish, maybe as high as 9th at best. But further from the top six.

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1 - Boro

2 - Fulham

3 -Wolves

4 - Aston Villa

5 - Norwich

6 - Brentford

Boro should walk the league, while Fulham still have all their star players who, with a season under their belts, should push for the other automatic promotion spot.

Brentford to be the obligatory ''surprise'' side in the top six. Think they''ve got a good core and bought well this summer.

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I think with a couple more quality signings in August, we could make the top 6 comfortably, along with Boro, Wolves, Villa, Sheff W, Fulham, with Brentford challenging too. Can''t see the promoted sides really making much of an impact near the top. However, Harry''s Birmingham, having narrowly avoided the drop last term, maybe the surprise package this. I have no idea really. Just going by the signings and the look of some of the other squads.

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many pundits have us in the top 6, (including the NTT20 podacast, which is always worth a listen and they like our farking revolution) with the latest being an article on the link below (apologies for the probable lack of successful clicky)

We have reasons to be optimistic (built on a strong attacking squad) with identified reasons for caution (unsure how well or quickly the new elements will come together) - but that applies to just about all the other top 8 candidates.

http://www.thesackrace.com/news/1st-august-2017/why-daniel-farke-can-lead-norwich-city-to-a-top-6-finish.

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The Championship is very open this year, even more so than last year, with two of the teams coming down looking in a mess and lots of teams in transition including us.  A few big spenders but we should all know better than to assume that automatically translates into doing well in the league.


Boro look well placed but they''re not Newcastle.  I''d say there are at least 12 teams that are in with a decent should of making the top 6 and most of those are top-2 candidates if they get it together.  There are a fair number of teams (including us) with good-quality looking squads but certainly not a 2 or 3-horse raise for winning the title which is what I''d call a "strong" division.

 

For us, I''d agree with LDC''s analysis that we really could nail the top 2, but equally we could be a top-6 contender and end up there or pretty similar to last year, or we could struggle to achieve even that and end up in the bottom half.  Which doesn''t really pin it down very much !

 

I am (still) cautiously optimistic.

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