mr footy 36 Posted July 31, 2018 Getting top half at the end of the coming season will be a realistic target. There is nothing wrong with wanting top six but this squad is mid table at best.A lack of funds means loans which are always hit or miss.I have seen little in the friendlys to think otherwise.It will take years for our academy to produce enough players to make a difference. But there is nothing wrong with staying in this league. It is a very competitive league with plenty excellent teams.we are where we are. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lake district canary 4,531 Posted July 31, 2018 "We are where we are" - at present on an equal footing with 23 other teams. Therefore anything is possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 31, 2018 Thing is, we all know that how a teams looks on paper does not always reflect how well it performs as a unit. After all, no one expected us to storm to promotion under Lambert so soon after promotion from League One.This season is going to be a big test of Farke''s style of football. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr footy 36 Posted July 31, 2018 Yes it is true that a group of average players can make a great team,sometimes. But this is not the norm so I can only go on the friendlys which were nothing great,ok,but not great.We have ok players who will compete.But in midtable unfortunately. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FenwayFrank 2,456 Posted July 31, 2018 Millwalls squad last season was probably bottom half, look where they finished. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hairy Canary 668 Posted July 31, 2018 Cardiff didn''t look that special on paper either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KeiranShikari_2 0 Posted July 31, 2018 A lot depemds on Rhodes and Krul finding old form but I think a lot of clubs would take our spine. We have players that underperformed last season as opposed to a bad squad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Van wink 2,994 Posted July 31, 2018 Get one of our strikers hitting form and it can make the season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ricardo 7,339 Posted July 31, 2018 Rose coloured glasses aside, lower mid looks a fair initial assessment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aggy 750 Posted July 31, 2018 Consolidation season for me. Finish a strong mid table, shift a few big earners in January, buy well next summer and it will have been a decent season based on how I rate the squad currently, with some potential to make more of a go of it next season. The squad has some depth and is fairly solid across the board but is lacking any real quality. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
king canary 7,577 Posted July 31, 2018 Far too many unknowns to judge.If McLean hits the ground running, Hernandez keeps his form from pre season up, Buendia adjusts quickly and Rhodes finds the net then we could make real progress.My concerns are more around how Farke uses them than the quality in the squad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cantiaci Canary 556 Posted July 31, 2018 For me it''s all about two things ...1. How much will we miss Maddison2. How much has Farke learnedI would predict us to finish around 12th. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aggy 750 Posted July 31, 2018 Sky sports news website has put up a predicted championship league table with us in 14th. They don’t seem to rate us (or Farke) and suggest that whilst they “can’t tip us for relegation they can’t see us being any better than last season”.Clearly means very little in reality but interesting to see that (some) outsiders seem to see us as “mid table with an outside chance of relegation” rather than outside bets for a playoff push. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norfolkngood 1,086 Posted July 31, 2018 i think the squad is ok for the season ahead like others have said if Rhodes brought his old scoring boots with him he will score plenty Krul another old form he was fantastic can they regain their form ? who knows some other unknown signings if they adapt then top 6 is possible Farke is my biggest worry if he plays like last season we will be mid table if not worse Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZLF 271 Posted July 31, 2018 Middle table squad it is, will be a good season to make top 8 then, poor season 17th or lower and par elsewhere.Time to enjoy the ride. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,735 Posted July 31, 2018 The manager will..as ever ...play a big part. Neil Warnock managed to get an incredibly ordinary side promoted last season and would have had us higher in the league too and I''d still have him over Farke with our squad going into this season. Still a lot of smoke and mirrors surrounding Farke , I''m just not convinced. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JF 694 Posted July 31, 2018 On paper it’s hard to see it as anything other than a mid table squad. Another poster refers to the team that Lambert got promoted, but that team had the belief and momentum of the previous season behind it, and a club and fans driving in the same direction, when a team has that then anything is possible, look at Leicester. I think the question that needs asking is can Farke as a manager get a team playing beyond its collective capabilities and turn a mid table squad into promotion contenders? So far you would have to say no on that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tumbleweed 106 Posted July 31, 2018 Absolutely Gjl. I always think the manager is the single most important indicator. Most of us remember how Bond, Stringer, Walker, Lambert and to some degree Brown got largely journeyman pros to over-perform. This squad is to me pretty much par against last season. Trade the creativity and inspiration of Maddison for a goalscorer in Rhodes. We need to look at Farke, frankly I thought we underperformed last year with what we had at our disposal. Has he learned? Can he turn a bang average squad into promotion hopefuls through masterful tactics and man management? One season in and I''ve no idea. Can''t blame Sky for thinking as they do, it''s about right. Of course we all hope there is some way we can elevate ourselves above some very competent and decent clubs all trying to do the same. But, maybe, just maybe, Farke is the magic ingredient...........that is the key to our immediate destiny not so much the names on the squadlist. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SwindonCanary 455 Posted July 31, 2018 I feel we will finish below half way, about 15th in the table. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Branston Pickle 3,632 Posted July 31, 2018 I think we will finish in the top half, perhaps 8-9th, but it could be pretty-much anywhere; as Millwall and Cardiff proved last season, there''s always unfancied sides that do better than anticipated and hopefully we can be one of those. If we get off to a decent start, confidence will increase in supporters which would help a lot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Woodman 92 Posted August 1, 2018 Sky have rightly said we''ll miss Maddison, but they have also said we haven''t signed many, conveniently missing (or probably not bothering to research) the point that we have signed Krul, Marshall, MacLean, Buendia, Passlack, Rhodes, Pukki and have Leitner back, plus Thompson and Godfrey in the squad.I agree that if Farke can harness/use the attacking potential of Pukki, Marshall, Rhodes and Buendia, we''ll do OK. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sgncfc 1,221 Posted August 3, 2018 [quote user="Cantiaci Canary"]For me it''s all about two things ...1. How much will we miss Maddison2. How much has Farke learnedI would predict us to finish around 12th.[/quote]Everyone seems to forget that this time last year no-one knew how important Maddison would become - yet we were still as hopeful as ever. I think we became too dependent on him and several other players allowed him to take on the role of star player once he had scored a couple of crackers.It was a bit like Argentina saying give it to Messi - he scored a couple of brilliant goals but couldn''t carry the whole team.This year we don''t know if we have a gem or not - I hope Maclean and Buendia could be almost as good between them but I do think that overall we have a better squad with more depth. At the moment we don''t have a game changer that we know about, but there are plenty of possibilities. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites