New faces next season

[Bill 1,788]

by that I mean clubs - six out and six inWest Brom for certain and most likely StokeS''ton and Swansea still to play each other so nothing is certain there - and there''s a couple of others who are also not safe either. However neither of the latter two are easy trips for our away fans. It couldn''t be the ''ammers could it ?Coming up are two ex PL clubs Wigan and Blackburn with one out of five from the play offs. 6 & 7th, Scunthope play Plymouth (Remi Mathews) Tuesday night, which may decide 6th place. None of those LI clubs look like ''sleeping giants'' who might storm the Championship. More like one to go back down again (perhaps) as Bolton and one to struggle as with Burton.

[king canary 7,604]

Hmmm not sure I agree. Wigan and Blackburn have both looked very good at times this season and Sheffield United have shown the gap from League One to the championship isn''t actually huge.

Also none of the three clubs coming down fit the basket case model that Sunderland and Hull were. I think it''s going to be a tough league next season.

That said I''d be happy to not have to play Wolves or Fulham again next season.

[Bill 1,788]

[quote user="king canary"]Hmmm not sure I agree. Wigan and Blackburn have both looked very good at times this season and Sheffield United have shown the gap from League One to the championship isn''t actually huge.

Also none of the three clubs coming down fit the basket case model that Sunderland and Hull were. I think it''s going to be a tough league next season.

That said I''d be happy to not have to play Wolves or Fulham again next season.[/quote]I have not claimed that there was a gap - we skipped straight through on 10/11 after all.But often there are clubs (not teams, quite a difference) that look like the have the capacity to stay up, as both Bristol and Sheff Utd/Weds have. Neither Wigan or Blackburn look to be that, if only on gates alone.As to basket cases West Brom are in a mess at the moment and it will have to be seen whether the throw everything at getting back up or still struggle with the rotten apples in the squad.What this has exposed is the guff about ''consolidation'' and being an established PL club. Yes, for around the top eight but for the rest it is a case of musical chairs. West Brom, Stoke, Swansea and So''ton for varying reasons were held up to us as models - how to get it right etc, yet .......

[glory.win or die. 270]

Part of me would like to see Preston go up in play offs and I''d quite like Warnock to go up too, odious man mayb but I quite like him as a panto villain.

But then thinking of next season is fancy us to finish above Preston and Cardiff more than villa or Fulham or middlesbro so for next season it probably better for us if Fulham and villa go up.

If that''s the case then it could be a much more even league next season, depending on recruitment ofcourse none of the teams coming down or coming up scare me like when a Newcastle or villa get relegated

[FCC 76]

Results wise I’d love not to play Fulham - but it is a good away day.

[dylanisabaddog 4,914]

Forget the fact that it looks unlikely that any so called ''big'' clubs will be relegated from the Premier League this year. If it''s Southampton, West Brom and Stoke that come down it would probably be the strongest group of clubs to ever be relegated together. I''d be surprised if 2 of them didn''t go straight back up.

It will probably be our most difficult season for a long time. Out of the team that played against Leeds we are likely to lose Hoolahan, Gunn, Maddison, Reed, Klose and Olivera. There is a possibility that Leitner will go back as well and Tettey will be leaving. Added to that we will be paying out around £5m in wages to 3 players who won''t play a game for us. At this point I''d be quite happy if we manage to avoid relegation, especially as we''re going to lose Maddison.

Fingers crossed that Farke and Co manage to find us some bargains but replacing more than half a team whilst remaining competitive is asking an awful lot.

[Guest]

Well I would love Plymouth to make it up as I would only have a 58 mile journey to go and watch.

Any of the sides, apart from Huddersfield, who are in the relegation dogfight will have three years spending money. And any success early on will see full houses and good atmosphere (another one for the argument that it is more enjoyable to be successful in a lower division).

For the first time in many a year, we will not be making any marquee signings for a consecutive season. So they have to get it right in recruitment or we could be be also rans again.

Blackburn and Wigan will the sort of teams we will be thinking about as easier targets of course.

As the debts of some clubs bite it would be natural to think that the teams currently near the bottom now will find it hard again next season.

[Gromitt 12]

Looking at teams run ins, Huddersfield look to have the hardest 3 game run in of Manchester City, Chelsea & Arsenal so could easily be coming straight back down.

[Nuff Said 5,131]

Huddersfield going down would be terrible. Poor Alex Pritchard ;-)

[ron obvious 1,502]

If it''s true they''d have to sign Yanic then I''d like to see Cardiff promoted. Similarly So''ton stay up as we might then hang onto Reed. Very impressed with young Harrison.

[Hairy Canary 699]

Be a huge plus for us if he could stay and that must be more likely if Southampton keep up. Always felt that Huddersfield wouldn''t have enough to stay up and can still see them coming down with Stoke and West Brom.

[BroadstairsR 2,163]

Why is it seemingly easier to mis-manage a club whilst in the Premier League that in any other league.

You would have thought that with all that money it would be a piece of cake, yet so many clubs seem to go tits up. West Brom were the arch-typical yo-yo club, a seemingly sensible and profit making route, yet they are now forecast as trap-door candidates who may have a brief future in L.1.

Money clearly distorts the thinking, as Mad McNally seemed to demonstrate in his final years at the club.