Seasons expectations?

[grababackpackcanary 5]

I think top 4 avec Swansea , Brentford and Watford all in the mix.

[1902 1,167]

7 hours ago, Bill said:

I think not

Watford and Bmouth has spent much of last season trying to avoid relegation - we spent much of last season preparing for promotion in 20/21

Hence the large number of signings - none of whom have been dependent upon us selling anyone

If we had sold two or three then tried to patch u the squad with a few ex PL journeymen and some lower league hopefuls, then yes your comment might have some validity - but this is not how it has been, Nor is it by chance.

Josh Martin has happened by, by luck. Nor is he some youth player thrown in to make up the numbers. And I don't see other CH clubs being in our position as regard squad and those in the 'pipeline'.

I'm hard pushed to recall a start to s season where we seem to be so well prepared - and the loss of any of those jewels will not see us scrabbling around for replacements.

Players like Trybull, Leitner and one or two others who we thought would be good enough for the CHs.......probably are. But not good enough for us.

And that is the difference

 

 

I'm not sure we are disagreeing here Biĺl, I'm saying that should be the absolute minimum expected because there are so few clubs with depth and we have a lot of strength on the bench and below the first team. I'm also arguing that I expect less competition for those minimum spots. You are arguing we should do better than merely the playoffs for exactly those reasons, not sure that those points are that different or mutualy exclusive.

[Dr Greenthumb 746]

Promotion, promotion, promotion 

[DraytonBoy 142]

Norwich currently have one of the strongest squads so should be thinking of top 6 as a minimum, a good start is essential to build confidence.

[BigFish 1,986]

9 hours ago, 1902 said:

I'm not so sure that's true, I agree that in an average season the Champs is a tough league and that your analysis of the prospects of relegated clubs is usually true, this season I suspect that the post covid fallout will reduce the number of competitive teams. I agree on automatic but playoff should be easier as I suspect it will be harder for the clubs with less resources  but a core of good players to make a run at 5th and 6th. 

 

6 hours ago, Surfer said:

Yes the unsaid things is most Championship clubs are looking to jettison high earners as the immediate priority, not build a squad. That is a huge advantage for us this year. 

Not sure I find anything to disagree in either of these. Champs was looking weak this year even without Covid, with three big clubs going up. Clubs will looking to cut costs, not no sure there will be many takers so that might not make a big difference. Though there will be fewer signings. The challenge is that clubs rarely bounce back, only two automatics in the last 10 years. The disruption and player churn that comes with relegation often proves too much. The later window could also see us lose 4 players in October which can only be negative. I remain hopeful, but expectation shows a horrible sense of entitlement. Be humble and things could work out. Be hubristic and we could lose half the team and the coach by November.

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,424]

If we are in the top 6 for the season we will be a very well run club with an excellent model. If we are in the bottom half we will be a very badly run club and the model will be rubbish. 
 

We will lose most if not all of our “Crown Jewells “ unless clubs simply wont pay the money.  So we may as well get used to it. We have covered off the positions - just remains to be seen if the players coming in are as good. 
 

Sky Bet has us at 40/1 for relegation . And 2/1 for promotion. 

[The Bristol Nest 513]

The pandemic will interrupt this season regularly which will make momentum hard to achieve. However I believe that, unlike most relegated teams, we have been preparing for this season without the sense of a club in decline.

Promotion after a difficult season.

[Adelaide Canary 12]

No higher than 12th and in the champ for some time to come. People saying this squad is one of the strongest and will walk the league are just living in la la land sorry 

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

54 minutes ago, Adelaide Canary said:

No higher than 12th and in the champ for some time to come. People saying this squad is one of the strongest and will walk the league are just living in la la land sorry 

Heartwarming to see Adelaide Canary keeping going the proud tradition of place-name Canaries being among the most miserabilist. Already looks like a strong addition to the ranks of Highland, Midlands et al...

[Midlands Yellow 3,941]

1 hour ago, PurpleCanary said:

Heartwarming to see Adelaide Canary keeping going the proud tradition of place-name Canaries being among the most miserabilist. Already looks like a strong addition to the ranks of Highland, Midlands et al...

I have gone for automatic promotion btw. 

[Fuzzar 1,702]

1 hour ago, Midlands Yellow said:

I have gone for automatic promotion btw. 

A rare wave of optimism in a sea of misery. 

[Duncan Edwards 2,220]

4 hours ago, Graham Paddons Beard said:

If we are in the top 6 for the season we will be a very well run club with an excellent model. If we are in the bottom half we will be a very badly run club and the model will be rubbish. 
 

We will lose most if not all of our “Crown Jewells “ unless clubs simply wont pay the money.  So we may as well get used to it. We have covered off the positions - just remains to be seen if the players coming in are as good. 
 

Sky Bet has us at 40/1 for relegation . And 2/1 for promotion. 

I doubt that 40/1 will be available for long. By 5 games in I’ve calculated we’ll have 2 points and will be 5/2 for relegation at that point. Get on now. 

[TheGunnShow 5,932]

15 hours ago, Bill said:

dear god, I do wonder

they had a wage bill in excess of £110 million at the end of last season

they owe to various lenders £100million -- and as of 2019 they owed around £89m in transfer payments

In Sept 2019 they had to go to a bank to borrow £25m to meet transfer payments. that money being secured against future transfer payments - and with what was due in June 2020 the money you mention has long gone

Why do you think they promoted from within, as far as manager/coaching staff went

Why do you think that with only 3 weeks to go they have not signed anyone

At best, they will do a Huddersfield, at worst it could be them going belly up

 

 

 

You bolded the word "potentially" in my post and then seemed to skim past it. The whole point is that it wasn't clear what they will do with that transfer income. It is likely that they'll shore up their finances and cut their cloth accordingly, but the world of football finance doesn't always follow logic.

[Adelaide Canary 12]

5 hours ago, PurpleCanary said:

Heartwarming to see Adelaide Canary keeping going the proud tradition of place-name Canaries being among the most miserabilist. Already looks like a strong addition to the ranks of Highland, Midlands et al...

Sure. Feel free to come back at the end of the season and have a go if my prediction is proved wrong. I really doubt I will be; but if by some chance I am wrong then go for it then. I just don't view the world through rose tinted spectacles that's all, so sorry if my prediction of mid table mediocrity offends but history suggests it will likely be the case.

[Number9 272]

2 minutes ago, Adelaide Canary said:

Sure. Feel free to come back at the end of the season and have a go if my prediction is proved wrong. I really doubt I will be; but if by some chance I am wrong then go for it then. I just don't view the world through rose tinted spectacles that's all, so sorry if my prediction of mid table mediocrity offends but history suggests it will likely be the case.

Unfortunately you've failed to tip Norwich to win the Champions League next summer, that's a yellow card and a verbal warning by most of the posters on here I'm afraid. 

🤣

[hogesar 9,618]

7 minutes ago, Adelaide Canary said:

Sure. Feel free to come back at the end of the season and have a go if my prediction is proved wrong. I really doubt I will be; but if by some chance I am wrong then go for it then. I just don't view the world through rose tinted spectacles that's all, so sorry if my prediction of mid table mediocrity offends but history suggests it will likely be the case.

I'll happily have a bet with money going to CSF that we finish higher than 12?

[Barbe bleu 815]

Will definitely finish as champions of the East Anglia mini league again

Anything outside of the top 8 or 9 would be humiliating

[Indy 3,283]

Let’s all be honest we’d all be a little disappointed if we finish outside top 6.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,780]

Apologies if it has been pointed out already, but it's worth noting that in the last three seasons, the only relegated side to bounce straight back up were Fulham, who won the Playoffs this season. The last relegated team to go up automatically were Newcastle in 2016/17, so that means only two of the last twelve relegated sides have gone back up straight away.

It seems recently that stable Championship sides, especially those which came close to promotion the year before, who then strengthened are better placed to go up than the relegated sides who have a hangover or are in transition. 

That said, I'm feeling more confident than I was a few weeks ago, but I don't have any real expectations: anything could happen.

[Christoph Stiepermann 1,131]

21 hours ago, Bill said:

Those 'key players' were young and inexperienced, or thought the latter when they broke in the first team not long back

And I would hardly describe those who will certainly be in the match day squad as inexperienced Quillan, McCallum, Sinani, Dowell, Sorensen and Placheta.

the club was relegated, the players have not had any mental breakdown or something... get a grip.

Most other CH clubs are still sorting out who will leave while they then wait to see who they can afford

If anyone can point to a squad stronger than ours then please let them do so

For me it's not so much about the quality of the players in our team or the managers or new signings etc. It's just that so many relegated clubs struggle and every time we've been relegated in the past couple of decades we've found it very hard to adapt despite us all feeling that we'd blitz the league every time. 

 

i know we have some of the best players in the Championship, i know we have a great manager who has instilled a good mentality and I know a lot of our new additions should be good signings on paper, but I've been burned before going into seasons like this and near enough every summer the expectations about which new signings will shine and which ones will flop have usually been completely wrong, that's why i predicted around midtable.

Conventional logic dictates that yes, we should get promoted next year. We're one of if not the most successful second tier teams in history, we have the best striker in the league and the best player in Cantwell, we're settled behind the scenes, have a clear plan and a very good manager who still have the respect of the players but....It just never seems to work out how it 'should' with us when we're relegated from the PL does it? Or with pretty much any other team besides Newcastle either. 

 

Top 4 next season should be Norwich, Bournemouth, Watford and Brentford. But it won't be that will it? That's not how the Championship works. 

[Midlands Yellow 3,941]

4 hours ago, hogesar said:

I'll happily have a bet with money going to CSF that we finish higher than 12?

You’d win that bet but not Leeds being relegated😉

[East Rider 548]

My feelings are mixed on this. 

Without the home crowd I think we may find it a struggle. After all, who can forget the crowd inspired last minute wins two seasons ago? The momentum those games bring are important to teams like us who have full stadia. This season (especially the first half) will be without full houses and the backing it gives the players. Despite the occasionally mentioned negativity of Norwich fans (by Norwich fans), we are often cited as being a passionate home support. And we have seen what no crowd does for our  team at CR.

I also feel, unless we do get a Ben Gibson type in and with the expected loss of either or both Aarons and Lewis we could struggle defensively at times (again).

So, my prediction (despite being pleased with some of our signings so far) is between 10th to 4th.

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

So far as Norwich is concerned i think we need some objectivity coupled by cautious optimism. I  would agree that the statistics for teams getting up at the first attempt over the last few seasons are not that good, but if you extend that to relegated teams going up over the  next 3 seasons ie the period of parachute payments it is much more impressive. You have to look at what happens when a club comes down, what type of club it is and how long it has been in the top flight. Many well  reasonably established clubs come down and for them it is very problematic. They have squads on top money and most will not have relegation clauses because the better players will not sign them. Relegation often means managerial change, the good players wanting to leave and the not so good hard to move on. Then there are the clubs who have not been in the PL that long but who have spent big by their standards to try and stay up and it clearly has not worked and they have financial turmoil often with players no one wants on high wages. There are a group like Bournmouth who had a bad season and came down with lots of high earners that lots of top clubs want, so they get sold, the finances are good but a total squad re build is needed.  Norwich this time around are not like any of these and the closest comparison imo is Burnley of about 2013. They went up as a surprise package, spent nothing when they went up, kept their squad and manager together, stronger financially  and went up at the first attempt and made a much better fist of it. I do not underestimate the challenge of trying to get back up in season 1 but think we have a very good opportunity even if we do move some players on for good money or because they are surplus to requirements. If we keep everything together i would be very disappointed if we did not go up again within the first 3 seasons of coming down and whilst season 2 or 3 may be more realistic and probable season 1 is still very achievable particularly as a lot of the championship big fish of the last few years Villa, Fulham, Sheffieild Utd, WBA Leeds and Fulham are not there this season and in that regard the opposition in depth is probably weaker than it has been for some time

Edited August 23, 2020 by Yorkshire Canary

[Duncan Edwards 2,220]

I’d take 21st right now. 

[BaltimoreBird 127]

At this point in time anything less than top 6 would be a disappointment, and I'm hoping for automatic promotion. With that said, there is a long time before the window closes and if we happen to sell  3+ of the names being tossed around (Aarons, Godfrey, Buendia, Cantwell...etc...) and reinvest nothing into the squad then I think we'll have a big problem.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems as though we have a sizeable squad going into the season, so I would expect some names to go out the door. Hopefully we can keep our best and those that want to be here to push on for the fight. Personally, I'm really excited for this season.

[Tootingyellow 1]

Personally I am optimistic given the signings we have made. Dowell, Skipp and Placheta appear to be the sort of players that can add something to our go forward and Hugill gives us a dimension that we have not had for a long time. If we can sign a quality CB (or two) I think we'll be well placed. We have conceded far too many goals (often of our own making) for a number of seasons now. It's not just in the PL. I am concerned about our ability to play behind closed doors. I appreciate that the standard of oppo will be different but we were nothing short of atrocious post lockdown.

Edited August 26, 2020 by Tootingyellow

[HazzaJet 252]

I feel you can never predict how a team will do right from the very start of the season - I mean League One: kicked off with a record 1-7 home defeat, ended up champions, then the following season runners up of the Championship followed by 3 seasons in the PL. Last season Ipswich were top of League One around Christmas but ended up failing to even make the playoffs 😂

However, there is no West Brom or Leeds this season and Watford and Bournemouth are both losing some of their strength whilst I feel we do have quite a strong squad, so I think we do stand quite a good chance of bouncing straight back up - we’ll just have to wait and see.

[Beefy is a legend 224]

You can't really judge the new signings, particularly those from abroad, until the season gets going in earnest and much will depend on how players like Placheta and Sorensen perform. Adding more strength and ballast into the midfielder is a crucial ingredient to improving our defensive record.

But irrespective of that, I will say that if we keep 3 or 4 of the big 5 then there won't be a better squad in the division. Watford and Bournemouth face far greater upheaval with managerial changes and the lengthier period that they've been out of this league. It is difficult to see stronger sides like Brentford or Swansea having a bigger or stronger squad than us. 

If our key players stay fit, I think we have a great chance of the top two. The three ideal sides to go up, went up, in Leeds, WBA and Fulham. There is little to fear in this division. Pukki, Emi, Max, Jamal, Godfrey, Cantwell would get in every other side in this league. Zimbo too I suspect. 

[Crabbycanary3 994]

On 22/08/2020 at 18:28, hogesar said:

I'll happily have a bet with money going to CSF that we finish higher than 12?

I'll do the same Adelaide. If we finish 12th or lower, then I'll donate £20 to CSF. If we finish 11th or higher, you donate £20 to the CSF. Or do you want to raise the stakes a bit more?

[Midlands Yellow 3,941]

A fantastic transfer window so far, I can’t see anything other than finishing top.