3 (or more) teams

[Midlands Yellow 3,929]

We can finish above next season. No one knows who’s coming and going at each respective club but I think we’re all having a little look. 

If Bournemouth miss out I think that’s one, and I’m guessing Southampton, Burnley and Brighton  will be in the relegation mini league next season. Even better still we get neck ache consolidating a top 4 finish at the business end next May. 
 

 

[AJ 1,218]

It's hard to say at the moment, I think we've got a much better squad than last time in terms of depth and balance but it'll depend on who signs who over the summer in terms of investment in their squads. 

I think we're capable of competing with Watford and who else comes up from this league as well as Brighton, Newcastle, Southampton and Burnley who are all fairly average teams these days with the odd decent player. Brighton especially seem to be on borrowed time of late but sometimes these things come down to experience and all of those sides have had a run of several seasons in the top division so have a knack of somehow avoiding the drop. Southampton for example have been in the relegation fight for the past 3/4 seasons from memory but seem to always pull out results when needed to avoid the drop, as have Brighton.

As things stand, I'd take finishing 17th all day long

[FatCanary 249]

I'm warming to the idea that Palace might be a bit naff next year.

 

In my opinion I think Southampton will be much better

Edited April 28, 2021 by FatCanary

[Beefy is a legend 224]

I don't think we can underestimate how difficult a task it will be. 

Even though, for example, Burnley might be an 'average team', they are organised and robust, and I do think that there is a gap in terms of our physical strength and athleticism compared to that sort of side. How will we stop Chris Wood winning headers in our penalty area?

I don't have any worries at all that the quality of our passing and movement is better than several PL sides. I don't see scoring enough goals as an issue.

But we will have to sign 2 or 3 players who are real strong athletes and I'd like to see those at centre back, CDM and no.10. 

[Duncan Edwards 2,218]

Wolves, Leeds and Liverpool would be nice. 

[Midlands Yellow 3,929]

4 minutes ago, Duncan Edwards said:

Wolves, Leeds and Liverpool would be nice. 

Have a fiver treble, you’ll never have to work again. 

[FatCanary 249]

28 minutes ago, Beefy is a legend said:

I don't think we can underestimate how difficult a task it will be. 

Even though, for example, Burnley might be an 'average team', they are organised and robust, and I do think that there is a gap in terms of our physical strength and athleticism compared to that sort of side. How will we stop Chris Wood winning headers in our penalty area?

I don't have any worries at all that the quality of our passing and movement is better than several PL sides. I don't see scoring enough goals as an issue.

But we will have to sign 2 or 3 players who are real strong athletes and I'd like to see those at centre back, CDM and no.10. 

I think Gibson and Hanley would do a better job against Chris Wood than many people think. Do we need more physicality and athleticism to complement our guile, though? Absolutely. Was a bit concerning how we struggled with QPRs switch to 'tw4t it at Austin', but with half a first choice defence it was never going to be easy dealing with a striker of his experience, irrespective of his quality.

edit: I think we know this, as a club, though. I don't think the signings of Hugill, Dowell and to a lesser extent Giannoulis indicate a club who aren't aware they can get bullied sometimes. I expect more.

Edited April 28, 2021 by FatCanary
expanding on a point

[Beefy is a legend 224]

20 minutes ago, FatCanary said:

I think Gibson and Hanley would do a better job against Chris Wood than many people think. Do we need more physicality and athleticism to complement our guile, though? Absolutely. Was a bit concerning how we struggled with QPRs switch to 'tw4t it at Austin', but with half a first choice defence it was never going to be easy dealing with a striker of his experience, irrespective of his quality.

edit: I think we know this, as a club, though. I don't think the signings of Hugill, Dowell and to a lesser extent Giannoulis indicate a club who aren't aware they can get bullied sometimes. I expect more.

I agree that the club are aware and I think we've seen the foundations built this season of a more robust and athletic side, particularly with McLean and Skipp but also acquiring Hugill and Gibson. 

We will need to build further on that and I fully expect that there will be targets in mind of the likes of Choudhury at Leicester. 

We won't be signing too many Alex Pritchard's I suspect...

[FatCanary 249]

7 minutes ago, Beefy is a legend said:

I agree that the club are aware and I think we've seen the foundations built this season of a more robust and athletic side, particularly with McLean and Skipp but also acquiring Hugill and Gibson. 

We will need to build further on that and I fully expect that there will be targets in mind of the likes of Choudhury at Leicester. 

We won't be signing too many Alex Pritchard's I suspect...

Agree with this. I said on the transfer rumours thread I'd love Choudhury. Has the raw ability to be a midfield engine for us. Needs refinement at the top level but would be a project Farke would love if his attitude is good.

[GenerationA47 747]

8 minutes ago, Beefy is a legend said:

 We won't be signing too many Alex Pritchard's I suspect...

Indeed, or Mo Leitners / T Trybulls as good as they were in certain respects

[king canary 7,578]

I'll believe it when I see it with Burnley- every year they are tipped to go down and every year Dyche drags enough out of them.

Palace are a real wild card- new manager and half a new squad, could either struggle to gel or take them to another level.

Wolves are an interesting one- don't think they'll go down but I've seen suggestions that the owners aren't so keen to keep spending at the rate they have done so they may settle into that lower midtable group rather than pushing towards Europe.

This season though, there isn't a team that you look at and say 'no idea how they didn't go down' that may be crap again next season. Up until recently I would have said Newcastle but they seem to have found a groove these last few games.

[Yellow and Green 334]

1 hour ago, Beefy is a legend said:

I don't think we can underestimate how difficult a task it will be. 

Even though, for example, Burnley might be an 'average team', they are organised and robust, and I do think that there is a gap in terms of our physical strength and athleticism compared to that sort of side. How will we stop Chris Wood winning headers in our penalty area?

I don't have any worries at all that the quality of our passing and movement is better than several PL sides. I don't see scoring enough goals as an issue.

But we will have to sign 2 or 3 players who are real strong athletes and I'd like to see those at centre back, CDM and no.10. 

Completely agree. I think we're a better footballing side than 1/3 of the teams in the PL, however we lacked the physicality, height, defensive robustness and general PL nous that the Burnley and Palaces of this world have. 

Brighton - I think they'll be OK.

Southampton - Seem prone for a 9-0 tonking but seem to pick up enough points. Reliant on Ings staying injury free.

Burnley -  They barely score any goals (apart from last week!) but Dyche will keep them safe. 

Palace - Usually fine but, as I mentioned on the other thread, it could be a time of transition, which could go either way.

Newcastle - Surely relegation candidates. Not a happy place to be, by the looks of it.

Watford - Annoyingly I think they'll be OK, considering they kept most of their PL squad together.

Bournemouth (?) - Relegation candidates if they keep Woodgate in charge.

For all of the current PL teams, it will hopefully bode well for us that the other teams will almost certainly invest less this summer. Some will probably have to cut back a bit.

So for me, Bournemouth (or whoever come up via the playoffs), Newcastle and one other.... possibly Palace.

[Danke bitte 965]

My best mate is a Wolves fan and he’s lost all hope for them of late.

He reckons Nuno’s off after this season and as KC points out above, there doesn’t seem to be as much impetus from their board on spending like the previous seasons. 

I can see them being down there. 

But as many others have pointed out, it’s the Palaces and Burnleys of the world who we need to get points from. But that comes from adding muscle to our mix, Sorenson, Dowell, and McLean dont strike me as the burliest. We really do need to address the middle of the park if we want to compete with teams that are likely to be around us. 

 

[HazzaJet 252]

Although it depends on how much they invest in the squad, but I wouldn’t rule out Spurs or Arsenal.

I’m not saying that we’re going to survive next season - it will all depend on who we sign, who can cut it, and of course how many players get injured. Last season most were predicting that Sheffield United were going to go straight back down with us but they ended up finishing in the top half. Who was also expecting us to finish mid table under Lambert? I thought we were only going to go straight back down. We will have to wait and see but we all know survival is possible. After last season most of our players now have some PL experience as well, which might help.

 

[dylanisabaddog 4,867]

If Brighton survive and manage to sign a goalscorer they'll be ok. Other than that they are a really good team.

Palace is impossible to assess as is Wolves. There could be major changes at both. Burnley as well possibly as their new owners are unlikely to be impressed by what they've seen so far.

We all seem to agree (for a change) that we need a big lad who can play in defensive midfield. We may get away with either of Skipp, McLean or Rupp but only if they have a big un next to them. Personally I'd prefer 2 big ones in preference to what we have now. I know a lot of you rate Skipp but Watford bullied him

Sadly the gap between EPL and Championship is now so large I think we'll struggle. Not because we can't match the footballing teams but simply because we can't cope with anything physical.

The only thing I'm sure of is that if Farke and Webber can't do it then no one can. But I'd hate to see them sell 3 brilliant young players to fund the purchase of some 6 footers who can cope with Burnley. It seems a real shame

[DraytonBoy 142]

The three PL teams coming down (assuming the current positions don't change) didn't strengthen their squads sufficiently to give themselves a decent chance of staying up and it's hardly a surprise that they are the lowest scorers in the PL. If City can keep their the squad together and add another striker, a centre back, an experienced back-up keeper and a replacement for Skipp then they have a shot.

[chicken 2,604]

Too soon to tell. Far too much water to pass under the bridge before we get to a position of an informed decision yet.

The summer tends to see a lot of movement and there are several clubs that have big decisions hanging over them.

Take Leeds, for example, Bielsa is out of contract in the summer. If he doesn't stay on they will have quite a task in replacing him considering the squad he has built around his approach. If Bielsa chose not to stay, and went off to another club, there is a chance he could also try to take some of those players with him. Perhaps a bit of a reach but for example, Spurs might take a chance on Bielsa and then go in for the likes of Philips.

The knock on impact of that is not only could Leeds be weakened and struggle in transition, but it may also free up other players - such as Skipp.

Palace are in the same position. Is Hodgson likely to stay? Several of their players are out of contract or returning to parent clubs after being on loan. Plus you have Zaha likely to be moving on if the paper talk is accurate, and you can't see it not being. He has consistently been a great player for them for years.

At this stage I would say ignoring Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool and Spurs every team outside of the current top 6 has been far from consistent and is without the backing to make a huge number of expensive signings. I think Wolves probably highlights what can happen to a team without their star player. Falling from challenging for a Europa League spot to being mid table on 41pts with 5 games left.

So essentially, remind me again at the beginning of August and I'll be better informed. Otherwise right now, it's anyone's guess.

[Foxy2600 297]

I honestly cannot subscribe to the 'Finish 17th and all's well' brigade. Think of the pain of it, week in week out hoping for a fluke win against all odds. Most about here (Daarn Saarf) are Brighton Supporters. Speak to them and they'll tell you its drudgery. Along with crap VAR decisions. We're are either going to make our mark like Leeds have this season or we expect to finish 20th and have a Cup Final to go to but go back down (a la Pompey).

I cannot take another season of supporting us at London Stadium, New WHL, Stamford Bridge and the Emirates and being on the end of a whooping. St Marys and Amex another story hopefully......

[Ward 3 371]

I would agree we are a much better team than last time. Better Lb, and our squad has been here before now and will be equipped and know what is required. So much can happen between now and kick off of next season. Who goes and who stays and who will we sign. 

[ron obvious 1,498]

6 hours ago, FatCanary said:

I think Gibson and Hanley would do a better job against Chris Wood than many people think. Do we need more physicality and athleticism to complement our guile, though? Absolutely. Was a bit concerning how we struggled with QPRs switch to 'tw4t it at Austin', but with half a first choice defence it was never going to be easy dealing with a striker of his experience, irrespective of his quality.

edit: I think we know this, as a club, though. I don't think the signings of Hugill, Dowell and to a lesser extent Giannoulis indicate a club who aren't aware they can get bullied sometimes. I expect more.

Wood is an excellent player, & when in the mood can beast any defender. Surprisingly skilful too, & I'd be really concerned as to how we'd cope with him. Against Wolves he & the whole team impressed me greatly.

It's going to be a tough year & we need to be pleased with any points we pick up anywhere. Survival will be a real achievement.

[paddycanary 538]

8 hours ago, Duncan Edwards said:

Wolves, Leeds and Liverpool would be nice. 

Man United, Chelsea & Liverpool for me. I love hearing about each of these 3 clubs losing matches and/or getting eliminated from European competition. United fans have been a lot less cocky since Alex Ferguson hung up his hairdryer. I've no beef with Wolves myself and I stopped caring about Leeds over 20 years ago.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Play-off winners, Watford, Newcastle, Brighton, Palace, Southampton, Villa, Burnley, Leeds and West Ham. 

Top ten it is then 💛⚽💚💪

 

[andyc24_uk 58]

Palace have been very average for a long while and unless they invest this summer they'll definitely struggle next season. 
Newcastle if they keep Bruce and his miserable football I can't see them finishing outside the bottom 3. Find a dynamic new manager from somewhere and they have decent players though.
Burnley are dull as ditchwater but have money now theoretically... Not sure they'll be able to attract players to keep them up though.
Brighton I think will be fine, if thy can pick up a goalscorer they might be a surprise package next season. 
Southampton, Wolves, Leeds all good enough for mid table.
Watford probably similar to us will be in and around the relegation fight but hoping to pull ourselves out of it and end up somewhere in the middle
Whoever comes up through the playoffs will struggle I think - Not much real quality in there. Swansea might make a fight of it, cant see any of the others doing well. 
Villa are the side I suspect might do a Sheffield united next season - They've had a good season but aren't all that special beyond a couple of players, and with several big clubs likely to be in the market for rebuilding with young English talent this summer I wouldn't be totally surprised to see Grealish move on.

Palace, Playoff Winners and on from Newcastle, Burnley and Villa to go down for me. I think we'll end up around 15th.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

A lot will come down to injuries as I don't think we'll be able to afford such a strong squad.

There's a few sides lower end of the PL that will need a bit of a refresh so it comes down to what money they can commit post pandemic since their wage bills will be high.

Ones I'd be looking at are the 2 promoted, Burnley, Brighton, Palace as the obvious ones and then Newcastle, Wolves and Southampton as the next scalps.

Bar the big 6, Everton and Leicester I wouldn't say anyone is immune really. Even West Ham, if they lost Rice, Lingard doesn't stay, Antonio gets injured and I believe Noble is retiring?

What we'll need is a strong, confident start and then back that up with showing we can have bad days but still pick up points with a bit more ****housery and Premier league nous. That's where it got away from us last time after the decent start

[FatCanary 249]

I really have to disagree with anyone who thinks Southampton will be in danger next time around.

[duke63 541]

Wolves and Villa have peaked I suspect and are in the slide downwards. 
 

much depends on if we can keep some momentum going this time and not get so many long term injuries. 

[AJ 1,218]

3 hours ago, FatCanary said:

I really have to disagree with anyone who thinks Southampton will be in danger next time around.

Say the same thing every season but they still manage to somehow put themselves near danger! Should be higher up the table, that's for sure, but always seem to make it hard for themselves

[Bonzo 198]

Palace, Newcastle, Burnley, Brighton, Watford, whoever else is promoted plus Southampton, Villa and Leeds. 

It's down to us to strengthen- but 3 or 4 strong signings will do it. The side being promoted won't be our Premiership side. It might be different for Watford. 

Any side can suffer injuries to key players too (Wolves and Liverpool this year) so really only those sides who are nailed on to finish top half are out of our reach (hence the inclusion of Villa, Leeds and Southampton) indeed all three have been relegated before. 

Equally any teams which lose important players in the transfer market (Grealish/ Lamptey/ Zaha /Ings?) could be a totally different proposition. 

There is a lot to play for still. Webber with some money to spend is an awesome prospect. 

[HazzaJet 252]

54 minutes ago, Bonzo said:

Palace, Newcastle, Burnley, Brighton, Watford, whoever else is promoted plus Southampton, Villa and Leeds. 

It's down to us to strengthen- but 3 or 4 strong signings will do it. The side being promoted won't be our Premiership side. It might be different for Watford. 

Any side can suffer injuries to key players too (Wolves and Liverpool this year) so really only those sides who are nailed on to finish top half are out of our reach (hence the inclusion of Villa, Leeds and Southampton) indeed all three have been relegated before. 

Equally any teams which lose important players in the transfer market (Grealish/ Lamptey/ Zaha /Ings?) could be a totally different proposition. 

There is a lot to play for still. Webber with some money to spend is an awesome prospect. 

I agree. We had a huge problem with injuries and not being able to strengthen last time. Were we really expecting Sheffield United to finish top half last season - they were favourites to go straight back down with us. When Lambert got us up in 2011 were we really expecting to finish 12th? I couldn’t see us finishing any higher than 18th. 
 

[Coneys Knee 941]

I think villa will struggle more than people think. Especially if they lose Grealish. He is to them what Buendia is to us - nigh on irreplaceable regardless of money