Season Predictions

[pete 319]

we wil struggle until we replace Smith with a progressive new coach who can inspire the current squad to perform.  And with the proviso Hayden and Sara can do the biz in midfield, if not will struggle for entire season.  There will be few additions to the squad needed to improve the team to create and score the necessary goals.  Top 6 maybe realistically top half.  Not optimistic surprisingly.

[Mr Angry 1,563]

Champions, and all aboard HMS Píss The League again 🏆🏆🏆

[Herman 9,779]

Lots of this...

...followed by this....

...and then this.

[BroadstairsR 2,174]

The superficial factors have us in the top two:-

The fact that relegated sides are always strong promotion candidates because their squads are riddled with Premier League experienced players ... if not always Premier League level players!

The fact that we have parachute  money to rely upon.

The fact that we supposedly have good strength in depth at Championship level.

The fact that we have a proven c. 30 goals a season Chumps striker in our ranks, along with quite a few other quite costly recruits.

The fact that we can readily(?) fork out up to £12m for a young Brazilian starlet to re-enforce the ranks.

However, reading between the lines:

It has yet to be proven that Dean Smith is a good fit for the club.

An itsy-bitsy pre-season has failed to reveal any style or pattern to our play. A super yacht adrift and rudderless?

We are very reliant upon previous flops like the Sarge, Rashica suddenly coming good at the lower level, youngsters blossoming and Cantwell continuing his renaissance.

We seem to be willing to take a big risk in the vital striker department by being over reliant upon a 31 years old being capable of repeating past achievements, let alone lasting a tough season unscathed.

With the likes of Hugill, Sinani and Hernadez suddenly prominent in selections, we seem to have taken not one, but two steps backwards, in as much as they are all players we have previously shown a willingness to unload.

Cautious (very) optimism is the order of my day.

This lot is very capable of catching a cold. Even that very first game could reveal inadequacies in our (lack of) Summer's dealings, irrespective of the fact that our two (yes, just two) acquisitions since the last Summer window shut are not ready for the opener. 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by BroadstairsR

[canarybubbles 1,923]

9th. 

[Indy 3,301]

1 hour ago, BroadstairsR said:

The superficial factors have us in the top two:-

The fact that relegated sides are always strong promotion candidates because their squads are riddled with Premier League experienced players ... if not always Premier League level players!

The fact that we have parachute  money to rely upon.

The fact that we supposedly have good strength in depth at Championship level.

The fact that we have a proven c. 30 goals a season Chumps striker in our ranks, along with quite a few other quite costly recruits.

The fact that we can readily(?) fork out up to £12m for a young Brazilian starlet to re-enforce the ranks.

However, reading between the lines:

It has yet to be proven that Dean Smith is a good fit for the club.

An itsy-bitsy pre-season has failed to reveal any style or pattern to our play. A super yacht adrift and rudderless?

We are very reliant upon previous flops like the Sarge, Rashica suddenly coming good at the lower level, youngsters blossoming and Cantwell continuing his renaissance.

We seem to be willing to take a big risk in the vital striker department by being over reliant upon a 31 years old being capable of repeating past achievements, let alone lasting a tough season unscathed.

With the likes of Hugill, Sinani and Hernadez suddenly prominent in selections, we seem to have taken not one, but two steps backwards, in as much as they are all players we have previously shown a willingness to unload.

Cautious (very) optimism is the order of my day.

This lot is very capable of catching a cold. Even that very first game could reveal inadequacies in our (lack of) Summer's dealings, irrespective of the fact that our two (yes, just two) acquisitions since the last Summer window shut are not ready for the opener. 

 

 

You’ve missed out some very good youngsters who will make the step up in Omobamdele and Rowe.

Sara by all accounts cost £6 million and lot of ifs to get to £11 million, so not quite the 12 million you state, plus we’ve sold three players probably covering the majority of that transfer.

The last point is no one has stated the fragility of the squad and their trust in smith & the coaching, He’s been here for 8 months, we as fans still struggling to understand what Smith game is about, how do a set of players regularly thumped and changed round feel about this? Lose to Cardiff , could the rot of last year rear it’s head?

Pukki has looked a little out of the game in pre season, we don’t have Buendia as you say and the games we’ve watched show we possibly only have Cantwell or Dowell who can hopefully be the catalyst to Pukki getting another 30 goals we need from him! One is prone to injury the other just back from a season of sitting around struggling with issues. Hopefully both will be here and back to their best.

As for Pundits having us top two, these are the same who said Sheffield United would be in the top two last year!

[Indy 3,301]

10 hours ago, Midlands Yellow said:

On a annual wage bill of well under £10m too, Robins is a canny coach. 

Just can’t for the life of me understand Webber going after Smith who got sacked and never really proven to build a promotion winning team on a budget, when Robins with his challenges at Coventry got two promotions and playing great football. As it’s been said Smith is a nice guy who doesn’t appear to have much drive when you see his interview or his manner on the sidelines, it’s almost like he’s just watching the game as we do as a supporter! 

[ZLF 274]

I remain very confident of a top 6 finish,  with a core squad of excellent proven championship players (Krul, Gibson, Hanley, Kenny, Todd, Byram, Giannoulis) supporting some prem quality (Hayden, Aarons, Pukki) and signings from the last 14m who should take this chance to shine.

 

There remain concerns up and down the pitch, our giving up of too many chances at one end and who will create at the other,  but for me there are more reasons to be optimistic than not.   

 

Bring it on.  

[Fr. Chewy Louie 137]

Play-offs.

[Unhinged Canary 375]

No higher than 8th.

No-where near enough quality in the squad or the manger for a decent promotion attempt, and let's be honest, does anyone really want one? Would be another embarrassment of a season in the Premier League.

Think we're in for a few seasons of slow rebuilding in the Championship again if there's no serious change at the club. 

[Petriix 2,839]

11 hours ago, Terminally Yellow said:

It's interesting how independent pundits are all, to a man, predicting top two. Yet our own fans are miserable ****ing ****s, with the only real justification for being so is their own pant wetting that we don't have an Emi Buendia. 

It's interesting how people turn to abuse when they don't have the intelligence to construct a reasonable counter-argument... 

[NeymarSmith 130]

On 25/07/2022 at 21:02, TheGunnShow said:

I remember getting @NeymarSmith amused with my previous predo for a Championship season as I said I thought we'd get to the play-offs but lose the semis on penalties. Thankfully we did a lot better than that, but in Farke it turned out we had an excellent manager for getting rid of relegation hangovers and we did something very unusual in winning the league after being relegated as the Premier League's bottom side the season before.

Can't see that happening again, the absence of Buendia being the obvious reason why. There's a LOT of pressure on Hayden and Sara to hit the ground running, as it's clear to me Smith wants to make more use of the wings and widen the pitch somewhat compared to Farke, whose brand of possession play required a lot of quick, short passes in tighter spaces. Get that defensive midfield element sorted out, and it should enable Aarons and Giannoulis to bomb on, and then this should get the likes of Rashica and Cantwell the space they need to create.

I don't think we'll start very quickly and think we'll be solidly mid-table ten games in, but I think it'll click a bit better and we'll have a few games we grab wins we don't expect, but drop a lot of draws that should have been wins on the balance of play. I do think we could come up with a late charge as the team is more gelled in the middle of the park.

If you push me for an exact position, I'll say 6th after a late charge but fall short in the play-offs.

EDIT: I'll say third round of both the FA Cup and the Carabao. I don't think we'll go too deep in those as I suspect Smith will try to save his resources for the league.

Was that defo me?

All the same, good points made in your above article and I do think it will be slow start, and I can't see us making any 1st starter signings now, can you!?

I do think as the season goes on we will get stronger as a unit, but yes the hangover from last year will be a bind, especially if we don't come flying out the traps results wise. I do trust Smith n shakey to get the team in good spirits though come back end of Oct.

Does anyone know/have a list of the lads likely to be leaving for the world cup this year? 

Due to the so far poor performances and style under Smith, I can't see us winning the league, especially as noted by others if we don't have anyone slipping through balls to pukki (pray Sara takes off and cantwell fancies it) and the style seems to be heading for wingplay and crosses. Having said that, I don't really think any other team is going to be that hot to top us. Burnley, with the squad loosing key attackers and defence and replaced with unproven youngsters, also manager is unproven at this level. Wba with Bruce at the helm will be top six but hardly scare me! Watford, well I can't see the young manager lasting til Xmas, so depends who they bring in. Maybe Luton or stoke, but haven't really got enough quality, likewise Boro and Swansea.

Any thoughts on that chaps?

[Nuff Said 5,145]

1st

Nuff said.

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

17 minutes ago, NeymarSmith said:

Was that defo me?

All the same, good points made in your above article and I do think it will be slow start, and I can't see us making any 1st starter signings now, can you!?

I do think as the season goes on we will get stronger as a unit, but yes the hangover from last year will be a bind, especially if we don't come flying out the traps results wise. I do trust Smith n shakey to get the team in good spirits though come back end of Oct.

Does anyone know/have a list of the lads likely to be leaving for the world cup this year? 

Due to the so far poor performances and style under Smith, I can't see us winning the league, especially as noted by others if we don't have anyone slipping through balls to pukki (pray Sara takes off and cantwell fancies it) and the style seems to be heading for wingplay and crosses. Having said that, I don't really think any other team is going to be that hot to top us. Burnley, with the squad loosing key attackers and defence and replaced with unproven youngsters, also manager is unproven at this level. Wba with Bruce at the helm will be top six but hardly scare me! Watford, well I can't see the young manager lasting til Xmas, so depends who they bring in. Maybe Luton or stoke, but haven't really got enough quality, likewise Boro and Swansea.

Any thoughts on that chaps?

Sure was. Here's the evidence. You were proven right as well as you said my stance was pessimistic.

Seasons expectations? - Main Discussion - Norwich City - The Pinkun Forums

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,286]

On 26/07/2022 at 07:05, BroadstairsR said:

The superficial factors have us in the top two:-

The fact that relegated sides are always strong promotion candidates because their squads are riddled with Premier League experienced players ... if not always Premier League level players!

The fact that we have parachute  money to rely upon.

The fact that we supposedly have good strength in depth at Championship level.

The fact that we have a proven c. 30 goals a season Chumps striker in our ranks, along with quite a few other quite costly recruits.

The fact that we can readily(?) fork out up to £12m for a young Brazilian starlet to re-enforce the ranks.

However, reading between the lines:

It has yet to be proven that Dean Smith is a good fit for the club.

An itsy-bitsy pre-season has failed to reveal any style or pattern to our play. A super yacht adrift and rudderless?

We are very reliant upon previous flops like the Sarge, Rashica suddenly coming good at the lower level, youngsters blossoming and Cantwell continuing his renaissance.

We seem to be willing to take a big risk in the vital striker department by being over reliant upon a 31 years old being capable of repeating past achievements, let alone lasting a tough season unscathed.

With the likes of Hugill, Sinani and Hernadez suddenly prominent in selections, we seem to have taken not one, but two steps backwards, in as much as they are all players we have previously shown a willingness to unload.

Cautious (very) optimism is the order of my day.

This lot is very capable of catching a cold. Even that very first game could reveal inadequacies in our (lack of) Summer's dealings, irrespective of the fact that our two (yes, just two) acquisitions since the last Summer window shut are not ready for the opener. 

 

 

Precisely my main concerns. 

Cantwell, Hugill, Sinani and Hernandez should've been replaced with better players, and the club has not hid it's desire to offload. The fact we still have them, and they are close to the first 11, speaks volumes and indicates where our season may be heading. 

Prediction 10th. 

Edited July 28, 2022 by Creedence Clearwater Couto

[NeymarSmith 130]

10 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Sure was. Here's the evidence. You were proven right as well as you said my stance was pessimistic.

Seasons expectations? - Main Discussion - Norwich City - The Pinkun Forums

Great memory there my man!

[Disco Dales Jockstrap 1,891]

If...

...we can supply Pukki well enough for him to get 20+ goals again...

...we can keep Hayden fit...

...the rest of the squad play to their potential (Cantwell not going awol, Sara being the player we hope he can be etc)

...then top 2.

If not...

...8th.

OTBC

 

[corbs 147]

The Next Prime Minister will claim to be a City fan. 

[Mason 47 1,382]

I find this notion that Hugill, Hernandez etc are a step backwards because we've previously tried to offload them a bit odd.

We did so because we went up a level, we are now back down at that level where these players can again contribute. They also don't come with any relegation hangovers and don't cost any extra to retain.

I'd perhaps worry if they were the first choice in their positions, but it's likely all except Cantwell will start as backups. Not every player in a squad can be a barnstorming first-name-on-teamsheet situation.

[KiwiScot 1,450]

Dean Smith to be sacked with us finishing 2-4 places off the playoffs

[canarybubbles 1,923]

10 hours ago, KiwiScot said:

Dean Smith to be sacked with us finishing 2-4 places off the playoffs

This was my original prediction (although not necessarily with Smith being sacked), but if Sara and Nunez adapt to English football, and if Hayden can get fit and stay fit, and if we keep Pukki, I think Smith may just about be good enough to squeeze us into the play-offs, as he did with Villa when they had the best squad on paper in the league. When he didn't have the best squad, though - at Brentford - he failed three times to get them there. So it's largely up to the new boys and how good they are.

EDIT: I'll stick with my original prediction of 9th for now.

Edited July 29, 2022 by canarybubbles

[paddycanary 539]

Slow start to October, heavy lifting done by March, finishing a solid 2nd. 👍

[sgncfc 1,228]

Having Buendia last time out was the key to our runaway success, but even without him I think we'd have gone up again. If you look at the stats for that season, Krul, Hanley, Gibson, Cantwell, Pukki and Aarons were all in the top 3 in their positions. They're all still here, along with some decent additions.

Fact is, you can go on and on about lacking "creativity" but it's all about how good the players are in comparison to what we are up against. Our squad is better than anyone else's even without Skipp and Buendia.

Let's also remember that neither of those outstanding Championship players have yet made the transition to accomplished EPL players. The gap is immense and we pretty much have the squad we were hoping would succeed last year. Champions again.

[Herman 9,779]

On 26/07/2022 at 06:50, Herman said:

Lots of this...

...followed by this....

...and then this.

Not one to blow my own trumpet....😉

[Canario 205]

Won't score enough for autos and we will draw too many games. Touch and go for playoffs. We wont by lower than tenth but id doubt higher than fourth

Edited July 30, 2022 by Canario

[Midlands Yellow 3,995]

Not a bad call by myself. 

[7HAR1980 102]

Have to laugh at some of these predictions and especially Herman blowing his own trumpet! 

[City fan 78]

10th. Some big clubs relegated. They will have the parachute payments. Going to be a lot g hard season. 

Edited May 31, 2023 by City fan

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

9 hours ago, Midlands Yellow said:

Not a bad call by myself. 

Go to page one - I called it at 13th if we didn’t sort the glaring hole in CDM- wish I had put some money on it!! 

[Unhinged Canary 375]

On 26/07/2022 at 12:33, Unhinged Canary said:

No higher than 8th.

No-where near enough quality in the squad or the manger for a decent promotion attempt, and let's be honest, does anyone really want one? Would be another embarrassment of a season in the Premier League.

Think we're in for a few seasons of slow rebuilding in the Championship again if there's no serious change at the club. 

A wee bit over-confident with 8th there.... 😉