Where will we finish?

[Concrete John]

On paper 8th is a safe bet but I just think we might be the surprise team this season.

And if Ireland wasn't so mental he's be normal

If Ireland and Albrighton fire, then we will be.

Let's hope he's been taking his medication then!

I think we'll have a strong defence and a good keeper behind them.  I think Bent will score goals.  What I'm less confient on is the midfield, so if two of the players with question marks over their heads and that we NEED to come good do so, then I think we'll surprise a few people. 

[SoccerHQ]

10th.

[Witton Warrior]

I went 8th as well!
Wasn't it the forbidden number in The Colour of Magic?

Don't see us having enough quality or strength in depth for any higher unless someone interesting arrives before the deadline or Ireland fulfills his potential (I doubt both personally).

Ironically this is the first season for many that I will be able to go to more than a handful of matches and I just hope the entertainment is higher than most I attended in the last 3 years.

[Rigadon]

6th at very very best.  8th would be considered par and any lower than 10th would be unacceptable.

Our only hope of winning something is a cup and that hasn't changed since I can remember.

[Eigentor]

My guess is 14th (assuming no new arrivals). The biggest cause for pessimism is that our central midfield is weak and will be overrun by too many PL teams. Also, I think we'll miss Downing and Young more than we want to admit. N'Zogbia is a decent addition, but I'm not sure he'll bed in immediately. Some youngsters may impress, but even the best of them will probably be inconsistent. Collins and Dunne's limitations will be exposed this season as well, unless McLeish plays a 8-man defence rather than a defence and a midfield. The cost of that is that Bent will be dropping into midfield in search of the ball, to the extent that fans will start asking if he has had coaching lessons from Emile Heskey.

[Chris Smith]

My guess is 14th (assuming no new arrivals). The biggest cause for pessimism is that our central midfield is weak and will be overrun by too many PL teams. Also, I think we'll miss Downing and Young more than we want to admit. N'Zogbia is a decent addition, but I'm not sure he'll bed in immediately. Some youngsters may impress, but even the best of them will probably be inconsistent. Collins and Dunne's limitations will be exposed this season as well, unless McLeish plays a 8-man defence rather than a defence and a midfield. The cost of that is that Bent will be dropping into midfield in search of the ball, to the extent that fans will start asking if he has had coaching lessons from Emile Heskey.

So, to summarise, everything that can go wrong will go wrong. <wink>

[The Left Side]

It made me laugh that someone thought we would finish 1st

[pauliewalnuts]

It made me laugh that someone thought we would finish 1st

*looks at post above yours*

[pooligan]

Assuming no more arrivals, i went for 15th as i think we have no strength in depth at all,a couple of injuries and i think we will be struggling

[1_Pablo_Angel]

It made me laugh that someone thought we would finish 1st

We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Or something.

[Irish villain]

I think we might get a loan signing or two. But really, 7th to 12th is our lot now. Houllier was right all along!

[Risso]

12th for me.  I think our defence will be better, but we'll bore everybody rigid with our turgid play and we'll have lots of draws and the odd Bent inspired 1-0.  If, (and it's a huge great stonking great IIIIFFFFFFFFFFFFFF) Ireland has a good season, then we could do a lot better.  I think he'll stay mental though unfortunately.  The big worry at this stage is that the squad just isn't good enough, at all.

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

8th on the basis that there are many shit teams in the league. We have more or less the same team as last year (arguably a better GK, N'Zogbia instead of Young and someone who can tackle instead of Downing) so I can't see much difference.

The teams that finished below us last season haven't improved, so why would we finish lower?

[Eigentor]

My guess is 14th (assuming no new arrivals). The biggest cause for pessimism is that our central midfield is weak and will be overrun by too many PL teams. Also, I think we'll miss Downing and Young more than we want to admit. N'Zogbia is a decent addition, but I'm not sure he'll bed in immediately. Some youngsters may impress, but even the best of them will probably be inconsistent. Collins and Dunne's limitations will be exposed this season as well, unless McLeish plays a 8-man defence rather than a defence and a midfield. The cost of that is that Bent will be dropping into midfield in search of the ball, to the extent that fans will start asking if he has had coaching lessons from Emile Heskey.

So, to summarise, everything that can go wrong will go wrong. <wink>

Nah, the worst that can happen is that we have an abysmal start, leading the fans to turn on McLeish straight away, so that everything goes sour. In that case we might have another relegation battle on our hands. The best that can happen is that McLeish, Collins and Dunne manage to shore up the defence, while Albrighton, N'Zogbia and perhaps even Ireland provide enough assists for Bent to nick the odd goal. In that scenario we can battle Everton for 7th, even though the football served will have little entertainment value. The lack of a dominant defensive midfielder makes me doubt that'll happen though, so my guess is somewhere between the mentioned scenarios.

[Chris Smith]

It made me laugh that someone thought we would finish 1st

*loos at post above yours*

Loos at you too!

There have been a number of Unfathomable predictions, based more on creating an impact than common sense I reckon.