Teams we'll finish above next season

[SoccerHQ]

Two from Palace, Newcastle, West Ham and Burnley please. Should mean we're hitting a mid table spot if we can do that. Certainly won't be getting relegated as think WBA and Fulham are nailed on to be the bottom two.

[Sexual Ealing]

We will win the league.

[chrisw1]

Right now I feel we'll be in the relegation mix.  If we make at least 4 very good signings then 13-17th.  I'd like Watkins, as well as another striker and another winger and a solid midfielder at the very least.

[Edvard Remberg]

Might be a bit premature seeing as we hope our squad will look different in four weeks' time, other teams will be thinking the same I am sure.

Nonetheless the season is only a week away from starting so I have got to thinking where we might finish. Hoping it won't be a struggle again but most sensible approach would be looking at it from the bottom up, who will we be better than.

The newbies

Fulham
Leeds
Albion

One of these will go down, could well be two, maybe all three. It's imperative we use our extra season's experience and finish above all these lot.

My tips to struggle

Palace
Sheff U

Palace finished the season abysmally and could well carry that forward into the new season (like Watford last year). Hodgson is a wily manager but this might be the year they are in a prolonged struggle. Personally I think Sheff U will have second season syndrome and I think they'll go down with two of the promoted teams. Wilder is a genius with what he's done but I think the difference in playing budget will start to tell. So above these two as well.

Relatively comfortable last season, might drop off this season

Brighton
Newcastle

I think last summer I would have been confident of finishing above both these two. Newcastle in particular were a surprise. I think the fallout of another failed takeover might take its toll and hopefully Bruce will produce one of his dire runs to send them plummeting down the league. Brighton are a bit of a nothing team but were never in too much bother last year. I reckon they'll be around 15th/16th again this time. I was wrong last summer about us being better than these but I'll be right this time.

More established teams we can catch

Burnley
Southampton
West Ham

Perhaps a bit generous to West Ham putting them in this bracket given their struggles last season but looking at their squad they really underperformed. Southampton had a great second half of the season and Ings is a quality striker. Burnley are just a really solid team, always do enough to be comfortable. Realistically this is the bracket we should be looking to finish in. One of these lot could easily drop off this season, like West Ham in season just gone, so not inconceivable we can finish above one of them. We'll have done well to finish above all three I think.

"Levels"

Everton
Leicester
Wolves

Would dearly love the wheels to come off for Wolves but I still think they'll be better than us next season. Hopefully not for much longer. I think Leicester might have a hangover from blowing CL last season but again a bit too soon to catch them. James looks a good signing for Everton. Could be a flop but I'd be very pleasantly surprised if we finished above them next season.

Snowball's chance in hell

Man City
Liverpool
Chelsea
Man U
Arsenal
Spurs

Enough said.

So 10th to 13th is plausible. Maybe a bit optimistic in light of lack of transfer activity but I'm hopeful we've got some irons in the fire. The kind of season we'd have been pissed off about a decade or so ago would do just nicely now.

Jack to win player of the year.

[ChicagoLion]

Last season we were playing every game with 3 players not of PL standard in Midfield and attack. Crucially we never had a PL level centre forward.
So unless that is rectified this window we will go into the next season vulnerable to a relegation campaign.
A slight improvement at RB is not going to do the trick.

[Edvard Remberg]

Last season we were playing every game with 3 players not of PL standard in Midfield and attack. Crucially we never had a PL level centre forward.
So unless that is rectified this window we will go into the next season vulnerable to a relegation campaign.
A slight improvement at RB is not going to do the trick.

I feel if we keep Jack and Douglas,  we will do fine.  If not,  we are fucked

[ChicagoLion]

Last season we were playing every game with 3 players not of PL standard in Midfield and attack. Crucially we never had a PL level centre forward.
So unless that is rectified this window we will go into the next season vulnerable to a relegation campaign.
A slight improvement at RB is not going to do the trick.

I feel if we keep Jack and Douglas,  we will do fine.  If not,  we are fucked

same as last season then, he’ll of a gamble.

[Edvard Remberg]

Last season we were playing every game with 3 players not of PL standard in Midfield and attack. Crucially we never had a PL level centre forward.
So unless that is rectified this window we will go into the next season vulnerable to a relegation campaign.
A slight improvement at RB is not going to do the trick.

I feel if we keep Jack and Douglas,  we will do fine.  If not,  we are fucked

same as last season then, he’ll of a gamble.

Im thinking post covid - we were better. DL was awesome and lifted the team.  Also Konsa lifted his level

[darren woolley]

I think we will definitely finish above Tesco Bags, Fulham, and Brighton.

[sickbeggar]

To me we're in the group from 13th down. I can't see any club above that who's lost players or will decline enough to finish 15 points lower. As it stands we're not much different from last season apart from hopefully having a bit more self-belief and experience. I expect leeds and Newcastle to stay up, so palace, brighton, us, west ham, Fulham, and wba is the group of doom. I'd go for Fulham, wba and west ham to go down.

[Legion]

I wouldn't even want to hazard a guess before the transfer window closes, but as things are today, then I don't think we'd be finishing above many teams at all.

The current squad is bottom 6, add a proper centre forward and it’s mid tableish.

Agreed. We also need to cut out the mistakes made for a lot of last season plus learn how to hold on for a win/draw in the latter stages of a game and not Villa it all up like we did a few times in 19-20.

[SheffieldVillain]

As things stand I think I'd go for a couple of places higher.

West Brom will be this season's Norwich, which will be fun. Then I reckon Fulham and West Ham will be the other teams to go. With Brighton and for 'second season syndrome' reasons Sheffield United also in the mix.

[Toronto Villa]

Without enforcements we are a bottom 6 team. If we defend better as we did in the last few games we are towards the top of that bottom 6. With the right additions we can secure a mid table spot. But it’s going to be very tough.

[mike]

Given how shit we were last season and were dead and buried until post Covid Bournemouth and Watford made a spirited and determined bid to be even worse allowing us to scrape survival, I can’t see us being above three teams unless we make some very good signings.

[hilts_coolerking]

Can't say at this stage but it will take 3-4 quality signings for progress to be much more than incremental.