22/23 season expectations.

[SoccerHQ]

Season is nearly upon us seemingly 10 minutes after the last one apparently finished (at around the 72nd minute up at Man. City....)

Expectations then? To beat Man. United in 3rd round of cup.....and then lose to Blackburn in next round.

To finish top 8-14?

Half the youth team to be thrown in?

I think realistically we need to be finishing top 10. Haven't done it in top division since 2011 and need to start finishing above the likes of Wolves and Leicester which should be realistic given we could've done it last season.

Cup run would be brilliant but we'll need luck with the draws.

Playing wise I'd really like to see Archer get a serious shot upfront right from the start. Given his goalscoring form in last 12 months I really think he could do very well if he can hit a couple early in premier league rather than going out on loan.

Beating a couple of the top 6 would be nice as our record so far under Gerrard has been dreadful against that standard. Hopefully 10 points on the board by end of August and we can play well when fixture list gets tougher from September.

Cue us being 3 down to Bournemouth after 60 minutes....

[Paul.S]

9th with the squad as it stands but if we get in another central midfielder I don’t see why we can’t challenge for 7th.

[The Man With A Stick]

I just want us to have a cup run as I'm sick to death of us not getting past the 3rd round.  Have a go at both cups and top half finish would do me, that's more than achievable with this squad.

[wittonwarrior]

I'll be surprised although delighted of course for us to pop into the top 10, we are still lacking up front and open to far too many errors at the back.  The big weight of the scales for us this season is relying on the most unreliable player in our squad Leon Bailey - if only.

Oh and a good run in at least one of the cups is a must.

[cdbearsfan]

I don't want a "cup run", I want to win a cup. Losing a final is no better than losing in the Third Round.

[ChicagoLion]

If the manager gets the best out of the squad then pushing top 6..
I am not convinced he will though.

[Beard82]

As things stand I predict well finish 10th-12th

Go out of both cups when we play one of the Sky Six (by some kinda injustice)

I dont see that enough has changed since last season for any better.

Think the only things that could get us better is if SG manages to get something extra out of the squad and/or we get a couple more in. 

Think were chosing a long game of sensible investiment plus a great youth acadamey

[Dante Lavelli]

That squad, as it stands, should finish 8 or 9th, any deviation on that is what Gerrard adds/subtracts.

[Skerra]

If we can add a striker capable of hitting 20 goals a season, I think we would comfortably finish top half at least. However, if it’s just the current squad, I see us having a similar season to the last one. If we are not in contention for a European spot, I would like to see our strongest teams put out for our cup matches but, we just know this isn’t going to happen.

[algy]

Gerrard gets a bit of a pass on what was a disappointing last season. However, he'll go in to this season with higher expectations as a result.

European football, or a bloody good attempt at it (e.g. if we miss out by a point, a dodgy goal on the last day, etc - fair enough, can't do much about that). Anything less and he's off in my book. For the cub of our size, with the investment we've seen, it's not acceptable to be scrambling for places with no mark clubs like Leicester or Crystal Palace.

[Risso]

I like Gerrard and want him to do well, but I also recognise his faults, and hope he doesn't turn out to be a stubborn arse with the Watkins and Ings up front nonsense. We've got the squad to be top 8, but a lot of it will depend on how he manages it. If we see the flattering-to-deceive triumvirate of Mings, McGinn and Watkins starting the majority of matches, I think top 10 will be the best we can hope for.

[Des Little]

Top 10 and win a cup. That’s what I’m expecting, not hoping for!

[wittonwarrior]

I like Gerrard and want him to do well, but I also recognise his faults, and hope he doesn't turn out to be a stubborn arse with the Watkins and Ings up front nonsense. We've got the squad to be top 8, but a lot of it will depend on how he manages it. If we see the flattering-to-deceive triumvirate of Mings, McGinn and Watkins starting the majority of matches, I think top 10 will be the best we can hope for.

You've hit it on the head - far too loyal - he talks the talk but backs off and seems afraid to drop players or what he perceives to be the bigger names like Coutinho.

[N'ZMAV]

I expect more points, more wins, more goals, better football, better defending, better decisions.

[Mellin]

Our strongest position is attacking midfield. If he plays two up top to sacrifice a player from Coutinho, Buendia, Bailey, Ramsey and Traore (who I still rate) questions should be asked. Smith lost his job for messing about with his system to accomodate Tuanzebe (!!!) and Ings. Hopefully Gerrard is cute enough to not make the same mistake.

Top 8 squad. Eighth minimum. Cups are what they are.