Predictions for the season

[BurleyBaggie]

Fulham
Albion - heart not head
Cardiff

Not necessarily in that order.

[ChamonixBaggie]

Don't understand the "championship players" argument. We're in the Championship? Good quality Championship players are exactly what we're after. How are we supposed to get allegedly 'Premier League' quality players? Which others teams in the same league are doing this?

Also, these supposedly premier league players we've lost didn't get us out of this league...

I'm 100% confident we'll sign 2/3 more players and be challenging for promotion. 1 more striker and I think our first 11 is arguably stronger than last years and that we have a better head coach which will result in fewer goals against.

Aside from that no idea who will be challenging. Fulham could be great or could do an 'us' with an inexperienced bloke in charge and delusions of grandeur.

[Duffers]

Don't understand the "championship players" argument. We're in the Championship? How are we supposed to get allegedly 'Premier League' quality players? Which others teams in the same league are doing this?  Also, these supposedly premier league players we've lost didn't get us out of this league.

I'm 100% confident we'll sign 2/3 more players and be challenging for promotion. 1 more striker and I think our first 11 is arguably stronger than last years and that we have a better head coach which will result in fewer goals against.

Aside from that no idea who will be challenging. Fulham could be great or could do an 'us' with an inexperienced bloke in charge and delusions of grandeur.

We had “PL quality” players last season and yet we are still in the Championship.

[Fido]

10th. We’ve signed Championship players and lost some Premier League ones. Bilic is a good appointment but you need the players to challenge for promotion. I have concerns about the quality at the back, out wide (unless Phillips stays fit which he wont) and clearly we don’t have a goal scorer. I hope I’m wrong but behind the scenes we are still a shambles.

We’ve taken out a lot of goals in Gayle and J-Rod for sure. But can actually anyone remember us playing decent promotion style football for a sustained period last year?

To me, and I kept banging on about this to my colleagues in Leeds last year, we were full of individual brilliance but were weak as a team. We’d play well for 35 minutes a game but over 46 games that isn’t enough against well drilled opponents who have better ideas and energy in midfield. 

I’m in total agreement we’re 2 maybe three short. Gayle type striker and a false 9/winger. 

However, I think we have better energy and better ideas beyond this. Kro and Sawyers have 20-30 assists in them and the potential for 15 goals. I think Romaine hit 18 assists last year?

We have a more mobile midfield, more energy to get up and down and we have pace in both full back areas from the get go this year. Semi for Dawson is a decent swap at this level. I also think organisation is massive, we conceded nearly 70 goals was it? If we start keeping clean sheets, getting more help from midfield and add another striker how far really are we away from last year?

Yeah it’s a different approach, individualism vs team but I’d go on a limb here and suggest both Sheff Utd and Norwich were the better teams last year but had worse players than us.

+1. The Croat lad sounds like a good, young replacement for Morrison (something we've missed for ages) and Sawyers plays the game nice and tidily. Give these two the options and it's a very different game and one I'd like to see.

[Babel]

7th. Asgoodasitgets, unless we sign the holy Gayle grail.

[Gzbaggy]

Why do you expect Fulham to win it?
A novice manager
Players who think they are too good for the EPL
Their best player Sessignon likely to leave soon
The loss of players shortly before and after the deadline to clubs in mainland Europe and Asia (A potential problem for us with Hegazi)

Enough know-how from when they last went up, oodles of cash to get replacements, the London factor means they'll get new guys in too which others won't. Bookies in line with my way of thinking.
I might be entirely wrong.
So what's your predictions rather than picking holes in others?

I think like most people on here I haven't got a clue and would not be putting much money on it because I think it looks a very open race.  

Last year I thought Stoke (most money/ rich owner) Sheff U (best manager) Middlesboro (best defence). This time I would go Stoke for the same reason, Leeds (probably best manager) and Bristol City because they are a well organized club behind the scenes, look at the way the Bristol Sport Group works

[Cunninghamismagic]

A Gayle type striker and winger and top 2 possible. Without then the target is the Playoffs.

[Super_Slav]

Blades Analytic (Twitter) who is usually spot on has predicted us to finish 11th (AS THINGS STAND)

[WWHO]

Blades Analytic (Twitter) who is usually spot on has predicted us to finish 11th (AS THINGS STAND)

Whilst his statistical analysis of players and teams in individual matches is often near the mark, he's not "spot on" when predicting league positions.

[Cunninghamismagic]

Blades Analytic (Twitter) who is usually spot on has predicted us to finish 11th (AS THINGS STAND)

He also has Blackburn 6th and PNE near the bottom.