Where will we finish this season?

[HughieG]

12th for me.

[Jammy89]

17th or above is absolutely fine for me.

I think (i'm revising my original estimate XD) 14th or 15th

[ashingtoon62]

17th or above is absolutely fine for me.

I think (i'm revising my original estimate XD) 14th or 15th

16th I hope and pray...O:)

[ex_pat_magpie]

17th or above is absolutely fine for me.

I think (i'm revising my original estimate XD) 14th or 15th

9th to 12th is my throw.

[HughieG]

17th or above is absolutely fine for me.

I think (i'm revising my original estimate XD) 14th or 15th

Fine by me too! But hoping for something less frightening than an intense relegation battle.

[toptoon]

14th

[Zippity]

14th or 15th?

[Nufc24Mag]

14th or 15th?
12th

[andyj73]

.. Judging by the standard of player you are interested, it is likely to be a relegation scrap .. Probably be three teams worse than you though ..

[Jammy89]

As long as we stay up. That's key thing this season.

[Kal]

15th if Rafa stays, relegated if the fat f*ck drives him oot.

[ghostrider]

Judging by what I've seen in pre-season and trying to more or less gauge the progress of the new signings as well as ( hopefully) the emergence of a stronger mindset and physical/technical showing from the porcelain dolls ( Aarons/deJong, etc) then my heart tells me 10th to 12th and my head tells me 14th to 15th.

I sincerely hope that we get shocked with a couple of top signings...or one striker at least and we manage to play way above our reckoning and finish inside the top 10.
Wishful thinking but not beyond miracles.

[Jammy89]

442 mag has us finishing 11th.

Edit: Here is pic of there prediction.

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/20621836_486245885061870_2968328458699642941_n.jpg ?oh=e0de3940e892ea97148bfd92d063bbea&oe=59FD9400

[ghostrider]

442 mag has us finishing 11th.

Edit: Here is pic of there prediction.

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/20621836_486245885061870_2968328458699642941_n.jpg ?oh=e0de3940e892ea97148bfd92d063bbea&oe=59FD9400

Looking at that table, it has a sort of championship look about it.
It just doesn't resemble what a premier league table would normally look like when you see the teams outside of the usual top few.
Apart from our name being lower down when it shouldn't, of course. (biased).

[waalsendmick]

looking at last season's table, the positions from 8th - 20th can be taken in any order at all.

whether it be attitude, luck, hard work or the quality of the manager / team ethic.

I'm not suggesting we can finish ad high as 8th (far from it) but I'm hoping to finish somewhere between 10th/14th without squeaky bum time being an issue.

[sherwoodmag]

If we get a decent striker in I think we will finish mid table.We have goals from both wings with reserve back up,Merino looks a good DM and Lejuene a ball playing CB.I don't think we will be in a relegation battle.

[toonlegend]

i'm still unvaiveringly convinced we'll finish 12th to 14th

[ghostrider]

I reckon if we can entice Messi and Ronaldo to come here for a combined 3.8 billion with wages of 2 million a week each, then not only will it be a transfer record double for us but we will have arguably the two best players in the world who came here for a new challenge that wasn't money orientated.
This would then encourage all other top players to come here for similar transfer fees and wages and thus ensuring that we actually have a better than average chance of winning the league and cups, including the champions league the following season.

[toonlegend]

I reckon if we can entice Messi and Ronaldo to come here for a combined 3.8 billion with wages of 2 million a week each, then not only will it be a transfer record double for us but we will have arguably the two best players in the world who came here for a new challenge that wasn't money orientated.
This would then encourage all other top players to come here for similar transfer fees and wages and thus ensuring that we actually have a better than average chance of winning the league and cups, including the champions league the following season.

we don't need messi and ronaldo, they are too old and past it :) :)

plus we have gayle, shelvey, ritchie, and a couple of others. i'm sure 5 or 6 of our team (all of them together) could do the same job as messi or ronaldo

[PhoneymcRingRing]

18th. Expecting a spell of turmoil and chaos ending in relegation.

[ghostrider]

we don't need messi and ronaldo, they are too old and past it :) :)

plus we have gayle, shelvey, ritchie, and a couple of others. i'm sure 5 or 6 of our team (all of them together) could do the same job as messi or ronaldoOh yeah, you're right. I'm a right silly Billy for being a doubter. :D

[toptoon]

18th. Expecting a spell of turmoil and chaos ending in relegation.

Enjoy the season. :D

[NorthernRock]

Enjoy the season. :D

XD

Exactly, now fair enough we all have opinions, some of us more optimistic than others but the way people change their opinion throughout a season, a month, a week or even a day is absolutely laughable tbh. You'd think they actually like us being ****... ;D

I'm going to look at all the positives I see in our squad with the manager we have and what we're trying to build and say that I believe we're going to finish in the top half.

Without going on long, people have been uninspired with our signings because they're looking for names not players players know how to play ball and are the ***** components that make a team and ultimately win matches, yes individuals do this but they need the team around them in order to perform. Benitez has consistently shown that he knows how to build successful teams. One of the best (underdogs) in recent Spanish history. He doesn't do this solely on technical ability in the same way he doesn't just buy a player on his name or price tag. He knows what he's buying and he also knows that because of our position in both the transfer and merchandise market that he must buy players who can be used as cogs for his clock... young hungry players who are playing for the club as much as themselves as well as the manager tbf (he has massive respect amongst players so I don't give a **** if anybody knows anyone in the club who's cousins sister said that there were certain players who didn't like him. Bottom line is he knows how to get the best out of players (including those who personally didn't like him like Gerrard) and that's because he knows what he's doing and the fact that he's now in control of all transfer activity i.e choosing/convincing his own players, tells me that we're going to do more good business than not even if I don't fully rate the player because of past performances because I know he's going to be used to progress the other 10 men on the pitch to create a better team.

That should not be under-estimated, yes it could go tits up and we have a higher percentage chance than many in the league, that could definitely be said. Or you could also look at the facts and think- we won the league, we have a core of potential English players, crossing ability, a good ball player at the back and decent pace/energy throughout the team. Our midfield at times are pretty high standard in their passing and movement and I think Merino could well be our Fabregas next season. I'm also hoping SDJ steps up and shows that he's as good as any 50m Icelandic.

I think our full-backs are going to have a huge part to play in our season- he utilises them to their potential both in an attacking and defensive sense. He's a very solid manager in terms of how he sets his teams out with focus on wide outlets but at the end of the day he allows player freedom to an extent in order for them to express themselves- Shelvey and Merino could be a mint partnership and they'll encourage runs and one-twos all day.

Now we have 2 ball players in midfield and one at the back to keep things moving I think we could well see a Rodger-esque type Swansea except we'll have better players... Let's not forget lads that Rodgers basically copied the Spanish way of playing lads, Rafa's known that way for years and actually improved that (Barcelona basically based their most successful team on his foundations with 5 in midfield). He's known that system since pretenders like Valverde, Guardiola and Martinez (who everyone once creamed over) the difference with him from most is that he's actually used it for his own and been successful at it for years. That's real talk so I don't see how you can knock his knowledge tbh. I think that's what sets us apart from the bottom half. For me to think about anything above that at this point would be naive but I'm definitely being realistic with my own point of view in saying I think we can finish top half. It all depends on how the players adapt, they've got a lot to prove and I'm confident that they can do it tbh.

Obviously this could sound like fairytale bull**** after a couple of whoopings (no more so than being overly negative though) but if we can keep our best players fit and add a couple more good additions then I think we're a solid game for any Prem team, we're a good team with good potential lads, I'm looking forward to the season.

We don't need Messi's or Ronaldo's we need Shearers and Solano's...

HTL

[pboromag]

If we don't get another 4 in we will go down

We certainly won't be comfortable at any point in the season with the current squad

[Jammy89]

If we don't get another 4 in we will go down

We certainly won't be comfortable at any point in the season with the current squad

I'm sure you'd be distraught for us Pboro.

I see Merson has got us finishing 17th.

As i said - i'd take that now as we'd stay up and get the tranche of Sky money.

[ashingtoon62]

If we don't get another 4 in we will go down

We certainly won't be comfortable at any point in the season with the current squad
^^^
This...:(

[pboromag]

I'm sure you'd be distraught for us Pboro.

I see Merson has got us finishing 17th.

As i said - i'd take that now as we'd stay up and get the tranche of Sky money.

We have money now we ain't spent
So what difference would it make
Under Rafa we have 3 Windows of shipping dead wood our

[toonviking]

A few more good signings...

9th

[toptoon]

We must get a striker. There´s no point in having a good midfield , defence and even wingers if the lads up front waste chances. For me the biggest difference between the fizzy and Pl is the chance:goal scored ratio and if we don´t put our chances away as much as other teams then it´s going to be tough.

All sounds a bit obvious, I know, but you often see sides that look comfortable on the ball for most of the game, losing because they haven´t got the cutting edge. I can´t see us dominating possession in many games this season and so we need to be clinical when the chances come.