Our finishing position at the end of the forthcoming season

Wile E Coyote · Post by **Wile E Coyote** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 12:14 pm

14th I reckon, which would be fine, not a flash in the pan by any means to make it to 7th last time, it took a huge effort to sustain that, and it was incredible.
It will continue to be very difficult to find wins in this league , the club has built more experience recently, and that will help immensely.
We may well bring in a couple of players, but no doubt we will suffer the odd injury here and there too.
We'll soon find out, UTC.

jlup1980 · Post by **jlup1980** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 12:29 pm

Very tough season for a lot of clubs this time around. We have the three promoted clubs plus the three who survived last season going into 2nd season syndrome! Fulham and Wolves will and have spent big as well. It's a tricky one to call at the bottom. Palace, Everton and West Ham will be stronger this time around in my opinion as well... and the big 6 continue to roll on like the juggernauts they are!!

If I had to call it at this point I'd say Cardiff, Huddersfield, Watford, Brighton and Fulham will finish below and that's more than enough!! One club to watch is Leicester. They've lost Mahrez and there's plenty of rumours doing the rounds about Kasper Schmeichel and Harry Maguire. If they lose those two I suspect their season could be a lot tougher than they'd expect.

LeadBelly · Post by **LeadBelly** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 12:59 pm

I think we'll find it tougher this coming season because competitors know more about us. I think 10th/11th would be doing very well but 12-15th is more realistic. Anything where you can live the last few weeks of the season without having your heart in your mouth would suffice for me.

It'll change when more transfers go through but, at the mo, my bookie has us 6th favourites for relegation (=15th from "top").
Shortest odds for relegation are:
Cardiff (8/11), Hudd (6/5), Fulham (6/4), Watford (2/1), Brighton 2/1; then a decent gap to ...
Burnley (4/1), Bournemouth 5/1, C Palace (11/2), Newc=Wolves (6/1)' WHU=Southampton (7/1) ; Leic and Everton next 2 before getting to the "big6"

I like to have a bet each year on a non-favourite to go down from Prem (thankfully had Stoke last year) + likewise a non favourite to go up from/down from Championship (had a real miss last season with Sheff W and Millwall respectively!).

I may have a bet on Palace to go down this year (on the basis that they will lose Saha and Roy cant motivate them quite so much for a second time).

Tall Paul · Post by **Tall Paul** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:10 pm

You can get 9/1 on Wolves to go down which looks like huge value.

Spike · Post by **Spike** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:10 pm

5th far too may clubs lack quality and organisation for us to be in danger of relegation

LoveCurryPies · Post by **LoveCurryPies** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:16 pm

Between 8th and 12th. Why? Because we have incredible team spirit under Sean. Hopefully fewer injuries this season so I'm confident we will be right in the mix.

Steve1956 · Post by **Steve1956** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:19 pm

I will settle for 15 th, a Europa league final triumph,FA cup finalists and League cup winners,sorted arise Sir Sean Dyche.

Dyched · Post by **Dyched** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:23 pm

A repeat of last year. It didn’t take much. Hard work, organisation, doing the basics well. All which are a given under SD.

Easy.

FCBurnley · Post by **FCBurnley** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:52 pm

Depends if and who we sign. With current squad and Europe i would say 18th. 3 good signings will take us to mid table no problem

KRBFC · Post by **KRBFC** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:57 pm

FCBurnley wrote:Depends if and who we sign. With current squad and Europe i would say 18th. 3 good signings will take us to mid table no problem

I'd agree with that, right now i'd have no confidence heading into the season but i'm sure we'll sign a few so better to really assess then.

Spijed · Post by **Spijed** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:01 pm

KRBFC wrote:I'd agree with that, right now i'd have no confidence heading into the season but i'm sure we'll sign a few so better to really assess then.

So, the same squad that was never in any danger whatsoever suddenly plummets down the league?

We had so much to spare last season and we hardly rode our luck.

KRBFC · Post by **KRBFC** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:04 pm

Spijed wrote:So, the same squad that was never in any danger whatsoever suddenly plummets down the league?

We had so much to spare last season and we hardly rode our luck.

More games, tiny squad as it stands.

RalphCoatesComb · Post by **RalphCoatesComb** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:35 pm

LoveCurryPies wrote:Between 8th and 12th. Why? Because we have incredible team spirit under Sean. Hopefully fewer injuries this season so I'm confident we will be right in the mix.

My thoughts exactly. We're not going down but anything above 12th will be a bonus. Hope we can break that glass ceiling though.

claretandy · Post by **claretandy** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:48 pm

I'd take 17th and getting to the group stages if you offered it to me now.

Wile E Coyote · Post by **Wile E Coyote** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:48 pm

will be great to get back to reality with club football, that world cup was getting too weird and distracting, need to shove all that malarky behind us now and get on with the real stuff.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:57 pm

With the present squad 12th-14th,if we recruit wisely should be comfortably top ten.

Goobs · Post by **Goobs** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:00 pm

12th I reckon but possibly improve if we strengthen the starting eleven.

FCBurnley · Post by **FCBurnley** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:13 pm

Spijed wrote:So, the same squad that was never in any danger whatsoever suddenly plummets down the league?

We had so much to spare last season and we hardly rode our luck.

At the moment we are 3 players light from last season and we have no idea how fit Brady, Defour and Tarks are going to be when they return. So right now we dont know what our starting line up is going to be. SD is talking about breaking our transfer record but as of today our squad is weaker than last season

claretburns · Post by **claretburns** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:15 pm

jlup1980 wrote:Very tough season for a lot of clubs this time around. We have the three promoted clubs plus the three who survived last season going into 2nd season syndrome! Fulham and Wolves will and have spent big as well. It's a tricky one to call at the bottom. Palace, Everton and West Ham will be stronger this time around in my opinion as well... and the big 6 continue to roll on like the juggernauts they are!!

If I had to call it at this point I'd say Cardiff, Huddersfield, Watford, Brighton and Fulham will finish below and that's more than enough!! One club to watch is Leicester. They've lost Mahrez and there's plenty of rumours doing the rounds about Kasper Schmeichel and Harry Maguire. If they lose those two I suspect their season could be a lot tougher than they'd expect.

With Leicester also factor in the fans not happy with Puel, a few sales and a tough start could easily see Puel as the first manager sacked this season.

Colburn_Claret · Post by **Colburn_Claret** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:48 pm

12th

12th and a place in the Europa League group stage would be a great season

12th and miss out on the group stage, would be a shame, but still ok

Spijed · Post by **Spijed** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:53 pm

FCBurnley wrote:At the moment we are 3 players light from last season and we have no idea how fit Brady, Defour and Tarks are going to be when they return. So right now we dont know what our starting line up is going to be. SD is talking about breaking our transfer record but as of today our squad is weaker than last season

We really didn't miss Brady or Defour did we?

#wefinishedseventh

FCBurnley · Post by **FCBurnley** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 5:07 pm

Spijed wrote:We really didn't miss Brady or Defour did we?

#wefinishedseventh

Yes we did. With them we may well have been looking forward to Champions League !

Vegas Claret · Post by **Vegas Claret** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 5:18 pm

with our current squad, the fact that pretty much every team has strengthened I feel we are a couple of injuries away from a relegation battle. We need at least 3 new players or it will be a long season unfortunately - that said I do trust Dyche and the board to bring in the necessary

DustyBawls · Post by **DustyBawls** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 5:22 pm

jlup1980 wrote:Very tough season for a lot of clubs this time around.

People say that EVERY season.

In the Championship, it's going to be harder because 3 teams have come down from the Premier League.
In the Premier League, it's suddenly going to be harder because the 3 best teams in the Championship have come up.

What happens? It's no tougher than the previous season.

IanMcL · Post by **IanMcL** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 11:20 pm

3rd or 4th

jlup1980 · Post by **jlup1980** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 10:42 am

DustyBawls wrote:People say that EVERY season.

In the Championship, it's going to be harder because 3 teams have come down from the Premier League.
In the Premier League, it's suddenly going to be harder because the 3 best teams in the Championship have come up.

What happens? It's no tougher than the previous season.

It'll be tougher for us if we qualify for the Europa League group stage - that goes without saying. If you don't think that then you're living in cloud cuckoo land. Having said that I think we'll be safe as I expect us to finish above 5 or 6 others quite comfortably, but that also depends on our transfer activity between now and 9th August. We need 3 or 4 quality additions and we'll be comfortable mid-table in my opinion. However, people would have said the same about Stoke and West Brom this time last year.

There seems to be a few more clubs willing to spend BIG this summer. Stoke, West Brom and Swansea were never really huge spenders - quite similar to us in a lot of ways. We've actually lost three of the more sensible clubs which says a lot. Wolves will spend as much as it takes, Fulham have sent out a signal of intent with their transfer activity so far, West Ham, Everton, the top 6, even Brighton with the Andone signing. Every club gets stronger. Bournemouth are being linked to a lad for £30m! This is the reality and as with every year it'll be the top 6 and then the rest. We need to make sure we start strong and avoid any sort of relegation scrap if possible because the rest can finish anywhere!! We're just as likely to finish 17th as 7th this year. It's literally a case of throwing names in the air and seeing where they land. That's why it's tougher. The margins are getting smaller with every passing season.

DustyBawls · Post by **DustyBawls** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 10:51 am

jlup1980 wrote:It'll be tougher for us if we qualify for the Europa League group stage - that goes without saying. If you don't think that then you're living in cloud cuckoo land.

Right, well for a kickoff, you didn't mention Europe.
Secondly, you were banging on about the clubs coming up. It's what some folk say every bloody season.

And thirdly, "If you don't think that then you're living in cloud cuckoo land" = "if you don't agree with me, I'm going to sulk and stamp my feet".

How about the fact that Swansea and Stoke both played well against us last season, but they're now in the Championship? Hmmm?

It will be just as difficult as last season... oh... and the season before!

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 11:07 am

jlup1980 wrote:It'll be tougher for us if we qualify for the Europa League group stage - that goes without saying. If you don't think that then you're living in cloud cuckoo land. Having said that I think we'll be safe as I expect us to finish above 5 or 6 others quite comfortably, but that also depends on our transfer activity between now and 9th August. We need 3 or 4 quality additions and we'll be comfortable mid-table in my opinion. However, people would have said the same about Stoke and West Brom this time last year.

There seems to be a few more clubs willing to spend BIG this summer. Stoke, West Brom and Swansea were never really huge spenders - quite similar to us in a lot of ways. We've actually lost three of the more sensible clubs which says a lot. Wolves will spend as much as it takes, Fulham have sent out a signal of intent with their transfer activity so far, West Ham, Everton, the top 6, even Brighton with the Andone signing. Every club gets stronger. Bournemouth are being linked to a lad for £30m! This is the reality and as with every year it'll be the top 6 and then the rest. We need to make sure we start strong and avoid any sort of relegation scrap if possible because the rest can finish anywhere!! We're just as likely to finish 17th as 7th this year. It's literally a case of throwing names in the air and seeing where they land. That's why it's tougher. The margins are getting smaller with every passing season.

It will be tough Thursday/Sunday games this is where squad depth and careful rotation is essential,we can't pick the same eleven week after week as much as Sean likes cohesion,i guess the back 4/5 will be tampered with less,the attacking options can be more fluid,if we strengthen strongly.

Sure clubs are spending big it doesn't mean all their signings will be hits or gel as a team,Brighton and Huddersfield's major factor in surviving last season was a one for all attitude.The first 8-10 games are vital if we are around the bottom 4/5 sides after them,it could be a long hard slog on paper we have plenty of winnable matches home and away in the first couple of months,and our record against the lower half teams has been solid in the last two years.

I don't suspect we'll be embroiled in a relegation fight our home form should be enough to ensure we are well clear of the trap door,who will go down Cardiff look like they will struggle but beyond that it's hard to separate 7-8 teams.

Spijed · Post by **Spijed** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 11:18 am

jlup1980 wrote:There seems to be a few more clubs willing to spend BIG this summer. Stoke, West Brom and Swansea were never really huge spenders - quite similar to us in a lot of ways. We've actually lost three of the more sensible clubs which says a lot. Wolves will spend as much as it takes, Fulham have sent out a signal of intent with their transfer activity so far, West Ham, Everton, the top 6, even Brighton with the Andone signing. Every club gets stronger. Bournemouth are being linked to a lad for £30m! This is the reality and as with every year it'll be the top 6 and then the rest. We need to make sure we start strong and avoid any sort of relegation scrap if possible because the rest can finish anywhere!! We're just as likely to finish 17th as 7th this year. It's literally a case of throwing names in the air and seeing where they land. That's why it's tougher. The margins are getting smaller with every passing season.

Stoke bought Shaqiri and all three clubs you mentioned had far higher wage bills than us. Swansea were even paying £100k pw.

jlup1980 · Post by **jlup1980** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 2:15 pm

DustyBawls wrote:Right, well for a kickoff, you didn't mention Europe.
Secondly, you were banging on about the clubs coming up. It's what some folk say every bloody season.

And thirdly, "If you don't think that then you're living in cloud cuckoo land" = "if you don't agree with me, I'm going to sulk and stamp my feet".

How about the fact that Swansea and Stoke both played well against us last season, but they're now in the Championship? Hmmm?

It will be just as difficult as last season... oh... and the season before!

I had to mention Europe for it to be considered? Really? Wow.

Standard PL season + Europa League = tougher season.

No stamping feet, I just thought the logic above was a known quantity in any discussion about the upcoming season.

The promoted teams do matter as well. There's a big difference this year. Fulham and Wolves will spend vastly more than any of the promoted clubs last season. It doesn't guarantee success (see Boro for example) but it gives them a fighting chance!

claretonthecoast1882 · Post by **claretonthecoast1882** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 2:18 pm

11th - 14th

jlup1980 · Post by **jlup1980** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 2:26 pm

Spijed wrote:Stoke bought Shaqiri and all three clubs you mentioned had far higher wage bills than us. Swansea were even paying £100k pw.

Stoke paid £12m for Shaqiri three years ago. Hardly a huge transfer fee. His relegation release clause was more than this!

The record fee Stoke have paid is £18m for Imbula. West Brom paid £15m for Oliver Burke and Swansea £18m for Andre Ayew.

Fulham have just paid around £25m for Jean Michael Seri from Nice. Wolves have spent big last season and already this summer and are linked with a move for Andre Silva from Milan at the moment (fee approx £30m). This is the difference. Clubs are willing to bet the ranch on staying up. There's no guarantee it'll work but it's ambitious and they'll be no walkovers this year (like every year to be honest!).

We can't afford to miss the boat in the transfer market as other clubs will be more than willing to take the risks we won't.

Spijed · Post by **Spijed** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 2:32 pm

jlup1980 wrote:We can't afford to miss the boat in the transfer market as other clubs will be more than willing to take the risks we won't.

Last season Everton and Leicester spent more than us.

We will ALWAYS tend to spend less than our rivals and it never does us any harm.

If we match our rivals on spending & wages but it doesn't work we will almost certainly be in league one within the next five years!

Do you want that?

Bolton, Blackburn, Portsmouth etc. spent beyond their means.

jurek · Post by **jurek** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 3:33 pm

I'd like to think that we could finish mid-table - say 12th or 13th.

Continuing no doubt with Dyche's game plans and formations.
'Making it as difficult as possible for the opposing team to score
thus increasing our chances of 'popping one' in at the other end.'
Hopefully playing some reasonably decent football along the way.

I suspect quite a few pundits will have us down as in the relegation fight
or just above. 'One season wonders ...but it's little old Burnley and
they shouldn't really be in the Premiership and they haven't got
any foreign players ...and whatever else.'

I really hope we can prove them wrong but I can't see us doing as well as last season
or as such I can see a few teams (Everton, West Ham, Leicester, Southampton and possibly even Brighton)
improving on last season. Wolves and Fulham will be no push overs either.

Going to be a very interesting season and hope Defour and Brady back in the team
can improve us alongside whoever we eventually manage to get in.

Aclaret · Post by **Aclaret** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:12 pm

I've just been in touch with the people in the know and this is how they said the league table will finish.
1 Man City
2 Liverpool
3 Spurs
4 Man U
5 Arsenal
6 Chelsea
7 Newcastle U
8 Everton
9 Palace
10 Fulham
11 West Ham
12 Southampton
13 Leicester
14 Wolves
15 BURNLEY
16 Brighton
17 Bournemouth
18 Watford
19 Huddersfield
20 Cardiff
Not sure I agree with all of it but that's what they said.
12

Wile E Coyote · Post by **Wile E Coyote** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:43 pm

Aclaret wrote:I've just been in touch with the people in the know and this is how they said the league table will finish.
1 Man City
2 Liverpool
3 Spurs
4 Man U
5 Arsenal
6 Chelsea
7 Newcastle U
8 Everton
9 Palace
10 Fulham
11 West Ham
12 Southampton
13 Leicester
14 Wolves
15 BURNLEY
16 Brighton
17 Bournemouth
18 Watford
19 Huddersfield
20 Cardiff
Not sure I agree with all of it but that's what they said.
12

Ooooh ! i was only one out based on that.

Aclaret · Post by **Aclaret** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:50 pm

Not sure about Newcastle finishing that high.

LongSider75 · Post by **LongSider75** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 7:31 pm

I am quite worried, because I can't see us having the same success away from home this season. We need to up the ante at the Turf and we should be fine. European football could really affect where we finish. A good Euro run and premier survival will do nicely for me.

boatshed bill · Post by **boatshed bill** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 7:37 pm

I'm thinking 15th. but I'm a bit of a pessimist

jlup1980 · Post by **jlup1980** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 8:55 am

Spijed wrote:Last season Everton and Leicester spent more than us.

We will ALWAYS tend to spend less than our rivals and it never does us any harm.

If we match our rivals on spending & wages but it doesn't work we will almost certainly be in league one within the next five years!

Do you want that?

Bolton, Blackburn, Portsmouth etc. spent beyond their means.

I'm not saying we match our rivals on spending or wages, we'll rightly never do that, just that we need to be a bit more proactive in getting certain deals done. We made a profit in the transfer market last season so there's no reason why we can't spend on one or two players this summer to strengthen us going forward.

Let's take Mawson as an example; he fits the bill perfectly. He's young, English and has the potential to thrive under Dyche. Other clubs will be monitoring Mawson, no question about it, so we need to move fast. He'd give us a fall back if Mee decides it's time to move on this summer or next. Mawson would be the next Keane or Tarkowski waiting in the wings. £20m is a lot of money but every so often we will need to spend big for the right player.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 11:42 am

boatshed bill wrote:I'm thinking 15th. but I'm a bit of a pessimist

I had us down for 15th last season,so by that logic we'll qualify for Europe again.