Will another smaller team manage to surpass expectations next season or is our success likely to be a one off, a bit like Leicester winning the league?

Brighton maybe. Think Huddersfield will suffer second season syndrome and be relegated. UTC

No they are both going down with Cardiff

Yeah, why not?

KRBFC wrote:Yeah, why not?

They both aren't managed by Sean Dyche.

They both surpassed expectation this year by staying up.

As long there are at least 3 clubs that finish below us I couldn't give a sh!ting bat.

tough ask

can we emulate our own sucess?

Spijed wrote:Will another smaller team manage to surpass expectations next season or is our success likely to be a one off, a bit like Leicester winning the league?

Were Massive!

Maybe nobody including us saw us coming.

Nah.

More chance of Chris Hughton getting bitten on the arse by a giraffe in the bogs in Brighton Paviliion.

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to watch Brighton totally implode next season and go down.

Huddersfield might struggle but Brighton have the money. The main thing is though neither of them have Sean Dyche.
I wouldn't mind seeing them both stay up (yes even Brighton) because the PL needs the smaller clubs to make it real, make it like football as opposed to 'my crowds bigger than yours and we have more money to spend stupidly'. My biggest wish (other than another top ten finish for us) is to see that under-achieving, over-hyped, media darling nothing of a football club, West Ham, go down. Big club my ass. Just because they happen to be in London with a decent number of people in their vicinity they think they have a right to PL football. When did they last trouble the top 6? The way they talk you would think they were regular trophy winners.

I think Fulham will be the surprise package

Burnley1989 wrote:I think Fulham will be the surprise package

They have money and apparently play decent football. Although playing decent football without massive investment can be a downfall in the PL.

I think Huddersfield and Cardiff will be the whipping boys next season, then one of about 10 others (including us) could finish third bottom, such is the competetiveness of the league from 7th down.

I am pretty confident we can get a solid mid table finish next season in spite of (hopefully) a decent European campaign.

If we get relegated but win the Europa League, would we still be allowed to play in the Champions League the following season?

Chobulous wrote:More chance of Chris Hughton getting bitten on the arse by a giraffe in the bogs in Brighton Paviliion.

Are the bogs in Brighton Pavilion roofless? Just trying to establish the odds here

houseboy wrote:Huddersfield might struggle but Brighton have the money. The main thing is though neither of them have Sean Dyche.
I wouldn't mind seeing them both stay up (yes even Brighton) because the PL needs the smaller clubs to make it real, make it like football as opposed to 'my crowds bigger than yours and we have more money to spend stupidly'. My biggest wish (other than another top ten finish for us) is to see that under-achieving, over-hyped, media darling nothing of a football club, West Ham, go down. Big club my ass. Just because they happen to be in London with a decent number of people in their vicinity they think they have a right to PL football. When did they last trouble the top 6? The way they talk you would think they were regular trophy winners.

Well, to be fair, they DID have several World Cup Winners in their side in '66 which is more recent than anything we've done. They can Charlie-it more than we can

Sam Vokes was quoted in the Sunday Express that next years target was the Champions League.

Why should we doubt him?

Therefore this debate is irrelevant

Down_Rover wrote:Sam Vokes was quoted in the Sunday Express that next years target was the Champions League.

But he didn't say he'd signed for Man City

NRC wrote:Well, to be fair, they DID have several World Cup Winners in their side in '66 which is more recent than anything we've done. They can Charlie-it more than we can

Actually bud you've kinda hit the nail on the head in a way. They have never been a particularly good side but they have, or at least did have, quite a few England players in their teams. It always did baffle me a lot. It was almost as if the England managers at the time couldn't see beyond the good time Charlies at Upton Park with all the bloody pearly kings and queens prancing down the street dancing to Mary Poppins songs on their way to watch the 'Ammers. I simply cannot understand the 'big club' status that has been afforded them for decades, they have never been champions of this land and their trophy haul is not dissimilar to ours (minus any English champions titles). They are the The Smiths of football, over hyped sh!te.

That's it, I'm done. Ha ha!

Burnley1989 wrote:I think Fulham will be the surprise package

Only if they can hold on to their key squad members.

NRC wrote:Are the bogs in Brighton Pavilion roofless? Just trying to establish the odds here

Don't know, never been there, just trying to add a bit of context.

Brighton will show their soft underbelly and go down. They wont ever be charged for dodgy texts though

Huddersfield don't score enough goals and that wont change and they will go down.

Cardiff will fade badly after Christmas. Warnock will finish up back in lumber every week when things start to fall apart

Chobulous wrote:More chance of Chris Hughton getting bitten on the arse by a giraffe in the bogs in Brighton Paviliion.

Is he a frequent visitor to the aforementioned public convenience?

Spike wrote:Brighton will show their soft underbelly and go down. They wont ever be charged for dodgy texts though

Huddersfield don't score enough goals and that wont change and they will go down.

Cardiff will fade badly after Christmas. Warnock will finish up back in lumber every week when things start to fall apart

bold predictions before the transfer window has really started, I'm not sure how you can possibly say Huddersfield wont change or how they ''don't score enough goals'' but they did score enough goals to accumulate enough points to survive. I think I'll take the sensible option and wait until the transfer market has closed before making bold predictions about next season.

Brighton will do well but then someone will go n spoil it by booing them n hurting their feelings

It's only a matter of time before there are 80 Burnleys via the democratization of football knowledge.

A couple of reasons we got to seventh place was because of the inconsistencies of Leicester, Everton's poor start, and the surprising failure of WBA and perhaps Southampton and Stoke. Will next season throw up such surprises?

This coming season I would expect both Leicester and Everton to improve. What will happen at Arsenal, Crystal Palace, and West Ham is anybody's guess.

Brighton seemed to adapt well to the Premier League last season playing a similar style to us. I would expect them to progress a bit and stay up but I doubt they will get to seventh.

Huddersfield started well then looked like they were going down, their home crowd only taking them so far. They stayed up because of how poor the four clubs were below them but also because they have something. If Wagner can progress his team a bit (replace their goalkeeper for a start) they could stay up again, which would be an amazing achievement.

Newcastle too might progress. I remember there was a despondent Newcastle fan on here after their 1-0 defeat at the Turf saying he thought they weren't good enough. Perhaps his expectations were too high but I though they looked OK except a bit of a dodgy defence. They sorted that and survived comfortably in the end.

I reckon it will be a tougher league next year and I can't see us getting away with going ten games without a win and staying in the same position.