On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 was relegation this season, and 10 is where we are now, what were your thoughts on how this season would pan out?

4, lower half of table but above relegation places…

A boy .

11 - I thought we'd be promoted by Feb and whilst we've not done too badly i'm yet to be convinced VK is the right person to take this club forward. I'm happy to give him a chance though and remain open minded though

Even that’s a bit farfetched for you to get a proper nibble

I was expecting top 4 at worst when VK was confirmed. Had Dyche stayed I'd have still fancied him to take us back up.

5/6

With all of the changes - untried manager at this level, departures, incomings, financial uncertainty, I felt that the play offs be a good achievement.

On every level (the financial position is still a concern) my expectations have been exceeded. The only disappointment for me is that this season has to come to an end. I’ve loved every minute of it and look forward to every game like a young lad waiting for Christmas!

7, but we’re currently running at a 10.

7 I thought we'd struggle early doors and gradually improve as the season wore on, however after the first 10 games or so we've been unstoppable.

4/5

9, always thought we'd go up but not that it would be so easy

I’ve got a £10 on us being champions at 14/1. So I guess I’d be on a 9… however I wasn’t that confident and it certainly could have gone a different direction.

I didn't know many of the players we were after. His record wasn't shockingly good. A number of our best players wanted out and I wasn't sure how easily they'd be replaced.

Still with Barnes, JayRod and Cork I thought we would be strong enough not to go down.

In summary, I thought playoffs would be a decent aim. I know I attempted to defend VK on here when the usual idiots were piling in after a couple of months.

I predicted top 8, so just another example of me being correct.

I would say a 5 to represent mid table. Respect to any poster who predicted a play off position or better

I wanted top 6 and one of the lads in my WhatsApp group (16 lads) blasted us for not thinking we should walk it, explained his reasons which have been 90% correct

9 - I fully expected to win the league. Just didn’t think it would be as easy as it has been.

6/7

I thought and expected us to finish top 6 as a minimum.
I had faith in the recruitment team and in VK to keep us competitive despite the huge overhaul.

I'm generally a glass half full kind of person though, so it helps.

9. I knew we'd go up automatically but I thought Norwich would be our nearest challenger, not Sheffield Utd.
I didn't buy into all the doom and gloom around the club, and I certainly didn't buy into Sean Dyche being the only possible manager for us.

I was expecting top half and hoping for a play-off spot. so 6/7

I didn't know what to expect but thought it would take time......I certainly didn't expect this. I hope VK wants to stick around for next season.

I thought we'd win the league, and backed us @12/1

The day we got relegated 2
The day VK got appointed 7
Today 10
Alan Pace & VK-10 each

In July ... 5 ... Mid Table
In August ... 6 ...Top 10
In September ... 7 ...Top Six
In October ... 8 ... Promoted
In November/December ... 9 ... 2nd minimum
Since January ... 10 ... Champions

Must admit preseason I didn't have a clue what to expect. I was probably thinking a few months to gel, then second half of season maybe push for promotion if things go well!

5 or 6 for me. I didn't believe it would be likely that so many new players could gel the way they have.

I wouldn't call us a 10 right now though. More like a 12.

Always thought we'd go up automatic, after the Huddersfield game, but thought we'd be in the play off positions at the start of the year, and have a brilliant second half of the season.
Anyone who expected this is a liar or on crack.

expectations were 6 with a long term view of seeing us play good football, we are miles ahead of where everyone thought we would be - miles and miles. Anyone that says different is talking out of their backside

Knowing several of our better players were leaving and others would be sold to balance the books, I was fearful of our ability to recover from relegation.

Indeed whilst SD was still in charge I thought we may end up going down again.

It was definitely about a 2 around Easter time and no better than 5 before the season started.

It's a tough question because on the one hand I was confident we should have been expecting to go straight back up given the cash available from the parachute payments/player sales etc. On the other hand I wasn't confident it'd be invested correctly, thankfully it turned out I needn't have been concerned.

5. I expected mid table mediocrity with crowds dropping off to around 12k. So pleasantly quite surprised tbh.

A definite 5, mid table.

There was absolutely nothing there to suggest we'd be anywhere near where we are now.

Balls to the parachute payments, this is a team virtually built from scratch.

I'm not going to say it's a miracle because that would be doing down Vinnie and his team, but I was more looking at League 1 rather than the Premier League before a ball was kicked.

We've been superb.

I thought it would all depend on who was in charge of the rebuild and AP got the right man in VK.

I think from his first interview I was confident we would win the league..... but didn't expect it to be this emphatically and I expected the Kompany ethos to take a bit more time to bed in

I was in London on the day of the Championship play off final last year.

Seeing all the Forest and Huddersfield fans around the city, I thought to myself "I'll settle for this next season".

I thought relegation was a more likely outcome than promotion and bet my nephew £1 that we’d finish below Rotherham.

I said we'd be top 6. This is wild.

As soon as I knew we had VK....
10...all the f***ing way.

I put two £20 bets on us; one to win the league, the other to be relegated. Honestly didn’t see mid table. It was either going to be brilliant or shambolic.

Turned out f’kin brilliant

7 - thought we’d be flirting with playoffs whilst building a new team/getting them to gel, with a serious promotion aim for next season. This has been awesome!

Wondered what the heck was happening to our beloved club…….no manager, piles of debt, all our “most valuable” players off…..

Then, something happened………..VK………..a recognition we would no longer be cannon fodder for Man City, no VAR, local derbies, new kit sales……..

Exciting times, but couldn’t have foreseen the season we’re having………

I think with all the ins/outs I was thinking 6 - just wanted us to show potential and then hopefully have a playoff push. The impact of the Huddersfield performance was seismic and instantly caused me to go to 8 or even 9. Then we had all the draws but the triple header of Reading, Rotherham and Blackburn pushed it to 10.

The intensity we can play at in the last 15/20 mins is so impressive. As a Burnley fan I’m used to us putting the effort in front loaded and holding on to what we have. With this team we are able to sustain wave after wave of attack deep into time added on. There have been so many revelatory things this team has done but the appreciation of when to focus the intensity in the game has been a breath of fresh air. We’re so patient and deliberate in our play.

I actually thought before a ball was kicked it would be a bedding in season with so many new players arriving so I go for a 5 from Len . But credit due to everyone connected to our club to get us into this amazing position . UTC

I would have said 7 at the time. I recall saying around then that the playoffs would be our best bet for going up.

7. I'd expected playoffs

I'm gobsmacked. We've gone up to 11

7 I think. Surprised at how quickly it’s come together. Delighted with the quality on show, and the players brought in.

Utterly convinced we wouldn’t have been promoted back to the PL under SD. No way would recruitment had been this good.
I just had a feeling that bubble had well and truly burst.

About the 65 points that we have now, mid table. We are now just into the top half of the 2021/2 league table. With 1 point per game for the next 17, we'd still only be in the play offs.

Middlesbrough need 2 points per game to overhaul Bournemouth in last year's second place, and right now they are achieving that with 5 wins from 5 at home and 3 from 5 away. The other two were losses to us and Sunderland.
West brom have the same number of wins/losses in the last 10, their losses also being to us and a geographical rival (Coventry).

9 - Expected us to be up there. Not a big gambler put a tenner on « “To win” at 12/1 which is sitting pretty at cash out value. Put a fiver each on top half and top six which have long since cashed out.

Like most though surprised at how quickly and how well they have gelled as an unstoppable force. Fully expected to struggle yesterday but not a blink.

bobinho wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 05, 2023 7:56 am

7 I think. Surprised at how quickly it’s come together. Delighted with the quality on show, and the players brought in.

Utterly convinced we wouldn’t have been promoted back to the PL under SD. No way would recruitment had been this good.
I just had a feeling that bubble had well and truly burst.

Exactly this

8. Kompany was a coup. You don't employ someone like him if the support and cohesion isn't going to more than adequate. As soon as his name was linked, I just knew Pace et al were serious.