See I don't get this one that loads of people quote. Our main front two CC-CW got nearly 30 goals between them. That's more than acceptable. For me it's the lack of goal scoring from midfielders and the horrendous individual and team errors at the back that put us in the position we were. No front twos team with that record should be in the bottom half nevermind the bottom 3........
Stoke my pick to win the league as well. Reckon we'll finish top half. There's always at least one relegated side which struggles, which I think will be Bournemouth, though I think they'll have enough to stay up. Relegated - sadly hard to look beyond Wycombe, who only qualified for the playoffs on a technicality (though I really hope I'm wrong). Sheffield Wednesday and Reading to join them, point deductions or not.
This is the hardest league to predict in a long time. Even in terms of dark horses, it's a hard one. Bristol City could benefit from moving Lee Johnson on, who is the epitome of mediocrity. I do think we'll surprise a few, but even then, I can't see us finishing any higher than mid-table, unless we add a creative midfield player, someone who can hold the ball up up top, and maybe another full back. My controversial tip for a dark horse though, as much as it pains me to say it, is Sheffield Wednesday. Obviously, it's going to be difficult for them to win the league with a 12 point deficit already, but they could be a shout for the play-offs (presuming they don't suffer any more points penalties). They've managed to get a few of their ageing mercenaries off of the wage bill, paving the way for a few younger heads to come in. The few players they've managed to bring in, in the last few windows do appear to have improved them. They can start to build a team around a more reliable talisman than Fernando Forestieri. And whilst they can't afford to throw money around as much as they did the last time they ended up in the top 6, I do think they've become slightly more shrewd in their business; Che Dunkley and Izzy Brown on paper seem to be good acquisitions. Probably wrong like.
Dunkley is definitely a decent looking signing. But reading Pork Talk, their fans seem extremely pessimistic about next season, deduction or not. Few seem to have any confidence in Monk's ability to motivate what they see as a poor squad, which will already be at a considerable disadvantage when the season starts.
Yeah, I'm not convinced by Monk either to be fair. Barring Rhodes though, they do appear to have got rid of all of their overrated and overpriced big names, who I think were taking places in the squad based on reputation only. I think the centre half pairing of Dunkley and Iorfa, will help them a lot, and make the hard to beat. As I say though, I could well be very wrong, and they could be down with the Christmas trimmings.
Huddersfield Town imo , I thought they were in a false position most of season and lack of nous and motivation cost them . I think with the right management team they have a team that’s hard to beat and I think they’ll do a Cardiff from a couple of seasons ago .
Gillingham in League 1. He's at Leicester, still in development by the looks of it. There was some controversy about the way they prised him off the piggies, using their European feeder club to buy him on the cheap then transferring him to Leicester. Something to do with rules surrounding compensation for young players being circumvented I think.
Ok I'll do a League Table. Stick my neck on the line n all that jazz. (Dark horse in bold). 1 Watford 2 Derby County 3 Norwich City 4 Nottingham Forest 5Swansea City 6 Brentford 7 Preston NE 8 Cardiff City 9 Middlesbrough 10 Bournemouth 11 Millwall 12 Coventry City 13 QPR 14 Reading 15 Barnsley 16 Bristol City 17 Stoke City 18 Huddersfield Town 19 Blackburn Rovers 20 Luton Town 21 Rotherham Utd 22 Birmingham City 23 Sheffield Wednesday 24Wycombe Wanderers Feel free to bump when I'm proved completely wrong
In my very humble opinion - Blackburn and Stoke will do much better. Forest and Derby will finish nowhere near that high. Reading will be relegated.
I know we struggle to keep abreast of what is acceptable speak or not nowadays. Most of us just want to get by without upsetting anyone. But can someone tell me what is political incorrect about saying a "dark horse" - why would this be considered offensive and racist? PS am I ok in saying abreast or is that too sexist ????!!!!????