[Albion] 2022/23 Relegation Thread

[Simster]

Apart from his obsession with us signing unknown players with an Irish heritage, I think [MENTION=33329]Jolly Red Giant[/MENTION] is just about spot on. I'm not sure Lampard is as poor as made out, but Everton and Leeds both look vulnerable.

The value bets for me are Everton 6/1, Southampton 4/1 and perhaps Aston Villa 14/1, but I think Forest, Bournemouth and Leeds are most likely.

 

[Poyningsgull]

Bournemouth
Forest
Fulham

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

Apart from his obsession with us signing unknown players with an Irish heritage,

Just to clarify - Nathan Collins is not unknown - he had a host of clubs after him, including some on the continent. He opted for Wolves over Leicester, Man Utd, Villa and Leeds. (Darren Fletcher pushed Man U to buy him - claiming Collins would be worth £100m in a couple of years).

 

[Simster]

Just to clarify - Nathan Collins is not unknown - he had a host of clubs after him, including some on the continent. He opted for Wolves over Leicester, Man Utd, Villa and Leeds. (Darren Fletcher pushed Man U to buy him - claiming Collins would be worth £100m in a couple of years).

I suspect you could find several players with one person claiming they'll be worth £100m. It doesn't mean anything. And fair enough, I can't really say a player who has just been signed for £20m is an unknown, but you do talk as if Ireland produces a production line of Roy Keanes, when the reality is that they are crap, yet all your recommendations are of Irish players.

 

[Icy Gull]

The reality is that any one of the bottom 12/13 teams could hit a bad run and get into trouble. So the odds above are reasonable.

I expect two of the promoted teams to go straight back down - Bournemouth and Forest. Forest are throwing money at the squad - but their squad was very poor to begin with once the loan players were taken out. Worrell and Johnson are probably the only players who might be of PL standard - and apart from Henderson and Lingard, none of those signed appear up to scratch. Bournemouth have done nothing in terms of strengthening the squad and are probably behind Forest at this stage.

After that it gets interesting. - Fulham had a pretty decent squad in the Championship - and Palhinha and Pereira are decent signings. They probably need another couple of players but if Mitrovic scores some goals this time around then they can do just enough to survive.

Leeds are in trouble - they have lost their two best players and have not come close to replacing them. They were very lucky last season and if they start poorly I cannot see them recovering.

Southampton will be improved. Bazunu is an excellent signing - and will make a major difference. Lavia could do the same (don't know enough about him to be any more definitive). From what I have been hearing from the Irish U21s Will Smallbone has made a major leap in the past few months and I wouldn't be surprised to see him playing a more prominent role this season. I still think they need another couple of signings - but I think they will have enough to survive.

I think Everton are in major trouble. Lampard is a donkey and their squad is old, slow and they have lost their best player. The only thing that might save them is Lampard getting the sack very early on after a string of poor results.

Brentford will suffer second season comedown. The loss of Eriksen is big - but saying that they have bolstered the squad with the likes of Mee, Hickey (who I like as a player) and Lewis-Potter (who looks like he is ready to step up to the PL). I think they could have enough to survive.

I would argue that Wolves have too much in the tank to be in any real trouble. I think getting Collins will turn out to be one of the signings of the season.

Palace - hard to know what to make of them. I think Vieira is a good manager - but they need to replace Gallagher and then add some more quality (just to stand still). At the moment the 6/1 odds are waranted.

Villa - well I still don't rate Gerrard. I think he is more like Lampard than (say) Vieira. They have added a couple of pieces - but, at best, that just makes them stand still rather than move forward. They do have a big squad will should benefit them over the season.

Rodgers has a big rebuild job to do - and the CL money has been well spent. I think they are struggling to find players to replace the likes of Maddison and Tielemens who they would have to sell to fund the rebuild. I think Rodgers will have the year - but it doesn't look like the rebuild is anywhere near getting off the ground. I think a big problem for Leicester is the lack of players coming through the academy.

Where does Birghton stand in my view - well - I have said each year that you need to spend £50m just to stand still. The loss of White and Burn left a hole in defence that was partially filled by signing Curcuella. However, if Curcuella leaves for Man City (and there are rumours about Lamptey as well) then the defence will have some big holes. Duffy will not fill any gaps this season and that is why I was urging Brighton to go after Collins (who would have been a perfect fit for Potter's system). There is also a hole in midfield with Bissouma gone to Spurs. With little money being spent so far to improve the squad - I think Brighton are in bigger danger than most people on here believe. If I was a betting man (which I am not) the 12/1 would be worth a punt. There is an upside - even though he is only 17 - I think Ferguson could make a bit of an impact this season - and if he comes good, it might off-set some of the difficulties I see ahead.

So - after all that - my predictions for the three to drop -

Bournemouth
Forest
and
Everton (purely because Lampard is so poor) - just ahead of Leeds (but they are interchangable)

Good read until you spoilt it by suggesting a 17 year old Irishman might be our saviour

It was predictable that it would be an Irishman though, no pressure then

 

[South west gull]

Apart from his obsession with us signing unknown players with an Irish heritage, I think [MENTION=33329]Jolly Red Giant[/MENTION] is just about spot on. I'm not sure Lampard is as poor as made out, but Everton and Leeds both look vulnerable.

The value bets for me are Everton 6/1, Southampton 4/1 and perhaps Aston Villa 14/1, but I think Forest, Bournemouth and Leeds are most likely.

Big football pullout in tomorrow's racing post.well worth a buy even at £4.20 & read

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

 

[perseus]

Good read until you spoilt it by suggesting a 17 year old Irishman might be our saviour

It was predictable that it would be an Irishman though, no pressure then

A lot of words, too hot for me. Brentford have a tricky end of season and might trip up. The Albion are lacking quality in depth and may have a scare as well. We need to keep Trossard and Webster. I expect Welbeck to do well, dependent on good service.

 

[Surf's Up]

tough to call this time. As mentioned any of a pool of 12 teams could go. Few injuries and any decent signings flop and bang in trouble. Important to get a good start.

Brentford
Leeds
Bourneouth

I really wouldn't be unhappy if these were the 3 relegated teams - for differing reasons I dislike all 3 - but I can see Fulham getting sucked into the mix and although Forest have spunked a shedload of cash getting a new team to gel at PL level can be a tricky prospect and it will depend totally on how well the good looking Steve Cooper manages the influx of new players as well as the trasition from Championship football to the PL.

 

[Barnet Seagull]

From what I've seen already this pre-season their are reasons to be positive.

The assessment of [MENTION=25327]jolly[/MENTION]redgiant is pretty close to how I see it.

I think there are at this moment probably 6 stronger squads and 5 at the same sort of level

If we can keep Caicedo, Mac and our defence fit, there's a good chance of top 10, perhaps even as high as 6th or 7th but realistically a really good season would be 12th and a decent one as always is one that keeps us in the premier league, improves our players and helps the balance sheet

 

[dazzer6666]

the reality is that any one of the bottom 12/13 teams could hit a bad run and get into trouble. So the odds above are reasonable.

I expect two of the promoted teams to go straight back down - bournemouth and forest. Forest are throwing money at the squad - but their squad was very poor to begin with once the loan players were taken out. Worrell and johnson are probably the only players who might be of pl standard - and apart from henderson and lingard, none of those signed appear up to scratch. Bournemouth have done nothing in terms of strengthening the squad and are probably behind forest at this stage.

After that it gets interesting. - fulham had a pretty decent squad in the championship - and palhinha and pereira are decent signings. They probably need another couple of players but if mitrovic scores some goals this time around then they can do just enough to survive.

Leeds are in trouble - they have lost their two best players and have not come close to replacing them. They were very lucky last season and if they start poorly i cannot see them recovering.

Southampton will be improved. Bazunu is an excellent signing - and will make a major difference. Lavia could do the same (don't know enough about him to be any more definitive). From what i have been hearing from the irish u21s will smallbone has made a major leap in the past few months and i wouldn't be surprised to see him playing a more prominent role this season. I still think they need another couple of signings - but i think they will have enough to survive.

I think everton are in major trouble. Lampard is a donkey and their squad is old, slow and they have lost their best player. The only thing that might save them is lampard getting the sack very early on after a string of poor results.

Brentford will suffer second season comedown. The loss of eriksen is big - but saying that they have bolstered the squad with the likes of mee, hickey (who i like as a player) and lewis-potter (who looks like he is ready to step up to the pl). I think they could have enough to survive.

I would argue that wolves have too much in the tank to be in any real trouble. I think getting collins will turn out to be one of the signings of the season.

Palace - hard to know what to make of them. I think vieira is a good manager - but they need to replace gallagher and then add some more quality (just to stand still). At the moment the 6/1 odds are waranted.

Villa - well i still don't rate gerrard. I think he is more like lampard than (say) vieira. They have added a couple of pieces - but, at best, that just makes them stand still rather than move forward. They do have a big squad will should benefit them over the season.

Rodgers has a big rebuild job to do - and the cl money has been well spent. I think they are struggling to find players to replace the likes of maddison and tielemens who they would have to sell to fund the rebuild. I think rodgers will have the year - but it doesn't look like the rebuild is anywhere near getting off the ground. I think a big problem for leicester is the lack of players coming through the academy.

Where does birghton stand in my view - well - i have said each year that you need to spend £50m just to stand still. The loss of white and burn left a hole in defence that was partially filled by signing curcuella. However, if curcuella leaves for man city (and there are rumours about lamptey as well) then the defence will have some big holes. Duffy will not fill any gaps this season and that is why i was urging brighton to go after collins (who would have been a perfect fit for potter's system). There is also a hole in midfield with bissouma gone to spurs. With little money being spent so far to improve the squad - i think brighton are in bigger danger than most people on here believe. If i was a betting man (which i am not) the 12/1 would be worth a punt. There is an upside - even though he is only 17 - i think ferguson could make a bit of an impact this season - and if he comes good, it might off-set some of the difficulties i see ahead.

So - after all that - my predictions for the three to drop -

bournemouth
forest
and
everton (purely because lampard is so poor) - just ahead of leeds (but they are interchangable)

tl, dr

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

Surely saints deserve a flutter this season.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

Surely saints deserve a flutter this season.

Save your money, they will be ok, Leeds are nailed on to absolutely bomb.

 

[oldboyroy]

Brentford Everton and Bournemouth

 

[Mackenzie]

Forest, Bournemouth and Leeds

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Everton and Leeds are in trouble - both sold the main reasons they stayed up and not invested.

Only so much their excellent keepers can do.

 

[RM-Taylor]

Everton and Leeds are in trouble - both sold the main reasons they stayed up and not invested.

Only so much their excellent keepers can do.

Leeds not invested? Having spent the 2nd most behind Tottenham in the Premier League, with over £100m in transfer fees paid this transfer window

 

[Swansman]

Forest, Bournemouth, Wolverhampton

 

[Taybha]

18th 34pts Fulham 19th 31pts Wolves 20th 28pts Leeds Ha!

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Leeds, Palace and Everton .... would make me piss themselves laughing if they got relegated.

In reality, i'm calling the three promoted teams to go straight back down. First time for everything yeh

 

[Napper]

Bet 365 has us 8/1 to be relegated