Got us down to finish 11. Below Derby, Leicester, Wigan, Brum but above Watford and QPR
Top 2 of Reading and Bolton with Leeds (!), Charlton (!), Forest and Ipswich in the play offs.
Yeovil, Doncaster and Millwall down.
Completely disagree about Birmingham, Watford and QPR. Charlton will improve, but not by that much. Birmingham could struggle IMHO.
As for us, who knows? No left back to speak of
We have 2 competent left backs.
The left back situation is being completely overhyped.
I agree with their top 2 of Bolton and Reading. I disagree about QPR and Watford, think they will both be up there.
As for us, I think 11th is a fair call with basically the same first team as the end of last season but a young manager who has never managed in this country before.
Reading alot of pre season previews and most have us down as finishing mid table at best... where is the logic? And Charlton to finish in the playoffs alongside Ipswich, do behave.
Everyone rates Bolton to go up due to their 2nd half of season form, yet no one applies that to us.
Also good to see someone being realistic about QPR - they're Portsmouth waiting to happen all over again - bad start and Harry is out of there, in comes Appleton or Kean or someone similar and down the table they go.
Why does everyone rate Bolton to go up, being from the area etc I know a fair bit. Let me put it this way, Stu Holden is crippled again and Chung Yong Lee has never recovered form. They have Knight (the worst cb of all time) as captain and Beckford who couldn't hit a barn door up front. Pratley is useless and Eagles is too consumed in his own ego to give a monkeys. Its over rated hype that I've seen year on year...
Reading... they are not as good as everyone thinks they are! Don't forget the first half of their Championship season, useless. And they hardly gave a good defence of their Premiership status
I agree with you about Bolton, however as much as it pains me to say it Doogie is a pretty decent manager, not much change from the end of last season and many would hope that carries on.
Reading however may have been shit last season, however they kept pretty much a championship team and failed to add the real quailty, which they seemed to have done this season, I really cant see past them at the moment and know the league well.
As for us, many people are going to knock our chances from the outside we have a fairly unproven manager, who many and fans, writers and the like will not know much about, so we are an unknown quantity, the same fans, writers etc will have rated Poyet because of his name and previous history in the English game, its very rare a manager is sacked when the club is doing well, so I would say it looks as if we are taking a step backwards. it also took us a while to get Oscar in place and with little transfer activity so far people dont have much to go on. On the inside though things are starting to look positive and we have a solid group of players who can keep us in a steady position for the first few months of the season until we can get fully settled, I reckon we will see some better results than last year but we will be about the same points wise, but not sure that will make 4th this season.
Why does everyone rate Bolton to go up, being from the area etc I know a fair bit. Let me put it this way, Stu Holden is crippled again and Chung Yong Lee has never recovered form. They have Knight (the worst cb of all time) as captain and Beckford who couldn't hit a barn door up front. Pratley is useless and Eagles is too consumed in his own ego to give a monkeys. Its over rated hype that I've seen year on year...