[Albion] Guardian Season Preview 2020-21: Albion Prediction Finish Position: 16th

[schmunk]

It's the Grauniad, they probably meant to type 9th...

 

[southstandandy]

I do think we’ll struggle again through lack of goals if we don’t find another ready made PL quality striker. It could make the difference to being lower mid table and a relegation scrap. As things stand at the moment a relegation scrap is more likely imo.

But if we continue to try and play Potterball I can live with a relegation scrap and hopefully enjoy it as much as last season. The elusive top quality striker may well elude us again this season imo.

Very much this. If we fail to land a new striker or two then a similar struggle to the last couple of years is what I expect.

If, and it's a big IF - we can find suitable striking options (who prove to be relatively effective) then I am optimistic we could push towards mid-table.

As things stand I'd expect a similar bottom 6 finish as per last season, but if more firepower can be found then I would predict maybe 12th?

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Standard.

Ed Aarons is a Palace fan by the way.

Well. There we go. Actually that journo seems to rate us as a strong defending (and strengthening) midfield sleeping midget

We are in the gutter...but we’re looking at the stars.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Very much THIS. I'm intrigued to see where they put Leeds, on that basis.

Very lazy predictions from the journalists. Villa, who stayed up by the skin of their teeth and were dire to watch most of the season, minus 26 GD, and who have signed no-one in this transfer window, predicted overall to finish 4 places higher than us. I'm sure solely because they're just a bigger name than us rather than actually looking at the two clubs in any depth

 

[el punal]

I do find it bizarre that they automatically put us in the relegation spots every year, when we've only ever spent 1 week in 18th and never been in the bottom two in our 3 years in the Prem. Even before lockdown the signs were there that we were adapting to how Potter wanted us to play and I think this season will see a lot of that hard work come to fruition. With the addition of the experience of Veltman and Lallana to the team I can see a 11th-15th finish this season.

“Same as it ever was!” - thank you Talking Heads.

 

[elwheelio]

I'm not hugely surprised by the prediction. We've been firmly bottom 6 for the past three years and usually teams around that end of the table eventually bite the bullet. There's some confidence around the club at the moment because we stayed up relatively comfortably in the end but we also mustn't forget that we were appalling (longest winless run in the whole football league) for a long stretch of the season before the lockdown. From the outsider's perspective we've not really strengthened. We've got Lallana (32, injury prone) and Veltman (unknown quantity in PL) in but lost Mooy and Montoya. I think that's positive progress but I can see why non-fans might think We'll still struggle. Add to that the fact that there were a few articles/comments from football writers questioning GP's tactics last season and I'd say another relegation fight is to be expected.

 

[southstandandy]

For the record we finished 18th in Division 3 in 1920-21

 

[vagabond]

Quite simply, outside the top 6 most mainstream pundits are clueless.

I do agree that a striker is essential and there’s a decent chance of us being in the relegation battle.. but 19th is a bit silly.

Whoever came up with that should put a big bet at the bookies as they’ll get decent odds on us going down this season, and bookies are rarely wrong.

 

[Gwylan]

For the record we finished 18th in Division 3 in 1920-21

Indeed. With Jack Doran scoring 21 goals (scoring exactly half of our total). The next best scored nine, so it appears that the club was in urgent need of another striker.

Sound familiar?

 

[Rugrat]

TBF trying to predict the order of the bottom 10 is little easier than the lottery. How many of us would have put Muff and Watford in bottom 3?

The article is fine, they should just leave it at that and not cock it up with the prediction

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

It's the Grauniad, they probably meant to type 9th...

Speaking of which, OP was a mere century out with the season in the thread title

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Surely they could just look up how we did in 1920-21?

Hush your mouth before anybody else notices the thread title

 

[vagabond]

I’ve read the article now, it’s actually not bad and surprisingly well informed.

Just weird how their conclusion is 19th as it doesn’t read that way.

Even their trending graph in the article clearly shows us getting better and improving over the seasons. Strange.

 

[zefarelly]

I do think we’ll struggle again through lack of goals if we don’t find another ready made PL quality striker. It could make the difference to being lower mid table and a relegation scrap. As things stand at the moment a relegation scrap is more likely imo.

But if we continue to try and play Potterball I can live with a relegation scrap and hopefully enjoy it as much as last season. The elusive top quality striker may well elude us again this season imo.

I pretty much agree, except, if, as last season, younger/newer players come good we will be stronger and better. Look at the progress of Bissouma, Maupay has got better, as has Webster and Trossard. If Mac Argie and White settle and progress, as well as La Lama and LAmptey we could be comfortably mid table . . . we desperately need a target man striker.

 

[Mackenzie]

Clueless

 

[Silverhatch]

Little bit like the Soccer Saturday thread. Football punditry is shit. There was a report by Ian Moose Abraham from the Amex on Saturday. Primarily the discussion was about getting fans back into the ground. Moose was very complimentary and excited by the atmosphere created by 2500 people. Inevitably they talked about the game, and here’s the unexpected bit - Abrahams was pretty dismissive of Chelsea but said Brighton played some lovely football AND if they continue in that vein they’ll be a team to look out for. The studio presenters had no interest in that potential narrative thread whatsoever or, much more likely, no knowledge of the club and its ambitions and immediately mentioned Timo Werner again. It’ll take 10 years of top flight survival and success for our club to get recognition from all but a very few commentator/pundits.

 

[Grombleton]

I was going to study Sport Journalism when I was going to go to Uni, back in the day.

Reading that, I wish I had. I always find it helps to follow the sport you report on, instead of slamming keys and hoping for the best.

 

[Swansman]

And this paper is funded by Bill Gates.

We're all gonna die.

 

[Guinness Boy]

A bit of lazy journalism - but with no marquee centre forward I can see why we are tipped so lowly.

As a fan it is frustrating that we are really great as a club for nurturing defenders but poor at the other end of the pitch - year in year out. Maupay, Connolly & Trossard won’t propel us to mid table+ surely?

Season after season we never seem to be willing or able to recruit all the strikers we need. Let's hope this time round we get one or two strikers signed up before the new campaign starts. I fear the Guardian may be right about our final position in the table without these additions.

That's very disrespecful to Maupay. 10 goals in your debut season in the PL in a lower half team is decent. What we need is more strength in depth up front. If something happens to him we look in a lot of trouble.

 

[Bakero]

I’ve read the article now, it’s actually not bad and surprisingly well informed.

Just weird how their conclusion is 19th as it doesn’t read that way.

Even their trending graph in the article clearly shows us getting better and improving over the seasons. Strange.

19th isn't the writer's prediction. It's the average prediction of all the Guardian journos.