[Albion] Next season expectations

[Simster]

I still can't believe the season we've just had. I'm not sure it'll ever be topped.

Fa Cup semi at Wembley
The double over Chelsea and Man Utd, beat Liverpool twice
Club legend runs the World Cup final for an hour
Finish top 6, European tour
Literally three world class players starting every game.
And now, Lewis Dunk probably with a well deserved international recall.

I still can't believe it. Yet can it be topped? I mean we expect at least one of our world class players to leave, yet next season could be brilliant also.

What the minimum be to make you proud and happy next season? Here is my take:

Winning a major trophy might still be beyond us, but another cup semi isn't.
Would love to make Dublin, but getting out of our group would be great tbh.
Another top six finish ought to be beyond a club with our resources but I'd be happy with a top half finish if we could somehow make one of the other two.

What do you think?

 

[Husty]

Next season, fingers crossed, will look a lot different to this one. No World Cup, no royal deaths or coronations. I would expect us to play all-youth teams in the early rounds of the domestic cups.

So, in theory even with a European campaign the demands on the team need not be too much worse than they were this year.

I think there is scope to still challenge on two fronts - the league and Europe and give a decent account of ourselves. Think we need to accept that for players like Dunk, March, Gross and others that Europe will be their prime focus - not unrealistic to say they probably won’t have another chance at it. This may drag on league form at times.

Really right now hard to judge in terms of finishing positions, can we hold onto our midfield duo? If so, we can go far. But it seems unlikely.

 

[Gwylan]

Everyone is talking about Chelsea and Spurs as if they will be challengers to the European places next season. Here's my reality check:

Spurs are utter wank. Kane may well decide he's had enough of an empty trophy cabinet at home. Son is beyond his best, and bar one or two others that side is not good enough to finish in the top half. In fact, if Kane goes and Son gets injured I think they'll be more like Leeds than us. Relegation is not entirely out of the question, same as Everton this season.

Chelsea: Ok, they've got some proper players, but neither Potter nor Lampard (obviously) could get a tune out of them. They've over-paid millions for half their squad (Cucu, Mudryk etc) and even a proper manager like Pochettino will need time to find his best XI and get them playing properly. He is going to need to see them all before starting a comedy fire sale. SO IMO they will improve, but by enough to see them in the top 6 over the course of a year? Not for me Clive.

Everyone is also talking as if we will settle for 9th or so. Well I would as a fan, but I'm willing to bet RDZ and Uncle Tony have got other ideas. Ale Mac will go, but he's the only one absolutely nailed on. We've just smashed our record fee (£40m?) for a goalscorer, we've got Adingra coming, Moder returning from injury, Ferguson and Enciso could prove to have incredible seasons, we might even sign Colwill? And so it goes on. I'm managing my own expectations but let's not think this squad isn't good enough to have another astonishing season. Remember, if VAR had done it's job, we'd be going into tomorrow's match thinking a win leaves us fighting for 3rd or 4th on the final day, and yet we might have even have better players next season.

This has saved me the effort: I was going to post something identical to this - particularly regarding Spurs, a very ordinary looking team with one really excellent player.

The Albion will not be sitting still and we're going to have a better (and, more importantly) bigger squad. We're allowed 25 (not under 21) players in our squad and I don't think we're on 20 right now. That will certainly be fixed

 

[Rambo]

Its very easy to get carried away by this season. I think the club have set the expectations already. There stated aim (near as damn it) is : to establish ourselves as a top half club, pushing for (and occasionally qualifying for) Europe, go deep into the domestic cups

While we have seemingly achieved this , by being top half two years in a row, qualifying for Europe, and a cuople of FA Cup semi finals, it can all go very wrong, very quickly.

We will IMO always be looking to get to 40 points first, and while we would hope to achieve that, we must never forget that a bad run at the start of the year can make that quite a task in itself

I firmly believe that the club have a very grounded , realistic view of what is probable, possible, and just dreamland. As soon as we start (as a fanbase, and as a club) to expect to be top six, Europe, then we increase the risk of failing.

WE are punching well above our weight, and as fantastic as it is, we should all be mindful of how much hard work by all at the club it takes to maintain it.

Safety first, has to remain our focus, and that realistically constitutes success. How far we can push on past that each year remains to be seen.

If we are to be more successful this mindset has to go.

See Paul Barber podcast….

 

[BN9 BHA]

Win the Sussex Senior Cup, we didn’t even get to the final this season, we’re not that good.

 

[nickbrighton]

If we are to be more successful this mindset has to go.

See Paul Barber podcast….

Just listened to the Barber interview, i disagree-he said we have to be mindful of the fact that things can change very quickly and go wrong. The first goal has to be avoid relegation. If for one day the club start thinking the premier league status is gauranteed we are in big big trouble

If the best way of securing that is to get 40 points by Christmas then no one will complain.

Its not a bad mindset to remain grounded, undderstand that we dont have the money to "buy" our place in the top half and so we need to be very aware that should we have a bad run before January, we simply cant go and buy our way out of trouble. I will aways look at securing safety as the first of various targets throughout the season, after all if we dont do that, the rest are meaningless

 

[kuzushi]

Is it worse or worst?
Worse

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

With new euro commitments I think a realistic league target would be top10

I wouldn’t see this as a backwards step if we had a decent domestic and European cup run

A decent run in two cups could finish us off. Look what the backlog did to us this year (we got over the line, but rather incredibly and having very volatile results at the end).

No expectations other than we won't get relegated.

My hope is:
- get out of the group stages in the EL
- Top 10 finish in the league
- de Zerbi finds a way to beat the deep lying sides and our approach isn't found out.

 

[junior]

4th.

f*** the Europa League and the cups.

When RDZ joined he was told by Barber that this seasons aim was top 10, and by all accounts he told the club that if we can finish 10th we can finish 6th, and we have (probably).

So on that basis, I'm going to have big balls and say that if we can finish 6th, then we can finish 4th.

I think that is what Roberto will say too.

 

[ConfusedGloryHunter]

Is it worse or worst?

Worserer

 

[Rambo]

Just listened to the Barber interview, i disagree-he said we have to be mindful of the fact that things can change very quickly and go wrong. The first goal has to be avoid relegation. If for one day the club start thinking the premier league status is gauranteed we are in big big trouble

If the best way of securing that is to get 40 points by Christmas then no one will complain.

Its not a bad mindset to remain grounded, undderstand that we dont have the money to "buy" our place in the top half and so we need to be very aware that should we have a bad run before January, we simply cant go and buy our way out of trouble. I will aways look at securing safety as the first of various targets throughout the season, after all if we dont do that, the rest are meaningless

Depends what you want, if you want success dreaming small is not something that winners do.

I get the grounded argument, but I don’t subscribe to it, and I am not sure RDZ does either.

It’s all about mentality no?

Oh, and Barber will always manage fan expectations, it’s his job.

 

[ozzygull]

I will as alway start of with not getting relegated and hopefully go up from there as the season progresses.

I think De Zerbi wants to win all domestic cups, the Europa League and finish in the top four.

 

[Perkino]

One thing to remember is 12 months ago none of us were predicting that:
Steele would be a contender for number 1
Colwill would arrive and get game time
We would sign a LB better than our POTS
Caicedo would be better than Bissouma
MacAllister would be able to force his way into the world cup winning side
Mitoma would return and dislodge Trossard
March would be reinvented as a key attacking force
Enciso, Bounanotte & Ferguson would emerge as first team regulars.

All of this after we lost Bissouma, Cucurella, Maupay, Trossard & Mwepu plus the manager who secured us our highest ever finish along with the coaching set up and Head of Recruitment all to be replaced by a managing phenomenon and team who knew exactly how to improve our players individually.

The squad has evolved vastly in just a year and next season we should expect several players to improve and develop as we grow a larger squad to cope with more games. I also expect to see more rotations. So a double pivot of Gross & Caicedo could be supplemented by Gilmour and each player plays 2 out of 3 of the fixtures to accommodate Europa League matches

 

[southstandandy]

For me it's to win the Prem, Europa League, and FA Cup, but not fussed about League Cup!

 

[Papa Lazarou]

I think the experience the fringe players have had this season should prove of value next season. This is our current squad (Inc Alzate who has / had a squad number) and Jao Pedro.

I've assumed we don't get Colwill. I've marked Mac Allister, Caicedo and Sanchez as 'Maybe' available.

Obviously Trossard and Maupay won't be available next season!

The data is from the Internet, and they class Sarmiento as an attacker.

 

[Gwylan]

I think the experience the fringe players have had this season should prove of value next season. This is our current squad (Inc Alzate who has / had a squad number) and Jao Pedro.

I've assumed we don't get Colwill. I've marked Mac Allister, Caicedo and Sanchez as 'Maybe' available.

Obviously Trossard and Maupay won't be available next season!

The data is from the Internet, and they class Sarmiento as an attacker.

View attachment 161283

You're missing Moder but if you add him, we're at 18 players (not counting kids). So, we can buy another seven (Milner?, Dahoud? Matvienko? Plus ) and more kids coming back: Adringa, Kozlowski, possibly Karbownik, Roberts, Weir, Leonard, Rushworth - although some of these could go out on loan again

Whatever happens, next year, we're going to have a much, much stronger squad and I don't see the increased number of games as an issue. It may be if we progress in the League, FA and Europa Cups, but that's a nice problem to have

 

[Sea Cider]

Fascinating table. Amazing efficiency from Gross, Ferguson and Undav (!) They're on a different level to the rest of the team for shots vs goals

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Fascinating table. Amazing efficiency from Gross, Ferguson and Undav (!) They're on a different level to the rest of the team for shots vs goals

Not that it was was purpose of the table, this is it sorted by Shot Efficiency (i.e. % on target).

 

[Gazwag]

I would love to still be in Europe going into April, league cup would be a good cup to win, gone off fa cup since the semi and final are at that awful ground, could cope with just one game there next season. Happy with top 10 would love to go through the season with all of our best players getting through the season uninjured.