Not long to go until we get going, so let's take a straw poll and see how people think we'll get on in the upcoming season.

Obviously, plenty can still change between now and the first game, let alone the end of the transfer window, so feel free to update your predictions once we sign Mbappe.

The poll will close after the transfer window closes.

What if we think we will finish 7th 🤔

1 minute ago, Lump Of Celery said:

What if we think we will finish 7th 🤔

Whoops! Fixed

6th

I've been an optimist and gone for top 4, when really I just mean CL qualification (so likely actually top 5 this year). I think we need that, and that will propel us to it. Expect it to be a real battle and very close, mind.

Cups, who knows.

My predictions for the 23/24 season  (teams in alphabetical order)

Arsenal    So what if they won the Community Shield?  They over-achieved last season, and bottled it when it came to the crunch.  They also have CL to contend with as well this                            season, and if they get injuries to key players, they will struggle.  Will fnish in the top 4 however.

Aston Villa     Unai Emery made Stevie Me look a right mug, by turning Villa's fortunes around spectacularly and getting into Europe, albeit in the Conference.  Top half finish, and                                  they'll probably win the Conference league as well.

Bournemouth    Sacking Gary O'Neill could come back to haunt them, why do football club owners keep getting ideas above their station, thinking they know better when they                                            don't actually have a clue.  I won't shed any tears if they get relegated, but I think they'll survive

Brentford             Improved last season with some shrewd signings, but the loss of Ivan Toney for half a season could be a problem, they rely heavily on him for goals.  They are                                                  hard   to beat though, and that will stand them in good stead.

Brighton        A prime example of how a club should be run on a limited budget.  They keep selling their best players and letting their managers go, but always replace them and                                      always.have decent seasons to boot.  It won't be easy to repeat last seasons fine efforts though, but they'll be absolutely fine again.

Burnley       Won the Championship in convincing fashion, but the Premiership  will be a different proposition.  Should stay up though, and should be better to watch, unlike the                                 Sean  Dyche era, where physicality and alehouse football was the order of the day.l

Chelsea        Top six, I hope.  We're not good enough yet for the top 4, but I think we can win one of the cups.  Teams very rarely click straight away with a lot of new players, and                                   given time Poch will sort it out.  It may sound negative, but I'm just being realistic.  One thing's for sure, the recruitment must improve!  It was awful last season.

Crystal Palace     No Zaha anymore, but they do have other good attacking talent in Mateta and Olise.  They could have a labouring season, but with Roy Dodgson at the helm                                                 they should be OK.

Everton       Survived by the skin of their teeth for two seasons in a  row, but next season could be one relegation battle too many.  It will be a long, hard season but they probably                                survive, just.  If Dominic Calvert-Lewin was a horse, he'd have been put down years ago, and Everton really struggle in front of goal.

Fulham         Bit of a soap opera during the close season, but manager Marco Silva, Mitrovic and Palinha are still there.   Our old friend Willian was sensational last season after                                    being  written off as a clapped out has-been.  Where They'll finish is difficult to predict though

Liverpool     More questions than a.nswers about them.  The midfield needs rebuilding, Van Dijk isn't the player he once was and Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo have been flops                                 thus far, why do they get a pass in the media?  If they we re our players, they'd be ridiculed.  Despite all this, they'll probably finish top 4 again.

Luton Town     Going down.  They play the sort of old school alehouse football from the '80's which is obsolete and won't work in the modern game.  Great achievement in coming                                 up, but will be found wanting in the Premiership.

Manchester City     Like it or not, still the team to beat.  They are relentless, and even after the Treble success there will be no let up.  Even when the have a blip, they don't panic                                                 and put together huge winning runs.  Whoever finishes above them will win it, though I can't see  anyone doing so.

Manchester Utd      Not convinced by them.  Bruno Fernandez will be a petulant captain and a bad choice, when the going gets tough he doesn't stand up to be counted.  They rely                                             too much on Rashford in attack, and it will be between them and Newcastle for the last top 4 spot.

Newcastle Utd         Not too much in the way of summer transfers, and it will be a scrap between them and Man Utd for that last top 4 slot, and I'm not sure who will get it, both                                                     sides have flaws in them.

Nottingham Forest       Struggled last year, mainly due to  lack of goals in attack and abysmal away form, and I fear for Steve Cooper, a poor start could be too much for their                                                                  demanding owner, but I still think they will survive.

Sheffield Utd         One of my tips for the drop, as their team isn't too much different from 2 years ago, and selling their top scorer is asking for trouble, as it will cost them a lot of                                             money trying to find a replacement.

Tottenham          Really difficult to see where they go, Harry Kane (and Son to a lesser degree) have carried them for years but the cracks started to show at the end of last season.                                       A dodgy defence, unbalanced midfield (though Maddiosn's a good signing) and the utterly useless Richarlison in attack, thank heavens we didn't sign him! I                                                     despair at people who rave about him, he's crap.  Postecoglu will have problems next season, especially with that deluded owner Levy.

West Ham        Not looking good.  Having sold Rice they haven't brought in anyone to replace him, and if they don't sign anyone they'll struggle again, and Moyes might just get                                          disillusioned and walk out.  Not looking good for the 'Ammers.

Wolves         My third tip for the drop.  Lopetegui has (quite rightly) complained about not being given funds for transfers when it is painfully obvious they need them  They can't                                  score goals, and the sale of Neves will leave them bereft of creativity as well, Podence is too lightweight for the Premiership and that's why I think they'll go down.

I think the only player we've signed who could make a significant difference this season is Jackson. I think we'll still lack real creative class against teams who sit back. Still no top class defensive midfielder. A moderate keeper. No proven quality on either wing. Serious concerns about James being able to remain fit for very long.

With the money spent we should have covered every weakness by now and signed one big game changer. Having said that, this is a squad being built for the coming years, not this season, so not every position  is not going to be as good as it needs to be this season.

I think the top 5 will be the same as last season with us, Spurs and Villa fighting for 6th.

 

 

19 minutes ago, boratsbrother said:

I think the only player we've signed who could make a significant difference this season is Jackson. I think we'll still lack real creative class against teams who sit back. Still no top class defensive midfielder. A moderate keeper. No proven quality on either wing. Serious concerns about James being able to remain fit for very long.

With the money spent we should have covered every weakness by now and signed one big game changer. Having said that, this is a squad being built for the coming years, not this season, so not every position  is not going to be as good as it needs to be this season.

I think the top 5 will be the same as last season with us, Spurs and Villa fighting for 6th.

 

 

Nkunku would have been the player providing the real difference from last season, until the injury. But a properly-settled Enzo, Mudryk and Madueke may also show a lot more than they did last season.

2 hours ago, boratsbrother said:

I think the only player we've signed who could make a significant difference this season is Jackson. I think we'll still lack real creative class against teams who sit back. Still no top class defensive midfielder. A moderate keeper. No proven quality on either wing. Serious concerns about James being able to remain fit for very long.

With the money spent we should have covered every weakness by now and signed one big game changer. Having said that, this is a squad being built for the coming years, not this season, so not every position  is not going to be as good as it needs to be this season.

I think the top 5 will be the same as last season with us, Spurs and Villa fighting for 6th.

 

 

I must say I agree fully with this. We’ve spent £700m over the last 12 months. For that sort of money we should get 7 absolute top class players. Take the squad we had end of last season and add 7 £100m players to that… 

We are doing the same thing we’ve done for ages now - buying squad players for big money and selling/loaning out academy prospects. Even worse, we are spending good money on non-established prospects from other clubs/countries. 

£700m should mean we are now ready to compete with City. We are light years from being able to do that and our season falls with an injury to a new guy who isn’t even established in this league. After having spent so much money we are still short of a DM, a top class keeper and a proven goalscorer. We’ve basically spent so much money without addressing our three main problems. That’s some achievement! 

I am starting to feel quite optimistic with Poch and some of these signings something I was not expecting to feel only a few months ago.

No Europe may help the rebuild as long as the squad is not too big and players get to play.

In with a shout for both cups and a top 4 if we get a good momentum early on is in reach

To be honest, looking forward to the games is still a novel feeling. On Sunday, I didn't spend the last fifteen minutes with my hands over my eyes peeking through my fingers.

2 points more than last season after the equivalent 3 games. Keep that up and we will end up 5th with 70 points. I’d probably take that.

Poll closes soon, so make sure to vote/adjust your vote in time.

11 hours ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

Poll closes soon, so make sure to vote/adjust your vote in time.

All things being equal and a full injury free team I would say top three at a stroll.

Too early to really claim trends but interesting that Newcastle have not come out of the gate on full blast.....and failed against ten man Liverpool at home...smash and grab bit like Fulham &Sheffield  Untd....smile of the weekend was the Fulham opening goal eerily similar to the Newcastle goal,,another smile.

So with a look of vulnerability at the top with the Chelsea style breakaway go als conceded at best Chelsea 5/6th...at worst 7/8th but with progress.

I think we will improve as players get to know each other, cannot see us competing for the title yet as a unit think we are capable of top four.

Utd with refs being influenced by the home crowd and counter attacking away wins will be there or thereabouts and Klopp shows once again they can win when the odds are against them.

City to win it which must mean Arsenal come in 5th or lower and I think Arsenal will struggle this season.

Poll closed!

Based on our votes, the most expected outcome for this season is a Top 6 finish and semi-finalists in both cup competitions. So no silverware, but I would say that is a good season considering where we are with the rebuild.

Too late, but 8th, a LC run, and some hard moments with probably a few Pochettino rants (some of which will be deserved, and some may be necessary).
None of the pre-season games or the Liverpool game made me feel we could beat a good team while our weakness against mid table teams remains.

19 minutes ago, Dwmh said:

Too late, but 8th, a LC run, and some hard moments with probably a few Pochettino rants (some of which will be deserved, and some may be necessary).
None of the pre-season games or the Liverpool game made me feel we could beat a good team while our weakness against mid table teams remains.

Aha....... ?..how tall are you ?😁

6 hours ago, Dwmh said:

Too late, but 8th, a LC run, and some hard moments with probably a few Pochettino rants (some of which will be deserved, and some may be necessary).
None of the pre-season games or the Liverpool game made me feel we could beat a good team while our weakness against mid table teams remains.

Is this the return of the good old Droy? 

7 hours ago, Dwmh said:

Too late, but 8th, a LC run, and some hard moments with probably a few Pochettino rants (some of which will be deserved, and some may be necessary).
None of the pre-season games or the Liverpool game made me feel we could beat a good team while our weakness against mid table teams remains.

Welcome back . 

This aged well...

I just can't see how we're not in a relegation battle. If we're anywhere near 40 points before April I'll consider this season a success. 

16 hours ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

This aged well...

So literally one person thought we would finish outside the top 6. 

Interesting 

 

3 hours ago, Bison said:

I just can't see how we're not in a relegation battle. If we're anywhere near 40 points before April I'll consider this season a success. 

If you look at the bottom it looks like 25 ponts might avoid relegation - there are some seriously poor teams there.