What are your expectations for the season 21/22: The race for any position between 1st and 20th

[Adam456]

Going quite well now. Chelsea should be out of sight and much the better side. But I can see them digging in and grinding out a draw

 

[Bulletspur]

Just changed my vote from 5th or 6th to top 4

 

[BringBack_leGin]

Just changed my vote from 5th or 6th to top 4

Love that you and others are gaining some optimism.

 

[JCRD]

I will stand by my original prediction - title winners

 

[Adam456]

Can we rename this the Premiership race or something non-position-specific so we can talk about the league without people getting knickers in a twist ?

 

[Gilzeanking]

Bloody 'ell, never mind the final positions , we're top for 10 days if we beat Watford

Edit Ah its been pointed out here already .?

 

[shelfboy68]

Chelsea, city and utd are very likely to occur the first three positions Liverpool probably make up the top four but after that it's anyone's.

 

[Gareth88]

Let me ask this:

Would it better to just exit the Europa league now and focus totally on the league? How much money would we lose out on would it give us more of a shot at the league or even a top 4 finish with more refreshed players?

 

[Adam456]

Let me ask this:

Would it better to just exit the Europa league now and focus totally on the league? How much money would we lose out on would it give us more of a shot at the league or even a top 4 finish with more refreshed players?

*Conference* cough * Conference*

 

[Adam456]

There's absolutely bagger all money in the Europa league, let alone the conference. BUT the new stadium is so profitable that even offering discounted seats we'll make a lot of cash. So best off in it, so long as out squad use is sensible and use of the first 11-14 is minimal

 

[ultimateloner]

Let me ask this:

Would it better to just exit the Europa league now and focus totally on the league? How much money would we lose out on would it give us more of a shot at the league or even a top 4 finish with more refreshed players?

No it wont be better if we exit.
As a big club we should have sufficient depth in the team to handle this.
Also victory begets victory, and alot of football is about your mentality/confidence.

My personal view is that only Kane and Son are truly irreplacable members of this team; no one else will alter the level of football we play.
So unless Kane + Son are unfit, we shouldn't consider the above.

 

[dontcallme]

Let me ask this:

Would it better to just exit the Europa league now and focus totally on the league? How much money would we lose out on would it give us more of a shot at the league or even a top 4 finish with more refreshed players?

We have 6 games to play anyway.

I actually think given the weakness of the Europa Conference League we have a great opportunity to play some youngsters and integrate some new players and fringe players.

The likes of Gollini, Doherty, Rodon, Romero, Davies, Sessegnon, Winks, Ndombele, Lo Celso, Gil and Scarlett can all get game time and not affect our league performance.

 

[KaribYid]

We have 6 games to play anyway.

I actually think given the weakness of the Europa Conference League we have a great opportunity to play some youngsters and integrate some new players and fringe players.

The likes of Gollini, Doherty, Rodon, Romero, Davies, Sessegnon, Winks, Ndombele, Lo Celso, Gil and Scarlett can all get game time and not affect our league performance.

Agreed. The biggest plus of the conference league is for players like Gil, Sess, Rodon, Moriba (if he signs) to stake a claim for a first team spot in the same way that Kane did in the EL all those years ago.

 

[Erm33]

Win tomorrow and I'm getting all up aboard the title hype train!

 

[Johno1470]

I’ll reserve my final judgement once the window is closed but I think it’s worthwhile comparing our rivals to the top 4/6.
City - their attacking talent is clear to see and will most likely go on a decent run - however I think without an out and out striker they might become unstuck against some sides. If they lose Dias for an extended period then their defence can be got at.

Chelsea - today’s match is evident how resilient they are defensively. They’re a proper coached side with depth in numbers. If Lukaku can score 20+ league goals I’d expect them to battle for top 2 vs City.

Liverpool - Liverpool will always have the quality and it’ll be interesting to see what VVD is like when he’s back fit. That being said, Liverpool haven’t really signed any forward players and don’t have much depth in numbers if they lose a few key players. Losing Gini and attempting to rely on regularly injured players such as Keita and Henderson might be a bit risky. I’d put Liverpool at challenging for 4/5th this season.

Man United - They’ve strengthened really well with Varane, Sancho and now Ronaldo. Whether OGS can add the tactical awareness to the side is another question but they always seem to get results from Bruno or VAR. I would think they’ll battle for 3-4th this season.

The thing about the 4 clubs above is, they’re all in CL. Much will depend on their luck with injuries and ability to rotate their squad and still manage to get results.

Leicester -they look a bit exposed defensively and losing Fofana long term as well as Evans being regularly injured, I don’t see them being as solid defensively this season. They’ve signed some decent players and whether Somare and Daka adjust quickly, a lot will depend on that.

West Ham - some might laugh but they finished above us last season. They are well coached under Moyes and really get up for the big games. However, they’ve barely added to their squad and I feel they’ll struggle with the rotation and squad depth to cope with Europa League, which they will likely take very serious. If they don’t add and get an injury to Antonio (which is very likely to happen, I see them dropping down to mid table).

Now onto us -
Early days yet but signs are looking good. Nuno seems to want to play attacking football and is getting something out of Dele & Bergwijn already. If they can continue to improve and support Kane/Son with goals, then we will compete. Gil looks impressive but it’s early days for him and he may take some time to adjust.
We will always score goals but we need to get some more goals from players other than Son/Kane.
If we can bring in the likes of Traore and/or another striker, as well as a decent right back, I think we have a seriously strong squad for the premier league.
A huge benefit for us is the Europa Conference League. We won’t need to play any of our key players for much of the tournament and will help us keep our star players fit.

I think for us to genuinely challenge for top 4 is to improve defensively. Sanchez looks slightly improved but Dier is the same old. If Romero can hit the ground running and stay fit, who knows.
Based on our squad right now, I would put us at 5th-6th. If we can bring in some decent signings between now and the close of the window, that may change.

 

[Gareth88]

Win tomorrow and I'm getting all up aboard the title hype train!

I will be boarding if we continue to win after this game and then beat Chelsea

 

[$hoguN]

I really don’t have any expectations this season. I just want us to go out there and show commitment and play decent football and let’s see where we end up.

It’s hard to expect much when 3 teams are effectively playing in cheat mode

 

[StockSpur]

stability..

 

[Yiddo100]

1st. Unbeaten.

Yep, 3 down 35 to go, easy

 

[whitechina]

Yep, 3 down 35 to go, easy

Consistency is the key
1-0
1-0
1-0

I'll take that for the next 35 games!