something-red wrote:
How many players did you lose after you finish 5thed? You went from over-achieving to under-achieving lol. You'll finish top half this year, but around 8th or 9th imo. Think that's around right too.

Swansea will finish above Everton. They'll fight for Europe. They've very good signings and look very good in pre-season. Bony, Michu and Shelvey will be fun to watch.

No one of any importance, we sold the likes of Guthrie, Best and Lovenkrands etc etc.

Problem wasn't who we sold it was who was coming in and how the fabric of the team changed....

For much of the 5th season we played like this....


Thanks to signings of Anita, Cisse, Debuchy, Yanga-Mbiwa, Haidara, Sissoko and Gouffran coming in for the loss of Ba its a team that requires different things and has different strengths and weaknesses.

Not to mention for much of that season Santon and Ben Arfa were not used and now when fit they start.

There is been quite the massive turn over in players and a lot of them Pardew doesn't know how to get the best out of.

Maybe the likely signings of Gomis and Remy will help who knows.

As for Swansea i 100% agree i really like what they are doing and expecting them to finish 7th.

What do you guys think about Coutinho ? is he going to explode this season ?

Interested in Swansea, where do you see them finishing this season?

Art Morte wrote:

GoonerJay29 wrote:

Art Morte wrote:What are folks' relegation candidates? Crystal Palace and Hull seem so likely to go straight back down that we might not get an exciting relegation battle like during the last few seasons... Fulham my surprise bet to get relegated.

Hull and Palace for me, too.

At the moment, I think the third team will be Cardiff.

I'd find it kinda sad if it were the three promoted clubs all going straight back down. With the new TV deal increasing the Premiership clubs' revenues yet again there's the fear that those who have established themselves in the top flight will stay there while those coming up from the Championship will just straight away get pushed back down. That would be sad. So if I got to choose, I'd actually like all three of Palace Hull and Cardiff to stay up, just to allay those fears.

That's been the case for a while. Sometimes you get the odd season where they all do really well and stay up (as Swansea, Norwich and QPR did a couple of years ago), but usually one or two of the promoted clubs go straight back down again, simply because they've taken too large a step-up too soon (Reading last year are a good example of that).

I do agree with you, though. I'd rather see Cardiff stay up and someone like Stoke go down.

What do you guys think about Coutinho ? is he going to explode this season ?

He'll probably have a good season and be one of the best young players in the league.

Interested in Swansea, where do you see them finishing this season?

They've got a good squad together and should finish somewhere between 7th and 10th. Right now, I've got them down as contenders for 7th for progress in the Europa League might decrease their chances a bit.

Pedram wrote:What do you guys think about Coutinho ? is he going to explode this season ?

He's definitely the face of Liverpool's attacks for the upcoming season. What a little player he is.

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And also Andreas Cornelius is going to light up the league. You just watch. Bellamy + Cornelius

Cardiff will NOT be relegated, you can quote me on that.

I have Hull City, Stoke, Palace as my picks to go down.

Pedram wrote:What do you guys think about Coutinho ? is he going to explode this season ?

He's a very talented player, a steal from Inter for his price tag. Will be interesting to see how he fares over a whole season though, he struggled against the better teams that pool played against in his half season.

lszanto wrote:

Pedram wrote:What do you guys think about Coutinho ? is he going to explode this season ?

He's a very talented player, a steal from Inter for his price tag. Will be interesting to see how he fares over a whole season though, he struggled against the better teams that pool played against in his half season.

FALSE. He only struggled 1 game and that was the Chelsea match. So now all of a sudden he struggles against good teams.

McAgger wrote:

lszanto wrote:

Pedram wrote:What do you guys think about Coutinho ? is he going to explode this season ?

He's a very talented player, a steal from Inter for his price tag. Will be interesting to see how he fares over a whole season though, he struggled against the better teams that pool played against in his half season.

FALSE. He only struggled 1 game and that was the Chelsea match. So now all of a sudden he struggles against good teams.

Outside of Spuds and Chelsea he didn't play a good team and wasn't he poor against both of them? You guys had a very easy run at the end of the season so it'll be interesting to see how he fares over a whole season for me. Not saying he won't cop it but for me he's only excelled against average teams so far, he may well prove me wrong this season.

McAgger is so defensive

He struggled against Everton too, last season we saw a Coutinho who raped when given time and space but struggled to create when teams got aggressive with him and limited his space.

We will see if he adapts to this and likely hood is he probably will.

He didn't really struggle but they did nullify majority of his influence.

It would be stupid to go into the season with Coutinho being the main focus for our team. He's still so young, we shouldn't be putting that much pressure on him. It's why I want Eriksen so bad. He's down for the move too!

Who the hell says Coutinho struggled against Spurs. He was beasting that game. Everton he was decent too.

The only game he truly struggled was the Chelsea where he played 45 mins.

45 minutes of bad play against a top side does not a flat track bully make.

He did do well against Spurs. He was rather quiet against Chelsea. He's had a few bad games with Everton being another. Every youngster does have a few bad games. He's 21.

He has a lot to show this season. Won't be expecting much for him this season, but I would just like to see him progress. Depending on who we sign before the window, there's a good chance he'll be playing on the left flank. Which I feel is his best position.

Soldado.

I think its going to be quite an odd unpredictable season with a few surprises in store.

I fancy Chelsea to edge the title, simply because Jose is going back to a club he has previous experience at.  He knows the workings of the club and allot of players and staff will know how he works.

Everything will be new for Pelegrini and Moyes.  If Wenger would hurry up and spend some cash could see them doing really well.  With all the changes at other clubs it is a perfect time to capitalize and push Arsenal forward.

Lower down the table is where it gets really unpredictable.  Seems like most teams have made some quality additions on paper, but I suppose it will come down to how fast they hit the ground running and if they live upto the hype and high transfer fees.

As for my team,  things were looking allot better a few weeks ago when we started bringing players in and were linked to many more.

But things have quietened down and we still don't have a recognized Left back or right back.

I see allot of people tipping Di Canio for the sack first, but considering the way Short has backed him and the changes they have made at the club I cant see that happening any time soon. There are a fair few other managers in more unstable situations.

Will have to wait and see how things go, but one things for sure it will be allot more exciting and entertaining than previous seasons for me.

Utd
City
Chelsea
Spurs
Liverpool
Arsenal
Everton
Swansea
Newcastle
Southampton
West Ham
West Brom
Norwich
Sunderland
Fulham
Villa
Cardiff
Stoke
Palace
Hull

Can see Southampton and Swansea being in the top 8, honestly.

Everton will drop. Martinez is an average coach, and Everton have an average team. (It took Moyes at least 5 years to get that exact team to playing the same system consistently for them to finish top 6. Martinez will change the system. They have an ageing squad so expect a lot of rebuilding for them.)

Newcastle will improve from last year, especially if Remy is in the way in. They'll finish closer to 10th than Europe, though.

West Ham will finish around the same spot as last year, but watch Andy Carroll score 15+ goals if he stays fit.

Can't wait to see Bellamy at Anfield.

Our position entirely depends on Pardew and how he sets the team up.

Anita-Sissoko-Cabaye Remy-Ben Arfa-Cisse is a front 6 which I don't believe is bettered by the likes of Everton, Swansea, Southampton etc

With Gomis apparently going to be done by the end of the week and a LW to follow before the deadline its a squad that is capable of a good season.

Hopefully Pardew doesn't let us down again because this time he will have no excuses.

Yeah, Newcastle should definitely do all right, Pardew needs to go if they struggle again.

Sign Downing. He'll make you a mid-table club I promise.

something-red wrote:Sign Downing. He'll make you a mid-table club I promise.  

Pardew has already said we are not interested.

Don't ruin the moment.  

something-red wrote:Stoke City, Palace and Hull for me.

Aston Villa will surprise a few. They'll finish mid-table.

er, no.

Daniel Agger apparently new Liverpool vice captain.

One week to go ffs.

My Body is not ready

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Our position entirely depends on Pardew and how he sets the team up.

Anita-Sissoko-Cabaye Remy-Ben Arfa-Cisse is a front 6 which I don't believe is bettered by the likes of Everton, Swansea, Southampton etc

With Gomis apparently going to be done by the end of the week and a LW to follow before the deadline its a squad that is capable of a good season.

Hopefully Pardew doesn't let us down again because this time he will have no excuses.

Er...u've left out Check Tiote, great Newcastle player too