Leeds, Wolves, Cardiff?

[Tipps69]

There is still 7 months to go of the season, a hell of a lot of football & just about anyone can take points off anyone (apart from Bolton, they would probably struggle to win in training).

Teams may well be able to put a string of wins together but they are just as likely to put a string of defeats together too, look at us last season, our start had some of you dreaming of the Premier League, our middle had us bricking it about League One!!

The money & the competitiveness of The Championship increases every season & there is always an outsider who makes a move for promotion, there are just too many good teams in this division to be able to rule out possibly 18 teams from making a move for promotion, especially this early in the season.

[OldlandReddies]

Fully expect Cardiff to fall away but probably because i dont like them or their manager. Sadly i think Leeds are the team to beat this season. Tuesday nights fixture between them is very interesting.

[AppyDAZE]

Outside tip for top 6

 

Sheff U.   not a big fan, but today they thoroughly deserved the win. And this kid they've got David Brooks who looks phenomenal

[Phileas Fogg]

3 minutes ago, AppyDAZE said:

Outside tip for top 6

 

Sheff U.   not a big fan, but today they thoroughly deserved the win. And this kid they've got David Brooks who looks phenomenal

I rate their manager very highly. Wasn’t there a rumour we made a tentative approach for him during the bad run last season and he turned us down?

[AppyDAZE]

3 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

I rate their manager very highly. Wasn’t there a rumour we made a tentative approach for him during the bad run last season and he turned us down?

Pretty sure youre right

He's one of their own remember

[Phileas Fogg]

5 minutes ago, AppyDAZE said:

Pretty sure youre right

He's one of their own remember

Both clubs might be in a better position now because of it 

Who’d have thought that back then?

[Davefevs]

I’ll be really disappointed if Sheffield Utd finish above us.

After our promotion I don’t want any sides to come up and do well, and therefore show that it is a difficult transition....rather than we totally messed it up!

[AppyDAZE]

15 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I’ll be really disappointed if Sheffield Utd finish above us.

After our promotion I don’t want any sides to come up and do well, and therefore show that it is a difficult transition....rather than we totally messed it up!

Then prepare yourself. :laugh:

[AppyDAZE]

22 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Both clubs might be in a better position now because of it 

Who’d have thought that back then?

Think youre right again. Too northern for us..  looks a good manager but looks more Rugby League than football. Stick with our diminutive (southern) leader , I say

[ScottishRed]

30 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I’ll be really disappointed if Sheffield Utd finish above us.

After our promotion I don’t want any sides to come up and do well, and therefore show that it is a difficult transition....rather than we totally messed it up!

Sheffield United could be this seasons Barnsley, but so far they have done exceptionally well for a promoted team.

My guess for the top 2 are Villa and Boro

[Grey Fox]

Think this season is so wide open that any three from roughly two thirds of the league have a genuine chance, and that includes us.

Leeds , Wolves and boro I think will be in the top six, but they will have to deal with the pressures of expectation  which will build as the season continues and will really bite if they have a poor patch. What the Italiens call a heavy shirt.

Should be fun.

 

On a seperate, point but did anyone watching the Sheffield derby think that both of those sides lacked the pace which we play with?

 

 

 

[AppyDAZE]

I share your grief, Owl    I don't like 'em and hopefully i am gonna be wrong

[Bar BS3]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

I’ll be really disappointed if Sheffield Utd finish above us.

After our promotion I don’t want any sides to come up and do well, and therefore show that it is a difficult transition....rather than we totally messed it up!

Or look at MK Dons, Wigan, Rotherham, Bolton. 

Last time I looked, we came up, stayed up and are now doing ok. 

[havanatopia]

19 hours ago, spudski said:

My top 6 would consist of Leeds, Wolves, Boro, Villa, Sheff Weds, Brentford.

Brentford? wow. You must know something we don't or you just feel the early season pundits are and will be proven right. 

After last night i can see the Blades replacing Wednesday in that list. I think Cardiff, sad to say it, but will stay the course. But overall it is such early days and frankly Bolton could have an epiphany and go on a 15 game winning run. Unlikely I know but one never knows with this league.

 

[reddogkev]

Spudski, have you inadvertently revealed yourself to be a Brentford coach?  You're not their current gaffer are you (Dean, is that you)???

[harvey54]

Leaving myself open to ridicule I still think Birmingham City could still challenge. They bought well and if someone organises them a couple of wins could see them gain confidence. This league is wide open imho and it wouldn't surprise me if another 'smaller' club does a Huddersfield. Us maybe? 

As Gilbert used to say 'youze can always dream '.

[Monkeh]

On 9/24/2017 at 11:22, spudski said:

They are by far the best team in the league imo mate....can see them doing it.   Just ;-)

Brentford won't be near it now, they've got into a losing mentality at the moment and will struggle, I can't see them finishing above 12th, one win against a awful bolton side doesn't change that 

 

[spudski]

35 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

Brentford won't be near it now, they've got into a losing mentality at the moment and will struggle, I can't see them finishing above 12th, one win against a awful bolton side doesn't change that 

 

I'm not so sure mate...looking at their stats, they have probably been the best team overall in the league performance wise. When it comes to most shots on target, more than anyone else. The most dominant and busiest attack, yet quietest defence....one of the best attacks and best defences. They've either been unlucky or a bit wasteful with their chances.

From watching their performances, I feel they are probably the best all round club in the division and that their form and luck will turn.

[Monkeh]

22 minutes ago, spudski said:

I'm not so sure mate...looking at their stats, they have probably been the best team overall in the league performance wise. When it comes to most shots on target, more than anyone else. The most dominant and busiest attack, yet quietest defence....one of the best attacks and best defences. They've either been unlucky or a bit wasteful with their chances.

From watching their performances, I feel they are probably the best all round club in the division and that their form and luck will turn.

as we know from last season stats can be deceiving when that mentality creeps in, good footballing side I agree but won't be up their this season 

[Phileas Fogg]

8 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

as we know from last season stats can be deceiving when that mentality creeps in, good footballing side I agree but won't be up their this season 

Those sort of performance stats indicate eventually performances will turn. Obviously they can be deceiving, but it depends on the context of how you apply them.

Brentford are the only team to look comprehensively better than us so far this season, as we are one of the form sides in the division - that’s another good indicator.

I think they’re a good bet for top 6.

[EnderMB]

On 9/24/2017 at 09:55, reddogkev said:

If Wolves do go up, serious questions have to be asked about the massive outlay they've spent on players.

I think the question that will need to be asked is why other owners aren't making those sorts of connections, and why they're not spending the money needed to get into the Premier League.

Look at it another way. Is spending £40m on a successful squad in one year better than spending £40m on a mid-table club over four years?

[LondonBristolian]

5 minutes ago, EnderMB said:

I think the question that will need to be asked is why other owners aren't making those sorts of connections, and why they're not spending the money needed to get into the Premier League.

Look at it another way. Is spending £40m on a successful squad in one year better than spending £40m on a mid-table club over four years?

I think the other question is whether we have Financial Fair Play regulations or not. At the moment it seems we have them but the enforcement is so weak that teams that follow the rules are indirectly penalised as a result. The solution has to be to either enforce the rules or scrap them completely. About time parachute payments were fazed out too, come to that. Teams by now should be savvy enough about the consequences of relegation from the Premier League to financially plan for that eventuality without additional money from the Premier League...

[BCFC_Dan]

54 minutes ago, spudski said:

I'm not so sure mate...looking at their stats, they have probably been the best team overall in the league performance wise. When it comes to most shots on target, more than anyone else. The most dominant and busiest attack, yet quietest defence....one of the best attacks and best defences. They've either been unlucky or a bit wasteful with their chances.

From watching their performances, I feel they are probably the best all round club in the division and that their form and luck will turn.

You might enjoy this piece about Brentford's troubles this season, written by a guy who worked for them: http://statsbomb.com/2017/09/inferior-tactical-strategies-the-bizarro-world-of-brentford/

They'll not go down, but something's not working as it should be there.

[Monkeh]

36 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Those sort of performance stats indicate eventually performances will turn. Obviously they can be deceiving, but it depends on the context of how you apply them.

Brentford are the only team to look comprehensively better than us so far this season, as we are one of the form sides in the division - that’s another good indicator.

I think they’re a good bet for top 6.

again I can point to last season,with us, I think we've got more chance of top six then them, and I don't think we are going to be near it ether,

[spudski]

18 minutes ago, BCFC_Dan said:

You might enjoy this piece about Brentford's troubles this season, written by a guy who worked for them: http://statsbomb.com/2017/09/inferior-tactical-strategies-the-bizarro-world-of-brentford/

They'll not go down, but something's not working as it should be there.

Yes...I've read that recently mate. Good article. I still think they might scrape into top 6 though.

[Phileas Fogg]

29 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

again I can point to last season,with us

What do you mean by that? 

[Monkeh]

2 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

What do you mean by that? 

we had all the good stats in the world during our bad run but we kept making one or two mistakes a game and ended up losing by the odd goal (preston a side of course), we had a losing mentality and one or two bad eggs,

that combination was a disaster for us, now I can't speak for Brentford as I don't know what their players are like generally, but they are in a habit of not winning football matches, and one win against the worse side in the league doesn't change that,

They won't go down no chance of that, there are worse teams in this league, but they won't make the top 6,   

[Phileas Fogg]

27 minutes ago, Monkeh said:

we had all the good stats in the world during our bad run but we kept making one or two mistakes a game and ended up losing by the odd goal (preston a side of course), we had a losing mentality and one or two bad eggs,

that combination was a disaster for us,

That supports mine and Spudski’s point though really, we turned it around eventually. The stats indicated we would.

Stats aren’t the only consideration of course, but help to show trends which you can apply to the bigger picture.

Quote

now I can't speak for Brentford as I don't know what their players are like generally, but they are in a habit of not winning football matches, and one win against the worse side in the league doesn't change that,

They won't go down no chance of that, there are worse teams in this league, but they won't make the top 6,   

I thought you said you don’t know what their players are like?

[EnderMB]

1 hour ago, LondonBristolian said:

I think the other question is whether we have Financial Fair Play regulations or not. At the moment it seems we have them but the enforcement is so weak that teams that follow the rules are indirectly penalised as a result. The solution has to be to either enforce the rules or scrap them completely. About time parachute payments were fazed out too, come to that. Teams by now should be savvy enough about the consequences of relegation from the Premier League to financially plan for that eventuality without additional money from the Premier League...

FFP has been a joke since it was implemented. All it essentially means is that any money spent on the club needs to go through the club by commercial means. Very few owners don't have business connections, so it's essentially worthless. If an owner wants to spend £500m, all they need to do is put £500m from a "sponsor" through the club.

Obviously, they shouldn't take the piss, but I don't think Wolves have. They've been in the Premier League, they have powerful connections, and £15m for a single player has happened before.

Hell, the only team to ever be called out on their spending (QPR a few years ago) told the Football League to **** off, and nothing happened to them.

FFP is a good way to ensure that a club doesn't liquidate itself, but if an owner wants to throw their cash around the Football League couldn't give a shit. It means more money for them, and more exposure.

Besides, if the fans worry about FFP, it means the club isn't successful enough to get promoted. Success often requires money, and if a club isn't willing to spend they shouldn't expect success.

[Mr Popodopolous]

12 minutes ago, EnderMB said:

FFP has been a joke since it was implemented. All it essentially means is that any money spent on the club needs to go through the club by commercial means. Very few owners don't have business connections, so it's essentially worthless. If an owner wants to spend £500m, all they need to do is put £500m from a "sponsor" through the club.

Obviously, they shouldn't take the piss, but I don't think Wolves have. They've been in the Premier League, they have powerful connections, and £15m for a single player has happened before.

Hell, the only team to ever be called out on their spending (QPR a few years ago) told the Football League to **** off, and nothing happened to them.

FFP is a good way to ensure that a club doesn't liquidate itself, but if an owner wants to throw their cash around the Football League couldn't give a shit. It means more money for them, and more exposure.

Besides, if the fans worry about FFP, it means the club isn't successful enough to get promoted. Success often requires money, and if a club isn't willing to spend they shouldn't expect success.

If done correctly, it should take into account "Fair Value", "Market Rate" and disallow any cash over that rate deemed unrealistic or unviable. Like may happen to PSG within a year.

Don't know how rigorously it is applied at this level. On paper though, it should be scrutinised strongly enough to pick up on such things.

FWIW, I agree on Wolves also. I think they can potentially make the sums add up on FFP as they made regular profits in PL, had the parachute payments, loaned out all their big earners when they were in League One and perhaps some in Championship too, generally have a pretty strong fanbase and if they structured fees correctly it can add up possibly. Within the allowable limits anyway.

http://www.wolvesfancast.com/ffp-mean-wolves/