Will Not Be Presented With A Chance As Good As This..

[pocketscrot]

Right then pep's i know its early and the transfer merry go round has yet to really get started, however i think next season is the best chance we have ever had (may ever) to get into the prem. With hull and portsmouth (now PNE plus poss sheff utd + Crystal palarse) skinted and burnley with laws in charge i dont see any of these 3 doing the bounce back up. With the new manager will come new investment and renewed optimism we are very much a club on the up. Exciting times indeed. I guess the top 6 to be made up of the following.

Bristol City

Notts Florist

QPR

Leicester City

Reading

Ipswich town

Anyone with any advances on the above?

[miloemily]

boro instead of ipswich

[cityhead]

Right then pep's i know its early and the transfer merry go round has yet to really get started, however i think next season is the best chance we have ever had (may ever) to get into the prem. With hull and portsmouth (now PNE plus poss sheff utd + Crystal palarse) skinted and burnley with laws in charge i dont see any of these 3 doing the bounce back up. With the new manager will come new investment and renewed optimism we are very much a club on the up. Exciting times indeed. I guess the top 6 to be made up of the following.

Bristol City

Notts Florist

QPR

Leicester City

Reading

Ipswich town

Anyone with any advances on the above?

norwich, leeds and a.n.other, as we know promotion gives great impetus to a season.

[pocketscrot]

One of the promoted sides will have a good season Norwich or Leeds, maybe both?

I dont think that leeds will be amongst the top, they have scrapped out of a poor division, about to lose there best player and are not rolling in it(or are they?). Norwich may be a good shout.

[Garland-sweden]

Right then pep's i know its early and the transfer merry go round has yet to really get started, however i think next season is the best chance we have ever had (may ever) to get into the prem. With hull and portsmouth (now PNE plus poss sheff utd + Crystal palarse) skinted and burnley with laws in charge i dont see any of these 3 doing the bounce back up. With the new manager will come new investment and renewed optimism we are very much a club on the up. Exciting times indeed. I guess the top 6 to be made up of the following.

Bristol City

Notts Florist

QPR

Leicester City

Reading

Ipswich town

Anyone with any advances on the above?

[Bris Red]

The 07/08 season was a weak Championship and we ended up in the play offs, to be fair this year is shaping up to be even weaker than 07/08..

I dont want to jump the gun and start expecting too much, BUT i think we should be fairly confident of finishing in the top 6.

[Garland-sweden]

Right then pep's i know its early and the transfer merry go round has yet to really get started, however i think next season is the best chance we have ever had (may ever) to get into the prem. With hull and portsmouth (now PNE plus poss sheff utd + Crystal palarse) skinted and burnley with laws in charge i dont see any of these 3 doing the bounce back up. With the new manager will come new investment and renewed optimism we are very much a club on the up. Exciting times indeed. I guess the top 6 to be made up of the following.

Bristol City

Notts Florist

QPR

Leicester City

Reading

Ipswich town

Anyone with any advances on the above?

Excitining times as you said. Reading and Mboro is the teams we have to knock if we are going direct to PL I think. But you knewer know, look at Blackpool. We have confidence with Millen and Coppel and offcause the Boss. A few more signings and I think we can make it. Always believe.

[redrebel]

Right then pep's i know its early and the transfer merry go round has yet to really get started, however i think next season is the best chance we have ever had (may ever) to get into the prem. With hull and portsmouth (now PNE plus poss sheff utd + Crystal palarse) skinted and burnley with laws in charge i dont see any of these 3 doing the bounce back up. With the new manager will come new investment and renewed optimism we are very much a club on the up. Exciting times indeed. I guess the top 6 to be made up of the following.

Bristol City

Notts Florist

QPR

Leicester City

Reading

Ipswich town

Anyone with any advances on the above?

I think we have to see how successful Steve Coppell is in building up the squad in the transfer market this summer before we start talking like this.We have a lot of areas of the team that need strengthening.

[Nogbad the Bad]

Only other team is Burnley, they are an unknown really, could go either way next season for them. I can't predict what they will play like at all.

I think Burnley start as favourites.

They won't lose many players and they've got the money to strengthen.

Hull and Portsmouth don't look capable of mounting a challenge at all.

Reading have had such an impressive run that anything like similar will see them comfortably top six, perhaps even joining Burnley in an automatic place.

If Blackpool stay down they surely won't do the same again. It's now or never for them - has Hollowhead ever had 2 good seasons in a row? - and likewise Cardiff whose squad would be decimated.

Pearson seems to be a good manager at this level, no reason why Leicester can't unspectacularly achieve the play offs again.

Coming up, Leeds top 10 and Norwich being the surprise team by possibly just scraping into the play offs. Who knows about Swindon/Millwall/Charlton/Huddersfield but would expect any of them to finish closer to bottom than top.

No reason at all why a Coppell-inspired City can't finish top 6 and if he gets the 4 vital signings right then absolutely anything is possible, even 1st place.

My top 6: Burnley

Reading

BCFC

Leicester

Forest

Norwich/M'Boro

[Garland-sweden]

I think we have to see how successful Steve Coppell is in building up the squad in the transfer market this summer before we start talking like this.We have a lot of areas of the team that need strengthening.

Yes. SC knows the strengthening of the team and I am still we can be in top six. We have an smart Boss, Coppel and Millner. We have the tools to get to PL this season or next.

[internetjef]

Everything looks great at Burnley except for Laws

I still fancy them to do well and would def pick them for a top 6....

But Brian Laws......... really?.........

[miketh2nd]

It's all so easy to speculate about how easy a season will be when really there is no such thing. Yes Coppell is a great manager and makes us higher profile however many of the championship teams (sheff utd/boro/swans/Reading/Preston and the ones who don't get promoted this season, just need to go on a decent run/ a manager to get into the groove and work well with tight budgets.

When we get to the play offs 2 years ago no one thought we would and lets be honest we were dreaming before start of the season for that to happen. Take the teams who came up last year Leicester play off spot like us no one predicted that. Scunny just stayed up although think aren't a bad team seeing as they haven't spent much at all. Then Peteborough only team to go back down who if they kept one manager may of stayed up.

I'm not putting a downer there is no doubt hull/portsmouth will both be in admin and compare them to newcastle and west brom looks like a lot easier . But it's not even pre season and Gotta remember Coppell's management style could take over a year at least to be properly instilled/ have the right players.

[The Red Planet]

Do not underestimate Leeds FC. Looks like they have put the past disastrous six years behind them,

Huge club, in case you need reminding - 39,000 at Elland Rd for their promotion winning last game of the season in League 1 v The Gas,

I forecast them to get successive promotions.

Leeds are defininitely in my forecast for top six finish in the CCC next season - along with us.

[HanhamRed]

On a slightly different note, looking at the number of high profile teams in financial trouble at the moment, I'm really glad we seem to have a chairman with a financial head on his shoulders. I know we are making a loss year-on-year, but in comparison we have a relatively stable club. Much rather watch a team playing at a lower level than no team at all. I just worry that if we do go up we get sucked into the usual financial troubles, anyone remember seaon 1998/99 (admittedly the financial rewards are a lot higher for getting to the Prem)?

[HanhamRed]

Do not underestimate Leeds FC. Looks like they have put the past disastrous six years behind them,

Huge club, in case you need reminding - 39,000 at Elland Rd for their promotion winning last game of the season in League 1 v The Gas,

I forecast them to get successive promotions.

Leeds are defininitely in my forecast for top six finish in the CCC next season - along with us.

I can never understand the perceived relation between 'big club' and 'success'. They are where they are because big mistakes were made financially to achieve relatively unlikely success, and for the last 6 seasons Leeds, for example, have paid the price. This is one of the gambles of owning/running a football club. Some, eg S****horpe, Blackpool, will punch above their weight; some, eg Leeds, Southampton will punch below - thats why we love the game.

[And Its Smith]

I can never understand the perceived relation between 'big club' and 'success'. They are where they are because big mistakes were made financially to achieve relatively unlikely success, and for the last 6 seasons Leeds, for example, have paid the price. This is one of the gambles of owning/running a football club. Some, eg S****horpe, Blackpool, will punch above their weight; some, eg Leeds, Southampton will punch below - thats why we love the game.

'Big' clubs are, generally, more successful than 'small' clubs simply because they have more money. Yes, they made mistakes but are now a profit making club with 10 - 15k more fans than us watching them 23 times a season.

12k x £20 = £240,000.

£240,000 x 23 = £5.5 million more a season coming into the club. Thus, they can spend big this summer if they want (at least bigger than the likes of us) and will be up there next season.

To have this thread discussion now is a bit early anyway as I reckon 2 out of the 6 clubs everyone goes for will be changed by August depending on summer transfers.

[Robbored]

Reading finished last season on a great run of results and that could carry on into next season. The Blades are also a decent outfit and depending on who they bring in over the summer could be contenders.

Leicester could do a City and lose momentum but if they can recover from the agony of a play-off defeat they'll feature again. I rate Nigel Pearson and I reckon they'll be there or there about.

Hull/Pompey will be an unknown quantities. Could decend even further or bounce back.

Have to mention the Jacks as well. Just missed out on the last day last season and if they can find a goalscorer will be threat again.

Burnley would be my tip to bounce back. I have a feeling that they could become like the Baggies - a yo-yo club.

Leeds/ Norwich. At least one of them will do well. Probably Norwich.

I wonder what other clubs fans think about our chances now that Steve Coppell has taken over.

[screech]

As long as the football is better I'll take another top 10 place.

Already people are getting way ahead of themselves, we need a much stronger defence, better players in the middle and another 2 quality strikers to even contemplate automatic promotion.

What if Maynard gets injured and is out for a long time, we dont score enough goals as it is, so if you half his contribution which his replacement is doing, we are suddenly looking like that team who was flirting with relegation a few months back.

Dont underestimate how far away we are from making the top 2, the squad will need some serious investment over the summer, we need players to come in that are an improvement in all areas, Carey needs a better replacement as does Hartley, Sproule, Mcallister, a left sided midfielder and two quality additions up front. We aren't talking peanuts here, we are at least five players short of sustaining a promotion push. Coppell mania will get us there in pre season but on the pitch over a season we are falling short, much better players are needed in every department.

[The Batman]

As long as the football is better I'll take another top 10 place.

Already people are getting way ahead of themselves, we need a much stronger defence, better players in the middle and another 2 quality strikers to even contemplate automatic promotion.

What if Maynard gets injured and is out for a long time, we dont score enough goals as it is, so if you half his contribution which his replacement is doing, we are suddenly looking like that team who was flirting with relegation a few months back.

Dont underestimate how far away we are from making the top 2, the squad will need some serious investment over the summer, we need players to come in that are an improvement in all areas, Carey needs a better replacement as does Hartley, Sproule, Mcallister, a left sided midfielder and two quality additions up front. We aren't talking peanuts here, we are at least five players short of sustaining a promotion push. Coppell mania will get us there in pre season but on the pitch over a season we are falling short, much better players are needed in every department.

i think the squad is good enough, it's just the previous manager didn't use them correctly

Coppell will get much more out of them than Johnson and utilse them better.

[Robbored]

As long as the football is better I'll take another top 10 place.

Already people are getting way ahead of themselves, we need a much stronger defence, better players in the middle and another 2 quality strikers to even contemplate automatic promotion.

What if Maynard gets injured and is out for a long time, we dont score enough goals as it is, so if you half his contribution which his replacement is doing, we are suddenly looking like that team who was flirting with relegation a few months back.

Dont underestimate how far away we are from making the top 2, the squad will need some serious investment over the summer, we need players to come in that are an improvement in all areas, Carey needs a better replacement as does Hartley, Sproule, Mcallister, a left sided midfielder and two quality additions up front. We aren't talking peanuts here, we are at least five players short of sustaining a promotion push. Coppell mania will get us there in pre season but on the pitch over a season we are falling short, much better players are needed in every department.

Your're right that based on last season's largely disapointing campaign City were a long way short of Newcastle and WBA in terms of quality.They both had parachute payments and the Toon in particular held on to many of the PL players. In the cold light of day probably only Maynard would have made either of their first 11 on a regular basis.

Last seasons finish reflected exactly what City were - a mid table Championship team with a dodgy defence. That won't have been lost on Millen or Coppell and they both know that to become serious contenders they will need more quality all over the pitch. Next season will be better in terms of entertainment simply because Coppell likes to play attacking football. I'm looking forward to leaving AG after a game having witnessed a decent game of football next season. That doesn't mean that City will win them all and its likely to take more than one season to create a promotion team. I think it took SC 3 or 4 years to develop Reading into PL team.

The one thing that fills us all with optimism is that Steve Coppell has done it before with a club very similair in terms of size and status to City. There are many similarities including a very wealthy Chairman.

[The Batman]

I'm sorry, I do not agree with that, Even under the tutorledge of KM, we were comfortably beaten at Scunny, and were very fortunate to gain results at Sheff Wed, Peterborough, Where we were outplayed for the majority of those games.

3/4 Quality Players are required IMO, right through the spine of the team, If we are serious about a tilt at the play-offs.

i see your point however, a win is a win at the end of the day, regardless of whether we get outplayed or not

and also, coppell has more experience at not only this level but also the Premier League than johnson and KM. (not ment in a disrepectable way)

[stroudy]

As long as the football is better I'll take another top 10 place.

Already people are getting way ahead of themselves, we need a much stronger defence, better players in the middle and another 2 quality strikers to even contemplate automatic promotion.

What if Maynard gets injured and is out for a long time, we dont score enough goals as it is, so if you half his contribution which his replacement is doing, we are suddenly looking like that team who was flirting with relegation a few months back.

Dont underestimate how far away we are from making the top 2, the squad will need some serious investment over the summer, we need players to come in that are an improvement in all areas, Carey needs a better replacement as does Hartley, Sproule, Mcallister, a left sided midfielder and two quality additions up front. We aren't talking peanuts here, we are at least five players short of sustaining a promotion push. Coppell mania will get us there in pre season but on the pitch over a season we are falling short, much better players are needed in every department.

IMO This post is 100% spot on. SC himself admitted it took him 2 years to put together his squad at Reading and they weren't that bad at the time. I do believe SC will get a lot more out of what he has, but we need new players in every section of the pitch, in some cases 2!

The thing I really hope doesn't happen though is that we start the season slowly and people get on the players and managers back.

To coin a phrase Rome wasn't built in a day!