saintrich Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 My Championship Predictions 1. Birmingham – Boast the strongest forward line in the division, so expect plenty of goals from the Midlanders, who might have to play 3 up front - with such talented strikers as Kevin Phillips, Cameron Jerome, Garry O’Connor and James McFadden; who can also play in midfield. Goals from the middle of the park could come in handy too with the likes of Gary McSheffery and Sebastian Larsson remaining at the club and with the addition of defensive midfielder Lee Carsley, coupled with an already strong defence, the Blues should run away with the title. 2. Sheffield United – Only just missed out on the play-offs last season and that included half a season with highly criticised Brian Robson at the helm. Current boss Kevin Blackwell also has the luxury of plenty of attacking options, with Darius Henderson replacing Rob Hulse who went to Derby, adding to an already strong forward line of James Beattie, Jon Stead and Billy Sharp – who flattered to deceive last season, but is a player I feel can make a breakthrough this season. Blackwell has made some decent signings in Greg Halford and David Cotterill and with an already solid core of Kenny, Naismith, Killgallon and Tonge, I expect Sheffield United to be challenging for a top two position. 3. Reading – Steve Coppell is a manager who can be relied upon to deliver the goods at this level and with a Reading team that hasn’t seen many absentees (only Dave Kitson and the impending departure of Nicky Shorey), they can challenge for an automatic promotion place, but just missing out – Kevin Doyle should net his fair share of goals, but can Leroy Lita and new signing Noel Hunt manage if he gets injured? 4. Wolverhampton Wanderers – For me, Wolves have a strong core in their team, in goal, Wayne Hennessey has been touted as a future premiership star and I can see why, with plenty of clean sheets last season. Richard Stearman has been added to the defence and this should ease Wolves fans ‘worries that they are short in the centre back position. I like the flair that Wolves possess with Elokobi and Foley at full back and Kightly and Jarvis on the wings and up front they have plenty of variety with last season’s top scorer Sylvain Ebanks-Blake providing them with power, pace and finishing, whilst new addition Chris Iwelumo will play as a target man and Andy Keogh will work tirelessly down the channels to get assists for his team mates. I think the squad is strong, but I’m a little sceptical of Mick McCarthy’s ability as manager. 5. Queens Park Rangers – Money, Money, Money. QPR have come into serious money, but I’d dare to say that their signings have been solid, rather than spectacular. Kaspars Gorkks was a star performer in the Blackpool defence last season and should be a decent capture, whilst the signing of Real Madrid “wonderkid” Dani Parejo could prove exciting in midfield along with creative talent Akos Buzsaky. Upfront I wouldn’t call them prolific, but I expect Briatore and co will spend seriously in the January transfer window to catapult the club into the play-offs. 6. Ipswich Town – Their home form was sensational last season and if they can keep that up and prove harder to beat away from home, then they should be challenging for a play off place. Again they have been rumoured to have money, which I think they will spend in January and their most notable signing to date for me, would be Kevin Lisbie from Colchester, who scored plenty in a struggling team last season. Watch out for young forward Danny Haynes as he gets an extended run in the first team. 7. Norwich City – I think Norwich will be the surprise of the season and could challenge towards the top six, but will ultimately miss out. Last season, Glenn Roeder did a great job steering the club from danger and signing some good youngsters on loan. This time around, Arturo Lupoli has signed and could create a good partnership with Jamie Cureton (if he manages to stay injury free unlike last season), whilst they’ve shipped out overpaid pansy Darren Huckerby, they’ve done good business by replacing him with Wes Hoolahan from Blackpool, who is younger, hungrier and equally as creative. In defence, ex-pomp*y player Dejan Stefanovic has joined and his previous teammate at Fulham Elliot Omozuzi has joined on loan – a young defender with good potential. 8. Bristol City – I can’t see them proving to be one season wonders, as unlike previous examples Luton and Colchester, they’ve managed to keep hold of their better players. One thing that will go against them, is the fact that they are no longer a surprise package, however with Gary Johnson (who I rate highly) in charge and the signing of striker Nicky Maynard from Crewe, I think they have the quality to challenge in and around the top six. 9. Derby County – Have completely changed the squad from last season with a whole host of new signings, which could mean a while in getting used to each other. I think this season will be a season of consolidation for the rams, after their disaster season last year, but the signings of players such as Albrechtson, Commons, Hulse and Ellington, along with the quality of player like Giles Barnes, means that they won’t be far off the top six. 10. Crystal Palace – Neil Warnock is a great manager at this level and did an excellent job last season, but I don’t think he’ll add to his record of getting teams into the playoffs. He has done well to bring in midfielder Nick Carle from Bristol City to replace soon to be outgoing Ben Watson, but with the departure of Clinton Morrison, it is hard to see where regular goals will come from. Watch out for youngster Victor Moses, though. And the rest... 11. Burnley – Have lost Kyle Lafferty and this could prove to be a big loss, however have bought well in highly rated striker Martin Patterson from S****horpe and talented Manchester United midfielder Chris Eagles. I can see them adopting a direct style of play, which could see them doing well in the division this season. 12. Coventry City – Aren’t in a great financial position to bring in players, but the signing of Kieran Westwood is a good one as he proved himself to be on the better goalkeepers outside of the premiership last season, also Clinton Morrison and Freddy Eastwood should get the goals that will se Coventry finish solidly in Chris Coleman’s first full season in charge. 13. Nottingham Forest – Only just promoted from league one, but by no means relegation favourites. They have bought well in Andy Cole and especially Rob Earnshaw – who is proven to score plenty of goals in this division. Guy Moussi is a player I’ve great things about from the Forest fans, so it’ll be interesting to see his effect on the team. 14. Cardiff City – The FA cup finalists from last season have done well to retain the services of highly rated players Joe Ledley and Roger Johnson and despite managing a decent deal to sign Motherwell striker Ross McCormack on a free transfer, I can’t see the team being prolific scorers and may have to play Paul Parry as a make-shift striker, if injuries to McCormack and fellow new signing Jay Bothroyd occur. 15. Charlton Athletic – Alan Pardew is facing a lot of pressure from the fans at the Valley and I can’t see things getting any better for the London side. They’ve had to ship out a few players this summer to help with finances and haven’t really replaced them to my knowledge. That said they still possess a decent enough squad with the likes of Darren Ambrose and Andy Gray to finish in a solid mid-table position. 16. Swansea City – Could do well under the guidance of manager Roberto Martinez. In Ferrie Bodde they have one of the championship’s more sought after players and goals from Jason Scotland and some of the unknown (to most) Spanish players that he’s brought in, could surprise a few people. 17. Watford – Watford are in a bit of a minor crisis at the moment and after losing Marlon King in the January transfer window, they’ve now lost Nathan Ellington, Danny ****tu and Darius Henderson; in a bid to reduce their wage bill. They ended last season poorly and I can see this season continuing their poor form – it’s hard to see where goals will come from, Tamas Priskin as their only recognised striker. 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saintrich Posted 6 August, 2008 Author Share Posted 6 August, 2008 18. Southampton – As a Southampton fan, this is me being at my most pessimistic. A lot of pundits are tipping us for the drop, but I can’t see this happening. We have a new Dutch set-up, which is largely unknown to most English football fans and we’re in financial trouble too. This means we’ll be relying heavily on youngsters this season, however what people may forget is that we have arguably the strongest academy in the division and most of our youngsters have been playing together for 3 or 4 years in a winning team, they know how each other play and this could prove to our advantage, especially as most teams won’t know much about our younger players. The return of Michael Svennson in defence is huge for us and if he can stay fit, this will prove to be like a new signing. Young midfielder Morgan Sneiderlin signed from France and he’s looks very impressive in pre-season and will be pulling the strings at the heart of our 4-2-1-2-1 system. Although we’ve hardly had many departures (Safri and Viafara so far, plus a few others that we’ve released), expect to see Skacel, Saganowski, Rasiak/John to follow, as we look to reduce our wage bill – this could be very problematic in the goal-scoring department as we may rely too much on young striker David McGoldrick. I can see us playing fast paced exciting football, which could see us vulnerable on the counter attack (that should be Ok though as most teams in this division lump it forward anyway and are unaware how to play fast counter attacking football), but our new system and the fact we’ll be playing players who have little championship experience, means that it really is a hard to predict where we will finish and I am being quite cautious at the moment. 19. Sheffield Wednesday – Have pretty much the same squad that struggled last season, so I can’t see them drastically improving. 20. Preston North End – Who will score the goals for Preston? (Hang on, I remember saying that before we lost to them 5-1 last season ha-ha) I think they’ve enough in them to stay up, the signing of Ross Wallace on loan is a decent one, but perhaps they should have signed a striker... 21. Barnsley – Again, goals could be a problem, as they rely too much on Brian Howard in midfield. They’ve signed Iain Hume who is a decent capture and I think he can breathe a sigh of relief in May, as he personally avoids a second successive relegation (after last season with Leicester) 22. Plymouth – have lost most of their key players in recent times. After losing Sylvain Ebanks-Blake and David Norris in January, how will they cope a whole season without them? They’ve just lost influential left winger Peter Halmosi too. I can see Plymouth being a surprise relegation team, as a team low on confidence from losing their best players and strike-force of Steven Maclean, Rory Fallon and Jermaine Easter, simply doesn’t deliver the goods. Sorry. 23. Blackpool – They did well last season, but it’s hard to see where they can push on, especially after losing Wes Hoolahan and Kaspars Gorkks. They’ve also signed Jermaine Wright and Adam Hammill (Saints fans will know what I mean!!). Sorry. 24. Doncaster – Did well to get promoted, but I simply don’t know enough about Doncaster to make an educated prediction on where they’ll finish. I think they will go down, but only have them bottom as I can’t think of anyone else realistically finishing bottom. Sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottery st mary Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Us Netley Central ites certainly know our football. Very well done and a good summary. You are a top poster and should be given the appropriate number of Gold Stars. Good on yer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 5. Queens Park Rangers – Money, Money, Money. QPR have come into serious money, but I’d dare to say that their signings have been solid, rather than spectacular. Kaspars Gorkks was a star performer in the Blackpool defence last season and should be a decent capture, whilst the signing of Real Madrid “wonderkid” Dani Parejo could prove exciting in midfield along with creative talent Akos Buzsaky. Upfront I wouldn’t call them prolific, but I expect Briatore and co will spend seriously in the January transfer window to catapult the club into the play-offs. Thats a surprisingly decent account of us so far, weve bought 2 players for 250k each and sold one for 750k yet everyone thinks were splashing the cash left, right and centre. Defence is good, midfield is great but we are lacking up front as you said. The only think missing is that we also signed Lee Cook who is perhaps the best LW in the league now that Halmosi has gone. I do think Watford will be relegated though, they are in worse financial trouble than Saints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
de-fence Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Um... do you think its time to get a job maybe...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabrone Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Great summary and better than anything I've read in the rags. I'm hoping that we'll be more like 11/12th but we'll have to wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AwaySaint1 Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 I take my hat off to you saintrich,thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Being reminded in one thread how strong 50%+ of the sides in this division look on paper has diluted my optimism somewhat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabbageFace Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Norwich and QPR will finish higher. p.s. Danny Haynes is touted to go to a premiership club and if he is half as good as he is on FM2008 he will be awesome. Watch out for the Norwich RB also. OMG he is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JibMcdo Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Great post, Rich. I would swap Wolves with Sheff U and Barnsley with Doncaster but other than that I agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabbageFace Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Di Carmine for QPR is quite good also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintrich Posted 6 August, 2008 Author Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Um... do you think its time to get a job maybe...? I work Part-time at the moment, start full-time in a couple of weeks. I'm going to Uni in sept 2009, doing journalism, so getting in some writing practice first Thanks from the comments from everyone so far.. no point in quoting you all... I should think my predictions will be some way off anyhow... especially as this league is so difficult to predict! When the actual saintsweb.co.uk site gets started up, I'll be having my Saints away match reviews on there... so keep an eye out for that people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintrich Posted 6 August, 2008 Author Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Ah yes I forgot about Lee Cook, good signing that, remember him playing well against us at St Marys when we lost 2-1, good assist for Blackstock's goal. and to Cabbage Face.. Danny Haynes is indeed QUALITY on FM 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloop Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Argh! The swear word filter annoys me when it puts **** in legitimate words! Good summary and an interesting read though, thanks. Why the f@ck can't we have c@nting swear words on this forum anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Why the f@ck can't we have c@nting swear words on this forum anyway? Something to do with it not being big and not being clever (apparently) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Watford look to be in a similar position to us last year so I could see them being right down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bad Bob Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 OK then, so everyone should have a chance to compete against each other with their predictions... Say hello to Saintslist Championship Prediction Competition 2008-09 To enter this wonderful competition go to here and click on the nice image at the top of the page to enter... I have run this in previous years and have been a bit slack in getting updates out but I promise to be better this year.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloop Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Something to do with it not being big and not being clever (apparently) Well people who think that way are probably not big or clever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughieslastminutegoal Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 however what people may forget is that we have arguably the strongest academy in the division We hear this a lot, but no one ever comes up with some facts that back up the claim. Yes we produced Walcott & Bale recently but are people seriously suggesting that is enough to support the assertion? Have no other clubs in the division produced any decent players over the last few years? No doubt a few other players could be added to our list of Academy products, but where is the analysis of the output from other CCC clubs' youth set-ups so that we can have a comparison instead of just a statement of belief? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 looking at brum...it would be a disaster for them not to finish top 2 with the squad they have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
um pahars Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 My Championship Predictions Pretty decent synopsis fella and I have to say I agree with most of the top part. For me, too many teams are way out there due to parachute payments and generous owners. Think we're too good to go down, and will be somewhere in the middle. Thanks for the effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Pretty decent synopsis fella and I have to say I agree with most of the top part. For me, too many teams are way out there due to parachute payments and generous owners. Think we're too good to go down, and will be somewhere in the middle. Thanks for the effort. .....You should be over here apparently..... http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=206 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNSUN Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 I have a sneaking feeling Derby will be in the top six or even in the top two. I've been quite impressed by their signings this summer and think they could get promoted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintDonkey Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 An excellent summary of the situation SaintRich - and I think you're pretty much there with your predictions as well. Any of the mods offered you a job when the non-forum part of the site is done... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicestersaint Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Saints will come first or second - mark my words! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panda Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 I agree, an excellent analysis BUT ... I have been around long enough to know it doesn't work out the way things should! We are talking football here and it is (almost) totally unpredictable and there is one thing I am sure of, your predictions will be totally wrong! If it were that predictable what would be the point of it all? The season will unfold one week at a time. There will results that are expected and total shocks. Some unfancied teams will do well whilst teams strong on paper will disintegrate, managers will be sacked, players will be injured, some may go in to administration - who knows? But a good analysis all the same. Maybe, just maybe, Saints will be one of the surprises of the season? We can only hope and without hope there is no point in going on. All the best in your new job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjinksie Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 I work Part-time at the moment, start full-time in a couple of weeks. I'm going to Uni in sept 2009, doing journalism, so getting in some writing practice first Thanks from the comments from everyone so far.. no point in quoting you all... I should think my predictions will be some way off anyhow... especially as this league is so difficult to predict! When the actual saintsweb.co.uk site gets started up, I'll be having my Saints away match reviews on there... so keep an eye out for that people way too much time on one's hands... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Gabriel's Halo Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Saints will come first or second - mark my words! Two out of ten :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizona Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 19. Sheffield Wednesday – Have pretty much the same squad that struggled last season, so I can’t see them drastically improving. They finished above us last season and we have a weaker squad than last season. What makes you think they will do worse that us this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JibMcdo Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 They finished above us last season and we have a weaker squad than last season, in my opinion What makes you think they will do worse that us this year? Fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Charlie Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 They finished above us last season and we have a weaker squad than last season. What makes you think they will do worse that us this year? Having a 'weaker' squad doesnt always mean a team will play worse. Afterall most would hae said we had a better squad than Hull last season. If so called strength of squad settled the table then nobody would watch football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team-saint Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 i did the predictor for the first nine games and got: 1 Ipswich 2 Sheff Utd 3 Birmingham 4 Charlton 5 Reading 6 Bristol City 7 Southampton 8 QPR 9 Cardiff 10 Crystal Palace 11 Burnley 12 Nottingham Forest 13 Derby 14 Preston 15 Coventry 16 Wolverhampton 17 Watford 18 Plymouth 19 Norwich 20 Barnsley 21 Swansea 22 Doncaster 23 Blackpool 24 Sheff Wed i wouldnt really expect Sheff Wed to go down i think it will be Blackpool, Barnsley and Doncaster and I also think Saints will slip down a bit after a good start but will stay well clear of relegation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyNorthernSaints Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 I think Doncaster will suprise a few people. They play good football and i was impressed when seeing them in the play offs last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan The Flames Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 Good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig Posted 6 August, 2008 Share Posted 6 August, 2008 I do think Watford will be relegated though, they are in worse financial trouble than Saints. Not really. They're in the ****e, but it's all being overplayed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintrich Posted 6 August, 2008 Author Share Posted 6 August, 2008 An excellent summary of the situation SaintRich - and I think you're pretty much there with your predictions as well. Any of the mods offered you a job when the non-forum part of the site is done... Thanks,I've spoken with Baj and SteveGrant and am having my away match reviews on there. They finished above us last season and we have a weaker squad than last season. What makes you think they will do worse that us this year? True enough, but IMO we finished so low down, due to our incosistancy and distractions such as managerial changes and boardroom trouble, not because our squad was weaker than them. The predictions are only my judgement on how well each squad should do, alot of things could change during the course of the season, that may make my predictions look **** e Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mprobert Posted 7 August, 2008 Share Posted 7 August, 2008 Superb post, well put together. Reminds me that every thousand or so posts on here there is something worth looking at, makes a refreshing change. Makes me think that, like last year, there will be a lot of good teams taking points off each other, and the final shake up will depend a lot on squad size and quality, injuries, lady luck etc. I'll be very happy to see matches in the style of the WHU game, a season or two of consolidation, and then real progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egg Posted 7 August, 2008 Share Posted 7 August, 2008 Is hard to dsagree with many of SaintRich's views. Excellent post. This is a really strong league. Loads of transfers for a £mil plus tells a story. I would love to think that we can compete for a top 6 spot but looking at the competition I think mid-bottom end about best for us. Sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig Posted 7 August, 2008 Share Posted 7 August, 2008 Also - the problem with Kevin Blackwell is that he has no bottle and this transcends to his team. I personally expect play-off failure for Sheffield United. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint.tom.clancy Posted 7 August, 2008 Share Posted 7 August, 2008 I think Doncaster will suprise a few people. They play good football and i was impressed when seeing them in the play offs last season. Ye i dont understand why everyone is writing off doncaster, knowing little about them. They play very decent football, and managed to get a good result against newcastle in a pre-season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjinksie Posted 7 August, 2008 Share Posted 7 August, 2008 Ye i dont understand why everyone is writing off doncaster, knowing little about them. They play very decent football, and managed to get a good result against newcastle in a pre-season. well if you can go by pre season form, we wont win a game and will be relegated!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derry Posted 7 August, 2008 Share Posted 7 August, 2008 well if you can go by pre season form, we wont win a game and will be relegated!!!! What logic have you used to come to that conclusion. How many and which pre season matches have you seen, for you to have reached such a verdict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoandahalfstuds Posted 7 August, 2008 Share Posted 7 August, 2008 So far the best Championship round up for the new season that I've read on any site or in any newspaper. Good Work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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