Who will be our main promotion rivals 2013-14

[ankeny]

Who's to say we will be in the promotion mix next season?

I'm sure Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves probably had similar threads, and we all know how that turned out for them...

The league is so unpredictable. Even listing the obvious candidates is likely to be wrong, and taking for granted that we'll be rivalling anyone is premature speculation.

I'm optimistic but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

A voice of reason. I think some of you are in danger of becoming like the very fans that most of you slag off 'deluded and arrogant'. I think if we hang onto a lot of what we have at the moment I don't think we will be challenging for anything. The championship is tough and to say clubs like Brum won't be pushing for promotion on their showing this season is very short sighted, they are a big club in terms of this division. It always throws up a surprise package, you know a bit like our season last year, we punched well above our weight with the team that won promotion and didn't it tell this year.
I think next year should be a season of rebuilding, forget rushing back into the lions den only to have another season of strife. Adkins should be given the time to get things right and bring in the players who not only will win promotion but be able to cope with the prem, because by Christ we sure as hell didn't have them this year.

True,next time we go up we want to be properly prepared,perhaps a couple of seasons at least before we even think about it.

[Royal Rother]

The improvement Adkins has brought about in a short space of time, and his past record, suggest to me that if Newcastle don't come down with us we are likely to win the league at a canter next season.

107.

11/1...? That's ridiculous. Free money.

[Unbelievable Jeff]

Would say the main rivals are:

Bournemouth
Bolton
Brighton If they don't go up
QPR
Other Relegated Team

But who knows

[Schards#2]

The improvement Adkins has brought about in a short space of time, and his past record, suggest to me that if Newcastle don't come down with us we are likely to win the league at a canter next season.

107.

11/1...? That's ridiculous. Free money.

I'm holding off until I see the third relegated team, Newcastle/Sunderland/Villa would all be short favourites. If it's Norwich/Villa/Southampton, I will definately have a plunge if 11/1 holds.

[LUX]

I'm a massive RTG, but to suggest we'll "win the league at a canter" next season is, well, optimistic (euphemism).

[Norfolk Royal]

I'm a massive RTG, but to suggest we'll "win the league at a canter" next season is, well, optimistic (euphemism).

I agree, we may well have to break into a gallop at some point.

[Ian Royal]

Who's to say we will be in the promotion mix next season?

I'm sure Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves probably had similar threads, and we all know how that turned out for them...

The league is so unpredictable. Even listing the obvious candidates is likely to be wrong, and taking for granted that we'll be rivalling anyone is premature speculation.

I'm optimistic but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

A voice of reason. I think some of you are in danger of becoming like the very fans that most of you slag off 'deluded and arrogant'. I think if we hang onto a lot of what we have at the moment I don't think we will be challenging for anything. The championship is tough and to say clubs like Brum won't be pushing for promotion on their showing this season is very short sighted, they are a big club in terms of this division. It always throws up a surprise package, you know a bit like our season last year, we punched well above our weight with the team that won promotion and didn't it tell this year.
I think next year should be a season of rebuilding, forget rushing back into the lions den only to have another season of strife. Adkins should be given the time to get things right and bring in the players who not only will win promotion but be able to cope with the prem, because by Christ we sure as hell didn't have them this year.

It's a myth we punched well above our weight as the wage bills showed. We were top 6 the previous season and we were top six in wages again last season.

[fridays gone]

Who's to say we will be in the promotion mix next season?

I'm sure Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves probably had similar threads, and we all know how that turned out for them...

The league is so unpredictable. Even listing the obvious candidates is likely to be wrong, and taking for granted that we'll be rivalling anyone is premature speculation.

I'm optimistic but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

A voice of reason. I think some of you are in danger of becoming like the very fans that most of you slag off 'deluded and arrogant'. I think if we hang onto a lot of what we have at the moment I don't think we will be challenging for anything. The championship is tough and to say clubs like Brum won't be pushing for promotion on their showing this season is very short sighted, they are a big club in terms of this division. It always throws up a surprise package, you know a bit like our season last year, we punched well above our weight with the team that won promotion and didn't it tell this year.
I think next year should be a season of rebuilding, forget rushing back into the lions den only to have another season of strife. Adkins should be given the time to get things right and bring in the players who not only will win promotion but be able to cope with the prem, because by Christ we sure as hell didn't have them this year.

It's a myth we punched well above our weight as the wage bills showed. We were top 6 the previous season and we were top six in wages again last season.

WTF have wages got to do with it??? west Ham had the 7th highest wage bill in the prem when they got relegated and what about QPR this season.

[Ian Royal]

Er absolutely everything. Wages indicate qyality of player. Theres a 90%+correlation between wages and league placing every season. So its a hell of a lot better yardstick than 'der I fink we woz well luky to do so gud init.'

Eell done on picking up two of the extremely rare exceptions.

[Royal Rother]

I'm a massive RTG, but to suggest we'll "win the league at a canter" next season is, well, optimistic (euphemism).

Playful exaggeration is all.

But 11/1 is superb value imo.

Manager, performance yesterday, wealthy backers, parachute payments....

Just you wait and see!

[Ian Royal]

I'm a massive RTG, but to suggest we'll "win the league at a canter" next season is, well, optimistic (euphemism).

Playful exaggeration is all.

But 11/1 is superb value imo.

Manager, performance yesterday, wealthy backers, parachute payments....

Just you wait and see!

Lets wait and see a) what the next two games bring
b) who's down with us
c) who fails to come up and who wins the League One POs
d) who leaves
e) who comes in
f) who comes and goes elsewhere

Saturday was nothing more than one more small step in the right direction.

[St. Brynjar]

I have a horrible feeling we'll see this thread pop up again when we're 21st in April without a win in 8 at staring League One in the face, with Iain Dowie in charge.

[Royal Rother]

Good betting is all about getting value - my belief / hope is that we are getting better quickly under Adkins and will continue to do so and that Newcastle, Villa and Sunderland will all stay up - hence I think 11/1 is great value.

But if you wait and see too long then 11/1 won't be available anymore.

That's how I see it anyway. Probably wrong of course!

[Royal Rother]

I have a horrible feeling we'll see this thread pop up again when we're 21st in April without a win in 8 at staring League One in the face, with Iain Dowie in charge.

[The Rouge]

It's way to early to call, but just for the sheer hell of it.

Reading
Bolton
Wigan/Sunderland

[Jackson Corner]

Only one team in the last three seasons has bounced straight back up and that was West Ham through the play offs. So anyone expecting us to go straight back up may be in for a shock. I think Charlton could do well. QPR, Birmingham, whoever comes down with us.

[Royal Rother]

So that little "rule" applies to Reading but not QPR and whoever else gets relegated.

Cool.

[Ian Royal]

Three years isn't very long when you think there are only 9 teams who could possibly have achieved that in that time.

[St. Brynjar]

Yeovil.

[Lower West]

The improvement Adkins has brought about in a short space of time,

Another day yesterdays result could have been so totally different. Already relegated the team could could play with worrying about it.

Adkins has to improve the team defensively. This will mean new signings. Most importantly the right ones.