Championship 2013/14 Predictions

[Harry Genshaw]

I know BL3 hasn't voted but not one person has gone for Ipswich. Surely some mistake with their gaffer - no?

[Enoch]

I predict a fun filled season.

[StaffsTrotter]

1) Watford, Us, QPR, Reading, Forest, Wigan.
2)2nd
3)Eagles
4)Medo
5)Beckford.

I don't get this 'to be a flop you have to have high hopes' thing. From who? Obviously not the person predicting them to be a flop?!

kinell, its sharp on here

IMO to flop is to fail miserably, and to judge the failure there must be an expectation in the mix. If you expect player x to perform well and they don't, I'd most expect people to say they are a flop.

If you expect player Y to be crap/ a liability and they are, is that a flop ? Probably not as you expected it - more of a flop if they ended up being brilliant.

Its all BWFCi's fault he should have defined it as 'worst player'.

I'd say our pre season has been a flop but it'll be alright on the night won't it ?

[Tombwfc]

1) Watford, QPR, Wigan, Us, Leicester, Leeds
2) 4th
3) Marvin Sordell
4) Whoever gets NRC/Spearings cushy job of playing in midfield but being held responsible for neither our attack nor our defence. Probably Stuart Holden.
5) Jermaine Beckford will be sarcastically cheered off at the Reebok at some point before January.

[malcd1]

1) Bolton - then no idea.
2) 1.
3) Beckford.
4) Medo
5) Dunno.

Since the arrival of DF we were pretty much the best team last season and we're even stronger now, except for Dawson. Better fitness, more tactically aware, more leaders, better fullbacks and a goalscorer (major weaknesses last season). I expect we'll see so much more from LCY, Medo, Sordell and Pratley after their respective issues have been sorted and a full pre-season with a good manager. Add to that Wheater and possibly Holden. I've-got-a-feeling Hall will be quality. IMO we're a CB away from a mint team. Simply put DF just knows what he's f**king doing.

Regarding Watford *I think* they can only play 3-4 of those loan players at any one time?

I think most of these players have signed for Watford from Udinese and so are not 'loans'. They have managed to get round the system again as none will involve a fee.

[Prufrock]

1) Watford, Us, QPR, Reading, Forest, Wigan.
2)2nd
3)Eagles
4)Medo
5)Beckford.

I don't get this 'to be a flop you have to have high hopes' thing. From who? Obviously not the person predicting them to be a flop?!

kinell, its sharp on here

IMO to flop is to fail miserably, and to judge the failure there must be an expectation in the mix. If you expect player x to perform well and they don't, I'd most expect people to say they are a flop.

If you expect player Y to be crap/ a liability and they are, is that a flop ? Probably not as you expected it - more of a flop if they ended up being brilliant.

Its all BWFCi's fault he should have defined it as 'worst player'.

I'd say our pre season has been a flop but it'll be alright on the night won't it ?

Yeah, but if you expect them to do well, then you aren't predicting them to be a flop are you?

I agree few would choose Ream to be the 'flop' but most of the rest at least someone seems to rate. Obviously, if you're predicting them to be a flop, it isn't you.

I agree for them to count someone has to have expectations for them, but that applies to everyone bar Ream and maybe Knight.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I'll be very surprised if QPR do as well as folks seem to think. Especially what with Redknapp legging it mid-season. Oops, that's supposed to be a secret.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

I'll be very surprised if QPR do as well as folks seem to think. Especially what with Redknapp legging it mid-season. Oops, that's supposed to be a secret.

Precisely, as soon as Redknapp legs it QPR will do brilliantly...

[Enoch]

I'll be very surprised if QPR do as well as folks seem to think. Especially what with Redknapp legging it mid-season. Oops, that's supposed to be a secret.

It does tickle that folk are so keen to place the three relegated clubs in the thick of it. I'm not sure history supports that view.

No secrets around here surely!

[ChrisC]

I fancy Reading to do ok out of the 3 because they are pretty much the same side that played in this league a few seasons ago and will be settled. QPR are a shambles and will be a team full of strangers again by the end of August. Most will sign for them for the money and will play half hearted and not give a shiny shites. Wigan will again be a team of stranger and very tired strangers at that with their European adventures.

[BWFC_Insane]

I'll be very surprised if QPR do as well as folks seem to think. Especially what with Redknapp legging it mid-season. Oops, that's supposed to be a secret.

It does tickle that folk are so keen to place the three relegated clubs in the thick of it. I'm not sure history supports that view.

No secrets around here surely!

It's hard to look past some of the quality QPR have and their seeming ability to spend yet more money. If as mooted they buy Hooper and Austin, well that will be a handful.

Reading seem well settled to me with a squad that is in essence an improvement upon the one that won promotion from this league season before last.

Wigan - I'm surprised they've only lost Kone (plus a few minor ones here or there). I'd have expected McMannaman and McArthur to have gone as well. They are good players, very good players for this level.

On paper, and that is really all we can judge from at the moment, those teams would be up there.

[ChrisC]

I'll be very surprised if QPR do as well as folks seem to think. Especially what with Redknapp legging it mid-season. Oops, that's supposed to be a secret.

It does tickle that folk are so keen to place the three relegated clubs in the thick of it. I'm not sure history supports that view.

No secrets around here surely!

It's hard to look past some of the quality QPR have and their seeming ability to spend yet more money. If as mooted they buy Hooper and Austin, well that will be a handful.

Reading seem well settled to me with a squad that is in essence an improvement upon the one that won promotion from this league season before last.

Wigan - I'm surprised they've only lost Kone (plus a few minor ones here or there). I'd have expected McMannaman and McArthur to have gone as well. They are good players, very good players for this level.

On paper, and that is really all we can judge from at the moment, those teams would be up there.

Pretty sure McMannaman is injured for a good while and McArthur will be off before the end of August I would think.

[BWFC_Insane]

I'll be very surprised if QPR do as well as folks seem to think. Especially what with Redknapp legging it mid-season. Oops, that's supposed to be a secret.

It does tickle that folk are so keen to place the three relegated clubs in the thick of it. I'm not sure history supports that view.

No secrets around here surely!

It's hard to look past some of the quality QPR have and their seeming ability to spend yet more money. If as mooted they buy Hooper and Austin, well that will be a handful.

Reading seem well settled to me with a squad that is in essence an improvement upon the one that won promotion from this league season before last.

Wigan - I'm surprised they've only lost Kone (plus a few minor ones here or there). I'd have expected McMannaman and McArthur to have gone as well. They are good players, very good players for this level.

On paper, and that is really all we can judge from at the moment, those teams would be up there.

Pretty sure McMannaman is injured for a good while and McArthur will be off before the end of August I would think.

He's been playing pre-season.....

Oh and forgot Maloney as well. Good players for this level, on paper at least.

[bwfcdan94]

I think all of the relegated teams will struggle Wigan to go down, Reading and QPR to survive, just.

[ChrisC]

I'll be very surprised if QPR do as well as folks seem to think. Especially what with Redknapp legging it mid-season. Oops, that's supposed to be a secret.

It does tickle that folk are so keen to place the three relegated clubs in the thick of it. I'm not sure history supports that view.

No secrets around here surely!

It's hard to look past some of the quality QPR have and their seeming ability to spend yet more money. If as mooted they buy Hooper and Austin, well that will be a handful.

Reading seem well settled to me with a squad that is in essence an improvement upon the one that won promotion from this league season before last.

Wigan - I'm surprised they've only lost Kone (plus a few minor ones here or there). I'd have expected McMannaman and McArthur to have gone as well. They are good players, very good players for this level.

On paper, and that is really all we can judge from at the moment, those teams would be up there.

Pretty sure McMannaman is injured for a good while and McArthur will be off before the end of August I would think.

He's been playing pre-season.....

Oh and forgot Maloney as well. Good players for this level, on paper at least.

Has he? Fail on my part then. I just remember them announcing he had a fairly nasty injury at the end of last season.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I fancy Reading to do ok out of the 3 because they are pretty much the same side that played in this league a few seasons ago and will be settled. QPR are a shambles and will be a team full of strangers again by the end of August. Most will sign for them for the money and will play half hearted and not give a shiny shites. Wigan will again be a team of stranger and very tired strangers at that with their European adventures.

Pretty much this; Reading have a good manager, a good (for this division) squad who've largely been together since the last promotion campaign, and in Shit Abramovich an owner who can dig deep if need be.

You could argue that QPR have money, and how well it served them last year. A team of desperadoes who thought they were too good for relegation from the top flight, they'll be surprised by this league - because the blokes that got them up last time have all been replaced by grubbing chancers, with the biggest of them all in charge... for now.

As for Wigan, I'm amused that BWFCi suddenly thinks Coyle's capable...

1) Top 6 teams and Order - Reading, Watford, Bolton, Leeds, Ipswich, Forest
2) Bolton finishing position - 3rd (if we sign a centre-back, as we must)
3) Bolton top scorer - Eagles
4) Bolton player of the season - Hall
5) Bolton flop of the season - Sordell (sadly)

And no, I haven't put Ipswich in to wind up BL3… McCarthy will do alright there (I said at the time Wolves would regret firing him… although I still wouldn't swap him for Freedman). Leeds have a manager who won this division two years ago, a forbidding home ground and might at last be stable off the pitch, so I've got a sneaky feeling they'll be alright.

That said, this is the most difficult division to predict, every year. And that is a good thing.

[BWFC_Insane]

I fancy Reading to do ok out of the 3 because they are pretty much the same side that played in this league a few seasons ago and will be settled. QPR are a shambles and will be a team full of strangers again by the end of August. Most will sign for them for the money and will play half hearted and not give a shiny shites. Wigan will again be a team of stranger and very tired strangers at that with their European adventures.

Pretty much this; Reading have a good manager, a good (for this division) squad who've largely been together since the last promotion campaign, and in Shit Abramovich an owner who can dig deep if need be.

You could argue that QPR have money, and how well it served them last year. A team of desperadoes who thought they were too good for relegation from the top flight, they'll be surprised by this league - because the blokes that got them up last time have all been replaced by grubbing chancers, with the biggest of them all in charge... for now.

As for Wigan, I'm amused that BWFCi suddenly thinks Coyle's capable...

1) Top 6 teams and Order - Reading, Watford, Bolton, Leeds, Ipswich, Forest
2) Bolton finishing position - 3rd (if we sign a centre-back, as we must)
3) Bolton top scorer - Eagles
4) Bolton player of the season - Hall
5) Bolton flop of the season - Sordell (sadly)

And no, I haven't put Ipswich in to wind up BL3… McCarthy will do alright there (I said at the time Wolves would regret firing him… although I still wouldn't swap him for Freedman). Leeds have a manager who won this division two years ago, a forbidding home ground and might at last be stable off the pitch, so I've got a sneaky feeling they'll be alright.

That said, this is the most difficult division to predict, every year. And that is a good thing.

I don't. I just think on paper they have the best squad in the division as it stands. On paper that is. Managed by anyone else I'd expect them to be in the automatic spots. Depends how quickly he can feck it all up there really. No doubt over time he will, but given they still have the nucleus of last seasons side FA Cup winning side, even Coyle might take a while to really rake that up.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I just think on paper they have the best squad in the division as it stands.

Aye, like us last season.

they still have the nucleus of last seasons side FA Cup winning side, even Coyle might take a while to really rake that up.

Much as I would love Bolton to win the FA Cup again, I think we can rather overstate the importance of the Latics' triumph. Everton away was a good win, but the other teams en route were Bournemouth (needed a replay after drawing at home in front of 8,000), Macclesfield, Huddersfield and Millwall. Then a decent, but not brilliant, win against a disillusioned City side who'd already made it plain they were sacking their manager. Likesay, I'd take it - but it doesn't mean they're going to romp the division; by contrast, it means they've got six European games to fit into an already hectic schedule.

even Coyle might take a while to really rake that up.

I'll give you that - he usually gets a honeymoon period, like when kids adore the substitute teacher who tells them they can grow up to be astronauts while letting them run riot in the classroom.

[BWFC_Insane]

I just think on paper they have the best squad in the division as it stands.

Aye, like us last season.

they still have the nucleus of last seasons side FA Cup winning side, even Coyle might take a while to really rake that up.

Much as I would love Bolton to win the FA Cup again, I think we can rather overstate the importance of the Latics' triumph. Everton away was a good win, but the other teams en route were Bournemouth (needed a replay after drawing at home in front of 8,000), Macclesfield, Huddersfield and Millwall. Then a decent, but not brilliant, win against a disillusioned City side who'd already made it plain they were sacking their manager. Likesay, I'd take it - but it doesn't mean they're going to romp the division; by contrast, it means they've got six European games to fit into an already hectic schedule.

even Coyle might take a while to really rake that up.

I'll give you that - he usually gets a honeymoon period, like when kids adore the substitute teacher who tells them they can grow up to be astronauts while letting them run riot in the classroom.

Aye. I mean a lot comes down to how good you think McCarthy/McCarthur/Maloney/McMannaman/Beausejour (SP?) will be in this division. Assuming they all remain Wigan players.

Thats a good set of players for this level, again I stress on paper.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I suspect Bob Martin's Wigan were much better suited to the top flight than the second. Coyle's team play more muscular football, as the signing of Grant Holt shows, and he's also enrolled a few names who might do a job in the second tier - James Perch, Scott Carson, Chris McCann. But I suspect that there's a soft heart to a team accustomed to losing almost half their games - 71 league losses in Martinez's four seasons – before being magically rescued by an upturn in form. I can imagine them having a spurt or two under Coyle, who is capable of throwing a party, but I can also honestly see them finishing nearer the bottom than the top.