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| Sky Presenters Predictions; 10 Seperate predictions | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 10 2007, 01:17 PM (418 Views) | |
| ESONEULB | Aug 10 2007, 01:17 PM Post #1 |
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Charlie Nicholas: The new boys Having spoken to Stevie Bruce prior to the beginning of the season that Birmingham went down from the Premiership, he said that he had missed out on four or five players that he wanted to take the club forward and so he got bodies in at that time who were not good enough. But this time around I think he has brought in a better calibre of player with the likes of Olivier Kapo and he is more experienced having faced the problems of relegation. I actually see a comfortable season for Birmingham. Sunderland and Derby will have more problems. I wish Billy Davies every success; he's a little fella who has got a great deal to learn but a great deal to offer. He will find his first season in the Premiership damned exciting but damned painful. I just don't think they'll have enough quality and I don't see them surviving. The embarrassment that Sunderland suffered under Mick McCarthy the last time they were in the Premiership will drive them on. Come January they may have to flex their muscles in the transfer window and I think they will survive. Going down Along with Derby, I think Reading will have a tough season as they have lost Steve Sidwell and haven't replaced him. I'm not convinced at all by Fulham. Lawrie Sanchez has signed a lot of new players but I'm not sure if they have the quality to stay up and I can see them getting relegated along with Reading, although it will be between Steve Coppell's side and Sunderland Matt Le Tissier The new boys I think Birmingham will be the better of the three. They just look like they have got the stronger squad and although they have not made many what I would call genuine quality signings, Steve Bruce looks to have gone for numbers. I don't think they will be challenging for Europe, but I expect them to be safe. Sunderland, I am not so sure about. I've looked at the players they've bought in and I am not too convinced. They might surprise us all but I can only see them fighting for their lives. The same goes for Derby, who I do think have the weakest squad in the Premiership and I'm afraid to say, are heading straight back to the Championship. Going down Other than Derby, I can see there being half-a-dozen or so sides in the mix. I expect Sunderland to struggle and of the sides that were there last year, I haven't been too impressed with Fulham's signings. None of them are proven Premiership performers and in David Healy and Diomansy Kamara I am not sure they have the men to get the goals you need to stay up. Wigan are another side who I expect to struggle for similar reasons and although I don't think for a minute Bolton will go down, after Sam Allardyce's departure, I think they will have a tough time of it this year Paul Merson The new boys Derby will be the Watford and go straight back down, I'm afraid. I am not sure about Birmingham, but I know Steve Bruce has got them very, very fit and he does have the experience of keeping them up before. As for Sunderland, there is the Roy Keane factor and they did great to get up, but as soon as they did I just thought 'you need 11 new players'. Look at the ones he's got and (Greg) Halford couldn't get in the Reading side, Michael Chopra never really scored for Newcastle - if he didn't get a run - and £9million for a goalkeeper? Of them all, I'd probably give Birmingham the best chance. Going down As I say, Derby are dead certs. They needed a whole new team to compete in this league and Billy Davies just hasn't managed to get 11 players in. Wigan, Fulham, Sunderland and Birmingham will all be down in the mix. And, what about Manchester City? Is it a wind up? Is Sven for real? He's signing so many players we've not even heard of, that I'm genuinely wondering if he's pulling the wool over all our eyes, or if he's just come over here for another laugh! Phil Thompson The new boys I think they will all have their struggles this season. I can see Derby and Birmingham going down, along with Wigan. Sunderland will be quite happy if they finish fourth from bottom. Roy Keane's team will struggle but will just do enough to escape relegation. Going down See above! Jeff Stelling The new boys Sunderland fans may be disappointed that no real big names have come in but that's a geographical thing as much as anything else. It's hard to persuade players to come to the North East, although I've no idea why being such a glorious part of the country. They will be organised, will play neat attacking football but they're lightweight up front. But if they can win some of their games at the Stadium of Light then they will survive. The last time they were in the Premiership they only won once at home and that was the last game of the season when they were already down. I think they will be okay. Birmingham have signed a few players but I think it's a case of quantity rather than quality, in truth. I think Steve Bruce has had his hands tied and in that sense it will be a massive struggle for them. Hossam Ghaly said that when he trained with Birmingham he didn't want to run, well he was at the wrong club then for sure as they will have to run their socks off to have any chance. Derby are an easy tip to go down and if you look at their squad it's paper-thin but in the last couple of seasons we have seen Wigan and Reading, who were certainties to go straight back down, have terrific seasons. Billy Davies has such a fantastic managerial record and will have to use all of his cunning to survive but I've just got a sneaky feeling that Derby might squeeze out of the bottom three. Going down I'm afraid I can see Wigan going down although Chris Hutchings has brought some good players in Jason Koumas and Michael Brown. But they lost Arjan De Zeeuw and Lee McCulloch who were important players for Wigan last season. And how do you follow Paul Jewell? Hutchings is a good bloke but has minimal managerial experience at this level. I also see Birmingham going down along with Man City. Sven has brought a lot of players in without having seen most of them play live. They have a difficult start to the season with some tough away matches - Everton, West Ham, Newcastle and Manchester United. If they get off to a bad start the crowd are going to be on his and the players' backs. He has spent a lot of money on players that nobody has heard of, now he's either going to come out of this as a genius or with his bank balance increased but his reputation in tatters. Alan McInally The new boys Having spoken to Stevie Bruce prior to the beginning of the season that Birmingham went down from the Birmingham have spent a few quid, but spent it wisely and I think, brought some decent players in. For me they are probably a Premiership team and I do have a soft spot for Steve Bruce, so I hope they stay up. As for my wee mate Billy Davies at Derby, well I don't think anyone in football really thought they'd make it through the play-offs, did they? But every time we expected them to get beat - not just against West Brom - they proved us all wrong. Billy knows it is going to be a tough, tough season for them, but I'm afraid I've got them to go down. In doing so, I'm hoping I get it wrong again! As for Sunderland I really do think the Roy Keane factor will play a big part. They have also signed a very, very good keeper in Craig Gordon and you cannot under-estimate the importance of that when you're fighting for your life. The huge crowds at the Stadium of Light will also play a part and I can't see them going down. Going down I hope Billy proves me wrong at Derby, but I do think Fulham might not be here this time next year. I like Diomansy Kamara as a signing, but I am not sure he will be at Craven Cottage this time next year either. David Healy has done it at international level but not at Championship level, never mind the Premier League. I've got nothing against Lawrie Sanchez, but I still think Chris Coleman was treated badly. He kept Fulham up for five years and hardly spent anything, so it wasn't as if anything was broken that it needed fixing. As for the third side, I'm afraid it has to be Wigan. Chris Hutchings is a smashing bloke, but they only just managed it by the skin of their teeth last season, so it's going to be really, really tough to do it again. I know the lack of support frustrated Paul Jewell and for all Chris's efforts in the transfer window, I just don't think they'll have enough at the second time of asking. Tony Cottee The new boys A long season lies ahead for Derby. It is is always difficult to come up via the play-offs, you have less time to prepare and I am afraid I just don't see the depth in Derby's squad for them to compete. I might be wrong, they might do a "Reading" or a "Wigan", but I can see a long season in the bottom three. Sunderland is an interesting one because I think they already had good players at the club and then went and signed some more. Of course what is really interesting is how Roy Keane gets on in the Premier League. I have feeling that he has a group of players who really want to play for him, like Martin O'Neill or Sir Alex Ferguson. They have had a couple of disaster season in the top light but I expect them to be safe, 16th or 17th. As for Birmingham I think it is a similar scenario to the one at Derby. I think they will be near the bottom for long parts of the season and Steve Bruce, if offered it, would take 17th position now. Going down? Derby bottom, then Wigan and I worry for Birmingham. I don't want to say this about a former club and also because Steve Bruce is a good friend, but I think they might be the third team to go down. Paul Walsh The new boys By looking at the amount of money spent by the teams that finished above the relegation zone last year - West Ham, Fulham, Man City and Newcastle - you would have to say it is going to be a tough old slog for Sunderland, Birmingham and Derby. It was tough enough to stay in this league as the promoted sides but it has just got a whole lot tougher with spending up in the tens of millions. If I were to pick one that I fancy to stay up, it would be Birmingham, but you wouldn't want to write of Sunderland with Roy Keane at the helm. Going down I don't like to say who will go down and I don't like to do teams a disservice. As I have said above, I think it will be tough for the new boys. It might also be tough for Reading with the "second season syndrome" and having lost Steve Sidwell and maybe losing Nicky Shorey as well. They did brilliantly last year but the second season can be tough and they won't be going at it with the same group of players. I wonder too if Bolton might struggle. Sammy Lee has a tough job on his hands post-Sam Allardyce and faces some hard decisions. Does he adopt the Big Sam system? I don't think they can emulate the great achievements of recent years and if they get off to a poor start, they might struggle all year long. Tony Gale The new boys I think it will be tough for all three clubs, even though the manager's won't admit it. The main aim for them will obviously be to stay up, although they will set their player's sights higher in hope of a good start. Derby will go down, they are everyone's favourites and they are mine as well. They inched their way into the Premiership at the last moment and I think they will struggle. I don't see all the new boys going down though. Going down I see Wigan getting relegated unfortunately. Chris Hutchings has replaced Paul Jewell and although Chris has been at Wigan a long time and I've got every respect for him but he will find it really tough replacing a manager who was there for so long and knew the club inside out. I think it would then be a spin up between Birmingham and Sunderland. It will be that tight. Keano did a fantastic job in getting Sunderland into the Premiership with that great run of results they had but they will find it very tough. He has signed a few new faces but he hasn't managed to bring in proven Premiership players and so I think he will be fighting with his old team-mate, Steve Bruce to stay up. Chris Kamara The new boys They will find it tough as they always do. Sunderland, Birmingham and Derby all know they are in for a tough season. They will all be hoping they can do a Reading or a Wigan, or even do as well as Ipswich a few years back when they got into Europe. Steve Coppell has already said that it will be harder this year for Reading. They played with freedom as they were never expected to do as well as they did last year, so you just don't know. It all depends on how good a start you get, as a good start brings belief that you can do it in the Premiership. Going down I can see the league splitting into two. Obviously you have the top teams battling it out at the top but then you have others aiming for a uefa cup place. Teams like Blackburn, Fulham and Middlesbrough could be on either side of that split. It's too difficult to predict who will be relegated, but the newly promoted teams will certainly struggle. Make of it what you want to but more positives than negatives so i will take that...... :D With maybe more players to come................. :D |
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| garrybaldy | Aug 10 2007, 01:21 PM Post #2 |
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foley okenla, richie moran
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"For me they are probably a Premiership team and I do have a soft spot for Steve Bruce, so I hope they stay up." Who would have thought Alan McInally would have a soft spot for us, Bless him **thumbup |
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| Dukesy06 | Aug 10 2007, 01:35 PM Post #3 |
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Kenny Burns
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I like Charlie Nicholas, he always backed us to either win or draw even against the top 4. Never heard him say we'll lose. |
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| 87dominguez | Aug 10 2007, 01:40 PM Post #4 |
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Frank Worthington
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Me too, i have alot of time for Charlie Nicholas. :applause: |
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| TJDIXI | Aug 10 2007, 02:35 PM Post #5 |
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Trevor Francis
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I'd like old Charley and Le Mat a good deal more if they can make there predictions come true! |
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| x13radx | Aug 10 2007, 02:37 PM Post #6 |
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Geoff Horsfield
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id like them even more if they were totally wrong and we won the league! (am i being a bit too over-ambitious?) |
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| TJDIXI | Aug 10 2007, 02:42 PM Post #7 |
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Trevor Francis
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No your just being ambitous. As far as i'm concerned we have as much chance of winning the league as anyone. I expect us to go out to win each game. |
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| Blooboy | Aug 10 2007, 04:12 PM Post #8 |
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Unregistered
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i'm not surprised Thompson has us going down, eagle features has always hated the Blues..... same with Stelling, he can't stand us. The one that does surprise there is Kamara, i'd have thought he'd have had us dead certs to back from hence we came. as for me i say it's going to be Derby Wigan and any one team from Reading, Sunderland, Blues :crying: , Bolton, Man City, Fulham....and dare i say the Vila :LOL: |
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| franscar | Aug 10 2007, 04:28 PM Post #9 |
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Mikael Forssell
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I remember when he was down to cover one of the games for Sky and they had McInally stood on that tiny gantry between the Tilton and the Main Stand, and you could tell he was giving as good as he got from the passing fans on the way to their seats and he was loving every minute of it. And then Mr Blue Sky came on and he started dancing. |
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| keepthecityblue | Aug 10 2007, 04:37 PM Post #10 |
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Frank Worthington
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Champagne Charlie Nicholas reckons we'll have a good season aswell. Tony Gale gives a fair assessment - Wigan and Derby look like they will be down, and as a neutral I would say between us and Sunderland, but then there are a few more I think will be in the mix. |
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| Mattioso | Aug 10 2007, 05:07 PM Post #11 |
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Mattioso
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Wigan Derby and Fulham I think. |
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| jmsblues | Aug 10 2007, 05:48 PM Post #12 |
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Mikael Forssell
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I say Derby, Reading & Bolton. |
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