Season preview-where will we finish?

[shrimperton]

14th, not enough squad depth & after a poor start to the season Lenny will be off in January

 

[Streaky]

Start off poorly, get better, tail off - 16th to 9th finish

 

[Jai]

13th. Squad is nowhere near strong enough to challenge for promotion given the signings others have made. Still enough quality when injuries are holding off (rare) to give some of the high flyers a bloody nose but ultimately a fairly nondescript mid-table season.

 

[LBBlue]

If Kightly can make up for us not having Wordsworth and Ranger available then we could challenge for a play off place. We could well struggle to win games -there could be a lot of draws early on and not many wins which means we will be playing catch up again. It also depends how we approach games -lets hope we don't go back to one up front.

Blackburn, Wigan, Charlton, Fleetwood, maybe Scunthorpe again will be there or thereabouts. Bradford have lost a lot of players. I think Oxford with Jack and Bristol Rovers will also push on from last season. Both Portsmouth and Plymouth could also challenge. Anywhere between 6 and 10 depending on luck.

 

[Beefy]

I'm really surprised at the negativity. I can't ever remember going into a season with as good a chance of promotion as this, including when we did get promoted. The team has quality throughout the side. I'm concerned at a lack of depth but other teams rely on their youth and maybe we need to do so as well.

So long as Ferdinand and Cox stay fit and if Ranger keeps his head screwed on I'd be stunned if we weren't in contention.

If you can't get excited about this team then when are you going to get excited supporting Southend United?

 

[superblue24]

Yes, we are putting together a great team by our standards. The problem is that many other sides are putting together better sides with higher quality players. Unless their managers fail, we'll struggle to compete to be in the top six come the end of the season.

 

[Barling Magna]

It should be a great season with several high quality and well supported teams in League One. We should be competitive but I think the start to our season is crucial, and we have four tough fixtures straightaway. If we can garner 16 to 18 points from our first ten matches I think we'll finish 5th or 6th.......

 

[Beefy]

Yes, we are putting together a great team by our standards. The problem is that many other sides are putting together better sides with higher quality players. Unless their managers fail, we'll struggle to compete to be in the top six come the end of the season.

Who? I'd put our 1-11 up against any in the division and say we'd look good. The issue is players 12-25

 

[superblue24]

Who? I'd put our 1-11 up against any in the division and say we'd look good. The issue is players 12-25

So you think we're better than Blackburn, Wigan, Portsmouth, Bradford, Charlton and Bristol Rovers? I think we're definitely looking at 8th this year.

 

[Jai]

So you think we're better than Blackburn, Wigan, Portsmouth, Bradford, Charlton and Bristol Rovers? I think we're definitely looking at 8th this year.

You forgot Northampton, Scunthorpe, Fleetwood and Oxford.

It's alright, all we need is for Ferdinand, Ranger, Turner, Wordsworth and co to magic away their chronic history of injury issues, play 50 games apiece and we are laughing.

Sorry if it upsets the optimists but personally I find that scenario unlikely.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

6th and thats optimistic. Squad is too small and we already have injuries to key players. I'm sensing an almost identical start as last season but in keeping with Brown's record here of always finishing higher than the season before, we will sneak in the play offs

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

So you think we're better than Blackburn, Wigan, Portsmouth, Bradford, Charlton and Bristol Rovers? I think we're definitely looking at 8th this year.

Yes. Took them long enough to get out of League 2 despite being favourites every year. Myth of a club

 

[Beefy]

So you think we're better than Blackburn, Wigan, Portsmouth, Bradford, Charlton and Bristol Rovers? I think we're definitely looking at 8th this year.

Which of those has a strong first XI than we do?

 

[Shrimper2thecore]

2nd......lets have it.

 

[superblue24]

Which of those has a strong first XI than we do?

All of them from what I can make out of their squads.....Anyone thinking we are pulling up trees this year will be in for a rude awakening. Granted we will probably be top half of the table and perhaps challenging a sneaky 6th place, but we're not comparable to some of the sides we are facing this season, with or without injuries factored in.

We have improved year on year within ourselves, but we're no better (or worse) when you look at relative strength in the division. We still have questionable quality in midfield, a creaking defense and I think Hendrie looks poor and all at sea in friendlies.... Hopefully he'll turn it around. I also worry about our keeper situation, I don't think Oxley is up to the job and might be too soon with Ted as we've seen in the past..We look pretty good up top (with Ranger) and on the wings though.

 

[Ricey]

Yes. Took them long enough to get out of League 2 despite being favourites every year. Myth of a club

Michael Eisner with a net worth of over a billion has completed his takeover today. I reckon they will fly once he starts putting money into them.

 

[Beefy]

All of them from what I can make out of their squads.....Anyone thinking we are pulling up trees this year will be in for a rude awakening. Granted we will probably be top half of the table and perhaps challenging a sneaky 6th place, but we're not comparable to some of the sides we are facing this season, with or without injuries factored in.

We have improved year on year within ourselves, but we're no better (or worse) when you look at relative strength in the division. We still have questionable quality in midfield, a creaking defense and I think Hendrie looks poor and all at sea in friendlies.... Hopefully he'll turn it around. I also worry about our keeper situation, I don't think Oxley is up to the job and might be too soon with Ted as we've seen in the past..We look pretty good up top (with Ranger) and on the wings though.

Well I'm going to respectfully disagree. Front to back this is a team packed with quality to a degree that I've never seen in my decades supporting this Club. If this team can't compete right at the top of the division then I'm not sure I see the point any more!

 

[Beefy]

Michael Eisner with a net worth of over a billion has completed his takeover today. I reckon they will fly once he starts putting money into them.

Because that's never not worked out well for Portsmouth :winking:

 

[Ricey]

Because that's never not worked out well for Portsmouth :winking:

You can't compare Michael Eisner with their previous owners. This guy is a serious business man with some serious capital behind him not a cowboy like Mandarić and co.

 

[Leoblue]

Well I'm going to respectfully disagree. Front to back this is a team packed with quality to a degree that I've never seen in my decades supporting this Club. If this team can't compete right at the top of the division then I'm not sure I see the point any more!

I totally agree. Just two more signings and we have every chance of going up. We will miss Ranger and AW, they're both key players and goal scorers.