Your club's chances for the 2013/14 season

[Panda]

It's come around quickly but the football season is here again!  And so is the annual assessment of your team's hopes for the new season.

Answer the questions below and let us know how you think your team is going to do this season.


Team:


Division:


Greatest hope this season:


Biggest fear:


Best summer signing(s):


Most important player:


Terrace favourite:


Young player to watch:


Player you'd happily drive to his next club:


One change you'd make at your club:


Have you got the right manager?


What advice would you give him?


Which team do you most want to beat this season?


Tip for away fans:


Best away fans:


Best away ground to visit:


Opposition player you despise:


Opposition player you secretly admire:


Where will you finish?

[frag]

Team: Arsenal


Division: Premier League


Greatest hope this season: Making big signings, challenging for the title and winning a trophy.


Biggest fear: Snoozing and slipping outside the top 4.


Best summer signing(s): Yaya Sanogo (he's the only one we've signed so far!)


Most important player: Mikel Arteta - adds balance and leadership


Terrace favourite: Olivier Giroud


Young player to watch: Gedion Zelalem - 16 years old, some very nice assists on the Asia tour. Likely to get some COC action before a loan spell in the new year.


Player you'd happily drive to his next club: Nick Bendtner. We've been trying to get rid of him for two years now. Besides, if he drove himself, he'd probably go the wrong way up a one way street...


One change you'd make at your club: be more assertive in the transfer market.


Have you got the right manager? Yes, for now...


What advice would you give him? Motivate the players better against small teams, because whatever was tried against Bradford and Blackburn clearly didn't work.


Which team do you most want to beat this season? Spurs.


Tip for away fans: sssshh.


Best away fans: that I've seen in the past few years, Blackpool.


Best away ground to visit: for an Arsenal fan, Fulham, because a supporters' group organises a boat trip down the Thames to the match


Opposition player you despise: RVP


Opposition player you secretly admire: Michu


Where will you finish? 4th, as usual.

[Panda]

Team: Marske United


Division: Northern League Division 1


Greatest hope this season: a top 10 finish and a run in either the FA Cup or Vase


Biggest fear: getting caught up in another relegation scrap


Best summer signing(s): there's been so many, it's tough to pick just one - there's goalkeeper Robbie Dean, who won the FA Vase with Spennymoor last season, plus Ozzie Johnston, who returns to the club from arch-rivals Guisborough


Most important player: Ozzie will be pulling the strings in midfield


Terrace favourite: Lewis Tidy became a fan favourite after settling right into the team, having moved up from Teesside League club Hemlington Smithy


Young player to watch: Scott Matthewman - made his debut at the age of 17 last season and did a very solid job


Player you'd happily drive to his next club: Most of the bad ones seemed to go after the previous manager left


One change you'd make at your club: create more of a "home" feel on match days - music, PA system and more yellow inside the ground


Have you got the right manager?  I think so - Ted Watts turned things around last season after Craig Gibbin quit after 12 games, and this was despite not being able to bring players in from other clubs. He's strengthened the squad a lot over the summer and there's lots of reasons to be optimistic this season.


What advice would you give him?  Play players in their best position


Which team do you most want to beat this season? We owe Guisborough a thrashing or two.


Tip for away fans: If it's between October and Easter, wrap up warm. The ground's 200ft up on cliffs above the North Sea and it tends to get very windy.


Best away fans: Spennymoor always bring good support.


Best away ground to visit: I really enjoyed Celtic Nation last season. Whitley Bay, Spennymoor and Bishop Auckland all have their benefits as well.


Opposition player you despise: The thug who got sent off for violent conduct while playing for Hebburn last season, then tried to fight all the Marske fans stood on the Chicken Run.


Opposition player you secretly admire: West Auckland striker Matty Moffatt


Where will you finish?  Around 8th

[Panda]

Team: Middlesbrough


Division: Championship


Greatest hope this season: Playing like we did in the first half of last season for the whole season


Biggest fear: Playing like we did in the second half of last season for the whole season


Best summer signing(s): Dean Whitehead. What a depressing thought.


Most important player: Everyone's going to be important this season


Young player to watch: Jordan Jones if he gets enough playing time


Player you'd happily drive to his next club: Seb Hines has never convinced me


One change you'd make at your club: I say it every year but lower ticket prices = more fans in the ground = better atmosphere


Have you got the right manager? I would still say yes as I don't see how anyone else could've done much more with the funds available. The collapses of the last two seasons have started to change some fans' minds though.


What advice would you give him? Try not to let the players' heads drop when things go tits up


Which team do you most want to beat this season? Dirty Leeds


Tip for away fans: Don't touch my car


Where will you finish? Anywhere between 6th and 24th

[Maximo Mark]

Team: Nottingham Forest


Division: Championship


Greatest hope this season: Promotion


Biggest fear: The fans getting restless after a poor run of form (particularly if we have a typical Billy Davies slow start) and the owner getting out his trigger finger again, and employing another McLeish-like donkey as manager.


Best summer signing(s): Jack Hobbs, with Elliott Ward departing and Danny Collins showing he's probably past it last season a good centre half was desperately needed this summer. Someone young but with plenty of experience and quality was as good as I could've hoped for.


Most important player: Chris Cohen, newly appointed club captain and player of the season last time out. We missed him so much when he was out injured for a year, he's going to be first choice left back now but he showed he has the quality to play there at this level.


Terrace favourite: Adlene Guedioura. Fans love his passion and energy, and is capable of the spectacular.


Young player to watch: With Billy Davies in charge of a club going for promotion it's hard to imagine any young players getting much of a chance. Jamaal Lascelles is tipped for a League 1 loan and Jack Blake has far too much infront of him in central midfield. Academy product Karl Darlow will hopefully stay as the number one and have another impressive season.


Player you'd happily drive to his next club: Ishmael Miller, Guy Moussi and Danny Collins are all large wage drains. Jonathan Greening too but he's now going to help coach the academy side so I can't really include him. Matt Derbyshire's pre-season form saves him (just) from the list and I'll never understand why Marcus Tudgay was offered a new contract.


One change you'd make at your club: For the manager to be more 'normal', only speaking to one journalist, completely shunning the local radio and paper, doing post-match press conferences before matches. It would also be nice if his agent (banned from practicing law) wasn't working as Chief Executive, Finance Director, Communications Officer etc.


Have you got the right manager? Begrudgingly yes, for now. He's far from a favourite of mine and I don't think he's worth it overall but you can't argue with his record. I always feel with him it's just a matter of time until it all goes wrong behind the scenes.


What advice would you give him? Stop turning everything into an agenda and just get on with the sodding job.


Which team do you most want to beat this season? Derby of course, but QPR too.


Best away fans: Sheffield Wednesday are always good, though we've lowered allocations this season.


Best away ground to visit: Hillsborough is a good ground, decent location and a good atmosphere.


Opposition player you despise: I'd say Lee Camp but he's without a club ( ) so Karl Henry will have to do.


Opposition player you secretly admire: Grant Holt. I watch him and think what could've been. Why we played him on the wing I will never know.   



Where will you finish? Play-offs.

[Tom]

Team: Reading

Division: Championship

Greatest hope this season: Win the title

Biggest fear: We languish in the bottom half for a period of time, the fans get on Adkins back and he is sacked (and it would be hard to justify otherwise given the way McDermott was ruthlessly axed last season) and we're back to square one looking for a new manager capable of taking us up.

Best summer signing(s): I would say Wayne Bridge but after yesterday it may turn out to be Royston Drenthe.

Most important player: Adam Le Fondre aka ALF. I do worry where the goals will come from to win the tight games without him.

Terrace favourite: In the absence of the injured Jimmy Kebe I would say Le Fondre atm but by the end of the season it may be Drenthe.. 

Young player to watch: Jordan Obita. Having seen a few of his loan appearances elsewhere I thought he was ready to be a squad player this season and he has had a positive pre-season by the sounds of it. But he was getting positive reports in pre-season a couple of years ago and then didn't get much of a look-in (not helped by getting injured shortly after making his debut I think), so we shall see...

Player you'd happily drive to his next club: We'd need to replace him but if Pogrebnyak isn't going to be starting then he's not going to be much use. He seems to struggle when he comes on as sub. As it is he wants to leave and I think he'll go in the next 2 weeks and we'll replace him before the end of the window.

One change you'd make at your club: Buy a decent striker, we look short up top and yesterday with Blackman suspended after an altercation with a steward last season (before he'd even joined us) we only had 2 strikers available. I don't like playing 4-5-1 in this division but it's hard to justify playing 4-4-2 if we wouldn't have any strikers on the bench by doing so.

Have you got the right manager? Yes

What advice would you give him? Not advice as such, but he's not as easy to warm to as McDermott and don't think he ever will be.

Which team do you most want to beat this season? I'd say QPR simply because they are the favourites this season, and rightly so imo.

Tip for away fans: Simply don't cause trouble. Fortunately the vast majority don't.

Best away fans: Hard, but would prob say QPR as when they came to the Mad Stad on one occasion in 2006 was sat in the away end and didn't feel uncomfortable.

Best away ground to visit: Not been to any of the away grounds in this division but hoping to go to Charlton, and in particular Brighton, by the end of the season.

Opposition player you despise: Despise is a strong word, but Joey Barton, if he hangs around, is hard to like...

Opposition player you secretly admire: Simply because it's so fresh in the memory Jay Tabb. Got a good reception before the game as expected, and also when he scored. He was a popular player and it was sad to discover in January he wasn't being offered a new contract.

Where will you finish? Top 4

[o]

Team: Mansfield Town


Division: 2


Greatest hope this season: Staying up.


Biggest fear: Relegation


Best summer signing(s): Sam Clucas (Hereford)


Most important player: Ollie Palmer, can he replace Green's goals?


Terrace favourite: Murray for his tackling.


Young player to watch: Clucas/Palmer/Stevenson


Player you'd happily drive to his next club: I'll wait and see how they perform, but we've finally got Pilks loaned out to Forest Green after a season draining the club dry.


One change you'd make at your club: Have one cash turnstile on match days.


Have you got the right manager? I think so, he's never finished outside the Top 5 in his 3 seasons at Eastwood and two seasons at Mansfield, this season I think we just need to survive, and build for next season.


What advice would you give him? Be prepared to change Plan A if it isn't working, we can hoof and hope, but we have players who can play football as well, use both tactics.


Which team do you most want to beat this season? Cheaterfield (we wont)


Tip for away fans: Dont mess with the stewards


Best away fans: The ones that bring the most fans, make a lot of noise and dont cause any bother or shout scabs (dull and out of date, plus Mansfield miners did strike as well!)


Best away ground to visit: Portsmouth is probably the biggest, but a bit run down? Oxford is good but needs the 4th side. Bristol Rovers new one looks good when finished. Plymouth always looks great, still yet to get there though.


Opposition player you despise: The York goalie who got Green sent off in the play off match a few seasons back.


Opposition player you secretly admire:


Where will you finish? 20th if we are lucky.

[Razzle Dazzle]

Team: West Ham


Division: Premiership


Greatest hope this season: Top 10 finish


Biggest fear: Relegation Battle


Best summer signing(s): Andy Carroll is the obvious one but Razvan Rat at left Back could be a great signing considering we played most the season with no Left Back


Most important player: Kevin Nolan, he gets double figures every season in terms of goals, in big games he is the one who pops up with the winner and in bottom of the league scraps he is leading by example fighting for every ball, if a West Ham player like Jarvis or vaz te is getting kicked by the opposition he is the first one over to make sure his team mates are protected, he has good relationship with referees so as captain he can sway their influence in our teams favour, he might not have the legs or be the fittest but he is so important, the team spirit in a Nolan captained team is high when things are good and get together to battle when it goes bad. Newcastle missed him badly last season and he is the reason Andy Carroll signed for West Ham so its hard to look beyond Super Kev


Terrace favourite: Winston Reid won player of the year last season and was solid at the back with Collins, he has won the fans over, Mark Noble being a homegrown player and Joe Cole coming home are up there aswel


Young player to watch: Ravel Morrison, always had the talent and a season on loan to Birmingham has sorted his head out (for now), he got a bag full of assists last year and in pre season has ripped apart van der vaart and co away at hamburg and away to sporting Lisbon in two impressive pre season wins


Player you'd happily drive to his next club: Well Gary O'Neill and Carlton Cole have both left, they were probably the two most limited players at the club, Matty Taylor is a few years past his best so would have to be him


One change you'd make at your club: Sign another top striker ASAP and a back up striker on loan


Have you got the right manager? Yeah


What advice would you give him? He knows what he has to do


Which team do you most want to beat this season? Spurs


Tip for away fans: Enjoy it whist you can before we move to the Olympic Stadium


Best away fans: Anyone but Milwall


Best away ground to visit: Man City


Opposition player you despise: Luis Suarez


Opposition player you secretly admire: Demba Ba, Cabaye, Van Persie, Wilshire


Where will you finish? 9th-12th

[Paddy]

Team: Ipswich Town FC


Division: Sky Bet Championship


Greatest hope this season: Top 6 playoff season. Just a nice little end to the season.


Biggest fear: Relegation. 


Best summer signing(s): We have Murphy back from Celtic, old favourite in the terraces, never stops working. Also bought an 18 yo guy from waterford, Eire. £20k. Called Jack Doherty.


Most important player: Loach. GK. Tommy Smith, very inconsistent at beginning of last season but had a very good 2/3rds of season. Hopefully continue and be a rock at the back. Now also Captain for New Zealand, and still young. 


Terrace favourite: Marcus Stewart, STILL


Young player to watch: Luke Hyam. Had a million pound tag on him several seasons ago. Tyrone Mings, Jack Doherty, 


Player you'd happily drive to his next club: Chopra already got driven. Paul Taylor if he doesn't manage much this season, was injured from October onwards and is also on bail for physical assult while injured...


One change you'd make at your club: 20 goals a year striker. A rock at the back, experienced from Premiership. 


Have you got the right manager? In Mick we believe. 


What advice would you give him? Don't let the players get distracted, we've had the gamblers and assultists and the drunks and Roy Keane...


Which team do you most want to beat this season? Bournemouth, personal reasons not club related. 


Tip for away fans: Visit, but bring atmosphere with you, because we can't produce any. 


Best away fans: pass


Best away ground to visit: pass


Opposition player you despise: Grant Holt


Opposition player you secretly admire: Paul Ince


Where will you finish? Anywhere between 3 and 24.

[Shireblogger]

Team: SOUTHAMPTON


Division: Premier


Greatest hope this season: avoiding a relegation battle; tasty Cup run


Biggest fear: another relegation battle


Best summer signing(s): Dejan Lovren - highly rated centre-back, apparently


Most important player: Dejan Lovren - we so badly need a good centre-back


Terrace favourite: Ricky Lambert - England's World Cup #9


Young player to watch: Luke Shaw - a better left back than either Gareth Bale or Wayne Bridge were when they were coming through Southampton's youth set-up


Player you'd happily drive to his next club: Guilly Do Prado - the only Brazilian that ever I've seen trip over a football


One change you'd make at your club: better access roads to the Stadium


Have you got the right manager?: jury's still out - I hope so, as we don't need yet another change


What advice would you give him?: I wouldn't - he was doing fine without my help


Which team do you most want to beat this season?: Tottenham - the closest we'll get to Harry Redknapp


Tip for away fans: bring sun cream (I wish)


Best away fans: Newcastle - so many and so passionate, travelling so far in pursuit of rather mediocre football


Best away ground to visit: I love St James' Park, Newcastle, but the away fans get a pretty poor view; Sunderland's Stadium of Light has a lot going for it


Opposition player you despise: Suarez; I don't need to explain why


Opposition player you secretly admire: now that Marion Bartolli has abandoned Britain, Marouane Fellaini


Where will you finish? lower mid-table - 15th ?

[frag]

Time to compare how we thought with how we did, and maybe a post-season survey, too

Team:

Division:



Best moment this season:



Worst:



Player of the season (your club):



Player of the season (division):



Young player of the season (club):



Young player of the season (division):



Have you still got the right manager? If your club changed managers, was it a good idea?:



Hopes for the summer:



Prospects for next season:

[Maximo Mark]

Team: Nottingham Forest

Division: The Championship

Best moment this season: Either Jack Hobbs late winner vs. Derby, or Billy Davies being sacked.

Worst: Losing 5-0 to Derby, though our continuously terrible results against the leagues worst teams has been awful all season.

Player of the season (your club): Andy Reid - in the form, fitness and shape of his life. A much deserved place in the divisions Team of the Season.

Player of the season (division): Either Craig Bryson or Kieran Trippier.

Young player of the season (club): Jamaal Lascelles. Being managed by Billy Davies a young centre half is always going to be behind any senior pros, so it took injuries/suspensions to 3 of the 4 above him to get his chance, but he took it well and has been in the team for most of the remainder of the season. The odd mistake and he's been too naive at times but you expect it from a player making the first appearances in pro football. He's shown why he's been linked with Arsenal, Everton and Spurs.

Young player of the season (division): Danny Ings

Have you still got the right manager? If your club changed managers, was it a good idea?: As our manager hasn't managed a game for us yet it's hard to say if he's right or not, but I'm positive about our chances at least as it looks like we're going to be bringing in a proper structure with a good coaching team. We did change manager and whilst results didn't get better, they were never likely to and didn't get worse either. Yes, it was absolutely the right decision.

Hopes for the summer: To keep hold of the majority of our best players, to get rid of most of our crap (we've a massive squad which is far too big), sign a decent striker and appoint a good quality Chief Exec.

Prospects for next season: Who knows! The league has been p*ss-poor this year so it was a missed opportunity, but I'm certainly more confident in the long-term future of the club that I was a year ago. If injuries are managed correctly next year top 6 should be certainly be a realistic aim.

[Tom]

Aug 4, 2013 12:40:01 GMT 1 Tom said:

Team: Reading

Division: Championship

Best summer signing(s): I would say Wayne Bridge but after yesterday it may turn out to be Royston Drenthe.

Terrace favourite: In the absence of the injured Jimmy Kebe I would say Le Fondre atm but by the end of the season it may be Drenthe.. 

Young player to watch: Jordan Obita. Having seen a few of his loan appearances elsewhere I thought he was ready to be a squad player this season and he has had a positive pre-season by the sounds of it. But he was getting positive reports in pre-season a couple of years ago and then didn't get much of a look-in (not helped by getting injured shortly after making his debut I think), so we shall see...

Where will you finish? Top 4

Lol at the first 2, Bridge only played about a dozen games before retiring, and my worries about Drenthe's massive off field baggage came true. That said, still thought he had enough ability from what i'd read about him to have a good season, but he couldn't even manage that. Certainly a disappointment, started very well and had the odd fleeting moment in the last couple of months, but the rest of the time he either didn't play or didn't seem to offer much. The club want to get rid of him but unfortunately I think we're stuck with him for the foreseeable future...

As for Obita, don't think it was the first time I've mentioned him in that category, but that comment was proving to be very accurate - although wasn't expecting him to play central midfield at times, he'd only ever played left wing apart from the odd appearance in the U21s at the start of the season or when he was much younger - until mid-season when he was switched to left-back. A bold move, which ended up with him winning player of the season which had been unlikely before that. I would like to think he would still be at the club next season, but would worry if QPR went up. Harry Redknapp wanted him as a 16 year old (2010), before Obita turned him down on his doorstep and signed a contract with us, and also enquired about him in January. That said with talk of a large fine if they go up they may not be able to afford him anyway...

And I'd revised my prediction down in September to maybe just missing out on the playoffs, which was proved correct.

[Tom]

Team: Reading

Division: Championship

Best moment this season: Thrashing Bolton 7-1 in January, but apart from a golden spell from mid January-mid Feb the U21s/U18s have been the best thing about this season.

Worst: I should say missing out on the playoffs on the final day, but we deserved from our game. It has to be failing to beat 8 man Yeovil on 1st March. I can't think of a worse result we've had off the top of my head. I thought it would cost us our playoff place at the time, and that turned out to be true. I was away that day and I remember being angry that we were losing at half-time but then just laughing at the embarrassment of the 2nd half which saw the 3 Yeovil red cards and us failing to score more than one (and even that was an unfortunate og). Thankfully it was the same day as the Pardew headbutt so being told about that took some of the focus away...

Player of the season (your club): As mentioned above, Jordan Obita

Player of the season (division): Don't think I've seen enough Championship games this season, both Reading's and others, to really judge.

Young player of the season (club): For first team, as to be Obita again as he's only 20. Most exciting from the U18/U21s? Aaron Kuhl (AKA David Luiz) the captain of both, Craig Tanner who I hope to see starting next season or at the vey least being used from the bench, and Jack Stacey.

Young player of the season (division): Haven't a clue. Actually Will Hughes caught the eye when we played at Derby in one of Nigel Clough's last games. Watched the game on a stream and was very impressed, can see him going on to play for England one day.

Have you still got the right manager? Jury's out, don't think he deserves the sack (not that we could afford to anyway) but if he left of his own accord it wouldn't bother me.

Hopes for the summer: That we hang onto the players we want to. I'm certainly not expecting any inward signings of note. Fully expect a keeper to go at the very least. The club would rather it was Federici, second choice and one of the highest earners we've got left, but it's more likely to be McCarthy, young, No 1, and England call-up last summer, even though I think his stock has fallen since then.

Prospects for next season: Quite difficult to say not knowing who will still be at the club. Along with the players released (Jobi McAnuff captain, Mikele Leigertwod, Kaspars Gorkss, Wayne Bridge, and no 3 keeper and perennial bench-warmer throughout his career Stuart Taylor) we do seem to have a lot of players with only 12 months left on their contracts. But hopefully challenging for the playoffs, if we end up with a lot of U21s in the squad we may struggle.

[Panda]

Team: Marske United


Division: Northern League Division One


Best moment this season: A close-run thing between winning the League Cup at St. James' Park last week with a goal in stoppage time of extra time, and the FA Cup victory over Halesowen (another last minute winner) to reach the final qualfying round.


Worst: On the pitch, probably the players freezing in the big FA Cup game at Southport and being 4-0 down after 15 minutes, going on to lose 6-2. Off the pitch, it would be hearing one of our players had suffered a stroke and was in a crticial condition in hospital.


Player of the season (your club): Craig Gott - a bit of a strange one as he wasn't really part of our epic unbeaten run at the start of the season, having been signed from Darlington in September, but he got better and better as the season went on, particularly when the rest of the team's form dipped. Showed his versatility, being able to play anywhere in defence or midfield, scored free kicks from 30+ yards on two occasions and scored the penalty that won the League Cup. 


Young player of the season (club): Scott Matthewman - grew into his role at the club as a combative defensive midfielder and has the potential to become one of the best players in the league.


Have you still got the right manager? If your club changed managers, was it a good idea?: I still say yes. The doubters have grown in number, especially given the disappointing league position of 16th, when top 10 was the target and we had to watch our arch-rivals Guisborough have a great season, finishing 4th. However, the two amazing cup runs balance that out a bit and I think he's earned the chance to see what he can do with this squad next season.


Hopes for the summer: Keeping the bulk of the current squad together and attracting some extra quality to the side. Having seen how Guisborough's strikers tore defences apart, at least one 30-goal-a-season striker seems like a must next season if we're going to make any impression on the top 10.


Prospects for next season: Significant progress was expected this season and after a promising start, it failed to materialise in terms of league position. But the cup runs showed what the side is capable of when they really want it. We were never in any real relegation danger this season but we can't afford to be complacent. If we stand still, we'll get sucked towards the bottom. The side needs to improve if results are going to as well. If that happens, there's no reason why we can't be in the top 10.

[Shireblogger]

Team: SOUTHAMPTON

Division: Premier Division


Best moment this season: Lots. In hindsight, winning 1-0 away to Liverpool in September. At the time, getting a 90th minute equaliser to draw 1-1 at Manchester Utd.


Worst: With 8th or 9th place guaranteed in the league, and no chance of qualifying for Europe, and with a lot of big clubs already knocked out of the FA Cup, a bizarre team selection for the Cup match against a struggling Sunderland, which resulted in defeat and a glorious missed opportunity of a run to Wembley.


Player of the season (your club): Adam Lallana. The fact that many are now saying he should be in England's first XI speaks volumes for how well he has played this season. He's been consistent, and injury-free.


Player of the season (division): I don't like him, but Yaya Toure has been the engine within Manchester City's Championship winning team.


Young player of the season (club): Luke Shaw. Talented when defending and attacking. A better left back than Wayne Bridge or Gareth Bale were. Shame we're likely to lose him too.


Young player of the season (division): Luke Shaw.


Have you still got the right manager? If your club changed managers, was it a good idea?: Pochettino had an excellent season. But, will he stay ? Rumours that Tottenham want him are unhelpful. If he goes (along with a couple of the star players), then we could be back into another relegation dogfight next season.


Hopes for the summer: To retain as many employees as possible.


Prospects for next season: Depend on whether or not my hopes are fulfilled.

[Razzle Dazzle]

Aug 9, 2013 11:56:11 GMT 1 Razzle Dazzle said:

Team: West Ham


Division: Premiership


Greatest hope this season: Top 10 finish


Biggest fear: Relegation Battle


Best summer signing(s): Andy Carroll is the obvious one but Razvan Rat at left Back could be a great signing considering we played most the season with no Left Back


Most important player: Kevin Nolan, he gets double figures every season in terms of goals, in big games he is the one who pops up with the winner and in bottom of the league scraps he is leading by example fighting for every ball, if a West Ham player like Jarvis or vaz te is getting kicked by the opposition he is the first one over to make sure his team mates are protected, he has good relationship with referees so as captain he can sway their influence in our teams favour, he might not have the legs or be the fittest but he is so important, the team spirit in a Nolan captained team is high when things are good and get together to battle when it goes bad. Newcastle missed him badly last season and he is the reason Andy Carroll signed for West Ham so its hard to look beyond Super Kev


Terrace favourite: Winston Reid won player of the year last season and was solid at the back with Collins, he has won the fans over, Mark Noble being a homegrown player and Joe Cole coming home are up there aswel


Young player to watch: Ravel Morrison, always had the talent and a season on loan to Birmingham has sorted his head out (for now), he got a bag full of assists last year and in pre season has ripped apart van der vaart and co away at hamburg and away to sporting Lisbon in two impressive pre season wins


Player you'd happily drive to his next club: Well Gary O'Neill and Carlton Cole have both left, they were probably the two most limited players at the club, Matty Taylor is a few years past his best so would have to be him


One change you'd make at your club: Sign another top striker ASAP and a back up striker on loan


Have you got the right manager? Yeah


What advice would you give him? He knows what he has to do


Which team do you most want to beat this season? Spurs


Tip for away fans: Enjoy it whist you can before we move to the Olympic Stadium


Best away fans: Anyone but Milwall


Best away ground to visit: Man City


Opposition player you despise: Luis Suarez


Opposition player you secretly admire: Demba Ba, Cabaye, Van Persie, Wilshire


Where will you finish? 9th-12th

hopes of a top 10 finish wasn't far off the mark, only 9 points in it, but then again neither was relegation so both my hopes and fears were spot on.

as for best summer signing, the right answer should have been nobody! but out the lot despite the huge fee and injury, andy carroll was the only bright spot with rat being released by xmas, the only player who came in who did well was Adrian our gk, he made some silly mistakes but also some good saves, if he can improve his consistency he will be a good keeper for us

kevin nolan as most important player, well top scorer, top assists, captain, most yellow cards and most red cards says it all really, our spell in February which ultimately kept us up he was on fire, sadly the rest of the season he was underwhelming and fans are getting restless

terrace favourite, reid was immense at the start of the season before his injury and came back to end the season strongly and noble won player of the year, joe cole suffered from injuries, being played out of position and a manager that didn't rate him

young player to watch was indeed ravel morrison, think he ended the season 2nd top scorer despite being shipped to qpr

we should of signed a back up striker, carroll missed 5 month so I was right there (and re-signing carlton cole on a free wasn't what I had in mind)

my opinion on having the right manager has changed, personally I think he should go, terrible football is ok when you win, his comments/decisions this season have been managerial suicide, the last one only a few days ago claiming he has more ambition than west ham, then goes to man city and played for a 2-0 defeat, his signings have all flopped, fans want him gone and with a board meeting tomorrow I would be surprised if he stays, apparently his brief was 41 points and more attractive football

, he failed both

team to beat spurs...comprehensively beating them 3 times this year will do nicely

finish 9th-12th... ended 13th so not far off, I needed swansea to draw with sunderland last day of the season for 12th to happen

[Panda]

May 11, 2014 20:29:27 GMT 1 Panda said:

Have you still got the right manager? If your club changed managers, was it a good idea?: I still say yes. The doubters have grown in number, especially given the disappointing league position of 16th, when top 10 was the target and we had to watch our arch-rivals Guisborough have a great season, finishing 4th. However, the two amazing cup runs balance that out a bit and I think he's earned the chance to see what he can do with this squad next season.

Turns out I was wrong on this one. His departure was announced this evening.

[suedehead]

And Brighton have also lost another manager. It's true that they weren't always great to watch under Oscar Garcia but at least he had turned things round after a shaky start. A lot of fans are suggesting Malky Mackay now that he has settled his differences with Cardiff but I suspect he will be looking for a Premier League club. I don't suppose David Moyes would be interested.

[Earl Purple]

From the summertime activity or lack thereof it looked obvious that, in spite of our great form at the end of last season, this season would be a fight against relegation rather than any attempt at promotion.

Team: Charlton Athletic

Division: Championship

Best moment this season: Many would say reaching the 6th round of the FA Cup but for me beating Watford to guarantee survival, because that is far more important, or possibly coming back from 0-2 down at Sheff Wed to win, as that was the point we really knew we were likely to stay up, and the 6th round isn't really that fat to progress. Semi-final would have meant a trip to Wembley, and we didn't knock out any Premiership teams to get to the 6th round (we beat one League 2 team and two teams in our own division) and ended up losing to a team a division below us.

Worst: The few days in which we dropped to the bottom of the division (without playing), lost to Sheffield United then sacked the manager.

Player of the season (your club): Possibly the captain Johnnie Jackson
Player of the season (division): Not sure, probably someone from Leicester like David Nugent or Danny Ings of Burnley.

Young player of the season (club): Diego Poyet. He is Gus's son and a young talent come through. There is some promise for Callum Harriott too who scored his only 5 goals in the last 2 games.

Young player of the season (division): Possibly Danny Ings of Burnley, who scored 21 goals for them, is an England U21 international and a lot of the reason why they went up.

Have you still got the right manager? If your club changed managers, was it a good idea? The manager we ended the season with, Jose Riga, did a fair job and kept us up. I think that now we have him we should retain him to take the club forward. I think sacking Chris Powell was more about a power struggle than anything else and we might have stayed up with him. Often fans are calling out for their manager to be sacked, and we were not calling out for Powell to go and did a special cheer for him in the game against Huddersfield.

Hopes for the summer: The owners give Riga the position and Riga knows what we need in the club, and that the board help him get those players that can take us forward so next season we will be fighting at the right end of the table, even if we don't get promoted (unlikely). But with a future that we could get promoted in 2016. Hold on to the good young players we have and develop them. I think Riga may well be the best one to achieve that, and that may be why he was brought in.

Prospects for next season: Safety achieved a lot earlier and still within mathematical chance of the playoffs with 2 or 3 games to go, however I think immediate promotion or playoffs is very ambitious (although next season might be the best one to do it). Win more games than we lose.