[Doctor Stamen]

Usually there is a team, maybe two who really gets stuck in the relegation battle, against all expectations. For example, Ipswich went down with ease, despite finishing 4th or 5th the previous season.

My candidates are:

Villa: They look a bit shaky in defence, quite ineffective in attack, and tactically suspect. Allback has to perform to his CM pedigree, and Vassell has to continue to perform as well as he did mid to late last season. Otherwise it could be a long, difficult season.

Man City: All these new players have to click and perform, otherwise they may look like a group of individuals rather than a team. An example of this would be Boro during the Juninho/Emerson/Ravanelli period. KK also has a suspect temprament, and if they struggle, and they need to get a result in a derby.............

Alternately, they may all fit together well, and storm the league. You can't tell, but I just have this feeling........

Fulham: For all their big money signings, they were a fancy team with no cutting edge up front and little bite. More foreigners with a pretty good reputation have come in (e.g. Djetou), but they may not settle in. Seemingly another group of individuals, rather than a team.

[NNCRed]

City going down a surprise? I think it would be a surprise if they stay up.

I wouldn't be too shocked to see Villa down there, nor West Ham. And if Newcastle focuses too much on the CL, I could see them getting into an early hole.

[Dr. Wankler]

Originally posted by Doctor Stamen
Usually there is a team, maybe two who really gets stuck in the relegation battle, against all expectations. For example, Ipswich went down with ease, despite finishing 4th or 5th the previous season.

I wasn't that surprised by Ipswich, actually. They lost an excellent goalkeeper to Arsenal, and then Titus Bramble went down with an injury (and apparently ate the better part of a local supermarket while recovering). And there were other factors that made it apparent that they weren't likely to be playing in Europe for the 2002-03 season.

Let's see: my choice for surprise relegation candidates... No one's mentioned Sunderland yet, so I'll go with them. If they don't figure out some ways to put the ball in the back of the net, it'll be a long year for the Mackems.

[benine]

my picks:

Charlton, Man City and Everton.

[Footer Phooter]

Well, Brmingham, Sunderland, and City will be going down this year.

[Clan]

[list=1][*]Mackems...especially if Philips leaves.[*]Spurs...to old.[*]Toffees...no dept.[/list=1]

[eric515]

Man U, Arse, Liverpool...

Someone had to do it!

[NNCRed]

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but didn't Sunderland barely stay up last season, fighting until the final day? How could it be a surprise that a team that barely stayed up last season will go down this season?

I don't think they'll go down though. I think Reid will get axed by the end of January if things are going the same way they did last year. A new manager could turn their season around. The talent's there, the manager is an idiot though.

[Boro_lad]

no surprises really...i thing the dirty mackhams....
west brom (bit obvious) and charlton...i think they have out lived thier welcome. They never do anything. But i feel they will go down this year.

[sydtheeagle]

Can't say that I have much time for Charlton (as you say, the club nobody really cares about either way), but frankly they are not a bad little side and I don't think they'll be anywhere near the relegation zone. They're well managed, play to a system that maximises their abilities, have a couple of good young players, and remain under-rated (though on the evidence, it's hard to work out why) by many. Perhaps no better than a mid-table team, but for my money more likely to finish seventh than seventeenth.

Disagree about Villa, too. Another team that won't set the world alight but Graham Taylor is a wily old bird who knows what he's doing with that team, and they are quite safe in mid-table if not slightly above. Can't see them setting the world on fire...can't see them struggling, either.

WBA are indeed the obvious candidates, though up to a couple of weeks ago I was sort of hoping against hope that their no compromise approach might just see them through. However, they now seem to be doing a yeoman's job of shooting themselves in the foot and destroying precisely the one thing that did give them a chance...unity, committment, focus...before a ball is kicked. In light of what's going on there now, I'd say relegation certainties though I hope they prove me wrong.

I think Sunderland's number is up, too. I was glad they stuck by Reid after the disastrous season they endured last year, simply because there's too little loyalty in the game and for that reason alone I still hope he can turn things around. But he has been unable to lift the club over the summer as far as I can tell, has made no new signings at a time when inspiration desperately needed to be brought in fresh, and as a result it is hard to see where the smiles will be coming from in Mackemland.

I think Fulham could struggle if they fail to either buy or find in their ranks a serious striker. They have the capacity to be the best (most entertaining team) ever to be relegated. If you can't score...

If there's to be a surprise struggler, my guess is it'll be Tottenham. Things there just don't feel right. I don't think the players they've brought in are the sort who will send them rifling up the league. Redknapp has a lot to prove, but from what my Spurs supporting mate tells me about pre-season, Acimovic is a joy to watch but couldn't tackle a question. When the going gets tough, not the sort of player I'd be banking on. They are old, their motivation is questionable, Hoddle clearly wants to rebuild the side but his hands appear tied, and their is disunity in the ranks (Sherwood/Hoddle and Pleat, etc.). All in all, not a good recipe for success.