Who does everybody think will go up from the championship next season?

Wolves looked very good when they played us at the tail end of last season. In fact they were the only team we played who impressed me. On that I'd put them as likely to go up. Southampton will probably be right up there too.
Norwich and Palace might suffer from thinking it'll be easy to get back up, and some of their players might not have the same fight for the battle that they had two years ago.

Sheffield United are starting to get that look of a club who have outstayed their welcome in that part of the table.

as for Ipswich, well I hope whovever Nicky Forster's strike partner is is a patient man, because he'll have a very long wait before he gets a pass from our Nicky.

Reading need to sign a few players if we are to have a chance of the play-offs. Currently our squad is thinner than a supermodel on a hunger strike. Somewhere between 12th and 8th beckons for us.

Overall though, the league will probably be just as crap as last year

 

I think Wolves and the three relegated teams are looking good bets to be fighting it out to go up.

Norwich and Palace have stronger teams than when they went up last time, they don't look like having to sell just to balance the books.

Southampton do need to sell, but they've got a strong youth setup, decent squad and Redknapp was very good at taking Portsmouth up, so he might well do the same.

 

Wolves need a settled forward line, else we ain't going anywhere. Our only proven goalscorer is on the transfer list!!!

I honestly haven't got a clue who'll go up this year.

 

He also took Southampton down last season. It'll be interesting to see if Sir Clive Woodward has any effect there this season.

 

I think it will depend on whether Southampton and Palace can keep on to Crouch and Johnson. If both want to figure in England plans I would beleive they both realize they have to be playing in the Premiership.

I fancy Derby or even Leeds to make a return

 

Our new gaffer Phil Brown has really impressed me with the things he says on the radio, it's not just what he says but he's got the type of voice that you'd listen to and trust. He also seems to have hit the ground running judging by the number of triallists we have at the club and we've signed two new players already.

 

I hope we're in the shake up at the end although it's gonna depend a lot on whether we can adjust quickly. Many many clubs have gone down, found life difficult initially and not recovered in time for promotion or play offs.

Reckon Wolves and Leeds will definitely be around and probably Palace too

 

I personally just want millwall to go up

Just so I can see those bastards FINALLY in the premiership.

 

I think Wolves will be there or there abouts, along with Palace and Leicester. We will go about our business as usual and be in the mix, and even if we win the league we still won't get any praise for it. When we won it in 2004 people said we were lucky, how can 8 points clear of second and 14 from 3rd be lucky??

And it breaks my heart to see the binmen in such trouble, though Sheepshanks will probably bring out a rule where teams begginning with I and ending in H start with a ten point bonus seeing as he wants to change the rule so the team which finishes third automatically goes into the playoff final. Which would have been very beneficial to his plastic cockney binmen.

 

With regards your comments on changes to the play-off rules I'm an unbiased observer when it comes to spats between East Anglian rivals. I think the play off rules need lokking at. They have obviously been a good inovation in the game because they make for less dead games at the end of a season. However, statistically since playoffs began, the only two sides to finish in a play off position other than third and survive the following season have been Birmingham and Liecester. Whereas, the only two sides to finish third and go up via the play offs have both stayed up the following season. One rule I would like to see introduced is one that says you must finish within 6 points of the highest placed team eligible for the play offs in order to be eligible to take part. This I think would increase the chances of any side going up being able to survive the following season.

 

I like the playoff system as it is....

Maybe not into the Prem as for the points stated before....the quality of the team finishing 6th against 3rd is definately distinct.

For League 1 & 2 the playoff system is great (not biased at all!) adds extra excitment to the end of the season. Also, the quality of teams from 3rd and 6th may not be as big as the Championship teams. Also, provide a great day out for the likes of Hartlepool and gives them extra revenue.

Up the owls

 

Wolves have missed out on promotion twice in the play-offs after finishing third. However, they do keep the season alive so I wouldn't like to see them go (hell, we snuck in at the death when we finally did go up!).

I have thought that maybe there should be some sort of bias towards the 3rd place team though - the number of times that the 3rd place team have failed to go up, despite technically being the best team out of the 4, while the team finishing 6th tends to go up remarkably often. However, it does annoy me when the argument against the play-offs is annually brought up by the 3rd placed team after failing to go though - get over it. Everyone knows the system before the first game of the season kicks off.

My only criticism of the play-offs is that the team that eventually goes through is disadvantaged by the reduced amount of time available to sign players in the close season.

 

1. Norwich
2. Southampton
--------------
3. Wolves
4. Reading
5. Crystal Palace
6. Preston
--------------
7. Sheff United
8. Leeds Utd
9. Leicester
10. Derby County

Ipswichfan i have to agree with you, i'd love to see Ipswich go up for local reasons but i can only see a midtable finish

 

Take it they don't have binmen in Norwich then?

 

I think QPR could be my dark-horse.

 

Beating Iran will surely give them the world of confidence

 

No chance, they had to sell off their top four players from the last few years for financial reasons. The team is very week and will do good just to avoid the drop. Steve Claridge has a really hard task ahead of him. He was like the sixth choice for the manager job after Wise was forced out. And cancelling the Iran game will not help.

 

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse.

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/050727/4/cjrw.html

 

Talk about not giving a bloke a chance.

 

Apparently a player revolt was behind it.

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/050727/4/cjxj.html

 

What history, still living on some trophy you won 24 fvckin years ago. Your shite now and will be for a while. Sorry, but the last i knew the spread of fans was about even so don't give us this bigger club bollocks.

Thats because it only holds 26,000 you dumb fvck binmen(if it held more we would still fill it). Which meant a sell out every home game numpty. Plus our away support was unbelievable this year, which it always is. I'm not going to get in an arguement with some schoolkid (you must be, calling yourself Ipswichfan4life, any sane adult would pick something a little less "wanky" shall we say) because i believe both of our clubs have great support and only a schoolkid would resort to "we're bigger than you ne ne nene ne!"
Fvck me, you only ever see Ipswich fans at Portman Road, never seen any at any of the England away games i've been to. We always have a sizable presence at England games but never seen no binmen. Which is a shame, it would be fun!!
Enjoy the mid-table mediocraty that faces you this year binboy.