[Poll] Expectations following the transfer window

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Where do you expect us to finish in the league?

  • Total voters
    294
  • Poll closed .
13th. Bang average squad with a dodgy defence and a terrible midfield stopping us benefitting from the good work our strikers might do.
 



10th for me, the next excuse will be it will take time for the new players to settle in etc when they do, if they ever do, we will have lost too much ground on the leaders, we need a good winning run starting now.
 
Having seen everyone else's votes I feel I've been a tad ambitious with my prediction of 5th. Could you please put in a "Lizards" option so I can change mine.

Thanks in advance.
 
Based on the current squad just inside or just outside the playoffs

But if that's the case at Xmas then expect some nice surprises in the JTW. If we don't strengthen in the JTW when we're within striking distance then the board will deserve all they get.

Wouldn't surprise me if we end up finishing 2nd by the end of the season but maybe I'm being too optimistic. Have a feeling Chris Wilder will be our saviour. Surely by the law of averages if you keep picking good managers then one of them is going to deliver.
 
Whoever voted 1st, I want what you are smoking.

I voted 20th because I would hope a team with the great Leon Clarke and Billy Sharp may just get us enough goals to give us another joyous season in League 1.
 
Good idea for a poll this, Ricky should be a good discussion.

9th - we're nowhere near strong enough in vital areas of the side (CB and CM). we'll under achieve compared to what this club ought to be capable of.
 
I’m still trying to pretend last season didn’t happen, so to assess our current squad’s prospects I’ve gone back to Cloughie’s 2014/15 squad, which finished 5th, and listed all the players who made 10 or more appearances during that season, with the current squad listed alongside. This comparison has added credence given half the team we can expect to start tomorrow remain from the Clough era.


2014/15………………………….2016/17


Howard (35)…………………....Moore


Def

Harris (35)……………………...Lafferty

Basham (35)…………………..Wilson

McEveley (31)…………………Ebanks-Landell

Brayford (22)…………………..Freeman

Alcock (17)……………………..O’Connell

McGahey (11)……………..…..Wright

Freeman (13)………………….

Kennedy (10)

McCarthy (10)


Mid

Murphy (41)……………………...Lavery

Doyle (35)………………………..Fleck

Scougall (20)…………………….Scougall

Coutts (19)……………………….Coutts

Flynn (18)……………………..….Duffy

JCR (14)………………………….Chapman

Reed (10)…………………………Basham

Baxter (28)


Str

Done (12)……………….…….Done

McNulty (11)………………….Sharp

Davies S (10)…………………Clarke



Going through each list, player-by-player, is nothing more than a personal opinion and would take too long, so I’ll stick to general themes.


Early days for Moore, our new Goalie, but first impressions are positive and he arrives with a strong reputation, so I expect an improvement in a critical position.


Defence is more challenging to assess because, with the exception of Freeman, all our defenders are new. My expectation is we’ll be stronger. On first look Brayford and Harris look to have the edge on current full-back options, but let’s not forget, Brayford played a chunk of 2014/15 at centre half with Alcock filling in at right back. We will surely be stronger at centre half given Cloughie’s decision to ignore the gaping hole in the middle of our back line for a whole season.


Midfield is trickier given we had the mercurial Murphy in our ranks under Cloughie. Wilder also needs to decide how best to deploy Fleck and seemingly needs a bit longer before accepting Basham is not a great option in the middle. Overall though, the current midfield looks no worse than what we had in 14/15 - even without the 'enforcer' some of us wanted.


Up front comparisons are striking with Wilder's boys looking far stronger than Cloughie’s cluster. Wilder should have Done around, barring injury, for a full season, as opposed to 12 games in 2015. Then, Billy and Leon versus McNulty, Davies and a bit of Baxter is surely no contest.


Hard to believe we spent most of a full season without a settled central defensive or strike force…………..and still, somehow, managed to finish 5th!


All things considered, if I had to choose between the two squads, I’d take the current one, despite the unknowns and the damaging loss of Murphy.


Another point to bear in mind is the misleading nature of the league table at this stage in proceedings. After 5 games, last year, ultimate Champs, Wigan were 11th on 7 points, Millwall were 19th on 4 points and The Blades were riding high in 2nd place.

If like me, you believe the current squad is stronger, then it comes down to Wilder v Clough, the strength of the opposition and injuries. We can't predict the latter two, but If Wilder has as much, or more, in his managerial locker as Cloughie had, then surely there is a strong possibility of improving on our 5th place in 2015.


In which case, the current 12/1 to finish top or 7/2 to win promotion doesn’t look too shabby.


And, for what it’s worth, I voted 3rd behind Charlton and MK.
 
The Bohemian said:
I’m still trying to pretend last season didn’t happen, so to assess our current squad’s prospects I’ve gone back to Cloughie’s 2014/15 squad, which finished 5th, and listed all the players who made 10 or more appearances during that season, with the current squad listed alongside. This comparison has added credence given half the team we can expect to start tomorrow remain from the Clough era.


2014/15………………………….2016/17


Howard (35)…………………....Moore


Def

Harris (35)……………………...Lafferty

Basham (35)…………………..Wilson

McEveley (31)…………………Ebanks-Landell

Brayford (22)…………………..Freeman

Alcock (17)……………………..O’Connell

McGahey (11)……………..…..Wright

Freeman (13)………………….

Kennedy (10)

McCarthy (10)


Mid

Murphy (41)……………………...Lavery

Doyle (35)………………………..Fleck

Scougall (20)…………………….Scougall

Coutts (19)……………………….Coutts

Flynn (18)……………………..….Duffy

JCR (14)………………………….Chapman

Reed (10)…………………………Basham

Baxter (28)


Str

Done (12)……………….…….Done

McNulty (11)………………….Sharp

Davies S (10)…………………Clarke



Going through each list, player-by-player, is nothing more than a personal opinion and would take too long, so I’ll stick to general themes.


Early days for Moore, our new Goalie, but first impressions are positive and he arrives with a strong reputation, so I expect an improvement in a critical position.


Defence is more challenging to assess because, with the exception of Freeman, all our defenders are new. My expectation is we’ll be stronger. On first look Brayford and Harris look to have the edge on current full-back options, but let’s not forget, Brayford played a chunk of 2014/15 at centre half with Alcock filling in at right back. We will surely be stronger at centre half given Cloughie’s decision to ignore the gaping hole in the middle of our back line for a whole season.


Midfield is trickier given we had the mercurial Murphy in our ranks under Cloughie. Wilder also needs to decide how best to deploy Fleck and seemingly needs a bit longer before accepting Basham is not a great option in the middle. Overall though, the current midfield looks no worse than what we had in 14/15 - even without the 'enforcer' some of us wanted.


Up front comparisons are striking with Wilder's boys looking far stronger than Cloughie’s cluster. Wilder should have Done around, barring injury, for a full season, as opposed to 12 games in 2015. Then, Billy and Leon versus McNulty, Davies and a bit of Baxter is surely no contest.


Hard to believe we spent most of a full season without a settled central defensive or strike force…………..and still, somehow, managed to finish 5th!


All things considered, if I had to choose between the two squads, I’d take the current one, despite the unknowns and the damaging loss of Murphy.


Another point to bear in mind is the misleading nature of the league table at this stage in proceedings. After 5 games, last year, ultimate Champs, Wigan were 11th on 7 points, Millwall were 19th on 4 points and The Blades were riding high in 2nd place.

If like me, you believe the current squad is stronger, then it comes down to Wilder v Clough, the strength of the opposition and injuries. We can't predict the latter two, but If Wilder has as much, or more, in his managerial locker as Cloughie had, then surely there is a strong possibility of improving on our 5th place in 2015.


In which case, the current 12/1 to finish top or 7/2 to win promotion doesn’t look too shabby.


And, for what it’s worth, I voted 3rd behind Charlton and MK.
Click to expand...

Interesting comparison. Here's my comparison with the team from last season which I posted in another thread... I think the starting 11 is undeniably stronger but plenty of other things will determine whether we make real progress or not.



I'll go through the respective starting line ups and compare strength, being as fair and realistic as possible on who I include from last season's team and predicting this season's most frequent starters as well as I can, with my best guess regarding certain players' ability and likely contribution. Nothing to do with future potential either, it's based on what they can offer now.


GK: Long / Moore - Moore - STRONGER
RB: Brayford / Freeman - EQUAL
CB: Edgar / Ebanks-Landell - Ebanks-Landell - STRONGER
CB: Collins / O'Connell - EQUAL
LB: McEveley / Lafferty - Lafferty - STRONGER
RM: Flynn / Duffy - Duffy - STRONGER
CM: Hammond / Fleck/Coutts - Fleck/Coutts - STRONGER
CM: Basham / Basham - EQUAL
LM: Done / Lavery - STRONGER
CF: Sharp / Sharp - EQUAL
CF: Adams / Clarke - EQUAL

Stronger in 6 positions, equal in the other 5. Arguable obviously.

The one area we're weaker if you include everyone from last season is CB, we haven't got anyone as good as Baptiste. But he was a bonus signing and never a realistic possibility to sign again.

So if our first 11 is stronger and we have a manager who knows what he's doing then you'd expect us to improve on last season.

What might make it difficult is the smaller squad and the large number of new players who need to settle in and gel, and all the players getting used to a more intense style of play. I also think we still haven't got the options that suit any formation perfectly, and we're lacking in midfield.
 



8th, an improvement on last season, Wilder to be given a 2nd season in the basis that it is.
 
In general I'm an optimist..I find it hard not to get carried away and predict a top 2 finish,but head over heart I've managed to come up with 4th...I still think we need a goal scoring attacking Central Midfielder,we should get goals from the strikers and wide players..no doubt the defenders will chip in,but our central midfield does lack goals,and it remains to be seen how long it takes for us to gel together..how long will it take to establish and gel the main Centre Back pairing for instance.
I do think CW will get it right,and if that happens sooner rather than later,I wouldn't rule out a top 2 finish,but it's still a bit early to gauge things for me.
 
As always,forget how good /bad you think we are, name the teams that will finish in front of us, we may have a team that you do not rate, fair enough but which 6 teams are better than us at this moment
 
Boxer Blade said:
As always,forget how good /bad you think we are, name the teams that will finish in front of us, we may have a team that you do not rate, fair enough but which 6 teams are better than us at this moment
Click to expand...

That's quite an easy one:

Bolton
Millwall
Charlton
MK Dons
Bradford
Peterborough

Then there's Scunthorpe and no doubt one or two others who'll overachieve. Hence my prediction of 9th.
 
Boxer Blade said:
As always,forget how good /bad you think we are, name the teams that will finish in front of us, we may have a team that you do not rate, fair enough but which 6 teams are better than us at this moment
Click to expand...
MK Dons
Millwall
Scunthorpe
Peterborough
Charlton
Bolton

There's your 6 teams I think are very very likely to finish above us.
 
Ricky said:
That's quite an easy one:

Bolton
Millwall
Charlton
MK Dons
Bradford
Peterborough

Then there's Scunthorpe and no doubt one or two others who'll overachieve. Hence my prediction of 9th.
Click to expand...
Snap. Save for Bradford, went for Scunny instead.
 
Gone for 10th. Think our failure to sign a commanding centre half and a midfield replacement better than Coutts or Basham will cost us the chance to mount a serious challenge for the playoffs.
 
Interesting, I wasn't meaning to be clever, i was interested in knowing and two of you were very similar, I wont remember but will one of you remind me in may!
 
The Bohemian said:
I’m still trying to pretend last season didn’t happen, so to assess our current squad’s prospects I’ve gone back to Cloughie’s 2014/15 squad, which finished 5th, and listed all the players who made 10 or more appearances during that season, with the current squad listed alongside. This comparison has added credence given half the team we can expect to start tomorrow remain from the Clough era.


2014/15………………………….2016/17


Howard (35)…………………....Moore


Def

Harris (35)……………………...Lafferty

Basham (35)…………………..Wilson

McEveley (31)…………………Ebanks-Landell

Brayford (22)…………………..Freeman

Alcock (17)……………………..O’Connell

McGahey (11)……………..…..Wright

Freeman (13)………………….

Kennedy (10)

McCarthy (10)


Mid

Murphy (41)……………………...Lavery

Doyle (35)………………………..Fleck

Scougall (20)…………………….Scougall

Coutts (19)……………………….Coutts

Flynn (18)……………………..….Duffy

JCR (14)………………………….Chapman

Reed (10)…………………………Basham

Baxter (28)


Str

Done (12)……………….…….Done

McNulty (11)………………….Sharp

Davies S (10)…………………Clarke



Going through each list, player-by-player, is nothing more than a personal opinion and would take too long, so I’ll stick to general themes.


Early days for Moore, our new Goalie, but first impressions are positive and he arrives with a strong reputation, so I expect an improvement in a critical position.


Defence is more challenging to assess because, with the exception of Freeman, all our defenders are new. My expectation is we’ll be stronger. On first look Brayford and Harris look to have the edge on current full-back options, but let’s not forget, Brayford played a chunk of 2014/15 at centre half with Alcock filling in at right back. We will surely be stronger at centre half given Cloughie’s decision to ignore the gaping hole in the middle of our back line for a whole season.


Midfield is trickier given we had the mercurial Murphy in our ranks under Cloughie. Wilder also needs to decide how best to deploy Fleck and seemingly needs a bit longer before accepting Basham is not a great option in the middle. Overall though, the current midfield looks no worse than what we had in 14/15 - even without the 'enforcer' some of us wanted.


Up front comparisons are striking with Wilder's boys looking far stronger than Cloughie’s cluster. Wilder should have Done around, barring injury, for a full season, as opposed to 12 games in 2015. Then, Billy and Leon versus McNulty, Davies and a bit of Baxter is surely no contest.


Hard to believe we spent most of a full season without a settled central defensive or strike force…………..and still, somehow, managed to finish 5th!


All things considered, if I had to choose between the two squads, I’d take the current one, despite the unknowns and the damaging loss of Murphy.


Another point to bear in mind is the misleading nature of the league table at this stage in proceedings. After 5 games, last year, ultimate Champs, Wigan were 11th on 7 points, Millwall were 19th on 4 points and The Blades were riding high in 2nd place.

If like me, you believe the current squad is stronger, then it comes down to Wilder v Clough, the strength of the opposition and injuries. We can't predict the latter two, but If Wilder has as much, or more, in his managerial locker as Cloughie had, then surely there is a strong possibility of improving on our 5th place in 2015.


In which case, the current 12/1 to finish top or 7/2 to win promotion doesn’t look too shabby.


And, for what it’s worth, I voted 3rd behind Charlton and MK.
Click to expand...

I voted 5th based on very similar logic to this.
I suppose the flaw in this thinking is even we improve and overall the division is stronger we won't do better. And to be toally honest, I have no idea if the division is stronger or weaker than last year
Current only 160/170 people have voted and I'm not sure how many more will. In total I wonder how many active users post on this site. I wonder if Foxy or Linz can advise.
 
We'll be top, 57 years of looking on the bright side, keep your glass half full or whatever you need to keep the optimism flowing but for me I'll always keep the faith. Been let down a few times but for me I will forever be the optimist. Why would I keep turning up if not?
 
The Bohemian said:
I’m still trying to pretend last season didn’t happen, so to assess our current squad’s prospects I’ve gone back to Cloughie’s 2014/15 squad, which finished 5th, and listed all the players who made 10 or more appearances during that season, with the current squad listed alongside. This comparison has added credence given half the team we can expect to start tomorrow remain from the Clough era.


2014/15………………………….2016/17


Howard (35)…………………....Moore


Def

Harris (35)……………………...Lafferty

Basham (35)…………………..Wilson

McEveley (31)…………………Ebanks-Landell

Brayford (22)…………………..Freeman

Alcock (17)……………………..O’Connell

McGahey (11)……………..…..Wright

Freeman (13)………………….

Kennedy (10)

McCarthy (10)


Mid

Murphy (41)……………………...Lavery

Doyle (35)………………………..Fleck

Scougall (20)…………………….Scougall

Coutts (19)……………………….Coutts

Flynn (18)……………………..….Duffy

JCR (14)………………………….Chapman

Reed (10)…………………………Basham

Baxter (28)


Str

Done (12)……………….…….Done

McNulty (11)………………….Sharp

Davies S (10)…………………Clarke



Going through each list, player-by-player, is nothing more than a personal opinion and would take too long, so I’ll stick to general themes.


Early days for Moore, our new Goalie, but first impressions are positive and he arrives with a strong reputation, so I expect an improvement in a critical position.


Defence is more challenging to assess because, with the exception of Freeman, all our defenders are new. My expectation is we’ll be stronger. On first look Brayford and Harris look to have the edge on current full-back options, but let’s not forget, Brayford played a chunk of 2014/15 at centre half with Alcock filling in at right back. We will surely be stronger at centre half given Cloughie’s decision to ignore the gaping hole in the middle of our back line for a whole season.


Midfield is trickier given we had the mercurial Murphy in our ranks under Cloughie. Wilder also needs to decide how best to deploy Fleck and seemingly needs a bit longer before accepting Basham is not a great option in the middle. Overall though, the current midfield looks no worse than what we had in 14/15 - even without the 'enforcer' some of us wanted.


Up front comparisons are striking with Wilder's boys looking far stronger than Cloughie’s cluster. Wilder should have Done around, barring injury, for a full season, as opposed to 12 games in 2015. Then, Billy and Leon versus McNulty, Davies and a bit of Baxter is surely no contest.


Hard to believe we spent most of a full season without a settled central defensive or strike force…………..and still, somehow, managed to finish 5th!


All things considered, if I had to choose between the two squads, I’d take the current one, despite the unknowns and the damaging loss of Murphy.


Another point to bear in mind is the misleading nature of the league table at this stage in proceedings. After 5 games, last year, ultimate Champs, Wigan were 11th on 7 points, Millwall were 19th on 4 points and The Blades were riding high in 2nd place.

If like me, you believe the current squad is stronger, then it comes down to Wilder v Clough, the strength of the opposition and injuries. We can't predict the latter two, but If Wilder has as much, or more, in his managerial locker as Cloughie had, then surely there is a strong possibility of improving on our 5th place in 2015.


In which case, the current 12/1 to finish top or 7/2 to win promotion doesn’t look too shabby.


And, for what it’s worth, I voted 3rd behind Charlton and MK.
Click to expand...

The best post I have read on here this season so far. Actually setting out man for man why we should be positive about things instead of the usual cycle of slating the signings that we have made and lamenting over those that we haven't.

I am not completely satisfied with this squad, but by Christ it is better than many on here seem to think.
 
I do wonder where the goals will come from - at best our strikers should get 35-40.

Where do folk think the other 40 goals will come from?

*aimed at those who said top 6
 
8th for me. Wilder to stop the bleeding. Daft as it sounds,I think his hard work starts next season.
 
7th still the average expectation after around 190 votes. Should get a really good sample size here.
 



Ricky said:
7th still the average expectation after around 190 votes. Should get a really good sample size here.
Click to expand...

Nice easy following this one Ricky and does have some logic to it .

For what it's worth I have gone for 9th , only for the reason I know that is the worst case senorio .

With a complete new squad of unknowns , we actually could finish anywhere between 1 and 12 , although outside the play offs does seem more realistic .

Wilder will have the same thoughts as the fans on this one . If his player purchases are spot on and his management skills good , we can expect a roller coaster ride and successful season .

He ain't come here to be second best , build for the future shite .

The main thing we all pull together and at least I cannot see it being boring following the blades this season.

Yep , boat load of doom and gloomers knocking all things Blades , but there you go . Been let down so many times it's a bit like mental torture .

Good sample . In for a bonus ball this season , hope so .

Cheers UTB
 
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