fuchsntf Posted 26 July 2023 Posted 26 July 2023 2 minutes ago, Samilktray said: An Ipswich town team with George Hirst spearheading the attack will simply not finish 5th next season No but 3rd, with Hirst scoring 18 goals, and the tractors wife 20..Then not surprisingly Foxestalk going into meltdown demanding to know why we sold him..
RowlattsFox Posted 26 July 2023 Posted 26 July 2023 People always predict a newly promoted to do well, this year its Ipswich. Not seen much of Middlesboro's summer recruitment but weren't most of their best players on loan last season? Sunderland look a decent bet to do well, alongside the relegated sides. As always though, it will be a much of muchness for most of the league and all about timing good runs of form. QPR were diabolical under Ainsworth so can see why they are being predicted to struggle. Rotherham will always be down there, thought Cardiff might struggle but made some ok signings. I have a feeling Swansea might struggle too.
Guest Bilo Posted 26 July 2023 Posted 26 July 2023 Ipswich's prediction seems optimistic to me too. For all the love McKenna is getting, they didn't win League One last season, Plymouth did. And they did it on much smaller resources than those available to Ipswich. Whichever striker we keep out of Daka and Nacho will score more than Hirst. Cardiff's prediction seems pessimistic, as does Plymouth's. I suspect Wednesday might struggle next season given they needed an absolute freak performance to make the play-off final. I can see us making automatic, but we need some creative players to make it happen. The keepers and defence look good, KDH and Winks should be too good for most in this division and our striking options, should they stay, could score for fun if fed by decent attacking mids and wingers.
Guest Bilo Posted 26 July 2023 Posted 26 July 2023 1 hour ago, RowlattsFox said: People always predict a newly promoted to do well, this year its Ipswich. Not seen much of Middlesboro's summer recruitment but weren't most of their best players on loan last season? Sunderland look a decent bet to do well, alongside the relegated sides. As always though, it will be a much of muchness for most of the league and all about timing good runs of form. QPR were diabolical under Ainsworth so can see why they are being predicted to struggle. Rotherham will always be down there, thought Cardiff might struggle but made some ok signings. I have a feeling Swansea might struggle too. They will if Piroe goes. There is, however, a lot of crap in this division. Any three of around 10 sides could conceivably drop.
Les-TA-Jon Posted 26 July 2023 Posted 26 July 2023 All of these Leicester to win/get automatic promotion predictions - both here and elsewhere - read as pretty mindless to me. It just smacks of lazy takes of "Pep lookalike + £80m to spend = promotion" Whilst we easily could do well and should of course be targeting promotion, I just don't know what these predictions are based on otherwise. We've a manager that's totally unproven, who is trying to preside over a massive rebuild and a total cultural reset. We've still got no wingers, no attacking midfielders and with potential comings and goings not enough forwards too. Where are the goals going to come from? Of course (we hope) we'll sign replacements - but this is the same club/system that has messed up with signings for the last 2 years - so until the proof is in the pudding, all those replacements could easily not be good enough. We've had a disrupted/short pre-season, and we were already behind the rest of the division in terms of prep. It's a lot of change all at once and until the window closes the squad will be very disrupted and we'll still have a ton of players who don't want to be here/the club wants to sell. I can only imagine we'll have a slow start. 1
filbertway Posted 26 July 2023 Posted 26 July 2023 I think the predictions are based on having competent people running the club. Like you say, with the base we have, the coach we have and the money we're gonna be spending. Minimum target should be top 4 with expectations of top 2. Our most creative player at the minute is our injury prone right back. 1
Paninistickers Posted 26 July 2023 Posted 26 July 2023 2 hours ago, Golden Fox said: My boss is an Ipswich season ticket holder. They are well coached and play good football - but they are very fit. He said last year a lot of games were close for the first half and into the second, but Ipswich ran away in the last 20 minutes as they were fitter. Some of this may have been the opponents worn down chasing the ball, but he saw that as one of the biggest factors that set them apart. You would be disappointed if the teams in the Championship weren't a step up in terms of fitness on League One teams, so if you take away one of Ipswich's key differentiators, they are likely to find the going a lot tougher. It's my key worry for us. Of all the tactics and formations and ball playing keeper and rebuild.... Last season we were appallingly conditioned. If we get the conditioning right, we should walk this. Even Castagne, a guy universally known for his engine, was unfit last season. 2
CosbehFox Posted 26 July 2023 Posted 26 July 2023 Blackburn being that high is plain wrong given the news of financial issues 1
Guest Bilo Posted 26 July 2023 Posted 26 July 2023 It might seem optimistic to us, but FoxesTalk can hardly be described as a beacon of glass-half-full mentality. Perhaps understandably so given the mess that the club have made of the past two years. However, if Southampton or Leeds had just banked £80m for their two best players, appointed a highly rated coach with top notch contacts and a record of exceptional development of young players, signed two experienced Premier League players in midfield and defence, one of the best young CBs in the league last season and a young and exciting GK and retained a decent chunk of their squad, we'd probably be enviously talking about them being a couple of signings away from threatening Reading's record. That's pretty much how neutrals view us right now. If we get some creative mids in, we could emulate what Burnley did last season.
Bluearmyfox28 Posted 27 July 2023 Posted 27 July 2023 12 hours ago, Bilo said: It might seem optimistic to us, but FoxesTalk can hardly be described as a beacon of glass-half-full mentality. Perhaps understandably so given the mess that the club have made of the past two years. However, if Southampton or Leeds had just banked £80m for their two best players, appointed a highly rated coach with top notch contacts and a record of exceptional development of young players, signed two experienced Premier League players in midfield and defence, one of the best young CBs in the league last season and a young and exciting GK and retained a decent chunk of their squad, we'd probably be enviously talking about them being a couple of signings away from threatening Reading's record. That's pretty much how neutrals view us right now. If we get some creative mids in, we could emulate what Burnley did last season. Honestly for me with it being a new style and philosophy come Christmas as long as we are top 10 and a few points off automatic promotion then I’ll be okay with that on the basis that after Christmas it all clicks and work through the league. 1
glebe_sydneyfox Posted 27 July 2023 Posted 27 July 2023 (edited) https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66241181 By Adam Hancock BBC News, Singapore For almost a quarter of a century Indonesian football fan Bagas Wira Paksi has watched the fortunes of his favourite club wax and wane from thousands of kilometres away. But this weekend, he hopes to finally cheer his team on in person when Leicester City play Liverpool in Singapore. "I've supported Leicester from 1999 during the Martin O'Neill era," Mr Bagas tells the BBC. "When we won [the Premier League] in 2016 there was quite a big, growing fanbase. So many started to support them but right now it's not so big," he adds. Tours of the region are a standard off-season feature for top-flight teams. Along with Leicester and Liverpool, the Singapore Festival of Football will host Tottenham Hotspur and Germany's Bayern Munich. However Leicester's first game, due to take place last Saturday in Bangkok, was cancelled due to heavy rain. This somewhat inauspicious start to the trip comes at a challenging time for the East Midlands club. In mid-May, when they announced plans to visit the region, they still had a seat at the top table of English football, and the income that comes with it. But less than a fortnight later they had dramatically dropped out of the English Premier League (EPL) and into the Championship. Next season, the club will be heading to the likes of Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion as they face up to life in English football's second tier. It is a painful transition for the club's fans and its balance sheet, with lucrative TV revenue gone and only the so-called parachute payments to soften the blow. Parachute payments are a series of payments the Premier League makes to relegated clubs, for up to three years, to help them adapt to reduced revenues in the Championship - not to mention significantly less TV revenue. "You're effectively looking at a £60m ($77m) reduction in revenue overnight", explains Dan Plumley, a senior lecturer in sport finance at Sheffield Hallam University. The club's relegation comes after a remarkable 13-year period under the ownership of Thai duty free giant King Power. Leicester made history in 2016 when they pulled off one of the greatest shocks in football history by winning the EPL. But they suffered tragedy just two years later when club chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was killed in a helicopter crash. "We are so thankful for what the Thai owners did because of the position we were in when they took over - we were still in the Championship," Mr Bagas says. "They came in with low expectations from us, but it turned out to be the best years for us fans." IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Leicester City's James Maddison during the final match of last season Leicester came under Thai ownership in 2010, when it was bought by King Power for £39m from American businessman Milan Mandarić. "If you look at Leicester's position at that time you can see they were well positioned for some investment", Mr Plumley says. "Milan Mandarić had got a reputation for building up football clubs and running them very sustainably, not throwing lots of money at them and making them a good opportunity for a takeover," he adds. The rise of the team under the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha began with significant investment. The new owners cleared the club of £103m of debt in 2013 and also upgraded its ground, renaming it King Power Stadium. A series of shrewd transfers helped Leicester, ranked 5000-1 outsiders, to stun the world of football by winning the Premier League. That title secured entry to the Champions League, and with it €49.1m (£42m; $54m) in TV rights alone for their European campaign. The club earnt a total of €81.7m once prize money and bonuses were included. European football helped Leicester to post pre-tax profits of £92.5m for the financial year up to the end of May 2017. But in 2018, the death of Srivaddhanaprabha devastated the club. His son Aiyawatt, formerly the club's vice-chairman, took control of Leicester. "You will naturally see a change in the way the club operates. Because even in a family situation, no two people in the family are the same and operate in the same way. "I think that was always going to have an impact, but it's unfair to suggest that's the overall problem here", Mr Plumley says. In 2020, football, along with much of the world, came to a standstill as the coronavirus pandemic struck. "Covid hit the owners hard. Their duty free business was brought to a halt, so the purse strings at the club had to be tightened," explains BBC Sport football reporter Shamoon Hafez. Leicester reported a pre-tax loss of £67.3m for the financial year up to the end of May 2020, as the impact of Covid began to bite. "Leicester's wages to turnover ratio has been averaging 85 to 90 percent over the last couple of seasons and that's a warning sign straight away, because that's pretty much all of your income going on wages," Mr Plumley says. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, success continued for Leicester as they claimed the FA Cup for the first time ever in 2021. But the club's previously successful transfer activity began to unravel the following summer. "They splurged on new signings including Patson Daka, Boubakary Soumare and Jannik Vestergaard, with all three struggling for a regular place in the first team," says Mr Hafez. On the pitch, Leicester continued to find form, with an eighth place finish in the Premier League and a run to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League in 2022. But just twelve months later, they were relegated. "Problems were brewing in pre-season when manager Brendan Rodgers was not given the funds to sign new players," Mr Hafez says. IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Leicester City's King Power Stadium Leicester fans have also questioned the commitment of their players last season, many of whom were in the final year of their contract. "Last year we felt the players lost some motivation. They've already won everything except a European cup", says Mr Bagas. King Power declined comment when approached by the BBC. Following Leicester's relegation, its chairman released a statement pledging that the club "will come together and fight to return to the Premier League". In February this year, he also cleared another £194m of Leicester's debt. However, as fans of many relegated teams know, securing promotion back into the Premier League is no easy task. Mr Bagas though remains upbeat about Leicester's future and believes that the club's Thai owners can steer them back to the top tier of English football. "We are still confident that we can bounce back to the Premier league this season. "The interest from the owner is still there, how they talk, how they cope with the pressure and how they cope with the fans. It's just a blip". Edited 27 July 2023 by glebe_sydneyfox 2
Happy Fox Posted 31 July 2023 Posted 31 July 2023 New boss, new players and one wily old fox – how Leicester are preparing for the Championship (inews.co.uk) New boss, new players and one wily old fox – how Leicester are preparing for the Championship The Foxes are undergoing an overdue rebuild as they bid to return to the Premier League at the first attempt following shock relegation Coady, Maresca and Winks are just some of the new faces at the KP this season (Photo: Getty) By Oliver Young-Myles Sports Journalist July 31, 2023 11:00 am(Updated 11:24 am) After nine consecutive seasons at the top table, a spell that included historic Premier League and FA Cup titles and famous European nights at the King Power, Leicester succumbed to a shock – and entirely avoidable – relegation two months ago. Even despite a difficult 2022 summer in which not enough players were signed and not enough were sold, nobody could have anticipated their dramatic descent. Leicester posted top-half finishes in six of their last seven seasons, including five in a row, before slumping to 18th in 2022-23; a 10-place plummet from the previous year. A club whose recent history is defined by miraculous overachievement suddenly became swallowed up by its own costly mistakes. After the death knell to Leicester’s slow procession to the Championship was sounded at Goodison Park, supporters’ thoughts began to turn to an uncertain future. A natural by-product of relegation is regeneration and at Leicester, a squad that had become overly familiar has undergone a necessary refresh. James Maddison and Harvey Barnes have departed for a combined £79m to Tottenham and Newcastle respectively, while a batch of players that the club should have got rid of 12-18 months ago have left at the end of their contracts. Youri Tielemans has gone to Aston Villa, the top six’s newest gatecrashers; Caglar Soyuncu to Atletico Madrid; Daniel Amartey to Besiktas; Ayoze Perez to Real Betis; Jonny Evans to [checks notes] Manchester United; Nampalys Mendy and Ryan Bertrand to the free agency list. Others will probably follow. Kelechi Iheanacho has been linked with Everton, Timothy Castagne is reportedly on Fulham’s watchlist, and Wilfred Ndidi is rumoured to be a Nottingham Forest target. Danny Ward hasn’t played a minute of pre-season. It is telling of last season’s misery that, Maddison and Barnes aside, not many of the summer leavers will be sorely missed. Even Tielemans, the scorer of the second most significant goal in Leicester’s history in the 2021 FA Cup final – behind Eden Hazard’s strike for Chelsea against Spurs that handed the Foxes the title in May 2016 – left under a cloud. Amid the swirling seas of change, there is at least one constant looking to steer the club back to calmer waters. Jamie Vardy, a veteran of Leicester’s last promotion-winning campaign in 2014, and at 36 years old a sporting veteran too, looks as though he’s sticking around after rejecting overtures from Saudi Arabia. Judging by his three league goals last season, Vardy’s time at the top has sailed, but clearly given his Saudi decision, there is fight in the wily old fox yet. The volume of incomings hasn’t yet matched the outgoings, but Leicester have nonetheless begun reshaping a new squad to play a new style of football under a new manager, the former Manchester City assistant Enzo Maresca. The Premier League-proven pair of Harry Winks and Conor Coady have arrived, along with highly-rated Manchester City defender Callum Doyle and (at last) a new first-choice goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen from Brondby. Ex-Arsenal youngster Stephy Mavididi, a forward who can play wide or through the middle, is tipped to join from Montpellier and plug the gap left by Barnes, and others will follow before the transfer window closes on 1 September. There is plenty more for Leicester to do in the transfer market, but Maresca has made an impression on his new players with his vision for how he wants the team to play. “It’s new for everyone and not just for me, in terms of what he is bringing. It is a possession-based way of doing things,” Coady, whose flexibility will come in handy, said. “It is important we all see what he wants us to do because his ideas are brilliant. The first few weeks have been full of information.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Italian has leant upon the tactical grounding he learned at the highly-acclaimed School of Pep, with Leicester adopting a back four out of possession, but reverting to a three-man defence when on the attack with the more offensive-minded full-back pushing forward in their warm-up games. Leicester’s summer transfer business Ins: Harry Winks (£10m from Spurs), Conor Coady (£7.5m from Wolves), Mads Hermansen (£6m from Brondby), Callum Doyle (loan to Man City) Outs: James Maddison (£40m to Spurs), Harvey Barnes (£39m to Newcastle), George Hirst (£1.5m to Ipswich), Youri Tielemans (free to Aston Villa), Caglar Soyuncu (free to Atletico Madrid), Daniel Amartey (free to Besiktas), Ayoze Perez (free to Real Betis), Jonny Evans (free to Man Utd), Nampalys Mendy (free), Ryan Bertrand (free) “The idea is to try to play in one way, the way we want, but it will require time,” Maresca said when asked whether Leicester would attempt to become the Man City of the second-tier. “Hopefully we can achieve it as soon as possible.” A consequence both of relegation and an exodus of first-team talent is that greater opportunities for young players can emerge. Wanya Marcal-Madivadua, a 20-year-old Portuguese winger, is the leading contender to become the club’s breakthrough act of 2023 after catching the eye during pre-season. Left-back Luke Thomas will be buoyed by being a part of England U21s’ Euro success after a difficult campaign at club level. Despite this summer’s upheaval, Leicester are regarded as the favourites to win the Championship and evens to achieve promotion via any method, according to some bookmakers. That status brings a different type of pressure to what was experienced when they were battling for survival. Divisional rivals will see Leicester as a scalp. “Every team will want to come to our stadium and take points as probably for them we are the most important team in the Championship,” Maresca acknowledged. “I experienced this at City. Every team were trying desperately to get points from us as the best team in the Premier League. The same will happen with us and we have to be ready.” With uncertainty surrounding who could stay, who could go and who could arrive, it remains to be seen how ready a new-look Leicester are to embark on their unforeseen new era. An opening game against beaten play-off finalists Coventry City is a tricky first test, albeit one that will be taken at home. Suggesting that relegation can be a positive thing for a club is a luxury reserved for fans of other teams. Try telling Leicester fans or the club’s owner Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha that demotion was anything other than a sporting and financial disaster. But it was evident that a changing of the guard was required. After years of punching above their weight, Leicester eventually punched themselves out. The good times were fun while they lasted. Now a new era begins. 1
CosbehFox Posted 31 July 2023 Posted 31 July 2023 Racing Post, often I find quite decent in their season preview have us down as Champions. Boro 2nd. Worth its £4.50 IMO as their value bets are normally very good
StanSP Posted 31 July 2023 Posted 31 July 2023 15 minutes ago, MrsJohnMurphy said: Supercomputer has spoken..... Surprised Swansea are so high. Guess it drops considerably if Piroe leaves before deadline.
Sly Posted 31 July 2023 Posted 31 July 2023 1 hour ago, MrsJohnMurphy said: Supercomputer has spoken..... This supercomputer will dedicated we’d be a Premier League team!
davieG Posted 1 August 2023 Author Posted 1 August 2023 https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/nigel-pearson-fires-leicester-city-8644319 Nigel Pearson fires Leicester City and Leeds warning as he makes Championship prediction The Bristol City manager has given his thoughts on the upcoming Championship campaign and on the differences Leicester, Leeds, and Southampton need to be aware of Bookmark Comments SPORT ByJordan Blackwell Leicester City and their fellow relegated clubs will not be able to run away with the Championship like Burnley did last season, former manager Nigel Pearson believes. City are title favourites after dropping into the second tier and the sides that joined them in falling out of the Premier League, Leeds and Southampton, are also expected to challenge at the top. However, Bristol City boss Pearson feels the division as a whole is stronger this term, and so there will be more sides capable of taking points off the promotion chasers. Last season, Burnley won the title with 101 points, losing just three times and finishing 21 points above third. Pearson, who will manage at the King Power Stadium for the first time since leaving City nine years ago when he brings his Robins to Leicester in September, also warned his old club that they will be targeted by the other sides in the division. “When you come down from the Premier League, one of the things you’ve got to be aware of is you are a scalp,” Pearson told BBC Radio Bristol. “We know they’ll have decent squads and there will be a level of expectation on them to bounce back. “I’m not suggesting they’re not able to do that, what I am suggesting is that this season there is a possibility that more sides will be able to take points off more clubs. What I mean by that is I can’t necessarily see a Burnley and Sheffield United situation where there was quite a bit of distance between us. “Of course, it could happen but I think there are a lot of clubs that are expecting more from themselves this season. All three clubs that came up from League One potentially could have good seasons themselves. There’s never any straightforward predictions.” Bristol City are one of only five teams in the Championship that have not played in the Premier League since the advent of the division in 1992. Pearson is going into his third full season with the Robins, finishing 17th in his first year and 14th last term.
Finnegan Posted 1 August 2023 Posted 1 August 2023 On 26/07/2023 at 11:41, Bilo said: Whichever centre back we keep out of Vestergaard and Souttar will score more than Hirst. FTFY
SouthStandUpperTier Posted 1 August 2023 Posted 1 August 2023 This article doesn't appear to take into account any % drop in wages due to relegation, but I can well believe that we currently have 7 of the top 10 highest paid players in the Championship. https://www.planetfootball.com/quick-reads/championship-wages-highest-paid-players-2023-24-leeds-leicester-southampton/
Dan Posted 2 August 2023 Posted 2 August 2023 On 31/07/2023 at 16:52, CosbehFox said: Racing Post, often I find quite decent in their season preview have us down as Champions. Boro 2nd. Worth its £4.50 IMO as their value bets are normally very good What they said this year?
fox_favourite Posted 2 August 2023 Posted 2 August 2023 18 hours ago, davieG said: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/nigel-pearson-fires-leicester-city-8644319 Nigel Pearson fires Leicester City and Leeds warning as he makes Championship prediction The Bristol City manager has given his thoughts on the upcoming Championship campaign and on the differences Leicester, Leeds, and Southampton need to be aware of Bookmark Comments SPORT ByJordan Blackwell Leicester City and their fellow relegated clubs will not be able to run away with the Championship like Burnley did last season, former manager Nigel Pearson believes. City are title favourites after dropping into the second tier and the sides that joined them in falling out of the Premier League, Leeds and Southampton, are also expected to challenge at the top. However, Bristol City boss Pearson feels the division as a whole is stronger this term, and so there will be more sides capable of taking points off the promotion chasers. Last season, Burnley won the title with 101 points, losing just three times and finishing 21 points above third. Pearson, who will manage at the King Power Stadium for the first time since leaving City nine years ago when he brings his Robins to Leicester in September, also warned his old club that they will be targeted by the other sides in the division. “When you come down from the Premier League, one of the things you’ve got to be aware of is you are a scalp,” Pearson told BBC Radio Bristol. “We know they’ll have decent squads and there will be a level of expectation on them to bounce back. “I’m not suggesting they’re not able to do that, what I am suggesting is that this season there is a possibility that more sides will be able to take points off more clubs. What I mean by that is I can’t necessarily see a Burnley and Sheffield United situation where there was quite a bit of distance between us. “Of course, it could happen but I think there are a lot of clubs that are expecting more from themselves this season. All three clubs that came up from League One potentially could have good seasons themselves. There’s never any straightforward predictions.” Bristol City are one of only five teams in the Championship that have not played in the Premier League since the advent of the division in 1992. Pearson is going into his third full season with the Robins, finishing 17th in his first year and 14th last term. Of course he's right, it's Nige. But I do agree that the championship seems stronger this season. It's not going to be an easy season, I feel we will have to tough it out. I'm still convinced our pre-season will bit us on the bum as well. Not enough games. A new manager, new system needs came time to adjust, and I dont think we've had enough of that. But we'll see
Lillehamring Posted 2 August 2023 Posted 2 August 2023 From the Athletic: EFL roundtable: Maresca to lift Leicester, QPR worries, Wrexham’s return, Valentine’s Day at Millwall Nancy Froston and more Aug 2, 2023 35 Brace yourselves for chaos — the EFL returns on Friday as the 46-game slog starts for the 72 teams who shout to be heard in a Premier League-dominated world. While Manchester City look set to rule over the top flight again (boring), picking winners of the Championship and Leagues One and Two looks a thankless task. Just look at the answers our experts have given below. There is also a team from north Wales with famous owners returning to the EFL after 15 years in the fifth tier. Will money talk for Wrexham again? Let the fun begin… Who will be promoted from the Championship? Nancy Froston: Middlesbrough, Leeds United and Leicester City – but I have some doubts about the latter. It does not feel like any of the three relegated Premier League clubs are in the healthiest place, although their strengths should be enough to see them compete. They might be shocked by the overall strength of the Championship this season. Boro were the most convincing side who missed out last year and should be an interesting watch. Phil Buckingham: Norwich City and Watford last year are examples of how teams can struggle when they drop from the top flight, but it would be a surprise not to see Leicester go straight back up after their ambitious summer recruitment. I’m less convinced by Leeds and Southampton, but they ought to be top six given their squad strength. I’ll say Leicester for the title, with Middlesbrough and Leeds following them up. Richard Sutcliffe: The three relegated clubs will be hard to ignore, even if Leeds’ business seems to have been mainly loaning out players. I’d expect all three to finish in the top six but only Leicester seem nailed on to bounce straight back. Middlesbrough to join Leicester in the top two, with Stoke City a good outside bet to go up via the play-offs. Richard Amofa: Leicester to go straight up because they have recruited shrewdly to add to the quality they have. Leeds should join them, too, because although they have had a few notable departures, they have a manager in Daniel Farke who has previous experience in getting sides out of the division. Middlesbrough will be my third pick after their improvement under Michael Carrick last season. Duncan Alexander: So, Leicester were not too good to go down from the Premier League and they’ve since sold James Maddison and Harvey Barnes and watched Youri Tielemans depart on a free. But they have signed Harry Winks — someone who has given Real Madrid the runaround in living memory — and have a new, tactically elite manager in Enzo Maresca with experience of working with Pep Guardiola, something that worked for Burnley last season. I am less convinced about the recovery vibes of Southampton and Leeds, though, so will go for the traditional choice of Middlesbrough as one of the other two, along with a shout for Sunderland who feel like a club that make progress every season these days. Maresca will be expected to deliver promotion at Leicester (Photo: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images) Michael Bailey: It’s not so much about the changes to squads but how they are managed. Leicester have completed some eye-catching business, despite their sales, and Middlesbrough have a solid platform to build from. Leeds and Southampton should challenge yet neither has a manager in Russell Martin or Daniel Farke who deliver immediate results. I’m going to offer up Sunderland and Stoke as potential surprise packages. Ali Rampling: I’m going to follow the crowd and back Leicester and Middlesbrough for automatic promotion. Leicester have a Burnley feel about them in the way they seem to have recruited smartly after losing important players and with a Pep Guardiola apprentice at the helm. Middlesbrough should still be on a high after their Carrick-inspired run of form from November — if they can cope without last season’s loanees. Sunderland to build on their impressive return to the Championship with promotion through the play-offs.
daddylonglegs Posted 3 August 2023 Posted 3 August 2023 These two sound exactly like 90% of the national press last year telling us we're too good to go down. Talk about us like we're going to win the league at a canter. They also said KDH will be POTY and 'how he's not a PL player is laughable'. Just to prepare you! 1
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