L1 Predictions 2022/23

[Big E]

We need a few more championship level signings to be pushing for promition

[Mantra]

1 hour ago, Big E said:

We need a few more championship level signings to be pushing for promition

Current squad is good enough for it imo

[Wullie]

At this moment,  I'm not sure we have brought in better signings yet in enough areas. We know we were defensively weak in a few matches, but I have faith in IE

[desperado]

Bolton

Ipswich

Sheff Wed

Barnsley

MK Dons

Peterborough

I think this could be our year for automatic promotion from league 1. Don’t think anybody's form was better than ours from Feb onwards. 2 or 3 quality additions to an already talented and settled squad with an ambitious, young, exiting and ruthless manager, means I’m not predicting anyone else to finish above us at this stage.

However that’s very much rose tinted specs as I’m not paying too much attention to what other clubs are doing. Therefore I won’t be having a meltdown if we are play-offs or within touching distance come the end of September.

However if I was offered a play-off final now, I’d take it. 

 

 

 

 

[Biggish Dave]

4 hours ago, Traf said:

Not quite, but going.
Burnley £4m

And Parrott has gone back to Spurs.

Gone now - which is nice. Their best 2 players gone and decent loan player returned. 

Theyll struggle to replace them with a bit of luck

[barrycowdrill]

I definitely think we need another CB. 
 

Iredale / Santos / Jones looks very decent. Iredale is quite clearly the left sided ball player he’s been after. But any long term injuries and the standard clearly drops with Johnstone and Aimson. To get promoted you need to be able to chop and change without too much drop in quality. I think we have that everywhere bar CB. 
 

the 3 we have up top plus Dapo looks lethal but one thing I do think we lack is that next level pace up there. Barkhuizen is clearly the one IE thinks can bring that but if we don’t get him I don’t think he’ll go for someone else for the sake and be happy to start with what we have. 
 

fix those 2 “issues” and it takes us from the top 6 to top 2 or 3

Edited June 26, 2022 by barrycowdrill

[Mantra]

If we don't get 90 points or thereabouts this season I will be surprised.

With or without any further additions. Unless Santos, Jones and Dapo all get ACL injuries in the first month of the season

 

[Traf]

4 hours ago, barrycowdrill said:

I definitely think we need another CB. 
 

Iredale / Santos / Jones looks very decent. Iredale is quite clearly the left sided ball player he’s been after. But any long term injuries and the standard clearly drops with Johnstone and Aimson. To get promoted you need to be able to chop and change without too much drop in quality. I think we have that everywhere bar CB. 
 

the 3 we have up top plus Dapo looks lethal but one thing I do think we lack is that next level pace up there. Barkhuizen is clearly the one IE thinks can bring that but if we don’t get him I don’t think he’ll go for someone else for the sake and be happy to start with what we have. 
 

fix those 2 “issues” and it takes us from the top 6 to top 2 or 3

I agree with pretty much most of that, but I still think there might be more to come from Johnston.

Whilst not particualrly young for a footballer nowadays, he's still only 60-odd games into his career.

[barrycowdrill]

9 minutes ago, Traf said:

I agree with pretty much most of that, but I still think there might be more to come from Johnston.

Whilst not particualrly young for a footballer nowadays, he's still only 60-odd games into his career.

He just needs to calm the fuck down and he’d be sound 

[Dimron]

100 goals

100 points

[Max Cherry]

Derby could do a Wigan or sink ,hard to tell. No points deduction with new owners so could be up there if they have money

Going for Sheff Wed & Ipswich 

Play offs Bolton Peterboro Wycombe Barnsley

MK Dons were good but Twine, Parrot, Darling & couple other loans gone back. Got some good money for Twine though so if sign a couple before kick off might put them in Play offs instead of wycombe

Relegated Forest Green, Exeter, Morecambe & Shrewsbury

[Casino]

Mk are well situated to pick up london loans

I wouldnt rule em out

Lets look again when the season starts but i have mk above sheff wed atm

[Johnnyrotten]

Port Vale, Fleetwood, Exeter, Forest Green to go down.  But last year I would have put my house on Cheltenham and Morecambe going down so the promoted sides might surprise us, and they might have another Alfie May or Cole Stockton that we've hardly heard of.

I expect the top 12 to be made up of MKD, Posh, Oxford, Derby, Ipswich, Bolton, Plymouth, Barnsley, Sheff Wed, Pompey, Wycombe and Charlton.

I don't have a clue what order they will be in, especially after another 2 transfer windows, but I think it will be an exciting season in the top half with several "6 pointers" every week.  There isn't another division where there is such a divide between top and bottom half, a league within a league.

[embankment]

On 25/06/2022 at 17:43, Zico said:

Me neither 

Be up there but didn't see much to make me think they'd win it 

MK Dons assuming they keep that squad together would be a good bet for me

 

MK Don's have strengthened. 1st.

Then in no particular order.

Sheffield 

Bolton

Ipswich 

Wycombe 

Charlton. 

It's going to be tough. 

[Casino]

12 minutes ago, embankment said:

MK Don's have strengthened. 1st.

 

If selling your top scorer is strengthening.....

[Smiley]

3 hours ago, Traf said:

I agree with pretty much most of that, but I still think there might be more to come from Johnston.

Whilst not particualrly young for a footballer nowadays, he's still only 60-odd games into his career.

Isn’t there a photo of him looking bulked up for the coming season - in a muscular sense - not McD’s XXL. I like him, and think he has the makings of a great player.

[Biggish Dave]

6 hours ago, Smiley said:

Isn’t there a photo of him looking bulked up for the coming season - in a muscular sense - not McD’s XXL. I like him, and think he has the makings of a great player.

This

[tomski]

We finish 2nd

[Max Cherry]

11 hours ago, embankment said:

MK Don's have strengthened. 1st.

Then in no particular order.

Sheffield 

Bolton

Ipswich 

Wycombe 

Charlton. 

It's going to be tough. 

Struggling to see how losing your 3 best players inc the League One player of year is strengthening bu they will be up there.

[Woznotwas]

Ipswich and Wednesday are getting tipped to win League 1 by several posters but why?

Ipswich appear to have come into some money and like us, their season got going in January.

However they did not cause us much trouble and faded badly with only 6 points from last 6 games,

not quite as good as our 14 points. Wednesday would be nothing without Barry Bannon and so one

nasty tackle from finishing mid-table. Also, their financial situation remains dodgy at best.

If IE can get us scoring against the shithouse teams and on shitty pitches then look no further than BWFC.

[Mantra]

48 minutes ago, Woznotwas said:

Ipswich and Wednesday are getting tipped to win League 1 by several posters but why?

Ipswich appear to have come into some money and like us, their season got going in January.

However they did not cause us much trouble and faded badly with only 6 points from last 6 games,

not quite as good as our 14 points. Wednesday would be nothing without Barry Bannon and so one

nasty tackle from finishing mid-table. Also, their financial situation remains dodgy at best.

If IE can get us scoring against the shithouse teams and on shitty pitches then look no further than BWFC.

Sheff have brought in Will Vaulks who has been playing in the Champ for a few seasons. Also signed up two of Rotherham's promotion winning players. Darren Moore is a decent manager who will play pragmatic football which is pretty effective in L1. But I agree they are heading towards financial troubles the way they are going.

Ipswich are more similar to us - got a progressive young manager who is eager to prove himself and play a good brand of football. Also signed Ladapo from rotherham's promotion winning team, John-Jules on loan from Arsenal who got promoted with Blackpool and Dominic Ball who has played Championship football with QPR for the last couple seasons.

So in short, they've recruited players who are top end of this division standard and got decent managers to boot.

 

I think a lot of our fans don't want to predict us above SW and IPSW so they can temper their own expectations, which is fine. But also just being realistic that other teams may spend more than us and might be better than us, it's impossible to say for sure right now. However, it's easier to predict the teams that did well in L1 this year to do go one better next season than predict what Barnsley, Peterborough and Derby might achieve. Relegated teams are usually always a threat in the division below but could also go the other way depending on their recruitment and managers.

Edited June 27, 2022 by Mantra

[bolton va va]

Ipswich (on paper better than they've shown so far ) Sheff Wed (the signings from Rovrum know about promotion from this league ) MK (if they spend wisely )& P/boro & Barnsley (who still have championship players & experience ) could be fighting for the top 2.

Us, Pompey,Oxford, Plymouth, maybe Derby & Charlton, competing for play off places.

I think we can match anyone in an open game, we're stronger than last season but not sure we've addressed the problem we had against  physical Plymouth, Stockport, Burton type teams who won't let us play & lump high balls into our area.

Optimistic, looking forward to it but I think i'd take a play place now. 

 

[Max Cherry]

For me Sheff Wed have strengthened. The ones they have let go don't seem to be rated by their lot but they have git Smith from Rotherham who was excellent last season. Decent defender from Rovrum as well and Vaulks is it from Cardiff who seems decent. 

Think ipswich have a good young manager and cash but at moments look a bit light up front. 

Still think these two with the relegated teams are the real threats.

Surprise team - I think that loon at Fleetwood has signed some decent players and could surprise a few bigger clubs 

[Johnnyrotten]

1 hour ago, bolton va va said:

Ipswich (on paper better than they've shown so far ) Sheff Wed (the signings from Rovrum know about promotion from this league ) MK (if they spend wisely )& P/boro & Barnsley (who still have championship players & experience ) could be fighting for the top 2.

Us, Pompey,Oxford, Plymouth, maybe Derby & Charlton, competing for play off places.

I think we can match anyone in an open game, we're stronger than last season but not sure we've addressed the problem we had against  physical Plymouth, Stockport, Burton type teams who won't let us play & lump high balls into our area.

Optimistic, looking forward to it but I think i'd take a play place now. 

 

You've quoted the same 12 as I did for competing in the top half.  I wonder if anyone could come up with another team that might break into the top half, it has to be quite unique for any division any year to have 12 teams that are widely fancied.  Charlton are 12th favourites at 7/1 for promotion (Skybet), and the 13th favourites are Shrewsbury at a massive 16/1.  In comparison, in the Championship only 8 teams are longer than 8/1 to go up.  In Lge 2 only one team (Barrow) is more than 11/1.  

[Whitesince63]

It’s very open but I’d go along with most with Ipswich and the Owls as the teams to beat. On the other side of it Barnsley have lost a few of their better players and Michael Duff seems to be following a similar pattern as at Cheltenham by signing a couple of big chunky Centre Halves so I’m not sure they’ll be as much of a threat as some imagine. As for one who might surprise I’d go for Forest Green who with a few additions could be a threat. We need at least a solid partner for Rico but again as others have said, Johnson is young and improving all the time so if he is bulking up maybe we don’t even need that. I think even with what we’ve got we can make the play offs but a couple of good additions could make all that difference.