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They don't rate Bulut or our squad, will they be wrong?
https://www.oddschecker.com/football...h/championship
I think TLG did a post about this previously, I think it was about the same then?
Seems harsh to me, but they say they are never wrong.
Top half again at least I think!
A lot of people say the bookies are never wrong, but a lot of people talk a lot of nonsense.Quote:
Originally Posted by North Cardiff Blue
The bookies are wrong on a very regular basis.
About 15th morelikeQuote:
Originally Posted by North Cardiff Blue
Our form for the last 6 months of last season was bottom half form, only relegated Rotherham lost more, conceded more and scored fewer over those months. While we had a great start, that start was the only reason for our top half finish.Quote:
Originally Posted by North Cardiff Blue
We've not really added any great quality to our side so far.
TLG is right that bookies get things wrong. I'm not a gambler but enjoy looking at odds just as the roughest of guides. Obviously those having a punt don't rate us and I can understand why.
If we continue as we did for the last 6 months we have no chance of a top half finish. Other than just blind optimism, I don't understand how anyone really thinks we have the potential to be a top half side. We both agree that Bulut needs to release the shackles somewhat and if he does, maybe. But for me we've a lot of work to do to become a top half side let alone anything better.
Fair enough that makes sense, I think we will finish in the top half because we did last season, and I think we will have better players this season, but it's still early and hard to predict until this window closes, loans will probably be key to our season.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric the Half a Bee
As has been said on here many times, trying to predict our likely finishing position before the transfer window closes is pointless. Who knows what our final squad will look like when business has been concluded.
Similarly, our results at the back end of last season have no bearing on what will happen this season. Players are returning to fitness, there will be new combinations all over the park, some ineffective players have returned to their parent clubs and most important of all, it is hoped that the manager will have learned a lot from last season. And yes, the bookies are not always right.
Yes it's just a saying everyone knows that :hehe:Quote:
Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman
They win in the end though, as right more than wrong :thumbup:
We could be the surprise team, if the quality of the signings made so far are anything to go by.Quote:
Originally Posted by North Cardiff Blue
We still need 2-3 more in, including another forward and a CM box to box player.
Anything can happen in the next week or so before the season starts, so it’s a bit early for the bookies to write us off just yet
The bookies’ predictions for the last five Championship seasons (and where City actually finished):
2019/20 – 3rd (finished 5th)
2020/21 – 7th (finished 8th)
2021/22 – 5th (finished 18th)
2022/23 – 16th (finished 21st)
2023/24 – 20th (finished 12th)
Its' not so much what we have done - but what other clubs have done - is there a team that has spent big over the last couple of months ? I dont keep track of other clubs signingsQuote:
Originally Posted by olderblue
I think the bookies had us bottom 5 last season
they did and look what a great job Bulut did to get us into into the top half of the championship when really should have been playing League 1 football last seasonQuote:
Originally Posted by pipster
When i look at the teams coming down this season and the likes of Hull /West Brom and Leeds to name a few still in the league think it will be a tall order to dent the top 6 season this season but still looking forward to it .
I think around 14th - 10th depending how the new guys start off especially Kanga.
Wouldn't it be nice for our striker to hit the net early - it might be my mind playing tricks but more often than not they don't hit the ground running even if they have had a good pre season 🤔Quote:
Originally Posted by 2b2bdoo
I think Kaba did and Ike Ugbo last season.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nobody's Rep
I haven't read too much about Kanga's situation, but I'd guess if he was in dispute with Hertha Berlin and not a part of their plans, he won't have been training with them or playing in any pre-season friendlies. If that's the case, he's probably not going to be match fit for a while yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nobody's Rep
The same must be true of El Ghazi. He hasn't started a game for anyone since May 2023.
True and seems to be a bit of a blueprint for us bringing in players who are not match fit - willock and chambers were in that class when they were signedQuote:
Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman
Fair point I'd forgotten about those two but apart from ugbo and Saba what have the strikers done for us 🤣🤣Quote:
Originally Posted by Moodybluebird
Probably transfer values and overall squad value is a factor in the odds, as we haven't spent any money on transfer fees for quite a while, as we now seem to be working on frees and loans.
https://www.oddschecker.com/football...ship/promotion
Bets for promotion third from bottom today :hehe:
Cruel
slighly misleading as that list that ranks in ascending order of the highest odds from each bookie.Quote:
Originally Posted by North Cardiff Blue
It looks like 2 (very niche) bookies out of 27 have us very generious odds on us not getting promoted at 20/1, the vast majoirity of (arguabely more established) bookies have us between 11 and 14 to 1 which places us a bit higher up the list.
Dont get me wrong though, we are clearly very unfancied for promotion, but that doesn mean we are favourites for relegation
The current Championship relegation odds with SkyBet are:
11/8 - Oxford
9/4 - Plymouth
4/1 - Blackburn
4/1 - Derby
4/1 - Millwall
4/1 - Preston
9/2 - Cardiff
11/2 - Bristol City
11/2 - Swansea
11/2 - Watford
So, Oxford and Plymouth are clear favourites, but little between the next eight in the betting.
I think the Board will be expecting far more from Bulut and his team than the bookies are predicting, think we’ll be changing our manager again if we go into 2025 in the bottom third of the league.
OK good I didn't study it, that's a bit more like it based on us finishing 12th last year :thumbup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitman
It's an odd league hard to know what will happen with those eight, they don't fancy Swansea or Bristol either.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman
They fancy them more than us.Quote:
Originally Posted by North Cardiff Blue
Aye, no idea who either of them have lost or signed yet?Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
20th isn’t too bad for a team who plays 20 minutes a match (max)
I think this thread illustrates the underlying feeling from supporters that last season's 12th finish was definitely not a true reflection on the strength of the squad. I think it's looking stronger, but probably no more that keeping us mid table again, assuming we don't get the luck and good fortune of last season. There are 12 or so teams who I think are significantly better than us -Burnley, Coventry, Hull, Leeds, Luton, 'Boro, Norwich, QPR, Sunderland, Watford, WBA and Sheff. Utd. Also Preston, Stoke, Sheff Wed, Swansea, Blackburn and Bristol City seem to have strengthen their squads. It's going to be another tough one for City !
We're going up as champions
as ******* Champions :ayatollah:Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueArmy 86
I agree it will be tough, but give it a couple of months and if we are doing well, the usual Championship knockers will be saying it's the weakest Championship for years!Quote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
We are 66/1 with Skybet and they have us relegated. 3rd bottom. Only Plymouth and Oxford below us.
That really surprises me. Yes, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that your transfer business is so much better than anyone else’s when it isn’t, but, if we are really signing someone like Robertson then I think our squad looks better than last season’s- I think twelfth flattered us somewhat, but not to the extent that the bookies are suggesting - I feel we should be disappointed if we don’t finish in the top half.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hilts
Out of interest, what do you think we need to finish in the top 6?Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
For me if we get the 3 more players in that Bulut alluded to including the box-to-box midfielder and another striker I would think we will have real strength in depth this season to have a real go at it.
Maybe it’s blind optimism or wishful thinking, but everyone I talk to appears to feel more enthusiastic about this new season than they have in the last few years
We've lacked mobility in midfield for years, but, hopefully, something is being done about that and we'll have someone in to try and rectify that before the season starts.Quote:
Originally Posted by olderblue
I've just watched a stream where two Luton fans predict where everyone's going to finish, one of them had us in tenth, which is about as high as I've seen us in these sort of things, solely down to Willock, tbe other one had us in 20th solely down to Horvarth who he doesn't rate at all - he said their promotion was far more down to their defenders than Horvarth. Must admit, I'm not totally convinced by Horvarth and I'm not convinced Alnwick is a top end of the Championship keeper, but I don't see us bringing in anyone in that position.
We also let in far too many goals last season, but we have two new defenders and, if the rumours are to be believed, have someone else coming in to be a starter next week, so, even if we lose MCGuinness, as I suspect we will, we would seem to have strengthened there.
I'm more optimisitc about Kanga than I was at first, but he still doesn't strike me as someone who is going to be prolific. I think much will depend on how much Bulut trusts Isaak Davies and how much more confident Isaak will be after his goals in Belgium last season, but I still feel concerned that there aren't enough goals in our forward players to make us reralistic top six challengers.
Two new defenders?
Chambers and Tsunoda.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman
I think at the moment we have depth but I’m not sure about strength but also a lot of question marks over players. Ramsey and ODowda seem to always pick up an injury, NG has his back problems hang seem to pop up during the season. Chambers hasnt played regularly for 3 years and ElGhazi hasn’t really played for a year, even Willock hasn’t had many minutes pre season I don’t think. Kanga is totally unknown.Quote:
Originally Posted by olderblue
That’s not to say they should be written off, most of them have quality but they will need to be managed well especially in the opening weeks.
To really push on to top 6 I would like to see Romeo, Wintle and Rino moved on but I still think we need a striker, winger, midfielder, left back and another right back.
OK. I hadn’t considered the latter. Isn’t he long term injured? I know nothing about him to be honest.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
Like you, I’m not convinced by Horvarth. I prefer Alnwick based on what we saw from both last season.