There's also the argument that in this division anyone outside the top 8 are going to be looking over their shoulders, so yeah. Their finish last year was an overachievement and they've had European football to add to their workload pre/early season meaning top 8 isn't likely to be in their...
Yup. Weren't there also other teams that looked almost gone, only to hit a bit of form and pull away? Everton, Southampton, West Ham spring to mind. Didn't Swansea almost rebound, too?