[Football] Relegation Candidates 25/26

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kevo

Well-known member
Mar 8, 2008
10,271
I think it's an interesting question, as Leeds will have some money behind them and I think they'll survive. If we assume Burnley and Sheff Utd/Sunderland will struggle, who will the third team be? There's no obvious candidate.
 


Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
33,037
Brighton
Looks really tough for the 3 promoted sides.

There is reason to believe all of the following COULD improve on this season's showing;

West Ham
Everton
Man Utd
Spurs
Wolves

I could see one of Fulham, Bournemouth, Brentford struggling more.
 


Hotchilidog

Well-known member
Jan 24, 2009
9,624
I think Leeds and Burnley will cause some panic amongst the established PL sides who find themselves down the bottom next season. I do expect the playoff winner to go straight back down.

As for candidates from the regular PL sides, it really depends on their summers but I can see Man Utd failing to make a big improvement. United are a bad football team and the rot starts at the top with major decision makers continuing to f**k up. I do not think it is beyond the realms that they will struggle again if they cannot sort out that desperate squad.

West Ham again need a good summer and players more suited to Potter's style but the current evidence suggests they will be down there again.

I think Wolves will be ok and ditto Everton as Moyes is such a solid mid table manager. Spurs will still be bad, but the CL should see them recruit enough strength to improve their league form. After that we hit the Fulham, Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton block who will all be looking up the table rather than down.
 






Insel affe

HellBilly
Feb 23, 2009
25,209
Brighton factually.....
Was having a discussion in the pub yesterday afternoon with a Sunderland supporting colleague. He fully expects it to be the three that come up going down again and it's hard to not agree with that. The gulf between the prem and championship is getting bigger as each year goes by.

Is it time we mix up how relegation works and introduce relegation play offs? Something like bottom two go down automatically then the next four teams go into a play off, semi and then final....Loser goes down? Thoughts?
No, just No, No, No and No several more times
 


thedonkeycentrehalf

Moved back to wear the gloves (again)
Jul 7, 2003
9,886
I have a feeling Burnley may surprise people this time.

Last time round they played pretty football but didn't have the players to execute this at the top level.

This time, they are built on a solid defence and that will give them a better chance of survival - a bit like our Hughton years

I'm sure @dsr-burnley will give us an honest view on this rather than a claret tinted one.
 








A1X

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Sep 1, 2017
22,965
Deepest, darkest Sussex
Sorry to ruin people's good times and all, but Man Utd will not go down next season. Not because they're anything special, but it just isn't going to happen.

The three to go down will be Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United / Sunderland. As we saw this season, the ever-widening gap is getting too large to bridge.

The only current PL teams likely to be in the mix are ones who have had stellar seasons this time and will get picked apart (Bournemouth) or ones with small squads who will struggle to deal with the demands of Europe (Palace, Forest). Or West Ham because they're clearly shit. And even these are all unlikely.
 








Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
74,203
Sorry to ruin people's good times and all, but Man Utd will not go down next season. Not because they're anything special, but it just isn't going to happen.

The three to go down will be Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United / Sunderland. As we saw this season, the ever-widening gap is getting too large to bridge.

The only current PL teams likely to be in the mix are ones who have had stellar seasons this time and will get picked apart (Bournemouth) or ones with small squads who will struggle to deal with the demands of Europe (Palace, Forest). Or West Ham because they're clearly shit. And even these are all unlikely.
As we saw this season, Man U, Tottenham and West Ham have been doing their utmost to bridge that ever-widening gap :lolol:
 


Kalimantan Gull

Well-known member
Aug 13, 2003
14,084
Central Borneo / the Lizard
Surely it won't be the three that came up for the third season running! I expect Leeds to spend like Forest did and Burnley to be highly effective and comfortably midtable, a bit like Sheffield united first season under Wilder. Sunderland no chance but Sheffield United could stay up.

We're not going to have teams who are determined to play tippy-tappy football with no substance like Kompany's Burnley or Martin's Southampton. We're not going to have hopelessly over-matched teams with successive promotions and no investment, like Luton and Ipswich. We're probably not going to have a team with a new manager in place, like Leicester.

As well as the play off winner, the relegation candidates will include (i) a team that has a bad start, sacks their manager and spins into a death-spiral. West Ham seem like the prime candidate for this (Leeds too, of course, if the spending don't work out), (ii) a previously mid-table team who lost their manager and a couple of players to bigger clubs (looking at you Bournemouth, if Iraola does go to Spurs; or Brentford if Frank finally gets a better offer), (iii) a previously mid-table team who sells their best players and the replacements are not as good as hoped, coupled with ageing stalwarts on their last legs and the fans turn on the manager (looks in mirror, shit, hope not); (iv) a team in Europe for the first time in ages who get stretched and can't cope with two games a week (our friends up the road, Forest perhaps, although Nuno is just tooooo savvy)
 










The Grockle

Formally Croydon Seagull
Sep 26, 2008
5,857
Dorset
I think the bottom 3 could be the promoted teams again but I think after a summer of being raided Bournemouth could be a surprise team to struggle snd get sucked in to relegation battle.
 






Pinkie Brown

Wir Sind das Volk
Sep 5, 2007
3,669
Neues Zeitalter DDR 🇩🇪
Vincent Kompany couldn't keep Burnley in the PL. I struggle to believe Scott Parker can achieve that.
Whoever wins tomorrow is surely going straight back.
Leeds might just scrape enough to survive.

My wild card is Man U. They are so screwed and toxic at the moment. With penny pinching Jim at the helm, they won't have the funds to rebuild a god-awful team. I suspect (and hope) the rot cranks up a gear next season. My schadenfreude will be off the scale were they to plummet into the Championship.
 


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