What should the expectations be for next season?

The problem with our depth is that we've already had a fairly unprecedented window where all our signings came off. That never happens, and is unlikely to happen again, so we not only need to sign 3 midfielders and a striker to be anywhere near ready to compete on multiple fronts, but we also need to reasonably expect some of them will not work, and probably need yet another window to get up to standard...
 
Impossible to say what to expect without knowing who the manager will be and what the squad will look like.

CL qualification is an absolute must though
 
We will not have a squad capable of competing in all competitions.
No matter the manager and the new signings, I would happily take
Top 4 in the PL
A decent cup-run in the FA Cup
Qualifying to the knockout stage of the CL
Doesn't matter with the Carabao Cup
Develop the players, blood some youngsters, who will gradually take the step up and show a clear style of play.
 
The Hilton said:
This isn't remotely true. We'll play 40 matches this season, our lowest since 1915. Liverpool and Chelsea will have played 57 and 58 respectively, almost a 50% increase. An additional 18 matches would have absolutely destroyed our squad, which is already struggling for fitness and had to play like extreme underdogs against both of those teams recently.

Given the above, and your suggestion that Carrick would have won us the title, you're going to be in for an extremely rude awakening next season.
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I was talking about 2026 calendar year which collates better with Carrick’s tenure. They played 4 more games sure but that’s hardly earth shattering. And during that period, our form and rest didn’t seem to correlate much to suggest that extra days did us any good
 
Try and get back into the Champions League, we have a weak squad and European football will be a huge burden on it so will be a struggle not to go backwards.
 
Roboc7 said:
Try and get back into the Champions League, we have a weak squad and European football will be a huge burden on it so will be a struggle not to go backwards.
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Yes, and losing Casemiro is a huge blow. Don't expect us to challenge for any major titles. Very few top players in the team except for Bruno. Need to get many transfers spot on.
 
Before any signing comes through the door, the expectations should be another top 4 finish. If Arsenal, City and Liverpool have a mare season then all of a sudden you've put yourself in the mix.
 
The objective should be to win the league. Just as Pool did last year after finishing 3rd the year before, and with a new manager no less.
 
100% the league. As poor as parts of the season has been, we've ended up only a handful of very feasible results away from that.

Improve the squads quality and depth enough to handle multiple competitions.
 
Lebo said:
I was talking about 2026 calendar year which collates better with Carrick’s tenure. They played 4 more games sure but that’s hardly earth shattering. And during that period, our form and rest didn’t seem to correlate much to suggest that extra days did us any good
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They've both played 10 more games in 2026, not 4. I don't know where you came up with that number, but it isn't close.

On top of that, it's pointless to limit it only to 2026, as by the starting point they both had played more games. The comparison made that you were quoting was how we'd cope next season without the lightest fixture list the club has had in over a century. Given how tired our players look with such a favourable schedule, having to play almost half our matches again would have decimated the squad.

If you're expecting a title challenge next season, you're in for some serious disappointment. Our results under Carrick have been fantastic, but they're entirely unsustainable based on the performances. And even the poor performances are unsustainable because we've been assisted with the lightest schedule possible for a PL club.
 
sullydnl said:
Saw Daniel Sturridge ask Keane/Neville the question the other day in relation to the manager decision, and am curious to see what people think the goal should be for next season.

Having likely finished 3rd this season, but with the caveat of only having the league to focus on, what should the expectations for next season be under whoever we appoint as manager? What would be a good season in your eyes what would be a disappointing season?
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Top 4/5 and decent run in the CL.

Focus on those two competitions.

Don't worry about the other cups and winning a trophy. Play kids and squad players.

We need stability and re-establish ourselves as a serious club.
 
sullydnl said:
Saw Daniel Sturridge ask Keane/Neville the question the other day in relation to the manager decision, and am curious to see what people think the goal should be for next season.

Having likely finished 3rd this season, but with the caveat of only having the league to focus on, what should the expectations for next season be under whoever we appoint as manager? What would be a good season in your eyes what would be a disappointing season?
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Top 4 in the league, Champions League round of last 16, competing in the cups.
 
Seeing how disruptive europe can be, i'd say top 4 would be a good result.
Theres a few points in our squad that its easy enough to see potential problems with injuries or form. With good signings and a bit of luck with injuries i'd expect us to manage it but its a sharp drop if either goes against us.
 
When people say "top four", I assume they'd be fine with top five as well if qualified us for the CL regardless?
 
-Top 4 in the league
-Last 8 in the Champions League

That would be a good season.

3rd is an incredible, unexpected result for us this season, but we've been flattered by a very underwhelming quality in the league this season. I expect that Liverpool and Chelsea will both be much better next season, so hanging on to top four would be an accomplishment.

We are miles off actually competing for the league. It'll take probably 10 new players to seriously compete for the title.
 
sullydnl said:
When people say "top four", I assume they'd be fine with top five as well if qualified us for the CL regardless?
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I would say yes, but after a season with 3 managers - Amorim, Fletcher and Carrick. It would be quite sad if we are fighting for our lives for a Champions League place after splashing out in the summer. I'd like for it to be a season where maybe we aren't challenging but we aren't in a Champions League scramble.
 
MyOnlySolskjaer said:
I would say yes, but after a season with 3 managers - Amorim, Fletcher and Carrick. It would be quite sad if we are fighting for our lives for a Champions League place after splashing out in the summer. I'd like for it to be a season where maybe we aren't challenging but we aren't in a Champions League scramble.
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We have a massive job rebuilding the midfield. I think we need to temper expectations about our league position. Given we we'll probably lose two and get three in them staying in the CL positions while performing respectfully in the cups would be a good result. We need most is those transfers to be successful and have a good window next summer and a successful manager before we can think about challenging for titles.

Next season is about consolidating the recent progress and building the team.
 
Given we will go through another transformation, I think the Ineos expectation of winning the league in 2027, will not happen. In terms of outcomes, top 4 in the league (minimum 70 points), champions league last 16 minimum, FA Cup and League up, a strong run in either, hopefully winning one of them.

We have to get our signings right, we have to get our sales right.
 
The expectation should be progress. That doesn't necessarily mean league position, it can also mean in performances.

But setting any expectations for league position before the transfer window is pointless, especially when we know we have significant weaknesses that need addressing.
 
I honestly just want us to produce more entertaining games than shite games.

It’s been a very long time since I haven’t regularly enjoyed most of our games.

In an ideal world: more entertaining football, top 4 finish in the league and at least one cup run.

Realistically : scrap the entertainment, and rebuild a hunger for success across the club, we should always aim to be at the top (or near it) regardless of how we play
 
sullydnl said:
When people say "top four", I assume they'd be fine with top five as well if qualified us for the CL regardless?
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Yes. But beyond CL qualification it's also about points total.

If we finish with say 60 points next season and still qualify for CL, it won't be great to have a significant decline on our points total from this season.

However I don't take progression for granted like some fans, any gains we make in the transfer market this summer will be partially offset by playing more games and all the fatigue and injuries that come with it. So matching what we do this season, whilst playing a lot more games, would be progress, even if it doesn't look like it.
 
Can't set expectations until we see what the signings look like and what other clubs do.

We need to do to our midfield what we did to our attack last summer, as well as adding a couple of able squaddies too.
Not the Zirkzee, Mount types who have barley contributed in 2 years but players who when they come in don't see the level drop hugely.
 
Dominos said:
Yes. But beyond CL qualification it's also about points total.

If we finish with say 60 points next season and still qualify for CL, it won't be great to have a significant decline on our points total from this season.

However I don't take progression for granted like some fans, any gains we make in the transfer market this summer will be partially offset by playing more games and all the fatigue and injuries that come with it. So matching what we do this season, whilst playing a lot more games, would be progress, even if it doesn't look like it.
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Very much true - nothing is guaranteed. Not when teams like Liverpool and Chelsea had relative stinkers. They could easily bounce back.

We also saw what happened in the very recent past when we finished 2nd, then went the wrong direction with transfers.
Old Ronaldo, Sancho and Varane looked big on paper, but unfortunately took us well down, along with the likes of Rashford havig huge purple patches.
 
As usual, depends entirely on our transfers in the Summer. We still have a lot of rebuilding to do and it'll take time for our new midfielders to settle.

On the plus side, our forwards will have a year under their belt and should be able to start the season strong.

We should be finishing Top 4, bare minimum and do well in the cups. I'm not expecting us to become title contenders, but we do have the potential to be if we continue our transfer policy in the same way we have done lately.
 
I think there is going to need to be some degree of patience required next season.

We're likely to make at least two midfield signings and I think it'll take a bit of time for them to find their feet and build fluency with Mainoo and Fernandes. I'd hope we can potentially add a staring quality left back to that as well, and they'd also need to settle.

I would hope that, with a strong window, we can get Champions League football again. I'd also be very disappointed to not make the knockout stages of the Champions League itself. Finally, a decent run in the FA Cup when the (hopefully) new players have found their feet a bit better should also be achievable.

I definitely don't expect a title challenge. I think there's still too much work to do on the team for us to be ready for that next season. More than anything, I'd hope for us to be putting in consistently strong performances especially in the latter stages of next season. We should not be finding ourselves outplayed as often as we have been this season, although I'd expect there to be blips in the earlier stages.
 
Top 4 and not to get knocked out of the first round in CL. Minimum requirement.

If not achieved ,sack whoever is the manager. Enough rebuilds get results or P45!
 
- Top 4 finish in the PL
- Qualify for the knock-out stage in the UCL
- A domestic cup trophy will be ice on the cake, but not a must

Our short-term goal should be UCL qualification for three consecutive years, which we haven't achieved since SAF's retirement.
 
Pretty pointless to discuss this until the season is starting and we know what our squad is for the season.

We need a lot of exits and even more signings to improve on 3rd in the league, meanwhile competing in 4 competitions. If we don't sign 8 good players to replace everyone we've already sold, and will be selling/releasing in the summer I don't think we'll improve on 3rd.

See where we are at the end of August when the transfer window closes.
 
nutmegrush said:
100% the league. As poor as parts of the season has been, we've ended up only a handful of very feasible results away from that.

Improve the squads quality and depth enough to handle multiple competitions.
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I think this is a seriously flawed way to look at it. Yes, there are a number of games that could've gone our way (in particular, the red-card games and drawing against the bottom feeders). Of course, we've also won a number of close cut games that could've gone the other way too (e.g., needing a 97th min penalty against Burnley, beating Chelsea with barely any shots, De Ligt header at the death to draw Spurs, 3 goals with 3 shots on target vs Arsenal, etc). It kinda all evens out in the wash. We're not actually underperforming our underlying goal nor xG metrics.

An indicator we are nowhere close to the top at the moment is goal differential. Arsenal are at 42, City are at 40, and we're at 15. 25-30 goals extra in a season is pretty massive; this wasn't just a couple close calls away from us being there. And expecting us to win every close game in a future season is essentially impossible. It's just confirmation bias to only remember the close ones we lost and not the ones we won.

We need to be in that +40 goal differential range to compete for titles (some years its +60). The team is nowhere near that level at the moment, even with one game a week. Being top 5 and competing well in UCL next year would be a great season.
 
If we get the right transfers, I expect at least Top 4 and getting out of the group stage in the CL. If we are fortunate with injuries, I think we should be within shouting distance for a league title. That means within 6 pts through the season.

It will be difficult in the first few months as we will be incorporating at least 1 new starter in CM (hoping for a new FB as well). Not sure we will be able to dictate most matches for a while but if the CM is right and get meshing, we can go on runs that we have missed for too long. Sometimes it's about confidence and this current group seems to ooze it at times.

Getting out of CL group stage should be a given. QF? Maybe, dependent on draw.

Domestic cups? I hope we get a good run out for our reserves. I don't want to get knocked out unless by another PL team.
 
My expectations are very low.

Finish at least 3rd with somewhat of an experience of being in the title race till December.
Do not let Liverpool and City run us over with 4 & 5-0 + scores at OT and Away.
Have some decency and win something big with Bruno before he leaves.
At least get to the second round in the CL without losing badly to the big teams.
Win the FA or Carling Cup or both.
 
Witchking said:
My expectations are very low.

Finish at least 3rd with somewhat of an experience of being in the title race till December.
Do not let Liverpool and City run us over with 4 & 5-0 + scores at OT and Away.
Have some decency and win something big with Bruno before he leaves.
At least get to the second round in the CL without losing badly to the big teams.
Win the FA or Carling Cup or both.
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Didn't know the standards over in Angmar were so high. I really wouldn't call these expectations very low. Most people on this board would probably consider finishing 3rd, winning a domestic cup and getting past the league stage in the CL a good season in the context of current circumstances.

And not getting humiliated by Liverpool and City should just be the norm. Apart from City away we did well on that front recently.
 
This year we finish 3rd. Next year should be challenging for title 1st or 2nd.

Also, at least quarter final in CL.

To be honest, I don't really care about Carling and FA Cup.
 
A genuine title challenge
Surprise ourselves in CL
Atleast 1 domestic final.

Squad depth added
Starting midfielder added
Kobbie to press on from last few months
More cohesive attack
Talented academy players integrated
 
Bedding in a new midfield and dealing with CL games means anyone expecting a title challenge is going to be seriously disappointed.

It's just not realistic. Getting out of the CL groups, staying in the CL league and getting to the latter stages of either or both of the cups will be a decent result.

We'll need the next two summer windows to be more hit than miss and potentially an elite manager becoming available before we're competing for the league because we're miles off being capable of doing that while playing twice a week at the moment.
 
Yakuza_devils said:
This year we finish 3rd. Next year should be challenging for title 1st or 2nd.

Also, at least quarter final in CL.

To be honest, I don't really care about Carling and FA Cup.
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Not happening unless we get atleast 6-7 Starters even then its a Big ask , this is the team with just league to concentrate on that would end up with point total of high 60's with performance Level of low 60's .

This squad isnt ready for Title challenge .
 
Withnail said:
Bedding in a new midfield and dealing with CL games means anyone expecting a title challenge is going to be seriously disappointed.

It's just not realistic. Getting out of the CL groups, staying in the CL league and getting to the latter stages of either or both of the cups will be a decent result.

We'll need the next two summer windows to be more hit than miss and potentially an elite manager becoming available before we're competing for the league because we're miles off being capable of doing that while playing twice a week at the moment.
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We are miles off even while playing once a week this season has done a number on some of the fans this is a Europa league squad currently many are seriously underestimating How far we are from actual title challenge .
 
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