Where will we finish?

[Snowball]

We'll do better than people think.

11th

Does that include the people who think we'll finish 11th?

[CountryRoyal]

12th. Think we’ll have one of the best back fours in the league but goalkeeper could be an issue, and although too early to tell at the moment, think we might struggle for goals.

[StellaPlease]

12th. Think we’ll have one of the best back fours in the league but goalkeeper could be an issue, and although too early to tell at the moment, think we might struggle for goals.

Yep, need a forward in and a holding midfielder and I think we'll have a decent season.

[URZZZZ]

Was going to say a standard mid table finish but can’t remember the last time we were in March etc and had nothing to play for, we almost always seem to playing for something in the last stretch of the season (15/16 possibly being the exception but we still got a good cup run and there were still small relegation fears)

[boycey]

8/9 th

cheers

[Stranded]

Not the top 20 podcast have us finishing 22nd (and going down).

Main reasoning being that whilst we saw a small up tick under Gomes (think form was better than that) our squad is thin but performances were not great, not sure where the goals are coming Charlie Adam is the worst signing of the summer and they can't see any reason for us not to struggle.

[genome]

Not the top 20 podcast have us finishing 22nd (and going down).

Main reasoning being that whilst we saw a small up tick under Gomes (think form was better than that) our squad is thin but performances were not great, not sure where the goals are coming Charlie Adam is the worst signing of the summer and they can't see any reason for us not to struggle.

No real surprises. George Elek is an Oxford fan and hates us.

[NewCorkSeth]

Not the top 20 podcast have us finishing 22nd (and going down).

Main reasoning being that whilst we saw a small up tick under Gomes (think form was better than that) our squad is thin but performances were not great, not sure where the goals are coming Charlie Adam is the worst signing of the summer and they can't see any reason for us not to struggle.

Well. They're wrong. And I look forward to us proving them wrong.

[genome]

Paddy Power:

José Gomes continues as manager and although results improved with his appointment, performances didn’t, with Reading being the third worst team in the league since he was hired, according to xG.

Would be good if these people actually did some research

[Woodcote Royal]

To escape relegation last season we had to ride high in the current form tables so why so many think we can't achieve mid table is beyond me and I doubt it's what Chelsea were thinking when they left the Mad Stad.

We have some fantastic young players and much scope for them to thrive. FFP could unwittingly make for an excellent excellent season and a lot of money in the process. Can't wait!

4/5ths of the excellent loanees that got us there not coming back might have something to do with it Woodcote

Clearly, but it's not as simple as that.

[Silver Fox]

Paddy Power:

José Gomes continues as manager and although results improved with his appointment, performances didn’t, with Reading being the third worst team in the league since he was hired, according to xG.

Would be good if these people actually did some research

So actual goals improved but xG didn't? I know which one I'll take thanks ya bunch of nerds

[Elm Park Kid]

With the squad we have right now . . . . . .probably around 17th.

[blythspartan]

As it stands 22nd.

A new striker, plus a central midfielder could mean 16th to 20th.

Saying that, I wouldn't be surprised if we did a Norwich and Nova scores 25+ goals. There are so many unknowns for me but I do believe we have 4 very solid central defenders and you can never have too many of them.

[Old Man Andrews]

If Gomes stays I think we will be comfortably midtable. I think Sam Baldock will surprise everyone this season and score a lot of goals.

[Hound]

Wouldn’t surprise me OMA

[StellaPlease]

If Gomes stays I think we will be comfortably midtable. I think Sam Baldock will surprise everyone this season and score a lot of goals.

I fear Gomes will walk in about mid September if we're not getting the results, citing poor summer transfer business and distancing himself from all blame.

Meanwhile, we will persu Parkinson as his replacement and be relegated by march.

[Crowbar6753]

Once the table settles down after the first 10 - 15 games, it tends to split into three groups, the strugglers (Bottom Six) the top two and play off candidates (Top Eight) and the rest lol. We were in that bottom group last season and it made for a nail biting finish, and in the end getting our five loanee's in proved the difference and carried us to eventual safety.
I personally think we are moving in the right direction with a good blend of youth and experience and will be to strong to fall into the struggling group, however i also think we currently do not have enough about us to fit into the top 8. So it's the middle table for me. Anywhere between 17th and 9th i guess!! almost impossible to predict as the middle group are often only separated by a few points or even goal difference. It really does depend on the next week or so, if a goalscorer arrives and clicks, if one or two of the youngsters do a Rinomhota, and if we get a good start then maybe top ten, but there are a lot of if's so i'm going for a happy 12th place finish which would represent significant improvement and a great platform to push on for next season. Whether this will be enough to temp Jose into a new contract, who knows?

[Nameless]

If Gomes stays I think we will be comfortably midtable. I think Sam Baldock will surprise everyone this season and score a lot of goals.

I fear Gomes will walk in about mid September if we're not getting the results, citing poor summer transfer business and distancing himself from all blame.

Meanwhile, we will persu Parkinson as his replacement and be relegated by march.

We won’t need to pursue anyone.
We already have Jose’s replacement at the club and that may prove the smartest piece of business we have done in several seasons.

[Brain Traysers]

Paddy Power:

José Gomes continues as manager and although results improved with his appointment, performances didn’t, with Reading being the third worst team in the league since he was hired, according to xG.

Would be good if these people actually did some research

So actual goals improved but xG didn't? I know which one I'll take thanks ya bunch of nerds

I'm confused by these takes - PP literally reference their reasoning for their view.

Secondly, xG has been shown to far better explain/predict future results than previous results has. That's a justifiable red flag to people who care about that - NTT20 in this case. You could of course take the view that because we have over-performed xG for what feels like forever, we will continue to do so, but then again 9 tails in a row doesn't mean we won't see heads next flip.

(Of course you are all equally entitled to not care in the slightest about it)

[Snowflake Royal]

It's hardly surprising neutrals are tipping us to struggle.

We were abject last year and despite an improvement under Gomes, we still struggled to end safe. Performances remained not brilliant, they just seemed a big improvement on before. We still conceded too many goals and scored not enough. We still struggled to convert draws to wins etc.

On paper we have financial constraints and a weaker squad. We're relying on a lot of Academy players and neutrals are never going to rate that.

I'm hopeful we'll do alright and finish 14th to 18th. But I do recognise we could easily be bottom and cut adrift like Ipswich.