2013-14 Season Expectations

[Leif 6,006]

Regarding the Champions League next season, the likes of Milan, Barcelona (even with Neymar IMO), Madrid (unless they get some proper top in like Ancelotti), Arsenal, Dortmund etc. all seem to be falling while our players our only getting better. Even PSG have looked weak in the league this season and with Monaco now in Ligue 1 they'll have to focus even more on the league.

I think if we were to get lucky and avoid Juventus + Man City/United later on in the competition we could be having another Chelsea - Bayern final.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Regarding the Champions League next season, the likes of Milan, Barcelona (even with Neymar IMO), Madrid (unless they get some proper top in like Ancelotti), Arsenal, Dortmund etc. all seem to be falling while our players our only getting better. Even PSG have looked weak in the league this season and with Monaco now in Ligue 1 they'll have to focus even more on the league.

I think if we were to get lucky and avoid Juventus + Man City/United later on in the competition we could be having another Chelsea - Bayern final.

Nope, it doesnt work like that!

Barcelona will get better with the introduction of Neymar and a proper CB, but above all, is Messi being Messi that will place them amongst the top contenders once again. Madrid without Mourinho is a better team in itself, a decent coach and maybe Suarez will definitely make a difference. Milan wont lose any players from what we know and Allegri will be more experienced. Arsenal cant get any worse, lol, and Wenger is thought to go big (for their standards) in the transfer market (Julio Cesar, Higuain, etc). Dortmund, until now, has only lost two players and if they go for the likes of Romarinho/Bernard and Dzeko, I would say they are still a threat to anyone. Juventus will get their striker and will be completed. ManCity are free of Mancini and that is already one huge step towards UCL. And Bayern, well, is Bayern!

Chelsea will absurdly improve and we will be equally fighting with the best teams in all competitions. Mourinho, the new players and the more experienced Hazard, Oscar, etc will prove to be a great combination. However, it is not as easy as you say...

[Jase 43,479]

This are probably minimum expectations for next season. So, yeah...

Premier League - A title challenge

After watching the two Manchester clubs dominate and fight out for the Premier League title in the last 3 seasons, would expect us to mount at the very least a strong title challenge for next season. With Mourinho's impending return and a couple of key additions to the squad including boosting the squad depth, am expecting us to close the gap at the top to about 5 points(?). And certainly hope we don't get dragged into any sort of battle for a Top 4 position like what happened in the past 2 seasons. That would be a major disappointment.

Champions League - Quarter Finalist/Semi Finalist

After the debacle of last season exiting the group stage as the champions, am expecting us to progress from the group stage this time around and get to the quarter finals at the very least, if not the semi finals depending on the luck in the draw. Not too confident that we can progress beyond that stage at this moment. Not easy at the moment with all the usual big suspects to get to those stages and it will also have to depend on the transfers in and out of the club, not just us but also others.

FA Cup - Semi Final

Given our domination in the FA Cup, am expecting at the very least another appearance in the semi final. Then again, maybe I should expect us to win this competition, again.

League Cup - Winner

Last season was our best chance to win the competition given all of the big teams were already knocked out by the time we play the semi finals. We should have gone on to win it until Ivanovic decided to be a santa claus and gifted Swansea two pathetic goals. It's not the most important of trophies but the last time we won this trophy was back in 2007. Too long now that we have not got our hands on this. So, definitely want to see us win this cup again!

UEFA Super Cup - Winner

Not gonna be easy this by any means against Bayern but we will not know how they would adapt to Guardiola's style when we play them. So, it could be to our advantage especially with this game to be played early on in the season. And after last season abysmal showing against Atletico, expecting us to put in more of a fight in this one and win the cup. Will be a good way to start the season too. Puts the players in a good frame of mind.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

This are probably minimum expectations for next season. So, yeah...

After watching the two Manchester clubs dominate and fight out for the Premier League title in the last 3 seasons

Actually only 2 seasons.

[OneMoSalah 8,778]

Win everything in true Jose fashion.

[Jase 43,479]

Actually only 2 seasons.

No, it's 3. We were never really in it in the 2010/11 and 2012/13 season. In the former, started well but faltered away badly. Made a late push but nowhere good enough in the end. Same goes with last season. Started the season very well but then faded away completely. As for the 11/12 season, don't think I need to say anything about it when it's obvious.

[Rmpr 8,977]

This are probably minimum expectations for next season. So, yeah...

Premier League - A title challenge

After watching the two Manchester clubs dominate and fight out for the Premier League title in the last 3 seasons, would expect us to mount at the very least a strong title challenge for next season. With Mourinho's impending return and a couple of key additions to the squad including boosting the squad depth, am expecting us to close the gap at the top to about 5 points(?). And certainly hope we don't get dragged into any sort of battle for a Top 4 position like what happened in the past 2 seasons. That would be a major disappointment.

Champions League - Quarter Finalist/Semi Finalist

After the debacle of last season exiting the group stage as the champions, am expecting us to progress from the group stage this time around and get to the quarter finals at the very least, if not the semi finals depending on the luck in the draw. Not too confident that we can progress beyond that stage at this moment. Not easy at the moment with all the usual big suspects to get to those stages and it will also have to depend on the transfers in and out of the club, not just us but also others.

FA Cup - Semi Final

Given our domination in the FA Cup, am expecting at the very least another appearance in the semi final. Then again, maybe I should expect us to win this competition, again.

League Cup - Winner

Last season was our best chance to win the competition given all of the big teams were already knocked out by the time we play the semi finals. We should have gone on to win it until Ivanovic decided to be a santa claus and gifted Swansea two pathetic goals. It's not the most important of trophies but the last time we won this trophy was back in 2007. Too long now that we have not got our hands on this. So, definitely want to see us win this cup again!

UEFA Super Cup - Winner

Not gonna be easy this by any means against Bayern but we will not know how they would adapt to Guardiola's style when we play them. So, it could be to our advantage especially with this game to be played early on in the season. And after last season abysmal showing against Atletico, expecting us to put in more of a fight in this one and win the cup. Will be a good way to start the season too. Puts the players in a good frame of mind.

Yeah, I guess you are right, but I would be happy with us 'only' winning EPL. I really, really want to celebrate it again.

I am not too worried about the rest though (including UCL). Of course I will want to win everything, but if we reach QFs of all the cups and lose with honour, I will be fine with...

[Jase 43,479]

Yeah, I guess you are right, but I would be happy with us 'only' winning EPL. I really, really want to celebrate it again.

I am not too worried about the rest though (including UCL). Of course I will want to win everything, but if we reach QFs of all the cups and lose with honour, I will be fine with...

Can go along with that. Am sick and tired of watching United, City then United winning the league title. Much will depend on what us and others do in the transfer market. If we get it right, then we can definitely mount of a strong and consistent title challenge and possibly win it. If not, say hello to the cups once more..

[Fernando 6,465]

Any improvement to this season will be good enough for me.

Come March and we are fighting for a top 4 it won't look good on the manager.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Think everybody's expectations are way too high...

Anywhere in top 3 is good for EPL - we finished 6th 2 seasons ago and 3rd this/last season - need to maintain that at least...

FA Cup is unpredictable - so Semis are realistic, same with COC...

Champs League - hmm getting out of the group will be first test, then anything after that I'm cool with.

As a team we need 3 signings at least and to integrate loan players back into the team - this wont happen overnight...

I'm cautiously optimistic though

[didierforever 7,349]

after watching the interview i change my opinion. plus i am not just expecting this but predicting too

PL- winners

CoC- winners

FA cup - winners

CL- quarter finals.

domestic treble coming thru...

[Mr_President 404]

Realistically, I think we should be at least putting in a decent title challenge and aim for one of the domestic cups + as far as possible in the CL. The problem with saying at least a quarter/semi in the CL (or any knockout competition for that matter)is that you can easily draw the eventual winners/finalists in the round of 16 etc - there is always an element of luck. As Jose said in his interview, to win the CL you need a little "click", sometimes you have it, sometimes you don't. Therefore, if we got knocked out by Bayern in the Ro16 I don't think that would constitute a failure of a season on its own.

Also, another important factor by which to measure a season as successful would be how the team has progressed and improved (not only individually but collectively). E.g. tightening up the defence, getting our no.9 to score goals, retaining possession better etc. I believe Mourinho also touched on this in his interview.

Overall, I'd be happy seeing our team play some good football whilst not leaking too many goals and always making improvements for the future.. that is most important.

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

Well with all the hype Jose is getting and the constant insults I get by people here for not accepting him as a god. I have decided to give him these demands that he must do.

Win the Premier League.

Win the Champions league.

Anything less is underachieving-failure.

[Styles 9,790]

I don't believe somebody as experienced as Mourinho would allow us to play an entire season with the thin and/or unbalanced squads we have been over the last 2-3 years. Just addressing that issue alone will make us more competitive then you factor in his ability as a coach and we can seriously compete.

Top 2 in the league is a minimum.

[The only place to be 11,313]

For me, the league is the priority. The CL is the biggie but I want us to win that when we are the best team in Europe, not the 6th best team in England.

So with the managerial changes at the Manc clubs I think we need to capitalise and hit the ground running. Moyes and Pellegrini aren't at the same level as Mourinho as coaches, and I think we already have a pretty good team. Citeh are going to be moving to a whole new system whilst United could really struggle to move on from arguably the greatest British coach of all time. The dark horses could be Arsenal though, depending on their spending this summer and the fact they'll get an earlier competitive start in the CL.

But I've thought for a while now that next season was when we make a proper run at regaining the title and that this season was essentially a write-off with the appointment of Robbie and the loans we made.

FA Cup - have to win it. Jose takes the cups seriously and although a lot depends on the draw (can see United and City struggling in this too, United less so) I reckon we could go all the way, especially if we use some of the fringe players who were on loan last season or just coming through the academy.

League Cup - not mentioned, but this was important to Jose in the first season and will be a good measure of where we're going. Also important to use the likes of Ake, Loftus-Cheek and even some of the older players like Lamps and Essien to keep the squad fresh and if we do that then I think we've got a very good shot, although I expect Arsenal to target one of the two cups.

Champions League - this season I don't really care to be honest. I've said final because I don't want us to reach the semis and get knocked out, and for that to become a thing with Jose but in all honesty I'd take a respectable run and the league title, and then focus on winning this the season after. Having said that with all the managerial changes in Europe this could be wide-open next season.

So my expectations are high. I said to a friend when I saw the odds of the quadruple at 1000-1 that they were low and I stick by that, but next season is about coming out of this period of transition and establishing something new for the next decade. It's a first-step in a new direction but I expect us to be back at the top of the tree with the right signings. The use of players like Lukaku is going to be a massive factor but I trust Jose.

[bloody 209]

Premier League - Winner

Champions League - Semi-Finalist

FA Cup - Semi-Finalist

League Cup - Winner

UEFA Super Cup - Winner

[dumps 284]

after seeing the interview with Jose im going to go with him. he says he wants to improve the team and i will be satisfied with that. if we win nothing, but have played good football and look like a much stronger team i will be happy, it will be the season after id expect a trophy.

I think there will be a lot of pressure on us to win the league next season as we now have 'the best' manager in the league, but i dont expect the win. i do expect us to be up there for the league and to put up a fight for all the cups given the team and manager we have, but mainly i just want to see us improve and become consistent.

very excited for the new season!

[IkE 267]

How can we vote, if we don't know any player of the Starting XI?