Out of ten, how excited about the new season & why?

I’d maybe say 8 or 9.

On one hand I’d rather us be playing the top championship sides as opposed to league 1 sides but I’m looking forward to the prospect of us hopefully winning some games and scoring some good goals.

 

Wait a minute ... I thought that was my job

 

I agree, I'm about an 8. I think we've a good squad at this level. I think we're strong in central defence, and our two main strikers. I also expect Victor to start to emerge as a good player and goalscorer this season. I'm hopeful that Mowatt will be our play-maker and like the look of Douglas (on the basis of one game admittedly). The one thing we really need imo is a leader. Winkler said we lack leadership on the RS thing the other night and I agree with him. We haven't had a strong leader since Conor left. None of last season's Captains were strong enough, if we'd had a leader I think we may have stayed up. Add a good player / strong leader and I'll be up to a 9

 

Good point & another reason I'd have liked to keep Adam. Think Lindsay & Mowatt may make strong claims for the arm band

 

I said 5 because that's the feeling now. But I stand by us winning the league with 100+ points. Once we hopefully win our first few games I will pop an higher mark than 5. A much better squad on paper than the one Rotherham went up with last season. Plenty of experience at this level and those who haven't played this level before will find it easier than last season. Most sides will come to us and park the bus to try and frustrate, as we will be seen as a good away point.

 

4 for the same reasons.

 

Im just looking forward to the 1st game & to ‘benchmark’ us against someone in our new league.
If we play well & win I’ll be a 10, I’m currently an 8 but that’s cos we ain’t won much in the last 18 months & im nervous about it.
We’ve still got players most of us expected to go & it’s a well done to the club for that.
Let’s hope we have a good old go at it & play a style of football that we can support & enjoy.

 

12, I'm **** at maths.

 

My main concern is the lack of strikers, should anything happen to Bradshaw and/or Moore I can't see where the goals will come from to get us up. I'll go for a 7 rising to 9 if we get a cpl of forwards in

 

10, because I always am. What an idiot.

 

8 or 9 for me, and I'm gutted that we're still away on holiday and miss the Oxford game.

Irrespective of what happened the previous season, I look forward to the close season to spend time doing other stuff - cycling, golf, family time out - and only really start thinking about the new season a couple of weeks beforehand. Watched little of the World Cup, in times past I'd have watched nearly every televised game.

Who we play or how full the away end is doesn't make a blind bit of difference to me, it's Barnsley I go to watch. I'm hoping to be entertained and see some winning football, some of my strongest memories watching BFC have been at this level. I'm looking forward to seeing us go with the new coaching team, his style of play and see what happens. I think we've enough for the top 6 and with a bit of luck a successful season is ahead. But, I'm also realistic enough to know that when have been relegated to this division before it's not always gone to plan straight away. There are 23 other teams chasing the same target as us, and I think it shouldn't be panic stations if we're not looking likely to go up next spring.

We've gone through some turmoil over the last 18 months, some due to decisions made/not made, some simply unavoidable, but this new set-up, in my opinion, needs 3 years to be properly judged on changes they make to what they inherited.

So, as for every new season, it's a clean slate all round from me, the anticipation and optimism as high/blind as ever. Rarely does success come our way in reality, but it tastes all the sweeter when it does.

COYR

 

Can't disagree with owt you've wrote. Other than I'm an 8.

Saturday's ain't the same. And i want to remain cautious but optimistic.

Good start is all I want for now. As we rarely seem to have a good 1st game

 

I'm a 7, but only because Saturdays aren't the same without football, not because I think we'll enjoy success. I've enjoyed the pre-season friendly football. But then it's played in a relaxed way which suits players like we have, who are generally quite good on the ball when given the time and space.

However, when we are being bullied by some league 1 bruisers, and we lose, I wonder how soon it will be before someone says - 'It was men against boys out there today'.

As things stand, I don't think we'll get promoted, because I don't really see any leaders out there on the pitch. I'm also not sure where that moment of magic will come from when we need a match to turn in our favour - the stand-out talents that we had in the past, a Hourihane or a Hammill. With an unchanged back-line I see boundless scope for self-inflicted dilly-dallying defensive disasters.

That said, it is a season and not a few games, some players like Mowatt may emerge as that leader, and the arrival of a player or two can change things dramatically as we saw when Adam Hammill arrived a few years ago. There'll be players coming and going, maybe even managers, so any prediction is a wet finger in the air.

 

I’m dreading the generally poor quality, and hope we can grind out results against the spoilers.
7 for me.

 

2. We have a squad that was unable to compete last season, and which has been shorn of it's better players (Yiadom + the loanees). I'm not saying they can't improve, but at the moment they have an awful lot to prove. I think we are in for an average season (mid-table) at best. Happy to be proved wrong though.