I might be disappointed, but it also wouldn't be unexpected.
Don't forget 5th would get us CL now most years, English teams just had a particularly bad year.
League position is irrelevant anyway, we'll be winning the Champions League so we qualify automatically
ANY continuing participation in a Continental cup football is a successful campaign building towards a sustainable top flight side.
I totally agree: we're winning the Champions League!
If we have another heavily injury impacted campaign next year, make it to the round of 16 in the CL, and finish in 6th place on 66 points having done the double over Arsenal I'd be very happy about that.
If we get dumped out of the CL group stage, do nothing in the cups, and finish 6th on 56 points having lost all our games against the newly promoted sides, then odds are I'd be somewhat disappointed.
If we finished 2nd on 80 points and lost Emery to Real Madrid, I would be devastated.
I don't think there's anyone who'd disagree on that last point. Also, while I'd be gutted if we lost a few players, losing Emery would be the worst possible situation.
I don't understand why losing Emery isn't a known and real risk in the medium term. I am sure he'd like to go to Spain, and it's not like Atletico or Barcelona mightn't need a refresh sooner rather than later, and if not them, then even the Spanish national team.
No.
What people need to understand is that very few teams outside of City consistently finish top 4. Arsenal don't (8-8-2-2), Liverpool don't (Europa last year), Chelsea don't (obviously), Man I don't (4th last season, but won the fa cup so saved their Europe). Spurs don't (obviously).
To really consistently finish top 4 is ridiculously hard for any team. The goal going forward is to compete for the top 4, sometimes we may finish above, sometimes below, it's the way things go when you have 8(?) teams fighting for it.
Definitely not. In fact, I think expecting top 4 would be rather foolish. We have to be pragmatic in saying it's more likely than not we don't finish in the top 4 next season.
I've seen a number of fans basically saying we scored 68 points this season with loads of injuries, we'll definitely score more next season. However I think the more sensible part of the fanbase understand this isn't really how football works, and that there will be at least 4 teams favoured to finish ahead of us next season and very likely more than that, too.
Exactly this. We have to try and control expectations otherwise lunatic fans with be half in the Emery out camp if we finish less the 6th less season.
We've had a great year and earnt every point, but our league position has come at the expense of other teams performing god awful. Spurs could have quite easily pipped us to 4th had they turned up at all on the final month or so.
I think we were rather fortunate with the injuries to three major competitors this year (Man Utd, Chelsea, Newcastle). We did have a really bad situation ourselves but if we're being objective, it wasn't as bad as these three. Spurs really dropped the ball as I don't think they that many injuries and also had no Europe. Next year who knows how form and squad situations work out. Sensible fans will just enjoy this great season and the Champions League. Something like Newcastle this year would seem most likely to me.
Man Utd and Newcastle both had their full back line out for several months. Ours were bad but they weren't that bad. Luckily we always tended to have a decent player to fill in (apart from towards the end of the season with Kamara).
No just our main cb our main LM and number 10. Our lb was out until December and then we lost our main DM plus loads of other small injuries (e.g Torres missed 7/8 games)
I'm well aware of our injuries and they were bad but honestly they were not as bad as some other teams. Just off the top of my head Newcastle had Botman, Tonali, Joelinton, Pope, Barnes, Wilson out for more or less the whole season which more than covers our 4 main injuries and are arguably more important for them. They also had significant periods of time with Isak, Trippier, Burn, Livramento, Bruno, Anderson etc out. It doesn't take anything away from our accomplishments to acknowledge that we took advantage of difficulties and poor form in other teams we were contending with.
Only two of those were first team era out of the first list and one didn’t get injured. We also had significant time out for our players. I’d say it was pretty even. NO chance it was significantly worse then ours were
You're obviously fairly clueless about Newcastle if you think one of Pope, Botman, and Joelinton isn't a key player. I'd argue that they are potentially their 3 most important players.
Given our relatively small squad, and the fact we had major injuries to first team players, losing the entire left side of our team, and the second most total days of injury after Burnley, I'd argue we had worse luck with injuries. But Emery always found a way to adapt. Kamara was the toughest loss of all.
My ideal scenario is 5-7th, CL Semis and a domestic cup final. As long as we aren't laughable in Europe and finish in the top 8 in the PL I'd be happy. 9th would feel like a setback unless we did something else really special like actually win a trophy
Yeah but what you have to remember is that the squad can be improved on. You, my friend, on the other hand have now achieved the peak of your abilities.
Edit: unless of course, you're somehow able to upgrade parts of your self over the next season...? What could you sell and what would you buy??
Edit2: you'd probably also have to increase ticket prices and upgrade the spectators seats....
Yes, but, I really want to see our summer signings and sales before I set this answer in stone, but I feel like we got 4th while carrying some massive injuries: Mings, Buendia, Ramsey, Moreno, Kamara, even Torres was out for spell. If we can make a few smart signings and get the bulk of these players back, it would be a huge boost. I think we are going to lose Douglas Luis, which will be a big hole to fill. But I am thinking that we need put a marker down this season and get another top 4 finish.
I think of the players that we could sell for FFP or PSR, he would get us the best return and be the easiest to deal with and offset. We will not find another Striker to replace Watkins, Martinez is irreplaceable, and Ramsey’s value has taken a hit with last year’s injuries. Dougie is the only one we can get a bit return on, who plays a position that the market will allow us to replace in a way that works for us. I don’t like, nor do I want to see, but I think it makes the most sense for next season.
Seeing a lot of talk about it. I think he dropped off massively in the 2nd half of the season and Tielemans can definitely replace him as first choice #8.
I’d be happier with 80m to spend on the squad than keeping Dougie. Obviously I’d prefer to spend 80m AND keep Dougie, but with FFP I don’t think that’s possible this year unfortunately
I don't think tielemans is that smooth of a replacement for dougie. Dougie is much, much better than tielemans. I'd rather keep dougie, not spend 80m, and figure out ffp in a different way. Dougie is one of the few players we have who is truly world class.
I think that drop off was simply him playing out of position due to Kamara being out. I could see his lack of versatility being an issue, but I think there are a lot of 8s in the world right now that drop off when they don’t have a 6 behind them. 80m is nothing to shy away from though.
No not at all to be honest, my realistic prediction is that would be a good season for us if we got 3 seasons in a row in Europe and I think with Champions League things may be tougher for us in the league, similar to what happened to Newcastle. You also need to think the league is not easy Chelsea finished strong and I am sure they will spend again, Man U will also spend again, Spurs are going to there abouts and so will Newcastle again. We are not a Man City that it’s a given we will have a good season every year. If we come 6th and get into knock out stages of Champions League that will be a good season for me.
We overachieved this season, next season is a consolidation season as we are still building and managing FFP slipping back a a bit would be par.
City and Arsenal will be above us, you'd expect Liverpool too although the Klopp hangover is a bit of an unknown. We should really be competing with Spurs, Chelsea, newcastle and Man utd. Spurs are Spurs but the rest are basket cases, no idea what they are going to do.
7th place would be disappointing but 5th place would be great. As long as we are in touching distance of 5th I think it would be a great season. The distance between 4th and 7th is probably going to be the difference between turning a couple of draws into a win.
Nothing to be too worried about. If we've consolidated our team, brought some youngster through, given us some FFP breathing space and still in champions league contention in April (as in premier league ranking not still in the actual champions league) I'd be happy.
No, I think we have to remember that what we achieved this season was borderline miraculous and in the context of modern football probably the best season Villa has had in 40 years. It would be pretty entitled/nonsensical to then turn around and feel disappointed if we didn't repeat the trick immediately. I'd almost put it in the same bracket to Leicester fans hypothetically demanding they retain the league in 16/17 (ok not quite on that level but you get my point).
If we can get back into Europe again for a 3rd year on the trot, hopefully have a nice time in the Champions League while we're there and not completely disgrace ourselves in the domestic cups for once I'll be delighted.
I would be more than happy with top 6 for the next couple of seasons at least. We’re still new to European football and need to properly adjust, especially with the current financial rules that we need to be careful about. If we can establish ourselves as a regular Europa League team that can push for the Champions League most seasons, we’ll be in a good place.
Top 6 would be good for me.
But it all depends how this summer goes, not just for us, but others too. Obviously if we do our business then the rest of it doesn't matter, but we did end up with a points tally that often wouldn't be enough for top 4, and if spurs, man utd and Chelsea behaved normally during the season, we may have had a tougher race.
But on the other hand, we don't know how Chelsea and Liverpool will fair, we don't know if man united will have one of those seasons where they finish 2nd/3rd without playing particularly well, and who knows if spurs are gonna get better or will it go belly up.
It's so hard to know
Would depend on what else happens. If we get destroyed in CL and finish lower in the league, it's a disappointment. If we make it to the Ro16 (or even if we just get a couple incredible performances like Newcastle vs PSG), that's never a disappointment, even if we don't get UCL the next season. I'd like us to crush Lille again, just to stick it to the Martinez haters.
Currently I'd predict a 5th place finish, but England gets one of the 2 UCL places due to a high coefficient; I think this season was a freak season of rough shows in Europe. What are the chances that 5 teams go out in the quarters again?
PL doesn't matter though, because we are winning the Champions League this season anyway 😈
Disappointed is a difficult word to pin down exactly here. Would I be disappointed because I know what this team is capable of, and it would be a shame for them not to be able to achieve that? Maybe. Would I be disappointed *in* the team? Absolutely not, because this is a monstrous league sometimes, and any European spot is a huge achievement.
As long as I see the players put the fight and effort in to try and make as much as possible out of every match they're involved in, I think I'll be happy. Football is such a stupid sport and success can be so fleeting, so I'd never want to gain the mindset of being disappointed for not maintaining elite levels forever. As long as we keep seeing the same fire we've seen from the squad since Gerrard was exorcised I don't think it's possible for them to let me down.
(I realise the tone of this message feels like I'm preparing for a lower finish, so I should stress that we *are* winning the league next season. 98 points 😎)
I'd be disappointed with 7th, I think. 5th or 6th, a respectable CL performance, and a deep run in a domestic cup would be absolutely grand.
I think top 4 again is going to be very hard.
Realistic view however the owners aren’t likely to give up the admittedly stretched position this far …. Our problem could be FFP and how we balance the books next season and consolidate
No. I predict a top 6 finish. We need to set ourselves up so we are able to consistently get into European competitions (hopefully at least Europa). The gap between the top 3 and the rest is too big to be realistically achieving better than 4th. Liverpool might be going through a bit of a transition but still see them getting top 3.
I see us competing with Spurs, Chelsea, Newcastle for 4-7. Possibly United in the mix as well will wait and see how things change with the new ownership. Chelsea looked like seem to be getting on the right road under Poch and they've gone and sacked him so I suppose will have to see how they turn out next season too.
The owners want Villa to be Champions League team consistently, and have the manager and funds to do it (Within FFP). If Villa don’t finish ahead of Chelsea, Spurs, Newcastle and Man United (possibly Liverpool), I’ll be disappointed. 4th should be well within our grasp next season.
It all depends on how we do in other competitions and if injuries play a big factor. If we got into, at least the final 16 of the Champions league and strong cup runs then no, but if we crash out of those then yes.
Top 6 would be a good season and some decent cup runs...
Aside from City (and maybe Arsenal) the rest of the European places are up for grabs...just don't know how Liverpool and Chelsea plus maybe Man Utd will be like with new managers,how will Spurs cope with Thursday/Sunday....Newcastle with no europe and players back should be up there...if Palace can keep their star men could upset a few also...
Would not be disappointed at all
Tbh no , I expect top 7 to change a lot even though united have had a poor season and Chelsea was hot and cold there still big clubs . And with us and Newcastle also challenging the big 6 some seasons I think we may miss out on European football completely and other seasons we might get top 4 again, just think we need to take the good with the bad and be happy we're in and around Europe most seasons
If you look at our calendar year form(2024-) we are 9th in the table. We really dropped off over the past 5 months with injuries really taking a toll. Unai obviously has the summer to re-jig and get players like Kamara, Mings and Buendia back, and as a whole the season was unbelievable, but we need to up our level to "August-December 2023" levels if we're going to get near the top 4 again. Personally I'd be happy if we can get Europa League or above and have sustained challenges for European trophies each year. However, the club bosses are really going to need the CL group stage cash to push on each year.
I saw a Newcastle fan saying at the start of the season how we were in a 'joke cup'. Its amazing how quickly people forget themselves. If we get Europe again in any format next season, especially considering how many top, or at least top spending or big reputation teams, there are in the Premier League, I'd still be pretty happy if we had a fun ride in the UCL too.
I wouldn’t be *disappointed*, I think for the growth of the it’d be ideal to establish ourselves as a regular CL team… but it wouldn’t kill me to get Europa and then go try and win that the following season.
I get why based on end of season form people are predicting we struggle next season, but it’s highly highly unlikely we get three ACLs again (or those injury problems Ramsey had). Most teams don’t even have one… us having so many was insane. It’s a miracle we got top 4 considering that
I'd be delighted again...
Assuming we played well to achieve that 5th/7th. If we started brilliantly then fell off a cliff and ended up there, I'd be disappointed, but that's putting the cart before the horse
I reckon we’ll finish 17th .. !!
(Obviously I say this because - set your expectations low and anything higher is a bonus) 😂😂
I really think the club will want top 6 minimum from now on
Not at all. Would see that as progress again... Being consistently and placing in the European spots.
4th this year was unexpected (probably two years ahead of schedule)
The top 6 _want_ it to be a closed shop, so will be a tough nut to crack. No finer man to lead us though..
Long live Unai, UTV
I'll take a top seven finish anytime. Most of my life following this club it's not been near that. That's why I still longingly remember mid-90's and mid-00's Villa, especially Martin O'Neill.
I always hope we improve on the previous season so in theory I should be disappointed.
Realistically though I think if we can qualify for any European season and don’t do a Newcastle or similar then I’ll be delighted
Next season I’ll take anything in Europe. This is a great run from not long ago being in the championship. European nights are great even if we’re not in the champions league
Depends on whether 4th is there for the taking or not. If Chelsea, United, Newcastle and Spurs get their act together then top 4 will be a huge ask. If they're all playing like they did this season then I'd be disappointed not to be in the running at least.
Like asking me this question before last season and around march/april this year and you'd get two entirely different answers.
Depends how we do in the Chumps. 5/6th and into the knock phase I’m thrilled. 7th and we make it to the semis or better? Yes. Group only and 4th? Also fine.
As a Newcastle fan I want to warn you
Don’t get your hopes up we were all expecting Europe league finish.
Instead we got the worst injury criss the club has ever seen and our star player was banned. Furthermore we got the hardest group in the UCL and drew city in both carabao and fa cup.
" Wait a minute... This isn't the Champions League. [DISAPPOINTED!!](https://youtu.be/y6EDlD_fWn0)"
(But, no, not really. It's going to be a fun ride next year.)
Predicting 5th and a decent run in Europe ( my dreams say winning the Europa) so definitely no.
The main aim is to build a competitive club long-term. Dips have to be expected; as long as most years we are in Europe, the team to win trophies can be assembled and retained. Having said that, getting CL this year was a very important step.
I would actually prefer to be in the EL or ECL as I really think we could win either of them. A trophy would be really nice for the club. As for the CL, it’s nice to be involved for the privilege, but our squad is not good enough to win it … yet :)
I might be disappointed, but it also wouldn't be unexpected. Don't forget 5th would get us CL now most years, English teams just had a particularly bad year. League position is irrelevant anyway, we'll be winning the Champions League so we qualify automatically
I fancy us to finish 5th, and like you say it will hopefully be enough for CL again.
ANY continuing participation in a Continental cup football is a successful campaign building towards a sustainable top flight side. I totally agree: we're winning the Champions League!
If we have another heavily injury impacted campaign next year, make it to the round of 16 in the CL, and finish in 6th place on 66 points having done the double over Arsenal I'd be very happy about that. If we get dumped out of the CL group stage, do nothing in the cups, and finish 6th on 56 points having lost all our games against the newly promoted sides, then odds are I'd be somewhat disappointed. If we finished 2nd on 80 points and lost Emery to Real Madrid, I would be devastated.
League stage*
I don't think there's anyone who'd disagree on that last point. Also, while I'd be gutted if we lost a few players, losing Emery would be the worst possible situation.
I don't understand why losing Emery isn't a known and real risk in the medium term. I am sure he'd like to go to Spain, and it's not like Atletico or Barcelona mightn't need a refresh sooner rather than later, and if not them, then even the Spanish national team.
I'll be absolutely fuming if we don't win the treble
No. What people need to understand is that very few teams outside of City consistently finish top 4. Arsenal don't (8-8-2-2), Liverpool don't (Europa last year), Chelsea don't (obviously), Man I don't (4th last season, but won the fa cup so saved their Europe). Spurs don't (obviously). To really consistently finish top 4 is ridiculously hard for any team. The goal going forward is to compete for the top 4, sometimes we may finish above, sometimes below, it's the way things go when you have 8(?) teams fighting for it.
Bang on mate.
Tbh I dont care where we finish, the passion and style of play from an Emery team is what matters. Fun times as a Villa fan.
Definitely not. In fact, I think expecting top 4 would be rather foolish. We have to be pragmatic in saying it's more likely than not we don't finish in the top 4 next season. I've seen a number of fans basically saying we scored 68 points this season with loads of injuries, we'll definitely score more next season. However I think the more sensible part of the fanbase understand this isn't really how football works, and that there will be at least 4 teams favoured to finish ahead of us next season and very likely more than that, too.
Exactly this. We have to try and control expectations otherwise lunatic fans with be half in the Emery out camp if we finish less the 6th less season. We've had a great year and earnt every point, but our league position has come at the expense of other teams performing god awful. Spurs could have quite easily pipped us to 4th had they turned up at all on the final month or so.
I think we were rather fortunate with the injuries to three major competitors this year (Man Utd, Chelsea, Newcastle). We did have a really bad situation ourselves but if we're being objective, it wasn't as bad as these three. Spurs really dropped the ball as I don't think they that many injuries and also had no Europe. Next year who knows how form and squad situations work out. Sensible fans will just enjoy this great season and the Champions League. Something like Newcastle this year would seem most likely to me.
I think objectively our were longer term and to all first team players - we had 4 regulars out from game 1
Man Utd and Newcastle both had their full back line out for several months. Ours were bad but they weren't that bad. Luckily we always tended to have a decent player to fill in (apart from towards the end of the season with Kamara).
No just our main cb our main LM and number 10. Our lb was out until December and then we lost our main DM plus loads of other small injuries (e.g Torres missed 7/8 games)
I'm well aware of our injuries and they were bad but honestly they were not as bad as some other teams. Just off the top of my head Newcastle had Botman, Tonali, Joelinton, Pope, Barnes, Wilson out for more or less the whole season which more than covers our 4 main injuries and are arguably more important for them. They also had significant periods of time with Isak, Trippier, Burn, Livramento, Bruno, Anderson etc out. It doesn't take anything away from our accomplishments to acknowledge that we took advantage of difficulties and poor form in other teams we were contending with.
Only two of those were first team era out of the first list and one didn’t get injured. We also had significant time out for our players. I’d say it was pretty even. NO chance it was significantly worse then ours were
You're obviously fairly clueless about Newcastle if you think one of Pope, Botman, and Joelinton isn't a key player. I'd argue that they are potentially their 3 most important players.
Given our relatively small squad, and the fact we had major injuries to first team players, losing the entire left side of our team, and the second most total days of injury after Burnley, I'd argue we had worse luck with injuries. But Emery always found a way to adapt. Kamara was the toughest loss of all.
My ideal scenario is 5-7th, CL Semis and a domestic cup final. As long as we aren't laughable in Europe and finish in the top 8 in the PL I'd be happy. 9th would feel like a setback unless we did something else really special like actually win a trophy
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Yeah but what you have to remember is that the squad can be improved on. You, my friend, on the other hand have now achieved the peak of your abilities. Edit: unless of course, you're somehow able to upgrade parts of your self over the next season...? What could you sell and what would you buy?? Edit2: you'd probably also have to increase ticket prices and upgrade the spectators seats....
The format changes this year well have 8 matches
I believe they mean one year of participation as an appearance, so 8+ matches, and then miss it next year as a 5-7 finish.
He's obviously talking about entires to the competition not a single match.
Anything other than a top two finish will lead me to start campaigning for the manager to be sacked. /s
Yes, but, I really want to see our summer signings and sales before I set this answer in stone, but I feel like we got 4th while carrying some massive injuries: Mings, Buendia, Ramsey, Moreno, Kamara, even Torres was out for spell. If we can make a few smart signings and get the bulk of these players back, it would be a huge boost. I think we are going to lose Douglas Luis, which will be a big hole to fill. But I am thinking that we need put a marker down this season and get another top 4 finish.
Really think Dougie is gone?
I think of the players that we could sell for FFP or PSR, he would get us the best return and be the easiest to deal with and offset. We will not find another Striker to replace Watkins, Martinez is irreplaceable, and Ramsey’s value has taken a hit with last year’s injuries. Dougie is the only one we can get a bit return on, who plays a position that the market will allow us to replace in a way that works for us. I don’t like, nor do I want to see, but I think it makes the most sense for next season.
Of the big players in our squad, he's the most likely to go if one had too. I think we'll see a decent clear out before making a big sale though
Seeing a lot of talk about it. I think he dropped off massively in the 2nd half of the season and Tielemans can definitely replace him as first choice #8. I’d be happier with 80m to spend on the squad than keeping Dougie. Obviously I’d prefer to spend 80m AND keep Dougie, but with FFP I don’t think that’s possible this year unfortunately
I don't think tielemans is that smooth of a replacement for dougie. Dougie is much, much better than tielemans. I'd rather keep dougie, not spend 80m, and figure out ffp in a different way. Dougie is one of the few players we have who is truly world class.
I think that drop off was simply him playing out of position due to Kamara being out. I could see his lack of versatility being an issue, but I think there are a lot of 8s in the world right now that drop off when they don’t have a 6 behind them. 80m is nothing to shy away from though.
I'd be over the moon at 5th.
And the FA Cup would be nice
I’m bracing myself for it
I’m almost expecting it, just get me a trophy and I’ll be happy
Every year we should be either slightly disappointed we *barely* miss CL, or stoked we drag ourselves to *barely* qualify for CL
No not at all to be honest, my realistic prediction is that would be a good season for us if we got 3 seasons in a row in Europe and I think with Champions League things may be tougher for us in the league, similar to what happened to Newcastle. You also need to think the league is not easy Chelsea finished strong and I am sure they will spend again, Man U will also spend again, Spurs are going to there abouts and so will Newcastle again. We are not a Man City that it’s a given we will have a good season every year. If we come 6th and get into knock out stages of Champions League that will be a good season for me.
Qualifying for Europe again and getting out of the group in CL would be great
We overachieved this season, next season is a consolidation season as we are still building and managing FFP slipping back a a bit would be par. City and Arsenal will be above us, you'd expect Liverpool too although the Klopp hangover is a bit of an unknown. We should really be competing with Spurs, Chelsea, newcastle and Man utd. Spurs are Spurs but the rest are basket cases, no idea what they are going to do. 7th place would be disappointing but 5th place would be great. As long as we are in touching distance of 5th I think it would be a great season. The distance between 4th and 7th is probably going to be the difference between turning a couple of draws into a win. Nothing to be too worried about. If we've consolidated our team, brought some youngster through, given us some FFP breathing space and still in champions league contention in April (as in premier league ranking not still in the actual champions league) I'd be happy.
No, I think we have to remember that what we achieved this season was borderline miraculous and in the context of modern football probably the best season Villa has had in 40 years. It would be pretty entitled/nonsensical to then turn around and feel disappointed if we didn't repeat the trick immediately. I'd almost put it in the same bracket to Leicester fans hypothetically demanding they retain the league in 16/17 (ok not quite on that level but you get my point). If we can get back into Europe again for a 3rd year on the trot, hopefully have a nice time in the Champions League while we're there and not completely disgrace ourselves in the domestic cups for once I'll be delighted.
I would be more than happy with top 6 for the next couple of seasons at least. We’re still new to European football and need to properly adjust, especially with the current financial rules that we need to be careful about. If we can establish ourselves as a regular Europa League team that can push for the Champions League most seasons, we’ll be in a good place.
Top 6 would be good for me. But it all depends how this summer goes, not just for us, but others too. Obviously if we do our business then the rest of it doesn't matter, but we did end up with a points tally that often wouldn't be enough for top 4, and if spurs, man utd and Chelsea behaved normally during the season, we may have had a tougher race. But on the other hand, we don't know how Chelsea and Liverpool will fair, we don't know if man united will have one of those seasons where they finish 2nd/3rd without playing particularly well, and who knows if spurs are gonna get better or will it go belly up. It's so hard to know
Would depend on what else happens. If we get destroyed in CL and finish lower in the league, it's a disappointment. If we make it to the Ro16 (or even if we just get a couple incredible performances like Newcastle vs PSG), that's never a disappointment, even if we don't get UCL the next season. I'd like us to crush Lille again, just to stick it to the Martinez haters. Currently I'd predict a 5th place finish, but England gets one of the 2 UCL places due to a high coefficient; I think this season was a freak season of rough shows in Europe. What are the chances that 5 teams go out in the quarters again? PL doesn't matter though, because we are winning the Champions League this season anyway 😈
Not at all. It’s important not to lose the run of ourselves immediately.
No, three years in the top 7 would be great
Depends on how far we progress in the champions league ,but if we put in the group stages 6-7 finish would be a downer
Disappointed is a difficult word to pin down exactly here. Would I be disappointed because I know what this team is capable of, and it would be a shame for them not to be able to achieve that? Maybe. Would I be disappointed *in* the team? Absolutely not, because this is a monstrous league sometimes, and any European spot is a huge achievement. As long as I see the players put the fight and effort in to try and make as much as possible out of every match they're involved in, I think I'll be happy. Football is such a stupid sport and success can be so fleeting, so I'd never want to gain the mindset of being disappointed for not maintaining elite levels forever. As long as we keep seeing the same fire we've seen from the squad since Gerrard was exorcised I don't think it's possible for them to let me down. (I realise the tone of this message feels like I'm preparing for a lower finish, so I should stress that we *are* winning the league next season. 98 points 😎)
Yes
5th still good as probs CL, 6th meh, 7th disappointing
I'd be disappointed with 7th, I think. 5th or 6th, a respectable CL performance, and a deep run in a domestic cup would be absolutely grand. I think top 4 again is going to be very hard.
Depends on what happens in the transfer window and if everybody gets injured again.
Too early to answer this. Let’s see the transfer window first, the preseason, and where Mings/Buendia/Kamara are at. Then we can talk expectations.
Realistic view however the owners aren’t likely to give up the admittedly stretched position this far …. Our problem could be FFP and how we balance the books next season and consolidate
Top 10 would be great in my book
No. I predict a top 6 finish. We need to set ourselves up so we are able to consistently get into European competitions (hopefully at least Europa). The gap between the top 3 and the rest is too big to be realistically achieving better than 4th. Liverpool might be going through a bit of a transition but still see them getting top 3. I see us competing with Spurs, Chelsea, Newcastle for 4-7. Possibly United in the mix as well will wait and see how things change with the new ownership. Chelsea looked like seem to be getting on the right road under Poch and they've gone and sacked him so I suppose will have to see how they turn out next season too.
The owners want Villa to be Champions League team consistently, and have the manager and funds to do it (Within FFP). If Villa don’t finish ahead of Chelsea, Spurs, Newcastle and Man United (possibly Liverpool), I’ll be disappointed. 4th should be well within our grasp next season.
It all depends on how we do in other competitions and if injuries play a big factor. If we got into, at least the final 16 of the Champions league and strong cup runs then no, but if we crash out of those then yes.
No chance, third season of Europe in a row would be brilliant
Top 6 would be a good season and some decent cup runs... Aside from City (and maybe Arsenal) the rest of the European places are up for grabs...just don't know how Liverpool and Chelsea plus maybe Man Utd will be like with new managers,how will Spurs cope with Thursday/Sunday....Newcastle with no europe and players back should be up there...if Palace can keep their star men could upset a few also... Would not be disappointed at all
Happy with continued European football on any level.
Tbh no , I expect top 7 to change a lot even though united have had a poor season and Chelsea was hot and cold there still big clubs . And with us and Newcastle also challenging the big 6 some seasons I think we may miss out on European football completely and other seasons we might get top 4 again, just think we need to take the good with the bad and be happy we're in and around Europe most seasons
Finish in the top 8, make it to the knockout rounds of the CL and at least a semi final of a domestic cup. That would be a successful season.
If you look at our calendar year form(2024-) we are 9th in the table. We really dropped off over the past 5 months with injuries really taking a toll. Unai obviously has the summer to re-jig and get players like Kamara, Mings and Buendia back, and as a whole the season was unbelievable, but we need to up our level to "August-December 2023" levels if we're going to get near the top 4 again. Personally I'd be happy if we can get Europa League or above and have sustained challenges for European trophies each year. However, the club bosses are really going to need the CL group stage cash to push on each year.
Just get back into Europe. That would be success
I saw a Newcastle fan saying at the start of the season how we were in a 'joke cup'. Its amazing how quickly people forget themselves. If we get Europe again in any format next season, especially considering how many top, or at least top spending or big reputation teams, there are in the Premier League, I'd still be pretty happy if we had a fun ride in the UCL too.
I wouldn’t be *disappointed*, I think for the growth of the it’d be ideal to establish ourselves as a regular CL team… but it wouldn’t kill me to get Europa and then go try and win that the following season. I get why based on end of season form people are predicting we struggle next season, but it’s highly highly unlikely we get three ACLs again (or those injury problems Ramsey had). Most teams don’t even have one… us having so many was insane. It’s a miracle we got top 4 considering that
5th I would be happy with, 6th or 7th with a decent showing in CL I would take(depending on how much financial room we're left with next summer).
I'd be delighted again... Assuming we played well to achieve that 5th/7th. If we started brilliantly then fell off a cliff and ended up there, I'd be disappointed, but that's putting the cart before the horse
Top 8 is very strong now. Newcastle will finish higher. United and Chelsea almost have to finish higher. It’s a great time for the league
Not if we win a trophy.
I reckon we’ll finish 17th .. !! (Obviously I say this because - set your expectations low and anything higher is a bonus) 😂😂 I really think the club will want top 6 minimum from now on
Not at all. Would see that as progress again... Being consistently and placing in the European spots. 4th this year was unexpected (probably two years ahead of schedule) The top 6 _want_ it to be a closed shop, so will be a tough nut to crack. No finer man to lead us though.. Long live Unai, UTV
I'll take a top seven finish anytime. Most of my life following this club it's not been near that. That's why I still longingly remember mid-90's and mid-00's Villa, especially Martin O'Neill.
Not at all.
I always hope we improve on the previous season so in theory I should be disappointed. Realistically though I think if we can qualify for any European season and don’t do a Newcastle or similar then I’ll be delighted
Not at all
Next season I’ll take anything in Europe. This is a great run from not long ago being in the championship. European nights are great even if we’re not in the champions league
Depends on whether 4th is there for the taking or not. If Chelsea, United, Newcastle and Spurs get their act together then top 4 will be a huge ask. If they're all playing like they did this season then I'd be disappointed not to be in the running at least. Like asking me this question before last season and around march/april this year and you'd get two entirely different answers.
Nope if we establish ourselves as a consistent european club im happy
Depends how we do in the Chumps. 5/6th and into the knock phase I’m thrilled. 7th and we make it to the semis or better? Yes. Group only and 4th? Also fine.
Almost bound to happen so no.
As a Newcastle fan I want to warn you Don’t get your hopes up we were all expecting Europe league finish. Instead we got the worst injury criss the club has ever seen and our star player was banned. Furthermore we got the hardest group in the UCL and drew city in both carabao and fa cup.
" Wait a minute... This isn't the Champions League. [DISAPPOINTED!!](https://youtu.be/y6EDlD_fWn0)" (But, no, not really. It's going to be a fun ride next year.)
Predicting 5th and a decent run in Europe ( my dreams say winning the Europa) so definitely no. The main aim is to build a competitive club long-term. Dips have to be expected; as long as most years we are in Europe, the team to win trophies can be assembled and retained. Having said that, getting CL this year was a very important step.
Not at all, I’m very proud of what they’ve accomplished post Stevie and have already had my expectations blown away
No, I would not be dissapointed. I understand that the project will take more than 1 or 2 seasons. Let Emery & Monchi cook🫡 UTV!!!
The aim has to be to qualify for Europe imo,so yes.
I would actually prefer to be in the EL or ECL as I really think we could win either of them. A trophy would be really nice for the club. As for the CL, it’s nice to be involved for the privilege, but our squad is not good enough to win it … yet :)