What were your expectations at the start of the season? Have they been matched?
No they certainly haven't. Most of us felt that we would be in mid table with a fighting chance of competing for a UEFA Cup place, and if you look at the squad we had at the beginning of the season that was a reasonable aspiration. So to spend the whole season scrabbling around at the bottom has been a huge disappointment.
Has the manager done a good enough job?
It is difficult to blame it all on Zola. Zola has never had his own squad. He hasn't been in a position to bring in the players he wanted so by and large has had to play with the hand he was dealt. I do think he will suffer the consequences of a poor season and he won't be with us at the beginning of next season. That's very sad.
Predictions
Remaining fixtures:
| Stoke (H) | W |
The Stoke game is the key one here. If we can win that and show some resilience, I think we will get enough points from the others to be safe. If we lose it and collapse like we did against Wolves, then who knows what might happen. We never get anything at Everton or Liverpool and Wigan have become a bit of a bogey side for us so I don't expect much from those games. |
| Everton (A) |
L |
|
| Sunderland (H) |
W | |
| Liverpool (A) |
L | |
| Wigan (H) |
D | |
| Fulham (A) | W | |
| Man City (H) | L | |
| Points: | 37 |
Will you stay up? What position?
Yes, I think we will, and probably with a few places to spare. I'd say 15th.
The bottom 3:
18. Hull
19. Burnley
20. Portsmouth