Although we will be favourites to go up, we are very much an unknown quantity

[JackHamlet90]

Championship is tough you have to earn the right to go up let's see if we can do that but as things stand right now the best 2 sides on paper are Fulham & West Brom.
Football isn't won on paper but there is no doubt we have a lot of proven championship quality players who have been promoted before also with a couple who can do well in the Prem.
We need a few more additions but I would be surprised if we wasn't right near the top come May

[rebel]

Just remember that in the previous two promotion seasons our first 10 games didn't exactly say we were certainties for promotion :
2017/18 - W3, D5, L2  ( drew our first 3 games ) Points 14/30
2019/20 - W5, D3, L2  Points 17/30

17/18, That's Joka using his 'blueprint'. Parker did similar, probably trying to use Joka's 'blueprint'.

[rebel]

Championship is tough you have to earn the right to go up let's see if we can do that but as things stand right now the best 2 sides on paper are Fulham & West Brom.
Football isn't won on paper but there is no doubt we have a lot of proven championship quality players who have been promoted before also with a couple who can do well in the Prem.
We need a few more additions but I would be surprised if we wasn't right near the top come May

I think most teams in the Championship this season has been in the Premiership at one time or other.

[Statto]

The bookies always make the teams that have just come down favourites.

Well that isn't just the bookies making up those odds. They reflect bets placed, not only by casual punters but lots of experts and insiders, no doubt. So we are favourites for a reason. Of course with the window still open and the generally unpredictable nature of the Championship, it doesn't guarantee anything by any stretch of the imagination, but make no mistake that as it stands we are on paper the best team in the division.

[MartyFFC]

So WBA and Sheffield United, both with new managers, and both of whom were relegated last season finishing beneath us in the table; will be strong. We however, are an unknown entity and so we don't know how we'll do. Am I missing something

[Deeping_white]

So WBA and Sheffield United, both with new managers, and both of whom were relegated last season finishing beneath us in the table; will be strong. We however, are an unknown entity and so we don't know how we'll do. Am I missing something

Yes, the self-deprecating nature of being involved with Fulham  :005: :005:

[Lordedmundo]

We are favourites to go up because were the highest placed of the sides relegated back to the Championship and because the value of the squad is massively higher than every other club in our division (only Sheffield United are relatively close):

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/championship/startseite/wettbewerb/GB2

It doesn't of course mean that we have the best or most effective team - but it does mean that we should be favourites.

Our spending power since Al Fayed took over completely blitzes many of the teams in this division. As an example - the same site shows the record transfer fees paid by some of the teams in our division in their history:

Peterborough: £1.71m
Blackpool: £1.35m
Luton: £1.53m

[TC's Sporran]

bookies favourites sometimes reflects how much money has been bet and they adjust the odds to suit.
i know this as we once put a large team bet on ourselves (in another sport) and suddenly we were favourites.
and we were so far away from winning it was unbelievable.

[LC]

Minus Andersen we have the same defence as last season which I believe was mid table in terms of goals conceded. So we have the best defence in the championship and I don't think that's an unreasonable statement.
If Anguisse and Reed remain then we probably have the best two centre midfielders as well. With that in mind, we should be winning the league this season. But we will be hoping Mitrovic finds form again (I'm going to presume we don't sign a back up until one is in the door).

We need to win the league period.

[WindyCity]

Yes, the self-deprecating nature of being involved with Fulham  :005: :005:

Haha....good one!  Maybe so, but I still don't see how FFC is favored for promotion. 

[rebel]

I'm really looking to see what Joka does with Sheff Utd, hope he does well, so underrated as a manager.

[MartyFFC]

As matters stand we have a 24 million pound midfielder (as bid by Villarreal) alongside proven PL quality players such as Reed and Tosin. Add to that a 28 million pound former golden boot winner up front, and people are worrying about Barnsley and QPR. Of course nothing is guaranteed in football but jesus, to say we shouldn't be favourites is ridiculous