VIEW FROM THE STANDS

Last season was overall, disappointing. Adjusting to life without Jack Grealish was going to take time, but losing 19 games was less than impressive.

The big talking point is our optimism. Recruitment has been strong so far.

This season will be different because there will be no mid- year manager change.

Our key player will be Philippe Coutinho? When he really turns it on, it’s mad that he plays for Aston Villa. Hopefully those days will be more frequent this season.

I won’t be happy unless we see some genuine progress. A top- 10 finish is a real possibility, or how about a first trophy since 1996?

Our most underrated player is Matty Cash. But is our World Cup- bound Poland international really that underrated anymore?

I’m least looking forward to playing the promoted teams. Embarrassingly, Watford did the double over us last season.

The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is that his clout has been integral to signing some quality players. Now it’s about turning that into a winning team. In general, he’s popular.

If he left, he should be replaced by eesh, I guess someone like Graham Potter?

The player I’d happily drive to another club is Morgan Sanson. I really feel for the guy because he’s been unlucky with injuries, but it’s been 18 months and he’s started six league games.

The pantomime villain will be Matt Targett. Some fans didn’t take kindly to some of the spicy things he said when he left for Newcastle.

We’ll finish top eight if everything clicks. But I’ll say 10th and hope they prove me wrong in a better way than they did last season…