I think we could/should win it next year. There aren’t “strong favourites” either way at this point.
They have the squad which has “been there, done that” for a number of years. They’ve won a lot of trophies and that can’t be ignored. But they’ve had a change of manager. They lost their “talismanic” leader and have appointed a manager who failed to get the better of us on a level playing field until the implosion of 2012. He also didn’t cover himself in glory at either Bolton or the spoonburners. Their squad is also aging and badly in need of a revamp. Their star defender is injury-prone. They have poor CB’s and RB’s. They have McGregor and Forrest in midfield but Brown is past it and is beginning to be found out by the rest of the league and Ntcham & Rogic look to have chucked it. Eduoard looks to blow hot and cold and Griffiths is a basket case.
On the other hand, we have managerial stability. Our squad needs improvement but does not need the kind of overhaul theirs does. If we keep hold of Tavernier and Morelos then we’re looking at upgrades in MF for some creative spark and RB as well as more depth so as not to leave us short when injuries and suspensions bite. However, our squad have won the sum total of diddly-squat so there is still much for them to prove and there needs to be much greater consistency shown, along with the ability to grind out wins when it matters if we are to get over the line.
We’d be tepid favourites if it weren’t for the corrupt and biased media and officials; this is something which WILL cause us to drop points next season unless and until we can be better at fighting our corner and highlighting the corruption. That said, if they get off to a bad start their media cheerleaders will be so butthurt that they’ll get stuck in with no hesitation & no holds barred.
The transfer window will be critical for both clubs. If we get our recruitment right and don’t repeat the mistakes of Grezda, Lafferty and Barisic and if they lose one or more of their star men (Forrest, McGregor, Bhoy Wonder) then we will then be in pole position with a better managerial team, better squad and an organisation which I’d focussed solely on winning football matches & isn’t being distracted by off-field litigation, potential compensation claims and the attendant horrendous negative PR.