It depends on your opinion of the squad quality. There’s some people who think it’s a relegation squad, there’s some who think it’s lower mid table, there’s some who think it’s irrelevant.
I’ve said many times I think it’s somewhere 12-16th probably about 13th if I had to be exact just behind Palace.
In 22/23 I think we had the 2nd worst squad in the league so I think Dyche’s ppg to get us to safety was an overachievement on the squad quality
In 23/24 I think we had 14th or 15th best squad, maybe tied in with Bournemouth and Wolves but behind Fulham Brighton and Palace. To finish 12th effectively without the deduction I think was a slight over achievement on the squad quality.
This season as I said I think 13th is about par. It’s been a rough start so we’ll have to make up some ground somewhere else but when people call out a massive underperformance I just don’t see it for a whole season against the quality of the squad unless people think this squad is significantly better in the quality rankings vis-à-vis every other team in the league.
I’d be a bit disappointed if we finished lower than 13th (unless we’re missing key players through injury long term), I’d be surprised if we finished much higher than it though.
