It’s a funny old game ... the pre-season predictions of Norwich City columnists and fans

Pre-season predictions are as much a part of our August diet as overseas tours and new signings – in normal circumstances anyway.

While our football clubs deal with the build-up and who’s going to play for them, the predictions are left to the rest of us... and sometimes, well, you’re can end up with a bit of egg on your face, particularly after the thrill of a promotion season leaves you with a feelgood factor that refuses to go away, no matter how much harder the task ahead is.

So what did we predict for Norwich City in the season 2019-20? In alphabetical order, here are the pundits’ predictions - followed by the results of a poll of our readers.

Ian Clarke

Where will City finish? 15th

Who will win the title? Liverpool

Which three teams will be relegated? Brighton, Sheffield United and Bournemouth

Di Cunningham

Teemu Pukki - most fans thought he'd scored 11-15 goals. So far he has scored 11 Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd (Image: Paul Chesterton)

Where will City finish? 14th

Who will win the title? Manchester City

Which three teams will be relegated? Burnley, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa

Paddy Davitt

Where will City finish? 15th

Who will win the title? Manchester City

Which three teams will be relegated? Sheffield United, Brighton and Bournemouth.

David Freezer

Emi Buendia was tipped to be this season's most important player Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd (Image: ©Focus Images Limitedwww.focus-images.co.uk+447814 482222)

Where will City finish? 15th

Who will win the title? Manchester City

Who will be relegated? Brighton, Burnley, Sheffield United

Chris Goreham

Where will City finish? 14th

Who will win the title? Manchester City

Who will go down? Sheffield United, Newcastle, Brighton

David Hannant

Guess no one thought head coach Daniel Farke would mastermind a win over Manchester City either ... Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd (Image: Paul Chesterton)

Where will City finish? 12th

Who will win the title? Manchester City

Which three teams will get relegated? Brighton, Villa and Newcastle

Matt Howman

Where will City finish? 16th

Who will win the title? Manchester City

Which three teams will be relegated? Sheffield United, Burnley, Brighton

Chris Lakey

Chris Wilder's Sheffield United were tipped to struggle... Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd (Image: Paul Chesterton)

Where will City finish? 16th

Who will win the title? Liverpool

Which three teams will be relegated? Brighton, Southampton, Sheffield United

Lee Payne

Where will City finish? 14th or 15th

Who will win the title? Manchester City

Which three teams will be relegated? Sheffield United, Brighton, Newcastle

Iwan Roberts

Where will City finish? 15th

Who will win the title? Manchester City

Who will be relegated? Sheffield United, Brighton and Newcastle

Melissa Rudd

Where will City finish? 16th

Who will win the title? Manchester City

Which three teams will be relegated? Sheffield United, Brighton, Newcastle

Robin Sainty

Where will City finish? 16th

Who will win the title? Manchester City

Who will go down? Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Newcastle

Terri Westgate

Where will City finish? 13th

Who will win the title? Liverpool

Which three teams will be relegated? Brighton, Newcastle and Crystal Palace

Fans survey

Where do you think City will finish in the Premier League?

Top six: 1pc

Top half: 9pc

Bottom half: 79pc

Bottom three: 11pc

Who will be City’s most important player this season?

Emi Buendia: 47pc

Josip Drmic: 1pc

Ben Godfrey: 17pc

Grant Hanley: 0pc

Tim Krul: 6pc

Timm Klose: 0pc

Moritz Leitne: 5pc

Teemu Pukki: 17pc

Marco Stiepermann: 1pc

Tom Trybull: 1pc

Christoph Zimmermann: 3pc

Other: 2pc

Where do you think City will be in five years’ time?

Premier League: 48pc

Yo-yo club: 41pc

Championship: 11pc

Below Championship: 0pc

Which of the new signings will have the biggest impact?

Josip Drmic: 22pc

Patrick Roberts: 69pc

Sam Byram: 2pc

Ralf Fahrmann: 7pc

How many goals will Josip Drmic score?

1-5: 23pc

6-10: 64pc

11-15: 12pc

16-19: 1pc

20-plus: 0pc

How many goals will Teemu Pukki score in the Premier League?

1-5: 2pc

6-10: 33pc

11-15: 56pc

16-19: 8pc

20-plus: 1pc

Where do you think Aston Villa will finish in the Premier League?

Top six: 0pc

Top half: 10pc

Bottom half: 67pc

Bottom three: 23pc

Where do you think Sheffield United will finish in the league?

Top six: 0pc

Top half: 0pc

Bottom half: 33pc

Bottom three: 67pc