2017-18 Fan Predictions: What supporters think of the season ahead ...

EIGHT days is how long Yorkshire was without a Premier League representative last May.
Huddersfield Town fans celebrate promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-off final at Wembley back in May. Picture: Simon HulmeHuddersfield Town fans celebrate promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-off final at Wembley back in May. Picture: Simon Hulme
Huddersfield Town fans celebrate promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-off final at Wembley back in May. Picture: Simon Hulme

In terms of the season for White Rose football, Hull City’s final top-flight game – a seven-goal humiliation at home to Tottenham Hotspur – and Huddersfield Town’s joyous Wembley triumph just about summed up 10 months of hugely contrasting fortunes for our senior clubs.

Three promotions, a hat-trick of relegations, one agonising play-off final defeat and some truly abject Cup performances made the 2016-17 campaign anything but boring within the Broad Acres.

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The hope is that we can have more of the same this time around, albeit without anyone suffering the fate of Hull City, Middlesbrough and Rotherham United by falling out of their respective divisions.

BIG YEAR: Sheffield Wednesday coach Carlos Carvalhal, right and the Owls' owner & chairman, Dejphon Chansiri, left. Picture: Steve Ellis.BIG YEAR: Sheffield Wednesday coach Carlos Carvalhal, right and the Owls' owner & chairman, Dejphon Chansiri, left. Picture: Steve Ellis.
BIG YEAR: Sheffield Wednesday coach Carlos Carvalhal, right and the Owls' owner & chairman, Dejphon Chansiri, left. Picture: Steve Ellis.

All eyes will be on Huddersfield’s maiden voyage in the Premier League. Last season’s promotion was an incredible achievement by a team that many tipped to struggle before a ball had been kicked in anger.

A strong start that yielded eight wins from the opening 11 fixtures set the tone for the Terriers and there can be little doubt that, once again, the fate of David Wagner’s men will rest on the need to be similarly adept at collecting points in the early weeks.

The club’s opening half-dozen fixtures are not overly arduous, certainly when compared to the autumn run of Spurs, Manchester United and Liverpool inside four weeks. Ten points, therefore, from that gentle start to life back in the top flight after 45 years has to be the target.

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Relegated duo Hull and Boro have had contrasting summers on the recruitment front.

Can striker Charlie Wyke fire Bradford City back up to The Championship by the end of the 2017-18 season?  Picture Tony Johnson.Can striker Charlie Wyke fire Bradford City back up to The Championship by the end of the 2017-18 season?  Picture Tony Johnson.
Can striker Charlie Wyke fire Bradford City back up to The Championship by the end of the 2017-18 season? Picture Tony Johnson.

Garry Monk’s arrival and subsequent spending spree means anything but an instant return to the Premier League will surely be a disappointment on Teesside. The Tigers, however, look some distance from being able to do the same after also changing manager during the summer.

Elsewhere, Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday are determined to improve on what was a hugely disappointing end to what had been shaping up to be a potentially memorable season.

Sheffield United, in contrast, ended last term on the major high of reaching 100 points and Chris Wilder’s task is to harness that momentum and follow the example of Barnsley a year ago in adapting to the higher level in impressive fashion.

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League One, meanwhile, has the potential to throw up three strong promotion candidates from the county.

BIG YEAR: Sheffield Wednesday coach Carlos Carvalhal, right and the Owls' owner & chairman, Dejphon Chansiri, left. Picture: Steve Ellis.BIG YEAR: Sheffield Wednesday coach Carlos Carvalhal, right and the Owls' owner & chairman, Dejphon Chansiri, left. Picture: Steve Ellis.
BIG YEAR: Sheffield Wednesday coach Carlos Carvalhal, right and the Owls' owner & chairman, Dejphon Chansiri, left. Picture: Steve Ellis.

One area our clubs will surely improve on this time around is the Cups. Just Middlesbrough and Huddersfield got beyond the fourth round of the world’s oldest competition but compared to what had happened in the first round of the re-branded EFL Cup this represented quite an impressive performance.

No less than seven of our clubs crashed out at the first hurdle, six against sides from a lower division. Truly dire, even allowing for Hull City and Leeds United subsequently going on to reach the last four and eight, respectively. A big improvement is needed.

Here, supporters of Yorkshire’s 10 Premier League and Football League representatives outline hopes and fears for the season that lays ahead.

Interviews by Richard Sutcliffe and Leon Wobschall.