Middlesbrough fans have been revealed as being the most optimistic in The Football League ahead of the start of the 2015/16 Sky Bet Football League season.
With an average optimism rating of 4.71 out of 5, more fans of Boro than any other club say they are feeling ‘very optimistic’ ahead of the Season 2015/16 kick-off.Having fallen just short last season with defeat to Norwich City in the Championship Play-Off Final at Wembley, Middlesbrough fans predict that their side will go one better this time – on average they think they will finish second in the Sky Bet Championship table to earn promotion to the Premier League. Just behind Middlesbrough in the Championship were Derby County fans (4.68), with Burnley third in (4.35).
The most optimistic fans among teams in Sky Bet League 1 are Sheffield United supporters (4.69), followed by Scunthorpe United (4.50) and Doncaster Rovers (4.39). Among fans in Sky Bet League 2, those most optimistic about their team’s chances this season are Luton Town fans (4.66), followed by Portsmouth (4.54) and Oxford United (4.41)
The results are based on a Football League survey of over 5,000 supporters across all 72 Football League clubs, which also asked fans what position they think their team will finish in, which team they though would win the division, who would be top scorer and which player from another team in their division they would most like to sign.
The new Sky Bet Football League season kicks-off this evening when Brighton & Hove Albion take on Nottingham Forest at 7:45pm, with the curtain-raiser being screened live on Sky Sports. Also live on Sky Sports this weekend is Leeds United versus Burnley (Saturday, 12:30pm) and Preston North End versus Middlesbrough (Sunday, 12pm).
The remainder of the 72 Football League clubs return to action on Saturday at 3pm, with a brand new prime-time highlights show featuring all the goals starting on Channel 5 at 9pm on Saturday evening.
The full results of the Football League fan survey are as follows:
1. Fan optimism ahead of the new season
Sky Bet Championship Ranking out of 5
1 Middlesbrough 4.71
2 Derby County 4.68
3 Burnley 4.35
4 Hull City 4.29
5 Brentford 4.28
6 Ipswich Town 4.19
7 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4.01
8 Fulham 3.95
9 Charlton Athletic 3.92
10 Sheffield Wednesday 3.84
11 Bristol City 3.78
12 Rotherham United 3.75
13 Birmingham City 3.74
14 Leeds United 3.72
15 Queens Park Rangers 3.63
16 Brighton & Hove Albion 3.63
17 Reading 3.60
18 Milton Keynes Dons 3.54
19 Preston North End 3.53
20 Nottingham Forest 3.38
21 Cardiff City 3.36
22 Huddersfield Town 3.36
23 Blackburn Rovers 2.83
24 Bolton Wanderers 2.71
Sky Bet League 1 Ranking out of 5
1 Sheffield United 4.69
2 Scunthorpe United 4.50
3 Doncaster Rovers 4.39
4 Wigan Athletic 4.32
5 Bradford City 4.28
6 Rochdale 4.22
7 Gillingham 4.12
8 Shrewsbury Town 4.06
9 Barnsley 4.03
10 Burton Albion 4.00
11 Bury 3.95
12 Southend United 3.81
13 Millwall 3.80
14 Port Vale 3.57
15 Oldham Athletic 3.53
16 Peterborough United 3.53
17 Walsall 3.42
18 Swindon Town 3.33
19 Fleetwood Town 3.26
20 Coventry City 3.23
21 Colchester United 3.04
22 Chesterfield 2.92
23 Blackpool 2.20
24 Crewe Alexandra 2.07
Sky Bet League 2 Ranking out of 5
1 Luton Town 4.66
2 Portsmouth 4.54
3 Oxford United 4.41
4 Cambridge United 4.39
5 Accrington Stanley 4.33
6 Plymouth Argyle 4.29
7 Wycombe Wanderers 4.22
8 Notts County 4.21
9 Northampton Town 4.18
10 Morecambe 4.14
11 Mansfield Town 4.10
12 Exeter City 4.06
13 Leyton Orient 4.05
14 AFC Wimbledon 4.03
15 Barnet 4.03
16 Bristol Rovers 3.92
17 Hartlepool United 3.79
18 Stevenage 3.77
19 Yeovil Town 3.75
20 Carlisle United 3.60
21 Crawley Town 3.20
22 York City 3.14
23 Newport County 3.09
24 Dagenham & Redbridge 2.67
2. Average Predicted Finish Position
Sky Bet Championship Av Predicted Position
Birmingham City 8
Blackburn Rovers 11
Bolton Wanderers 13
Brentford 5
Brighton & Hove Albion 8
Bristol City 10
Burnley 3
Cardiff City 8
Charlton Athletic 8
Derby County 2
Fulham 6
Huddersfield Town 12
Hull City 3
Ipswich Town 4
Leeds United 7
Middlesbrough 2
Milton Keynes Dons 12
Nottingham Forest 8
Preston North End 12
Queens Park Rangers 6
Reading 8
Rotherham United 15
Sheffield Wednesday 7
Wolverhampton Wanderers 5
Sky Bet League 1 Av Predicted Position
Barnsley 5
Blackpool 16
Bradford City 5
Burton Albion 10
Bury 10
Chesterfield 12
Colchester United 15
Coventry City 10
Crewe Alexandra 18
Doncaster Rovers 4
Fleetwood Town 12
Gillingham 6
Millwall 6
Oldham Athletic 10
Peterborough United 6
Port Vale 10
Rochdale 7
Scunthorpe United 5
Sheffield United 2
Shrewsbury Town 10
Southend United 10
Swindon Town 9
Walsall 10
Wigan Athletic 4
Sky Bet League 2 Av Predicted Position
Accrington Stanley 8
AFC Wimbledon 7
Barnet 9
Bristol Rovers 7
Cambridge United 5
Carlisle United 9
Crawley Town 7
Dagenham & Redbridge 15
Exeter City 6
Hartlepool United 9
Leyton Orient 5
Luton Town 2
Mansfield Town 7
Morecambe 6
Newport County 13
Northampton Town 5
Notts County 4
Oxford United 4
Plymouth Argyle 4
Portsmouth 2
Stevenage 7
Wycombe Wanderers 5
Yeovil Town 8
York City 12
3. Predicted Divisional Champions
Sky Bet Championship
Middlesbrough 39%
Derby County 24%
Hull City 9%
Queens Park Rangers 7%
Burnley 6%
Sky Bet League 1
Sheffield United 44%
Wigan Athletic 32%
Millwall 5%
Swindon Town 4%
Barnsley 3%
Sky Bet League 2
Portsmouth 35%
Luton 18%
Notts County 8%
Leyton Orient 6%
Wycombe Wanderers 6%
4. Predicted Top Scorers
Sky Bet Championship
Jordan Rhodes
Chris Martin
Benik Afobe
Darren Bent
Charlie Austin
Sky Bet League 1
Billy Sharp
Will Grigg
Che Adams
Lee Gregory
Paddy Madden
Sky Bet League 2
Matt Tubbs
Reuben Reid
Marc Richards
Craig Mackail-Smith
Barry Corr
5. Player You Would Most Like To Sign
Sky Bet Championship
Jordan Rhodes
Charlie Austin
Adam Le Fondre
Tom Ince
Will Hughes
Sky Bet League 1
Billy Sharp
Will Grigg
Ian Henderson
Tom Pope
James Hanson
Sky Bet League 2
Matt Tubbs
Reuben Reid
Adebayo Akinfenwa
Gary Roberts
Jamie Cureton
The information in this story is based on an online survey of more than 5,000 fans by The Football League in the build-up to the new season.