I'm sorry but "settling" for 8th is pessimistic as fuck. 7th at the very least should be the goal. Look at last season, and look at the players. Then compare to other teams in and around 7th place. I'm not having the; "but what if we the squad is to thin?". I'm sure Pardew doesn't just ship players out/release players without thinking of the consequences. My one and only worry atm if aiming for minimum 7th is the CB situation. That is if the situation is the same 31th of August. Everybody chill the fuck out. The silver fox is cunning.