''Could Southampton really become a top-six team within the next few seasons''

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I agree with a lot of that article. I've been saying that it times are changing and some team with a lean, efficient budget and a more modern business/talent acquisition "Moneyball" kind of philosophy will break into the top. It's already happening. OTOH, it does get harder the higher you go. It's all well and good to beat Man City once, but can you consistently win against the big AND small teams?

If this were Scarface, the Saints over the last month or so would be at the "Push it to the Limit" montage scene. Everything rolling, accolades coming in, slow-mos of brilliant goals, etc. But with the spectre of over-ambition hanging over us. As you get bigger things get harder, and the same traits that got you there can also bring you down. So we'll have to see how the last hour plays out.

Could we do it? Yes, for sure. Will we do it? I think so, but with the game we are playing things could go bad in a hurry.
 
Utd,City and Chelsea are basically nailed on for top 6. That leaves Arse, Spurs, Everton, Liverpool and probably 1 suprise team a season fighting for the other 3 spots. In the second half of the season we have either drawn, beaten or more than matched but lost (Utd) every team in the top 7 (yet to play Spurs again). Anything is possible, maybe a couple of quality signings and more consistancy we could be pushing top 6 in a couple of years time.
 
I Sorry I Ruined The Party said:
But with the spectre of over-ambition hanging over us. As you get bigger things get harder, and the same traits that got you there can also bring you down. So we'll have to see how the last hour plays out.

Could we do it? Yes, for sure. Will we do it? I think so, but with the game we are playing things could go bad in a hurry.
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We are arguably the most financially stable club in england. If Cortese pulls out we could well struggle to reach the heights of european football but I fail to see any scenario where things could go bad in a hurry.

As you get bigger things only get easier, more income, better players, better managers, better everything. I can't think of one thing about being bigger that would make winning football matches harder.

Perhaps you saying that as you get bigger it is harder to get even bigger which is a fair enough point.
 
West Brom and Swansea both got thereabouts at stages this season, so yes. Also, this is the third season in a row that Saints have surpassed our predictions. And since I'm predicting top 8 next season, i won't be surprised if they surpass that.
 
I think the foundations for the big push are in place, the key to continued drive up the league will be quality players coming over the summer. Four or five top class players and then after a success next season then kick off the development of the ground.
 
As the core of our team are so young (or young in heart in the case of Lambert:smile:), I can see no reason that we can't continue to progress over the next few years. I think we will also keep those players if we continue to have success and they continue to enjoy themselves. Not every football player will want a move purely for money. New players we find that can fit nicely into our system and maintain the momentum will be very important. It would take a perfect storm of wonderful players, hard work and luck to challenge for the very top. Be nice if talent alone was enough, but we all know you need megabucks for that and, sadly, we don't have a besotted billionnaire at the helm (now that is a case of what could have been). I see a reasonable chance of the Europa League in the next two years. Our rivals should be Spurs, Everton and Arsenal.

Good to be in the position to even think this...I hope everyone is holding tight.
 
It's all about strength in depth. At present our whole focus is on maintaining our Premier League status, which generally means enough recovery time between matches to keep a reasonably unchanged side, given allowances for injuries. If we are to challenge for top 6 places while having cup runs, or later on playing in Europe, we will need backup players who are as good as our first team choices. By no stretch of the imagination are we there yet, although next season will give a few more of the Academy boys a chance to prove themselves, and we will hopefully sign a few players in the areas mentioned above over the summer.

The more I think about this, the more I see expanding the stadium as an essential factor in moving up the table and getting into Europe. A squad of higher value and quality than our current squad will cost a lot more in wages, so our income stream will have to be increased as well. Our average attendance so far this year is 30,695, or about 94% of our 32,689 capacity. This gives me confidence that we could easily average 45,000 in a bigger stadium, which would put us up with the Liverpools and Chelseas (and even Man Citys) of this world. That would make a European challenge truly sustainable.
 
Nicola said that he would extend SMS when we were in the PL and challenging for the Champions league (was tongue in cheek, though some took it as a promise). To progress it is essential, but it will be massively expensive....more than if it was done at the beginning. I also wouldn't be surprised if the original plans are no longer possible because of stricter building regs, especially regarding foundations. Nicola said that SMS had been built on the cheap...I'm not blaming anyone...it was an achievement to get it built at all. I'm sure the issue is being addressed, but it won't be for a few years I suspect.
 
I was considering in the last couple of days whether expanding SMS would actually be a good thing to do. We know it can be expanded to 45000ish, and that would be more than enough for the next few years, but what then? If we continued to be successful and continued to grow, I'm guessing SMS couldn't then be expanded again without a major rebuild? Would we not be better off starting again and building a 45-50k stadium that could in theory be expanded to or beyond the limits of our growth potential? I realise that this is rumoured to be an option that Nicola has looked at.
 
If SMS can be expanded to somewhere in the range of 50k, that ought to be sufficient for our ambitions...heh, if we ever get to a point where it's not, chances are that Cortese can build the new stadium with stacks of £50 notes if desired.
 
ChrisMarsdenFootballGenius said:
I was considering in the last couple of days whether expanding SMS would actually be a good thing to do. We know it can be expanded to 45000ish, and that would be more than enough for the next few years, but what then? If we continued to be successful and continued to grow, I'm guessing SMS couldn't then be expanded again without a major rebuild? Would we not be better off starting again and building a 45-50k stadium that could in theory be expanded to or beyond the limits of our growth potential? I realise that this is rumoured to be an option that Nicola has looked at.
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You and Fran are probably right about the difficulties of expanding SMS beyond about 45,000 so that begs the next question, where do we go? Stoneham Lane would be ideal but we are unlikely to get planning permission from Eastleigh Council, and where else is there? Maybe knock SMS down and start again, and ground share at the Silverlake? Or (wash my mouth out) Fratton Park? It's been done before!
 
ChilcoSaint said:
It's all about strength in depth. At present our whole focus is on maintaining our Premier League status, which generally means enough recovery time between matches to keep a reasonably unchanged side, given allowances for injuries. If we are to challenge for top 6 places while having cup runs, or later on playing in Europe, we will need backup players who are as good as our first team choices. By no stretch of the imagination are we there yet, although next season will give a few more of the Academy boys a chance to prove themselves, and we will hopefully sign a few players in the areas mentioned above over the summer.

The more I think about this, the more I see expanding the stadium as an essential factor in moving up the table and getting into Europe. A squad of higher value and quality than our current squad will cost a lot more in wages, so our income stream will have to be increased as well. Our average attendance so far this year is 30,695, or about 94% of our 32,689 capacity. This gives me confidence that we could easily average 45,000 in a bigger stadium, which would put us up with the Liverpools and Chelseas (and even Man Citys) of this world. That would make a European challenge truly sustainable.
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Presuming simple expotential growth. Is this realistic? I'm not entirely convinced. Liverpool have something like 10,000 on a waiting list for a Season Ticket. They can be certain that adding to the capacity of their ground will increase revenue - can we be so sure? I don't get the feeling that there are 10,000+ frustrated Saints fans clamouring for a seat at SMS. Even when Saints had their most successful run under Lawrie there was still a general lack of interest outside of the football mad minority in the town. Whenever I visit Southampton I still see lots of Liverpool and Man Utd badges in cars owned, I suspect, by armchair fans who would struggle to find either City on a map. Getting local people out of their chairs and watching their local team play live football is a challenge.
 
ChilcoSaint said:
It's all about strength in depth. At present our whole focus is on maintaining our Premier League status, which generally means enough recovery time between matches to keep a reasonably unchanged side, given allowances for injuries. If we are to challenge for top 6 places while having cup runs, or later on playing in Europe, we will need backup players who are as good as our first team choices. By no stretch of the imagination are we there yet, although next season will give a few more of the Academy boys a chance to prove themselves, and we will hopefully sign a few players in the areas mentioned above over the summer.

The more I think about this, the more I see expanding the stadium as an essential factor in moving up the table and getting into Europe. A squad of higher value and quality than our current squad will cost a lot more in wages, so our income stream will have to be increased as well. Our average attendance so far this year is 30,695, or about 94% of our 32,689 capacity. This gives me confidence that we could easily average 45,000 in a bigger stadium, which would put us up with the Liverpools and Chelseas (and even Man Citys) of this world. That would make a European challenge truly sustainable.
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Hitting the nail on the head there regarding strength in depth. There's such a big difference between playing in the PL and coming 5-8th, and doing the same while also playing Europa League / FA Cup. Newcastle are a prime example. We would essentially need to flesh out a second 11 that doesn't feature players like SDR, Guly, Danny Fox... It's not trivial
 
I think it's going to be more difficult than we think.

Look at Swansea, they made a solid start to Premier League life last year, play a similar brand of football to us and have a great manager in Laudrup. They also brought in one of the most prolific goalscorers in Michu, and made a great start to this season's campaign, yet they are slipping down the league and there is a slight chance we could overtake them before the season is out. Why? No idea...but goes to show it's a tough nut to crack.
 
Going back to the extension of SMS...we may not have lots of fans desperate for tickets, but a larger capacity may give Nicola options in pricing. I would like to see low price seats for younger fans...they are the future. Catch them early before they are tainted by ManU etc.
 
Southampton is a small City on the South Coast. A beautiful place imo, boasting an old town that's retained it's character despite the best efforts of the Luftwaffe and 1960s town planners, close to the New Forest and the IOW, and with the best climate in the UK. A quiet little backwater, in other words. It's not a coincidence that the leading clubs throughout the world come from the big population centres. A 50,000 stadium? Can't see that getting filled. We may have the odd European adventure, but we'll never be challenging the supremacy of the Manchester clubs, or Chelsea or Arsenal. Or, though it pains me to say it, Spurs
 
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