I genuinely can't decide whether this season has been a success or ultimately, a disappointment. On the face of it, its a no-brainer. Saints have played some of the best football in the country, and arguably the best ever from a Southampton team; we have outplayed many of the top teams; we have an unprecedented 4 players selected for England and 2 nominated for top awards; we've had 3 or 4 academy players playing well and looking good for the future and we could still get our highest ever points total. And yet.........! We are only 6 points ahead of Crystal Palace, a team who looked doomed for most of the season. I remember going to Arsenal earlier in the season when a win would have taken us top. There was genuine optimism and rightly so. However, a howler for Boruc and a penalty given for an offence that you see un-punished 10 times a game and that was the end of that. Despite some great performances I don't think we ever truly recovered. We have dominated games that we have gone on to lose, we've given up 2 goal leads and given away more points from winning positions than any other team (I think). We spent a lot of money pre-season which really was wasted (although I accept that Wanyama might still prove to be a good investment). I'm not complaining. It has been an enjoyable season and we don't have our usual end of season worries, which is a blessing, but in the end it has been frustrating in that we really have the ability to be up there challenging for a top 4 position. I'm interested in what others think. Success or failure?
A success as we have done better than last season...bearing in mind that second seasons can be hard. We have played good football....in fact we have scarcely played any poor games. We have got a lot of players in international sides, especially England. We have survived the loss of our Chairman and remained in the hands of Katharina Leihberr. We could feel disappointed after our great start, but that was perhaps unrealistic. A good season.
Crystal Palace having a great season means our season could be considered disappointing? How does that work? It's been a great season. Surprised the question even needs asking.
Yes, provided we don't drop a place or two, before the end of the season, it is a success, and not even a mild one. I'm still disappointed, but only because of what might have been, barring injuries and a thin squad. Let's beat that PL points haul.
Definitely a success. Injuries to Wanyama and Lovren, particularly, undid our fantastic defensive record, and the threadbare nature of our squad have left us ineffective as a strike force since Jay's injury, but despite all that an equal highest-ever position, together with a possible record points total has to be seen as a great achievement.
It has also been nice to get appreciation from non-fans. May not be important in the scheme of things but pleasant nonetheless. I liked the cartoon in yesterday's Mirror...a director at Real Madrid saying we've got Bale...if we could get Shaw, we'd be the new Southampton.
Pretty silly question really. There's a nailed-on top 7, then there's us, top of the rest. Massive improvement on last season, and that's even with one of our major signings being a flop and another being injured for half the season. We've only been in the Prem two seasons; steady on with the expectations.
Success for me. I just wonder were we could have ended up this year if we had a bit more luck on our side
Success in the grand scheme of things but with a degree of failure along the way, but given the small size of our squad, some crucial injuries and some bad luck nothing to really regret I feel. If the stars had aligned perhaps we could have done more and achieved something truly special but we can be happy with what we've achieved.
One win in the final three and we'll tie our all-time high in the 38-game PL era. That has to be a success.-
A good season which, with a bit more luck and cutting edge, could have been a great one. Still a success though. Nowhere near the relegation zone, and only our 2nd season back in the PL remember.
Who would have thought we would be where we are now at the beginning of the 2009/10 season on -10 at the foot of League 1? Certainly a successful season - let us build on this and challenge the top 7!!!
The disappointments only underline the success of the season which is a shift in expectation from survival to challenging for Europe or the expectation that we should be challenging for Europe. When you consider this has been achieved with a squad only two signings better than a year ago then it's a job well done. I think the disappointment felt is more an anxiety about what could possibly happen this summer. (Manager & important players leaving) Then it could feel like an opportunity lost. Could we have invested more in January? Possibly, but you don't get transfer bargains in the winter window and now we know the club have a transfer debt already it would of been irresponsible to gamble. We all know what needs to happen this summer. Keep the key players and get in 3 or 4 players(Rickie said it himself) and hopefully we can close the gap on the top 7 and stay competitive for longer.
Funny how we determine a successful season? By our standards it has been, yet for Manchester United, eight points ahead of us it has been a failure, and I am sure some Tottenham fans would consider their season rather disappointing so it depends to a large degree on one's perception, expectations and the club's standing.
