Nobody aims for consolidation. We'll try and win every game and go for promotion. However, what a lot of us think is that we won't regard midtable and above as a disaster. Long term success should be our aim, not a flash in the pan.
Firstly, you seem to be taking success as a given. Its not, getting out of this league is bloody difficult. We might not be able to do it for many years. This whole post seems to be based on the premise that we have millions of pounds sitting in a swiss bank account somewhere just begging to be spent. I personally don't think anybody has any evidence to say that. I don't want to see the club go on any spending spree we can't afford in a reckless bid to get promoted this year. Surely we should have learned that lesson after what happened to us in 08/09. Plus added to that, if we want to go up by spending money then we have to outspend six clubs who are getting HUGE parachute payments still, which I don't hink we have any chance of competing with. And even if we did sign £15 million worth of new players, it doesn't guarantee success. Plus, who cares if we don't meet the 'five year plan'. Are you saying that if we don't Cortese will be gone, and the club will be bust? I personally hope that the club's future hasn't been gambled in that fashion. Also don't think 'a bit of tweaking' will be enough. To really push for promotion then realistically we're probably going to need about six or seven new players.
cant imagine we will get any loan signings from the top level of the prem. with just about all of the top6 after chambo and saints seemingly refusing to sell they wont do us a favour by lending us any of there reserve/youth teams. its not panic stations yet, i have a feeling saints will look to bring in some talent from foreign leagues with our new head of european scouting or whatever, if i could only have 2 signing it would be a centre back and a striker, relax theres plenty of strikers to go round.
This coming season the pressure's off. Very few really expect us to get promotion and there's a few clubs ahead of us in the betting. So we can start building on what's already a good team, making some unhurried additions in key areas and not being ripped off because we're desperate to buy. At the same time I'm a great beliver in maintaining momentum. Winning matches feels great and Norwich are a good example of a club which carried through momentum from one season to the next. So we need to be competitive and keep that winning mentality. Hence I think we do need to add to the squad but not urgently. I think close season boredom, with a bit of panic thrown in is to blame for some of the comments on here.
I am of the view that the foundations have been dug and some of which have been foundations have been laid. NC has been consistant with the message that this is a long-term plan to establish us a premiership team that will, further in the future, be competing in Europe. The first phase was two years maximum in League 1 and by the end of Year 5 to be in the premiership. There is no point rushing ahead and pushing many young players to punch above their weight and find ourselves relegated from the premiership in two years time with a dis-spirited team. To reiterate; its a 5 Year Plan and we are about to enter Year 3. The team's supporting infrastructure is not in place; but will be over the next two years. Take time to develop the young talent we have and slowly mesh in other players that compliment the squad and strengthen us for what will be on heck of a battle in 2 to 3 years time. I do not want us to be a 'laughing stock' like Derby were when recording the lowest points talley and Blackpool now are for their spetacular free-fall (not to mention an idiotic manager!).
Even if there is lots of money to spend, spending big doesn't make success a given. If its done too hastily, you end up paying too much for players like Rasiak, Idiakez, Skacel, Saganowski, BWP, Pele and Wayne Thomas. If you don't do your research, you can also end up with wronguns like Puncheon. If our season's aim is anything but relegation, we can afford to do things with a bit of freedom and extra forethought.
I would absolutely amazed if we got promotion this season. This league is getting stronger by the day with McClaren going to Forest, West Ham SOMEHOW signing Kevin Nolan (I'll never understand that one) and teams like Birmingham already having strong squads, we'll have to do hugely well to compete up the top.
Everyone will be expecting them to shine and inevitably there will be some flops. Doing well on the quiet and unspectacular is our way.
Hey GhostofGordon........Welcome to the Saints board not sure if someone has already welcomed you so am doing so just in case they haven't. Hope you enjoy the site. Any problems pm either myself or kingslandSFC and we will do our best to help. Don't forget to tell your mates about the site. It does not matter who they support all are catered for on here.......Enjoy.
I wouldn't say that McClaren going to Forest is a good thing for them, in fact i'd make them favourites for relegation now... However Nolan going to West Ham is incredible. He ripped this league to pieces last time and I wouldn't be surprised if he did it again.
I'd challenge that. He spent roughly £100 million at Boro and achieved the square root of nothing, apart from the flukiest run to a final of a competition since Portsmouth in the FA cup. Every season at some point Boro fans wanted him gone. At Twente he did OK, but the side was built by the previous manager, and by all accounts was running itself, (and Dutch football at the moment is a bit of a joke). And at Wolfsburg he took a title winning side into a relegation battle. Imo that isn't a great record.
I'm still glad we have Adkins instead of him! Think the 'wally with the brolly' tag will come back to haunt him.
And I'll second that. He only got the job on the back of the comebacks in the quarter and semis of the UEFA cup (good though they were). in Feb of that season a boro fan ran on and threw his season ticket at him. He owes a lot to the BEEBS documentary on big Sam or he'd have got the nod.
