Success. Could have been better had it not been for injuries and if Osvaldo settled down. We can get fifth next season with more astute investment and a fair bit of luck. Top 4 is miles off; however, Man Utd may continue to disappoint, Everton may struggle if they don't properly replace their loanees and Spurs haven't invested in the right players since 'arry left.
So are we saying that if we don't improve on our position next year that is a failure?! Will people then want Pochettino out?
If we make do and mend then 8th is fine. If were ambitious, keep our stars and make 3 good signings then I expect around 6th.
I'd suggest that every single impartial outside observer would say we've had and extremely successful season. I'd agree, but our expectation gets warped by being involved in it. Of course it's been a success.
Where I'm coming from is that, like many of you have said, to get any higher is going to be difficult. I happen to think that we were good enough this year to finish 5th or 6th at least. So for that reason I am disappointed. I think it will only get harder. It seems like we will have to pay much bigger salaries just to keep what we have and to attract better players we will have to pay a fortune. Obviously, if you want to look back at where we've come from, where we are now is amazing. I just think that it could have been so much better. If only Osvaldo had turned out to be a Suarez!
This season we did miss a good chance to finish over ManU. I would be surprised if that comes around next season.
?!? No, we're not good enough to finish fifth or sixth. I know you think we've got literally the world's best player in Jack Cork but we're nowhere near as good as the likes of Arsenal and Everton who are battling in fifth.
Lff, I think that you are being very, very harsh on the team and perhaps a little caught up in our own self promotion. We are Southampton and have a relatively small squad and have climbed a mountain in 5 years. Unfortunately it's the name of the mountain that people may have wrong in terms of their believe; some think we can climb Everest.
Our fully fit starting 11 +3 subs is really good. There are Championship teams with more squad depth than us. That's what we can build on in the next transfer window.
We're 20 points off fifth, 14 off sixth...heck, we're as close to last as we are to fifth. That's a lot of ground to make up in any 'could have been' scenario.
Unfortunately, because of what has been drilled into us, it's not "Can we climb Everest", but "When?". Also, the players think the sky is the limit, so Everest isn't a bad shout... I think this season has been a huge success. We are relatively disappointed about being 8th in the league, 4 years after playing in League One. It is not about the 27 year period in the top flight, it is about the last 4 years - we have come on leaps and bounds, and if anyone is disappointed, just think back to a cold night losing away to Hartlepool (no offence to them). I'm not a 'happy clappy' person, but remember the crap we've been though recently and the fact that we have 4 England Internationals (and more in reserve), a great ground, manager, set of fans. God it's great being us!!!!! COYR!!!
My biggest worry is that if we finish 10th/11th next year people will moan and see it as a failure, when it won't be.
Success. Did you think we'd get higher than 8th in our second season in the Prem? Sure, there have been times when we didn't get the rub of the green, Osvaldo was a flop, and losing J Rod is a pain, but all in all, this has been a great season. Another question. What is our average possession this season? Almost every game we play we seem ton have more possession than the opposition.
As a lifelong Saints supporter, raised on mediocrity with mid-table obscurity always the target this season has been a revelation. Great football, youngsters breaking through, wonderful academy, stable finances no 'Bertie big bollox' prima donna's [apart from one now on loan], supportive owner, excellent manager etc. etc. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Like you, I was raised on Saints mediocrity, with the occasional splash of short lived hope, so I'll settle for about 50 years of excellence. I'll be gone before then but it would be a tad selfish of me if I didn't wish for bit longer for the younger ones.
