Next Season- what would constitute success or failure?

I was going to post on the "success or failure" thread for this season, but everything had been said, and many seemed to be saying that it depends what follows. That got me thinking about the nature of what success would look like next season.
On one level, it's easy to say, better than our final position this season. Fair enough, but by that standard at some point you consider it a failure of you don't win the league every season. If you look at a team like Arsenal, they haven't won anything for a long time and their fans get restless, despite qualifying for Champion League every year. And Arsenal run a tight ship financially.
I think that the answer for me is all there in the Southampton Way, the original mission statement.
Stable Premiership side-check
Run club on sound business footing-check. Play attractive brand of fast passing football admired by others- yes, with bells on. Have a squad with a spine of locally produced talent from the Academy -check and more on the way.
There you have it. If not mortgaging our future means that we don't break into the top three in a season or two, then sobeit. My measure of success for the next few seasons would be a consistency which has not been Saints hallmark as long as I can remember. Success next season, and this would obviously be easier keeping our manager and best players together, would be a consolidation of what has been achieved and a strengthening of our squad with hopefully more Academy lads in that number. I believe that our best hope lies in the keeping together of a young side and helping them to reach their potential as they mature. Too many teams have one or two good seasons in the EPL and then fade.
As to the five year outlook, it would be great to have some decent cup runs, some Europa League experience. Top 3? That's a huge ask and I would settle for cementing our foundations as a consistent top 8 side.

 

Well obviously finishing higher than 8th next season would be a success. For me, IF we keep hold of all our key players, finishing in the bottom half would be a disappointment.

 

For me a successful season next year will all depend on the summer. If we can keep Mauricio and our first team players such as Shaw, Lallana, Schneiderlin, Chambers etc. then we could make a push for the top 6 I think. But, we would probably need to add a couple of players. However, it could be a completely different side next season, and that makes defining a successful season that much more difficult.

As long as we keep our identity, i.e playing attacking passing football, with lots of younger players, I will be happy.

 

Yep, exactly what Al just said for me. Depends entirely on what transpires over the summer. If we lose MP and keep players, staying in the Premier League will be a success. It builds exponentially from there, but impossible to say until the start of next season.

 

I agree Channon except that in addition to keeping the players and manager I'd like to see a few new faces each year to fill out the squad to move up the table. I have no doubt that with a bigger squad we would have been able to gain more points late last year when we had so many injured. To really move up and challenge the quality of the second seven is going to have to improve.

As for position I would be happy with where we are while we keep our finances tight and squad improving.

 

Next season will be a success if we carry on as now. Only a few sides can be top dogs...let's face it, no one would have predicted Liverpool in pole position for the title and they are bigger than we are. A good season is if we can be top ten all season and perhaps finish 6-8th. Further success will take longer.

 

We just need to keep building the foundations. We can have a successful season without improving our final league position, as long as we can look at the squad at the end of the season and say it's strengthened since this time last year and it looks like going places.

Also let's please try and win the FA Cup.

 

Measuring success has been easy thus far

7th League One
2nd League One
2nd Championship
14th Premier League
8th Premier League?

The steps at the top of the ladder are bigger and more treacherous.

Finishing higher and a cup final would be a success next season.
Building a stronger squad and having another comfortable and enjoyable season would be satisfactory
Struggling to survive would be a failure

 

Bill Shankly was right; football's a simple game, though it's connotations are of course infinite. Next season will be a success if we score more goals than we have this, and concede less.

 

Keep our best players, give the FA Cup a proper go and finish top half again would be a success for me.

 

The blueprint hasn't changed, we will have a mix of established players combined with a couple of new signings and a few academy products....Lets not forget that Cortese's long term vision was to have the majority of the team to be eventually composed of "home made" players and he carefully cherry picked Poch as the Coach to realise his vision with his history of bringing through young talent.
I will take the new CEO's words at face value and when he says that he wants to keep the group together and carry on the same path, then I will believe it until it is proved otherwise.

 

This is very much the vision of Les Reed and I think the owner and new chairman acknowledge that Les is very much in control of the football side of things

 

Funnily enough I don't have the expectations for next year that I had for this. I really felt that this was our big chance which is probably why I am a little disappointed that we didn't finish higher.

Success for next season really depends on what we do in the summer. On the one hand, just keeping this team together, I would deem a success. But, if we manage to not only do that but add some real quality then you would have to say that we would need to finish a place or two up (or above Man Utd).

If we have a bad summer, I can't see us being this good again.

 

Another finish in the top half would be a success for me, especially if we finish ahead of a team like Newcastle.

 

Assuming we keep our young players, if we're going to improve on this years finish we're going to need an inspired forward signing. We tried last year but they haven't quite worked out! Liverpool (and Man City) aren't where they are because of a great defence but a lethal front line and we play a similar style. It seems this year the old adage that a great team is built on a great defence doesn't apply! Makes for far better veiwing too! Long may it continue!

 

Success for me would constitute several things:

1 - Actually reaching a desired position without people within the club continually building up expectations of over achievement without weighing up all the variables that work against the perfection of winning every game we play well. Players do get injured. Players do make mistakes. Luck is involved sometimes and referees do make mistakes.

2 - That Saints could actually turn possession into goals scored consistently

3 - That Saints can actually win games when they are in a position to do so and not keep giving games/points away.

Other than that another top 8 is what we can reasonably expect at the moment as a successful season (even if we do bring in a few more quality players.)

I think Top 4 would be an amazing achievement, top 6 would be a very good season and cementing top 8 would be a success. Any lower would be a failure in my eyes and also signal a decline that may leave us in limbo not knowing whether it will be a mid table season or relegation scrap from then on.