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Ambition/Targets for next season?


SKD

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With this season being all but over, what should our targets be for next season?

 

No European fixture overload (which we haven't had since 8th December anyway), A full pre season for the (as described by some on here) world class coach Puel, and a chance for him to get his own players in. No excuses next year.

 

Expectations: European qualification, either via cup or league, as a minimum.

Predictition: 13th-9th in the league, quarter final of EFL cup, 5th round FA cup.

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New manager, new cb, new acm, new dm, new gk, new first team coach, keep existing top players then onwards and upwards

 

Not asking for much then ?

 

Don't think Puel deserves the push although I'm not totally convinced he's the right man. Difficulty is though that I'm not sure we'd attract anyone significantly better.

 

Playing wise - some improvements throughout are required GK, CB, and MF. Full backs also if we allow Cedric & Bertrand to leave.

 

Aims (as ever) - cup runs, and EL qualification. (Then to spend the following season complaining about rotation and fixture congestion no doubt).

Edited by Badger
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has to be top half finish with an aim of being better up front and going for the top teams at home

 

also, to keep the summer sales of VvD (clearly going) from the starting 11

 

not to hear horse-shyt from les reed about the club

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I would hope for another good cup run and be in with a shout of Top 6 or 7 if one of the big boys slips up. Some of the crazed posters on here want to have a chin wag with the fans of about thirty other Premier League and former Premier League clubs from West Brom all the way down to Bolton and Sheffield Utd to find out how well we are doing. That includes Leeds, Derby, Blackburn, Forest and Villa who have won the title and in some cases won the European cup in the last few decades.

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Take back the best of the rest crown from Everton and play attractive and attacking football

 

Less respect for the big 6 on and off the pitch

 

If Puel does stay then he needs to rethink his style and approach to games

Whilst we have lost to the top 6 we have hardly had the rub of the green in some of those games. Home and away against Spurs, Arsenal the joke penalty at the end of the game, we beat Everton soundly at SMS , we drew away at City. So we haven't been destroyed and not given them too much respect
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We should be aiming to be more than just a also ran, happy to just make up the numbers selling our best players season after season.Otherwise what is the point? Who remembers the teams finishing 6th-17th in the years gone its not a achievement. Would be nice to see Saints win something before i'm dead and gone.

 

Can we afford to do that though?

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We've sold key players every summer we've been back in the Premier League, and that appears to be our model for financial security (not that that's necessarily a bad thing) so I really can't see us keeping VVD this summer, as our key 'jewel'. I'm preparing myself for the worst, so that if we don't sell him I'll be pleasantly surprised. The fee we'll get for him though should mean we don't need to sell any other 'jewels', but then I guess it depends on who (if anyone) kicks up a fuss and wants to leave. The media are already linking other clubs to Tadic, Cedric (not that I think Barcelona will go for him - Bellerin if anyone), Bertrand, and even Gabbiadini, not to mention the likes of Romeu, Redmond and JWP will have admirers. Then there's the question of selling squad players like JRod and Clasie. Keeping the team together as much as possible will be key to knowing how well we do next season. At the start of this season I said that this will be a transition season - and it feels as if that has been the case.

 

If, and I say if in hope, we keep everyone together, and strengthen the backbone with a centre back and defensive midfielder, then I really think the sky is the limit next season with no extra games to play in Europe. I'm talking even fighting for top 4. However the realist in me thinks we'll be rebuilding again following the sales of a couple of key players (albeit in a stronger position than this season as we have youngsters come through and the likes of Yoshida much improved) and we'll achieve similar to this season, perhaps with a better points total due to more rest between games.

 

Our summers are never boring, that's for sure!

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Can we afford to do that though?

 

This club is currently just marking time waiting for a takeover and only when it happens can we have an insight into the future direction. Kat has clearly taken things as far as she is able or willing to and wants out. We saw from Man City the effects of mucho dinero, their players were simply different class. We can't seriously challenge the top four without spending power way beyond our present level. Therefore everything depends on the next owner, the depth of their pockets and their willingness to reach deeply into them. Of course, FFP will need to be considered but we have just announced a new Chinese betting sponsor which may be an indicator of the commercial power that could be generated if we do indeed become Chinese owned. If this does happen we can only hope they are investing for success not mid table mediocrity. This will be an important summer in the history of SFC.

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And ditch the negative supporters

 

NEGATIVE...... that will be the tactics Puel uses against top teams and against a poor beer sheeva at home that cost us our Europa, something that the club really wanted and really went for it under koeman . So I'm sorry but the money I pay to watch and travel too I expect to at least give teams a go, we've done it a couple of times this season, arsenal away (cup) Liverpool h/a (cup) and utd in final and looked great but with Puel most of the time it is negative, wer'e up there because the mid section of epl is so tight and everyone is beating everyone and the standard grnerally is so poor, we could equally finish 14th as 8th. I just feel Puel and Black are not the right fit for the club

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We've sold key players every summer we've been back in the Premier League, and that appears to be our model for financial security (not that that's necessarily a bad thing) so I really can't see us keeping VVD this summer, as our key 'jewel'. I'm preparing myself for the worst, so that if we don't sell him I'll be pleasantly surprised. The fee we'll get for him though should mean we don't need to sell any other 'jewels', but then I guess it depends on who (if anyone) kicks up a fuss and wants to leave. The media are already linking other clubs to Tadic, Cedric (not that I think Barcelona will go for him - Bellerin if anyone), Bertrand, and even Gabbiadini, not to mention the likes of Romeu, Redmond and JWP will have admirers. Then there's the question of selling squad players like JRod and Clasie. Keeping the team together as much as possible will be key to knowing how well we do next season. At the start of this season I said that this will be a transition season - and it feels as if that has been the case.

 

If, and I say if in hope, we keep everyone together, and strengthen the backbone with a centre back and defensive midfielder, then I really think the sky is the limit next season with no extra games to play in Europe. I'm talking even fighting for top 4. However the realist in me thinks we'll be rebuilding again following the sales of a couple of key players (albeit in a stronger position than this season as we have youngsters come through and the likes of Yoshida much improved) and we'll achieve similar to this season, perhaps with a better points total due to more rest between games.

 

Our summers are never boring, that's for sure!

 

No it isn't. No more than Everton selling Lukaku or Arsenal selling Alexis this summer is "their model for financial security". If players run down their contracts and won't renew they have to be sold, otherwise you are just throwing money away.

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We should be aiming to be more than just a also ran, happy to just make up the numbers selling our best players season after season.Otherwise what is the point? Who remembers the teams finishing 6th-17th in the years gone its not a achievement. Would be nice to see Saints win something before i'm dead and gone.

 

We had our chance and threw it away.. The only hope we had was to get a group of players together who wanted to stay together who were good enough to push on. We chose a different route and are now a stepping stone club...the ultimate "shop window" for players looking to progress, so we can't have a hope that we will do that.

Spurs though now have a team who will break into the next level. They are holding on to players who could earn more elsewhere due to the manager and the chance of winning something. That should have been us!

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Would be nice for the club to give the Manager a balanced squad without clear weaknesses, which has not been the case after the summer and winter windows this season.

 

Then we should have a good season relative to the quality of player we have.

 

Then

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With a clear run at the league group stage qualification has to be the target, though playoffs would be totally acceptable. This team is more than capable of it, especially if the transfer window goes well.

Edited by DuncanRG
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Pipping Everton to 7th and a cup final has to be the ambition. We aren't going to beat any of the big 6 clubs, unless they have an off season like 'pool and Chelsea last year.

 

A bit of managerial stability and a stronger squad would be nice. Move on some players who aren't performing and bring in some fresh faces to replace them.

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NEGATIVE...... that will be the tactics Puel uses against top teams and against a poor beer sheeva at home that cost us our Europa, something that the club really wanted and really went for it under koeman.

 

Two woeful performances against Midtjlland must have been in my dreams.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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We had our chance and threw it away.. The only hope we had was to get a group of players together who wanted to stay together who were good enough to push on. We chose a different route and are now a stepping stone club...the ultimate "shop window" for players looking to progress, so we can't have a hope that we will do that.

Spurs though now have a team who will break into the next level. They are holding on to players who could earn more elsewhere due to the manager and the chance of winning something. That should have been us!

Pretty tragic that some people actually believe this sh ite.

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Two woeful performances against Midtjlland must have been in my dreams.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Indeed. Some people on this forum seem to exist in a parallel universe.

 

Our exit from Europe under Koeman was beyond pathetic.

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We had our chance and threw it away.. The only hope we had was to get a group of players together who wanted to stay together who were good enough to push on. We chose a different route and are now a stepping stone club...the ultimate "shop window" for players looking to progress, so we can't have a hope that we will do that.

Spurs though now have a team who will break into the next level. They are holding on to players who could earn more elsewhere due to the manager and the chance of winning something. That should have been us!

 

Aren't you like 70+ and been supporting Saints for over 50 years?

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Hold on to as many players as possible bar the likes of J-Rod who will sadly never return to what he was by the looks of it.

 

Then let Puel do what he was bought here for and develop Hojbjerg into a very good midfielder, get the head and body right of Boufal, get Gabi to be scoring all season and continue developing the other players who fit into his system.

 

I would imagine Les would also want the academy to produce some players more on the level of those who came to the fore or were developed primarily under the previous regimes. The academy must be absolutely key to our business model and needs to produce genuine world class talent if the aim is still European football.

 

Top 8 should be the minimum for this club. Cup runs are a bonus.

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TBF not sure how that's relevant but I am gutted the Chinese are not taking over...

 

So we could end up like Man City? Sat in a sterile stadium of 55,000 people, half of which are glory supporters eating prawn sandwiches, whilst the away fans are singing, "where were you when you were sh*t etc." Not that I'd go very often, when they start charging £60 a ticket.

 

I actually feel sorry for Man City fans; the hardcore who've seen their team lose a league game against Lincoln City. Now they can't even wear their own colours around Manchester without some local Chelsea fan shouting, "mate, you're f**king sh*t!"

 

I'm quite happy to be a stepping stone for some of the best talent in Europe TBH. I'd much rather that than spending utterly obscene amounts on the likes of Pogba, Stones and Sterling. Or worse yet, a final payday for players like Wes Brown and John O'Shea.

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Top 8 should be the minimum for this club. Cup runs are a bonus.

 

Behave . How many times have we finished top 8 in 100 years?

 

Minimum !!!!I'd say top 8 is the top end of our ambitions. If you think it should be a minimum, you're going to end up very disappointed the next few years.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited by Lord Duckhunter
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Behave . How many times have we finished top 8 in 100 years?

 

Minimum !!!!I'd say top 8 is the top end of our ambitions. If you think it should be a minimum, you're going to end up very disappointed the next few years.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

What has our league finishes from 100 years ago got to with today?

 

Don't let your past dictate your futute.

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So we could end up like Man City? Sat in a sterile stadium of 55,000 people, half of which are glory supporters eating prawn sandwiches, whilst the away fans are singing, "where were you when you were sh*t etc." Not that I'd go very often, when they start charging £60 a ticket.

 

I actually feel sorry for Man City fans; the hardcore who've seen their team lose a league game against Lincoln City. Now they can't even wear their own colours around Manchester without some local Chelsea fan shouting, "mate, you're f**king sh*t!"

 

I'm quite happy to be a stepping stone for some of the best talent in Europe TBH. I'd much rather that than spending utterly obscene amounts on the likes of Pogba, Stones and Sterling. Or worse yet, a final payday for players like Wes Brown and John O'Shea.

 

I meant as they would change the manager but if the "punishment" is watching players like we saw on Saturday each week, I would put up with a few chants.

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Impossible to say without knowing what our window is going to look like. We could have a completely different team (especially defence) come the first game of next season.

 

Assuming (and a big assumption) we have an ok window - top 8.

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