pap Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 When Liebherr and Cortese rolled into town, we were told of a five year plan to return us to the Premier League. We're now in Year Three. The 'problem' we have is that we've made our best start to a season in a generation, and our fans, myself included, are anticipating an earlier return to the Prem than was previously advertised - possibly this year. In my view, there is no way that the team we have will get relegated from the Championship this season, yet we're lacking a real statement from the club on what it seeks to achieve this season. If we're still on the five year plan, we don't need any more signings in this window. If we expect to get promoted this season, we do. What do you think our aspiration is this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 progression... alos, I dont take much notice of these 5 year plans....nearly every team has one..just sounds good for the fans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Promotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericofarabia Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Tearing The Opposition a New One each week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRobbie Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Promotion. Always aim to your potential, and by goodness we've proven we have the potential already. Now to strengthen the squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasgow_Saint Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Top 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalek2003 Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 When Liebherr and Cortese rolled into town, we were told of a five year plan to return us to the Premier League. We're now in Year Three. The 'problem' we have is that we've made our best start to a season in a generation, and our fans, myself included, are anticipating an earlier return to the Prem than was previously advertised - possibly this year. In my view, there is no way that the team we have will get relegated from the Championship this season, yet we're lacking a real statement from the club on what it seeks to achieve this season. Good questions posed here. Actually I have said before that i believe our ambition this year is consolidation. NC and NA have been aware from the end of last season of the need to buy a CB and CF but are not prepared to pay the prices asked of them or the wages. Unlike W.Ham and Leicester who are in a hurry to get in the Prem, i think we are prepared to bide our time and build a team over a longer period of time and that will see us though the next few years. Perhaps, NC and NA intend to spend on good quality younger players like Cork and develop them into players that will be a real asset to the club and who will show a bit of loyalty and be around for a few years. This has become more apparent to me as the summer has worn on ! If we're still on the five year plan, we don't need any more signings in this window. If we expect to get promoted this season, we do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWD Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Win as many games as we can and see where we are come May. All you can do in this league really. Possibly use our position in January to reassess what our end of season aim should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOSaint Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Top 10 this season, promotion next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Balls Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Win the next game. Then win the next game. The win the next game. Surely this is the aim. One game at a time and see where that takes us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrollman no2 Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Top 10 this season, promotion next season. As MoSaint says,top ten should be our target this year. After this season we should push on and get back to the Prem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cryoman1965 Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Tearing The Opposition a New One each week. Thats the spirit. Lets get the job done this season. Sod the consolidation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 I dont believe that Cortese and Adkins are not aiming at automatic this season. For the first time I can remember, we have a squad capable of aiming for it, a settled management and the funding to back it, plus a team used to each others playing styles. At the beginning of the season, straight off the blocks. I seriously dont remember that ever happening before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 anything less than champions by march is faliure. Off the pitch i'd like to see work started to expand the stadium ready for our champions league charge in 2012/13 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanh Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Win the next game. Then win the next game. The win the next game. Surely this is the aim. One game at a time and see where that takes us In terms of match performance, exactly this. Everyone knows by now that NA's approach is to take it one game at a time and he plans to win every match. Obviously it doesn;t always happen, but that's the plan. I think the 5 year plan statement from NC was one of his poorer decisions. Very few clubs make that type of statement as you are almost certainly setting yourself up for criticism and pressure from fans and media throughout the duration of the 5 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pap Posted 28 August, 2011 Author Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Nice to see some different views on this. No disrespect, but I'm not on-board with the "one game at a time" philosophy. I know you can't plan everything, and I've seen very recently that things don't always go to plan - but you gotta have a plan - otherwise, what's your yardstick for success? That said, I don't think NC's five-year plan is unrealistic, or unhelpful. As I stated in the OP, the problem, if you can call it that, is that we're doing very well atm, and our achievements are almost breeding expectation. It may well be that the plan isn't achievable this year because of market conditions, player expectations or whatever. I think I'd still like some noise from the club indicating what they'd like to do this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanh Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Nice to see some different views on this. No disrespect, but I'm not on-board with the "one game at a time" philosophy. I know you can't plan everything, and I've seen very recently that things don't always go to plan - but you gotta have a plan - otherwise, what's your yardstick for success? That said, I don't think NC's five-year plan is unrealistic, or unhelpful. As I stated in the OP, the problem, if you can call it that, is that we're doing very well atm, and our achievements are almost breeding expectation. It may well be that the plan isn't achievable this year because of market conditions, player expectations or whatever. I think I'd still like some noise from the club indicating what they'd like to do this season. I'm sure from a financial perspective the club have a plan for this season so that they can budget appropriately. Also I'm sure internally they have a points target which translates into a guide for a position in the league. I can't see the benefit to the club in disclosing this info though as it just creates a stick for anyone with a grudge to beat them with. If the club said promotion was the aim then the price of players being bought would rise (if only in terms of promotion related add ons). If the club says anything less than promotion is the aim then the media and fans criticise them for lack of ambition - it's a no win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 Comfortable safety (top 10 preferable) and a good cup run. Anything more is a wonderful bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westofshannonsaint Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 I think that the main target is a player for the number 5 shirt. following that aiming for top 6 at christmas. leading to an assessment of what is required to achieve promotion. a carling cup run would be nice. It's the one cup we have a (slim) chance of winning & it's a route to Europe. & would be another trophy in the cabinet. Personally I'd still be happy with 7th (-10th/fighting for top 6), content with mid table & disappointed with survival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 In terms of match performance, exactly this. Everyone knows by now that NA's approach is to take it one game at a time and he plans to win every match. Obviously it doesn;t always happen, but that's the plan. I think the 5 year plan statement from NC was one of his poorer decisions. Very few clubs make that type of statement as you are almost certainly setting yourself up for criticism and pressure from fans and media throughout the duration of the 5 years. Thats a really good point right there. Not so much the media and supporters expectations, but the whole transfer market situation; if you have a credible plan/expectation to gain promotion to the next division, on the one hand you can reasonably hope to attract better players, but at the same time, those players and their current clubs will expect to be able to nail you to the wall on fees and wages, as you have stated that specific aim. That said, NC does appear to be holding his own in his transfer dealings..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westofshannonsaint Posted 28 August, 2011 Share Posted 28 August, 2011 ... Also I'm sure internally they have a points target which translates into a guide for a position in the league. I can't see the benefit to the club in disclosing this info though as it just creates a stick for anyone with a grudge to beat them with.... I think that the OP probably realises this & is interested in what you think the club targets are, along with what you think the target should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanh Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 I think that the OP probably realises this & is interested in what you think the club targets are, along with what you think the target should be. Fair enough. I think the club's objective for the season is to compete for promotion and achieve a top 10 finish. I reckon we are budgeting to improve the current squad with 4 - 5 players (barring unexpected events like major injuries) through the season and are part way there. I don't expect the club to confirm or deny this in any form for the reasons I have explained above. I think that this is a reasonable target and am confortable with the club not putting out a clear statement of these objectives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 I don't know how long Lallana will wait around if we aren't promoted this year. He is too good for the Championship and is hardly young anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieDog Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 Although we haven't seen any public revision of the 5 year plan, I would be surprised if they haven't updated it. I don't think any of the new signings or even the players who have extended their contracts would have done so if we Adkins or Cortese hadn't told them the aim is to get to the Premiership ASAP. I think the 5 year plan is a a way of managing public expectation. If we're mid table come January then I don't expect any major transfer activity coming in, but if we are in or close to a play-off place, then I fully expect us to strengthen and make a concerted push for the rest of the season. If at the end of the season we have failed, then expect some of the key players to move on (for huge fees I hope) and another rebuild to take place. If we push on and do get promoted...then I expect a similar amount of activity but aimed at getting rid of the players that haven't shown the necessary ability to help us adapt in the Premier League. Either way it's great to have our club back and be looking forward, not back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceandfriendly Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 Adkins has been asked numerous times recently by Solent (interviews on SaintsPlayer) what the target is for this season and his answer has always been the same. That by January we're still "in the race for top", and come the last few weeks of the season be in a position to "win the race". So we're going for promotion. "It's a simple as that." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingeletiss Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 Win as many games as we can and see where we are come May. All you can do in this league really. Possibly use our position in January to reassess what our end of season aim should be. This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70's Mike Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 progression... alos, I dont take much notice of these 5 year plans....nearly every team has one..just sounds good for the fans Agreed as with every club we will try to win every game, if we win enough we get promoted, if we win only a few more we get relegated. 5 year plans on the footballing side are meaningless, how do you plan for the strength of the opposition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammysaint Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 Lets be honest before the season started most of us would of taken midtable and said it would be a good season if we finished top 10, now after the start we had i think some fans are expecting promotion, myself i would say the aim is now to finish top 10 and maybe sneak a playoff spot. We do have the best midfield in this league but our defence is a weak spot Fonte needs a class CB to partner him and we will be fine and get playoffs easily provided they both gel and stay fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dune Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 The abolition of the booking fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNSUN Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 Promotion. Always aim for the best. You never know. Quite simply, if the right players aren't available or fiscally sensible to buy now, wait until January or even next summer for better options, and cover the missing positions with loans. Just because we have a couple of days left until the deadline, we shouldn't be bullied into paying stupid money, we don't want administration again. Cortese has to be careful, it's not his money he's spending. I won't be crying if we don't make the play-offs this season. A push for the Premiership should really happen next season. Promotion this season would be a massive bonus though, but I feel another season at this level, building in readiness for the Premiership, would see us better equipped to deal with it, rather than going up and coming straight back down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 When Liebherr and Cortese rolled into town, we were told of a five year plan to return us to the Premier League. We're now in Year Three. The 'problem' we have is that we've made our best start to a season in a generation, and our fans, myself included, are anticipating an earlier return to the Prem than was previously advertised - possibly this year. In my view, there is no way that the team we have will get relegated from the Championship this season, yet we're lacking a real statement from the club on what it seeks to achieve this season. If we're still on the five year plan, we don't need any more signings in this window. If we expect to get promoted this season, we do. What do you think our aspiration is this year? Do they have newspapers where you are ? Even here in Sweden I've understood that our ambition is promotion-on-the-bounce this season. I don't think Messers. Cortese and Adkins are planning for a couple of years of settling in and then thinking about it later. The present squad is the best we've had ..in the last ..8 seasons? Certainly since the Cup Final season. Even after the disasterous start last year, we nearly overtook Brighton at the finish, we are good enough to go for it now.! (plus a couple of shrewd signings to bolster the squad, in case of the obvious problem of ; injury, Suspension, loss-of-form etc, ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRichmond Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 The target this year is to sell all the No 5 shirts in the Saints Mega Store Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Didcot Saint Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 Nigel will want to win the League regardless, that's how he thinks and I believe that is the mindset of the players. We should try and build on the momentum gained last season. In my mind you have to aim high to be successful and that means going for it this season. We have a brilliant chance aswell, although West Ham and a few other sides will also have a big say. From what I've seen so far we have absolutely nothing to fear in this league and are capable of beating anyone. Let's go for it, there's no point sitting back and 'consolidating', if it's there, take it! COYR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurosaint Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 The target is the Premier league ! The strategy is to build a solid foundation ! The mindset is to take each game as it comes ! The motivation is there ! The morale is high ! It's pretty clear to me that we are in good shape and see no need for Cortese to clarify or amend his long term (5 year!) plan !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
south Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 Even after the disasterous start last year, we nearly overtook Brighton at the finish... Technically impossible as the league was sown up by them with so many games to go, but a remarkable recovery after the bad start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Under Weststand Posted 29 August, 2011 Share Posted 29 August, 2011 Their plan would be to get us into the premiership as soon as possible doing it the right way. Adkins has instilled into the team a football philosophy that NC wants Saints to play, & one that will improve our standing in the game. One that maybe will make players want to stay & want to come here. Also they have instilled a great team spirit. Their ambitions will be for us to do the best we can Aim for the top & if we don't quite make it then it becomes the play-offs. I would have been happy before a ball was kicked to have consolidated this year & maybe in with a run at the play-offs come the turn of the year. We have proved beyond all doubt so far that we can compete against anyone in this league. I see no reason we can't be right up there challenging throughout the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now