Willo Posted 15 May, 2013 Share Posted 15 May, 2013 At the start of the season i discussed with my Reading supporting mate where we'd each want to finish. His view at the time was "i'd take 17th if offered now". This is probably true of quite a few Saints fans, too. My own view at the time was that if we finished 17th, we would then struggle to attract the kind of player we needed to kick-on and make real progress. I felt that we had a one-off opportunity to get away from being a club always destined for a relegation scrap. But to do this, I felt we'd need to finish anywhere from 12th/13th upwards...anything less than this, and we would only attract players good enough for a team in the lower-half of the table. It could then become a circular, self-fulfilling prophecy until one year (much like Wigan this year) we finished in the bottom 3... Well, we now come down to the final game, and curiously, it seems we can finish anywhere from 10th down to 17th on Sunday (i haven't checked in detail). Obviosuly we'd all like to finish as high as possible, but i'm interested if anyone else shares my view that our final position would alter the appeal of Southampton to prospective players. If so, this final game could actually have quite a lot riding on it for our future progression (or lack thereof) Or perhaps i'm doing a disservice to the modern professional player, who would recognise that the difference between 10th and 17th is paper-thin this year, and therefore they should ignore the final league position... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_saint Posted 15 May, 2013 Share Posted 15 May, 2013 Assuming the players would come from abroad, which seems to be NCs way, I am assuming the door would be opened by our EPL status, and leave the rest to NCs and MPs boyish charms... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatch Posted 15 May, 2013 Share Posted 15 May, 2013 isn't it about 1/2 million quid per position . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olallana Posted 15 May, 2013 Share Posted 15 May, 2013 It may have a slight difference but I think the recognition we´ve got the last few months for our way of playing has increased our status when it comes to attract players, compared to other teams in the lower half of the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_saint Posted 15 May, 2013 Share Posted 15 May, 2013 isn't it about 1/2 million quid per position . And you think that would all go straight into the transfer kitty, do you ? Besides, the OP is about "puling power", not financial muscle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willo Posted 15 May, 2013 Author Share Posted 15 May, 2013 And you think that would all go straight into the transfer kitty, do you ? Besides, the OP is about "puling power", not financial muscle. It's true that my comment was about the "pulling power", and i think it could be alot harder to attract overseas players if we finish 17th versus a.n.other club who finishes mid-table. This, of course, assumes we are targetting players that other EPL teams are targetting... Actually, on reflection, the differences are probably marginal enough for them to be covered by adding a few extra grand a week onto the package... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_John Posted 15 May, 2013 Share Posted 15 May, 2013 isn't it about 1/2 million quid per position . Money usually talks and there is a £5 Million difference between 10th (£8.3m) and 17th (£3.0m) in prize money, (£4.5m for 11th because I cannot see hoof-ball losing). That £4.5m can bring in a higher class of player imo. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2314578/Why-mid-table-sides-play-Premier-League-prize-money-2013.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Sanchez Posted 15 May, 2013 Share Posted 15 May, 2013 At the start of the season i discussed with my Reading supporting mate where we'd each want to finish. His view at the time was "i'd take 17th if offered now". This is probably true of quite a few Saints fans, too. My own view at the time was that if we finished 17th, we would then struggle to attract the kind of player we needed to kick-on and make real progress. I felt that we had a one-off opportunity to get away from being a club always destined for a relegation scrap. But to do this, I felt we'd need to finish anywhere from 12th/13th upwards...anything less than this, and we would only attract players good enough for a team in the lower-half of the table. It could then become a circular, self-fulfilling prophecy until one year (much like Wigan this year) we finished in the bottom 3... Well, we now come down to the final game, and curiously, it seems we can finish anywhere from 10th down to 17th on Sunday (i haven't checked in detail). Obviosuly we'd all like to finish as high as possible, but i'm interested if anyone else shares my view that our final position would alter the appeal of Southampton to prospective players. If so, this final game could actually have quite a lot riding on it for our future progression (or lack thereof) Or perhaps i'm doing a disservice to the modern professional player, who would recognise that the difference between 10th and 17th is paper-thin this year, and therefore they should ignore the final league position... The modern professional football player probably only looks at their pay cheque at our level, the very very top they look for things like medals and ChampionsLeague. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajjuk Posted 15 May, 2013 Share Posted 15 May, 2013 I seriously doubt most players would look at the table, they would just know the club is in the Premier League and then look at what wages he is being offered, some then might look at the area, training facilities, stadium etc. as well but it's that wage packet and playing in the premier league which are the main draws. Also any player that looks at the table will see that it's so tight anyway, I can't see it being a factor that someone would come if we were 11th but not if we were 17th. I would imagine even things like the teams style of play and the other players would be bigger factors than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom8558 Posted 15 May, 2013 Share Posted 15 May, 2013 We'll finish 11th looking at the remaining fixtures. All the teams above us have hard fixtures bar West Ham in 10th who we won't overtake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatch Posted 15 May, 2013 Share Posted 15 May, 2013 And you think that would all go straight into the transfer kitty, do you ? Besides, the OP is about "puling power", not financial muscle. an extra £10k per week to a player would add to the pulling power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Martini Posted 15 May, 2013 Share Posted 15 May, 2013 an extra £10k per week to a player would add to the pulling power. If the choice is between two PL clubs and one finished 17th and one 10th then I'm quite sure most players would choose the club finishing 10th. Even if the other club pays slightly more you want to minimize the risk of a relegation battle and even though there's only a few points difference this year between those positions it will give a feeling of security that I would want as a player. Especially if the player in question playing for his national team, because there's no way he's getting selected if he's in the Championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanh Posted 16 May, 2013 Share Posted 16 May, 2013 Finishing higher up the table will make the sales pitch that we are aiming for the top 4 an easier sell to any player. The leap from 17th to the top is much less realistic than from midtable to the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Clarke Posted 16 May, 2013 Share Posted 16 May, 2013 I don't think so, not as there are so few points between any of those sides. It'll look prettier but there wouldn't be a great deal of substance to finish 11th, or 15th for e.g. Financially it could help us, as there are a few extra £££ up for grabs, but in terms of us being attractive...I think the fact we're in the PL next season makes us attractive to a certain level of player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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