It was good to see that Cherry Chimes got a few Saint's fans interested in our chatter yesterday, but if Eddie Howe isn't going to Southampton what should he be aiming for next season? It is always supposed to be a difficult second season in whatever division a team is in, but AFCB proved last time in the Championship that it was a historic promotion-winning second season. What can they do in the Premier League?
While many will have them down for potential relegation, there is a target that would make AFCB fans and Eddie Howe extremely happy and that is to close the gap on the team just down the road, as the Saints have a solid grounding in the league that the Cherries hope to similarly establish in the next year.
The gap between the sides after a full season was a huge 21 points. The Saints hit form towards the end of the season and ended up in sixth and with a Europa league place. That was in distinct contrast to AFCB falling away and just gaining a single point from its last five matches. So how can the Cherries look to cut the points gap in 2016-17?
Southampton seem one of the few Premier League clubs who can manage to turnover their star players and successfully find new players with the talent to slip right into their team without much disruption. While AFCB may not dispense with many first 11 players they need to bring in better players to strengthen and new faces are always a risk. It is transition though and not revolution that the Saints do well and that is something that the Cherries have to sign up to. They will have their own worries now that Ronald Koeman is set to leave, but the Saint's squad is experienced and AFCB have a lot to do to catch them.
While honours were even between the two sides last season there is still much that AFCB can learn from the Saints and the rebuilding projects that they have done over previous seasons is much to be admired.
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| Getting into the top half of the Premier league is a realistic target if AFCB can bring the right players in this summer. and hold on to Eddie Howe |
The gap between the sides after a full season was a huge 21 points. The Saints hit form towards the end of the season and ended up in sixth and with a Europa league place. That was in distinct contrast to AFCB falling away and just gaining a single point from its last five matches. So how can the Cherries look to cut the points gap in 2016-17?
Southampton seem one of the few Premier League clubs who can manage to turnover their star players and successfully find new players with the talent to slip right into their team without much disruption. While AFCB may not dispense with many first 11 players they need to bring in better players to strengthen and new faces are always a risk. It is transition though and not revolution that the Saints do well and that is something that the Cherries have to sign up to. They will have their own worries now that Ronald Koeman is set to leave, but the Saint's squad is experienced and AFCB have a lot to do to catch them.
While honours were even between the two sides last season there is still much that AFCB can learn from the Saints and the rebuilding projects that they have done over previous seasons is much to be admired.
Until Bournemouth catch up off the pitch there is nothing that is going to happen on the pitch which will catch Southampton or anyone else.
ReplyDeleteSouthampton has a youth system which has been bringing on a stream of talent over the years...Shaw,Walcott,Oxlade Chamberlain,Chambers etc etc.....and Bournemouth have produced Ings and Vokes..and there appears noone on the horizon to get anywhere near the first team
Secondly until we increase the stadium capacity financially we will not be competing against the bigger clubs...our attendance is half the capacity of the next smallest and it seems strange that whilst we throw and waste tens of millions at players...we appear not to want to increase the ground capacity or build a new ground...its a recipe in the end for relegation.....