For Saints supporters it has so far been a season of mixed emotions, however we go into the Xmas period in what I would consider our par position.

If you look at the Premier League table this morning Saints lie in 7th position and I would say that this is absolutely in line with where we stand in terms of the quality of our squad when compared to the other 19 sides in the division.

I think the 6 sides in front of us all have an advantage over us in terms of the quality of their squad and also in some cases the resources to hand.

That means Saints in golfing terms are playing to their par score

Indeed I would have said exactly the same about our standing last year at the start of the season, however as we all know the Premier was topsy turvy and although we finished above two sides who really should have scored more points than us, one side Leicester City over achieved, but that stil left us in sixth place, so last season we over achieved.

So the task this season is to try and under achieve again, if we were to finish 7th then I would not be surprised it is what I would expect if everything goes to the correct order of things and f we finish lower than 7t I would concede that we have under achieved, although as a rule of thumb I would say anywhere down to 10th in the League would not be a disaster.

As I said I considered us the 7th best team at the start of the season and I knew it would be very difficult to attain 6th place again this, due to the resources that all of the so called big six clubs have at their disposal, money talks in football these days and it is a fact that we don not have anything near that of those six clubs, we therefore have to take them on on our own terms and althoughsome Saints fans don't want to see this, that means selling high and buying if not low at a good price and repeating the process.

Yes there are those that say we cannot keep doing this year in year out and stay where we are, but the fact is we have a better chance of doing so than if we try to match those clubs in spending power.

That is something we would only be able to do for perhaps one season, then we would find it impossible to keep improving the squad year on year out.

So sitting in our par position despite a number of issues that have affected our squad including the extra games of two cup competitions, is a satisfactory position to be in.

Our task now is to build on that and try and chip away at the six clubs above us and hope that one blows up and when it does we are near enough to surge above them as happened last season.

Given all the issues , including a new manager with little pre season to prepare his squad, plenty of injuries, changing the style of play and the problems associated with that, as the season has progressed and the league table startd to find a proper shape, we find ourselves exactly in our par spot.

That shows that the club and Claude Puel are getting something right and having got there in difficult circumstances we can have confidence that we can overachieve in the second half of the season, especially if the club perhaps add to the squad in the transfer window.

In terms of League position though that is going to be a lot harder than last year, all of the six clubs above us have not had the issues that they had last season and only Manchester United are showing any signs of losing touch with the top five.

The aim for Saints is to get that fourth consecutive top ten finish, ideally in 7th place or higher, that would then see us for the first time in our history have finished in the top ten for four seasons running, that although some might not see it that way would be a great achievement.

Some Saints fans have got too used to improvement on the League position year on year since 2009, they see finishing below the last seasons position as failure, that is not the case, for us success is building a club that is seen as the 7th best in the Premier League and having achieved that looking to try and capitalise on the failings of the top six.

Can we ever be considered a top six club ourselves ?

This will stick in the throat of some but the answer is that although we can get into it from time to time, those six clubs have so much more resources in terms of the size of the stadiums, the size of their core support, the income generated in addition to other peripherals, but the real problem for us is those first three, you cannot just increase the capacity of the stadium and automatically get full houses and match the income of the big six.

But we can take them on on our own terms and that can be exciting and indeed this season should be being seen at the moment as one of success, however our Europa League exit has changed the perception for a lot of supporters who have forgotten for instance of how bad we were at times in the first half of last season and just see that and indeed the two before through rose tinted spectacles.

We have to get perspective of where we are and what we can achieve, that is not a reach for the sun and you get the stars philosophy preached by our ex Chairman, but a realistic methodical approach works a lot better as we have seen.

So we strive for the same goals as we have done in the past few seasons, that means looking for another Europa League qualification, we have a chance of doing that by winning the League Cup, we also have a chance in the league albeit harder.

It is probable that if we dont win it, the league cup will be won by Liverpool or Manchester United, that means that there will be a Europa League place for sixth spot in the league, if the FA Cup is again won by a top six club then 7th will get us into Europa.

That is very attainable for Saints this season, the sides just below us are there because they have overachieved compared to their positions in the recent pass, we have under achieved in terms of throwing away some silly points, yet we are still 7th, Saints fans should have some faith in there manager and his squad to get it right more than not in the New Year and make this an exciting season perhaps better than last.

If we can achieve where we are playing as badly as some would have you believe, what can we achieve when everything starts to click !

Photo: Action Images

Sanguin added 10:11 - Dec 21 West Ham, Everton and even Stoke would argue that they have a better team than us. Given that this is clearly a year of rebuilding with a new manager, a top ten finish would be fantastic.
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corkcitysaint added 10:31 - Dec 21 I think overall looking at the season so far, we have done very well. We had a difficult pre-season due to absentees from the euros, we changed manager again and we had the usual outgoings. Had we won against Hull and beaten 10 man Stoke things would be even better. Conversely, we did well to hold on against Liverpool. So if's, but's and maybe's we are where we are, 7th. For me, the biggest disappointment has been our style of play which is mostly pretty dull. Yes, points count most but you want to watch on the edge of your seat and be a part of the match. The ooh's the aah's.. I now find myself drifting.. Another disappointment has been our limp display in the Europa league. We started well but dropped off big time. I think being knocked our so early and more so in the manner that we did, casts a gloom over the season for many fans. Only a win against Liverpool to see us get to the final will ease that pain. For a club of our fanbase and finances, 7th is very respectable. Of course as fans, we always want more. And why not? It's ambition that drives us forward. We should never settle for what we have. We now need to consolidate a regular European spot and add some silverware..

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SonicBoom added 10:57 - Dec 21 Everton maybe have poftier ambitions but I really don't think that the fans of West Ham or Stoke really think they have a better side than us.
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LordDZLucan added 11:18 - Dec 21 What a depressing article. It smacks of lack of ambition. We haven't got a big club within 50 miles of us and not many Premier League clubs can say that. Therefore we have the potential to have a huge fan base and the challenge is to fulfill that. Playing unattractive football, selling our best players and patting ourselves on the back when we get a top half finish is not going to achieve that goal. Let's reach for the sky!

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SaintPaulVW added 11:23 - Dec 21 Aiming for the Europa League places, although accepting this may not always happen, or we may occasionally over perform, and a strong finish in a cup each year seems the right strategy for now. Need to build the fan base and commercial income before any serious regular attempt for one of the CL places is even contemplated. Nice if it happens but not if it means upping the squad size and quality beyond our means. Hopefully with regular competitive league performance we will build a core of players who see us as a long term home rather than an established stepping stone to bigger clubs. Continually selling and rebuilding is a means to an end not an identity.

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SaintNick added 12:53 - Dec 21 LordDZlucan, my article does not smack of lack of ambition, it smacks of reality, you seem to think that if we merely build a 50,000 capacity stadium then we will fill it week in week out and automatically be a big club, but there are several flaws in that argument. 1. Most games at St Mary's arent sold out, nearly but not quite. 2. Yes there isnt a big club for 50 miles, but the big catchment area 20 miles away is solidly Portsmouth and that will never change whatever we become, go north east and you are in the catchment area for the london clubs 3. Unattractive football, that little excuse, yes at times we have done this season, but not a lot more than we did in the first half of last season, Arsenal and Liverpool played unattracive football for years but that didnt affect them getting full houses week in week out, people moaning that we have been playing unattractive football for the last three months are very short sighted 4. We have achieved what we have in the past few years because of our policy regarding buying and selling players and not in spite of it, lots of clubs with bigger stadium and fan bases have reached for the sky and found that up there there are only clouds, Leeds, Sunderland, Newcastle even West Ham have been unable to compete with the big six. 5. If you want to support a side that never sells its best players and reaches for the sky and yet still can win trophies and stay solvent then your options for teams to support are very limited

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davepid added 13:16 - Dec 21 I also think this is a rather sad though revealing commentary on the state of our club. It confirms what some departing managers and players have said: we lack ambition. We are owned by one of the richest people in the world, she knew the mega tv deal was coming. It would have been relatively cheap to have paid Koeman to stay and to refine our salary structure to have kept Awelered, Clyde, Mane ,Shaw, Schederin, Lalana and a couple more. I'm not sure agents see us as a top 7/8 club , but rather as a very decent but temporary staging club for their hitherto unknown or underperforming clients to shine. We are becoming not so much as a club with a decent academy but a club WHICH is an academy for players and managers to find their Prem league feet and move on to one of the big 6 in due course.

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LordDZLucan added 13:31 - Dec 21 SaintNick, there are plenty of football fans out there. Are we getting our fair share? I would suggest not. I have given one reason already and that is that we don't have much competition near us. Another reason is that we live in an affluent part of the country and people generally have more money to spend - e.g. on football. Bournemouth have put over 5,000 on the gate since we came up to the Premier League and presumably that could have been more given that their ground is now at capacity. There are therefore fans out there to be woo'ed. We need to woo them. That means exciting them. The business world has many examples of companies resting on their laurels and getting into trouble as a result. I'm not suggesting Saints should be mismanaged, far from it. Just that we've got to look to move to the next level. Treading water is not an option for otherwise other clubs will overtake us.

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BoondockSaint added 13:41 - Dec 21 LordDZlucan, sorry I could only click agree once! Modern football is all about money, and every revenue stream possible should be explored, and yet the way Saints go about it is a puzzle. We don't have to build a full massive stand at first. Start with the close to the field expensive ones. They will sell fast and bring as much money as ten of the cheaper seats. If we wait until every nosebleed seat is sold, we will never expand. Also expand the global fanbase! Do we play summer tours of Asia? No. Hot beds of football in North America like Portland, Vancouver (Alan Ball connection there), big markets like New York or Los Angeles? No, Baltimore! I know, Under Armour is based there, but it' not exactly the media capital of the US is it? Nick, Go West young man! And North by Northwest. Huge potential and only Bournemouth to compete with.

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IWOZTHERE added 14:18 - Dec 21 I'm not sure that the great display against Bournemouth signalled the change in system many have called for (praps see against West Brom soon) but that aside I think we've done exceptionally well in the circumstances to get up to seventh. Missing from the article was any mention of, IMO the most important reason for finishing as high as possible this season. Unless we finish well and look capable of challenging the top six, we will have no chance of keeping VVD, if indeed the club don't WANT to cash in. Wages are a massive issue, but surely the club should at least try to break the cycle and signal their ambition to current players, potential signings, and US.

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SaintStu7 added 14:23 - Dec 21 Hey, you better keep all your great ideas secret. Increase the fan base, play attractive football, win everything and keep all our players. You guys are geniuses, can't believe no other club has tried this! Don't worry about the facts that had we not sold Alderwiereld we would not have brought Virgil, had we kept Lallana then no Mane etc etc. Oh and attractive football doesn't always end in a win, we are already a top team in the best well supported league in the world and don't fill our stadium. There are only 4 trophies to win each year and there is a little bit of competition out there. Always good improve and reach for the stars but please be a bit realistic along the way. Semi final of the cup, 7th in the league, probably only about 6 clubs in the country wouldn't want to swap places with us.

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GeordieSaint added 14:40 - Dec 21 LordDZLucan, if you think getting another 5000 fans through the door is going to make a great deal of difference to the club's finances you are living in a dream world. That would probably only equate financially to the league cup run to the quarter finals at best. Man U are the next club above us and they regularly get triple our gate. The money comes from TV and it is always going to be difficult while that is the case, Man U can afford to buy our best player, triple his wages and never play him and not even notice it. Progress must be sustainable and built on solid foundations. There are obviously some aspects that could be better, yes it is sad to see some players cherry picked, yes the football could be more exciting at times but the only real disappointment in terms of results this year is going out of Europe. If saints were sat here 7th, in Europe, Semis of the cup and with some stars of the future blooded Claude would have ticked every single box anyone could realistically have hoped for in terms of results.

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SaintJez added 15:15 - Dec 21 Looking on the bright side would say that we haven't played paritcularly well the first half of this season and we've had to adapt to losing our major goal threat and settling some new faces into the team. With all of that in mind, to be 7th at Christmas is nothing short of remarkable! Everyone can see we haven't been great going forward this year but Boufal and Redmond are both settling in, Tadic has had an injury, we've lost Austin to injury and J Rod is just getting the much needed games under his belt as he continues his long recovery. If J Rod could start scoring on a regular basis and our wide players start delivering what their undoubted talent promises then the second half of the year could be very exciting indeed! The big worry ofcourse is whether we can keep both of Fonte and VVD. The former seems as though he's on his way out which is a massive shame as he's been such a leader for us and a hugely under rated reader of the game from the back. The latter is genuine world superstar and if he leaves at all I will be gutted but if that team is Real Madrid or Barcelona I will let him off. Going to anyone in the premiership is selling himself short.

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aspensaint added 18:25 - Dec 21 So if fonte goes Yoshi is the main man, and the lesser spotted florian gardos as back up? Surely the board have more sense.....
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CelticSaintCanada added 19:16 - Dec 21 I can't fault anyone on her for hoping that Saints reach for the top. But I think for a first year manager taking over a team that, once again, had lost top talent (including a manager) Puel has done quite a respectable job. Saints have a shot at a Wembley trip, the FA Cup to play for, Man U and the Europa slots still in our sites and a team where (almost) everyone feels like if they are at their best they'll get a shot at representing the side and making a difference. Not many teams can boost that! And trust me ,from this side of the pond, Saints have a lot of room to grow worldwide, and particularly here in North America. However, we'd be quite unrealistic to think can make a dent in the kind of market speak of the top six over here in the short term. (Nearly every Premier League follower here has a Man U, Chelsea or Liverpool kit in the closet for Saturday mornings-and those clubs can only dream of the support over here for Barca and Madrid.) I think they are on the right path, we are going the right direction. On we march!

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SaintBrock added 20:11 - Dec 21 Amazing what one good win will do for some folks expectations.
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Bettwsresident added 09:00 - Dec 23 Several posters have mentioned the money..it the driving factor. When you look at turnover then Saints have grown in the last 3 years to now sit 9th in EPL finances (helped by villa and the toon going down). The top 13 clubs turnover last year was 1 Man U 395m 2 Man city 352m 3 Chelsea 319m (with a staggering debt of £1,100m!) 4 Arsenal 345m 5 Liverpool 298m 6 Tottenham 196m 7 Everton 126m 8 West Ham 121m 9 Southampton 114m 10 Sunderland 101m 11 Swansea 104m 12 Stoke 100m 13 C Palace 102m On that basis I think we are doing better than par... and have punched above our weight the last 3 years. There it a big step between the top 6 and the rest. That Saints broke in and Leicester won the league last year was stunning. It was a tribute to how the club is run and the players.

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