Southampton Are Still Best-Suited For Prolonged Success

I may eat these words one day, and so be it for believing in my club, but Southampton will be the ones challenging the top-4, top-5 consistently in the years to come, and not Leicester City.

Don't get me wrong, I love Leicester City and all they've done this season, but when it comes down to it, how much do they really have going for them when it comes to long-term success? The Foxes best player, Riyad Mahrez, has already been linked to teams like Barcelona and PSG, while others such as Jamie Vardy, and several others on the Leicester team are almost, if not already, into their 30s.

Like it or not, without Jamie Vardy, Mahrez, or N'Golo Kante, who has also been linked away to teams like Juventus and Arsenal, Leicester City is a bottom of the table team.

Southampton are like Leicester City in that they challenge the bigger clubs, have come up from the Football League ranks, and have players that the bigger clubs would like to buy. However, what Southampton do have over a team like Leicester is stability.

Southampton currently sit in 6th in the Premier League, and can finish no lower than 8th this season, which will make three straight seasons in the top-8, while selling some of their top players.

It all comes down to the front office, and the manager, when it comes to selling and buying the right players, as well as bringing up the right academy players, and Southampton do all of that correctly. The scouting department at Southampton is unmatched, and that showed in 2014 when Saints lost not only their manager, but a host of their top players. Southampton were pinned for relegation, only to finish 7th.

The club did this through finding the right players for the right money, and inflating the value on certain players keen on leaving the club. Southampton is a club built for the long-term, shown in their recent progression.

So enjoy your Premier League title, Leicester City fans. You're club has achieved what will be one of the most memorable accomplishments in history. But as for me, Southampton fan, I will enjoy the my club planning for the future. Southampton FC will one day be a club that fights for the top-4 every season, wins a few trophies, but won't lose its values of stability, and the academy.

Southampton are already looking to improve even more in the coming years. They've signed their best player, Virgil Van Dijk, to a 6-year deal, and are increasing the chances of keeping manager Ronald Koeman. This summer will dictate the future of Southampton, but with the right people in place, there should be no worries.

If clubs are looking for a system to follow, they should look no further than the south coast of England.