Reality is Southern United was just not good enough

Southern United captain Harley Rodeka looks on as Canterbury United's Andreas Wilson passes the ball during the team's round two encounter. Photo: Getty Images

What to make of Southern United's season?

The team finished last in the national football premiership once again, with just three wins and one draw from 18 games.

It was a result that cannot be described any other way than disappointing. In hindsight, though, it was not completely unexpected.

The reality is the team was just not good enough.

It was adept at creating chances, but could not finish them. It could dominate possession, then concede a sloppy goal. That was the story of the season.

A three-match winning streak in the middle was undoubtedly the highlight.

But it did not last. It ran into the league's top teams and finished on a seven-game losing streak.

In many cases, it was competitive against those teams.

However, the inability to be clinical held it back.

Coach Paul O'Reilly, in his first year, has said he did not expect things to change overnight.

He felt the team had made progress, but also thought off-season recruitment would be important to bolster the squad.

With a fraction of the budget the league's biggest clubs have, that could be difficult.

By all accounts, the team has trained well this year and kept a positive environment, which could act as a selling point to attract players.

The big talking point was the six Irish players.

Bringing them in was a move foreign to the sporting scene in the south of New Zealand.

On one hand, they took six spots from local players.

But it also put the onus on the locals to get better.

It sent the message that you do not just play for Southern because you were the best of an average bunch, you have to be of a certain standard.

If that competition can drive players to get better, perhaps it will create a better team which might keep the top-end local talent in the region.

It does not help when you have players of the calibre of Joel Stevens, Tom Jackson and Cameron Howieson, all former Dunedin players, in other teams.

On the flipside, playing at a higher level is going to help the locals get better and Southern United is this region's pathway to doing that.

There are merits to both arguments.

However, everyone else is scouring the world for talent. There are teams in the league with more than 10 imports, operating out of bigger population bases to start with.

Is it realistic to expect to compete with that by drawing solely upon the talent in a club competition that seriously lacks depth?

Probably not.

Is trying to compete with money you have little of a better idea?

Maybe not, but when you are constantly last in the league, you have to try something different.

It is a tough situation and perhaps one year was too soon to see results.

Next season the team needs to start performing, though, as a lowly finish will no longer be an option.