whelk

Brilliant. I for one shall be singing that at the telly.

No wonder so many grounds are so soulless these days. Booing is just pantomime and all these level headed people saying move on should move to cricket or rugby where dignified behaviour is expected. Although people saying hope Lallana breaks a leg etc just exposes what nasty human beings they are so agree on that part.

FFP means not as much as the might have although didnt stop £50m for Luiz. That's four Shane Longs.

Think some people need to look up the definition of defector

5-1 now. You just knew it would be Kelbie

Surely missed a chance to have Koeman as a pic. Brian Moore "he's going to flip one" and he did!

Confused? He only has one line and is a tedious boring fckwit. Where's teh confusion?

Excellent read. Nice to hear nothing in any Rodriguez speculation either.

Good work Lovren

TBF his predictions for us so far have been W4 D1 L1 so has been spot on

....cont The next wave More Saints graduates with first-team experience: Sam Gallagher, striker James Ward-Prowse, midfielder Harrison Reed, midfielder Lloyd Isgrove, midfielder Matt Targett, left-back Sam McQueen, winger But no matter how busy he gets with England's future, Crocker still finds time to keep an eye on his old club and says he is impressed with the work Koeman is doing. "They had a very difficult summer, but they signed some excellent players. Koeman has done a great job, during challenging times. "And also under Koeman, Southampton seem to continue with the same approach to young players. They got Ryan Bertrand on loan from Chelsea, and this season have already brought a new debutant from the academy in Matt Targett." It seems Southampton will continue to set the precedent and be a model club.

Article from FourFourTwo Quite long and sorry no link as was in Newstand When Southampton travel to Tottenham this weekend, Ronald Koeman will meet the manager he replaced at St Mary’s this summer. Trained up, traded out Profitable Academy graduates: Luke Shaw (18 yrs old, Manchester United, £31m) Adam Lallana (26, Liverpool, £25m) Calum Chambers (19, Arsenal, £16m) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (17, Arsenal, £12m) Theo Walcott (16, Arsenal, £12m) Gareth Bale (17, Spurs, £10m) Many people expected the Dutchman would face an impossible job to surpass Mauricio Pochettino, the coach who led Southampton to eighth in the Premier League last season – especially when several of the club's star players also left in the close season. But so far Pochettino has barely been considered by Saints fans, as Koeman has built an impressive new side which lies second in the league. During pre-season, the Dutch manager made some astute signings with the captures of Dusan Tadic, Graziano Pelle and Shane Long, and he arranged loans for players like Ryan Bertrand and Toby Alderweireld. Alongside those, he has tried to implement players from the club’s academy. Lucrative youth Promoting youth seems to be a cultural commitment at Southampton, where there is a clear tradition of producing many players so talented that richer clubs make offers fit to test a Saint. No wonder other clubs are trying to copy the Saints' academy, according to Matt Crocker, who was Southampton's academy director from 2005 until 2013: "I think there are a lot of clubs looking to Southampton and the way they implement young players. "They're a good example of a club who plays in the Premier League, made a lot of money from player sales and still have good players who didn’t cost them a lot. So in that way they are a model club to other sides." With Financial Fair Play applying strict criteria on spending, only the huge clubs with enormous income streams can afford to spend big, leading to ever more importance on promoting from within. For the vast majority of European clubs, Saints represent the blueprint. “"Other clubs with financial problems usually cut back on academies. Even in administration, Southampton didn't" - Matt Crocker, Southampton's academy director 2005-2013 Crocker, now the FA's Head of Coach and Player Development, explains how the youth structure has always been integral to Southampton. "The club has a philosophy to give young players a chance," he says. "The door has to be open for them. "When the club faced administration, the academy was still funded to the level which it used to be. Other clubs with financial problems usually cut back on academies, to save money – but Southampton never cut back the youth programme." Giving youth such importance could be crucial for the future of English football. Situation normal for Koeman “"It’s Feyenoord's goal now to implement two youth players in the first team every season" - Damien Hertog, Feyenoord’s academy director For his part, Koeman is no stranger to involving young players in the first team. In his previous job at Feyenoord, he gave debuts to many young players due to the precarious financial situation of the club. It turned out to be a success, as Feyenoord were Eredivisie runners-up twice in three seasons. Damien Hertog, the club’s academy director, tells how financial uncertainty created a new club ethos. "It’s our goal now to implement two youth players in the first team every season," he explains. "That policy became even more important when Mario Been [Koeman’s predecessor] was manager. At that time, financially there was nothing possible at all. But ever since then, we have kept that new policy." When Koeman took over in 2011 – thereby becoming the first man ever to play for and manage each of Dutch football's big three clubs, Feyenoord, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven – he didn't have a big budget, but was able to make some minor signings and favourable loans. His biggest hits were Manchester City loanee John Guidetti and Pelle, whom he bought from Parma after an initial loan spell of six months – and no wonder: in total, the Italian hit 55 goals in 66 games for the Rotterdam club. Alongside the incoming players, Koeman used a lot of youngsters, notably Jordy Clasie, Daryl Janmaat (now at Newcastle), Tonny Vilhena and Jean-Paul Boëtius. The new Feyenoord Feyenoord's squad includes 14 Academy graduates: Wessel Dammers, Rick Karsdorp, Rodny Lopes Cabral, Lucas Woudenberg, Jean-Paul Boëtius, Sven van Beek, Matthew Steenvoorden, Elvis Manu, Anass Achahbar, Terence Kongolo, Tonny de Vilhena, Jordy Clasie, Miquel Nelom and Erwin Mulder Hertog says Koeman kept in constant contact with the Feyenoord academy. "He was always listening to youth coaches and other staff. "I have a very positive feeling how he worked here in the last three years. He frequently visited youth matches, which meant he had a good view of the level of the players. "During winter training camps, he would always take a few youth players with him. That was really constructive, he was really involved." According to Hertog, the results in the last few years speak for themselves. "We have all seen how he developed those young players even more, and how he implemented them in the first team. And he never said that he wanted to make big signings from other clubs; he always stayed cool, and that gave us confidence in the academy as well." Academy awards Koeman presented himself in a similar way at Southampton. He didn’t complain when so many big players left the club, as he was mainly focusing on building a new team. And Southampton will be glad he is familiar with nurturing new talent as well. In recent years, academy players have played an important part in the success of the club. "Usually we sold our good players," reflects Crocker, "but when the new owner [Markus Liebherr] bought the club, the ambition was to keep the good players, to reach the Premier League and to transform the players into internationals for their country." That dream came true in 2012, when Southampton returned to the Premier League after seven years. Since then, several academy players have impressed in the top flight, and some have gone on to make their international debut as well. Crocker proudly reels off the names. “"The Southampton academy shouldn't only be regarded as one of the best in England, but as one of the best in Europe" - Matt Crocker "If you look to the last two seasons in the Premier League, there were Adam Lallana, Calum Chambers, Sam Gallagher, Luke Shaw, James Ward-Prowse and Harrison Reed who came from the academy. "And most of them consistently played in the first team. That’s just outstanding. If you consider the players who have progressed before, like Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott, then I think the Southampton academy shouldn't only be regarded as one of the best in England, but as one of the best in Europe." In Holland, academy excellence is so important that there's a category for it at the annual Rinus Michels Awards – and Varkenoord, run by Feyenoord in association with Excelsior, has taken the gong for the last five years on the bounce. It’s a significant victory, according to Hertog. "First of all, you have to be shortlisted by the Dutch football association. In the end, all clubs mutually vote for the winner." Hertog explains how the Feyenoord academy distinguishes itself. "What makes us unique is the continuity and diversity of the training staff. There's a lot of knowledge within the academy about different age groups. We think it’s important to give the youngest kids space to explore their responsibilities in an open way. "An example is to give two players the task to make teams for training. We hope they develop creative skills by themselves. Later on, from the under-12 group, we apply a more strict approach to players. We have some very good managers, who have created a specialism to work with certain age groups. In that way, we have created experts, and I think that is really important." "It enhances the mutual feeling" Like Crocker, Hertog emphasises on the important role of the academy inside football clubs. "At Feyenoord, the youth academy has always been mentioned as one of the big assets." And as at Southampton, Feyenoord didn't sacrifice the future when the present brought huge financial problems. Hertog recognises the similarities with the South Coast club. "With its youth structure, I think Southampton is one of the exceptions in England. I like to see it, it feels the same as we are doing in Rotterdam. It makes you feel really proud as a club, when home-grown talents play in the first team. It makes for a connection inside the club, it enhances the mutual feeling. In Holland, academies tend to become better and better, and I think it will develop even more in the coming years." Perhaps more clubs in England can follow the example of Southampton and Feyenoord. Crocker is already trying to implement changes at the FA, where he is part of a team which aims to define a new technical approach towards the game. "We're trying to create a new DNA of English teams, like a standardisation of how we want to play." ...cont

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/15205/9498216/paul-mersons-premier-league-predictions-round-seven Shock horror 1-3

Very poor taste even as a wind up

No but I lost affection for him after Sunderland FA Cup game so when he went was not as gutted as expected. Can really warm to Ron though and such a nice contrast

http://mirr.im/1or1Bcj dispel anyone's view that press are always pro the big teams?

Didnt happen. Was Danny Baker there or just getting ****ed at home?

How many watched WBA v Burnley today? Let's face it people want to see Utd etc. Don't even have any fantasy players in today's or tomorrow's game

FFS embarrassing again. There are 20 ****ing sides in the PL. We should be first cos we're good. Why do you worry about running order anyway. Can't you stay awake.

I am disappointed he isn't constantly signing off with "Thanking. Bye bye."

The photo doesn't emphasise it but I thought same thing when saw him play the other day.

Heard too many things about it to not watch now.

What a nice man

As has been highlighted by telegraph's Jonathan Liew http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/jonathan-liew/11054176/Match-of-the-Day-Robbie-Savage-represents-the-triumph-of-personality-and-opinions-over-perceptiveness.html "RS opinions are like the weather - wait long enough and invariably will change"

Yeah Wenger would have to wouldn't he. Some see agendas everywhere. Or how about he was impressed with how we played and gave praise. This was his press conf before Spurs as well so wasn't directly being asked about the defeat on Tues