Thedelldays Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 what a great bunch of players we have produced.... walcott and bale have gone on to be real stars in the league...and europe... I bloody hope we get promoted or I fear lallana will be off... just watching the highlights or the arsenal game...theo is dynamite please dont turn this into a thing saying theo should not have left as it is clear he was right to do so, given what he has achieved by the age of 21... theo is now playing more central than he has for arsenal and it is clear that he is blossoming....another brilliant display yesterday and bale is is pure brilliance...proper winger with so much energy and technique... will chamberlain go on to be as good as these..who knows but how lucky are we that lallana committed himself to us...he is a real gem..but I do fear he wont be here should the worst happen and we dont go up..and to be fair, I would not blame him if the right move came along should that happen
S-Clarke Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 Yep, it's a great tribute to us that we've managed to produce these young players whilst not even being a premiership side. I have no doubts that we'll see another ''golden'' player come through the ranks sooner rather than later, unfortunately whilst we are where we are we won't be able to enjoy them for long. That's why we need to get back to the prem asap - i don't want us to become a feeder club for prem sides.
Turkish Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 The one thing that really pis*ed me off recently was when Bale and Walcott played well for their clubs and Jamie Redknapp said on sky sports a few weeks ago "it's been a great day for SOuthampton, two players that came through their youth team playing brilliant in the PL" Sorry, how the f*ck is it a great day for SOuthampton when two of the best players in the FL are playing brilliantly for other clubs?
saint_bert Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 The one thing that really pis*ed me off recently was when Bale and Walcott played well for their clubs and Jamie Redknapp said on sky sports a few weeks ago "it's been a great day for SOuthampton, two players that came through their youth team playing brilliant in the PL" Sorry, how the f*ck is it a great day for SOuthampton when two of the best players in the FL are playing brilliantly for other clubs? Bit like on the Sunday suppliment today. All 4 journo's lauding our acadamyand how we keep producing quality players. Shame it appears that we are doing the donkey work for the other teams just to come along an say thanks very much, were have him now ta!
dronskisaint Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 The one thing that really pis*ed me off recently was when Bale and Walcott played well for their clubs and Jamie Redknapp said on sky sports a few weeks ago "it's been a great day for SOuthampton, two players that came through their youth team playing brilliant in the PL" Sorry, how the f*ck is it a great day for SOuthampton when two of the best players in the FL are playing brilliantly for other clubs? Particularly as his fluckwit father took us down without which they would possibly have stayed longer.
Gis Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 Saw the U18s at Beckenham against Palace pass their way through a team of giants to win 4-1 on Saturday. I thought the wonder years may have gone with the departure of Georges Prost, but the current crop look on a par to any Academy team I've seen over the past 5-6 years. Standout was brilliant overall teamwork, although there were also very good individual performances - I haven't seen them much this year, was this a just a one off? Anyway on Saturday's showing Jason Dodd seems keeping the conveyor belt ticking along nicely.
Matthew Le God Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 Saints Under 18's are top of their league this season. A league which contains academies like Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham.
Rebel Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 We've undoubtedly gone one of the best academy set ups in English football if not the best. I doubt there is another club in thus country with as many academy graduates playing for clubs in the top two divisions right now - not too mention young players like Lallana and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Unfortunately unless we are in the top division we will find it very hard to keep hold of the best of them. Two Relegations have already cost us most of a golden generation in Walcott, Matt Mills, Cranie, Dyer, Best, Blackstock, McGoldrick, Surman and Bale. We should be thankful that Bale and Walcott showed enough loyalty to the club to make sure they left for big fees when both could have left for practically nothing. It looks like Oxlade-Chamberlain will leave us sooner than later as well - nut let's hope he comes back on loan the fee is large enough and tbe money wisely spent for us to build a team good enough to take us back to the Premiership If we don't get promotion this season Lallana will probably leave in the summer Let's hope we're back in the Championship and pushing for promotion to the Premiership before the current crop flower
NorthamSteve Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 (edited) Particularly as his fluckwit father took us down without which they would possibly have stayed longer. I often think this, but I really think I prefer this excitement of possibility than scraping through in the prem..... Don't get me wrong I still think he's a c8nt. Edited 23 January, 2011 by NorthamSteve I didn't spell 'I' correctly.
saint_bert Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 Saw the U18s at Beckenham against Palace pass their way through a team of giants to win 4-1 on Saturday. I thought the wonder years may have gone with the departure of Georges Prost, but the current crop look on a par to any Academy team I've seen over the past 5-6 years. Standout was brilliant overall teamwork, although there were also very good individual performances - I haven't seen them much this year, was this a just a one off? Anyway on Saturday's showing Jason Dodd seems keeping the conveyor belt ticking along nicely. Wenger will be chuffed.
ottery st mary Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 I am convinced Anthony Pulis would have been a top star.. if only he had come through our youth set up.. He may have left it too late...starting his football education at Saints so late in his career.
red&white56 Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 We've undoubtedly gone one of the best academy set ups in English football if not the best............................ Unfortunately unless we are in the top division we will find it very hard to keep hold of the best of them. Two Relegations have already cost us most of a golden generation in Walcott, Matt Mills, Cranie, Dyer, Best, Blackstock, McGoldrick, Surman and Bale.......................... I'm not sure I would include McGoldrick in the "golden generation".........
Deppo Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 Walcott should neer have left. He'd be twice the player he is today if he had stayed.
aintforever Posted 23 January, 2011 Posted 23 January, 2011 We've undoubtedly gone one of the best academy set ups in English football if not the best. I doubt there is another club in thus country with as many academy graduates playing for clubs in the top two divisions right now I'm sorry but that's complete nonsense, we've got a good set up but it's nowhere near the best. There are a handful of players in the Prem but you forget that every other English prem player has come through another club's academy.
Minty Posted 24 January, 2011 Posted 24 January, 2011 (edited) Well, I guess it depends on how you judge being 'the best'. We can certainly claim to be amongst the best, judging by current performance and the number of players who've gone on to play in the Prem. But that title doesn't really matter IMO, the success of an Academy is usually measured by the number of players who go on to play at the highest level, and ideally, for the club whose Academy developed them over a period of time. Also, quite a number of English Prem came from the lower leagues and through youth teams elsewhere, but not necessarily Academy set-ups. However, to put things in context, it's worth seeing who we're currently competing with: http://www.premierleague.com/page/YouthATable (That was from before we beat Crystal Palace, the previous leaders, convincingly on Saturday: http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/AcademyNews/0,,10280~2274093,00.html We're now unbeaten in 14 matches.) Producing good players through an Academy is a win-win situation. Some will go on to other clubs and we'll be paid well for them if they are genuinely good quality. Others will remain at Saints and we'll reap the rewards. Edited 24 January, 2011 by Minty
buctootim Posted 24 January, 2011 Posted 24 January, 2011 Glad to see Jason Dodd doing well. Pleased for him.
sammysaint Posted 24 January, 2011 Posted 24 January, 2011 We need to keep a player like oxo and build a team around them turn them into a franchise player as the NFL or NBA teams would do.
niceandfriendly Posted 24 January, 2011 Posted 24 January, 2011 Glad to see Jason Dodd doing well. Pleased for him. Very much so. Was a real shame when he left not so long ago, so great to see him back and succeeding.
BadgerBadger Posted 24 January, 2011 Posted 24 January, 2011 Let's not concern ourselves with the exits but focus on our great ability to sign young potential and progress them to them prem. That alone will promote the ability to sign potential with them knowing the chance they have to make it big. We can use the talent, albeit breifly and then cash in, plus it's a great attraction for talented youngsters - win win.
Ken Tone Posted 25 January, 2011 Posted 25 January, 2011 The one thing that really pis*ed me off recently was when Bale and Walcott played well for their clubs and Jamie Redknapp said on sky sports a few weeks ago "it's been a great day for SOuthampton, two players that came through their youth team playing brilliant in the PL" Sorry, how the f*ck is it a great day for SOuthampton when two of the best players in the FL are playing brilliantly for other clubs? Irritating yes, but when you look at it dispassionately, it is good for us. The more the public believe we have a great academy and that our 'graduates' go on to great things, the more likely it is that promising youngsters will come to us in future years.
Cabrone Posted 25 January, 2011 Posted 25 January, 2011 Irritating yes, but when you look at it dispassionately, it is good for us. The more the public believe we have a great academy and that our 'graduates' go on to great things, the more likely it is that promising youngsters will come to us in future years. Absolutely, it's a big plus for us and the reason why the Wallaces, Shearer, LeTiss, Bridge, Walcott, Bale, AoC et al came to us in the first place. OK, so we can't keep them forever but that's life I'm afraid. There will always be a food chain in football and there are bigger fish than us swimming around. The real crime is that the money from these players was spent inefficiently, especially under that idiot Lowe.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now