jasoneuelllfanclub Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 Obviously the results have been very poor for both the U18 and U21 teams this season but it is not just the results but also the manner. Both teams shipping goals at an alarming rate and our keepers are working overtime to keep the scores down. Last season both teams were pretty decent. Will Dodd and Hunter be made accountable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give it to Ron Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 I have watched them a few times now and never been impressed with Stephens and Turnbull as a pairing - play far too far apart massive gaps between them. Turnbull looks more of a marauding midfielder than a centre half. Cropper gets beaten too easily and can see why released from a few clubs previously. Reed the pick of them for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Charlie Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 Surely the job of the 18's and 21's is to provide good players for the first team? Doing a good job of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suhari Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 Surely the job of the 18's and 21's is to provide good players for the first team? Doing a good job of that. This is my first thought too. Yes, for first team managers 'its a results-driven business'. Surely for the Academy/U21 teams 'its a youth development-driven business'. With three 18 year old academy graduates in the first team I reckon they're doing all right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 I have wondered from time to time why Pochettino's arrival didn't trigger a trickle down of 'his people' into the management and coaching side of things for the U21s and U18s. I can see why things were left alone until the end of the season but am slightly surprised that MP and his team haven't seemingly got directly involved in the day to day running of the younger sides. Of course they'll be involved in an overseeing capacity but I can see where the OP is coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toofarnorth Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 Problem is their three best players are in the first team. Might be a different outcome with those guys in the team. I guess you only really need to produce one player a year capable of making that step up for your academy to be a success and almost make the first team self-sustaining in the long term so seem to be doing ok at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stepgar Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 we have effectively promoted most of the talent in both teams to the first team squad so they are quite depleated. Good sign if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobM Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 Last season both teams were pretty decent. Last season they had players who are now working with the first team. Take your best players out of any team and you'll notice a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasoneuelllfanclub Posted 30 August, 2013 Author Share Posted 30 August, 2013 Of course the primary goal is for individual players to make the step up to 1st team however it is important for winning mentality and self confidence to aid with player development. Cant be good for any player when there team is getting spanked every week no matter how good that player is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farawaysaint Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 Didn't the under 18s finish first or second in their group last year? I imagine Doddsy would feel very rightly aggrieved if his position was called into question based on last year's showing and the players he has brought through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washsaint Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 what a dumb post.......as other have said, 3 U18s are in the 1st team, a lot of the U18s are now in the U21s team and the U18s are made up of mainly underage players. Results for these teams are an added bonus...but if they continue to produce talent for the 1st team that is more important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 The U21s and U18s have lost a lot of players from last season - Shaw, Chambers, Isgrove, Hoskins, Reeves, Ward-Prowse and Martin that I vp an think off. Some have moved up a level or two within the club - others have simply moved on Recent results are worrying as you want them to develop a winning habit - and not a losing one though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowgli Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 what a dumb post.......as other have said, 3 U18s are in the 1st team, a lot of the U18s are now in the U21s team and the U18s are made up of mainly underage players. Results for these teams are an added bonus...but if they continue to produce talent for the 1st team that is more important To be fair it's not that dumb. It was stated at the end of last season- possibly even by Dodd and hunter - that they weren't too worried last year about results because they were feeding the first team well. But they said there would be much more emphasis on results this season. They wanted the youngsters to adopt more of a winning mentality. Answering the OP, I don't think they are on borrowed time because they have very different groups to work with and that needs time to gel. But make no mistake - they are judged on results. For the u21s especially that was a very strong team on paper so I hope hunter will read them the riot act. Can't ell feeling they should have beaten Sunderland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasoneuelllfanclub Posted 30 August, 2013 Author Share Posted 30 August, 2013 what a dumb post.......as other have said, 3 U18s are in the 1st team, a lot of the U18s are now in the U21s team and the U18s are made up of mainly underage players. Results for these teams are an added bonus...but if they continue to produce talent for the 1st team that is more important Why was it a dumb post you clown? If our academy is as good as we say it is then the players promoted to next level should be good enough to make the step up. At the end of the day both teams are conceding a lot of goals and an obscene amount of chances so suggests to me the team tactics are also suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lallana's Left Peg Posted 30 August, 2013 Share Posted 30 August, 2013 The U18's were always in for a tough season. The vast majority of them from last season are now a part of the U21's. The squad is made up mostly of first year scholars and I think they even had some 14 / 15 year olds play for them recently too. This is all very deliberate as the idea is to promote players through as soon as possible so they can get used to what is required from them even if they may struggle - I believe Pochettino did it to great effect at Espanyol and it is starting to become an accepted method in the UK. However, it is not conducive to winning football. The U21's is a different story. They are fully loaded this season. They are expected to challenge far more as they had the best youngsters promoted to them and there is more expectation on them. They have made a poor start however you cannot necessarily say that Hunter is to blame - there may be lots of factors. Plus it is important for the kids to learn lots about the game - and losing is a part of it however you would never want to deliberately lose a game of course. However, as has been said the purpose of the Academy is to provide players for the first team and on that basis everyone associated has done a brilliant job. But eventually the club will want to start to win things at that level - and I think Matt Crocker mentioned pre-season that he has introduced a psychology module to the players education curriculum as he believed that aside from talent level both the U18's and U21's last season fell just short of qualifying for the playoffs in their elite groups and better mentality may well have seen them win more games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 19 May, 2014 Share Posted 19 May, 2014 (edited) Edit: wrong thread Edited 19 May, 2014 by trousers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 19 May, 2014 Share Posted 19 May, 2014 Edit: having a nightmare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 19 May, 2014 Share Posted 19 May, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just a Fan Posted 20 May, 2014 Share Posted 20 May, 2014 Well according to southamptonfc news now the Independent is saying that they have been sacked. Reason given is because of unhealthy relationships with other coaches and for not spending sufficient time with the under 16 squad. Apparently the club are unavailable to comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just a Fan Posted 20 May, 2014 Share Posted 20 May, 2014 Sorry, just noticed that it's being talked about on another thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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