VIDEO: Saints director Les Reed speaks at Global Sporting Innovation Conference 2014

[Coxford_lou]

Great clip. Really insightful. We're very privileged to support a club with such a progressive approach to football.

[stardustonmyfeet]

The Acadamy success can be placed more at Reeds door though.

 

I used to agree with you, but then I realised that all our successful recent academy graduates joined between 1998 and 2003. That suggests that we're enjoying the success from foundations laid by the likes of Prost and Henderson, and all of the staff from that era have since moved on. It won't be until another five seasons or so that we'll see if our current set-up have truly built on that, although I will be astonished if they haven't.

 

Perhaps it could be said that although he failed to sell the club in his tenure, Rupert Lowe really did quite a lot to make this club an incredibly attractive proposition many years down the line, and history will treat him with far more respect than we've afforded him in the last ten years.

[hutch]

If you've read any of George's posts over any sort of time you'd know that any semblance of credibility he may have had was lost years ago. The guy is fundamentally incorrect about almost everything, he makes ART seem sane in comparison.

I generally take the starting view that anybody who feels the need to include "Saint" in their username isn't really a Saints fan, but they're trying to find ways to convince us that they really really are, honest.

 

Then I wait to be convinced otherwise. Some have succeeded. This one hasn't.

[mancsaint]

Also, who is the kid that Reed referred to with the mop-top and currently in the u18's that should be making his senior debut this season? Josh Sims?

 

U16 player to make u18 debut this season is the way I interpretted it.

 

Mancsaint

[CB Fry]

I used to agree with you, but then I realised that all our successful recent academy graduates joined between 1998 and 2003. That suggests that we're enjoying the success from foundations laid by the likes of Prost and Henderson, and all of the staff from that era have since moved on. It won't be until another five seasons or so that we'll see if our current set-up have truly built on that, although I will be astonished if they haven't.

 

Perhaps it could be said that although he failed to sell the club in his tenure, Rupert Lowe really did quite a lot to make this club an incredibly attractive proposition many years down the line, and history will treat him with far more respect than we've afforded him in the last ten years.

 

1998? 16 years ago. When we were still at the Dell. 2003, more than ten years ago. Okay then.

 

What players are you talking about here? In 2003 Luke Shaw would have been 8.

 

Are you saying nothing the academy has done for Luke Shaw (or JWP, or Chambers) in the last five years (say between the ages of 13 to 18) made any difference to them, he would have magically turned into the players they are now regardless?

 

Lowe did a good job with the acedemy but looks like that's Cortese's and Reed's credit for developing the academy down the the toilet. Pretty harsh.

Edited 11 October, 2014 by CB Fry

[stardustonmyfeet]

What players are you talking about here? In 2003 Luke Shaw would have been 8.

 

Are you saying nothing the academy has done for Luke Shaw (or JWP, or Chambers) in the last five years

 

Name a player who joined after that era. Our next big thing, Matt Targett joined us in 2003.

 

You are right, the academy has to be decent enough to develop players all the way to premier league standard. But the next 5-10 years will show how good the club have been at bringing in talent at the earliest stages, in the face of relegations and staff departures. Speaking of which, did we ever get a reason for Jason Dodd's sacking?

[CB Fry]

Name a player who joined after that era. Our next big thing, Matt Targett joined us in 2003.

 

You are right, the academy has to be decent enough to develop players all the way to premier league standard. But the next 5-10 years will show how good the club have been at bringing in talent at the earliest stages, in the face of relegations and staff departures. Speaking of which, did we ever get a reason for Jason Dodd's sacking?

You don't understand how football academies work, if you're asking questions like that. It's not just a scouting machine where 8 year olds magic into premier league quality players just like that.

 

In 2003 Shaw would have been 8. So the decade of development from a pre-secondary school child to the most expensive teenager ever is all down to George Prost and nothing to do with Les Reed who probably spoke to him at least every other day in the last five years. Nothing to do with our training programs, our pastoral care, our professional development, our over arching football development strategy, our coaches and physios.

 

The only thing that is relevant is who happened to be the boss when he was an 8 year old child. Okay then.

Edited 11 October, 2014 by CB Fry

[stardustonmyfeet]

The only thing that is relevant is who happened to be the boss when he was an 8 year old child. Okay then.

I didn't say that. What I was trying to say was although the current set-up has clearly done a decent job in bringing through talent, the foundations were already there as can be evidenced by the academy players who established themselves in the first team. As it takes more than five minutes to develop a player, credit has to be given to staff like Prost, Elias, Henderson, Jennings, not to mention that muppet who was running the show at the time. To belittle their contribution to the academy as it is today is like saying Wenger has done a great job developing Chambers and Walcott into England players. Okay then.

[Turkish]

I think they are. It s like comparing Ian Dowiewith MLT. When Reed has been at the club and achieved what Tb did then you might be able to compare them. 7 games don't make a summer and I put the success of the team down to Koeman. The Acadamy success can be placed more at Reeds door though.

As for all the minute detail I was under the impression that it was Cortese who that was down to, I recall an article last season about how special mattresses etc were taken to away games etc

 

So all our previous success was totally down to Cortese, our current success is totally down to the manager, who we were just plain lucky to get. Okay then.

[CB Fry]

I didn't say that. What I was trying to say was although the current set-up has clearly done a decent job in bringing through talent, the foundations were already there as can be evidenced by the academy players who established themselves in the first team. As it takes more than five minutes to develop a player, credit has to be given to staff like Prost, Elias, Henderson, Jennings, not to mention that muppet who was running the show at the time. To belittle their contribution to the academy as it is today is like saying Wenger has done a great job developing Chambers and Walcott into England players. Okay then.

 

Apologies for belittling the contribution Elias, Prost and Jennings made in turning Luke Shaw into the world's most expensive teenager. They all left when when he was about twelve years old. Henderson sealed the absolute inevitability of his ticket to Rio by leaving Saints when Luke was a fully formed fourteen year old.

 

Yep, it's me belittling contributions made in the development of our players. Yep, its me doing that. Sorry and everything.

 

[edit: poor maths. point stands]

Edited 11 October, 2014 by CB Fry

[DuncanRG]

Discussing how much success was down to Cortese/Reed/Koeman misses the point of what he said - it's a team effort.

Edited 11 October, 2014 by DuncanRG

[cellone]

People laughed at me in the summer when I said in the future Les Reed will be considered a modern day Ted Bates. They're not laughing now.

 

Are you sure about that? Bit of an odd comparison.

[Ohio Saint]

I generally take the starting view that anybody who feels the need to include "Saint" in their username isn't really a Saints fan, but they're trying to find ways to convince us that they really really are, honest.

 

Then I wait to be convinced otherwise. Some have succeeded. This one hasn't.

 

Oh! darn!

[Bucks Saint]

I generally take the starting view that anybody who feels the need to include "Saint" in their username isn't really a Saints fan, but they're trying to find ways to convince us that they really really are, honest.

 

Then I wait to be convinced otherwise. Some have succeeded. This one hasn't.

 

Yikes!

[sotonist]

Apologies for belittling the contribution Elias, Prost and Jennings made in turning Luke Shaw into the world's most expensive teenager. They all left when when he was about twelve years old. Henderson sealed the absolute inevitability of his ticket to Rio by leaving Saints when Luke was a fully formed fourteen year old.

 

Yep, it's me belittling contributions made in the development of our players. Yep, its me doing that. Sorry and everything.

 

[edit: poor maths. point stands]

 

elias was more about recruitment than coaching wasn't he? I think him and the academy manager have a reasonable claim to credit, while prost was the U18s coach and his best claims ended with the walcott group and possibly influencing our signing of schneiderlin.

[OldNick]

I used to agree with you, but then I realised that all our successful recent academy graduates joined between 1998 and 2003. That suggests that we're enjoying the success from foundations laid by the likes of Prost and Henderson, and all of the staff from that era have since moved on. It won't be until another five seasons or so that we'll see if our current set-up have truly built on that, although I will be astonished if they haven't.

 

Perhaps it could be said that although he failed to sell the club in his tenure, Rupert Lowe really did quite a lot to make this club an incredibly attractive proposition many years down the line, and history will treat him with far more respect than we've afforded him in the last ten years.

i would think that the Acadamy must be the year on year progression of many years. Reed is having the reflected glory, I recall being a guest of Huw Jennings to an away to Coventry (I think it was PAhars first game) on the journey he was expelling the same philosophy of the Acadamy as it is now. Bigger investment now of course but the early vision was there even then.

[washsaint]

old nick - would it really hurt you to have anything good to say about our club? All you do is take pot shots - re. your last comments, perhaps you have forgotten that in the dark years the Academy dd not progress as funding was cut. perhaps you should watch the video and find out what Reed says about when Markus took over?

 

Of course the current regime is building on what Lowe, Jennings and Prost started - but to damn them with faint praise by saying this has been happening for years is to do them a disservice.

 

But there again, would not expect anything less from you.

[positivepete]

Superb talk. Long term thinking and planning will keep us ahead of our peers. We are unlikely to ever be the biggest club in the world, but with a sound philosophy like this we will always eat at the top table. It is in sharp contrast to the short term way many football clubs operate, and perhaps one of the most revealing bits and proof that what we are doing is working, was that our staff are also in demand.

 

If you have not yet watched the video all the way through, do so, it is worth it is worth the time.

[Turkish]

Are you sure about that? Bit of an odd comparison.

 

Not really. Both will be legends of the club. Ted is now, Les will be looked back on as one. The man that guided us from L1 to the premier league. Appointed a succession of excellent mangers. Negotiatied the transfers of top notch incoming players that with a fantastic ROI, whilst extrapulating exhorbitant fees for over rated, egotisitcal dickwads. Oversaw the rise of our academy to be the greatest in Europe and finally and most recently guided us through choppy waters and into calmer sees. I suggest a statue facing Ted with the words

 

"if you can keep your head when all men doubt you......" engraved on it.

Edited 14 October, 2014 by Turkish
TYPO! Ipads FFS

[Bearsy]

I suggest a statue facying Ted with the words

 

"if you can keep your heard when all men doubt you......" engraved on it.

 

like this, but with professional proof-readers pls. We don't want this prestigious memorial to be TBII

[Redslo]

I really really really want hear what Les has got to say on all of this. But, boy his presentation style is dry........

 

Anyone want to transcribe?!

 

I ended up transcribing this for my own reasons. It is posted on my blog under the title, “I have Transcribed Les Reed’s 38 minute long speech at the 2014 Global Sportstec Innovation Conference (Part 1).” I will be posting the second half of the speech in the morning my time because I have something else to do before I go to bed and it is already 12:30 am. I hope you find it useful.

 

http://redsloscf.blogspot.com/

 

http://redsloscf.blogspot.co.uk/

[Mallagroth]

Quite the opposite. The club should build a commemorative fountain in their honour. Those heroes saved the club.

 

Loving your work CB. Keep it up. After the drivel we had to put up with in the summer on this forum, fair play.