I think Wenger and the Arsenal Premiership coaching staff have brought Walcott on and made him a much better player. I believe he is starting for England tonight, which says it all really.
This is just the way the world works the biggest or richist clubs will always nick the best talent from the others. We have done it with many teams and now City with their unlimited cash are doing it to us.
Oh dear.....I'll get me coat I feel a deluge coming on........ You really do not have a good taste in players do you?
I don't think many of us think any different to be honest.....but hey it won't always be like that as we have proved before.
It's very mean to pick on Beddytare regarding his English, particularly after his heroic, yet futile struggle with the principles of mathematics. Please leave him alone. I think that you are so cruel.....sob......
Couldn't give a monkeys, he jumped off of the bus and to be perfectly honest, he has hardly been missed. I much more interested in the money and possible sell on clause that we will recieve for him than any credit the club gets for his development. The whole of the football world knows where he learnt his trade, but he is an Arsenal player now so good luck to him, we have moved on.
I believe we are dealing with it, by making other Saints fans aware of how myopic the football media have become. You don't have to read the comments. They aren't aimed in your direction. Incidentally, if you ever have the equivalent of an AOC, and he is transferred to the Bright Lights, I'm sure you'd wish us to understand too.
There's no promotion in it y'know ........but I do appreciate the concern...........as I was recently told by a poster just before I banned him.........you ain't got no feelings......now how true is that.......
Chelsea do have a youth system that's received a lot of investment since Abramovich came in. It hasn't produced an established Chelsea player since John Terry. Josh McEachrane looks close, but he is supposedly a bit special. The players from the Chelsea academy mainly go out on loan to the Championship before being released or sold ridiculously cheaply. Two good examples are Scott Sinclair (Swansea, £1m) and Jack Cork (Southampton, £750k). It could well be the same with this giant facility Man City are building if their policy of splashing out on world stars continues. Youths u18 at the top clubs recieve little or no contact time with the big name players or managers, so young players are more likely to move to them once they are established enough to fancy their chances Saints actually pinched a very promising young lad called George Mells from Chelsea recently, so the system can work both ways. I very much doubt you had heard about that one as George Mells is only 14 and it wasn't publicised at all. I only knew about it myself when his name got mentioned on the OS and a search revealed that he used to play for Chelsea. This sort of thing happens all the time, like when we took a 12 year old Theo Walcott from Swindon or a 12 year old Adam Lallana from Bournemouth (They still have a sell-on clause). The list of players to have progresse through the youth ranks at the top 4/5/6 (from pre-16) isn't that impressive. The likely England team tonight (senior debut) Joe Hart (Shrewsbury) Chris Smalling (Maidstone United) Gary Cahill (Burnley, on loan from Aston Villa) John Terry (Chelsea, before they were loaded) Ashley Cole (Arsenal) Theo Walcott (Southampton) Ashley Young (Watford) Frank Lampard (West Ham) Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) Scott Parker (Charlton Athletic) Wayne Rooney (Everton) Stewart Downing (Middlesborough) Adam Johnson (Middlesborough) Not a lot of glamour there.
SamirNasriis a A******8 " ..but until you become a top club, your youth talents will always get poached by the big guns " I guess thats why Arsenals so called top players have all taken flight to bigger clubs with more ambition? How did it feel to have your players tapped up by so called bigger clubs?
Good point, but don't you think he could have done that anywhere if he is good enough, might have struggled at Nottarf though.
As a matter of interest, if Saints were to poach an Academy Player from Portsmouth, (Jed Wallace for instance) and turned him into a superstar, how would you feel about it. I am sure you would not be happy as you would have done all the work and we get the glory, hypothetical but the theory is the same.
Now that he is playing football and training at a higher level with Arsenal, he appears to have developed rapidly into an important player at England U21 level. His hat trick the other evening of course illustrating his quality. Will he benefit further from his transfer to the Gunners and become a regular in the full England squad? Do you have any thoughts on this matter?
