I`m glad we are not in the business of really big money signings - lots of good value available out there - Stu, Adams, Salisu, Diallo, KWP - long may it continue.
Do you realise our academy has been disappointing because Chelsea have taken all the players that we could and should have done. Just the way it works. Us trying to get in at this point is the next best option if they naturally choose the bigger club with more money and facilities and track record The defender we just got from them is from Southampton! And yet even he was at the Chelsea academy. Can’t complain too much as we have taken good players from around the (relatively) local area that could have joined other teams. But it is not like we are mugs in terms of academy and being a PL side and providing a pathway. It’s not like the only club in the Southampton area is Eastleigh for example. But they still join the Chelsea academy...
Couldnt agree more… it’s an interesting debate as to whether money “ruins” a club…. I had a good friend who was a City fan pre being taken over and she said it would never spoil the club. It’s not for me to say too much either way as I’m not a City fan, but from the outside looking in, although they have success of sorts is it the same club it always has been. Although we had a certain amount of money from Markus it didn’t all go directly on a Prem squad, more writing off debts, building the new Staplewood and on players that got us out of L1 and the Champ. We’ve never really excelled with spending money… personally, I’d be uncomfortable with us being uber rich…. It’s painful a lot of the time being a Saints fan… it’s the hope that kills…!!
When you see how American owners interfere at EPL clubs, and look at owners like Chansiri at Sheffield, you start to realise a 'quiet' owner like ours his worth his weight in gold.
Did he? I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but thought he gave us an interest free loan to cover us through the dark times and eventually that loan was repaid. So yes, foregoing the interest was a way of putting cash into the club and that makes him a hero in my book. But I'm not sure we've ever had an owner who actually injected cash for squad development. Yes, overall we are a well managed club and if this Chelsea lad joins us it does sound like a real coup, paving the way forward for clubs like Southampton (though it happens both ways as Man City recently showed).
I know what you mean, but as others have said, there have been promising players from our catchment area who have been attracted by the lure of a bigger club, before leaving for a team where they'll actually get opportunities. Even so, signing promising players from another club's academy is not a bad thing. Prime example would be Dortmund getting Sancho for £7m, having some great seasons out of him and then selling him on for £80m. Bellingham will be similar.
Our academy still continues to have success stories though. We took a lad (Tella) who was released by Arsenal because he was deemed not good enough. Now he looks likely to be our most exciting attacking midfielder this season. There are no secrets any more in the world of youth football, and the transfer market for that age group has become more active than for senior players. It could actually be very beneficial for a club of our status. We are a big enough club to hold on to (most of) our youth players, but also to appeal to the likes of Livramento.
I'm not suggesting we do the same as Brentford, but didn't they scrap their academy to focus on their reserves? Their strategy is to pick up players who get released by other academies (sometimes paying a fee), as it's more cost-effective than running their own academy (I think). Essentially doing what we have done/are doing with Tella & Simeu. And as they're in London they're surrounded by a lot of top academies and probably offer the quickest route to first team football in that area.
Our academy has a recent history of being hugely successful. That doesn’t mean it’s valid to start saying it’s a load of bunk if there’s a few lean years. Last year we got Tella, in other recent years we’ve had others make it to the first team but then not pan out. It happens. It’s a complex business. We’re a top division club. We’re looking for the 1%. That’s not always going to be guaranteed. I’ve wanted us to be shopping in this sort of secondary market for a while and the success of players like Bellingham, Sancho and others has encouraged young players to pursue opportunity and realise that they don’t have to keep on at these teams our Swiss lad whose name I can’t spell is another example. I’d love for us to become a Dortmund-type clearing house for talent. We don’t have the money to buy ready made so we have to find these rough gems and young lads who are hungry and back themselves. COVID has certainly accelerated this as so many big clubs are hungry to trim rosters to generate funds. If you’ve got a youth player who’s wavering over a new deal, now is the time to negotiate hard and get the cash in for them.
They did, but EPP (Matt Crocker’s baby, coincidently) was a driver in that too. As they weren’t category 1 it was going to be harder for them to keep their best youth team prospects and harder to get full value when they did go. They saw the gaps in the market early and moved aggressively to pick up the best players falling through the cracks. Their data and analysis-centred strategy really makes that process very efficient. They are going to be in a really strong position to cherry pick the best players when they get established in the PL.
Of course it was Glen Hoddle who first started this trend with his ‘second chance’ academy. I’ll have to do a but if research to see how successful he was but every club has the same wins and losses. For every Nathan Tella there will be a Ben White. Edit: limited success as he was looking at players no one wanted and developing them for lower league clubs. Saints are taking it at a very different level, players who are clearly good but whose pathway is blocked at current club.
I would agree that the "academy cupboard' has been a little bare of late. This policy however of bringing players pushing on the verge of first team football seems good judgement to me. It provides competition to first team players. Hopefully their addition to the reserves will spur the youth players coming through. Obviously, we hope to make a windfall in the future. From a RH perspective, he gets technically talented young players he can mould into.. his playing system rather than trying to remould players with bad habits.
If we get Armstrong too then this window is shaping up nicely. The only questions then are around: Ralph confirmed we still want a CM - who will it be? A loanee maybe? Will Tino be enough as a back up at full back or will Ralph want a back up LB too? Ings & Vestergaard - sell or sign a new deal?
Hummmm, Obafami is valued at £6m by Saints. Obviously high but even if you say £4-5m that equates to around £18-19m for Armstrong & we’re only getting XXX for Danny!
