Article in the DE. http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/9328132.Why_teenager_James_ditched_Pompey_for_Saints/ Sensible lad!
This suggests that he'll jump at the first opportunity. I know I would if I had to play for the skates.
If I were a young footballer, I'd choose whoever offered me the best opportunity to progress. If that were Pompey (hypothetical situation I know) so be it. I don't suppose he sees himself as a skate when he plays, he's a footballer first and foremost. Most of our players aren't Saints fans, but they don't put in any less effort because of it. Typical Echo scaremongering.
Reckon any doubts about where his loyalties lay should be fading away with his Twitter account saying stuff like... "Saints 3-0 Middlesbrough #We'reTakingThePiss" "On the way to the first team game, COYR!" "looking forward to the first game this afternoon, confident of 3 points! #unbeatenathome #topoftheleague" Seems like he's loving it with us rather than just seeing it as a job. Less of the scaremongering, eh Echo?
Southampton have a much better academy and training facilities than Portsmouth. Pompey have been able to produce a number of good players over the years but its kind of a hit and miss affair while Southampton have been producing high quality young players on a consistant basis for the last, what? Ten or so years? Whatever. The point is that Southampton have a much more consistant record of producing top quality youngsters than Pompey so if he looked at it from a purely proffesional mindset and went where he could get the best training then its not surprising that he chose Southampton over Portsmouth.
Nigel says Nicola's master plan for world domination includes having about 50% of the team made up of academy graduates. (He may not have put it quite like that).
Ambitious, but if we pull it off, the result will be jizzworthy. It would take quite a few years mind.
yeah saw that in the programme yesterday - im all for this, knowing how good the 1st year scholars are including W-P, Shaw, Sinclair, Stephens to name a few
I think it's just great that we have a chairman and a manager with a plan at all....never been too sure in the past. And isn't it nice when a plan comes together.
