Saints Academy Thread

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https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/2...er-ballard-dreaming-ward-prowses-hero-status/

Interview with Dom Ballard - wants to become a Saints legend like Tiss & JWP apparently.

Seems an ambitious kid. I really hope at least one of this excellent crop makes it to the top with us. Well, I hope they all have great careers, but if one of Ballard, JJ morgan, Dibling or Doyle become 1st team regulars it would be class.

Plenty more talented players in the academy too, the lads we got from Spurs apparently are rated highly but its better when it is someone who joined as a kid.
 
Southampton Under-18s team's game against West Bromwich Albion has been postponed.

The match, which was due to be played on Saturday 21st January at Staplewood, will now need to be rescheduled.
 
Southampton youngster Jimmy-Jay Morgan has told the club he wants to leave after rejecting their offer of a first professional contract. [HASHTAG]#saintsfc[/HASHTAG]@SkySportsNews
 
You'd hope with a lad so young (turned 17 a few days ago), he'd look at Diblings brief Chelsea adventure and realise there is no need to move on yet and he's better off staying here while he matures. That said we have no idea the reasoning behind him wanting to leave. He is rated really highly at the club though and having seen him play at Staplewood he definitely has something special about him, but is also very much still just a kid though. A lot of growing to do yet and you'd think staying here would be a good place to do that.
 
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If it's because he wants first team football then it just stinks of Thierry Small when he left Everton and last season here when he thought he was first team ready at a really young age when he just clearly wasn't. JJM literally just turned 17, what is the rush!? He's highly thought of here and just needs to continue to develop physically and with his game and he will get given chances in the future. He's been playing in the U23 (B team) as a 16 year old so it's not as if he hasn't been progressing whilst here. You'd hope he'd have some sensible guidance from parents...

Blackpool is realistically his only chance of minutes in the first team this season now anyway. Be interesting to see what happens, assume if he's involved that is a desperate attempt to keep him happy.
 
I think things have changed a lot for these young players aswell. Look at the likes of Livramento and Lavia who came to us from big clubs, they want to play at a young age rather than going down the loan route.

Look at the number of players who go abroad aswell to get game time at a young age. Madueke is allegedly going to Chelsea after leaving Spurs at 16/17 to play first team football in Holland. It takes a very special player to play in the PL regularly at 17/18 and majority won’t be that level. Going to a club not in the PL permanently with the hope of getting a move back to the PL in a couple of years when they’d come in as a first team player must appeal to young players nowadays.

No idea how good Morgan is but with the lack of attacking talent we have if he really was that good now he would’ve been given a chance
 
RSS said:
If it's because he wants first team football then it just stinks of Thierry Small when he left Everton and last season here when he thought he was first team ready at a really young age when he just clearly wasn't. JJM literally just turned 17, what is the rush!? He's highly thought of here and just needs to continue to develop physically and with his game and he will get given chances in the future. He's been playing in the U23 (B team) as a 16 year old so it's not as if he hasn't been progressing whilst here. You'd hope he'd have some sensible guidance from parents...

Blackpool is realistically his only chance of minutes in the first team this season now anyway. Be interesting to see what happens, assume if he's involved that is a desperate attempt to keep him happy.
Click to expand...

And who could forget the legend, Alex Jankewitz?! <laugh>
 
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You. Gotta. Have. A. Pathway. That doesn't mean being thrust into the starting lineup consistently, but they need to actually play games. I bang on about this every year when the cups roll around, and I'm sorry: in the long term, that half an hour of 2-3 cup matches means more to our club long-term if we give it to an Academy player, rather than giving it to a more experienced option. Even if it might occasionally get us knocked out. If we want to be a club that builds through the Academy, we need to demonstrate that they will get chances. I

Morgan has had an exceptional season; he should have played against Lincoln, and he should play against Blackpool, and if we win that, he should play against our next opponent, too. Ballard should have gotten more opportunities after scoring on debut. Play the fking kids, we don't need another look at Djenepo.
 
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Schad said:
You. Gotta. Have. A. Pathway. That doesn't mean being thrust into the starting lineup consistently, but they need to actually play games. I bang on about this every year when the cups roll around, and I'm sorry: in the long term, that half an hour of 2-3 cup matches means more to our club long-term if we give it to an Academy player, rather than giving it to a more experienced option. Even if it might occasionally get us knocked out. If we want to be a club that builds through the Academy, we need to demonstrate that they will get chances. I

Morgan has had an exceptional season; he should have played against Lincoln, and he should play against Blackpool, and if we win that, he should play against our next opponent, too. Ballard should have gotten more opportunities after scoring on debut. Play the fking kids, we don't need another look at Djenepo.
Click to expand...

Absolutely.

Ballard scored on his debut - not been seen since.
Lewis Payne started that game, got an assist - not been seen since.

The pathway is dead. These kids are tearing it up the b-team, the first team is firing duds and they just aren't getting (or even going to get) a look in. Whether that's Jones's policy or not, I don't know, but I'm sure under Ralph they would have had some minutes over the last 6 weeks or so.

I get that we're in the midst of a relegation battle, but like you say, Lincoln (or Sheff Wed) would have been great opportunities to give some of these lads a chance. At the moment, they must sit there thinking a player from another academy is going to come in, straight into the first team picture, push them down the pecking order whilst knowing they won't even get 10-minutes against a team 2 divisions below.
 
It's difficult because in an ideal world you introduce one or two into a structured side that are playing well, not into a side that is constantly changing personell and systems, is low on confidence with a losing mentality and in a high pressured relegation battle. These highly rated young players that are playing so well in the U23s are 16/17 year olds. They, generally speaking, physically don't look ready for first team football, but there is no doubting their talent at U23 level. I'm sure there is an element of protecting them and allowing them to develop before throwing them in but maybe the best thing to do is give them a chance if only to reward their performances in the U23s. If they do well, amazing! If they look out of place and not ready for the step up yet then hopefully that teaches them some patience. It's not like they are getting to 18/19 and we aren't giving them a chance, albeit as has been said, the early rounds of the cups we should have taken as this opportunity to see how they do.
 
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Whilst I agree that we should be playing the youngsters in the cup, to be fair Selles was in charge for Wednesday and Lincoln was Jones first match and although it’s not shown, he would have needed that match to work on his systems.

I do hope we give in to Morgan’s demands.
He is potentially more important than any player at our club and must be looked after
 
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