1. Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!

The Secret Footballer

Discussion in 'Southampton' started by 3rd eye, Feb 4, 2012.

  1. 3rd eye

    3rd eye Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2011
    Messages:
    5,603
    Likes Received:
    695
    #1
  2. fran-MLs little camera

    fran-MLs little camera Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    69,233
    Likes Received:
    24,804
    Interesting..thanks for posting it. Saints fans are rightly proud of their academy which is being improved all the time. The academy also place importance on character..another reason for parents of budding footballers to prefer us to teams in a metropolis...and on education. A successful academy provides players for the first team and income which can be ploughed back into further development and into the club in general.
     
    #2
  3. Saints Fan4Life

    Saints Fan4Life Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2011
    Messages:
    17,423
    Likes Received:
    10,820
    I know Saints Academy have gone back to basics, with them being boot boys and living with families
     
    #3
  4. saintlyhero

    saintlyhero Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2011
    Messages:
    7,949
    Likes Received:
    4,016
    The pathway to the 1st team is the most important difference. Chelsea are the biggest failures at this due a stream of high profile managers needing results who can't "risk" young talent. AVB maybe being allowed to change this
     
    #4
  5. OddRiverOakWizards

    OddRiverOakWizards Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2011
    Messages:
    9,022
    Likes Received:
    3,005
    Below is a ghost written article by a professional footballer bemoaning the fact that youth players are being given large wages before they have even made it (Morrison to West Ham is mooted) making them more arrogant and less hard working. There is also discussion of top teams becoming more and more willing to pick up players at the age of 13-16 even before they have played regularly.

    The player then goes on to say that too many youngsters go to top five clubs such as Chelsea who have poor production rates from their academy rather than going to more productive ones. He states if his son wanted to become a footballer he would choose Southampton:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/feb/03/the-secret-footballer
     
    #5
  6. IMO Im ITK

    IMO Im ITK Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2011
    Messages:
    1,581
    Likes Received:
    2
    Good read, cheers <ok>
     
    #6
  7. Saintjoey

    Saintjoey Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2011
    Messages:
    2,694
    Likes Received:
    1,207
    Great read. I take so much pride in our academy and the recognition doesn't bother me anymore. IMO a Saints player is worth 20% more just because they've been nought up in our ever increasingly reputable academy. Clubs are willing to pay more for players who are not only athletes but have good attitudes and that's what we produce
     
    #7
  8. (Conor)

    (Conor) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2011
    Messages:
    6,263
    Likes Received:
    31
    Well at least it's not the drivel we're used to reading about in the papers on football <ok>
     
    #8
  9. fran-MLs little camera

    fran-MLs little camera Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    69,233
    Likes Received:
    24,804
    Already posted below as secret footballer.
     
    #9
  10. OddRiverOakWizards

    OddRiverOakWizards Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2011
    Messages:
    9,022
    Likes Received:
    3,005

  11. OddRiverOakWizards

    OddRiverOakWizards Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2011
    Messages:
    9,022
    Likes Received:
    3,005
    Sorry 3rd eye reposted this, didn't notice your article not trying to usurp...
     
    #11
  12. fran-MLs little camera

    fran-MLs little camera Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    69,233
    Likes Received:
    24,804
    Not really criticizing...it happens. I agree an enjoyable read.
     
    #12
  13. OddRiverOakWizards

    OddRiverOakWizards Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2011
    Messages:
    9,022
    Likes Received:
    3,005
    I am just trying to give 3rd eye credit, it can be annoying if people usurp your article or just write the same thing...

    I try to look at things from different and original perspectives...

    How confident are you about today's game; you're usually quite shrewd? :)
     
    #13
  14. fran-MLs little camera

    fran-MLs little camera Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    69,233
    Likes Received:
    24,804
    You can't tell someone they're shrewd and expect an answer. Pressure or what?:laugh: Think there's a good chance of it being called off, which I think could be better for us although we might slip a bit. This is too close to call if it goes ahead, but always go for a Saints win. Just feel that we shouldn't get too down if all goes against us. With our strong squad I reckon we will churn out results and be in top two at the end.
     
    #14
  15. hotbovril

    hotbovril Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2011
    Messages:
    2,763
    Likes Received:
    1,624
    The article is certainly more considered than most drivel published these days, but I think that it and Gordon Taylor in particular miss two points.

    The first is the new breed of owners in the game. For these hugely wealthy individuals, patience is simply not a characteristic that they possess. Subsequently, the demand for immediate results is felt right throughout a club as a tangible pressure. This is turn means that managers are far more likely to turn to an experienced foreign professional than throw a chance to a youth player. This has become even more prevalent in recent years with the media witch hunts surrounding any manager that has the audacity to lose consecutive games. Invariably these become "crisis clubs" with practically no foundation. It isn't hard to see why youngsters don't get blooded in the money and media circus that the PL has become.

    The second point is something that has puzzled me for as long as I've been a football fan and is therefore probably not a new phenomenon! Why are there so few English players plying their trade abroad? I'm sure that other examples will be cited but right now, I could only name Joe Cole. Given that our lower leagues and reserve teams are littered with foreign youngsters, all of whom are pursuing a dream, why is the reverse not true in Europe? Is it a national snobbery or does it demonstrate an intrinsic lack of desire to pursue a dream? Do our youngsters just give up after they get their first knockback?
     
    #15
  16. fran-MLs little camera

    fran-MLs little camera Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2011
    Messages:
    69,233
    Likes Received:
    24,804
    This is why I am so pleased with Cortese. He has a dream of how a football club should be run...he wants us to be an example to others. Southampton was the type of team he wanted with facilities and the foundations of a good academy, available at a very reasonable price. There were not many clubs that would have fitted his bill. He also knew a certain billionnaire. A marriage made in heaven.
     
    #16
  17. Itchen North Matt

    Itchen North Matt Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2011
    Messages:
    2,926
    Likes Received:
    8
    Dale Jennings is at Bayern and the only English player I know of playing in one of the big European leagues. England, Spain, Germany and Italy are the powerhouses of club football and most of their top domestic players play in their home country. There aren't many top Spanish, German or Italian players in the PL. Most of our best foreign talent comes from Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa or the Americas because it's cheaper. It's not just England doing it.

    Its good to hear that Saints are developing players with the right attitude. No-one likes a billy big balls.
     
    #17
  18. Qwerty

    Qwerty Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2011
    Messages:
    14,006
    Likes Received:
    3,515
    Jennings hasn't playing for Bayern yet, but Michael Mancienne plays for Hamburg. There is Joe Cole at Lille if that counts, and Carson at Bursaspor...that's your lot.
     
    #18
  19. OddRiverOakWizards

    OddRiverOakWizards Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2011
    Messages:
    9,022
    Likes Received:
    3,005
    Perhaps it's the language barrier?

    I am not saying that I agree with all the points made, but there are some truths in it.
     
    #19
  20. OddRiverOakWizards

    OddRiverOakWizards Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2011
    Messages:
    9,022
    Likes Received:
    3,005
    Does Colin Kazim Richards count? Or Aaron Hunt :p.
     
    #20

Share This Page