Lets not forget and airbrush recent history by declaring all the players like Shaw, Lallana, Prowse, Chambers, Chamberlain, Walcott are all part of the academy set up created by Rupert Lowe. He overstayed his crimson strides but he clearly got something right as history will show.
Nobody has denied that and it's been mentioned countless times on many threads. Back to Wummery lesson 1.1 for you.
Much as this may be true, please lets not do another Lowe thread. This always ends in tears no matter which side of the fence you sit on. And if you sit astride the fence, then its even more likely to do so!
Do we have to have one of these threads every week now?Is Lowe paying for publicity? To try and get people back on his side?.....
Wrong, the Academy was there long before Lowe, he just perpetuated it, for reasons often discussed on here, in case you have not noticed he is history, as is AP and NA, for pities sake move on or move away, you cannot have it both ways, there is No Going Back.
I think Rups should be credited with the strategic direction of the academy. He provided the basic engine. The Don has turned it into a V8
Correct. It just went under another name of the Saints Youth System and had been around at least as long as Ted Bates had become Team Manager. If anyone set up the Academy, it was Ted Bates and the Club from that era. Players like Terry Paine, John Sydenham, Martin Chivers, Mick Channon, came out of that time. It was expanded in it's scope by Lawrie McMenemy and players like Nick Holmes, The Wallace Brothers, MLT, Alan Shearer, Steve Moran, Steve Williams, etc... came out of that era. Or did they, and several others, all appear by magic alone..?
I always thought it very sad that Merrington was given a chance as manager and when the powers decided he wasn't up to that, that they didn't give him his old job (youth/ressies) back.
Saints academy had a good reputation long before Lowe was involved with the club. Lowe created a lot more publicity for it by employing the Rugby guy as a director of youth or what ever his title was. That was probably Lowes total involvement other than trying to prove how good he was by always wanting to be on the training ground with the players. For these things he deserves little credit in my view ...just doing his job, correctly for once I would agree.......
Dave Merrington sadly was a cheap option at the time.........he just was not cut out for the total responsibility. He should have stayed where he was and he probably would still be there! Can't say I agree with a lot of his summations on the radio, but he is still a nice bloke.
At least he has an amusing catchphrase...mine would be 'get rid of it' and 'take it with you' depending on the situation...both scintillating pieces of advice.
