Wanted to refer to him as Bob Seger and/or Ryan Shergar when I wrote that title. Can't really explain why.
Good news but when the first thing Seager says is he's going to develop here for a few more years you have to wonder how committed he is to a long term career at Saints. He then goes on to cite Shaw, Chambers, Ox and Walcott as his role models who have gone on to better things. Im really proud of the conveyor belt of youth we have but I struggle to see anyone committed to the club in the way that JWP is. I think this is something the club are working on but only regular European football will keep them here.
Trouble is that if you develop youngsters who become good enough to go into a team on the cusp of European competition it means that they may want to achieve those aims ready-made with a club already there. There is a glass ceiling in many ways for Saints and we need to break through it as quickly as possible, because the longer it goes on the more difficult it becomes. On the plus side, Saints haven't exactly politely hung around waiting their turn to break down barriers thus far, in the last five seasons. However, this is the most difficult barrier to break down so far, in my opinion. Of course, this particular barrier has little to do with kicking a ball.
But who should he cite as a role model? There's only two classes right now: 1) Southampton academy players who yet to make the grade or have already failed 2) Southampton academy players who excelled and left. Even JWP can be seen as simply in mid-transition from #1 to #2. So I hope everyone chooses someone from group #2. It's not the "leaving Southampton" part that makes them role models, but rather that they became excellent players.
Don't disagree with any of that. I just would have been happier to cite JWP who is a great role model for the youngsters coming through - or even Targett, Reed or Isgrove who have broken into the first team by working their socks off. More importantly to say he wants to reward the club for their loyalty by helping take them to the next level.
We can not expect players to stay for more than 3 years or so after breaking into the first team. They will either be good enough as squad players or will feel that they can join a big club with big money and winning things. They must be seen as products that will give a couple of years very good service and then sold on for maximum profit - to be replaced by another youth player. If they all stayed then there would be no conveyor belt of new talent.
Sounds more like an old English pocket watch maker that stopped making watches in 1923.... I can imagine one turning up on Antiques Roadshow. "Here we have a last edition Gape & Seager, etched with a message saying 'awarded to R.S. Scorer, for his first professional contract at SFC' currently valued at £1,000" ... Then the camera pans out to a disappointed chav in a track suit who thought it was worth a million.
