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Saints to restructure academy

Discussion in 'Southampton' started by - Doing The Lambert Walk, Aug 6, 2020.

  1. - Doing The Lambert Walk

    - Doing The Lambert Walk Well-Known Member

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    Replacing the Under-23s with a new B team set up. They’ll have identical training sessions to the first team and will play on different days to the first team so that Ralph can attend the games.

    https://t.co/oQGQ4T8Vmz
     
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  2. Beddy

    Beddy Plays the percentage

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    I thought that's how they used to be. 1st team, "B" team, under 18s and then Youth team. Didn't they change the names when the Premier was introduced?
     
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  3. Saints Fan4Life

    Saints Fan4Life Well-Known Member

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    Hardly a restructuring. More like a name change, they're still in the same competitions abiding by the same under 23 rules.
     
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  4. VocalMinority

    VocalMinority Well-Known Member

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    While training in a completely different way allowing for a more seamless integration into the first team. Its Ralph putting his mark on the u23's. which is good imo as it shows he is looking to the future.
     
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  5. Le Tissier's Laces

    Le Tissier's Laces Well-Known Member

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    I love Ralph.

    Just saying.
     
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  6. Saints_Alive

    Saints_Alive Well-Known Member

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    Yes the dark days of Reed and Hunter seem a long way away, we all knocked Ron for not using it but those two had turned things sour there at that time.
     
    #6
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  7. SFC4BAG

    SFC4BAG Well-Known Member

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    Hopefully we will see an improved Academy standard set now
     
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  8. holierthanthou

    holierthanthou Active Member

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    Copy and paste for anyone that doesn't want to give the Daily Mail any money:

    Southampton's academy turns to B team to replace the Under 23 side as club switch to European model


    Southampton are set to approve a restructuring of their famed academy by replacing their Under 23 side with a senior B team.


    The Saints academy has helped develop Gareth Bale, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and Theo Walcott, and before that the club produced legends Alan Shearer and Matt Le Tissier.


    The model of having a senior B team has been used successfully in Europe by Barcelona, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.


    If the switch is agreed, as is likely, the training for the B team will mirror the schedule of manager Ralph Hasenhuttl's first team at the club's Staplewood headquarters.


    Where possible, the B team will play their matches on different days to the senior side to allow Hasenhuttl to watch their games - the club will continue to play in Premier League 2.


    It is hoped that by Hasenhuttl keeping an eye on B-team matches, it will help facilitate the promotion of players into the first-team set-up.


    It is understood the academy players have been informed of the club's planned structural revamp.
     
    #8
  9. SaintMarv

    SaintMarv Well-Known Member

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    Don't the Barcelona etc B teams play in the lower Spanish leagues?
     
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  10. ChilcoSaint

    ChilcoSaint What a disgrace
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    The third level of Spanish football is called Segunda División B and contains 4 groups of 20 teams, including several of the B teams from the top 2 divisions. The top 4 teams of each group qualify for playoffs for promotion to Segunda División A but only teams whose first team is in the Priméra División can be promoted to the second level.
     
    #10

  11. Libby

    Libby 9-0

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    I really hope that's not what happens here but I suspect it will.
     
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  12. Che’s Godlike Thighs

    Che’s Godlike Thighs Well-Known Member

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    Used to love it at 6-a-side tournaments, when you'd get picked for the B-team, and then inevitably go on to beat the A-team. I remember a tournament at Redbridge school. Scored the winner for the Bs against the As in the semi-final. The As were mostly made up of the manager's "star player" of a son, and his best mates. I knew we'd beat them. They didn't even stick around to watch us in the final.
     
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  13. Archers Road

    Archers Road Urban Spaceman

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    Some of the adults managing kids football teams want shooting tbh.
     
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  14. Che’s Godlike Thighs

    Che’s Godlike Thighs Well-Known Member

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    One of my previous managers was arrested for dealing drugs to his players <laugh>
     
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  15. fatletiss

    fatletiss Well-Known Member

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    Don’t make me get my soap box out .....
     
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  16. Dark Lord SFC

    Dark Lord SFC Well-Known Member

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    Not overly exciting news by the lack of comment on here
    I think we definitely need to do something to inject life into our academy that has drifted in a downwards spiral since Dodds/OConnor left and Jaidi seemed to let the whole academy drift into obscurity
     
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  17. SaintInKuwait

    SaintInKuwait Well-Known Member

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    Probably a bit harsh on Jaidi. I thought the talk on him was he just wasn’t a very good manager. Call ups and recruitment weren’t his area and you can only work with what you have. Players really seemed to have the knives out for Hunter when he left though. Certainly was the bad guy in the story. A succession of short term managers in firefights make it hard for players to come into the first team too.

    My big positivity on this is that it comes from Ralph (who wrote a club coaching manual for all levels during lockdown and wants to use the academy) and Matt Crocker as DoF. Remember Crocker was academy head when we had our best run of players coming through (Bale, AOC, Shaw, Chambers, Reed, JWP. He also helped recruit the young signings like Stephens and Valery joining as teens). I think any decision made about the academy is in really sound hands tbh.
     
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  18. Saintmagic

    Saintmagic Well-Known Member

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    Hopefully the first steps to getting B teams into the league structure
     
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  19. Saints Fan4Life

    Saints Fan4Life Well-Known Member

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    Why hopefully? It's a horrid idea.
     
    #19
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  20. Saintmagic

    Saintmagic Well-Known Member

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    Never heard a convincing argument as to why it’s a bad idea, literally everyone wins from it if it is implemented correctly
     
    #20

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