Lazlo78

I was browsing a bit when I came across a list of some former Saints players. It got me thinking how many of our former/present youth players are currently active in professional football above conference level. Here's a quick list - any forgotten? Any surprises? Any thoughts on the level of our youth setup in general? Folly, Griffit and Jones might be a stretch, but as I remember it, they were part of a development squad being groomed for the first team... Phillips also a bit of a stretch... Premier League: Chris Baird (Fulham) Gareth Bale (Tottenham) Calum Chambers (Southampton) Nathan Dyer (Swansea) Adam Lallana (Southampton) Garry Monk (Swansea) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) Nile Ranger (Newcastle) Ben Reeves (Southampton) Luke Shaw (Southampton) Jack Stephens (Southampton) Andrew Surman (Norwich) Theo Walcott (Arsenal) James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) (Mike Williamson (Newcastle)) (Kenwyne Jones (Stoke)) FLC: Leon Best (Blackburn) Dexter Blackstock (Nottingham F) Wayne Bridge (Brighton) Martin Cranie (Barnsley) Simon Gillett (Nottingham F) Oscar Gobern (Huddersfield) Joseph Mills (Burnley) Matt Mills (Bolton) Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough) David McGoldrick (Ipswich) Kevin Phillips (Blackpool) League One: Ryan Doble (Shrewsbury) Darryl Flahavan (Bournemouth) Brian Howard (Pompey) Lloyd James (Leyton O) League Two: Scott Bevan (Bristol Rovers) Arron Davies (Exeter) Oliver Lancashire (Aldershot) Matt Oakley (Exeter) Matt Paterson (Burton) Michael Poke (Torquay) Danny Senda (Barnet) Eredivisie: Tim Sparv (Groningen) Scottish First Division: Andrew McNeil (Livingston) From recent times I actually think we have provided a number of great players for the top tiers of English football. Question is if the picture is similar for other clubs or if we really have a very good academy?

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Bevan: "Scott Bevan (born 19 September 1979 in Southampton, England) is an English footballer and currently plays as a goalkeeper for League Two side Bristol Rovers . Bevan is the only footballer in the football league to have just one kidney.[citation needed] INCORRECT, Jimmy McNulty has only one kidney who plays for Barnsley" I'm sure several board members will find McNulty's kidney to be a better goalkeeper than Forecast

Loving it!

Foam hand ftw!

R.I.P. Marcus

Honest question: haven't they got a youth setup they could use to boost the squad in a situation like this? If so, then Cotterill's moaning is just ridiculous...

Oh, look no further...

I agree. I hope he will do well and will be an ambassador for Saints and for the academy. He needs to make sure to mention Saints at any given opportunity

But as Robert asked, whose Sam Nickerson is it?

Who made the run that gave space to Hammond for the first goal - was it Connolly? Excellent movement where the Leeds players don't know who to follow... Lambert's pass for the second shows him at his best - he made an awful lot of those assists last season. As soon as he controls the ball he spots teammates coming forward and picks his target with great accuracy. In that respect, there's more MLT to him than you'd think... As for the third, it's interesting to see the imbalance that Connolly creates by tracking back to receive the throw in. The defenders are drawn forward and Connolly quickly exploits the hole they leave open...

Georgeweahscousin did an excellent overview of the Championship by interviewing a fan from each of the 24 clubs - read them all at http://georgeweahscousin.com. The Burnley fan comments specifically on Jay Rodriguez: "Who is your most important player? Hopefully all of them will be important but the stand out players are Chris McCann and Jay Rodriguez who have both come through the youth system at Burnley. McCann is fit again after almost two years out of the game and at his best is as good a central midfield player as you will find in the Championship. He’s been so badly missed and it will be like having a new signing. Rodriguez, despite the name, is a real case of local boy makes good. He’s just enjoyed his first season in the first team and has become a crucial member of the side. He ended the season as leading goalscorer and not many players in the entire Championship scored more goals than he did. HIs 15 didn’t include a penalty and he could well step up towards 20 goals this coming season. He made an England debut last season at under-21 level and has an exciting future in front of him."

Well done Saints! Good overall performance from the team and a great start to the season!

Connolly! Get in!

Lalaaaaaaanna ....... GET IN

Yessssss! Hammond :-D

@Minsk, dronskisaint & SamKimish: I'll have to admit that I didn't spot the bit about charity in the link - and yes, that makes some difference

We are no better ourselves: http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2409787,00.html

I've subscribed the blog to my Google Reader, and I've read every posting since the blog began. It's a weekly highlight for me :-) Great writing style with a mix of talent, wit, eye for detail, and genuine knowledge about football...

Watched MLT goals in the early 90s (92 I think) on Danish television and started playing as Saints in CM'93. Followed the team over the internet until I got to my first game at the Dell in March 2000 (2-0 win over Aston Villa). Consecutive relegations haven't driven me away so I guess I'm in this long distance relationship for life...

No, that role is reserved for Martin Keown.

This I can totally agree with. I even find myself wanting Spurs to fail at any given opportunity even though my mate is a Spurs supporter and we aren't even in the same league (yet)...

There was always evidence that Harry Redknapp lied to either the fans of SFC or the fans of PFC (or both ;-)). After the relegation he told the Saints fans that he felt he had to make it right again and therefore he would try to take us up to the PrL again. But after leaving, he told the PFC fans that there wasn't a day where he didn't regret leaving them for SFC. So which was it? I always felt that Harry actually did like it at SFC and meant to clean up things when he stayed after the relegation - bringing in his son as a player hinted as much. However, as things worked out and he found himself back at PFC he had to tell the fans something to forgive him. In short: I think he was more into the SFC job than he is willing to admit now...

Interesting that they removed that part! At least bold.dk now know who Don Cortese is ;-D

Exactly. To me, the article is interesting because it gives an impression on what vision Cortese sells to a new employee. But I actually think Matthew Le God's link on page 1 is more interesting, as it gives an impression on what Friis-Hansen brings to the table!

Friis-Hansen to help Saints reach the PrL The former national team player Jakob Friis-Hansen has been appointed as Director of the European Recruitment in Southampton, a club with great traditions, which he will try to help reach the Premier League already next season. The former national team player Jakob Friis-Hansen quit as scout of Liverpool in January but has now found a new and exciting job in Southampton, a club with great traditions, who recently ensured automatic promotion from League One to the Championship. Friis-Hansen has been appointed as Director of the European Recruitment with immediate effect. - It's a newly created job function that hasn't been used in the club for some seasons now. I will be a kind of director of football on the European market. This means, I will be responsible for finding players and starting a scouting department with full-time and part-time employees. It's an incredibly exciting job and I am looking forward to get going, Friis-Hansen tells bold.dk After 27 years in the finest league in England, Southampton were relegated in 2005 and subsequently took a slide down in the third best league in a period marked by great financial troubles. But both League One and financial troubles are in the past now, and Friis-Hansen will be under great pressure from day one. - The Club has a clear ambition of getting directly to the Premier League, so we need to find five or six quality players over the summer. I will probably need to find three players that in theory are good enough for the Premier League, but have the mentality to play in the Championship in one or maximally two seasons, which is the time frame for promotion", says Friis-Hansen. On the surface, this could sound like an overly ambitious target, but the club has the means and the facilities to make these dreams come true. - The club is owned by the Swiss Liebherr family. They are incredibly rich and are aware that it will cost money. On short terms the goal is Premier League, but on the longer term they also want to play in the Champions League and be part of the top clubs in England. With their fortune backing them up the club is about the fifth richest club in England, so it is realistic - just look at Norwich who did it this year without the financial strength we have. - Furthermore the club has an academy on line with the very best in England. They have developed players like Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale, which tells a lot about the quality. And there is a willingness to expand the academy, the facilities and the stadium if necessary. The Southampton team is already very talented featuring players like Adam Lallana, Morgan Schneiderlin and not least teenager Alex Chamberlain. However, the latter Friis-Hansen expects to be sold for a hefty sum to a larger club within long. http://www.bold.dk/nyt/Friis-Hansen-skal-hjaelpe-Saints-i-PrL