david in sweden

Getting first team games on the strength of talent is a rather sketchy area in Sam's case. He was brought in because Pochettino had no other strikers at the time. Osvaldo had blown his top and thumped Fonte (was suspended by club) and Jay Rod ....in his life's form ...got injured, whilst Rickie Lambert was on a goal famine. I really do feel pi**ed about Poch getting the credit for "developing Saints youth players " when he only started Sam twice in games (one of which he was subbed) and the other 18 times he only got the regulation 10 mins. sub. apps.near the end. The other goal Sam scored was in the 97th minute of a game we had already won. Since when it's gone pear-shaped for the lad. He need a genuine "loan out " as he's hardly likely to even make the Saints bench with the strike force we have now.

an interesting list, but as the criteria was was those who have played with some success in the Premier League.....there are two candidates who don't actually qualify, ....but nevertheless are worth an what we might call "an Honourable mention" , I refer to : Martin Cranie (former Academy player) who left Saints around 10 years ago, at a time when " Manager of the Month " had quite different meaning for Saints. Has moved around a few clubs since, but now clocked up over 250 League games. A very good young player, who played 39 games for England youth sides U17- U21. and Matt Mills (Crainie's CB partner in the Academy) also left Saints in that period of turmoil. Now 29, he has played over 300 League games (most in the Championship) and scored 22 goals (a respectable tally for a defender), who also gained afew England caps at youth level. as did his younger brother Joseph (Fish) Mills. After leaving Saints, Joseph rarely played at a higher level than L1, but has nevertheless has clocked over 130 League games with various clubs. As has been stated by others on here - not every Academy lad makes a career in football, but even some of those who never play at Prem.level do at least have a career of sorts, that is a bit above National League standard.

Noted that we play Wham at SMS on the 8th of February. If Charlie plays in that game .... it might be an opportunity for Mr.Gold to re-assess his statement.

I'll agree with that comment as well "9". Brett always turned in a good shift and did a lot of " donkey work " for James Beattie, (I wonder how many assists that might have been). A good example of a player who although not scoring lots himself, was often involved in helping other to do so.

For all the praise for the Academy, it should be remembered that it's a competative unit and everyone must push themselves and not expect to be " spoon-fed" by coaches. Ronald Koeman talks about " competition for places " in the first team squad, but it's just as important even for a 16 year old to "push himself " a bit and seek to impress the Academy coaches. I know little about Harry Isted, aside from what has been written, but if the lad hasn't impressed in training and doesn't meet the expected criteria then he's not likely to progress...not with SFC anyway. Saints have Dave Watson as goalkeeping coach (also England coach) and so his opinion has to be respected to a high degree. It's tough on Isted, but in time he may become a decent keeper, but as memory serves me, we've not any " young keepers " leave the club in the past, who've later gone on to do better elsewhere and play at top level.

and not before time. Sam McQ is one of the more promising talents in U21's and a few month's playing regular games (even at Southend's level) will help his career progress........

According to that report..about Wham bidding for Daniel Sturridge.........it's so that Andy Carroll will have company in the treatment room.

The chance to sign Charlie Austin was a no-brainer! Anyone who wants to sign Andros Townsend for that money.. .has no brain

exactly ...and " the others " are lucky if they get a place on the bench.....ala Gaston.

I think we did, too, but goodness knows how much that set us back !

Right Vectis. Picking a winner is the really difficult thing, but I agree we should be looking at slightly older players, too. You don't always get them at 8 years old - as the group that Shaw and JWP came up in - or even later on....Walcott was 13 or 14 (?) when we signed him, I think? ...I recall that watching the U21 game at Chelsea, the commentator remarked that Chelsea had 33 players -out on loan this season. But they can't keep 'em all!

What do Prem. clubs do with young talent? - they sell them, of course... or in the worse case scenario -- they let them go for next to / nothing. Of course a few young players do survive. Milner started playing at Leeds ? ..when he was 16 or 17 and has moved around a bit since. If Ross Barkley hadn't had David Moyes support at Evertoon - who knows where he'd be today? The thought came to mind when reading that Theo Walcott (27 in March) has been at Arsenal for 10 years. (350 games and 42 England caps after he left SMS). Had Saints been still in the Prem. in 2006 and not desperately short of cash, he might have been with Saints a bit longer....and we'd have banked a lot more on that deal had he moved on later. A similar situation with the later Gareth Bale deal ....(I do hope we learned the lesson about having a sell-on %). But rich or not, some Prem. sides have lost / given away players who have developed enormously afterwards. I pondered some names I recalled as U21's. Chelsea had the young Kevin de Bruyne, but sold him on after only 3 outings for a "measly" £18 million, but it cost Man City 3 times as much to sign him later. Man.City had 16 y.o. Daniel Sturridge on their staff (after he'd been rejected by Villa and Coventry), but let his contract run out before he went to Chelsea, but in turn - didn't find favour with manager(s) there, and was sold on to Liverpool for a mere £12 million. Man.Utd must be rueing the sale of Paul Pogba (who it seems upset Alex Ferguson) who sold him to Italy for £17 million ....Just lately I read any suggested move for Pogba now ....would cost the buyer nearer £50 million. Chelsea thought they made a killing when selling Romelu Lukaku (£28 million to Everton) but their present form suggests they really do need a striker. There are surely other examples, too, but it seems that those Saints' critics who complain about us selling our best youngsters - don't see that it's a commonplace occurance with many Prem.sides ...and especially those who think any player isn't up to standard - if he costs less then £25 million.... It's easy to say that in hindsight, but the question really is ...Should we hold on to our best young talent(s) and let them develop....or cash in for a quick deal?

....well Turkish, what I'm really saying is... a player in a club who change managers (frequently) can find himself out of favour if he doesn't fit the managers formation... In Gaston's case he's had three Saints mangers inhis time and none of them wanted to play him....whose fault is that?

......but he won't get the red card he so richly deserves....not at Old Trafford, anyway.

If Mane scores - (he's overdue a goal)....especially if it's a winning goal.......it will concrete his transfer deal in the summer......

...and so it does .....Still a long time though.....

well...maybe not your face exactly, but your playing style because if the manager has a formation that he likes - then hope it's good for you, too. Those of us who are longer in the tooth, grew up with Ted Bates' teams and were well used to a 2-3-5 formation. Yes FIVE strikers. Of course the defences were quite vulnerable, but boy ...did we get a lot of goals. 100 league goals in 1963-64 ..and 70 of those at home...talk about a goal-feast every game. Some weaker teams who were renown for their poor defences were best advised to stay at home, save the train fares ...and puts the points in the post. But ...just as long as you scored..... one goal more than the opposition....you got the points anyway. Things changed radically after 1966 World Cup, because the victorious England manager Alf Ramsey soon dispensed with wingers (and we lost some good ones) and suddenly almost everyone went over to 4-3-3, or was it 4-2-4? Ever since all manner of alternative formations have emerged (not all successful) and the (then) Saints manager Lawrie McMenemy was credited with introducing the "sweeper system" into the English game (....well you can argue that one). Why we buy this or that player depends totally on the formation that the manager is committed to. I say this because the "Long to Liverpool" headlines of late seem to revolve around the fact that Liverpool's only fit striker (the £32 million summer signing Benteke) - doesn't fit Klopp's play style. Shane Long does. So Klopp urgently needs someone else ASAP. Well...it's only money - isn't it...and Liverpool and Man U. seem to throw it around like a man with six arms.. Coupled with this are rumours like Pelle's refusal to sign an extension beyond 2017...(well like Lambert, I don't begrudge him a return to his homeland), and a good Euro 2016 can only go to increase his value. Suddenly, Saints reverted to a team that includes...more English players. Can that really be true?. I started counting on Saturday....Forster, Bertrand, Targett, JWP...and with new boy Charlie Austin and Jay Rod (when he's back) the numbers will mount up. Who knows what the summer will bring? A few more Dutch players (by birth, or adoption) but I'll not complain about that. Koeman has done alright so far. The truth of the matter is, no matter how good someone is for one side, an expensive move to another club can be a disaster. Anyone who followed the Andy Carroll / Fernando Torres saga a few seasons ago can see that. Those once-feared strikers became meek as lambs and goals were hard to come by for them. The signing of Austin seems to have put another dimension into the team....and he hasn't kicked a ball yet. But one thing for certain with a contract until 2021, it seems that Messers. Koeman and Reed have decided that Charlie is likely to be " a face that fits " for sometime to come.

The Lancashire Telegraph published an article stating that Burnley will get a small sell-on fee (15%) from Charlie's move from QPR to Saints. It would have course have been considerably more.... had QPR sold him for the £15 million they touted last summer. The article also stated that Saints will pay QPR an extra 500K - if he scores 12 goals in the remainder of this season....and another 500K if he goes to Euro 2016. Whatever the outcome....if one ..or both of those conditions are fulfilled, then he's still ....an excellent deal.

I doubt if it would be that much but even it it were, it would mean the £4 million fee + c. £5 million /year salary would bring his cost upto £26 million by 2021. Sound a lot? Gaston's much-quoted salary I've seen £65K / week quoted by several people means his fee+salary would be £26...(that is if he's still here in June). Comparing that sum with Gaston's goal-scoring record .....I'd say whatever he's on Charlie Austin will be a better deal ...in the long run...by a mile.

Oh yes we can remember those days. In some winters, it got so bad you could almost count the blades of grass.....if it wasn't for all the mud. In general, SMS is in very good condition and got " an hourable mention " for the best pitches last season ...behind Old Trafford and The Emirates......

you know a week ago..... I would have said this thread had been done to death and everyone who had an opinion had voiced /written it.....but that was a week ago. I'm normally the sort of person who quotes....one swallow doesn't make a summer..or in this case ...two...but somehow the team looks totally re-vitalised after two wins, and I think the 3-5-2 formation ..or is it 3-5-1-1?.... really seems to work well, with Targett and with Cedric improving by the minute, and Bertrand looking very relaxed as a third CB. Looking at Saturday's team..and with Romeu, Tadic, Clasie and Pelle not even in the start line-up and Jay Rod and Gardos on the recovery trail our squad looks quite good. At least that was my thought on Saturday morning .....until I heard of Charlie Austin had signed. Even though he hasn't kicked a ball yet, everything feels somehow better. YES of course, we'll probably sell-off this season's crown jewels in the summer, and that will make an even bigger profit than before....when we seek out the next signings. I can hear some of you moaning about our shortcomings, but maybe this is better discussed after the next two away games...if we comeback to SMS with (say) 4 points, I'd say the answer to the question ....YES....this season's squad is a bit better than last.

Now that the dust has settled.....a few people on here have mentioned the "Keegan Reaction " (although it was over 35 years ago), many older fans will recall the euphoria and reaction....where they were and....when they heard of Saints signing Kevin Keegan. (Then England captain and twice Euro footballer of the Year). Of course, Charlie Austin is no Kevin Keegan, but as a player who always seemed to score whenever his club(s) played against us, he did stand out as a " winner ". He was (in some terms)..last season's Jamie Vardy. HDAJF...QPR and it wasn't hardly his fault that they were relegated, his personal goal tally was very impressive. When nearly all Saints fans agreed that " another striker " was our one real requirement, I think perhaps many of us have given up the hope of signing Charlie, but now he's on the bus we can wait for him to become " 100% Saints fit " and hopefully see him scoring bucketloads of goals, this time - in a Saints shirt.

I'd put a couple more "ifs" there...... IF ...L'pool still have a striker problem after the summer, then they must expect to pay "real money " for Long, and....... IF our striker force (Pelle / JayRod / Austin/ Mane) is working well, then someone would go. IF Pelle and / or Mane go..we'd have enough "readies " to go out and buy the next one.

A good Euro tournament in the summer would guarantee plenty of interest from top Italian clubs, and (like Lambert).... I wouldn't begrudge him a move away. By the time a player reaches 30, he ought to have made his career, a move of his own choosing would be no problem from my viewpoint. It's not as if he's 24.. and greedy. If he gets more goals before the end of the season, then it will only increase his value in an eventual sale, and I can't believe he'd prefer Holland or England over Italy.

"never go back " is an often quoted phrase that footballers would do well to heed. The thought of recapturing some former glory in a former club rarely happens. However, it will be interesting to see where Rickie Lambert chooses to live? - after he retires. I think (like MLT).... he'd be "well received" if he chose to live in Hampshire.